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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: March 19 2007 at 7:43am | IP Logged
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Bridget wrote:
| Wow, Kathryn. That IS a lot more! I know gasoline is more. Do you know how housing compares? Utilities? |
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Housing is very expensive - the average price for a three bedroom house (I would guess around 1000 sq.ft - we don't tend to think in square footage) is just under $400,000. Fortunately we are old enough to have bought houses when they were very much cheaper, so have what in British terms is a very small mortgage.
Petrol (gasoline) is about $7 a gallon, and we use about $200 worth a month. Our monthly utilities payments are $100 for gas (piped natural gas that we use for both heating and cooking), $90 for water, $80 for electricity, $55-60 for telephone and broadband internet connection. Our biggest expense after the mortgage is local tax which is around $250 monthly.
Bear in mind, though, that the exchange rate is very much in our favour. Three years or so ago it was around $1.50 to £1, now it is $1.95. That makes things look much more expensive in dollar terms.
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Kathryn
Dh Michael,  Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
The Bookworm
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 19 2007 at 7:59am | IP Logged
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Natalia wrote:
Jodie,
How did you start your pantry system? How long did it take you to get it going? My pantry is kind of a mess.
Natalia |
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 I was just going to ask this same question. My pantry is a mess too. I waited years to get it and I really want it to be nice, orderly part of my home. 
Probably should start a new thread on pantry organization. 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 19 2007 at 8:22am | IP Logged
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Found an old thread on pantry organization. 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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stacykay
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Talking about the gatorade, even those that could afford as much as they want (The Detroit Tigers,) cut it due to the sugar, like some of you do. The Tigers were on the news a lot last fall, and they said they cut gatorade by at least half, some of the guys more. My 16yods's high school football and basketball teams do this also. Each boy is issued a bottle, and they get the packets of gatorade mix, and are told to only put in half the recommended amount.
Molly, I know the temptation to run through a fast food place, on those busy sports nights. I am stumped for those busy nights (more so the late fall and wintry ones,) going from football or basketball games, cause the guys want "hot" food, not cold sandwiches. This is, I think, our biggest downfall. And since we get home so late, the boys would have a hard time waiting to eat. I do keep bottled water in the car, to keep thirst at bay. Summer baseball games are perfect, though, for picnic-type foods.
God Bless,
Stacy in MI (snow! which is making our pines' boughs look like thickly-knit lace!)
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JodieLyn
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I started a new thread on the "starting a pantry" topic
http://4real.thenetsmith.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=10227&PN=1& TPN=1
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Paula in MN
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Popping in late here, sorry. I spend $200 monthly. That is for 3 adults and 3 children, since my niece and her daughter stay here during the week. We have two freezers well stocked with venison, duck, fish, etc that we hunted ourselves. Also a pantry full of potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, vegetables and fruit from our summer gardens. We use powdered milk and get chickens and eggs from the farmer down the road. The bulk of the $200 is spent on some spices, soup, soap, toilet paper, and dog food.
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Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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trish
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We're a family of nine. Me and dh, 18 dd, 17 ds, 15 ds, 10 dd, 7 ds, 4 ds, and 2 ds (still in diapers). We spend an average of 1200.00 a month on everything. That's canadian dollars. I think it equates to around 950.00 usd.
Because of some dietary issues I make everything from scratch.... well pretty much everything. I buy organic in bulk (pasta, canned tomatoes, some cereals etc.,spelt kernels, rice )and I belong to an organic produce coop. I spend on average 400.00 a month on produce alone! We buy hormone free grass raised beef (can't quite afford the organic yet) by the quarter and we go through a whole cow a year. We've got growing boys who can eat! Once every two weeks the kids will get a burger from mcdonalds on the way home from Mass because it's so late. We live 1/2 hour away from town. I suppose I could make lunch to eat on the way home but it's really they're only 'treat'.
We're looking into getting chickens this year for eggs (we go through a ton) and meat and since we live out in the country on six acres we're even thinking about getting a cow for milk and butter. More work but you can't beat fresh right?
We have a big garden each year and last year we had 800 lbs of potatoes. We're almost out so I think we'll have to plant more. Going to try and do our own tomatoes this year too. It's alot of work but if you plan.... But with these kids we've got lots of help.
I also follow a 2 week menu plan that I made up. It includes breakfasts, lunches, suppers, desserts, and snacks. For weekly shopping I just look at my menu plan and look in the pantry and see what I need. I try REALLY hard not to buy what I don't need but well you know.....
I make my own soap and lotions and face treatments. Need to try my hand at shampoo but not yet...
My dh commutes to work 45 minutes and 45 back so we spend about 50.00 every 5 days on gas. But it's an expense we put up with because we get to live out HERE! 
I will tell you though the menu plan is my life saver. I look at it the night before and know what I'm going to make and can get it ready. I can't stand it at 5 pm and you still haven't figured out dinner. If I feel like making something else then I do. I use it as a guide and it sure has saved me time and probably money too.
I sure enjoyed reading this thread. It made me feel better knowing I wasn't going too overboard in my spending. 
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asplendidtime
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We spend about $500-$600 Canadian, which would translate to about $425-$500 USD for 9 people, with 2 in disposable diapers.
We live in a very expensive region in Canada. The housing costs are crazy.
I read the book, "Miserly Moms" by Jonni McCoy www.miserlymoms.com
I got this when we first were married 10 years ago, her ideas are good, she doesn't believe in sacrificing a lot of time, just to save a few pennies. I also have a handy cookbook called "More-with-Less" by Doris Janzen-Longacre, more proteins from non-meat sources, less refined sugars, etc....
I never shop at Warehouse clubs. I try to buy bulk, no-name products, we cook from scratch as much as possible. We eat oatmeal for breakfast, 6 days per week and once a week we have pancakes or muffins. We use powdered milk in recipes. We buy fruit in season, or on sale, and use lots of frozen veggies, and less fresh, I always buy celery, lettuce, carrots, onions and potatoes, and usually broccoli and spinach. I just don't buy most things other people do.
Peace of Christ,
Rebecca ~Mom to 7 under 9!
P.S. At this point we aren't gardening nor hunting/fishing. Although we'd like to. 
P.P.S. I also try to use vinegar and baking soda anytime I can for cleaning, it is a lot cheaper than lots of cleaning products.
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MarilynW
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This is a great thread - and very relevant as we are reworking our budget as we are taking a significant income reduction from next month.
My problem is that is costs more to eat healthy and organic/natural food than processed food. I also have kids with food allergies which drives up the cost. I am having trouble controlling the budget as I get food from so many sources - grains, cheeses and chicken from a southern Virginia farm, beef from another farm and most everything else from Trader Joe's. I try to be strict about the Costco list - mainly paper products, orange juice and organic eggs - but it is a temptation - so now my husband goes as he always sticks to the list. I also have to do Wholefoods for some allergy substitutes that I cannot get anywhere else. Also I never really shop anywhere that takes coupons or use the products that have coupons.
My "wastes" are paper towel and bottled water - both of which I am finding very hard to drop. I would like to keep doing organic or natural where possible as I have seen such changes in our family health - I am balancing the cost of higher food bill against much lower medical bills.
I am trying to set the budget at $1000/month for a family of almost 7 - but I have to figure out how to deal with the farm/side of beef charges.
We cook nearly everything and rarely eat out. Planning meals has helped with impulse shopping. I have found that extreme morning sickness and general pregnancy fatigue have driven up our bills significantly - I am trying to get back on the organized track.
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asplendidtime
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Marilyn,
With the fatigue and morning sickness, we have decided to deal with it by cooking down a certain amount of meat, so it just needs to be thawed and added to a salad. Or I will cook extra whatever and keep it in the freezer for a bad day. I also discovered peppermint(candy, gum, or tea), and this greatly helped me with morning sickness the last time.
This last year though, we decided that eating out was not only expensive, but unhealthy also. So I make sure we eat fun foods, some of the time. And I make sure we have easy stuff that can be thrown together in a pinch. I also decided that I would rather we ate sandwiches and canned soup than eat at a fastfood place.
We also take sandwiches along in the van if we'll be away at mealtimes. Do you have a little one who'd love to help make sandwiches? I remember when I didn't, it was really hard then.
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Rebecca~Mama to
Noah 17,
Katie 16,
Mary 14,
Tim 13,
Jonah 12,
Josh 10,
Zoe 9,
Will 7,
Peter 6,
Laura-Mae 4,
Emily-Joy 2,
Genevieve & Gabriella 1
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St. Ann
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I have recently begun to note all our expenditures to find a way to save more...where is our weak spot???
We spent 750 Euros last month for all household items for 2 adults and 4 children under 11. This does not include gas, which is 1.12Euros a liter for diesel. Clothing and shoes are also not included. I do a lot of cooking from scratch and buy all our meat, cheese, fruits and vegies at the farmers' market which is not the cheapest. I know I could do better, but am not yet really healthy and have been buying all our bread since December(instead of baking it). You ladies are all very inspiring and I am getting great ideas from you all. What would really be a huge help for our budget would be a meal plan like Trish does....
All those with a meal plan!!!! Are you just naturally organized or did you have to force yourself to start one? I have a fear of not being able to be spontaneous and chicken out! It really is a lousy excuse I know!
We are not able to buy a house and therefore rent a 1300sq ft. house with a good sized yard for 715 Euros plus utilities. We live in a very inexpensive part of Germany. In Munich we paid the same amount for a small 3 room apt. without a yard...and that was 6 years ago! We also have a cleaning lady which I did not include in the household items budget. This summer I plan to reduce her hours, but not totally. When your little one begins asking things like: "Mama, why are you using Frau K.'s mop? Mama, that is Frau K's iron, are you allowed to use it too?" then something needs to change.
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Stephanie
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asplendidtime
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Meal Plans! Dh wanted me to do this all along. I forced myself to make one, otherwise we were always looking for something to eat. I just took three blank calender pages and filled in the spaces then we just follow one of the three for this month. Sounds boring eh? It has saved us a lot of money though, I feel like a better steward now.
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Rebecca~Mama to
Noah 17,
Katie 16,
Mary 14,
Tim 13,
Jonah 12,
Josh 10,
Zoe 9,
Will 7,
Peter 6,
Laura-Mae 4,
Emily-Joy 2,
Genevieve & Gabriella 1
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trish
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Meal plans. I am definitely not organized. I'm a wanna be. However I forced myself to do this one. Because my mind tends to wander and get lost in other things during the day I would always find my self scrambling near late afternoon. What do I make? At least with a plan you have ideas. I don't stick to it 100%, but it sure helps.
Making the choice to try to go all organic really wasn't that much of a choice. My health and a couple of the kids kind of made it a given. My dh and I struggled with that quite a bit. But for us it's a sacrifice that we feel we have to do. So we just do it. We're lucky my dh's salary is a pretty good one. Not great but good. God has been good to us.
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missionfamily
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We spend abut five hundred dollars a month for six people (soon to be seven, but he won't add anything to the bill right away...except diapers!) I stopped shopping at the large supermarkets where extras and processed foods were constant temptations. Now our meat, veggies, cereal and eggs come from a local organic farm, our fruit and extra veggies from a produce market, bread from Great Harvest bread company or baked at home. I stop at Dollar General for the staples and a local health for store for organc salad dressing, a mayo-type spread made with grape seed oil, and whole grain pitas. About once a month a make a stop at the supermarket to fill in things like ketchup and olive oil, tea bags, Kool-aid mix etc...At first it seemed shopping lik this would make things more expensive, but now I have a set shopping list for each place and plan how it corresponds to the menu. We eat out much less and buy muchles of expensive processed items. Double cooking meals and always have something in the freezer is a big money saver for us too becuse it eliminates the "let's just order pizza or grab a bite somewhere" just because things are hectic...instead, we grab something from the freezer and warm it up. The best lesson I have learned is plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead...also a lifesaver for me...Stork's Choice disposable diaper service...a case of diapers andwipes deliverd to your front door every month. You update your baby's weight and they send the correct size. Friends and family can add money to your account for gifts...www.storkschoice.com.
Colleen
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St. Ann
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I guess I should also add that we very rarely go out to eat. Only special occasions...maybe 3 times a year. Now , when my parents come to visit they invite us to eat out in a restaurant quite often. I cook for them also here at home, but my dad almost gets claustrophobic in our house...My parents are used to having much more space and to eating out frequently. I really enjoy trying out different restaurants here.
A larger freezer would probably be a help in saving also. But the first step for me is definitely making a rotating meal plan, otherwise a new freezer without a plan is just a waste!
How much do you all spend on coffee? When I was in the States last summer I was appalled at the price. I must add that I was looking at Starbucks and co. and not Folgers....This was also San Diego - which is very expensive. Here, I pay around 4 Euros per pound of coffee.
Imo, that is expensive enough! My grocery bill is always higher when I have to buy coffee.
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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Becky Parker
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I buy Folgers Stephanie, (except for special occasions) and I can get a container that is a little over 4# for $8.88. It's not cheap, but definitely less than Starbucks.
Earlier in the thread we were talking about pantries. Just wanted to say that I have been working on mine. I even have a new chore for my 13yo ds - "stock boy" . He loves it! His job is to put the groceries away in an organized way and update the pantry list each week so I can see at a glance what I need to buy. So far he's doing a great job of it! He especially seems to enjoy putting away the groceries after I've been to Sam's. Everything is so big and, as I told him, "I need someone with some muscle to help me put this stuff away"!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
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ALmom
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Yes,JoAnn, it does seem so much more expensive to eat healthy. I am looking to see if Bridget has ideas as it seems like they eat healthy and still have a good budget. It sounds like she doesn't eat meat hardly at all - which would be extremely difficult for us, but might be the only way we could afford to eat enough fruits and veggies. We have had to be extra careful about spending lately and we could easily cut our food bill simply substituting with sugary foods. We once ate much more healthy than we do now.
For the first time in our lives, we have broken down and bought cereal (it is nothing but sugar but it is cheap and the kids love it. All of my children love fruits and vegetables, but these are so expensive and don't fill them up. I have no problem with them eating anything, they are not picky eaters at all - it is just that we eat a lot! I have a 19 yo dd (home for breaks and special occassions but also takes food back to school with her), 15 dd, 13 ds 13 nephew (here for breakfast and lunch every weekday and occassional dinners), 10 ds, 6 ds, 4 ds (and our 4 yo eats as much as the teens sometimes. We were floored when he easily ate 3 hamburgers off the grill and 2 hotdogs) but other times he eats smaller quantities - just unpredictable.
Bridget, how do you cook the oatmeal. If I could cook enough at one time, that would be cheaper than anything else - but I pull out 6 cups of oats (12 cups of water) - and it only serves maybe 3 people in our house and they don't stay filled - not even for 30 minutes. How do you keep your children filled - does the oatmeal really stay with them. We all leave the table feeling hungry when we eat oatmeal. They really are still hungry. Do you stretch it with something in it to make it higher in protein? The same happens with eggs. None of us really like them, but we eat them - and still it takes at least 1 1/2 dozen for one meal and children are still hungry. It seems like we take more eggs if we scramble them (even adding milk) and unless the children fill up on tons of toast and jelly (I'm talking at least 4 slices per person - so that could be an entire loaf of bread in one sitting), they are hungry. And I hate to have jelly every day as all my dc are sensitive to corn syrup. Even in quantities that they eat, they snack several times per day.
We have really been attentive to what we are spending lately - and it is $300 per week even giving in to some of the cheaper but not as healthy foods. My dh has done a lot of the shopping as he is more aware of the prices at each place and goes on his way home from work - or we go together on Sat. We do not eat out at all! I buy clothes at the Thrift store and have asked dh, that we not buy any paper products (we use rags or old handkerchiefs for napkins and clean up and have some of what my mil gets with her coupons and saves for us when we visit). I buy whatever is the cheapest dishwashing machine stuff and laundry detergent. I clean floors with vinegar or a damp rag and we go through tons of vinegar. We only drink water at meals except OJ on Sunday. Actually, recently, I've gone back to drinking hot tea just for the energy and because I like it but I've gone without for years and could do it again, esp since dh doesn't like tea at all.
Taking soda to ball games is cheaper than gatorade or anything else around here because the stores always have a sale on the no name soda - but we don't want to drink soda and it really does nothing for thirst. Still when all of ours were in ball and it was our turn to bring the snack, we brought soda and homemade cookies (individually wrapped). Snacking for ourselves - everyone had a bottle of water which we re-filled from the water fountain. I wanted to bring grapes or something like that (but at $4/ lb almost, no way could we afford it, especially since ours would eat an entire big bunch of grapes per person if allowed).
I can buy an entire box of apples (still paying at best 97C per pound) and it might last us a week if we are lucky. My children love fruits and vegetables - but around here even nonorganic often costs more than meat.
My children will easily eat 2 apples each (even the 4 yo) at one sitting, sometimes more.
Now, here is where we are. Our eating habits have drifted to more unhealthy due to cost of food. I cannot find organic meat yet, but am looking. I use deer meat when my dad gets a deer (but he primarily bow hunts so you don't bring in the same quantity). I know that I am sensitive to excessive hormones in food - and cheese. I also want to go with foods lower on the hypoglycemic index (never tested for anything wrong) but continue to experience excessive tiredness and weight gain (weight gain is even worse when I cut my quantity of food) and all of us seem to need and feel better with very high protein foods. I want to do better - but dh and I just came back from the store. We were going to get some Salmon (but at $6 per pound there is no way) and fish doesn't fill a person up. Most of the foods now are treated with corn syrup (even the meats). While we don't have severe reactions to anything, thankfully, I am trying to improve diet overall in the hopes of getting back to feeling good (and hopefully being able to get pregnant - and maybe find out why we kept having recurrent miscarriages). As dh and I were going through the store, hoping to improve diet, I became very discouraged as the answer is we cannot "afford" to do it right now. (I don't have any doc bills so there is no tangible trade off) and I felt like crying in frustration as sometimes I feel like we are trading on my health - but nothing to really prove this.
I was immensely discouraged as we cannot improve diet without breaking the budget and right now my dh has said we just cannot buy anything organic though we try to keep up fruit and veggies (nonorganic) and so we have a lot of beef that was on sale that is going to our freezer and some chicken. I also know I seem to need a lot of green leafy veggies - and somehow find these harder to prepare and have available as all the time washing, drying, preparing. I guess that is my goal right now - to try and work more leafy greens in without breaking the budget.
I have beans and have finally learned to cook them where they are tolerable to eat in soup form - I've been eating a lot of beans. I try to stretch meats with stir frys, soups, etc. Now I'm worried that hot weather coming - you simply don't eat soup, the heat would just kill you. Any recipes for beans in cold form?
The produce will be so expensive even though eating salads with chicken or something on them make the most sense for summer meals around here.
I am not a good cook or meal planner and sheer exhaustion means food prep must be simple and quick.
I have made some progress in making sure we eat what is stored by simply pulling out leftovers every day at lunch and giving the children first choice of leftovers to reheat. We haven't had any leftovers growing things lately as we keep eating them for lunch until they are gone. (I usually don't have much in the way of leftovers from one meal - at best there is one serving of least favorite dishes or the experiment at bringing some interest to meals that didn't work - and PBJ is always an option to stretch the leftovers - but we're all eating them as there isn't a choice).
Looking for ideas - and glad this was brought back to the forefront.
Janet
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asplendidtime
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Cold meals:
Tortillas with lots of different fillers:
salad, cream cheese and veggies, bean spread, peanut butter, brown rice and beans, flavoured rice with meat... etc...
Bean Spread:
1 can of pinto (Romano) beans drained
2 Tbsp yogurt or mayo
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic or a garlic clove, crushed
Throw all of this into a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Use as a dip or a sandwich spread.
Bean Salad?
Cold Soups?
You can also add beans to all sorts of recipes to make them stretch a bit and beans are good for you!
Do they drink plenty of cool water? I read from Dr Raymond Moore's book "Better Late Than Early" to have them wait until meal times for eating and to drink cool water in between. I don't know if that helps at all.
www.miserlymoms.com
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Rebecca~Mama to
Noah 17,
Katie 16,
Mary 14,
Tim 13,
Jonah 12,
Josh 10,
Zoe 9,
Will 7,
Peter 6,
Laura-Mae 4,
Emily-Joy 2,
Genevieve & Gabriella 1
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stacykay
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Janet,
I love oatmeal and have it 6 days out of 7! My dc like it less so, but tolerate it.
I make my oatmeal with a 1 to 1 ratio of oatmeal and water. For example, I would put one cup of water on the stove, and when it boils, add the one cup of oatmeal (I use the old-fashioned rolled oats, 'cause I don't like the quick ones .) I also add some chopped apple and cinnamon (about 1/2 tsp. for every three cups of oatmeal.)
Not terribly nutritious, but I do put a little brown sugar on it, along with milk, in each bowl.
Hope this helps, somewhat.
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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MarieC
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Janet,
Regarding oatmeal....I add the same as Stacy but also sometimes add a handful of walnuts or pecans. The addition that protein seems to keep hunger at bay longer (and is very yummy!).
__________________
Marie
mom to 6
dds-98, 00, 02 and 09 & dss-03 and 06
Out in the Orchard
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: food budget
