S/O $150k a year- low food budget- how??

amother

↑ Myrtle ↓

Yesterday at 5:20 pm

amother Azure wrote:

Instant oats is more expensive than cereal and yogurt

(Which is fine, and I think I'm going to start introducing that because winter and hit breakfast sounds great. But being that this thread is discussing specifically from a price perspective, we must admit it's more expensive)

Not really. A canister of instant oats costs the same $4 as a canister of old fashioned.

If you mean the packets, yeah, but not by much. Going by Walmart prices here, but it's under $4 for a box of 20.

amother

↑ Lilac ↓

Yesterday at 6:06 pm

amother Azure wrote:

Real life hack- pour boiling water on instant oats in a bowl. Add salt, maple syrup or sugar as desired. Let sit five minutes and mix. Just as good as instant oatmeal in the packet.

↑ joker ↓

Yesterday at 8:06 pm

I don't know one person that uses steel oats to save money or doesn't buy yogurtS due to expense . Not one. I think when most people get to that point they are getting government funding which includes yogurts etc
Personally I wouldn't advise making a big deal about the foods my kids eat As long as it's within reason I def wouldn't make them feel we can't afford for them to eat something . I can only imagine how scary that would be for a child to feel there isn't Enough food. You can refuse purchases and say "we don't need it" or snack bags are special for school. Trauma from the way you discuss money is real

amother

↑ Myrtle

Yesterday at 8:45 pm

joker wrote:

We make too much to get SNAP. We don't make enough to spend $2k a month on food.

There is plenty of food. Maybe not the varieties they would prefer, but I don't think my kids are afraid they will be going hungry.

amother

Moccasin

Yesterday at 9:16 pm

We live in FL and spend less than that for the same size family. Kosher stores pricing is rediculous. We only buy a few items there.
Yogurts are luxury and buy infrequently.
Chicken in bulk. Meat for YT only.
Salmon, fruit, veg and pantry items: Walmart, aldi, Costco.
Some snacks from Trader Joes.

amother

↑ Emerald ↓

Yesterday at 9:19 pm

amother Azure wrote:

A bagel and peanut butter or eggs and toast is more expensive than a bowl of cereal and a 70 cents yogurt

A pack of bagels from Walmart comes to .33 per bagel and a big peanut butter jar is .11 per serving. I did say eggs are not necessary cheaper now but two eggs from the Walmart near me comes to .54 so add toast or a bagel and it cheaper than yogurt and cereal.

amother

↑ Raspberry ↓

Yesterday at 11:09 pm

amother OP wrote:

It definitely skews frugal.

I don’t know anyone IRL who wears the same wig for 10 years and never buys new clothes or yogurts.

👋
Same Shabbos sheitel for over a decade, but admittedly, it's not worn daily.
I do buy yogurt for lunches Very Happy

Don't shop much for clothes, mainly cuz I don't fit into stuff, have no sense of style, and nice clothes are expensive. But not wearing the same stuff from a decade ago, either (for the most part... Especially because most wouldn't fit)

amother

↑ Amber

Yesterday at 11:11 pm

We can nitpick all day long about what is "better" or "necessary".

Honestly- not having a specific food will not cause lifelong trauma. (Constantly being hungry or worried about food is different and is an extreme that I don't think was even discussed here).

You don't "need yogurt"" or "need meat for dinner". Kids adjust, make due and cope. Build resiliency in your kids- it will help them in the long run more than any single food.

If you are making decisions based off your own childhood or traumas then please get help. Going to the other extreme isn't good or healthy for you or your kids either.

We each have to make choices that work for us.
Do I make more money at my job than I would save buying pre-made or frozen options?
Is health a greater priority for me?
Are finances such that this reducing costs is the priority?

One can't say "it's impossible to cut costs" and then say all these things are not negotiable when many never considered buying those. I don't buy organic because I can't afford it and I can't waste food by it being super buggy and not checkable (where I live organic tends to be more infested). It also isn't a priority for me. If it was, I would cut out something else from my diet or budget to add that in.

We each make our own cheshbon.
A better process would be to decide on priorities and ask for suggestions on how to fit them in. Such as where to shop, how to stretch meat, or vegetarian options.

amother

↑ Raspberry ↓

Yesterday at 11:18 pm

amother Azalea wrote:

My kids also take 4 snacks, but only 1 is allowed to be a snack bag- the rest are healthier and cheaper.

We have fleshigs 3 nights a week - used to be 4 till kids asked for rice and beans instead

Pizza doesn’t exist here because 2 kids are gluten free, so we generally do pasta bar for Sunday lunch.

We use Thomas’s bagels because there are no fresh bagels here, and I get minis for the kids so there’s less waste.

So they’re small differences but they do add up.

I know this is off topic, but genuinely curious. Do you literally mean rice and beans? Or euphemism?

amother

↑ Lilac

Yesterday at 11:19 pm

amother OP wrote:

It definitely skews frugal.

I don’t know anyone IRL who wears the same wig for 10 years and never buys new clothes or yogurts.

OR, the people who spend like you are not responding on these threads. There are hundreds of women a day who peruse imamother, if a few vocal posters make a statement that is really not a large percentage.

I do happen to know some really poor people IRL, some who literally can't afford wigs or clothing.

They all spend a decent amount on food though What

and the only families who literally count yogurts - that I know IRL - are pretty dysfunctional people in other ways as well. (I'm talking about families with children). Sorry, but this is what I see. So please don't make this about residual childhood trauma.

amother

↑ Raspberry

Yesterday at 11:41 pm

amother Lilac wrote:

Someone who visits my house used to make fun of me for "counting yogurts" because her kids would ask for them, and I would politely say no. I explained (numerous times) that it wasn't so much a $ thing (though my budget is pretty tight), but we bought a pretty calculated amount each week to cover lunches, and by her kids taking even 1-2, we wouldn't have enough for the week. It wasn't worth my kids getting upset that they couldn't have in their lunches because her kids wanted those.

That being said, I'd often offer to give from the bigger containers we got free from WIC (if we had on hand). It was just too tricky to send that yogurt to school.

And yet she implied I was being stingy. What

amother

Cyclamen

Today at 12:01 am

amother Raspberry wrote:

I know this is off topic, but genuinely curious. Do you literally mean rice and beans? Or euphemism?

I'm just popping into this thread but my kids love beans and chickpeas from a can. I make a lot of dinners with legumes as protein. Cheap and filling. And delicious imo.

amother

↑ Lime

Today at 1:14 am

amother Cyclamen wrote:

I'm just popping into this thread but my kids love beans and chickpeas from a can. I make a lot of dinners with legumes as protein. Cheap and filling. And delicious imo.

Agreed, our favorite is home made falafel, Israeli salad and pita. The entire meal for my family is about $6.