Summer budget panic!

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

All school year long, both of my DS's ate both breakfast (free federal program) and lunch (reduced price) at school. Now, it is starting to dawn on me that they are going to be home for both these meals.....all summer long!
I have decided that I am going to sit down with them to get a handful of breakfast/lunch options, and then we will write up a "menu" similar to what they have at school. That way there will be no surprises, no whining.....and I will know exactly what to buy at the grocery store. I think we will compromise - they will have to have at least 3-4 cold cereal breakfasts, a couple of pancake/waffle breakfasts, and then two days a week we'll do something "special" like omelets or fruit smoothies. Ditto lunch, half the time they'll have to deal with cold sandwiches with a side of fruit and whatever chips are on sale, and then the other days we'll try and be more original.
I also started a new thing last summer that worked out really well - I filled a tote in the back of our van with things like cheese and cracker snacks (Handi Snacks), granola bars, fruit snacks and Roaring water pouches. That way when we are out and about and the kids decide they need a snack, we aren't tempted to stop at the store or drive thru anywhere.
I am really hoping that I don't see our grocery bill spike, I love summer, but I forget how much these boys can EAT!!

 

[luvsgrumpy]

I'm right with you! DS14 is done today and DS11 and DD7 are done tomorrow. You have a bunch of good ideas, thanks. I like the idea of planning things out more or less. One thing I have been able to do is stock up on hotdogs when they are on sale (quick, easy, and they all can work the microwave!)

At least mine eat breakfast a home so I am used to that (although DS14 still ate at school some mornings too!) If you use coupons and watch for sales, I am able to find cereal really inexpensive and it makes for a quicky meal occassionally too.

I guess I need to add meal planning to my list of things to do this weekend with the kids.

 

[allison443]

half the time they'll have to deal with cold sandwiches with a side of fruit and whatever chips are on sale, and then the other days we'll try and be more original.

Okay I must be a mean mom, but to me that suggested lunch is fine, and I wouldn't be presenting it as something they have to "deal with" as if there's something wrong with it ...that's pretty much what my kids bring to school for lunch every day. Oh, and they also even have to make their own lunch sometimes!

I like your idea of bringing snacks and drinks in the car! It's great to be prepared!

 

[sunshine1178]

I also started a new thing last summer that worked out really well - I filled a tote in the back of our van with things like cheese and cracker snacks (Handi Snacks), granola bars, fruit snacks and Roaring water pouches. That way when we are out and about and the kids decide they need a snack, we aren't tempted to stop at the store or drive thru anywhere.:

I did this for my husband and I when we went on a road trip for job interviews, and it worked out well for us. Instead of buying snacks and drinks at gas stations, we just reached into the box for a treat. Actually, he liked the idea so much that he left the box in his car afterwards, and ate "breakfast" out of it, and snacks when he was driving between places. (But then some of his friends (who were also poor students) found out that our car had food in it, and always wanted to ride with him, and pretty soon it was too expensive to keep the box stocked! But it was a good budget idea while it lasted.)

 

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

Okay I must be a mean mom, but to me that suggested lunch is fine, and I wouldn't be presenting it as something they have to "deal with" as if there's something wrong with it ...that's pretty much what my kids bring to school for lunch every day. Oh, and they also even have to make their own lunch sometimes!

I like your idea of bringing snacks and drinks in the car! It's great to be prepared!

LOL! You are not a mean mom, I just have spoiled kids. They are so used to variety because the school offers something like 5-6 choices every day for lunch. They get a little put out if I only give them one.... This way they will only get one option a DAY, but within a week they'll have sandwiches, maybe a hot dog or chicken nuggets or a corn dog or mac and cheese.... Little gestures to make them think I love them as much as the lunch lady does!

 

[Kellydelly]

All school year long, both of my DS's ate both breakfast (free federal program) and lunch (reduced price) at school. Now, it is starting to dawn on me that they are going to be home for both these meals.....all summer long!
I have decided that I am going to sit down with them to get a handful of breakfast/lunch options, and then we will write up a "menu" similar to what they have at school. That way there will be no surprises, no whining.....and I will know exactly what to buy at the grocery store. I think we will compromise - they will have to have at least 3-4 cold cereal breakfasts, a couple of pancake/waffle breakfasts, and then two days a week we'll do something "special" like omelets or fruit smoothies. Ditto lunch, half the time they'll have to deal with cold sandwiches with a side of fruit and whatever chips are on sale, and then the other days we'll try and be more original.
I also started a new thing last summer that worked out really well - I filled a tote in the back of our van with things like cheese and cracker snacks (Handi Snacks), granola bars, fruit snacks and Roaring water pouches. That way when we are out and about and the kids decide they need a snack, we aren't tempted to stop at the store or drive thru anywhere.
I am really hoping that I don't see our grocery bill spike, I love summer, but I forget how much these boys can EAT!!

If you qualify for reduced lunch, do you also qualify for WIC? That would help your grocery bill a lot.

 

[Kay1]

Exactly the opposite here. We're not on any government programs and I pay $2.25 for my son's lunch. As you can imagine, I can make his lunch for much less when he's home so it's a nice break for me.

 

[acmeyer]

You might check with your school. I know for the first time ever this year that our school system is offering breakfast and lunch at certain schools. If my daughter would have went to Scope (school districts child care program for before school and after school and all day in the summer) I wouldn't have had to pack her a breakfast or lunch i could have gotten them there. I know that they did it for the to help peoples budgets over the summer. If you qualified for free or reduced breakfast/lunch you have free/reduced lunch breakfast at the school. They may not have it but they may know of other places that have programs like that that you could utilitze one day or two a week that would help your budget out. Our local boys/girls club does it as well as a couple of churches. As for some kids that was the only meal that they got during the day.....

 

[ZPT1022]

You might check with your school. I know for the first time ever this year that our school system is offering breakfast and lunch at certain schools. If my daughter would have went to Scope (school districts child care program for before school and after school and all day in the summer) I wouldn't have had to pack her a breakfast or lunch i could have gotten them there. I know that they did it for the to help peoples budgets over the summer. If you qualified for free or reduced breakfast/lunch you have free/reduced lunch breakfast at the school. They may not have it but they may know of other places that have programs like that that you could utilitze one day or two a week that would help your budget out. Our local boys/girls club does it as well as a couple of churches. As for some kids that was the only meal that they got during the day.....

Good idea!

For us, the back of June's lunch menu had all the info about summer breakfast and lunch on it. Oldest DD participated last summer because the rec department summer camp she went to was at a school that participated so all the kids who went to that camp had lunch included. I kind of enjoyed not having to pack a lunch that could withstand the heat everyday

 

[ZPT1022]

forgot to add, I'm pretty sure that we don't qualify for reduced lunch or anything, but DD still participated through the camp. Just looked at the June lunch menu/summer info and it just says any town resident under age 18 can go to any of the schools that are participating. Now that I think about it, we had to stop off and drop an inhaler to DD at camp last summer and my twins got to have lunch with all the campers and they thought that was pretty cool. Didn't realize at the time what we were taking advantage of

 

[flamestarrdust]

I completely understand what you are all dealing with. I have twin 10 yr old daughters who get free breakfast and lunch when they are in school but eat at home during the summer or on school days off. They've only been home for about two days and one of them feels she must eat every hour. At this rate, she will eat everything I buy for them to have in one week within three days. I need to be more strict about getting her to eat less instead of snacking so much. However, I did get some more healthy snacks such as baby carrots, pretzels and fruit. She seems to like those but gets a bit upset when she asks for a snack and I say no because she just ate an hour earlier. As for lunch ideas that are inexpensive, I can suggest what I've been getting which is the Kraft Easy Mac Lunch Bowls or the Chef Boyardee microwaveable lunch bowls. Harris Teeter had them on sale this week. Each one only costs about a $1. Plus the kids really love them. And the pretzels I mentioned, I bought them at a buy one get one free discount. You should try looking for things like that. That also seems to help with saving money with food for the kids during the summer.

 

[pilgrimage]

If you qualify for free lunch, many organizations like 2nd harvest.org
can tell you charities which provide free meals for children. Here in
NC interfaith food shuttle (foodshuttle.org) provide meals for children
during the summer and send backpacks home for low income children
on weekends. There is help out there so you can provide for your family's
needs. Good luck on a very tight budget!

 

[puffkin]

Someone has to say it......

But several people on here qualify for free breakfasts/lunches and still have nice trips planned. How exactly can you not afford to feed your kids but can afford a nice vacation?

I am not trying to be rude, but I would really like to understand

 

[iheartdisney]

I completely understand what you are all dealing with. I have twin 10 yr old daughters who get free breakfast and lunch when they are in school but eat at home during the summer or on school days off. They've only been home for about two days and one of them feels she must eat every hour. At this rate, she will eat everything I buy for them to have in one week within three days. I need to be more strict about getting her to eat less instead of snacking so much. However, I did get some more healthy snacks such as baby carrots, pretzels and fruit. She seems to like those but gets a bit upset when she asks for a snack and I say no because she just ate an hour earlier.

I have to go through this with my DD every time I go shopping. She thinks just because it is in the house she needs to eat it! And eat it NOW!
I fixed it by writing out a schedule for her to see when meal times and snack times are, spaced all day long, about 2 hours apart. Seeing when it is coming, as opposed to just a random "later" helps, as well as a solid rule that we only eat during these times.

To the PP the suggested WIC, if your child is schoolage, they are too old for WIC. It only covers up to the 5th birthday.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

please check with your local department of recreation. In my town, there's a "free picnic" lunch for any child who shows up to eat at the local park. The city provides it.

You don't sign up, it's not based on income or anything like that. It's just something fun for summer and since so many parents work, it's probably to make sure kids have a lunch to eat.

 

[Plantlady]

a neighboring town offers free lunches at one school for kids. No qualifying. Just show up, and your kids eat free. If you live in a large enough town.. this may be an option.

We qualify for reduced meals, and the kids eat lunch and breakfast at school.

I still manage to feed them pretty cheaply though, during the summer. Leftovers from dinner, sandwiches, fruit, ect.

They only get one snack a day, maximum, that's all they got at school. usually they don't ask for snacks though. And, they're quite use to us saying no.

 

[fofinia]

I usually try to save left overs from dinner for lunch. I like them for myself as well. But if I make a baked pasta dish, it usually carries over well for lunch the next day. My kids don't like sandwiches very much so I have to be more creative.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Someone has to say it......

But several people on here qualify for free breakfasts/lunches and still have nice trips planned. How exactly can you not afford to feed your kids but can afford a nice vacation?

I am not trying to be rude, but I would really like to understand

I was wondering this myself

 

[Plantlady]

Someone has to say it......

But several people on here qualify for free breakfasts/lunches and still have nice trips planned. How exactly can you not afford to feed your kids but can afford a nice vacation?

I am not trying to be rude, but I would really like to understand

I can only speak for myself. We qualify for reduced meals. I have no idea where the cut off is for this. DH is a teacher, I am a para. We both work full time.

We scrimp and save all year long to enjoy a vacation. DS11 just asked the other day, why we couldn't get a certain brand name of something. I told him, it was because we were going to disneyland. He hasn't asked that question since.

Our priority is vacations. We don't do Disney every year, but we do take the kids to see wonderful things every summer. We do our vacations on a budget, just as we live life on a budget. We eat "cooler food" for 90% of our meals on vacation. We do National Parks.. amazing sights, for an $80 annual pass. We do just one or two *expensive* things each trip. We stay in budget hotels, we just want a pool for the kids, breakfast, and a safe neighborhood. We just joined DVC.. and plan on going every other year. We should do Disney for around $1000-1500.

We cut out eating out, going to the movie theater, amusement parks, ect, during the year. We entertain ourselves for free at home, so that every summer, we can take a vacation. We don't buy books, we use the library. We play a lot of board games. We live cheaply.

When our boys were little, our first vacation was only 4 days, to St. Louis. We ate food out of a cooler, did all of the Free activities. Stayed in a motel 6. It cost $500. We're up to vacationing for 2 1/2 weeks in the summer, and one week in the winter.

But, my kids eat just fine. Even in the summer.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Someone has to say it......

But several people on here qualify for free breakfasts/lunches and still have nice trips planned. How exactly can you not afford to feed your kids but can afford a nice vacation?

I am not trying to be rude, but I would really like to understand

THANK YOU!!!!! I thought I was going to roll my eyes out of my head reading this! Suggesting WIC? Come on! Cancel your trip if you cannot afford food!


Disclaimer-
This is not a personal attack. This particular thing just makes me so mad .