5 Easy Ways I Keep the Grocery Bill "Lower"

Oh man.  I was just NOT prepared for how much food children eat.  Here is how I help keep my grocery bill "lower."

1.  No Juice.  One glass of milk at breakfast only.  (This also keep the kids from filling up on milk only).  The rest of the day we drink water.

2.  Go meatless a couple days a week.  Black bean burgers, pinto bean enchiladas, and Chile are some of our favorite meatless meals.

3.  Limit snacks.  I try and limit the snacks the children eat.  They eat better at dinner then too.  I keep bananas and clementines on the counter for a between meal option and that is about it.  

4.  Plan  meals around the weekly sale ad.

5.  Stock up on essentials when they go really cheap.  About every 5-6 weeks my local grocery store will run a 10 items for 10 dollars and get the 11th item free deal.  Every item that is in the sale that we eat on a regular basis I buy in bulk (whole wheat bread, frozen waffles, frozen veggies, toothpaste etc.)

*Kids help themselves to breakfast.

Getting Out of Debt

A lot of people comment/hint that Bill I are lucky when they learn we are out of debt (except for the house).  This annoys me a little because I don't think "luck" had anything to do with it.   Getting out of debt was a serious effort and a  "giving" up of many things.

How did we do it?

We followed Dave Ramsey's Plan ( look into his radio show/read his books/check out his website for more information on that) and lived below our income...way below.

Homemade Laundry Soap

We lived in a tiny 500/month apartment (we probably could have afforded a luxury apartment in our town at 1,250 a month), we didn't have internet or cable, we ate things like beans/rice and boxed mac-n-cheese for dinner.  I think my husband bought beer 3-4 times the entire two years we were getting out of debt.  When I needed work clothes or shoes we went to goodwill.  We didn't buy Christmas or birthday presents for each other.  We made our own laundry soap.  (still do).  Get the idea?

Was it worth it?  YES.  In 21 months we paid off 42,000 in student loans.  It was so worth it.

Were we inappropriately cheap?  I don't think so...we still bought Christmas gifts for our parents and our son.  We still gave to our church.  If we were invited to dinner at friend's house we bought a dish or special beverage to share.

When people comment how lucky we are that we are out of debt and they just finished telling me they ate at Red Lobster last week and they have an Iphone...I get a little annoyed.  Understand  why?