Combat Plan - High Food Prices

Hello Friend,

We did a little grocery shopping recently. I am always shocked by how quickly the prices are rising each time we go. There are currently nine people to feed living in my household and five of us are adults.

People often ask how we do it - How do we pay the bills, feed and clothe our large family when your husband has an average full time job?

They don't see/know about the side hustles. My husband also has a side hustle of auction resale. I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom - who blogs and runs an Etsy shop for 15 to 20 hours a week, and I really can't explain all the little things I do to save money or store food and clothing in one conversation.

So I tell friends, like you, to subscribe and then I give tidbits in my newsletters here and there. Friends who are "extra serious to learn" pay for my Large Family Frugal Life series of emails found at the bottom of this page. Feel free to forward this email to a friend that you think might like it. Now, onto part of The Plan - as it's all way too much for one email.

(Part of the) Plan to Combat High Food Prices

Not too long ago, an article came out titled, The US Now Has More Unemployed People Than Job Openings.

We need to have a combat plan or the "pinch" is going to feel like a "stab in the gut" soon.

Realize that this will take hard work, little meaningful changes and time. It's not about being perfect, it's about having a plan and making progress. Knowing that you have what you need to take care of yourself and others in your home is such a major "fear-reducer."

Have Food Stored For Harder Times Than This - if the store shut down for 30 days, how would your pantry hold up? Would you be fine? Now think of the three items you would run out of first. If it was yogurt, milk and coffee creamer, for example - you could essentially make all of those if you had powdered milk, what's left of your yogurt as a starter (so you need to set some aside before you eat it all) and some water. Think about what you use and start getting backups of those shelf stable items now before the prices rise even higher. Get an extra package of rice, beans, powdered milk, flour and what you use for sugar. An extra container of oil, vegetables and fruit (or applesauce) stored this week. This saves money for your future meals. Helpful: 3 Week Stock Up Printables or How To Afford Groceries & 45 Minimum Groceries To Buy List
Work Towards Making a Financial Cushion - if you lost your highest income source, would you be okay? Get more money coming in. It's really all about having multiple income streams going. Some of them, you can do once in a while as needed, like buying an abandoned storage unit and reselling the contents. Or maybe you could Start An Etsy Shop and resell all those helpful lists you have made that others would love or Handmade Crafts or Craft Supplies lying around the house. Or you can start selling extra things around the house on ebay to make ends meet until the first paycheck at the next job. Try to set aside a little bit of cash at home, maybe $100. Get as debt free as possible - cut back on unnecessary expenditures (where the money is going - it's like stopping leaks in a dripping faucet) or eliminate them until those debts other than your house or car payment are paid off. Then maybe you can chip away at those large debts next.
Prioritize your non-food purchases down to the essentials - For someone, it may be: toilet paper, prescriptions, over the counter medications, first aid supplies, water purification, heat and light, sanitation and security. Items you need if there is a power outage or local weather emergency. Helpful: Prepare For Power Outage Checklist, Winter Storm Preparedness Check List, Thunderstorm Storm Prepper List
Learn to Preserve Food - Sometimes, a friend will give us extra garden produce or allow us to pick from their apple or fruit tree or extra corn in their sweet corn garden after their own freezers and pantries are full. Or, a fruit truck may come to your area. When those opportunities arise, we take advantage of it and preserve all the extra by freezing, drying or canning. It has taken some frugal purchases at rummage sales or thrift stores to find the equipment needed, but that has been worth every penny. Having a list of what to look for at rummage sales is helpful - Frugal Kitchen Purchases Checklist, Saves you money on food with Gardening Canning Freezing and Storing Recommendations and Tips
Try to make room in your budget for clearance items. I like to leave at least $20 for this, if possible, and I shop at a store that has four clearance sections to check: general & produce (they are together), meat, dairy and frozen. Ask a person stocking the shelves where these are located. Clearance items may be hidden in the bottom shelf of an upright freezer section, not marked, except on the packages - underneath! This is seriously the case in a local store that I frequent.
Make your own baby food or let babies eat from the table (safely) - It may be the social custom to use store bought baby food. But, in truth, babies can eat regular food. Your baby will likely ingest less sodium this way. I didn't figure this out until my fourth kid. So, my last four babies were fed from the table and survived thus far to ages 7, 9, 13 and 15. Yours will too. If you are like me and need a book as a source to tell you it's okay, see if your library can get, Super Nutrition For Babies and read pages 82 to 253, which tells what they can eat in a safe way by certain ages.
Keep a Price Notebook - more details of that are mentioned in this article I wrote. Get several of the items you need at the least expensive place you can buy it.

Commit to filling just one gap in your pantry this week so you will have one less thing to think about when things get tough. Preparedness is no longer optional. Truth is hard to hear, but sometimes we need to.

Above all, trust God. When I wrote my Gratitude & Prayer Journals that I sell on Amazon, I found over 60 verses that prove God will provide for His believers.