Tighten Ones Belt - How to Feed Your Family on a Shrinking Budget

Once again I was back in the kitchen, rustling up some thing for our supper. In the background the television was on, catching up (escaping into the world of others) in the dramas of TV Lands Series.There as per usual at around this time most house persons (no I am not being politically correct as today there a vast number number of househusbands as housewives), the adds where running and 60- 80% of these where for fast or convenience foods, you know the ones, giving the kids a fancy toy or coupons on discounts on your next purcase of Dwaddles Waffles wirh extra gooy maple coffeee strup, or whatever.

This is not accidental, the advertising agencies(on behalf of their cleints) pay premium rates for those slots, so that there is that seed of enticement to give yourself a break from the chore and drudgery of cooking, after all it was wash day or linen changing day or floor scrubbing day, besides which a "Happy Bucket with Mash and Gravy or Biscuit" is on "Special, the store is so convenentialy plaaced in the mall around the block or on the way from your consenting other halfs way home!

So convenient, so cheap, so expensive.

Gee even " "O" in her 25 year farewell giveaways promoted some of these products, so a it must be good, and it makes it a must have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe you are not tempted this time, your neighbour mightbe, and who knows next time this add pops up, and it has been on of those frustrating days, you weaken. We do have to tighten our belts a bit, but it we do not have to cinch them all the way in?

Or you order in a Pizza, as it contains al full basic meal , starch protien, and veg, on goes a long way.

This is probably one of the most challanging areas to reduce costs, maintain nutritional balance and satisfy the changing needs and tastes of your family.

Take Ways

These 2 for the price of 1 great value or not really? Why do I say that?

Firstly by experience, both as a consumer and having worked next to a Burger type joint.

The patties that they serve are a slightly smaller same diameter but thinner, the relish etc is ia bit more than the regular ones. They are usually prepared and kept heated so that all they do is slap it in the wrapper and bag the two together. (Dont get me wrong they might not all do that, but look at there turnaround timess and feel the heat of the buns and tomatoes,)

Secondly they usually do not come with fries

Thirdly while you are there you either buy a soda or a milk shake each.

Bottom line, you have spent a bit more than you would have with for the price of 2 regular burgers with fries. This is a marketing stratergy, get you in there and maximise on each sale.

Heat and Eat Meals

Often a better choice than take aways, however, have a good look at the end product, very often, again as I have experienced, you pick up a frozen Lasagna,you get a base of a pasta sheet, a layer of the meat and sauce, a layer of the white sauce another layer of pasta and a cheese topping. With the Spaghetti Bolognese you get this mound of sghett with a watery sauce and minuscule amount of mince, the pasta will have two, the sauce will just stretch to two and the mince maybe enough for a child, this advertised for a family of four.

These then sometimes cooks up perfectly according to the instructions, yet the packaging collapses when you remove it, usually on the inside of the oven door, or if you were lazy on the floor, as you used the microwave.

When you complain about it it the refer it to their Food Technicians, and tell you that it must be some thing wrong with your equipment, you eventually find out purely by accident that they test and design their products at SEA LEVEL, to bad they do not tell you that on their labels. Which are filled with all sorts of other bits of information.Which all all useful.

A department store bought cake of similar size is being marketed for R45-00, Tthat is South African currency, I am selling mine for R35-00. Ytue they might not contain exactly the same ingredients, for one thing I do not have any emulsifiers, extenders or soy added to the mix.

My Carrot cake contains Carrots,Flour,Pecan Nuts,oil, sugar, salt, nutmeg,baking powder, bicarbinate of soda, eggs, Orange zest. And that is all, The Frosting Orange Zest. Fresh Orange Juice and Icing Sugar.

It is a very light cake, moreish and addictive, once bought repeated sales!

I was selling quite a few, to a lot of regular outlets, one by onre they stopped buying as someone was coming in at a lower price. Well all is fair in in love and war, so i relooked at my costing, and found I was actually nearly, for the time spent making them, not really making any profit.

So how where my competition coming at a lower price than me. So I bought a batch from two different places, which were also selling health rusks.

These were my findings, My rusk, you can read up on the contents, in my hub.

Rusk exhibit 1. Used half the amount of nuts and fruit in it than mine, very little all bran and mainly raisins and cashew nuts.

Rusk exhibit 2. Used about the th same as exhibit 1 but dropped the nutty wheat.

Yes so there prices were cheaper, their quality was cheiper, and that is really what it is all about, Buying what you can afford and getting the best you can for your money.

What you need to do is analys what you are spending your household budget on.

A classic Example is my late wife and I where sitting on the beach in the sun drenched Camores and musing in the midday sun, as most people do when relaxed and enjoying the peace and tranquility of a Island holiday, a once off for us, I might add. What with three kids all at school, extra mural activities and the like, you all know the scenario.

Somehow or other the topic ic of soup came up, yes now I remember, the bath soup in the hotel was imported from South Africa, the hotel shop also had some of the same brands for sale in there small shop, from which the staff and guests could purchase. The price was siomething like 300% higher than we where paying at or local shops back home in South Africa.

The point of the soap saga, was we started counting all the different soaps that we are "consumerised" into buying and useing almost on almost a daily basis, we reached 13, but I am pretty sure there are a maybe a few less or more.

These are in tn the end all soap, could we not cut down and use the same soap for quite a few different applications?.

So if we reduce our soap expendature by 5, we have achieved an economic saving, as well as a contribution to reducing our CARBON FOOTPRINT. one hopes.

In fact whilst being an assistant manager at a Steakhouse many manty years later, I actually saw that in effect, the floors, walls, dishes and staff uniforms where all wahed with the same soap, hey the bosses car was also washed with it every other day of the week.