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So, from the beginning it has been a desire of Joe and my heart that we would homeschool. In order to do so he must work and I must stay here...otherwise the whole homeschool thing would be quite a bit more complicated. Well, as we all know one income can make things tight. But tight does not have to mean uncomfortable. Not only do we have just one income, but we have high standards for our food. We believe in real food. We desire to eat foods that God has made and to avoid foods that man has destroyed. We also avoid even healthy packaged foods, mostly because of the expense (not to mention the fact that they are rarely any better for you). This does require more work and planning, but is really not as hard as you may think. We try to keep our bill below $300 a month. This may sound low for a healthy food budget...but there are some reasons for this. 1: We have animals...so milk and eggs are free, and really fairly unlimited (except in the winter, when those stubborn chickens refuse to lay!). Yes we pay for animal feed, but we also sell the excess of the product so we end up even. If we had to buy raw milk from grass fed animals it would be $5 a gallon and eggs from pastured chickens would be $3.00 a dozen. That could easily run us $90.00-$100.00 a month. So all the extra work and effort is worth it for us. I know this is not an option for everyone, but if it is consider it. 2: We buy most of our grains, beans and many other products in bulk. I do not have a big house where I can store all these things, but we have been creative with our space. Our house is around 1000 square feet. We have three bedrooms, but only use two. The third has been turned into a pantry/storage room. We use buckets (some five gallon and some 3 gallon (free from the Costco bakery)). This really does make a difference in the budget. If we bought these things individually it would cost way more and the bonus of having ingredients on hand is that we don't go to the store as often (which also saves money). 3: Our children are small and young. They do not eat as much as an adult, but they do still eat quite a bit for their size. 4; Fresh produce is really important to us and while I would love that it all be organic...that is not possible because organic prices get jacked up ridiculously high. We buy a large amount of bananas from Costco..they end up being about 25cents a piece, which is a pretty cheep snack. Plus bananas are low on the pesticide absorption list, as are avocados. On my last Azure order I ordered 40lbs of no spray apples for just $16! I was able to freeze and dehydrate these for future use. Also we pick our own no spray blueberries in the summer for just $1.10 a pound! So our freezer is well stocked with those healthy berries. We also grow a garden in the summer ( at least I am learning how) this helps and we have apple trees. I usually keep organic corn and green beans in the freezer and regularly buy spinach, broccoli, onions, peppers and garlic. 5: Meat, this is the one that grabs all our$$$$$$$. We buy grass fed hamburger from a local farm for $2.50 a pound. We buy whole foster farms chickens (not pastured, but a decent compromise) for 99cents a pound. We bought a whole pig from friends a while back but at $3.00 a pound it was not cheap. We hope to raise our own meat soon and sell so as to come out free on meat too! I also buy cheese, evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, raw honey, Celtic sea salt and a few other condiments (barbecue sauce and raspberry chipotle sauce for hubby). Although I try to avoid anything containing high fructose corn syrup. So, we eat simply, but eat plenty (sometimes more than we should) and we definitely eat healthy. Not to mention our real food tastes delicious! You can eat a very nourishing diet and still keep a low bill. For Fantastic Frugal Ideas Click Here! |
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Posted by Anonymous
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