Feeding a Family on $50 per Week: part 2

Click here to read the first post in this series.

I know you were probably hoping that I would give you the magic cure for your grocery woes in this post, but there is something more important that needs to be discussed first.

(never fear – this is going to be a fast-moving series and should be wrapped up by Friday!)

You need to change the way you look at family meals and grocery shopping.  If you were hoping that I would let you in on the secret to having crown roasts, veal chops, filet mignon and gouda each week for $50, then you are going to be very disappointed.  Being frugal is about being able to embrace simplicity.  The good news is, after a decade of playing Keeping Up With The Jones’, frugalness and ”getting back to basics” is becoming more popular in this country!  You won’t be alone!

Look for things that you can eliminate or at least where you can cut back.  I love Diet Pepsi as much as the next person, but water (from the tap or a Brita pitcher) is much cheaper and I can get tea bags dirt cheap and make iced tea.  We still have soda in the house…we are just much more mindful of the cost and limit our consumption accordingly. 

Realize that it isn’t necessarily about making big changes, but little ones that add up to big savings.  Juice boxes are convenient, but a half-gallon of apple juice and a cup are cheaper.  Look at the cost per pound between buying a box of 100-calorie packs of Wheat Thins (for which you can rarely find coupons or Catalina deals) and a box of Reduced Fat Wheat Thins and some Ziploc bags (both of which you can get much cheaper!).

Get together with your family and figure out your “non-negotiables”.  By that I mean those items which  you wouldn’t switch brands even if they were giving the other stuff away for free.  For mothers of infants, this often means Pampers.  It may be your brand of coffee or your favorite creamed spinach.  In our house, we can only use Downy Fabric Softener or Bounce, as every other brand makes my middle child break out in hives.  The list will probably be longer in the beginning and that’s ok!  You will find the list getting shorter and shorter as time goes on and you realize that your hair WON’T fall out if you use Sunsilk Extra Moisturizing instead of Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal (although it won’t be long until you figure out how to get both brands for free!)

Become Betty Crocker and stop trying to be Giada & Ina.  The Betty Crocker Cookbook is one book that no home should be without.  It has undergone several revisions over the years, but the basics are still the same.  Look at the recipes in the book:  most of them can be made for very little money (especially if you are in the habit of stockpiling the ingredients).  The popularity of The Food Network has made us think that we need to cook like the TV chefs every night of the week.  While I have more Food Network on my Tivo than anything else and am usually the first in line at Williams-Sonoma when those chefs are having a book signing, I save most of their recipes for special occasions and parties (although Rachael Ray tends to have more everyday recipes that can be made for less money).  Your family won’t love you more just because you serve them lobster risotto instead of chicken and herbed rice.  Check out the $5 Dinner website for more low-cost and yummy recipes than you can ever possibly make!  The mark of a good cook is the ability to take the least expensive cuts of meat and turn them in to something extraordinary.

And don’t tell me that you can’t cook.  The old saying is:  “If you can read then you can cook!”.  And since you are reading this……

Keep your produce purchases to in-season, low-cost items.  We have many weeks where the extent of our fruits are bananas & apples (the 2 least expensive fruits right now) and whatever frozen berries I have managed to stockpile on the cheap.  The veggies may be frozen steam-in-the-bag veggies (that I can get free-to-cheap), along with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers. 

(this would probably be a good time to mention that I am the only person in my house who will eat vegetables other than corn & peas….although my kids are in for a very rude awakening as soon as I get the energy and desire to become MeanestMomInTheWorld and force the issue!  Once I get my kids eating veggies, I will happily increase my food budget by $5-10 per week)

The benefit of keeping your produce selection simple is that you have less waste because you had to have 8 different kinds of fruit that week and didn’t eat all of it before it spoiled.   Stores have been practically giving frozen veggies away the last few months.  If you can stockpile a nice selection of frozen berries (I’m not a fan of frozen melon, but that’s just me), then you can buy the fresh stuff when it is at it’s cheapest and still have a few of your favorites without paying through the nose because it is out of season!

Your family needs to be on board with the changes that are going to be made in the refrigerator, pantry and around the house.  A $50 per week budget doesn’t leave much room for Boboli, Ben & Jerry’s and Brie (unless you can find really good coupons and an equally good sale).   Get together and talk about the changes that you are making and WHY you are making them.  The family needs to work together as a team or you are doomed to failure. 

The bottom line?  You need to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple…uh…Silly!)

Simple is good.  Simple has worked for generations.  Simple is frugal.

Simple is the first place to start.

(click here for part 3)