Living CHEAP but feeling like a Buckinaire (okay, I'm bragging a bit)

So HungyHubby and I have decided a while ago to live a very simple life. Basically, that means we have CHOSEN to be poor b/c we don't want to struggle. That means even though people our age with babies living in the suburbs would be working in night jobs, juggling 2 jobs, working for people they hate, fighting with each other, putting the baby in daycare even though they don't make much more than what it costs, and waiting for a raise, we just said, FUCK IT.

We are young. I have a teaching degree, but have chosen to work part-time so I can watch my baby grow. So I make: Shit. He is going back to school. That will take 3-4 years. So he makes: Shit. (But he does work part-time at Whole Foods and we get a discount!)

But the reason I am writing this is because I feel strongly that even though some people might think that we are ridiculous for not doing the above mentioned, they have not tried being ridiculous. We're ridiculous only b/c we have made this work...our way. But we are the type of people who would rather eat well than buy new clothes and TVs.

My argument is: We are NOT STRESSED, we're well-fed, insured, and our baby is beautiful. I mean, here's a picture of her. For those who want to escape the cycle that actually keeps you away from your baby for no good reason and stresses you out, here's how we weird folks do it (and we do it in an eco-friendly way too yo):

1. We have insurance, not much of it, but it covers for emergency situations.
2. We live near family and his mom watches her 1/week.
3. We have date nights 2/month where we will only either go out to eat or frolick in the part, or better yet, have crazy sex.
   
4. When he works, I watch baby, and vice versa...therefore, no childcare.
   
5. We go to libraries, parks, free concerts, family events, throw potlucks for fun.
   
6. Dollar Stores for simple crap for the kitchen, like sponges.
7. We don't throw out shit b/c it's out of fashion, just b/c, or to buy more. We use most of ours stuff until it completely disintegrates before our eyes for excessive wear (ie, pots and pans).
   
8. ValuPak coupons for discounts at some restaurants.
9. No cable.
10. No shopping sprees.
11. Material rewards only when money is coming in better than usual. This means, maybe $20/month per person.
    
12. No starbucks, no Jamba Juice, no drive-thrus (this isn't hard for us guys, we feast on water and rice.)
13. Eating out weekly budget: $20-$30/week.
14. Shopping taste-smart at grocery stores to avoid eating out at fine-dining expensive restaurants: I go to 8 different stores (not weekly), Whole Foods only for goat milk for LittleMama and some meat and some organic veggies (cuz HungryHubby works there and I get a discount), farmer's markets, Chinese groceries, Indian Groceries, Korean Groceries, Japanese Groceries, Trader Joe's, and the huge local chain, Meijers. And of course, you gotta LEARN how to cook these foods.
    
15. Shopping health-smart w/o needing to go all organic and raw vegan: I look at the ingredients of EVERYTHING I buy (except produce duhh) and avoid preservatives, anything hydrogenated, high fructose corn syrup, sugar as a top ingredient, too many names I can't read, coloring, MSG (your doritos has it too, not just Chinese food), food enhancers. I compare quantity to price, I look for big yellow SALE tags, I compare the sales to the company brand (sometimes the regular priced company brands are cheaper), I only get what I need (no organic raisins for $8, I'm not that crazy). Doing #13 and #14 is the only way I mix health, saving money, add flavor to my tongue and life, and keep HungyHubby and LittleMama vital. Does it seem like a lot of work? I do this shit naturally (loser???) and am am completely self-taught (yes, loser and has no life).
16. What I don't buy: Recently we have cut out having more than 1 cracker box, more than 1 sweet, all canned veggies (except for tomatoes and corn), and frozen foods except for waffles.
17. We only buy chicken (in the larger packs b/c they're cheaper) and pork, no beef. For various reasons.
18. We eat ALL left-overs, cook a lot, clear our plates, throw out only 5% of our food.
    
19. We only spend about $70-$90 a week on groceries for 2 adults and 1 child.
20. We do laundry at the in-laws...yes, this one is a little lame...
21. We don't buy furniture every time frigan Art Van has a sale...you will only understand if you live in Michigan and see their commercial on every 5 seconds.
22. We clean our little 2-bedroom apartment often and love it more than any big mansion in the world.
23. We stay away from too much TV and media besides cyberspace.
24. We invest in books (Borders has a bunch for less than $5) for the babe.
25. We spend A LOT of time together...b/c it's free!
    

So, as you can see, I am a bit crazy, but there's a reason behind the madness :) We're poor, living in white suburbia, finding our way, and we're all satisfied.