If you haven’t read tips 1-7 click here, it will help give you insight. They loved the Jams, because I would make ones that you couldn’t buy. It wasn’t just strawberry jam. It was strawberry peach or strawberry rhubarb or peach raspberry, things like that. So they loved that aspect of it, but it also worked out to be a blessing to others because then I was able to give gifts to people who didn’t have the time and energy to do that. And they wanted it for their family. So I was able to give gifts to them, or if you’re really focused tip #8, as a side hustle, you do it for extra cash to be sold at farmers markets or local stores. That’s something, another way you could supplement your family budget.
Tip #9 along with that planning and prep is meat. Meat is the biggest portion of our grocery budget. And whether you’re vegan or not, there’s always a protein source that’s involved in your budget. And that protein source is usually the most expensive. So one of the things we found early on, was that we could go buy our meat from the butcher at a far less expensive rate, than if I just went to the grocery store and got it.
It’s not like I went, and got two steaks from the butcher. It’s not like that. So what we did is, again, remember we have the freezer. We would buy a quarter of a beef, and then we would get some chicken to supplement.
When you buy a quarter of a whole beef at a time you can pick the cuts you want and you get a better price break. We would often use our tax refund or set aside $100 extra a month or use our bonuses to pay for these. Every once in a while we would get some pork, or ham when it would go on sale, things of that nature. That would feed our family for nine months. So if you plan it, it is possible. We had a family of four and oftentimes always had other kids coming and going, and family members and such. So our kids never went hungry. And I was still able to do it on $400 a month. Those were just some of the tricks that I did.
You may have other tricks that work better for you, that you like better. But the biggest key is being able to provide for your family, healthy, nutritious meals that don’t stress you out. That you feel good about serving to them, that everybody likes and enjoys. I didn’t start out being a very good cook. I got better as the years went on. And I think sometimes I have days now where I’m not quite as good, because I’m not quite as practiced. Right? My kids have grown, they’re eating out more, things of that nature. So it is something that with practice, anything is possible. So including, and incorporating a budget into your family, isn’t a bad thing. It just may be a different thing, that takes a little bit of learning. If you’d like more tips about that, feel free to drop your email below.
Many countries would look at $400 a month, and be like, that would feed us for three months, right? In America prices, and things are different than they are in other countries. But in Western culture, it is slightly different how we eat. The style and the foods, and things of that nature. So keep that in mind. It is possible. Feed your family on a budget. Find a different way to make things fun and enjoyable. Oftentimes the kids were involved with that meal planning, and that’s how I taught my kids to cook. They were responsible for cooking one meal of the night, they had to pick it, and they had to cook it.
And it was never hot dogs, that was not on the menu. They had to cook food. So they had to learn. So it can be a fun thing and it is possible. I hope you have fun with it, just as we did!
