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Right now we are a family of 8 soon to be 9. My wife and I our 4 soon to be 5 kids and my parents live with us. We TRY to live off of 800$ a month for food but we are ALWAYS out of that money by the middle of the month! We have tried shopping at discount stores,we have tried shopping for 2 weeks and then 1 week at a time unless it was meat we only eat ground turkey and chicken so we get a lot of that to make meals around....it never lasts! We are trying to cut out soda and its working but that didn't seem to help stretch our budget. Any ideas? We shop mostly at Walmart and Ingles where we live...Just seems like food prices are skyrocketing.
You may be forced to get social service assistance due to the large number of mouths to feed and the limited money for food. the best suggestion is having some of the adults get jobs or better paying jobs. Second is simply to give up one of the kids to an adoption agency. My suggestion is based on an assumption that you have already cut out unnecessary expenses like cable TV, eating out, vacations, and all the normal things that people spend money on when they should be feeding their family, otherwise there was no reason to be asking a question, asked all the time with the same answer of cutting out stupid expenses.
Don’t eat so much meat. Grains and legumes. Dirt cheap if bought in their dried state.
Grow Sprouts for greens - cheap, easy and healthful.
Grow a garden if you can.
If there’s a gleaners organization near you, join.
Seems like you ought to qualify for food stamps. Even if you can’t, google up a free cookbook titled “Cheap Eats”. Lots of hints there for food stamp users.
How old are your kids - babysitting, newspaper routes. Or if they’re not old enough, maybe one or more of the adults could bring in some cash that way.
Also, how are you accessing the internet? If you have cable, cut the cord.
NEVER buy clothes new. It’s been 30 years since I did, and I am quite presentable, thank you.
And now I’m going to get personal. Have you ever considered contraception? It’s a good way to keep your expenses down.
Do you shop at Sam's? The prices are lower and you obviously can use the bulk sizes of food. They've got good prices on toilet paper and paper towels too.
If you can learn how to cook pork, it's often the cheapest meat.
Right now we are a family of 8 soon to be 9. My wife and I our 4 soon to be 5 kids and my parents live with us. We TRY to live off of 800$ a month for food but we are ALWAYS out of that money by the middle of the month! We have tried shopping at discount stores,we have tried shopping for 2 weeks and then 1 week at a time unless it was meat we only eat ground turkey and chicken so we get a lot of that to make meals around....it never lasts! We are trying to cut out soda and its working but that didn't seem to help stretch our budget. Any ideas? We shop mostly at Walmart and Ingles where we live...Just seems like food prices are skyrocketing.
Probably shouldn't have had that 5th kid eh? Other than cutting coupons and buying very cheap food in bulk there's not much else you can do. Maybe your parents can move out?
Well, there are at least a few good suggestions here. I really think that you should see if you qualify for assistance. Are there any food pantries in your area? Some of them are quite good, and even the ones that aren't can give you something.
Do the children get free or reduced price lunch at school? Is there a program which covers that over the summer?
Probably shouldn't have had that 5th kid eh? Other than cutting coupons and buying very cheap food in bulk there's not much else you can do. Maybe your parents can move out?
I was the "oops" child. I wasn't planned. My parents dealt with it. Did you really need to say that?
You need to apply for SNAP(foodstamps). If you have medicaid, your ID will let you in to the food banks too. Go see a Social Worker at your local welfare office. With that many people to support I would bet you qualify for all sorts of help. I can't tell where you live but if there is a 99centsOnlyStore near you, it needs to be your first stop. They have real food, not just junk.
Find out where the food banks are and get everything you can for free. Take stock of what you get and use your SNAP to fill in the holes. Learn when your local stores do their markdowns on meat and dairy. It's your job to get there first and snag as many deals as you can.
If you belong to a church, find out if they have a food bank or assistance available. More free food!
In my area, I would never shop at Walmart. Their prices are much too high.
I was the "oops" child. I wasn't planned. My parents dealt with it. Did you really need to say that?
The OP has four kids and a fifth one on the way and can't afford it. There's the saying, "if you can't feed 'em don't breed 'em." This is just being irresponsible, especially if they have to start resorting to things like SNAP and WIC because at that point now the taxpayers are supporting you.
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