Living on Less

Has anyone been to the grocery store lately? Am I the only one that noticed my generic brand of cat food went up by $0.32 in one week? Cat food is just the beginning. Prices are rising, my gentle readers, rising at an alarming pace to those of us with eight mouths to feed on one modest income.

But, have no fear. Lady Why is here! I want to share with you just how we feed our family on less than the government would give me if we were on food stamps. I would rant and rave about the welfare system in this country, but I am not one to express my opinions on my blog. (you're laughing, aren't you?) I recently read a terrific article by the Headmistress over at The Common Room and it inspired me to discuss this topic as it applies to our family.

In the article quoted by the Headmistress, a family of four qualifies for $542.00 a month in food stamps. Of course, I'm going to seem harsh and judgmental too when I burst into side splitting laughter at the notion that $542.00 is not enough to feed the poor impoverished family of four. The paralyzing helplessness that our American sense of entitlement creates is a post for another day. In the meantime, let's discuss what $542.00 a month in groceries can provide.

I feed our family of eight on $480.00 per month. If I needed to, I could whittle that down to below $400.00. I know I could because I've done it. Granted, for the purposes of the discussion, I live in the southeast and not expensive New Jersey the article mentioned. But, still. We're talking double the people on $62.00 less dollars a month. I think that family of four could make it just fine, with room to spare even, if they knew what they were doing.

For our family of eight we eat mostly organic foods, diapers and baby formula are included in that total and we have four dogs and a cat. Pet food is also included in my totals. How can we eat so well on so little? Here are a few tips...

1) Cook from scratch. It's healthier and far less expensive. Processed foods are bad for you... very, very bad. They also have lots of cost associated with very little nutrition. Avoid them! Think of all the things you can make yourself for much less cost. I made my own laundry detergent which cost $0.71 for two gallons. It works great and is a healthier alternative to the chemical laden detergents on store shelves.

2) Plan your menus. I know those of you that read my sidebar and see that I often don't know what I'm having for dinner until 4:00pm each day will think I'm a little nutty. Though I don't write down a menu every week, I buy basically the same groceries and we have our standard meals that we usually cook. So, what I do is decide at the last minute which of those meals will be cooked on any given night based on what we're in the mood to eat and we go with it. I'm nothing if not flexible! Still I sort of know what I have on hand at all times which eliminates the need for convenience foods or eating out.

3) Learn new skills. If you are like me and entered married life not knowing a thing about creative meal planning and preparation, learn! Ignorance is not bliss nor is it an excuse. Do you have a library card? Then start learning a new skill. Pronto!

4) Shop sales. Watch your grocery stores for their sales and stock up on only sale items. If you only buy what's on sale each week, you can save a bundle! This is more difficult for me since I'm particular about organic foods. I buy on sale where I can so that I have the difference to splurge on the things I think are important such as organic produce.

5) Buy in bulk. This can be tricky because bulk buying is not always a deal. Sam's can be as expensive or even more so than buying from a regular grocery store running a sale. But, there are bargains to be found if you are careful. The best way to know when an item is a good deal is to keep a price book. My price book is a small spiral bound notebook that I keep with me at all times. When I see 45 rolls of toilet paper on sale for $19.99, I can check my price book to see the price of that brand at every store I shop and the price per sheet or foot of toilet paper. This is an especially important figure in toilet paper calculation. Many of the brand name rolls have very few feet per roll so it looks like you're getting a great deal when you're really not. Pay attention!

I'm sorry to see grocery prices rise but let's look at the situation as an opportunity to be creative and not a 'doom and gloom' scenario. Now the gas prices... doom and gloom is the only thing that can describe that! It's time to get a horse and buggy!

For other great money saving ideas, visit Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood!

Updated to add:

One of my commenters posted an interesting link in the comments section. It has a chart that gives you the amount of food stamps you can qualify to receive based on family size and income level. I found out that my government considers our family below the poverty line and that we qualify for $975.00 in food stamps a month!!! That's not counting WIC which we also qualify to receive. I couldn't find the exact amount of WIC benefits we could receive. Frankly, the whole thing was making me a little sick!

We are impoverished so says the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. Well then.

Our tax dollars at work, my friends. I think I shall stop now lest a soapbox need be dusted off and stood upon. And, we wouldn't want that, now would we?