Feeding a Family on a Tight Budget
When times are tough, the food budget may be the first thing to suffer, as you funnel money to other bills. However, your family still has to eat, even when you have less money to work with. Tightening your belt shouldn't mean nutrition suffers. You may have to be more creative and work at little harder to put satisfying meals on the table, but you can feed your family on a tight budget and not have to live on ramen noodles.
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Planning
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When the budget is tight, you can't walk into the store and buy whatever you want. Plan your meals and snacks for the week; you won't buy unnecessary items, plus you'll eliminate waste. Use the ads from your local grocery stores, either from the newspaper or online, to shop for specials. Stores advertise low-price specials called loss leaders to get you into the store. These items, often meat and produce, will be on the front and back pages of the store ad. Plan meals around these. Log onto coupon sites online and look for coupons in your local paper to further reduce the cost of your groceries. Look for items on your list you have coupons for, but don't buy items you don't need just because you have a coupon. Some sites will even help you match specials in local stores to available coupons, making it easier to spot bargains.
Think Double Duty
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Buy items that will stretch to more than one meal. Instead of two chicken breasts for a single meal, buy a whole chicken and make two meals. Then make soup from the carcass for a third meal. A bag of potatoes will make more meals than a package of frozen French fries. Skip convenience foods in favor of making meals from scratch. Plan to use leftovers for lunches or for a second meal. Challenge yourself not to waste anything. You can save small bits of leftovers in a freezer container to make soup. Borrow cookbooks from the library and learn to make simple meals.
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Eat Lower on the Food Chain
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Use meat as a condiment or side dish instead of the focus of a meal. Dried beans, pasta, rice and frozen vegetables are all less expensive than meat, especially if you choose generic or store brands. Make a vegetable stir-fry or fried rice with very little meat. Alternatively, opt for meatless meals. Make pancakes for dinner one night, or scrambled eggs and toast. Bean and vegetable soups are filling, tasty and inexpensive.
Look for Free Food
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Plant your own garden, or volunteer at a local community garden or farmer's market in exchange for free produce. If you see fruit or nut trees in city parks or neighbor's yards with falling fruit or nuts, ask permission to pick some for yourself. Learn to identify native foods in your area, such as berries and greens, and pick them in the wild. If you find yourself running out of food and money at the end of the month, check out local food pantries. They exist to help people in need. If you're struggling with unemployment or unexpected bills, ask about free lunches or breakfasts for your children at school. This can help with your food budget for the month also.
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References
- Photo Credit family food image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
