$400 a month for groceries?!

$400 per month for groceries. Yes, you read that right. Is it possible to spend this much on a family of four? Yes! As long as you are careful and don't overspend, it really is possible.

Why only $400? Well, that's our budget. We have other bills to pay as well. Granted not every extra dollar is going towards debt (because of our erratic medical bills), but we have two kids 4 & 5. There's a lot of times we have to say "no" to toys, candy, movies, trips, etc.

How are we surviving on $400 per month for groceries?

First things first, I do not use coupons. That's right. Absolutely no driving to pay for a newspaper, scanning the inserts for desired items, and cutting until your hand falls off. I tried that. I found I actually spent more money at the stores using coupons. 99.9% of coupons are for processed junk. Granted, I occasionally saved 50%-75% by matching coupons to store sale ads for a certain shampoo and soap for hubby, but I've only been able to do that maybe two times. Therefore, store coupons are not allowed in our house.

How to maintain a grocery budget (of any amount):

1. Look at the family budget and decide what is allotted for groceries. I've heard of people spending $400-$1200 on food per month and wonder where their money is going? Well, duh.

2. Cut out the junk. No soda, no candy, no treats. Period. None of it is good for you! It's called junk for a reason. Plus, you know what you're putting into your body when you cut out the junk.

3. Meal Plan. Now I'm not the best at planning a week's worth of meals, but we try our best to sit down together and plan out what we want to eat. This way no one complains about why we aren't having T-Bones for dinner every night. There's several meal planning websites out there. You'll have to decided which ones you like best. (I'll write more about these later).

4. Check out your local CSA (another post later). These are well worth the price- and the best part. Very affordable! You also get to try new foods. Ours includes fruits and veggies in every week's box. I've never had so many oranges this past winter!

We ordered a the large "food box" and it cost $38.30 per week. They had a smaller box for around $25 I believe. I could be wrong, but still- very affordable for any family. All I had to do was pick it up (or someone else if we were out of town). Fresh organic food per month for a large box: $153.20 per month.

So,  $400 for groceries
     - $153.20
       $246.80 leftover for dairy, grains, household cleaners, etc.  Definitely more than enough to last the month!

5.  Try your best to resist the lure of expensive meats. Meat is the most expensive item in the cart and when you're eating all natural, it's sometimes twice or triple the cost of conventional meat. How to curb the extra cost?
         a. Check out your CSA. We found our farmer's market prices to be astronomical in prices, so we checked out a CSA and were so happy with it.
         b. See if you can split the cost of a cow at a local farm with friends or family
         c. Most importantly, buy only what you need. I noticed the other day that my Sam's Club started carrying all-natural chicken. Now, that's not my top choice for chicken, but it's all we have in our area for fresh/natural chicken. It comes in a twin pack and I plan to use one for a rotisserie chicken and the other, cut it for parts for other meals.
          d. Eat less meat. I know this is really hard for most of us, especially my family, so incorporating more veggies and some grains will do great to fill up the family.

6. Don't stress. It took me a few months to realize how to cut costs and stay on track. Nothing is achieved overnight.

7.  Try a garden- even if you only plant just one plant, it will cut costs. A packet of seeds will cost maybe $2, but if your plant is taken care of, you'll save a ton of money if you get 10+ tomatoes or strawberries off that plant! Plus, it teaches science if you have little ones. Two for one deal!


To recap, look at your budget, cut out junk food, meal plan, check out your local CSA, watch the cost of meat, and don't stress! At first I stressed about eating healthy and staying on budget, but once I figured out what my family likes best, we decided what not to buy (kale, swiss chard), and can focus on more positive things: spending time with the kids and not stressing about a healthy dinner (as my 5 year old daughter calls it). Or supper-as my mother calls it.

New Plant-Based Cookbooks

Cookbooks. You don't really need them, but they sure are handy to have. I have two. Sad, I know. Most people I know have ten or more. Time to get some more cookbooks. Before buying anything, I wanted to make sure the recipes were good. So I headed to the Beale library (great library system). They have almost every book you can think of and after looking online for books, I decided to check out three particular books. Notice I check out books. Not e-books. There's a major difference between the two (anyone can publish an e-book, not everyone can publish an actual book).


"Forks Over Knives" by Del Sroufe: I had to wait after 40+ people to get it, but once I did, I cooked a few of the recipes and I have to say: yes! This book is a must buy. It doesn't have every plant based recipe known to man, but it's much better than it's competitors I found. This is my number one buy.

"Skinny Bitch" by Kim Barnouin had very few good recipes. At first she describes why people should eat healthier, but instead of using vegetable oil or canola oil, she uses other various oils such as olive and grapeseed. Doesn't help if you are trying to stay away from all forms of oil. I am steering clear of this book.

"Happy Herbivore" by Lindsay Nixon. Seriously? She had a lot of specialty items such as agave nectar. What the heck is that? I know its a sweetener, but I don't think its something I can grow in my backyard. She also uses kelp powder and (whole wheat) bread in her recipes. This is my number 2 cookbook choice. I just wouldn't use those recipes with the specialty items. I should have got a picture of this book to show you, but you can look it up on Amazon.com.

I'm trying to grow our own produce so cookbooks using oil and kelp powder make no sense to me. There are a few recipes I can use out of the "Happy Herbivore", but "Forks Over Knives" has been the best cookbook so far.

Since trying these recipes, we (as a family) feel better, have less trash, and are able to figure out what's for dinner quicker. There's no waiting to defrost meat or leaking bags in the fridge of meat juice. Happy, healthy Bako Depot residents! Great way to treat yourself and lose that weight!

I am not advertising this books for any money. I'm just excited these cookbooks follow my new eating/cooking guidelines.

Disney Theme Parks

What an excursion to Mickey Mouse's shrine. After four years of living in California, I really did not want to take the kids there. The number one reason was money. It costs $100-$200 per person ages 3 and up. It cost us around $700 to get a 2 day park hopper. Ouch. Then hubby found half price on our traditional hotel, totaling $100 per night vs $200 per night. So that was $1,000 right there -not including any food.

Monday: Drive to LA and CA Science Museum
Tuesday: Disneyland
Wednesday: CA Adventure Park (I seriously wanted to go to Cars Land)
Thursday: Morning activity and drive home

The first morning at Disneyland I really didn't know what to expect since I researched several other blogs and articles online plus other people. So many people had conflicting stories about food, rides, etc. We didn't take our stroller for our 3 and 4 year old. We didn't bring any snacks or lunch. All we had on us was our phones and wallets. At the end of the day, my pockets held 4 pins. I didn't think our kids would make it at the end of each day, but they did surprising well- especially since they didn't have a nap.

The California Adventure Park was another story. I again wasn't too sure about taking the kids there, but after going to Disney, it was a blast! This time of the year is their slow season and the kids couldn't go on as many rides as Disneyland, but they did get to go on quite a few. Of course, we had to go to CarsLand both in daylight and at dark. I couldn't resist. Flo's V8 Cafe has the best macaroni and cheese. I did not follow my diet as well as I should have. It's hard to resist the temptation of macaroni and cheese. I did, however, not eat as much meat as I should have.

Well, it's been a wonderfully long day and will write more about my experiences soon!
Thanks for reading!

Lost weight

Loosing weight has been an uphill battle since my last pregnancy. My son was 9 1/2 pounds and I gained roughly 25lbs onto my usual 130 pounds. It was sad. I was around 120 in high school, but when college started and dating my now husband, I ate again.

My husband and I have always eaten a somewhat well balanced diet. At first, we ate no salads with our meals unless we had people over. I mean, come on, who loves salad that much?

Recently, I've been adding salad to every dinner. Hubby and I have been wanting to lose weight. The salad is the main factor why I've been loosing weight. However, after eating everything on my small portioned plate plus a huge salad, I felt like I was overdoing it. So I decided to cut up a small portion of meat to add to my salad. It was really good.

Hubby went out of town and I wanted to watch something different. I ran across "Food, Inc.", "Food Fight", and a bunch of other food documentaries. All I can say is wow. It really makes you look at the supermarket/grocery store and government in a whole new light.

I haven't weighed myself in 14 days, so I thought I would see where I'm at after eating salad for lunch and dinner for the past week. I do have salad dressing, but its not allowed to have any oil in it. Not canola, not soybean, not even olive oil. Smash an avocado and add either a small amount of lime or lemon juice. You have your dressing.

Very little if at all meat and poultry. Whole grains. Some beans. No oils, fats, or sweets. You want to really lose weight? Fruits and Vegetables only. Plus water. Period. Some people don't cook their food (raw foods diet) and others don't eat fish because of the contaminants in oceans, rivers, etc.

I don't like beans, so beans are out. Although I may make them for the kids and hubby. I guess we'll end up throwing out the all purpose and bread flour since we won't be using them anymore! Its going to be a challenging challenge (actual phrase?) to invent and find recipes for the family.

It feels great to loose weight- especially when I have an extremely hard time doing it. All I had to do was change my diet. So in the last 14 days here at the Bako Depot, 10.4 pounds have disappeared. In a way I'm decluttering me and my family.

:)

Managing debt in Bako

As I don’t work in the wonderful world of Bakersfield, CA, I would love to find a part time job where I can work during the kids nap time and school hours. Tall order isn’t it? I don’t exactly have a ton of friends to sell party items to, so those direct selling/MLM companies are out of the question. I have my $0 income photography business, but with us being almost $25,000 in debt, we’re barely staying afloat. 

I’ve learned how to manage the household somehow. The kids eat, are bathed, and clothed. The dishes washed, the floors mopped/vacuumed, and the dog is given food. Just because we have this debt doesn’t exactly mean we do nothing. 

Bakersfield has a few great things to do around town for free. My number one favorite free destination is the Beale Memorial Library on Truxtun. Not only do they have internet/downloadable audiobooks I can load from home, their children’s program is phenomenal.  They have a large selection of books, audiobooks, DVDs, and resources. Plus, if you can’t find the book you want, you can order it through the San Joaquin Valley Library System. There are very few books I have not been able to borrow through their system. They will even pull books off their own shelves for you if you place a hold on it. You don’t know how great that is when you have two young kids with you en route. The library’s hours aren’t the best, but hey, its California- 300% broke and spending more.

Another favorite activities are the sprayparks. I can’t tell you how much the kids use them. NOR just opened Polo Community Park half a mile from us. As soon as the gates opened, we have been walking there 2-3 times per week. Other than the spraypark, there’s numerous sports fields and 3 different playground areas for the kids. One is for 2-5, the other 6-12, and 12+. The only thing that the park is lacking is shade for the play areas. 

Bakersfield’s museums also have free days. The third Thursday of the month is the Buena Vista Natural History museum. If you have kids, you must absolutely go downstairs. The entire downstairs is a learning playground for all ages. It’s a little well-loved, so bring wipes or sanitizer for when you’re done playing/learning.

The third Friday is free admission at the Art Museum. We haven’t been there in awhile, but they have an area where kids can make a postcard and a leaf rubbing. At least that’s what we got to make. It’s a little small, but if you stop at each piece of art and ask the kids what’s going on in the picture, it makes it worth the trip- and don’t forget about the Art Museum’s garden off to the side. There’s a few neat sculptures in it and tons of shade! Who doesn’t love a pretty shade area?

Barnes and Noble also has storytime, but I dread going there with the kids. They see other kids screaming, wanting to pull books off the shelf, and tear up new books. Great if you’re into that sort of thing. I think I’ll stick to the library.

Neighbors. What kid doesn’t love other kids’ toys? Some neighbors even have a pool or a slip in slide. You can’t beat what others have. And it doesn’t cost anything.

As my family is in debt, we still have to live and manage what we have. We, at least I am, are grateful for what we’ve been given and am exhausted of all those advertisements and commercials for every materialistic thing. I’m tired of my kids thinking if we need something, we can just buy it at the store. We didn’t exactly shop ourselves in debt ($20,000 is the car; less than $5,000 is medical/bills). So instead of trying to find a part time job (where I would either never see my family or use ALL of my paycheck for daycare) I’ve decided to manage the household in a completely different manner.

One kid is out of diapers and the other is having a hard time remembering to use the potty. Only when he naps or goes to bed, he gets a diaper. Other than that, he can wear underwear or go nude (some days are just too hot to force clothes on kids). 

Shopping for necessities. Yes, I would love to buy a thinner bathroom rug, but the overly shaggy rug is doing just fine. I’ll just have to look for bugs before I step on it and pray nothing is breeding in it.

I purchase $20 worth of vegetables each week at the farmer’s market. We didn’t have a successful garden this year, so it made it hard to actually get anything from the garden. The birds and worms got to our tomatoes, the cucumbers produce a few too less, and the jalepenos who usually thrive in this weather quit on us. I think it was just way too hot this year for the veggies, hubby says it’s too many weeds. It was also poor planning on both our parts. My goal is to work on the garden this year so I can harvest and live off my garden next year. Little did I know, in zone 9, we can have a winter garden! You don’t know how excited I am about that! 

I buy milk, meat, luxury items, and gas at wholesale stores. I have a membership to both Costco and Sam’s Club. I purchase the two pack milk at Costco since Sam’s stopped carrying milk that way. I’ll buy gas at whichever. I buy only necessities and few luxuries (artichokes, Mac n Cheeese) at Sam’s since I know they carry the items I need year round. It seems like things are hit and miss at Costco for me. I’ve also found that Costco carries more foo-foo (gourmet/healthier) items at a slightly higher price. 

Another new way of managing the household is the diet. Do we really need 10 packages of packaged butter noodles? Ten boxes of Oreos? Absolutely not. So I’ve decided that we are going to eat healthier. Yes, $20 at the Farmer’s Market doesn’t seem like much, but skip the fruit and you can get a week’s worth of veggies. Bargaining also helps-they aren’t set prices. We, at least I, am trying to cut out sugar and carbs. No more fillers. Yes, the kids love PB & Js for lunch. If I make the bread, then they can have them, but no carbs for mommy and daddy. This means two vegetables and one meat at dinner. Period. Still hungry? Eat a salad or if you have some, fruit. Fruit must be in moderation.  My daughter thinks Lucky Charms and M&Ms  are good for you, but after telling her it’s chocked full of sugar, it really hurts her tummy and her teeth.

Speaking of teeth, $1,000 of our debt is I had to have an emergency crown put on one of my back molars. When he put that cap on, you don’t know how bad I wanted to bite my dentist. That sucker hurt not only my mouth, but our finances as well. Since then, I’ve brushed and flossed like there’s no tomorrow. I really don’t want my kids going through that pain.

These may seem drastic, but to tell you the truth, how much do you really need to buy? How much do you really need to eat? I know I don’t exercise, so I need to adjust my intake. We live in a 1,800 square foot home. How much clutter do we need in our life? If there’s a fire or earthquake, we won’t be able to save anything from our house. Life is about what is within yourself, not your house, fridge, or wallet.

Eventually we will get out of debt and someday hubby and I will take our honeymoon. Even if it is eight years late, that’s okay. We have each other and really, that’s all that matters. Yes I become anxious about the finances, but like hubby has told me numerous times, there’s really nothing I can do about them unless I get a job. I want the best for my family and my best is to be there for them.