Day seven: Money lost, money saved

Driving a car costs money. Filling up your car costs money. Fixing your car, well, you get where this is going.

But when you live in a city with a single strip of big-box stores, not having your car costs money.

Since leaving the workplace seven months ago after the birth of my second child, and, more specifically, moving to Normal, Ill., five months ago, our family has tried to adhere to a very strict budget. This week, without a car, I’m already $50 over.

While AAA tells me owning a car comes with a $7,834 price tag for 15,000 miles, and my gas Widget tells me a gallon of gas currently costs $2.91, just grocery shopping for my family comes with a larger-than-normal price tag.

Here are a few examples.

The hormone-free, T-bone steak at the fancy store downtown: $10 (shared, incidentally, with my husband because I couldn’t afford two).

Deli fruit from the same store, not local or organic: $7.99 a pound.

Ice cream for my 2-year-old at Emack & Bolio’s whenever we go downtown: $2 each time we go, which has already been four times this week. That’s going to have to end.

But how will I live without my raspberry sorbet?

And, I’m not sure how long I can put off buying new shoes. Check out what I’m walking around on.

Walking everywhere, believe it or not, costs money.