Penny-wise. I like that adjective a lot better than frugal, penny-pinching or the gawd awful “cheap”. Penny-wise has a smart ring to it. And I fancy myself a smart penny-wise single mom. Like everyone else in America my family and I have tightened our belts and made strident efforts to cut back where we can. This is especially important when it comes to feeding a family, mine includes two teenagers…and their friends.
SINGLE MOMS SAVING MONEY
In the heyday, at the turn of the century (around 2000), we’d have the neighborhood over and feed them the finest kid food available; fruit roll ups, juice boxes, lunchables, you single moms know what I’m talking about. Half drunk bottles of water and slightly touched sandwiches would be tossed with reckless abandon. Today is a completely different story. We have to be considerate of our planet and our pocketbooks.
FOOD PATTERNS
Tracking your family’s feeding patterns is the biggest key to saving money. For the next 4 weeks watch your consumption patterns. How quickly do you go through a gallon of milk? Do you toss half of it out after the expiration date, or are you running back to the store at midnight when there’s a must have cookies and milk emergency. What about cereals, cheeses, and lunch meat. Do you run through pasta like your feeding an Italian army? How about fruit and veggies? How long can you make them last and which ones seem to go first? And as much as we would all like our children to try new things, is it really worth buying the expensive swiss chard when they are just as happy with broccoli. Right now is not the time to experiment with iffy foods when thrifty is our number one prerogative.
GET YOUR KIDS INVOLVED
By using this tracking method my girls and I have found a new path to creating cost conscious, earth friendly, and healthy meals. We made it a fun for everyone adventure. First we went to the store and bought all the foods we love and knew for sure we would eat. We brought it all home, laid it out on the counter and created a grid of everything we purchased to hang on the fridge. Every time we ate one of our purchases we marked it down. It is really amazing as a single mom to observe your family’s eating patterns. It is good for your diet too… click on the link to find out more about the fast and affordable meal delivery service.
This is interesting, post more often!