Costco...not the problem it used to be...

Over the last year, Superman and I have not only revamped our spending patterns, but also revamped our eating habits. The truth is that we love to go out to eat...fast food, mid-range, it doesn't matter, we love to go out. The other truth is, we can't afford it any more. We spent a small fortune turning our new house into our home as quickly as possible, because we felt under the gun. We moved here in September 2005 and we knew that by September 2008, Charming would be on his own, either in dorms or in an apartment. We wanted Charming to truly feel that this "new" house was his home...and it worked. All of us feel that this is our home. Now, however, it is time to pay for all that accelerated progress and that is what we've been doing.

I've been joking that I'm done with the house, so now I need to learn to cook. Another truth? It wasn't a joke. I've spent the last 2 years learning how to cook things from scratch. I haven't even begun to feel like a "cook", but, wow, have things changed. I cook tons of things from scratch...and the side benefit is that I feel more accomplished, more skilled, and better about what I feed my family. I am a far cry from the girl who was seriously stunned that you didn't need a box of pancake mix to make pancakes. (Yes, I really did express shock at that!)

So, how does that tie in to Costco? Well, this is how: I just spent $180.75 at Costco and the only things I bought that were made for me were vanilla ice cream and Nacho Cheese Doritos. What did I get: 50 lbs of bread flour, 50 lbs of all purpose flour, 25 lbs of sugar, one bunch of bananas, 20 lbs of ground turkey, 11 pork chops, 4 lbs butter, 2 gals milk, a huge block of mozzarella cheese (6 lbs) , a huge corn tortillas, 44 uncooked flour tortillas, 5 lbs of frozen organic corn, 5 lbs frozen organic green beans, 6 cans Comet and a 6 lb box of Bisquick. Do you know how many meals I will be making out of all these staples? A lot! It is so much more satisfying to know what goes in our food and NOT pay someone else to make it for me. The $180 I spent will go so much further than it would have with prepackaged food and it will feed my family so much better. So, that is why Costco is not the problem it used to be. I'm not tempted by the conveniences it offers...I see it as a way to feed my family better for less. It is the ultimate frugal store for me...how awesome is that!