Strollerderby : groceries

Family of Four's Living on $1,500 for a YEAR

JeanneSager — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:28:00 GMT

Think you're thrifty? Want to bet?

A New Hampshire family may just be the savviest bunch of savers in America right now. The family of four is eking out an existence on just $1,500 a year.

Bourne and Heather (last name removed at the family's request) adventure officially started on January 1, but they've been working toward this since July 2008, when Heather says she started "diligently using coupons," to build up a stockpile of necessities (from non-perishable foodstuffs to toiletries). With one preschooler and one toddler in their house, they think they can make it through 2009 with just $1,500 spent on groceries, household times and even personal expenses like haircuts and their health insurance copays.

They've got a few rules for themselves - including a $0 dining out budget until their December wedding anniversary, and brutal honesty in reporting their money situation. That means even if they fail, they've promise to report it. They're also vying to have at least five $0 days per month, five days when they spend zilch on the above categories.

Impossible? Maybe - and even Heather and Bourne agree.

"My purpose in blogging is to raise people's awareness about their own finances, make people think twice about how they spend their own money and to share and learn a lot along the way. That is it," Heather says on the family blog, Living on 1,500 for One Year.

They are taking the criticisms in stride, but along with their tips on saving money, commenters are dropping their own hints of how to cut costs and keep a family going. If you're serious about saving, you might already be doing most of them, but if you need a starting off point, it's worth a look.

She frequently points out throughout her posts that it wouldn't be possible without the family's stockpile - which she estimates cost at least $1,200. It's also important to note that their $1,500 is just on the three categories of groceries, household items and personal expenses. They don't talk much on the family blog about the money spent on things like their home (rent or mortgage payments), their cars (if they have one - even if there's no loan to pay off, there is gas to buy, tires, etc.) and incidentals like home heating.

Some costs you just can't avoid - and some of the biggest costs you can't anticipate (health insurance copays could be nothing from month to month, until three pediatrician visits in a row eat up their monthly allowance). Do you think your family could find enough fat to trim it down this drastically? Are they being realistic?

UPDATE: The family has removed their blog becase of threats, and asked that their last name be removed as well.

Image/Source: Fox News

Greenhouse: Bag Tax Bad, Bag Bonus Good

Amy Kuras — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:36:00 GMT

I used to feel like a ridiculous hippie for carrying my own bags to the store, but in the year-ish I have been doing so it's become really common, so common that now I feel shamed when I don’t bring them.

Some stores around here even give you a little discount -- 5 cents or so -- based on the number of bags you bring. Makes sense to me – not only does it keep bags out of landfills but it saves the store a little money.

Which is why I think Seattle's proposed "bag tax" is a horrible, horrible idea. It would tax stores at the rate of 20 cents PER BAG for each plastic bag used. Which doesn’t sound too terrible, until you consider the impact this would have on low income consuers already squeezed badly by higher food costs and fuel costs. When you have to plan your food costs very carefully, getting socked with an extra dollar or so to carry the stuff home in something other than your pockets would really hurt.

If you have to take the bus to get to a grocery store and/or walk several blocks there, you may not have a convenient way to schlep along several bags – or what if you're stopping at the market on the way home from work and don’t have your bags with you?

Not only that, but 63 percent of Seattelites oppose the tax. Some don’t think it goes far enough, and most common plastic grocery bags are made from #2 plastic, which is widely recyclable. And still others point out that most people reuse the bags anyway instead of throw them out --- for pet waste or to line trash bags, for example. I know in our house my husband gets a little nervous when I haven’t been collecting enough "poop bags" at the store.

Socking people with a heavy tax doesn’t seem fair – but giving them an incentive to not use the bags does. I'll be interested to see how this plays out in Seattle.

Budget Baby: Butcher It

Amy Kuras — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:02:00 GMT

Food costs right now are thoroughly insane – and that's if you aren’t, say, eating all organic produce which ought to have been watered by an angel's tears for the price it commands. I'm consistently shocked at how much our grocery bill jumps each month, and when one of the four people who live here stops getting the bulk of his nutrition from me, we're really going to be shelling out.

One way to cut food costs is to butcher your own meat. I found this idea from Cheap Stingy Bargains (via The Consumerist). Now, neither they nor I am suggesting you turn your garage into a slaughterhouse – just buy bigger cuts of meat and break them down into cuts and individual portions by yourself. The more a butcher does for you, the less you get and the more you pay.

The Cheap Stingy folks used the example of boneless skinless chicken breasts, which often cost so much per pound that you can spend more on two of them than you do on a whole chicken (which comes with two breasts, plus a whole bird's worth of meat besides). If you learn how to break down a bird, you get those breasts plus legs and thighs for another meal and a back, neck and bones for stock. Those lovely, fancy center cut boneless pork chops? Just a pork loin, sliced about an inch thick and generally lots cheaper than the chops.

Here's a site to learn more about butchering.

Budget Baby: 5 Tips for Saving Money on Grocery, Gas, and Girls

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:20:00 GMT

Sometimes that old Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" sounds pretty good (..get your money for nothing and your chicks for free..). Obviously, it's sexist and it has Sting singing back-up vocals, which is enough to make any self-respecting person crash her mini-van. But sometimes, with the way things are going in our economy, free money and free love sounds fabulous.

Translated into budget conscious parenting this can simply mean spending less on food, stuff for your kids, and gasoline.

Here are 5 quick ways to save on all three categories:

1. Don't buy fast food - It's quick, easy, convenient, and pleases most palates..but it can really add up!

2. Drive a nerdy but fuel efficient car - A used one that you can pay cash for and relive your high school wonder years.

3. Take the bus or other public transportation - which if you live in a big urban center is no big deal. If you're in most other places, it is quite an undertaking, what with busses running only every hour... Seriously. On the other hand, with gas prices going up and up and up, I'm going to make the extra effort while the weather is nice to make a bus trip part of a fun summer adventure with the kiddies.

4. Use coupons- Many stores park them right by the front door as you walk in. So with very little effort, you can reduce your grocery bill. It also helps to stick to the store's perimeter (where most of the fruits, veggies, meats, and dairy items live) and away from the inside aisles where those unplanned processed purchases can really add up.

5. Give the gift of time - As gaggy and Hallmark-y as this sounds, kids these days mostly have more stuff than they can use. Rather than a gift for an occasion, try giving them an adventure or an outing. And if this idea falls flat with the under-10s, try it with your partner. Most women will enthusiastically embrace free time as a substitute for flowers any day of the week. Most kids will also enjoy some time rather than another crappy plastic lead-filled toy. And some men might prefer some time alone in the man cave to another dumb tie.

"Organicize Me": Michael Stusser Goes Organic For One Month

JasonAvant — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:15:00 GMT

Some of you may know Michael Stusser from his work over at ParentMap; he authored "The Accidental Parent", a column detailing his experience marrying the love of his life - who,as it turned out, had twin 10-year-old girls. His Sebastian Junger-esque courage firmly established, Stusser recently took up a challenge that many of us would shirk from. He spent the month of January eating and drinking only certified organic foods and beverages. Hilarity ensues, along with a thoughtful assessment of the benefits and challenges of eating au natural.

For those new to the world of organic foods, Stusser provides a primer on what makes a product "organic". He then points out that the definition is a bit nebulous - there's a big difference between "organic" and "natural", and to meet USDA standards, 95% of the ingredients need to be organic (the other 5% can, for instance, be De-Con RoachProof). Of course, there's a political aspect to organics, but Stusser points out that organic farms are not the Trotskyist Paradise that one might think - and, indeed, organic food may be a bit bourgeois, as Stusser sees a 58% increase in the cost of his family's monthly groceries.

Along with the serious stuff, Stusser points out the lighter side of his conversion ("Luckily, I discovered an organic vodka called Square One"). And even if you decide that those Jeno's Pizza Rolls are too goddamn tasty to give up, Stusser thinks that one can actually eat in a healthier and more environmentally responsible way. Now, speaking of organic vodka...

Ways to Save Money on your Groceries

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:32:00 GMT

Thrifty Mommy published a list of 50 ways to save money on your grocery bill. She has some really good advice in here, some of it is obvious (check sale flyers and use coupons) and some are ideas that I didn't even know were options. Did you know you could get rainchecks for out-of-stock sale items? You can come back later and get the lower price even after the sale is over.

How about not going grocery shopping hungry? That is always one to think about. I remember one time I went to the supermarket dying of thirst and I ended up buying milk, water, lemonade, beer, orange juice, coke and fruit punch. I really could have been very happy with just the milk, beer and water.

She also suggests buying store brands. I have very mixed feeling about this. For example, I know Clorox makes the Publix brand bleach. It is safe to buy Publix bleach. I think most canned beans taste similar. I've also had terrible luck buying store brand dishwashing liquid. If it takes eight times as much soap to wash your three pans, you aren't really saving money in the long run. What are your money saving tips at the grocery store?