Life brag

[cath007]

salut connais tu emplois quebec...peut etre que ton chum y est admissible vu quil a travailler 2 ans a temps plein...ca vaut la peine de verifier car il te verse une genre dallocation par mois pour etudier pendant le temps des etudes...jai une amie qui a eu ce programme!

Je sais que tu parle francais par le nom de la ville...alors je ne lecris pas en anglais...jespere que cest correct

[flyingdutch]

such a great brag!

It seems like you and your DH have a plan and you are in it together which is AWESOME! Truly being a team in this will help you more than you realise. Just keep talking with him about concerns you have, he seems to be a good rock of stability for you emotionally and this is also quite amazing and wonderful, and likewise encourage him to tell you his concerns as well. I wish you all the best for the future. It looks like, while rough now, it will be a truly bright one!

[lilo0003]

Thank you for sharing your story, so much great advice and support in our SC world. You are right it will be tough, but you and your family will be so much better off. If you need baby coupons let me know as I have thankfully grown past that age.

[Kandemom]

I have been saving money lately since my husband has stopped eating meat and dairly for health reasons. I save a lot of money by not buying cheese, meat and yoghurt. You can search on line for a lot of vegetarian or vegan meals and some are quite good. I now cook with a lot of lentils and they can save you money. Instead of ground beef, use lentils that you have rinsed and cooked according to the package. You do not soak lentils before cooking so they cook quickly. I make lentil tacos, lentil sloppy joes, lentil stuffed peppers, rice with lentils, lentil "meatballs" and the whole family eats them including my picky daughter! I have started making soups too, which is great to use up any leftover bits of vegetables. To make soup into a meal I will serve it with home-made bread (which is cheaper than buying bread when you buy the x-large bag of flour). I stock up on pasta and sauce when it is on sale so that is a cheap meal for us, and quick too since I never make sauce from scratch.

Best of luck to you and your husband!

[Kandemom]

Another money saving tip is oatmeal. I cannot believe the price of breakfast cereal these days so my family eats oatmeal at breakfast. I buy a large 2-pack at Costco and that lasts us a while. My husband cooks his with water since he is not eating any dairy, but I cook oatmeal with milk for me and my girls since the three of us still drink milk. You can make oatmeal tasty by adding in cinnamon, vanilla, bananas, peanut butter, jam, or whatever else you have.

[cath007]

I love the last tip...cereal are so dispensive I never purchase them if they have not a good deal or free one with coupons

[coley3]

All are really great ideas. $100 a month will be super hard. I am not sure many of us on here could do it. I would plan out the entire month, Breakfast lunch and dinner. Look at what you have at home and then what you need to make those meals happen. Then pair it up with flyers for the week. You might have to change certain meals you have with different weeks if there are no good sales. With $100 budget you need some good deals and clearance.
For example :
Monday
Breakfast-Cereal (1 box about $5. Divide that out between how many servings per box. Let's say 10. $5 divided by 10 = .50 cents a serving x 2 (you and hubby) + some milk .50 =$1.50
Lunch-Sandwich and veggies (loaf of bread $2, bag of mini carrots $1, 1 cucumber $1, sandwhich meat $1). You wouldn't use the whole loaf so .50 for the bread and $3 for the rest= $3.50 for 2
Supper-Long Spagetti and sauce (pasta box $2 and 1 jar sauce $1 + a few veggies thrown in $1.50. Juice/pop to drink $1 =$5.50
Total for the day = $10.50 x 30 days in a month = $315.00 So since you have a $100 budget you need to keep cost down to $3.33 a day.
I thinking using a budget like this would really help. Some days you could spend more but then eat leftovers the next day etc. Let's us know how you are doing throughout your month. How much you have left to spend etc. It would be neat to see. I used to spend over $1000 a month in groceries for a family of 5. Included diapers and formula. Now I am down to $585 a month of course no diapers or formula now. It still gives me room to stock up on some items each month. I just might give a lower total a try for Nov. Just to see how low I can go.

I know these are hard times but hang in there. You have a great attitude and you guys are making a better life for you and your baby. You can do it.

I read your brag on the Tena. What a great find for you both. That was a great way to keep the grocery cost way down and have some yummy meals.

[kouponKween]

such good advice everyone has given you! I noticed when we decided to save on food, we started buying a lot of fresh food and becoming creative. Stuff like chicken fingers, pre made lasagne, fish sticks really adds up! I was able to reduce my bill by half! So lots of fruits and veggies and I bought minced chicken or turkey when it was on sale. I made a lot of stews, tacos, soups, chilli, and fresh pasta sauce with minced chicken. These dishes always made at least enough portions that we could eat twice. I also always keep sliced veggies and fruits in the fridge so I have healthy options! We usually spend about $70 on food a week by doing this.

[jaxflower]

Keep up the positive attitude, that will go a looong way! My tip - cooking a big eye of the round roast that I get at No Frills for $1.49-1.99/lb (or lately a turkey cos they were sooo cheap) and freezing portions for later. I had 1 roast that was only $7.50 & I got 4 meals out of it - that's for 2 adults & 2 4yo (who admittedly don't eat much but thats less than $2 for meat per meal!). I make soup, we eat sadwiches & the kids fave is now turkey pot pie - just throw in a can of soup (0.59cents!), milk & frozen veggies with a Pillsbury crust on top. I love figuring out how much each meal/serving costs & seeing how cheap I can get it!

[Fibrana]

I would recommend cheaper cuts of meat and get a crockpot! I get cheap chicken legs and put veggies underneath. It is so tender and good ! Also, make soups and chili. Chili is very filling and healthy. Look for sales and stock up. Right now, they have carrots, potatoes and onions on sale for $2 for 10 lbs! Try chili or meatloaf. Beef is cheap right now because of the e. coli scare. Wishing you all the best.