If you’d asked me a week ago what we were going to learn from trimming the budget for a month, I’d have come back with a witty reply like “how to lose weight inexpensively.” So I’m pleased to say that I am learning things that I couldn’t have anticipated.

Having such a tight budget is changing the way I shop for things, but not as you might expect. We aren’t having to do without anything, so that’s not an issue. Instead, a lot of care is going into only buying what we’re actually going to eat.

I’m ashamed to admit it, but we generally stink at eating everything we buy. We’re umpteen times better about it than we were a few years ago when we didn’t have kids, but a lot still goes to waste. Half a serving of pasta – because, really, at NIS 9 for a massive box of pasta, I can’t be bothered to worry about it. And when cucumbers are NIS 2 a kilo – about 20 cents a pound – I never fussed over throwing out half of what we bought because it amounted to almost nothing. A few shekels here, a few there – who has the time to worry about it?

Well, now I fuss and worry. Now, I’m bothered.

It’s not that things are more expensive or that we’re desperately strapped for cash – we’re actually doing really well at sticking to bare-bones spending. It’s just that throwing away NIS 5 worth of produce means throwing away enough to get an extra yogurt or a coffee from Cafe Neeman. Tossing a liter of milk that’s missed its use-by date always bothers me, but it bothers me a lot more when its cost means we went without something else. So I’m buying more diligently now – and there are pros and cons to that.

The pros are wonderful – instead of buying a handful of baguettes that we may or may not get around to eating, I’m buying as we go along so that nothing goes to waste and they’re so much fresher and tastier this way. The same is true for veggies and fruits. I’m spending more time checking that nothing is bruised or buggy since I don’t want to throw anything out. As a result, everything is really the best I can find and it really makes a difference. Of course, it also helps that nothing is lingering in the fridge – the leftovers are getting eaten, even when it’s chopped salad from the night before. And there’s less random filling of the cart – if it’s not getting eaten this month, it’s not getting purchase. Finally, I’m keeping an eye on the receipts. I’ve been to the store three times in the last week (ack – more on that next) and have been mischarged TWICE in three visits. I’m still going to fight the good fight to get my yogurt money back as it amounts to almost NIS 25. It makes me wonder how much more we’ve been overcharged when we haven’t been as diligent about checking our receipts.

And not to whine, but there are a few cons to this. Three grocery visits in seven days (and this is Israel, so the stores aren’t even open on Saturday) means that I’m spending a lot of time to ensure we get good deals and tasty food on the table. But my time normally comes at a price – as a small business owner, I cannot afford to spend this much time shopping for and preparing food. The only reason it works right now is that I’m on maternity leave (sort of).

I mean this in a positive way – when you’re a mother to a toddler and a newborn and you’re also employed full time (whether in or out of the house), something has got to give. For us, it’s usually meals – we don’t really spend anything on any other forms of entertainment, but we do like to eat out. Of course, if I dedicated myself to improving my skills a bit, I am certain I would be able to bring down the amount of time I’m spending preparing meals, shopping, meal planning and the like. It’s an acquired skill like any other – one I have apparently failed to acquire thus far.

Another thing I’ve learned – it matter less how much money I spend than whom I get to spend it with. Today, I popped my littlest one in the stroller and picked up my big girl at daycare and we headed for the grocery store. We didn’t get much, but we had a great time eating grapes in the park while the baby rested in the shade on a blanket (it was HOT here today). We had a lot of fun relaxing and snacking and then came home to pasta dinner with fresh bread and salad. We had stove-popped popcorn as dessert and a good time was had by all – on the cheap.

And lastly, a tally update:

NIS 31 spent at the grocery store on:

• 3% milk – NIS 9.5
• Yellow peppers – NIS 2
• Red peppers – NIS 2
• Zucchini – NIS 4.8
• Grapes – NIS 7.27
• Baguettes – NIS 6

For a grand total of NIS 271.59 spent thus far.