December budget buster.....UGH, does it ever end???

[daleswife]

So the snow came down on friday December 18th. and kept coming down and down and down. It started at about 3pm that day and by 6 we had about 8 inches on the ground. Long story short, at 7pm we lost power, phone, and everything else you can lose to make your life crazy. By saturday morning we had 31 inches. 2 1/2 feet of snow!!! Anyhoo, it started warming up and the snow melted. it got up to about 45 degrees a few days....but we had no power, so it didnt do us any good. We had no heat and no food and no water and no phone so we had to leave our house. Luckily my Uncle had a generator and we went up there. But still, 9 days later, the electricity comes on and all our food is ruined. Im talking over $500 worth of food in my fridge is GONE!!! So now I have to find a way to start all over and I have creditors calling and wanting their money and I have to feed my family and Im just so stressed I could pull out my hair. so while I know there are others with bigger problems, we do now have power, phone and everything, I still have no food and have to decide on which is more important, feeding the family or paying a truck payment. UGH!!!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I have heard that some electric companies will give you some money to buy food to replace food that was ruined in an extended power outage.

Since your phone is back in service, it might not hurt to call and ask if your company offers anything like this.


The other thing, you don't have to replace $500 worth of food at once. Make a meal plan for this week based off what is on sale at your supermarket. Do this for a few weeks and you can buy some time before you fully restock your fridge.

 

[minnie1928]

I always thought food lost due to power outage was claimable on your homeowners insurance. I don't know that I'd claim it (depends on your deductible somewhat), but if things are that tight...maybe you should look into it.

Sorry this happened!

 

[wdwfan16]

So the snow came down on friday December 18th. and kept coming down and down and down. It started at about 3pm that day and by 6 we had about 8 inches on the ground. Long story short, at 7pm we lost power, phone, and everything else you can lose to make your life crazy. By saturday morning we had 31 inches. 2 1/2 feet of snow!!! Anyhoo, it started warming up and the snow melted. it got up to about 45 degrees a few days....but we had no power, so it didnt do us any good. We had no heat and no food and no water and no phone so we had to leave our house. Luckily my Uncle had a generator and we went up there. But still, 9 days later, the electricity comes on and all our food is ruined. Im talking over $500 worth of food in my fridge is GONE!!! So now I have to find a way to start all over and I have creditors calling and wanting their money and I have to feed my family and Im just so stressed I could pull out my hair. so while I know there are others with bigger problems, we do now have power, phone and everything, I still have no food and have to decide on which is more important, feeding the family or paying a truck payment. UGH!!!

Don't you have any non-perishables in the pantry?

 

[daleswife]

I have heard that some electric companies will give you some money to buy food to replace food that was ruined in an extended power outage.

Since your phone is back in service, it might not hurt to call and ask if your company offers anything like this.


The other thing, you don't have to replace $500 worth of food at once. Make a meal plan for this week based off what is on sale at your supermarket. Do this for a few weeks and you can buy some time before you fully restock your fridge.

I wouldnt replace it all at once, but dang to be out all that food, mainly meats frozen, it just sucks. It was during a week that I had just went to the grocery store. and I spend about $300 every two weeks on food. So UGH.....

 

[daleswife]

Don't you have any non-perishables in the pantry?

Not many, we dont eat to many canned things. we eat lots of meats and fresh veggies and cheeses and things. and the things we did have I took with me to my uncles house for us to share while we were staying there.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Did you put the cold food outside when it was cold?

 

[allison443]

I wouldnt replace it all at once, but dang to be out all that food, mainly meats frozen, it just sucks. It was during a week that I had just went to the grocery store. and I spend about $300 every two weeks on food. So UGH.....

The storm was ten days ago...so you would be due to spend another $300 soon since you spend $300 every two weeks. Do you have that $300?

Sorry this happened to you!

 

[natenapril]

What insurance do you have? We have USAA renters and when we lost our power due to a typhoon they sent us a $500 check to replace the freezer items. Try your homeoners/renters insurance company.

 

[daleswife]

Did you put the cold food outside when it was cold?

Yes we did, and dont laugh, But I live in the mountains and some animals got into the cooler we had it in and ate it all. When it rains it pours. Just not my YEAR!!!

 

[disneymom3]

Not many, we dont eat to many canned things. we eat lots of meats and fresh veggies and cheeses and things. and the things we did have I took with me to my uncles house for us to share while we were staying there.

You took the pantry items but left the perishables at home? Why?

We have had this happen too and it sucks. Next time you are going to put food outside in a cooler, a locked garage or even your car is a better bet than where the wild animals can get it. We even lock the food box in the car when we go camping. I have NO desire to attract ANY bears!!

 

[irishbosoxfan]

Years ago when we lived in Maine we lost power for a bit after a storm and being rural we weren't high on the priority list to get it turned back on.

My mom had a freezer full of meat that was going to go bad so my dad utilized what we had available...meaning he dragged a cabinet outside(think bookcase with doors), put all the food from the freezer inside it, filled it with snow, shut the doors then buried it under the snow.

Everything my mom had in the refrigerator either went into all the Tupperware dishes she had and got buried near the porch so it was easy to get to or got put into the cooler in the house using the snow to keep it cold (things like milk and eggs)

We had a wood stove and plenty of sweaters and blankets so we stayed home until they got to plowing us out and got the electric running again.

Wanted to share the story so in case it happens to you again you can have a way of saving your food---or if anyone else reads this hopefully they'll remember it in case they need it.

 

[lila]

Could you visit your local food bank for support this week?

 

[wdwfan16]

Not many, we dont eat to many canned things. we eat lots of meats and fresh veggies and cheeses and things. and the things we did have I took with me to my uncles house for us to share while we were staying there.

Why did you take the cheese and fresh veggie but not take any of the meat with you?

 

[jakenjess]

Why did you take the cheese and fresh veggie but not take any of the meat with you?

Sometimes a generator is only powerful enough to run the furnace, not all the appliances. They may not have had a way to cook it.

OP, I'm so sorry that happened to you. We deal with our share of storms here and I know what a pain it can be. That's a lot of food and money out the window. I hope things are looking up for you soon!

 

[merekc]

I feel your pain. We went through the same thing seven years ago. Ice storm wiped out our electricity for a week. The bad thing was after the first night we came home and all of our neighbors had power so we were expecting ours to be back on. Somehow, our house was the only one on the block on a different grid or something. Took a week to get back.

For all the people questioning your decisions, it doesn't matter. OP just needs a little empathy. At this point the food is gone whether by rot or by sharing to your family. In the middle of a storm getting your family safe and warm is normally your first priority, not the food. Not to mention with the holidays the OP was probably loaded down with gifts and overnight stay stuff.

Call your agent. when this happened to me I was not going to call insurance, it wasn't worth it to risk raising my rates. My agent ended up hearing about me losing the food and called me to make a list and submit for reimbursement. It didn't affect my insurance and I didn't have to meet a deductible.

 

[Silent1CB]

We have a freezer too, but winter storms & possible power outages are why I do NOT keep it filled with $500 worth of food in the winter.

Sorry that happened to you.
Since you probably don't need $500 worth of meat just for this week or even just this month, just buy food closer as you need it to try to take the financial burden off of replacing it. You do not need to replace it all at once.

I agree with others that I too would have taken the perishables with me since you obviously needed to eat where you were going while your power was out.

Lots of great tips here about keeping food without power. Just like all the folks that lived before ice boxes and refridgerators.

 

[daleswife]

The storm was ten days ago...so you would be due to spend another $300 soon since you spend $300 every two weeks. Do you have that $300?

Sorry this happened to you!

Yes I am due to spend money on groceries, and No I don't have the $300 to spend on this right now. We had to spend lots of money on gas and propane for the heaters and generators just to keep the family warm.

What insurance do you have? We have USAA renters and when we lost our power due to a typhoon they sent us a $500 check to replace the freezer items. Try your homeoners/renters insurance company.

I have Liberty mutual. I have already called them, just havent heard back from them yet.

You took the pantry items but left the perishables at home? Why?

I took a lot of stuff with me. but there was just too much for us to eat. and the fridge didnt run on the generator, so even my family had their food out in a cooler out side.

We have had this happen too and it sucks. Next time you are going to put food outside in a cooler, a locked garage or even your car is a better bet than where the wild animals can get it. We even lock the food box in the car when we go camping. I have NO desire to attract ANY bears!!

Good idea, but priority #1 was getting my kids safe and warm. Didnt even think about the food really, just gathered as much as I could and left.

Could you visit your local food bank for support this week?

Dont have a local food bank.

Why did you take the cheese and fresh veggie but not take any of the meat with you?

It is easier to make a veggie and cheese tray than it is to make a 35lb chicken platter or about 500 meatballs from the 20lbs of hamburger I had in there. Plus we were cooking on a coleman stove.

Sometimes a generator is only powerful enough to run the furnace, not all the appliances. They may not have had a way to cook it.

OP, I'm so sorry that happened to you. We deal with our share of storms here and I know what a pain it can be. That's a lot of food and money out the window. I hope things are looking up for you soon!

Thank you so much for understanding. I was just venting. everyone seems to think they know what they would do in this situation until it happens to them. I thought it would be cold enough to keep all my frozen stuff outside, but two days it hit 45 degrees and it all ruined. Animals getting into it and no I dont care if a bear comes into my yard, it happens. But its mostly racoons and Opossums and strays. When we did get power, my freezer was on 42 degrees and it would have ruined if I left it in there. Make a choice, take a chance in the house or put it outside and take a chance. I made a choice and it turned out to not work for me. but leaving it in the house wouldnt have worked either. it was a no win situation. did I buy the food all at once? NO I didnt and will it take a long time to put it back, Yes, it will, am I gonna buy it all at once, no I dont have that kind of money. but its a big budget buster to me and my family to lose that kind of food. When people out there have that extra pack of chicken in their freezer for those days between grocery trips for their families. I dont have that. but I did.....

 

[purpletiger]

So the snow came down on friday December 18th. and kept coming down and down and down. It started at about 3pm that day and by 6 we had about 8 inches on the ground. Long story short, at 7pm we lost power, phone, and everything else you can lose to make your life crazy. By saturday morning we had 31 inches. 2 1/2 feet of snow!!! Anyhoo, it started warming up and the snow melted. it got up to about 45 degrees a few days....but we had no power, so it didnt do us any good. We had no heat and no food and no water and no phone so we had to leave our house. Luckily my Uncle had a generator and we went up there. But still, 9 days later, the electricity comes on and all our food is ruined. Im talking over $500 worth of food in my fridge is GONE!!! So now I have to find a way to start all over and I have creditors calling and wanting their money and I have to feed my family and Im just so stressed I could pull out my hair. so while I know there are others with bigger problems, we do now have power, phone and everything, I still have no food and have to decide on which is more important, feeding the family or paying a truck payment. UGH!!!

Try calling your truck loan bank and see if you are eligible for a payment extension. This will put the current payment to the end of the loan and then you will have another month to get your situation straight. Good Luck.

 

[luvsJack]

Thank you so much for understanding. I was just venting. everyone seems to think they know what they would do in this situation until it happens to them. I thought it would be cold enough to keep all my frozen stuff outside, but two days it hit 45 degrees and it all ruined. Animals getting into it and no I dont care if a bear comes into my yard, it happens. But its mostly racoons and Opossums and strays. When we did get power, my freezer was on 42 degrees and it would have ruined if I left it in there. Make a choice, take a chance in the house or put it outside and take a chance. I made a choice and it turned out to not work for me. but leaving it in the house wouldnt have worked either. it was a no win situation. did I buy the food all at once? NO I didnt and will it take a long time to put it back, Yes, it will, am I gonna buy it all at once, no I dont have that kind of money. but its a big budget buster to me and my family to lose that kind of food. When people out there have that extra pack of chicken in their freezer for those days between grocery trips for their families. I dont have that. but I did.....

to you. I understand completely. We don't get many ice/snow storms down here, but we do get hurricanes and we do without power for days even weeks because of them. You go into survival for the minute mode and don't necessarily make the best choice on what to do about things like food in your freezer/fridge. No one knows what they will do until they have been there.

I truly hope that 2010 is a better year for you.