Tell me I can do this

[tasha99]

I think you can do it--just drive as little as possible. A few summers ago, I only used one tank of gas all summer long by walking and taking the bus.

As for food, make a menu plan and stick to it. Make snacks instead of buying premade ones. It will be hard, and you won't eat well, but if you just buy milk, cheap vegies, and starches, you can get through.

I would not cancel your trip like others have suggested. If it's being paid for by grandparents, I think it's highly rude to suggest a different gift.

I WOULD cut out luxuries like cable etc if you haven't already. Are there any upick places close by? Where I am, upick vegies are very much cheaper than in the store and it would be worth the gas every couple of weeks.

 

[hollypoast]

Hhmmmm... here is my list of cheap meals that my kids love. I hope this is helpful.
-egg sandwiches
-chili or goulash
-use the whole chicken to make homemade chicken noodle soup
-beef stroganoff (made with ground beef)
-buttered noodles
-chipped beef on toast
-ramon noondles (through in a bag of mixed veggies)
-toasted PB&J sandwiches
-grilled cheese and tomato soup
-Spaghetti
-tuna salad sandwiches
-beef pasta (browned ground beef, noodles, pasta sauce and cheese- bake casserole style)


There is also a great little article on familyfun.com with low cost meal suggestions here-- http://family.go.com/food/pkg-low-cost-recipes-from-a-real-mom/

I'd skip Aldi's and just buy generics at your local store. I think you'll come out better that way.

Good luck. If you run short see if you're Mom would like to have your family over for dinner.

 

[kelleigh1]

All I can say is good luck. No idea how much you have to drive, but I only drive 10 miles a day and I can't get by on $20 for a month. And there are just 2 of us, hubby and I, and I try to stay within $60 per week for groceries so I don't think I could go a whole month on that.

It does sound like you have a good amount in the freezer, but you really have to commit to only eating from that stockpile.

And I hope that you can learn to set a budget and stick to it, or you're going to find yourself in this same position over and over again.

 

[Missy1961]

Check with your church, they may have a food pantry and you could use that, even "borrow" if you wanted to.
Inexpensive items:
pasta
pancakes (have for dinner)
eggs
french toast (day old bread)
soups

You have quite a good stock in your freezer so I think with a bit more you could do it.
Think about selling some outgrown clothes or items not used around the house....that can help with the budget until next month.

Good luck & God bless

Sorry, but that is terrible advice. Food pantries are stretched thin these days. They don't have enough for people who need the staples. And someone who is planning a trip should "borrow" food from a church's pantry. No way.

OP, I know I couldn't make it thru a month with $60 for groceries, and I buy them for myself & my dad. I'd be postponing my trip. And instead of mom paying for 90% of it, I'd ask her for a loan so I could feed my kids.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

A great snack would be to pull together some of the leftover cereals, mix with raisins or cranberries, and some nuts.

My son loves his Cheerios..sometimes to mix it up, I add raisins and sunflower seeds

Eggs are a great, cheap source of protein. You can also take small bits of leftovers and add them to the eggs the next day to make a frittata.

Do you have a day old bread company in the area? I was able to pick up some really good quality bread (not the cheapy kind) for .69 a loaf. Buns are .49 a pack there too

Lentils are great and cheap! We make lentil tacos at least a few times a month.
http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/05/lentil-tacos.html

Convenience cooking costs more, so you will just have to plan your meals ahead of time. Maybe if you can cook the meat up ahead of time, and just prepare the additional items the day of, it will be easier for you.

You may not make it the entire month, but it is worth a shot!

Also, if things are tight for you, have you considered WIC? It isn't foodstamps and you can make more money that you would to have to qualify for foodstamps. It isn't a ton of food, but every little bit helps.

Good luck to you!!! Use the internet for creative recipes...it is your friend!


OH, ps to the popcorn: You can cook popcorn in the microwave. All you need is a brown paper lunch bag and a roll of tape.

http://www.makeandtakes.com/easy-homemade-microwave-popcorn

 

[usd2bmd]

Yeah if you eat ramen noodles and bowls of rice for the month. You are talking $2 a day for all of you. You could splurge on a loaf of bread and generic peanut butter.

If I absolutely had to do it or starve to death then yes I could, but seriously you are planning a trip and only have 60 dollars for a month of food? I guess you have no emergency money let alone 3-6 months expenses in the bank? and you are planning a trip?

My answer would be no unless I absolutely had no and I mean NO choice and going on a trip means you have a choice IMO

If you have an Aldi nearby, try it. It might help you make it

Sounds like a very long month of sparse meals. Perhaps you should ask your mom to help feed the kids instead of paying for Disney trips. Just buying fresh milk is going to eat up half of your proposed grocery budget. PA has state minimum milk prices. You just can't buy it on sale here.

Seriously? $60 for groceries and one tank of gas for the month?

As someone asked, is no one getting a paycheck? I am sorry, but this is so highly irresponsible. I get being a bit short at the end of the month, but this is more than a bit short. Instead of worrying about Disney gift cards, I'd be working and reworking the budget.

That seems kind of hard to do.

How about instead of having your mom pay for your Disney trip, you don't go and she can buy you some groceries and gas instead.

ok ...... I NEVER tell strangers things like this BUT you should really cancel your trip, you can not afford it.If your mom is willing to help it needs to go towards food not WDW. There is no reason why someone who is having trouble feeding their kids need to go on vacation...I lived my whole childhood without vacation but i ate 3 meals a day.I never went to wdw until I was 22 yrs old.

Welcome to the DIS, where people make your business, their business.

People, she asked a simple question foe us to tell her whether or not she could do it. She did not ask you all to tell he rhow to live the other parts of her life.

Don't cancel the trip that someone else is taking you on, I agree with the poster who said it was rude.

To answer your question, yes I think you can do it. Ignore all the ones who have decided to pass judgement.

 

[happygirl]

No, I don't think you can make it work.

You have a one year old are they still on formula. If so Formula is a huge budget killer. If she not then milk is really high. I hope it works out for you

 

[mdsoccermom]

Welcome to the DIS, where people make your business, their business.

People, she asked a simple question foe us to tell her whether or not she could do it. She did not ask you all to tell he rhow to live the other parts of her life.

Don't cancel the trip that someone else is taking you on, I agree with the poster who said it was rude.

To answer your question, yes I think you can do it. Ignore all the ones who have decided to pass judgement.

Sorry. The OP made it everyone's business when she asked her question AND had a trip in her signature. She asked if she could do it. Many of us said no.

And yeah, I will pass judgement on someone so irresponsible with her money that she is compromising the well-being of her children while spending money on Disney gift cards.

 

[livie1205]

She made it our buisness when she posted on a forum,and until I saw people saying go to food banks and now WIC...ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? If your kids have to go without decent meals how can ANYONE encourage a wdw trip? flame away I dont care its a crazy I am not in the camp of dont go if you have any bills or debt but if you have to ask how to feed your family on 60.00 for a month and mom is paying for a wdw trip then something is wrong with the picture,does granparents know that the kids are gonna have limited food while they send you to wdw?

 

[sissy_ib]

Welcome to the DIS, where people make your business, their business.

People, she asked a simple question foe us to tell her whether or not she could do it. She did not ask you all to tell he rhow to live the other parts of her life.

Don't cancel the trip that someone else is taking you on, I agree with the poster who said it was rude.

To answer your question, yes I think you can do it. Ignore all the ones who have decided to pass judgement.

Which one of us asked her about her financial situation and made he tell everyone? You really think she can feed a family of 4 for a month on $60 and $20 for gas? What year are you living in?

 

[YankeePrincess]

How is it bad to say cancel your trip? I think that is pretty helpful advice.

If you don't have enough money to feed yourself for the month, why would you go on vacation? You can use that money to help get ahead. Once you get yourself back in shape money wise then you can think about trips.

 

[thelionqueen]

I refuse to judge anyone on their questions or posts. There can be (and likely are) many, many more things going on than the OP posted (or needs to post frankly). The suggestions came from many different people. The SUGGESTION from someone that the OP go to a food bank was just that..a suggestion. Doesn't mean the OP will or won't do that.

You have no idea why the grandparents are paying for the trip, could be 1,000 different reasons. Maybe they won the trip, maybe they are cast members, maybe a million different reasons. None of which really matter.

OP asked a question about her budget..he/she may have other options, they may not. They were asking for advice on if it could happen and opinions of other people on how she can or can't do that is what they were asking.

I can't imagine how anyone who is financially strapped could possibly benefit in any way from the financial judgments posted here. Just my 02

 

[Marionnette]

Welcome to the DIS, where people make your business, their business.

People, she asked a simple question foe us to tell her whether or not she could do it. She did not ask you all to tell he rhow to live the other parts of her life.

Don't cancel the trip that someone else is taking you on, I agree with the poster who said it was rude.

To answer your question, yes I think you can do it. Ignore all the ones who have decided to pass judgement.

Welcome to the disboards, where if you don't blow sunshine up someone's skirt, you're considered to be rude. But if you judge others for having an opinion contrary to your own, you're not?

The OP put her business out on the internet. She's the one who stated that she cannot stick to a budget and has dug herself into a hole so deep that on the second day of the calendar month, she has a whopping $60 to feed her family for the next 28 days. And she has a countdown ticker for a Disney trip in her signature. It's hard to have sympathy for someone who buys Disney gift cards at Target (for the 5% discount she gets with her Target card) instead of thinking about how she is going to feed the family for the next month.

 

[sissy_ib]

This woman can barely feed her kids but a vacation is okay. What universe did I just fall into?

 

[danceintherain]

Unfortunately, at this point there's not a lot of advice we can give you that will improve your situation - bad habits die hard. The bottom line is that you have a certain amount of money left to spend for the month, and it's up to you to make it work. You can try to increase that amount by selling something, but that's a short term solution and will not keep you from being in the same position next month. Also, you've likely already paid for most of your services this month, so cutting them out will be a good long term solution, but not so good in the short term.

Here are some suggestions:
- plan on walking. It's amazing how many places you can get to by walking, and it will help you get in shape for your Disney trip. Also, if you walk to a grocery store with nothing but the basket under your stroller it will help curb some of those whim purchases, because you won't have space for anything else.
- menu plan. We used to go to the store and just buy whatever we saw that we thought we wanted. Our pantry and fridge were full of stuff that we hardly ever eat. I've started actually planning out my meals and we pretty much only buy what I have planned for the week. It makes it easier to decide what's for dinner and cuts out the food that would otherwise go to waste. It's a slow process, but it helps. You're going to have to work with what you have.
- drink water. As much as kids love juice and milk, they don't need it with every meal (except for the really young ones).
- Talk to your husband (more a long term solution). This seems like a recurring problem that you need to get to the root of. Is there money going into savings that can be pulled out this month? Obviously, try as hard as you can to make it work, but at some point there's no enough money. I know some men who have it in their minds that they know exactly how much money should be spent for certain things and it's very difficult to convince them otherwise, even when it isn't enough. Maybe there are some things that you can do to make the money go further, but if this is a recurrent problem, then maybe not enough money is being set aside for your portion of the responsibilities. If it's not just a groceries and gas problem, then everything needs to be reassessed.

 

[la79al]

OP here. To clarify, we are not deciding between food or Disney. DH, the only one in the house currently bringing in a real paycheck, can and will give me more money if I need it but it would be really nice to get through the month without a bailout. Not only will it clear out all the random stuff in the pantry but it means that next month I will have the entire amount (and we are going out of town for 2 weeks next month so most of our meals will be provided). Thanks for all your advice. Looking around the house, I am really thinking that I can do it or come really close. I don't really know what to expect with the gas. We are used to driving 2-3 hours a week for preschool and that ended last week. I just don't know what our new activities are going to be. The end of the school year and nicer weather means we have more playmates within walking distance though so that will help a lot. As far as food, it is mostly the little girls and I that I have to feed so I figure as long as I have some of the favorites available, we'll be fine (they can eat chicken noodle soup, minus the chicken, for literally 3 days straight). So far I need to pick up t.p., milk, peanut butter, spaghetti noodles, chicken broth, eggless noodles (littlest also allergic to eggs), bananas or apples and maybe a little bit of lunchmeat. Summer also means a lot of lunches at the park for us and I haven't yet perfected how to feed the little one, who won't eat bread or tuna, is allergic to eggs and peanut butter. Lunchmeat or at least chunks of chicken or ham is the only thing that I can really think to pack for her. If all else fails with food, the girls would probably eat spaghetti every night if I let them (and we even have a ton of deer sausage to add to it) and I could live on PB & J. It's going to be an adventure. But even if I don't make it the whole month, I'm sure DD and I will at least have fun being creative in the kitchen .

 

[mdsoccermom]

OP here. To clarify, we are not deciding between food or Disney. DH, the only one in the house currently bringing in a real paycheck, can and will give me more money if I need it but it would be really nice to get through the month without a bailout. Not only will it clear out all the random stuff in the pantry but it means that next month I will have the entire amount (and we are going out of town for 2 weeks next month so most of our meals will be provided). Thanks for all your advice. Looking around the house, I am really thinking that I can do it or come really close. I don't really know what to expect with the gas. We are used to driving 2-3 hours a week for preschool and that ended last week. I just don't know what our new activities are going to be. The end of the school year and nicer weather means we have more playmates within walking distance though so that will help a lot. As far as food, it is mostly the little girls and I that I have to feed so I figure as long as I have some of the favorites available, we'll be fine (they can eat chicken noodle soup, minus the chicken, for literally 3 days straight). So far I need to pick up t.p., milk, peanut butter, spaghetti noodles, chicken broth, eggless noodles (littlest also allergic to eggs), bananas or apples and maybe a little bit of lunchmeat. Summer also means a lot of lunches at the park for us and I haven't yet perfected how to feed the little one, who won't eat bread or tuna, is allergic to eggs and peanut butter. Lunchmeat or at least chunks of chicken or ham is the only thing that I can really think to pack for her. If all else fails with food, the girls would probably eat spaghetti every night if I let them (and we even have a ton of deer sausage to add to it) and I could live on PB & J. It's going to be an adventure. But even if I don't make it the whole month, I'm sure DD and I will at least have fun being creative in the kitchen .

A bailout? WTH? Food money should not be a his and hers thing. It's a family thing. Does he not eat? Are these not his children? I am appalled that you would struggle to feed your kids before getting more money for food from their FATHER.

 

[veraletta]

Your daughter sounds like my granddaugther as all she wants is chicken noodle soup... She does like hot dogs too. I throw out so much food trying to get her to eat, as all its does is sit there on the table. Mac and cheese is another favorite... I found that she will eat more when I let her pick out what she wants. She can eat a whole can of Chicken noodle soup at times.. I now buy frozen corn on the cob, which she will eat at lunch time with 3 chicken nuggets.
My granddaughter is not into sandwiches as of yet as she is only just turn three.
She loves rice to eat white rice, so maybe you can try that with your daughter. That about all I can think of at the top of my head right now....oh yeah pizza...She loves the cheap ones...lol

 

[happygirl]

OP here. To clarify, we are not deciding between food or Disney. DH, the only one in the house currently bringing in a real paycheck, can and will give me more money if I need it but it would be really nice to get through the month without a bailout. Not only will it clear out all the random stuff in the pantry but it means that next month I will have the entire amount (and we are going out of town for 2 weeks next month so most of our meals will be provided). Thanks for all your advice. Looking around the house, I am really thinking that I can do it or come really close. I don't really know what to expect with the gas. We are used to driving 2-3 hours a week for preschool and that ended last week. I just don't know what our new activities are going to be. The end of the school year and nicer weather means we have more playmates within walking distance though so that will help a lot. As far as food, it is mostly the little girls and I that I have to feed so I figure as long as I have some of the favorites available, we'll be fine (they can eat chicken noodle soup, minus the chicken, for literally 3 days straight). So far I need to pick up t.p., milk, peanut butter, spaghetti noodles, chicken broth, eggless noodles (littlest also allergic to eggs), bananas or apples and maybe a little bit of lunchmeat. Summer also means a lot of lunches at the park for us and I haven't yet perfected how to feed the little one, who won't eat bread or tuna, is allergic to eggs and peanut butter. Lunchmeat or at least chunks of chicken or ham is the only thing that I can really think to pack for her. If all else fails with food, the girls would probably eat spaghetti every night if I let them (and we even have a ton of deer sausage to add to it) and I could live on PB & J. It's going to be an adventure. But even if I don't make it the whole month, I'm sure DD and I will at least have fun being creative in the kitchen .

 

[kaytieeldr]

She made it our buisness when she posted on a forum,and until I saw people saying go to food banks and now WIC...ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? If your kids have to go without decent meals how can ANYONE encourage a wdw trip? flame away I dont care its a crazy I am not in the camp of dont go if you have any bills or debt but if you have to ask how to feed your family on 60.00 for a month and mom is paying for a wdw trip then something is wrong with the picture,does granparents know that the kids are gonna have limited food while they send you to wdw?

No flames from me! I admire people who speak their minds !

I think it's fascinating how some posters are so vehemently outraged at other posters suggesting the OP cancel her trip - and even ask her mom instead for financial help providing basic needs for her children - but aren't at all concerned about the suggestions that the OP instead go to food pantries and government programs :rolleyes

Even if she "earned" the Disney gift cards through reward programs (this is the Budget Board, remember), there are other gift cards for which she could have opted instead. And if she's getting them using something like the 5% Target RedCard discount, I'm going to scream!