Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Farmers markets, Zenni Optical, and other ways to save your family money!

We all know how important it is to save money in an economy like this, and sometimes coupons just aren't enough. I thought we could start a conversation of our favorite ways to save!

My first is to buy local. Food is cheaper if you don't have to pay for the gas to ship it to the grocery store! Another plus is the food is fresher and healthier, because the farmer's can pick it when it is ripe, and sell it instead of picking it early and forcing it to ripen in a truck. Anyone who has eaten a tomato right off the vine knows what I am talking about! :)

Tomorrow I will be stopping by the Plymouth farmer's market. Now, it is still a little early in the season, so I am not sure what will be available tomorrow, but it should be fun to peruse the local produce! Hours for tomorrow's farmer's market are every Thursday from 2pm-6pm at City Park. If you're in the Sheboygan area, check out the Fountain Park farmer's market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 7am-2pm.

Another large expense in our yearly budgets are those eyeglasses. How much did you pay for your last pair of eye glasses? I paid $8 plus $5.95 shipping. Yep! $13.95 for Prescription eyeglasses! You should all visit one of my favorite websites: http://www.zennioptical.com. Instead of paying an arm and a leg for eyeglasses, have your eye doctor give you a copy of your prescription, then visit zenni optical! The last time I got my eyes checked, I got my prescription, and picked out 4 adorable pairs of glasses, for between $8-12 each, and $5.95 to ship all of them. So that time I accidentally put my glasses through the washing machine and cracked the lenses? Yup, I was out $8. MUCH better than losing one of those $100+ pairs! :)

Zenni also does all the extra's for much cheaper! Prescription sunglasses, bifocals, anti scratch, transitions lenses, you name it, they do it, and cheaper! :) This is the perfect solution for glasses for kids too!

So, how do YOU save money? Do you have a secret money saving technique? Together, we can help each other survive in this tough economy!

Side note: Coupons are SOOOOO much easier to clip when you use a paper cutter! (see below post) :)

4 comments:

  1. Great Link for glasses!
    I am checking out the Goodside grocery Co-op http://www.quickmeme.com/memes/
    and also looking into farm co-ops locally.
    I will have to find that link for you.

    Sheboygan Farmers market has also been carrying beef from local farmers.

    I have also gotten some of the most delicious cheeses from small cheese farms.

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  2. Awesome! Thanks Robyn! I love Zenni, Cecil found it for me, he heard it on the radio. I actually stopped in at the Goodside Grocery one day, but they were closed! Let me know what you think of it!

    OOOH! I also read in the Sun that the Gibbsville general store has dented cans and crushed boxed for half off. Not sure how much they carry, but it's worth checking out! :)

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  3. here are a few links to Community Supported Agriculture in Sheboygan County.

    http://www.oldplankfarm.com/index.html

    http://www.urbanecologycenter.org/csa.html

    Many of these farms you pay for a CSA share( an investment) and you can work on the farm as well.
    You get an allotment box of items each week for your share.

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  4. Awesome! Thanks for sharing! :)

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