How to make ends meet?

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Forum -> Household Management -> Finances

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amother

Lemon

Mon, May 07 2018, 10:40 pm

Both dh and I have good jobs but we can't make ends meet... Food bills are very high due to multiple food allergies in the family. Other than that I don't overspend at all! Any advice is appreciated.

mirror

Mon, May 07 2018, 11:51 pm

I'm sure you buy in bulk already. A friend of mine used to run to the stores after Pesach to buy all the leftover lecithin-free chocolate chips. Perhaps if you list what your family is allergic to, we can best advise you.

flowerpower

Mon, May 07 2018, 11:52 pm

Can you buy the food that you need for the allergy kid(s) at places like Costco?

mandksima

Tue, May 08 2018, 5:42 am

If you list the food allergies, perhaps we can have more concrete advice on ways to substitute or save. Also, what is your food bill for how big a family?

southernbubby

Tue, May 08 2018, 7:54 am

Even if you don't overspend, are there areas where you could spend less?

While cooking, sewing, etc, I listen to youtubes and one series was called Living on a Dime. It was some non-Jews who had some bad luck and who now had no money. One of the things that they did was before buying anything, they looked around the house for other things they could use, for example if they were out of Neosporin but had hydrogen peroxide for cuts, they used the hydrogen peroxide. If they were out of light bulbs, they would take the few functioning ones and move them from room to room.

They did lots of DIY projects instead of buying such as making their own laundry detergent, cleaning products, shampoo and the like.

Doesn't sound like much fun but it worked for them and eventually they got back on their feet and didn't have to live like that anymore.

I am not sure if any of that works for you but before you spend, look through what you have.

amother

Slategray

Tue, May 08 2018, 10:43 am

I coupon and I find forget the food a minute I save a ton ( well I get for free or almost nothing) body soap, shampoo ,conditioner paper towels ,toilet paper ,tissues , detergent, school supplies, cleaning products and just things like that it says me a ton!! Also I try not to use paper towels and use dish Rags more so my paper towels are mostly for things like cleaning the bathroom and little things that I might need it for. I keep my heat low and I had to turn my heat off and even though we had a few cold these last week because I was new was going to warm up I did not turn my heat back on. I also try to keep my air conditioners off as much as I can.

amother

Brown

Tue, May 08 2018, 10:45 am

What is your joint, after tax monthly income, and what are you spending on food, housing, school?

amother

Denim

Tue, May 08 2018, 12:07 pm

Slategray, not to derail the thread, but can you give me some pointers how to coupon? I've been trying this but not sure I've been saving money Sad

LittleDucky

Tue, May 08 2018, 3:44 pm

amother wrote:

Slategray, not to derail the thread, but can you give me some pointers how to coupon? I've been trying this but not sure I've been saving money Sad

I totally coupon too. Not slategray. Try with one item. Free toothpaste at CVS is an easy one you can do once a month or so. Do you have MC (manufacturer coupons)? Coupons.com has printable ones or your newspaper. Or CVS or other store app. What questions Do you have?

amother

Lemon

Tue, May 08 2018, 6:06 pm

Buying in bulk is a good idea but where could you buy fish and chicken in bulk? Allergies include gluten (celiac), eggs and tomatoes.

southernbubby

Tue, May 08 2018, 6:11 pm

amother wrote:

Buying in bulk is a good idea but where could you buy fish and chicken in bulk? Allergies include gluten (celiac), eggs and tomatoes.

What kind of community are you in? Here in Detroit, you can buy cases of chicken and fish at One Stop kosher.

amother

Forestgreen

Tue, May 08 2018, 7:27 pm

In my experience, buying in bulk is not as cheap as buying on sale. When chicken or fish goes on sale, stock up majorly! (Worth investing in a used second freezer if necessary.)

Teomima

Tue, May 08 2018, 7:58 pm

I hear you. (Speaking from experience) celiac can be very expensive if you don't do your own baking. Even when you do bake from scratch, the ingredients cost more than simple flour, and you can not buy them from the bulk bin due to the risk of cross-contamination. But if money really is that tight, I'd suggest staying away from "alternatives". Rice/corn crackers are cheaper than GF bread, rice and rice noodles are cheaper than specialty GF pasta, etc. When ingredients like rice flour, tapioca starch, etc. go on sale, stock up. Use those to then make your own everything, really, instead of buying (I've made, from scratch, delicious GF muffins, bagels, breads, challahs, even flaky buttery croissant, and its much more affordable than pre-made/frozen, especially if you can get the raw materials on sale).

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