Feeding a Family of Seven on a Budget

One thing you learn right away when you suddenly have a cut in funds is how to feed your family. When my ex first left me I wasn’t too worried about things because he still made sure we had money and what we needed. Then the first time the money wasn’t there I had a panic attack. What was I going to do? How were we suppose to pay the bills and eat? Then my mother told me to pull on my big girl panties and figure it out.  Growing up we had a large family as well and always managed just fine so I sat myself down and had a good talking to.

I shop monthly because it what makes the most sense to me. I sit down the day before I am going shopping of everything we need or want. I put a little asterisk by anything that we have to have so I know that it must be purchased. I shop at the same store every month so I know where everything is located and I make my list according to aisles.  I shop locally because by the time I pay for gas to go to a big box store I have gone over my budget.

Any nonfood or nonperishable item that I know is not a good deal at my store I order online from Walmart. They offer free shipping over $50 and I get thins within a week. I usually order things like toilet paper, coffee and creamer, health and beauty items. Things like that.

When I get to the store the amount of money I have to spend in written across the top of my list so I know where I stand. I am an adder! Which means I add the price of every single item that goes into one of my shopping carts. I am also the women that most people hate because I have three carts. Luckily the store is small and I always let anyone in line go ahead of me when I can.

I spend anywhere from $400-$500 in a given month depending on what we need. Now I do order from Boxed and from Schwan’s a couple of times a year. Boxed is like a club membership without the year fees and I can stock up on things when I need them. I watch for their sales and stock up on things like peanut butter and freezer bags. I use Schwan’s because they carry some items that my local store just doesn’t or is too expensive. I refuse to pay $8 for a box of fish that will only feed one person. We have a deep freezer so this works out for us.

During the summer months I use the local farmer’s market to add to our produce needs. It helps a lot and the produce is always fresh. They even have fresh breads on Saturday mornings if I get there early enough. They sell out of it pretty quickly. As you can see learning how to feed us all took me a little time but now I can do it with my eyes close. I want my family to have a healthy meal every time we sit down but I also want to stay within my budget.