Peanut Butter and My Quest to Buy a Tablet

"What about lay away?" My mother asked as she patiently listened to my emotional vent about the "pain" caused by my no borrowing pledge. I have wanted a table device since the first time I tried an iPad. Unfortunately, I was used to instant purchase gratification using credit cards so my quest for the perfect table device stalled when I realized I would have to save at least $600.00.

When I exclaimed, "I can't buy a tablet on lay away!" My mom raised her eyebrows in mockery, simply smiled and said, "Well, you'll have to do it the way your father and I did things - cut your spending and save the money." Realizing she was right, groaned in anguish as I remembered my childhood bag lunches of peanut butter and jelly.

Naturally, remembering that peanut butter burnout, I decided to attack our food budget, first, to see where I could save some cash. I decided to purchase a meal planner and cookbook featuring bag lunches. I could not make saving money to buy a table a family torture.

To my surprise, I discovered that we could eat healthier and spend less money. The first thing I did was to cut out all processed foods. A box of six granola bars cost $3.95 a week, but I could bake two weeks' worth of nutritional bars for only $2.00. With that one change, I saved $11.80 a month.

Changing our food buying habits meant making things from scratch and planning our meals on a weekly basis. I even made extra servings so that I could freeze meals for the days I did not have time. I stopped buying the $5.00 artisan breads we loved and started baking my own using bread recipes I found on the Internet. The cost of this one change saved over $3.00 a week in bread costs.

It was amazing what little changes did for our overall savings. We decided to make eating out a special event so we limited outside meals to only one per month. This was difficult because we also pledged that we could not buy lunch unless it was for a business meeting. In one month, we saved over $300. Saving for my table became realistic goal.

Realizing my family did not have to live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I began to look for other areas to save money. I started reviewing our utility bills. Looking at our phone bills I noticed charges for services we didn't' use so I called them to cut those services which saved our family another $120 a year.

I called the electric company to ask them the best ways to cut my electrical usage. Going green for my tablet became a fun family activity. In one month, we saved almost 5 percent off our electrical bill. We winterized our house by sealing windows and fixing cracks. The house is warmer, the heat does not turn on as much and we save almost $20.00 a month in the winter.

I now look for savings each week and nothing is sacred. We checkout DVDs, CDs and other entertainment from the library instead of buying or renting entertainment. This one little change has saved our family over $100 a month on entertainment costs. Right now, I am having the family write down which TV channels they watch each night. I want to see if we can change our digital cable service plan. If we downgrade our plan, I can save another $30 a month.

After a few months, I was been able to purchase my tablet device. The best part of this savings plan is that we are now saving for a student lap top for my daughter. She is excited about our new savings goal and is not suffering from peanut butter burnout.