Well, I do. I love food, and not just the basic building blocks that keep my body functioning, but really good five star cuisine. Oh how I wish I could be content with the culinary favorites of my two-year-old daughter: cereal, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, and hot dogs paired with a sippy cup of diluted apple juice. I, however, long for wild-caught salmon, tuna, halibut, or perfect cuts of beef tenderloin with fresh gourmet salads, roasted vegetables, and artisan breads, enjoyed with a perfect bottle of wine to share with my husband.
Here is my reality: in 2007, my husband graduates from law school, and I graduate from college with a degree in sports medicine. We have our first child one month later, and we move home to Virginia Beach, VA. I stay at home with our daughter while my husband works at a large law firm in Hampton Roads. Sounds great, right?! Well, 8 months later, at the beginning of this recession, he gets let go, and here we are now in 2010 relocated to NC, where he is an Air Force JAG and making $70,000 less per year than we expected coming out of school. We were (are) young and didn't plan for an uncertain future. But what 23-year-old does? And that leaves with one income and little "discretionary" cash with which to buy gas for our cars, clothing, anything unexpected, and food.
So, here I will share my ventures into a very budgeted and likely not too glamorous attempt to eat real nutritious food and stay away from credit cards.
