The third part about that food prep is also the many things that you can actually do at home that most people don’t realize. So for instance, almost every kid loves peanut butter, and jelly. Right? Most people don’t realize how easy jam is to make and how much money they make on jam so you can make your own at home. Super easy, super simple. So, often times, berries you can get it at the end of the season at an even better price because they’re just trying to clear them out. So I would wait until the end of the season to get those berries or fruits and things because I always mixed mine and it’s literally throwing it in a pot, you cook it, you throw in your sugar, you throw your pectin, put it in a jar, done. It’s that simple guys. It really is, you can even do freezer jam if you’d prefer that but it isn’t hard. It isn’t complicated, just takes a little bit of prep, right? I had to actually plan out this time.

So every year I would plan ahead in the summertime to make my jam. I would can vegetables. Vegetables, same thing. I remember when green beans used to be 25 cents a can and now they’re like a dollar a can, absolutely ridiculous. The green beans haven’t changed guys. They’re the same. So I did also the same thing, and we were able to grow a garden. So certain things that my family loved like green beans didn’t always do so well in our garden. Snap peas did great. So, we did that with lettuces and things that we could, you eat all summer long, and then in, I would go to the farmer’s markets and buy the green beans, and I would just spend a day and can them. So I might spend out of all the days doing my green beans, to do my fruits like peaches. I tried, not a big hit with my family. I didn’t know you needed to do those things hard. So, and then the jams and overall, I might have spent three full days doing that food prep for those items and tomatoes, but it would feed my family for the whole year. I would have those available in my pantry all year long it is in our garage. I wouldn’t have to take a freezer space and it allowed for us to not have to spend the money on that and it always tasted better. My family loved the green beans, a lot better than the ones that we got in the cans. 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, and things like that.

So they love that aspect of it. But it also worked out 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 families. So I was able to give gifts to them or if you’re really ingenuitive, it’s a side hustle, you do it for them, right? And they just pay you.

So that’s something another way you could supplement your family budget, the think was long 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.

Now, I know what you’re saying like that all I’ve called The Butcher. Okay, it’s not like I went and got two steaks from the butcher, it’s not like that. All right? 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. Every once in a while we would get some pork or something or ham when it would go on sale, things of that nature. But that would feed our family for nine months. So if you plan it, it is possible. We had a family of four and often times always had other kids coming and going and what not Family members and such. So our kids never went hungry, right? And I was still able to do it on four hundred dollars a month and 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 your family with healthy and nutritious meals. They don’t stress you out that you feel good about serving them. That everybody likes it 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. I’d be happy to send those out or if you have further questions, We’d be happy to answer those. I do know that it is possible.

Many countries would look at four hundred dollars 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’s slightly different how we eat in the style and the foods and things of that nature. So keep that in mind.

It is possible to feed your family on a budget. Don’t let your family go hungry by any means. 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 and picking it and they had to cook it and it was never hot dogs. That was not on the menu. Then they actually cooked food, so they had to learn, so it can be a fun thing and it is possible. I hope you have fun with it. I hope you enjoy it. I hope you find value in this and we will talk to you next time.