Fuzzy Math Monday

I’ve always hated math. It’s not that I was bad at it, it’s just that I prefer words over numbers. However, after reading the Frugalista Files the other day, on top of trying to run the numbers for our brewery business plan, I’ve decided it’s time to start paying attention.

I’ve always admired my friend Jolon, who blogs at SavvyChicSavings. She seems so on top of things, and is even trying to live on a food budget of $25/week. I doubt I’ll ever be that good at finding deals, but this year I’ve decided to keep track of what my CSA and garden are costing me. What is MY household food budget? I have absolutely no clue, and that’s why I’ve decided to start tracking at least those two expenses. I may not post every week as the CSA season doesn’t start until June, but for the next two months I’ll post my gardening expenditures.

See, I have a feeling that even though I perceive my CSA and garden to cost a lot of money, the value is greater than the sum of its parts. For example, I was at the store the other day and saw a whole organic pastured chicken for $20. Yup, $20. I grabbed the under-$10 “natural” one instead. But on my way home, I realized that we spend about $18 if we go out for Thai food – and that’s only one meal, whereas I normally get at least two out of a chicken. Now I wish I’d gotten the one that I know was pastured and raised humanely.

To kick things off, this week I’ll post how much I spent on seeds for my garden:

Now, I have about 10 seed packets from last year so I’ll be growing more than that in my garden. Not sure how to cost that out; do I take what I paid last year for the seeds and divide by two? What about the cost we’ll be incurring to make raised beds? How many years do I amortize that?

I’m also trying to decide if I should buy tomato and pepper seeds and try to start them at home (then I’d need to buy seed starting stuff), or just wait and buy them at the farmer’s market.

See, I still have some bugs to work out. However, I hope you’ll find this fun as I do my best to figure it out.

Related posts:

1. Menu, Workout Plan, and Homekeeping Monday
2. Menu, Workout Plan & Homekeeping Monday
3. Menu, Workout, and Homekeeping Plan Monday

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