Bankrupt by Cheeseburger

Our family were big credit card abusers in grocery stores.  We hadn't gone to the grocery store with a list on a regular basis in a long time. We would go and grab what we needed, usually supplementing our groceries with a lot of indulgent items like corn chips with flaxseeds, pure and virtuous cookies made by celebrities, antipasto from the olive bar by the pound.

Well, those darned credit card companies started a war with us, raising those rates so high that we can barely pay them.  And it may be the best thing that happen to us in a long time because we began to really look at those little extras and ask, "What do we need?"  And, even more importantly, "How much of a hippy are you really?"  Surprisingly, we're still pretty much still a where the hell did my food come from eaters. Just because I'm broke doesn't give me the right to abuse my child with preservatives.

So this is what we came up with: the husband and I are dieting.  Or that's what we tell ourselves in our denial of our poverty.  We create menus and shop according to specific dining issues.  We will still buy good cheese but we do not eat the whole damned thing in two days.  It has to last because otherwise we are overindulging, off our "diet."  Like a certain successful diet plan on a point system, we consider portions and  content.  For instance fiber heavy food fills you up and you don't eat as much.  Items high in sugar tend to make be behave like a junkie.  Same goes for salt.  Must. Have. More.   We think about what we are shoveling in our pie holes.   We are on a diet. And we are saving at least a hundred bucks a month, probably more.

We are lucky enough to live within driving distance of a Trader Joe's, a store that seems to have more reasonable prices than a lot of retailers that are heavy on natural products.  We always get cookies for school and baked tortilla chips for  reasonable prices. Trader Joe's has fair trade large bars of super dark chocolate for around 2 bucks (good luck finding that price in a natural food store).  I find that if I eat a square or two of that, it nails the sweet tooth.

 In fact, anything with a strong flavor tends to keep me from eating much of it.  Strong cheeses, extremely spicy foods, etc. This store is also great for accumulating bags of frozen vegetables, dumplings, peanut butter, mac and cheese without scary ingredients kits (for the kid), other food that can make light lunches.  All are decent prices. And coffee.  Fair Trade even.  That is cheap, won't rot a hole in your stomach and you can grind yourself if you want which can be kind of fun.

Our favorite wholesale warehouse is great for boxed organic chocolate milk at decent prices.  And we can get regular non-hormone ridden milk there at the cheapest price anywhere. We get 2 loaves of decent whole wheat bread for 6 bucks. Also, they have huge pizzas for ten bucks that we split in half, freeze and use for two meals.  We take it home and load it with vegetables and the all natural chicken sausage that we also get in bulk there. Don't know how frozen pizza falls into the closely examined ingredients  food stuff category but, hell, that's five bucks a meal.  I turn a blind eye!  Also, sometimes they have samples of specialty cheesecakes.  Very small.  Won't ruin the "diet." And if it has preservatives, well, its cheesecake. Preservatives wouldn't dare.

Unfortunately,  fresh fruit and vegetables that aren't beamed down from God knows where are a hard one.  We used to live near a farm that had cold storage and could score apples from there at a decent price but most farm stands close for the year.  It can't hurt to look around and see if something local is still open if its close enough not to cost you the difference in gas.  The best I can say is look for deals and hope to get lucky on the non-pesticide products. 

The trick is to plan like you are going to war and that you really need to lose ten pounds.  Think of every snack that you may want.  Every meal that you may have that will not include everyone.  Try to make dinner meals that you can stretch out for lunches too. Know your portions.  Know what options your stores have to offer.    Even if you have to go to several stores, it will save you gas if you don't keep running back again and again.   And add the treats that you want for the week.  These are important because this is a positive blog about surviving financial woes.  Not a punishing blog.  One grass fed steak all month is not going to do nearly the damage of not planning at all and shopping randomly. We do Sunday bacon.  A half pound of fancy schmacy bacon at World Famous Massive Natural Food Store that rhymes with "Mole Thoods" is 4 bucks.  The best four bucks spent all week.  Because we know it is coming and from where it originated. And I am down at least a hundred bucks a month and 5 pounds to boot.