I give up. I keep spending more and more money on food, but my family just keeps eating the stuff. Between higher food prices and the expense of gas to drive 40 minutes to the larger stores where I know there are (slightly) lower prices, I feel like I can’t win.
Are you feeling the pinch this summer? What kinds of things are you doing to feed your family or drive for less?
[tags]food prices, grocery shopping, frugal meals[/tags]
We do a lot what other people have said:
– no AC at night
– no dryer in summer
– as little dishwasher as possible
– no coffeeshop, no takeout food (I’m good at baking pizza: the cheese might be expensive, but a home-made dough is just cents)
– at the grocery store, only buy things when on sale. This takes some planning. We drastically reduced snacks and sweets.
– my husband uses public transportation for work. I am home with the children and walk to a nearby grocery store
– new clothes only when necessary, and even then, only at good sale prices
– we use the library to check out books and DVDs (but we do treat ourselves to an occasional book when we get a good coupon from our favorite bookstore)
Still, we too had to adjust our food budget… Maybe I should start a much-needed diet!
We only drive into town twice a week – once for errands and once for groceries. I work from home two days a week.
We also eat lots of beans and rice, make our own bread and shop at Cosco.
We have also been blessed with some generous friends who give us at least a gallon a week of pure, straight-from-the-cow, cream an inch thick on top milk and sometimes some goats milk as well.
I didn’t read every single response so I’m not sure if someone mentioned this but I heard (from a friend who heard it from an engineer friend) that if you pump your gas slowly into your tank you get more for the money. Something to do with less bubbles/ air mixing in with the gas in your tank. Not sure I buy it but worth a try??
I love Trader Joes!!!!!!!!!!! I can get healthier food for the same price as the ‘junk’ food at our local grocery store. Too bad it is so far from me and I can only go when I’m going to the big city for some occassion.
I’ve gotten some good deals on Amazon grocery too but you have to be careful -bulk isn’t always cheaper!! I love free shipping though!
We do charge EVERYTHING and pay it off each month. Using a BP credit card does help for the gas price in the end too witht he rebate checks. We just cashed a $400 rebate check. I imagine you’re right about the spending less than with a cash budget but years ago we had switched to a cash budget envelope system with envelopes for different categories of spending and I did love it and spent wisely BUT my purse was stolen after Mass one Sunday and we’d been shopping the day before and I had All of my envelopes with me (dumb) and we had over $700 in cash stolen. Now I rarely carry cash with me – I do like to have some cash now that it is garage sale season though! 😉
With 8 kids we do go through a lot of food but like others we buy little prepackaged stuff but I do have some quick things here because it is still cheaper than hitting a fast food place on the way to a ball game.
I’m trying to grow more in our garden and waste less than we grow or buy. But it can be a lot of pressure!!
And dear PJ, I’m with Tina D. I’d rather spend $20/gal on gas in a country that respects ALL life-a country that protects the weakest and most vulnerable. You do make a good point though – some say these high gas prices are a tool to do just that – make the republicans look bad so we can get a democrat in office. Please, please, everyone know what you are voting for. I believe Priests for Life has a voter’s guide?
For those of you who have commented that you do not buy a lot of pre packaged food, I was wondering if you can share what exactly you do buy and what kinds of meals (, breakfasts, lunches and dinners) you prepare for your family. I would love to eat healthier, though i don’t think we do a bad job, but it just seems so expensive. How can you stay away from the pre packaged stuff and not spend a lot at the store? I am of course, interested in how a larger family can do this, since I will have 9 mouths to feed soon. I would love to have a garden, but we do not really have the yard space for it. I know this is a request that could get a long response, so feel free to email me off-blog at smithville@woh.rr.com
What I’d like to know is how much are you spending weekly/monthly on food? I don’t even know what is realistic. I think we spend too much and have gotten into some really bad habits from our dual career days. I realize we all live in different parts of the country, and have different size families, but what is your average. I’ll start. We have 5 kids under age 9 and we budget about $1400 a month for groceries (which also includes entertaining at least twice a month, diapers, cleaning supplies, a few trips for fast food, Starbuck’s and DQ). DH brings his lunch and make 90% of our meals . . . .
We spend between $600-$800 a month for the nine of us in Colorado.
Diane: thank you for link to the angelfoodministries — I had never heard of it and am happy to see that there are two churches near me (in Miami) that offer food packages. This is definitely something I am going to talk to my husband about. Thanks again!
Just want to add to what I wrote already. If I turn on the A/D at all, it stays on 78. Today I didnt’ turn it on till 3pm when the boys started complaining they were hot and sticky. At night I don’t turn it on unless it is sticky and humid. I am also a fan of the clothes line in the summer. I hang out as much as I can, I take advantage of being home to do it. During the school year it’s harder to do this. Someone asked about how much is a good amount to spend on groceries. Well, I have been spending about $250 every 2 weeks to feed a family of five. (This includes 3 teenaged boys) That is half of what I used to spend. No more processed foods, except cereal, and some canned beans and tuna fish. A little salad dressing here and there etc. On the whole it’s meat, veggies, fruit and brown rice. Of course, pasta is a staple that turns into an economical meal.
We are a family of 8 right now and I spend $600 a month on groceries. That includes food, toiletries, diapers, cleaning supplies, and anything else that we need to buy from a store (storage bins, soccer shoes, birthday gifts etc.) It also includes any eating out we may do, which is very minimal! We are pretty tight to this amount which is why I can’t imagine being able to spend the same getting natural, organic foods.
I agree with Liz on just about everything. We always insisted on “no thank-you tastes” in our house. And if someone refused to eat what I made, they were invited to eat cereal, yogurt or a peanut butter sandwich. Now that the kids are older, they have developed a taste for brown rice, whole wheat pasta, vegetables, fish and other healthy fare. It’s like any other training one does as a parent — it takes a long time, but it’s so worth it.
I agree, too, with Liz’s view that kids don’t need an adult leader for every activity. Parents of my generation seem to think adult-guided activities are so important for kids’ development. We went that road for a while and found all we were doing was running from one “enrichment” activity to another.
And you know what? I don’t think my kids were all that “enriched” by it. What I remember most fondly from childhood is wide-open days, lots of play and creating our own experiences, whether it was writing and performing a “play” or firing plums and apples at each other from opposing trees!
As much as possible, I want my children to experience that freedom and, hopefully, develop a well of creativity and wonder as a result.
I dont move the car unless absolutely necessary…if I must be out then all the errands get done at that time…I plan my route and waste no gas going back & forth. I grocery shop for the month…and if I run out of something then too bad I must wait till its time to shop. I cook something to last more than one day…so there are left overs…or frozen left overs that taste like fresh when defrosted. I try to plan my meals to cost no more than five dollars and again make enough for another meal: lunches or suppers.
I also listened about getting gas early in the morning when it is cooler…I learned that when the ground is hot so is the gas, and my car wont get as much.
1. Make your own cleaners ( as mentioned before). Baking soda & vinegar get everything sparkling clean.
2. Forget shampoo! Use baking soda once a week for a scrub and either comb conditioner through the other days, or use apple cider vinegar diluted with water. Your shower smells like a salad, but your hair is nice & clean.
3. Forget paper towels. Get a good European sponge.
4. Make your own bread. Turns into about 50 cents a loaf and tastes much better.
5. Garden! Even if you think you have no room- you do. I live in NYC. I grow tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, basil, mint, chives, parsley all on my fire escape. That’s about 2 feet square!
6. When tomatoes are in season make huge amounts of fresh tomato sauce and either can or freeze it. I did this last year and it lasted us through the winter. Lasagna, spaghetti, whatever- it is all there, fresh, homemade and cheap. Buy the “ugly” tomatoes from the farmers- the bruised ones nobody wants. They are cheaper and they taste just as good.
7. Buy in bulk- from health food stores. You can bring your own container or bag and load up on all dry goods- beans, flour, etc for a fraction of the price.
8. Eat less meat. Splurge on the good stuff once in awhile and make the rest of the meals veggie.
That’s my 2 cents!
We have a family of 6 and in the last few months I have really started working on doing the whole coupons and sales thing at our Dillons, and doing deals at Walgreens. I have easily cut our grocery bill down to about $75 a week (we don’t skimp on milk and we buy a lot of meat and fruit) and cut Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club shopping bills in half or less.
Dillons (Kroger) has electronic coupons that you can stack with manufacturer coupons on top of sales. Walgreens has a decent rebate program. One favorite blog is http://www.moneysavingmom.com Another website is http://www.couponmom.com I am developing a max price list (in my head), where I won’t pay over a certain amount for whatever item.
I do a weekly run to Dillons and Walgreens and monthly runs to Sam’s and Wal-Mart, and that is usually all the shopping I do. Other than clearance sales at Kohl’s a couple times a year.
Very interested to read all of the replies. Some great tips here!
Janet
Re: pesticides on foods and “washing”. Yes, it is possible to get food waxes and some chemicals/pesticides/fertilizers/dirt off of the surface of the food, you can not change what the pesticide has done to the fruit/veggie itself. Even by peeling, there will still be pesticides and poisons inside the fruit, growing in every little cell. The government knows that these pesticides cause cancer and yet they still allow them to be used and people to buy them and eat them. Cause we got to eat right? ugh. it’s almost as bad as feeding genetically modified food to the poor, hungry of the world. Poison food is better than none. (sarcasm intended) Ok, so maybe the thought of pesticides doesn’t scare you, but what about what they do to the soil, the ground water (which becomes our drinking water, which is also laced with chemicals, prescription drugs, cleaners/sanitizers) and the animals we share the earth with like bees and earthworms? Do we need to get rid of these bugs so badly in order to eat grown-in-bulk-mass-pesticide-filled-produce, or can we rethink where our food comes from (our own backyard or the local organic farmer)?
Now they are realizing that the lining inside canned goods contains that same BPA (bisphenol-A) that caused the buzz with baby bottles and pacifiers a couple years ago. It disrupts hormones in growing kids and likely causes cancer and endocrine system problems! We keep trusting these big companies (who are only in it to make a buck) and the government to keep us safe, and yet we keep finding out that they will cut corners and insert chemicals wherever they can to save money!!! Do you know what is injected into the meat that you buy at the grocery store to give it more weight so you pay more for it? (it’s not natural juices, and it’s loaded with preservatives) Do you know what “natural flavorings” are listed on the package ingredients? Can you pronounce half of the ingredients in your food? Do you know what “hydrolyzed vegetable/soy protein” is?
We only buy tomatoes in a can, and tuna fish that is canned locally on occasion. Everything else we buy dried, frozen, or fresh. So we buy dried beans, grains and rice, flours, oats (learning how to make my own granola for breakfast too), organic fruits and vegetables that are in season, and local meats from farmers as often as we can. Breakfast is granola, homemade oatmeal, toast (homemade bread) and fruit. Lunch is usually sandwiches or leftovers. Dinner is a meat or bean, grain, and veggie. We are a family of 5.5 and try to keep groceries/Costco (I shop with a list and blinders on so I don’t see the “good deals” I don’t need) within $600-700 per month. Some months are more when we are buying freezer meat. We make our own snacks (biscuits, cookies, mini-pies) We eat very little dairy because I think (hormone and antibiotic loaded) milk is so not the “health food” the dairy industry makes it out to be.
Oh how I wish I could go back to the naive mindset that shopping at Walmart was cheap and safe, but every day I find another reason not to support importing all of our goods from China (did you know that some cities in China never get sunshine because of all the industrial pollutants and smog? I saw this on a PBS documentary. how do we live with ourselves knowing our consumerism kills fellow human beings and pollutes our children’s world? it’s like ‘out of sight, out of mind’ because we don’t see it everyday) and also a reason to question the safety of buying canned goods and boxed foods full of preservatives and cancer-causing chemicals. It could save me $$$ every month to eat “cheap” and “easy” but I do not feel safe gambling with my children’s health and well-being. I may lose one of them to cancer someday despite my greasest intentions to keep them non-toxic… but I sleep well at night knowing I am doing everything I can to keep them safe and healthy and save our planet for future generations.
Buy local. Support farmers. Made in USA.
Buy as much organic as you can afford.
Reduce your purchases, reuse (buy used! stop buying new!) when you can, and recycle!
Stop buying plastic. It doesn’t last and it fills the landfills and ocean.
Pray hard that we can save this beautiful world that God gave us.
PS turn off your tv if you haven’t already.
Midwest Mom–I hope this helps…
For our family of 12, we spent $250 a week, now it’s higher…I don’t buy prepackaged things very often. I buy 25 lbs. pastry whole wheat flour for $13. at the health store and do all my baking with it. (It’s more expensive than white, but we eat a lot of baked goods.) I bake triple batches of muffins( pumpkin, almond poppyseed, orange oatmeal etc.) …and put into 2 10’x15′ pans (faster than muffin tins). They have this for breakfast and snacks. We also eat yogurt (2lbs. plain a wk.), oatmeal, eggs( 5 doz. a wk.) and fruit for breakfast. I buy some whole grain cereal, (2 boxes a wk.) when it’s gone, it’s gone.
We eat 6 lbs. each of cheese, hamburger and chicken a week. One gallon of milk a day (used only for breakfasts, not meals). We only drink water at meals For snacks: air popped popcorn, fruit, veggies and, in the summer, slushies(mostly ice and some fruit). I don’t buy crackers or chips. Dinners are: casseroles and soups in winter and more salads (pasta, cobb ) for summer.(We make our own dressings.) We eat dried beans, whole grain rice and potatoes and pasta. I do buy bread at Trader Joe’s, good sour dough, as cheap as day old stores, but much better!!!
This takes a lot of pre-planning to save, and more prep time, but it does save $$$.The kids are ages 1-16 and I have 3 kids(18-22), at home, in college (1 is a hungry part-time fire fighter). My husband brings his lunch most days and we don’t eat out. We have some good dessert makers out of this group too, so we don’t suffer too much.
Thanks for the great ideas everyone!!!
I’m surprised I haven’t seen CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) mentioned in this thread. A good link is
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
Basically, you pay a farmer upfront, and then receive a box of fresh fruits and vegetables every week. It’s a great way to get out of a food rut (I learned that steamed radishes are delicious, for instance), it’s usually organic, and cheaper than the grocery store. And fast – no wandering around the farmers market. And you’re helping a local family support their family. Talk about doing the way grandma and grandpa used to do things! *L*
I live in downtown Atlanta and a garden is absolutely impossible for me (a homeless person could walk up and eat it all up! or worse!) But if I lived in a slightly less urban environment, I would be all over having a home garden.
Hi Darcy,
By prepackaged I men things like hamburger helper or the frozen bags of veggies or pastas that you just add meat to-things like that. I use my crock pot a lot with our family of 10. We get a half steer each year in the freezer and I buy frozen boneless chicken breasts when they are on sale (I’m hesitant now though about the brand I buy, wondering just what they are shooting into these birds-the chicken is actually salty tasting)… So I will toss some sort of frozen meat into the crockpot and cook it either with a broth or gravyish recipe and then serve a grain – pasta or rice or potato on the side. In our family the meat portions are small and the grain large!! I also like to grill meats when we are home long enough (can you say baseball almost every night this time of year) so we’ll grill veggies or potatoes on the side too. And we have pasta night once a week – I have a couple jarred sauces that I like and I add chopped tomatoes and maybe a can of plain sauce to it to stretch it. Sometimes it is totally meatless and other times I might have meatballs in the freezer that I mass produced and froze or ground beef that was previously browned and frozen.
Generally I cook ONE meal a day. I admire women who make breakfast and luinch. But around here I just can’t bear another mess. 😉 The kids eat cold cereal for breakfast and I do try to buy high protein/low sugar cereals (LOVE Trader Joe’s for that). Lunch is usually sandwiches, sometimes hotdogs or corn dogs (emergency food for when we’re out of bread) and my older kids are good at coming up with their own things for lunch – quesadillas, grilled cheese, eggs, hasbrowns, ramen noodles, etc.
I think I spend about $200-250/wk for 9 of us and one at college that I try to share our bounty with when I can. I stopped buying pop but we could certainly cut down on snacks but I like Trader Joe’s whole grain chips for fillers. Wish I’d get back to milling/baking bread.
fussy 2yo…..
Hey Mary L.
When you make those ‘muffins’ you just mix up a triple batch and divide between the two large pans almost like cake and then bake, cut into servings? I love this idea. We love muffins and I think they’re a great way to sneak all sorts of healthy things into them but it is so time consuming to bake in all those tins and then WASH them!! My family would eat a triple batch in a day if I let them! Thanks for sharing that idea. Amazing how something so simple can be overlooked as an option….
I’m hearing a lot about dried beans and rice but I can’t make either as they both have turned out tasting horrible. Can someone give me pointers on how to cook dried beans or how to cook rice? Please!
About the pro life president,
Hearing this has become a thorn in my side.I know people who voted for this man after four years of his being a terrible president because he was pro life. I argued that he didn’t do much to stop abortion in his first four years but he sure had many convinced that he would with another term. This second term is now almost overt and it is easier than ever to get an abortion. justy something to think about.
I must just jump in here and point out that, like him or not, Bush did appoint John Roberts as Chief Justice. Two if not three Supreme Court justices will be retiring during the next administration. Do you really want Barack “Partial-Birth Aborition”Obama appointing judges who will block ANY and ALL attempts to further limit abortion “rights”? That is all I am going to say on this since Danielle asked about food and gas.
I am sorry to be OT Danielle but I could not let that last comment go by. Good night all 🙂
Likewise some food for thought for you, Diane.
If Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush made all their Supreme Court nominations on the caliber of Sam Alito and John Roberts as our current President did, I firmly believe Roe v. Wade would be overturned by now and thrown back to the states.
Supreme Court nominations is the absolute, number one way a President can serve the pro-life cause.
Alito and Roberts will sit on the bench and influence our culture for the next 30 years. I would not say this “not doing anything to stop abortion.”
You can make an argument that GWB could have been a more pro-life President…OK, but you are not being fair and giving credit where credit it due. He has been a pro-life President.
Now for a savings tip. Keep your tires inflated all the way and you will stretch the gas in your tank.
Great Blog, Danielle….pro-life comments in the midst of sharing cost savings advice. Never know where a topic will go.
WE are in a depression. I am handicapped=cant type much: giving car back to loan company. cannot afford it=excuse brevity and God Bless All!
To Lady Hatton:
I am proud to say you are my cousin!!!
Finances were part of our recent decision to start homeschooling this coming year. No more private tuition, and without the long commute across town in our “church van” to and from school we will save $400 in gas a month!! Not to mention not having to purchase uniforms or “school clothes”, backpacks or lunchboxes (packing lunch times five daily can get pricey too). From a strictly financial standpoint the decision to homeschool is a no-brainer — of course, there are many other non-financial reasons to do so too…..
Who asked about the bread… I did a sourdough starter. When you make a basic sourdough half white and half whole wheat it doesn’t taste like sourdough. The starter took a little time to make but now it is simply in the fridge to add too as needed. My mother lent me an old book with tons of recipes using the starter. I made banana blueberry bread with it and it was pretty good!
A suggestion for anyone who’s having difficulty learning to cook something (beans, rice, bread, etc.). Talk with some of the older ladies in your church. I’ll bet that nearly anyone who was at least a teenager during WW II knows some culinary tricks that might be helpful now. During that time period there was serious rationing and they had to learn how to make do with far less than we think necessary. I learned the bread baking, bean and rice cooking skills from my mom. She also taught us how to pickle, preserve, can, and freeze foods. I’ve passed those skills on to my own daughter, but I know that a lot of my contemporaries (and I’m in my fifties) never learned the skills themselves. However, if you check out some of those 70 year olds in your local Sodality, I’ll bet they know how to cook beans, make bread etc. I’ll bet they also know how to knit mittens, socks, hats, etc. I also bet that they would just love to share those skills with younger moms. You’ll make them feel important and you’ll gain some skills at the same time.
Oh, one good thing to buy at the local natural foods store is dried yeast, vanilla, salt, and spices. Buying those things in bulk is incredibly cheaper than buying them at the grocery store.
Elizabeth. . .about beans. . .for starters try dried lentils and black beans. I suggest making 1-2 pounds of dried lentils or beans at a time.
Put your lentils or black beans in a pot of cold water. Add enough water to fill about an inch over the lentils or beans. Add a lot of garlic powder and whatever house seasoning you prefer (we use Tony Chachere’s, but any good salt/pepper seasoning will do). Boil your well seasoned lentils on high for about 20 mintues–you may need to add more water during the boiling process. For black beans, boil on high for 45mintues to an hour–again watch for sticking and add water as needed. You are trying to achieve a soft, but not mushy bean.
After boiling to your desired softness, drain your lentils/beans. Place on a large baking sheet and place in a 250 degree oven for about an hour. This process removes excess moisture from the lentils or beans and adds a slightly toasted flavor. Remove from oven and place in an airtight storage container in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.
We serve our lentils and beans over brown rice with homemade salsa, cheese, sour cream, chives, minced red onions, etc. My children love it and it’s a perfect Friday meal or a quick protein packed Mommy lunch.
And while I’m at it. . .Homemade salsa. . .Once you go there you never go back!
2 large cans of petite diced tomatoes
Juice of one lime
5 teaspoons vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
2 teaspoons salt
6 (or more) cloves of garlic
3-4 teaspoons of jalepeno peppers (from a jar)
Drain your tomatoes. Put one of tomatoes can into a blender with all the rest of the ingredients, excluding the other can of tomatoes. Blend into a smooth mixture. Add the remaining can of tomatoes. Stir well to incorporate. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks. THE BEST SALSA EVER!
Here’s a painless little tip. Buy the Mexican spices (Fiesta brand) that come in little bags instead of jars. I can’t tell the difference. You can store them in a ziploc storage bag.
I do not think that appointing a couple people to the Supreme court is quite enough for a pro life president to do in eight years to stop abortion but that is just my opinion. Either way, due to the fact that whether GW is or isn’t a good president or has or hasn’t done enough to stop abortion is not what Danielle intended, so I will fight the urge to debate , and read some hints for saving money on food and Gas.
We too are trying to stay home more and I am trying to make more from scratch–it definitely tastes better that way. Homemade pulled pork yesterday on homemade buns was great and cheap. The pork was enough for two meals plus a couple of lunches.
Another thing we do to save is I cut everyone’s hair. It helps that we have all boys (5)–I don’t cut the babies yet–he’s only 6 months. I just use an electric clipper–#4 in the winter and #3 in the summer. I keep my hair long and pay for a trim twice a year.
I am making a lot of muffins lately to replace cereal–it is so expensive and goes so fast. I have some cracker recipes I’m going to try and make this week to see how they turn out. I’ve been working on cutting down our breakfast expenses and now I’m moving on to cutting snack expenses. We made caramel corn yesterday–tasty and cheap.
Lady Hatton you stole my words 🙂 I know this is not about politics, but , Diane, you’ll want to also consider President Bush’s policy on AIDS funds for Africa (for abstinence-only programs) and his opposition to stem-cell research, for instance. Or his faith-based initiatives. Or the kind of people who sit in the President’s Council on Bioethics – eugenetics is on the rise again, and we need to defeat it. If you think a President can get up one day and declare abortion illegal you’re mistaken – that’s why Supreme Court appointments are so crucial: abortion was a judicial decision, and before the Justices do something about it, nobody else can do much (because whatever they do can be undone by a hostile Supreme Court)
There’s always more to be done, but I just couldn’t leave some of the President’s actions undefended – he does deserve some credit.
Re: President Bush: Well, what else would you have him do? We have a balance of power in our constitution, the president cannot just override the supreme court and the congress, and vice versa. It is a delicate balance. He can’t just issue an executive order saying no more abortions. That is not how our government works.
People need to be informed about these things. We owe it to our children to teach them, if the schools don’t (and I have to say, our schools here do a pretty good job). STay informed, educate yourselves and work for change.
OK end of commercial.
Gas–I try to fill up in a neighboring state where gas is about .40 cheaper while I visit family and do a big shopping.
I have cut out buying clothes and junk food.
I cook from scratch most nights and most of all, my family eats everything I cook. This is not negotiable.
Another thing we do to save: our children attended an excellent private preschool and then attend public school. For the last eight years my husband has budgeted to put the amount we spent on our older son’s preschool tuition into a 529 college savings account. At current rates, we have almost enough saved for four years at our local city college–a good option for him, in four years, as he has Asperger syndrome and the staff there are very disability-friendly. We plan to do the same for our younger son who finishes preschool today. I hope in 13 years he will be well provided for as well. This may not be an option for everyone but I thought I’d throw it out there.
Ok, I promise I won’t say another word, but I just remembered some outstanding pieces of pro-life legislation Bush signed into law:
Born-Alive Infants Protection Act
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
Unborn Victims of Violence Act (aka Laci and Conner Peterson Law)
Now, back to food and gas, as Diane said.
You all are doing such a great job policing yourselves, I don’t think I need to say anything except …
Great money-saving tips, everyone! Thanks for sharing them and keep em coming!
To save a little bit on gas, since prices keep going up, we don’t wait until the tank is empty: that way, we keep in the tank gas that is a little cheaper and buy only a little bit of the more expensive gas. I convinced my husband that this saves a little money, so I hope somebody better at math doesn’t counter my argument!
Elizabeth: Yes we use a CSA- its actually also a fund raiser for the food bank here! They give half the veggies to the food bank and for $600 a year I get 2-3 shopping bags of food every week fro June 1 to October 30! Plus it saved farm land in a threatened historic area. http://www.foodbankwma.org/farm/
Tomotoes, when we have a good year, allow our big family to have a cheap pasta meal every week from September to April. They also have herbs and FLOWERS!
Its great social justice work. We’ve even been volunteer pickers when they needed to get something out of the ground before a frost.
The real trick is to buy a Vegetarian cookbook. Eating Vegitarian is cheap and you can easily add meat. The one I have 1000 Vegetarian Recipees by Carol Gelles has recipees for normal and unusal items and is based on what is harvested at the same time.
Hey, I’m kinda late on reading the posts 😉 But they are enjoyable! My family has grown a garden every year as far back as I can remember, but we NEVER kept up with the weeds! So we would spend an hour fishing for lost veggies in the jungle of “no weeding” and still, we left some behind and they obviously spoiled. So this year we are being extra careful and weeding, so we can get as much out of it as we can. It’s a LOT CHEAPER to spend thirty cents on a pkg of squash, peppers, tomatoes or whatever than to spend ten dollars on the ripe stuff when you want it-no to mention you can can and freeze too!:-) God bless and have a good day!!!
Off-topic, but Lady Hatton, I believe you were one of the wonderful women who responded when I mentioned an issue in our parish about renting out our (unfortunately) empty convent building to a Catholic organization that wants to build a school for teens with Asperger’s. I just wanted to let you know that there have been two thorough presentations for the school, parish, and local communities by the organizations, including some parents of children with Asperger’s. The response in the school and parish community has been very favorable. I just wanted to let you know and thank you for giving me some insight into Asperger’s.
On-topic, I have enjoyed everyone’s ideas. Also, I have begun buying more household products and health-beauty products at my grocery store. While they’re cheaper at Target, that is another (farther) trip, using up additional gas. Also, my grocery store (Stop and Shop, if you have one near you) offers coupons at check out for, say $2 off any shampoo or conditioner, or $2 off any toothpaste, and these are frequent enough that I’m paying less than I would at Target. I am considering changing our prescriptions to our grocery store pharmacy to eliminate that stop, too. After all, I can’t eliminate the grocery store, but I can condense.
Thanks all for the ideas. Glad to know I’m not the only one feeling the end-of-the-month pinch!
I haven’t read all the responses yet, but we are sure feeling the pinch too. We live in a good sized town, but we still have to do some things in the next town over. I have combined these into one day whenever possible, even if that means dropping some activities altogether.
I also have a couple of “routine” budget meals for dinner now…Friday is soup and bread night, Sunday is breakfast for dinner night…and I’ve started rationing milk and snack-y things more carefully.
We do a lot of the ideas above as well. What I would suggest in addition to talking to women who were at least teen-agers during WWII, is going to used book stores and getting older cookbooks. They also have ideas for more economical dishes. One of my favorite cookbooks is “More with Less.” (It is from the ’70’s) It has great meals that are much more economical then a lot of cookbooks.
I have to add something to the OT topic as well. As much as I appreciate Pres Bushes anti abortion stance, I have a very hard time hearing him refered to as pro-life. Any man who starts an unprovoked war, and who has an energy policy that is so pro-business (and leaving a worse environment for our children and those still to come), and who has backed out of commitments to find better solutions to environmental issues like a clean coal power plant and other issues is not pro-life. He is anti-abortion, which is good, but I can’t call him pro-life.
In response to “How much do you budget for groceries?” I put $550 in an envelope at the beginning of each month. That is for a family of 6 (soon to be 7). I spend that money on food, drinks, cleaning and household supplies/paper products throughout the month. We are hunters and always have a freezer full of venison and wild turkey. We grow a large garden and take fruits and vegetables from anyone with extra. I can and freeze as much as possible every year. Homemade treats are the norm. I freeze 100# of cranberries and 50# of apples to use in muffins, pancakes, breads, etc. We also make a habit of using practically everything in the pantry before we grocery shop again, except for milk stops. It truly is amazing what you can come with for meals when it seems like you have nothing to make. We eat up all the crackers, jello mixes, canned and frozen veggies, tea, kool-aid, rice. We just use everything and find we are just as happy.
Thanks, ladies, for all these great ideas! I know we’re all stretching our dollars these days…
I have to pipe up on the Bush discussion… I’m bothered by the “Bush isn’t really pro-life” theme, because lurking behind it, it seems, is this idea that voting for Obama is OK because he’s really pro-life, when it comes to the war, big business, etc. The truth: Obama is the only candidate for president who has ever voted for a bill that would legally protect infanticide (check out his Illinois voting record). That makes him the most anti-life candidate ever. Period. You can argue about the war, the environment, the policies of big businesses–you can’t argue about whether infanticide is OK.
Thanks to all of your inspiration I’ve just organized a potluck/playdate for mom’s and kids – with the goal of sharing ideas on saving money on groceries. (And, if you’ve read my previous posts, I obviously need the help!) I’ve asked these talented moms to bring one of their favorite inexpensive, nutritious, & child friendly meals, along with recipe cards. The only rule is no hot dogs and no regular Kraft mac-n-cheese. I think it’ll be interesting to actually taste the creations and I expect to walk away encouraged. I also think my kids will really get on board . . .
We spend $200-$250 per week to feed 9 people, 3 of them adults. We are trying to trim it… but it is less than $1 a meal a day and it also includes snacks and frequent dinner guests.
I pay a friend (a tank of gas every other month) to shop for me at a warehouse club. She goes every week and calls in for the list. I am never distracted by impulse buys. This alone has saved me a ton! The major savings, both economically and environmentally is the gas saved from our 12 passenger van (she drives a little hybrid!).
I realize not everyone can have this set up, but you could get together with friends and rotate who goes each week. Having to buy twice as much stuff fills the cart fast and lessens the attraction to impulse buys.
I also buy at a bakery supply warehouse (look in the yellow pages). You have to buy 50# bags but the prices are literally 10x less and you can get organic/whole grain whatever.
We cook from scratch and stock up on sale. You eat or you don’t but you have to try a bite (I love the “no thank you bite” name!).
We package all leftovers as lunches and freeze them so the grown ups who are out of the house at lunch can grab and go in the morning.
Would it be okay to make one meal & if the kids don’t like it, have them eat cereal or a sandwich? ”
Oh my goodness, yes. 🙂
I grew up with super picky brothers, and this was always a pet peeve of mine. I make one meal, and everyone has to try three “thank you bites” of each thing (forewarning,,,don’t get into arguments over whether or not a bite is “big enough to count”. Any bite counts. It’s not the amount that matters, just that they are trying it.) Then they can eat whatever they like and leave the rest. If they manage to do this without complaining about how GROSS everything is and how much they HATE THOSE GREEN THINGS in the chicken, thereby making sure that the three year old also hates it, they are free to get up and make themselves a peanut butter sandwich.
This has worked great for us. Eventually they do get sick enough of peanut butter to be a little more, ah, open to other foods…and in the meantime, if they truly hate a meal they don’t ahve to starve to death. 🙂
I read somewhere recently that, to save money on food, never feed anyone a whole anything. By that they meant, don’t do steaks or chops or whole things, instead, try to do casseroles,tacos, salads with meat on them, potatoes that are cut and cooked, etc. Interestingly, this has worked very well for us…not that we were eating steaks or chops very often, but planning to have a smaller protein portion (still plenty for a meal, but not quite so much as before), and having a salad and potatoes or rice, or planning a casserole, large salad with meat, or something like that means that we’re eating more variety and less of the more expensive things.
About protein in meals:
I think sometimes we lose track of how much protein we have in a meal. If I’m serving a green salad, there might be grilled chicken on the side, but also cheese, sunflower seeds, etc. Not to mention they are having some milk with the meal for goodness’ sake. Also, if you are making a casserole, with a white sauce, there IS milk in that, which is a protein.
When you look at meals like that, you can see that there is actually a lot of protein going on in there. This is also a comfort when the toddlers go through the whole “refuse to eat meat” thing. My pediatrician even assured me, “there is protein in Cheerios, you know”.
Politics: Don’t forget the first act in office was Bush’s repeal of the Mexico City policy. I also feel we have a better chance under Bush or McCain of not losing the free-speech battle as Canada has already mapped out for us.
Besides, much as I abhor certain Bush policies (like his administration’s treatment of war prisoners), it is hard for me to imagine Clinton receiving Benedict so graciously. I lost any respect or trust in Clinton after he personally allowed the Rwandan genocide to go unchecked. His apology was grotesquely late and insufficient. His disregard for the unborn d turned me from his party, and his disregard for the Rwandans clinched it.
Food: Here is a website that lists organic foods according to how much pesticides they absorb: http://www.foodnews.org/. You can concentrate your grocery money on the ones that top the list!
I just bought a cookbook I really like: Not Your Mother’s Slow-Cooker Cookbook. Crockpots can easily make meals that double for 2 nights in a row. Add bread from the machine and you can save a lot.
Anyone have a good, healthy bread-machine recipe?
Also: be sure to find a store that sells spices in bulk. That’s a HUGE money-waster. Fred Meyer does. I’m in the Northwest. (and I love Trader Joe’s; though I can quickly waste money on their pre-packaged meals. Which are actually way cheaper and healthier than even a meal at McDonald’s, so ponder that if you must eat out or on he run.)
P.S. Apple slices and peanut butter…my kids all love it, and I save bread costs!