I had my first good cry over the wedding today. Damn it.
We need to figure out a way to have this wedding on a budget without having it seem like we’re on a budget (read: no beans and weenies, no metal folding chairs, no casual family reunion feel). I hate to be so picky about this, but it is my once in a lifetime wedding, after all, so I’d like it to be remotely nice.
After months of wanting to go to a farmer’s market to pick up produce, I finally stopped by one this morning with my dad.
Last night, I was looking around a few sites on local and organic food when it dawned on me that there’s a farmer’s market that’s open on Saturday mornings and I didn’t have to work at that time so I would be able to go this week. I called up my dad and asked if he’d like to go with me since the market is very close to his apartment and he agreed to go.
I picked up two cucumbers, four peaches, and a dozen brown eggs for $5.50. I was hoping to get more, but there weren’t a lot of farmers there (most likely due to the rain). There’s another farmer’s market that’s open on Tuesdays that I hope to go to this week to pick up the rest of our produce.
To see where there are farmer’s markets as well as organic stores and restaurants near you, check out localharvest.org.
I came across Walkscore.com on a few PF blogs recently and decided to plug in my address to see how walkable my neighborhood was. It got a 74, which wasn’t too surprising for me since I live a few blocks away from a nice shopping area in Richmond where you can find almost everything you need. I can and usually do walk to CVS, Walgreens, my dentist, one of my doctors, and the post office. Kroger is also doable by foot, but we usually buy too many things to be able to walk there and back. Sadly, parks are the farthest away from my apartment.
Just out of curiosity, I plugged in the address for the apartment we’re moving into July 1 that’s a block away from our current apartment and the score jumped up to 77. I really hope that Jake and I continue to walk to the stores that are near to us and push ourselves to walk more often instead of using our cars. I’ve toyed around with the idea of getting a bike for us since so many places are close by, but I’m not sure how often we’d actually use it.
I really enjoyed my vacation, but man, we sure did a lot of stuff. We drove from Virginia to Pennsylvania, saw my friends and family there and spent the night. The following morning we drove from Pennsylvania to upstate New York to see Jake’s family for a few days. While we were there, we drove to Burlington, Vermont and Montreal, Canada. On our way from upstate New York back down to Pennsylvania, we stopped in Woodstock, NY to have lunch. We spent the night in PA and saw some of both Jake’s and my families, then drove back home to Virginia.
Somehow along the way, we managed to adopted Basil, a part Siamese cat, from one of Jake’s aunts. The poor little guy was being terrorized by her three dogs and we just couldn’t say no to rescuing him. Our dog, Honey, and Basil are slowly working things out.
My two favorite frugal things about our trip both have to do with Jake’s mom. My future mother in law works at the family grocery store. Over Sunday breakfast, I casually told Jake that I had to buy the newspaper. He gave me a funny look (why would I want the newspaper from upstate NY?) and then he unscrewed his face and said, “Oh, coupons.” Jake’s mom happened to overhear and said, “Oh, don’t worry about it. I can get a whole bunch from the store for you.” She not only got me a few copies of Sunday’s coupons, she also got me a bundle of last week’s coupons too. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my future mother in law? She’s also going to try and snag some for me every week and mail them to me. 
Another perk of knowing someone who works at a grocery store is access to “out dates” or food that’s recently expired that the store can no longer sell even though the food is still perfectly fine. Jake’s mom went through everything for us and we came home with a whole boxful of free food.
Today is Jake’s and my three year anniversary, so I’m going to have to cut this post short so I can enjoy the rest of the evening with the one that I love. I hope your past week as been a bit more leisurely than mine.
Pack snacks. Nothing’s worse than having to buy a bottle of water for $2 or a small pack of chips for $3 when you’ve already shelled out plenty to get where you’re going. Nonperishable or not easily perishable items are best, of course, and be sure to bring both sweet and salty items to try and match your cravings. If you’re flying, bring an empty water bottle so that you can get through security just fine and then fill it up at a water fountain or sink when you’re on the other side.
Try to book way in advance or very last minute. Companies try to entice as many people as possible to book early (to get the ball rolling) and last minute (to fill up any remaining spots) by offering price cuts. If exact dates and times aren’t especially important, your flexibility will also save you some cash.
Take off season trips. Nearly everything is cheaper and less crowded off season. Go at the very beginning or very end of a season if you still want to be where the action is on the cheap.
Take short or day trips. The shorter your trip and closer your destination, the less money you’ll have to spend getting and staying there. If you can find a desirable place within a couple of hours from your home, take a day trip so that you can save money on lodging.
Visit family. Free lodging and home cooked meals? Yes, please. Either on your way to your destination or as your destination, visiting family (and friends) is sure to add an extra element of enjoyment without subtracting much money from your wallet.
Search for coupon codes for everything. If you’re booking anything online, be search to fire up your favorite search engine first. Type in the name of the airline, hotel, etc. followed by “coupon” or “coupon code” (example- “Hilton coupon code”) to see if there are any current codes available. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
Sarah
