Beating Broke

How to Feed Your Family on a Low Budget

February 8, 2020 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

If you have a low income or you’re paying down debt, saving for retirement or college, or just want to be a good steward of your money, you may want to keep your grocery budget as low as possible. According to the USDA, the average cost to feed a family of four for a month based on their thrifty guidelines is approximately $646.80. You may be wondering how to feed your family on a low budget and spend less than or equal to the USDA’s thrifty guidelines. Doing so is challenging, but it can be done. Here are some strategies that will help you:

Cook at Home

Eating out will cost you more, plain and simple. If you’re trying to keep your food bill in check, cook at home for all of your meals. You’ll save hundreds of dollars a month by choosing to eat at home versus eating at a restaurant.

Get Back to the Basics

You can eat nutritiously without breaking the bank. Find simple recipes that nourish your body and save you money. Some examples include vegetarian soup, noodle soup, chili, spaghetti, etc. Make sure that you serve a generous side (or two or three) or fruits and vegetables to stretch your main dish.

Use Low Cost Proteins

How to Feed Your Family on a Low Budget — Photo by Anh Nguyen on Unsplash

If you’re on a budget, you likely won’t be eating steak. Instead, go for the cheaper types of proteins such as ground meat, chicken legs and thighs, beans, tofu, and cheese.

Use Healthy Carbohydrate Fillers

When you’re eating carbs at a meal, choose the least expensive but still nutritious carbs such as brown rice and sweet potatoes or Russet potatoes. Remember, carbohydrates have a place in your meal, but you likely don’t want the majority of your meals to be based around carbs. Instead, also focus on fruits and vegetables.

Consider Growing a Veggie Garden

If you’re able, consider growing a vegetable garden. You don’t need a lot of space to do this. If you have no space, consider an herb garden that you can grow on your kitchen window sill. If you’re in an apartment or have a small yard, you can grow some veggies in pots on your patio or balcony. Be creative!

Utilize Frugal Websites

Have a few frugal recipe websites in your repertoire to save. Sites like Budget Bytes, Good Cheap Eats, and $5 Dollar Dinners have delicious, healthy, frugal recipes. Consult these sites regularly for new ideas. All of these sites also have vegetarian recipes, which will help you save by limiting your meat consumption.

Make a Few Freezer Meals

If you make a meal and have ample leftovers, consider freezing some of it. Also, when you make a meal, you can intentionally make extras by doubling the recipe. Then put one serving in the freezer. Freezer meals are the perfect way to help you save money when you have a busy day and don’t have time to cook or when you have an unexpected event such as a child who is sick so you can’t get to the store.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to feed your family on a low budget is possible, you just have to be strategic when it comes to grocery shopping and meal planning.

4 Ways TV Watching is Hurting Your Finances

February 3, 2020 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

There’s nothing better after a long, hard day of work than to kick back and watch your favorite television show. However, what you consider to be a harmless way to unwind may be affecting your wallet in ways that you hadn’t even considered. In fact, there are 4 ways TV watching is hurting your finances.

Expense of Cable

At the most obvious level, you’re paying money to have the television set, pay for the cable, and use the electricity. If you still have cable, you’re likely paying $60 or more for the privilege of watching a wide variety of channels. That is at least $720 a year. If you’ve broken up with cable, congratulations, you’re saving yourself some serious money.

4 Ways TV Viewing Is Hurting Your Finances — Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

However, you likely pay for Netflix or other similar programs. You might be spending as little as $11 a month on this, so you’re looking at approximately $130 a year, much better than paying for cable. While you can pat yourself on the back for this smart move, know that watching shows is still costing you money, but in different ways.

Unrealistic Expectations

Watching television shows and movies can fill you with unrealistic expectations. While you may make a modest salary and be in the market for a modest house, thanks to shows like House Hunters, you expect a large master suite, a perfectly manicured lawn, and a three car garage. Your expectations have been elevated outside the realm of your own budget thanks to television.

Likewise, you may see characters like Rachel on Friends struggling to make it working as a coffee shop waitress, yet she wears glamorous clothes and has a nice New York City apartment. This is not reality, but television isn’t about being real. It’s about selling a dream, and most of the audience accepts the dream at the cost of their own finances.

Takes Time Away from Other Pursuits

The average American aged 35 to 49 watches five hours of television a day! (NY Daily News). That is 35 hours a week. Imagine all of the other things you could do with that time. You could invest your time in growing your income, whether that means a side hustle, going back to school to increase your future income, taking online classes, or reading a book. Your time could be used in so many other productive ways. Plus, advertisers would not be able to reach you as they reach those passively watching television, which means you’d likely keep more money in your pocket.

Health Issues

Finally, those 35 hours of passive television watching can take quite a toll on your health. Not only are you likely to indulge in unhealthy snack foods while watching television, you’re also not exercising. Years of excessive TV watching can lead to an increase in weight and health issues. In fact, according to CNN, researchers discovered that “for every additional two hours people spend glued to the tube on a typical day, their risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases by 20% and their risk of heart disease increases by 15%.”

While watching television may seem like a harmless pastime, keep in mind how much it’s really costing you. If you want to relax, consider grabbing a book instead or hanging out with friends.

How much television do you watch? Do you agree that T.V. viewing is affecting your finances, or do you not feel it has an effect?

The Best Spacing of Children for Your Finances

January 30, 2020 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

My husband and I have three kids. The first two are 4.4 years apart, and the second two are 17 months apart. Our younger two get along great and are playmates most of the time, save for the occasional fight. Our oldest is so far apart in age from them that he doesn’t really have much to do with either of the younger ones.

If you’re just starting your family or planning to do so, you may wonder what the perfect age separation is between your children. That can vary wildly depending on your family, your kids, and their interests. However, if you’re looking at the best spacing of children for your finances, I’d recommend having children 4 to 5 years apart.

Why? There are several reasons:

Braces

The Best Spacing of Children for Your Finances — Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash

My oldest got braces when he was 11.5, but they didn’t come off until he was 13.5. We paid in installments (interest free) almost that entire time. As soon as his braces were paid off, literally the next month, our middle child started the process of expanding her jaw to prepare for braces. I’m thankful that we didn’t have to pay for braces for two kids at once. I’m also thankful that it looks like our youngest won’t need braces, so I still won’t have to pay for braces for two kids at the same time.

Growth Spurts

I think our oldest is on a permanent growth spurt, and his appetite is no joke. It was nice, for a few years when his rapid growth and appetite were larger than my husband’s, to still have two smaller children who had much smaller appetites. I can’t imagine having three ravenous teenage children at once who are eating me out of house and home.

Day Care Costs

Our oldest attended day care and preschool while I continued to work. He had almost finished preschool and was nearly ready to go to a public kindergarten (read free!) when we had our second child. I did get ample maternity leave with my second, so we didn’t have to worry about paying for two kids in day care.

However, I was only back to work a short while before I became pregnant with #3. When I thought about returning to work and looked at the daycare costs for two children under two, I realized I would be working simply to pay for daycare. I quit my job and have been working as a freelance writer from home ever since.

College

This is probably the biggest reason to space your children four or five years apart. You can get one child through college before the next one starts. Sure, if you have more than one child in college you’ll likely qualify for more financial aid, but it will still cost you more than if you were paying for only one child in college.

Empty Nest

Okay, this one doesn’t have much to do with finances, but when you space your children further apart, you become an empty nester much more slowly. When my oldest leaves home, I’ll likely still have several years at home with my younger two. I can’t imagine having all of my kids move out around the same time if they are closely spaced together.

Of course, there are many considerations, not just financial, when deciding how closely to have your children. However, the best spacing of children for your finances is four to five years apart.

If you have kids, did you decide on spacing based on finances or other factors? How far apart did you space your kids and why?