I’m Worried

I’m a bit worried. No, really.

I am usually the calm one. I can cut our budget down to the bare minimum so fast your head will spin. I know what to do. I know how to make things stretch. I know how to shop the house, cook from scratch, turn the thermostat down, and make do.

But I’m still worried.

What are oil prices going to be this winter? What will groceries look like six months from now? What will insurance, utilities, and everything else do next?

We’ve already bought three cords of wood, and we have more here to split, so no, we are not going to freeze to death. We really are okay. I know that.

But worry is still worry.

And I don’t know about you, but the thing that makes me feel better when I’m worried is doing something. Not panicking. Not doom-scrolling. Not pretending everything is fine. Actually doing something.

So that’s what I’m doing.

I cut out a TV subscription because there’s nothing on it I’m watching right now.

I did a little inventory of the pantry and freezer, and we are in pretty good shape there.

I’ve been keeping our grocery budget around $100 a week, which is honestly pretty good for feeding five people.

Meals are getting a little more basic around here, and that is perfectly okay with me.

I had already increased my growing capacity in the garden this year.

I’ve already reduced our homeowners insurance, found the cheapest phone plan I could, and got our internet down as low as I could make it.

We really are okay.

But I don’t just worry for us. I worry for everyone.

Because I know not everyone has a stocked pantry. Not everyone has wood stacked. Not everyone has a garden going in. Not everyone knows how to cut a budget fast, or cook from what’s already in the house, or make a meal out of beans, rice, eggs, potatoes, and odds and ends.

So maybe this is where we start.

Not with fear.
With action.

Look at what you have.
Cut what you are not using.
Plan a few basic meals.
Check your freezer before you shop.
Use the food you already paid for.
Learn one skill that saves you money.
Plant something if you can, even if it’s just herbs in a pot.

None of us can control all of it.

But we can make our own households a little steadier.

And right now, that matters.