Affordable Shopping (for lack of a better title)

Is there such a thing as “affordable shopping” these days?  Well, a few years ago I decided to rise to the challenge of affording groceries for my family on a budget with the goal of staying within a modest budget while building an emergency supply of goods for my family.  We sort of got used to living on whatever supplies we’d built up through the summers back when my husband only got paid 9 months out of the year.  Since receiving his graduate degree we’ve been blessed with a year round pay check but with inflation and economic hard times putting a strain on our budget and paycheck while adding several more children to our family I had to make some adjustments.  I brainstormed ways I could save more money, ways to make our dollar stretch farther.  I looked at it as a challenge or a game rather than something dreaded and serious because frankly money, or lack of it, makes me nervous so my outlook is a choice.  Our emergency “stash” combined with a little creativity has kept us fed during financial distress when we decided to put our grocery money into paying for necessary services three years ago keeping us from putting ourselves into as much debt.  Plus during a widespread regional disaster, what some would describe as an “act of God”, and many stores were not open and many were without power we were able to feed ourselves as well as some of our friends and family because we were “prepared” at least to a degree.  During this time a neighbor commented to my husband “Do you think we’d have been prepared if this had been any worse?”  Rick didn’t quite know how to respond when we really did feel pretty secure but obviously most around us did not.  I remember a time when we we didn’t have much… we’d been married just a few months when I was asked to bring a meal to someone.  As I was fretfully scanning my cupboard as well as my brain to try and put a meal together for another family while on the phone I just couldn’t do it.  I was inexperienced (I didn’t know how to make mashed potatoes or corn on the cob even) and we barely had enough for ourselves honestly but we did have “enough” and I felt thankful for that as we coasted along on faith.  The person on the phone thankfully sensed this lack and assured me she had other people who could help easily and she told me comfortingly that there was a time when things had been tight for them too in the beginning.  There would come a time when I would be able to help others, and she told me before she hung up that she understood.  I believed her BUT it hurt, just a little, that she had sensed that we didn’t have enough to share and it hurt that I wanted to share and couldn’t.   
All these years and experience later, once a month I take a large chunk of our monthly grocery budget and go shopping.  The rest is milk money because we drink a lot of milk; 1 to 1 1/2 gallons per day and we use some for fresh produce halfway through the month as well.  I enjoy reading a certain blog out there and the Mom claims to feed her family of 8 on $3 a day.  What?  How?  Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that her large yard and year round garden in a much warmer climate gives her a hand with this feat.  Frankly there is no way I could do this.  I have a garden but I have shade trees too.  And living on an urban postage stamp, even if I cut down trees and gardened the whole 50 x 110 lot we own minus the footprint of the house AND IF I knew what I was doing there would be no way to sustain my family of 7 on $3 a day.  But I do find her inspirational.  She does many of the same things that I do and I feel good knowing I’m not the only one on the planet living the way that I live.  My grocery budget is under $100 per person per month which also includes all cleaning products, long term storage and pet products.  This means I may feed my family for $3 per person per day which is under $25 per person per week and I refuse to feel bad about this.  By no stretch of the imagination do I live on a farm, as mentioned above.  In fact, I think this is pretty good but I am still thinking of new ways to save money, to make my dollar stretch.  I know I could still save money on breakfast but I like the convenience of the breakfast foods I do buy and so far that is worth the expense to me.  Plus sometimes I like to take my kids to the McDonalds playland and eat there as a treat.

First I buy in bulk.  I don’t buy anything in small prepackaged containers (I’ll cover this topic in another post).  This is the cheapest way I’ve found to buy staples.  I buy 25 lb. bags of flour, eggs by the 3 dozen, carrots in 5 pound bags, butter in 4 lb. packages, cheese in 5 lb. packages and the list goes on.

I purchase yeast in several 1lb. bags bundled together.

Cornstarch for things like homemade pudding mix that I make and store in bulk, Goldfish crackers (which my 2 year old can’t live without) in a large box of 3 sealed bags while pasta and canned soup, veggies and fruits are all sold by the case.

Yes, even (especially) bath, cleaning and personal products are purchased in bulk. 

And no pantry is complete without a supply of chocolate.  Chocolate makes everything better even when things get tough… or especially when things get tough.
I also purchase items when they are on special or in season.  The regular grocery store will have all sorts of deals and when they do I stock up.  For example, I just stocked up again on our shampoo and conditioner at .79 per bottle… but I won’t purchase any more until the next time it goes on sale.  I never purchase meat for over $1.99 a pound as a rule.  This is getting tougher to do but when I get chicken at this price or less I buy as much as I can afford AND have room to store.  Then I might buy pork the next time.  And we eat a lot of beans and soups.  And beans don’t come in a can.  I have bins and bins of dried beans that I was so unsure of what to do with that I learned how to use them just so I wouldn’t be scared of them any more.  Dried beans are a huge savings compared to their canned counterparts.  I also make a great many of my own items.  Like baby wipe cleaner that goes with my washcloths and cloth diapers for my little one.  I make my own salad dressings, pancake mix, bread, pudding mix, tortillas, pizza sauce, granola, spaghetti sauce the list goes on and I preserve as much in season fruit and vegetables as I have time and money for.  These are fruits and vegies that we’ve either picked on a farm ourselves, grown in our little garden or else purchased at a wholesale discount at the farm market.  Again these provide us with financial savings, flexibility when necessary and a sense of providence which I find both fulfilling and calming.  I like knowing how to do things for myself.  I like knowing what we’re eating.  I like teaching my children a work ethic and the importance of being self sufficient.  We re-use and re-cycle a lot.  I like living responsibly, modestly and living within my means.  And I know there is still more for me to learn and challenge myself with in this area of life.