[Lori]

I have been raising my 4 kids with just my income for about 10 years. I’d like to share some things that work well for me with the hopes it will help someone.

1. Menu plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Shop only for those meals and maybe a couple extra items for a snack.

2. If you can, buy ground turkey instead of ground beef. I’ve done it so long my kids don’t really notice the difference.

3. Make meat a part of the meal, but not the main event.

4. Stretch meals. I add refried beans to the taco meat and more rice to a freezer bag of Chinese. (No judgement please. It’s cheaper than going out!)

5. Make everyone’s plate for them. Hear me out on this! I do this for portion control. Some meals make just enough food for all of us and we don’t have leftovers. Controlling the portions helps make sure everyone gets their fair share.

My children have always known that if there isn’t more dinner, they are welcome to have leftovers from another night, cereal, or chicken nuggets from the freezer.

6. Limit going out to eat. If you do go out, go for lunch instead of dinner, as lunch prices are often cheaper.

7. When traveling, pack premade breakfast biscuits for breakfast and a cooler for lunch items. Meal replacement shakes are great too. Sometimes we have a picnic lunch, but go out for ice cream. So there’s still a treat, but it’s cheaper than a whole meal.

I hope these tips help!

[Sara]

Corn, rice, beans, quinoa, oats, barley, etc… can all be mixed into taco meat, meatloaf, meatballs, meat fillings, etc… to extend everything and it remains perfectly delicious! You just need to find your favorite starch.

If you have female children, look into the wonderful world of Texturized Soy Protein (TSP) it’s fake protein made from soy that you can use to extend or replace ground meat like sausage, turkey, chicken, beef, etc… but it can have soy estrogen in it so I don’t recommend giving a ton of it to developing boys.

It’s great for women and girls tho! Read about TSP, very cheap and helpful stuff! I love it!

[Jessica]

Thank you! My husband lost his job recently and we are not a one income family living in a very rural area.

I make 1/6 of what he made. He’s looking for a job and we have enough to get by until end of March I believe on my dinky salary.

We are learning to eat from the freezer and reuse things into other meals.

We are making homemade bread and using EVERYRHJNG we already had minus the necessities, milk and eggs (our chickens are laying 1-2 a day, freeloaders).

I appreciate your transparent h and ideas! I will start making my families plates at dinner now.

My middle is 13 and will eat anything left in the pan after his meal just because it’s there.

[Laura]

I agree, especially on the part where you serve everyone’s plate, it’s not too spoil them. It’s for portion control.

That is what we do unless I have a heaping amount of something from the crockpot.

[Mary]

You’ve got some really great ideas here! Since you mentioned mixing refried beans with meat, I’d love to share a simple recipe that my whole family loves and leaves leftovers.

I just wing the amounts so I’ll do the best I can.
— a little over 1 lb ground beef, cooked to directions on a taco seasoning packet

— a regular size can of refried beans
— approx 2/3 regular size jar of salsa or picante. (Not to the point of making it runny when mixing)

Mix it all together in a large casserole pan, sprinkle shredded cheese on top. I’ve used cheddar, Monterey Jack, whatever you like.

Bake at 400 until it starts to bubble. Let rest for a few minutes so it thickens.

Serve it with tortilla chips, side salad or use it in place of regular taco meat in hard or soft shells.

I’ve been making this for 30 years. You could also add onion, jalapeno, mix it up. I hope someone enjoys the recipe!

My youngest daughter requested this for her birthday dinners many times over the years.

[Laura]

I mix ground beef and ground turkey so it goes further! Thanks for the tips!

And I usually plate it!

[Amani]

Any other advice like what to use for cleaning, how to make my house smell good without buying expensive scents

[April]

Very good!! I have adopted many of your top though I just can’t / haven’t gone with ground turkey.

I tried the turkey bacon and it just turned me away from it.

That’s just me

[Diana]

Portion control really does work. I still do it and they are 18 and 21.

[Chris]

I love the portion control comment. Not only does it make financial sense, it’s healthier.

Most, I’m not saying all, but most of us, myself included eat too much.

[Tammy]

These are great tips. I grew up poor with four siblings and with a mom who could stretch a meal like nobody’s business.

I like to think I inherited her thriftiness.

[Linda]

These are great tips! When I was in 7th my home economics teacher taught us to look at the ads that came out in the newspapers and make a weeks worth of menus from that ad I have done that my entire 39 years of marriage and my son does it for his family planning makes perfect!

Well done mama!

[April]

I do all of these as well, except the ground turkey (my daughter has a poultry allergy).

Also, if eating out use their apps!

My son has an appointment out of town at the end of Febuary and I already know I’ll use the free meal I have in one app for his lunch

[Callie]

Eating out — breakfast can be even cheaper than lunch or dinner, since you typically don’t order sodas with it and most breakfast meals are less pricey than hamburgers, steak, etc.

[Jacki]

I have 2 adults living with me. Hubby and I are in our 80’s so our portions are small. If I’m feeding the 2 younger adults we fix the plates also.

Not to be stingy but they will take larger portions AND leave food on their plates.

Wasted food, wasted money.

Your hints on lunch meals out is also good.

[John]

They do Lori! A lot of us were raised this way in the 60s and 70s!

[Donna]

$ was really tight when I was a kid so my mom limited the expensive part of each meal, eg the meatballs. We could have extra pasta.

That only applied to the kids, not my Dad.

[Sherry]

Thank you for sharing yourself and your frugal tips with us. New to me was making each person’s plate.

It can be very disheartening to see someone not finish what they dished out, but more importantly everyone gets a fair share.

[Regina]

Been portioning plates for years, really helps. Plates are full so no one is ever hungry. Also makes meal planning easier.

Try to always make extra to take care of lunches too or repurpose into a new meal.

Leftover pasta and rice can be used for so many things.

I always try to make extra.

I usually add a veggie to it and use for a side for another meal or to stretch burritos! Soups are easy, filling and healthy.

If you have picky eaters, just use an immersion blender, they’ll never see the veggies!

Started making turkey meatloaf, turkey stuffed peppers, turkey meatballs! Always add ingredients to keep it moist! Great tips!

[Susie]

I guess it goes without saying, but little or no soft drinks. Milk, juice or water to drink.

If going out, water only.

Agree with the “go out at lunchtime” advice, and I would add – split an entree if you can, or order off of appetizer menu.

[Ify]

Thanks for sharing. I would also that it’s cheaper to make ground turkey when whole turkey is on sale.

I get a lot of ground turkey, as well as the remaining meat which I grill and I use the carcass to make broth.

Sounds like a lot of work, but saves me so much money.

[Tracey]

Perfect! such simple & sensible advice that should be taught to children at school from the age of 8.

Ads on tv & social media platforms fill our heads with what “should be normal” when in actual reality your plans are normal to me.

I grew up & raised my kids before tv was 24/7 & before mobile phones & social media & I am grateful for that.

The pressures on families today is so bad.

[Melissa]

This brings back memories of when I was a single mom to 3. Those times were hard but produced the best memories.

[Linda]

I need to plate up my young adults food.He moved home and he’s eating us out of house and home.He eats more than my husband and me.

He sometimes eats his own food but eats dinner with us and drinks lots of milk.

I have to remember to plate his food.There are no leftovers usually.

[Author]

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