Dixciteouragement

Nope. Not a word. But how I'm feeling! (A combination of excitement and discouragement.) BeCAUSE (excitement) we are looking at buying a house! But (discouragement) that means we will have to tighten our budget even more than we already have. 

I'm just going to start this out by saying financial prudence is one of my most challenging weaknesses, mainly for two reasons. First, I feel greatly convicted by knowledge. Ex. "Regular visits to the chiropractor help boost the immune system? Josh HAS to have that!" "Grass-fed butter has more vitamins and nutrients? Well, why would we use any other kind?" The other reason is that sometimes I just don't have a strong grasp of the concrete realities of our budget. Ex. Buying things in bulk because it's a better deal without seeing how much is left in checking...

So now that we're looking at a house (more on that later), the ethereal budget to which I've given an occasional, fleeting  thought is going to need to become a familiar friend with whom I live every day. The biggest area of improvement (other than spontaneous purchases/eating out) needs to be the grocery bill. 

Just the thought of that is overwhelming. Many of you know that over the past two years, I've "gotten really into" the real/organic/whole food idea, and I'm not willing to drop that just because we need to spend less money. It's what's best for our family, even if it is more expensive. But I know if I have some accountability and encouragement, I can stick to a budget AND continue to feed my family well!

I've already had some discouragement this morning in a place I was searching for inspiration! There's a "100 Days of Real Food" blog, and she did an "On a Budget" series. Unfortunately, her weekly budget of $125 is painfully close to what our monthly budget is likely to be!

So, tell me. How much do you spend on groceries, for how many people? And what percent would you say is real food? (Unprocessed, natural, homemade, etc.)