jayashiangel:

I do  OAMC meals ( once a month or every 2 weeks meals)

We often have a weekly discussion going on what we are cooking in bulk for those of us that do, I hope you join us. I expect to post a new one on Sunday though I won't be cooking a lot this upcoming week.

 

Mint.com will help you track expenses (including credit cards & installments) and setup a budget for free. I use it. #1-- get a digital converter box & drop the cable for 6months...or 9months...If you set a time for when it will be turned back on, it makes it more bearable (I think). Take the savings & apply it directly to your credit cards. #2-- Find a service like angel food near you. It should fill whatever gaps WIC & Indian Commodities leave you. You can cut your out of pocket expense to $100 (which would cover 2 weeks of food for a family of 4 + extra produce & meat), if you add that to the milk, juice, cereal, and cheese you get--- you got it all! www.angelfoodministries.org #3-- Once you've found the extra money to put on your credit card payment, call the credit card company. Negotiate a smaller rate for the next 6 months. Then work like the dickens to pay off as much as you can during that time.

I would find several brands of toilet paper that you like. I would look for coupons to combine with toilet paper sales. That's something that I do.

I'd look at foods that you like and that you can keep in your house for meals at home. In my case, I keep frozen burgers. My eating frozen burgers at home keeps me from fast food.

You may find that your family adores cheap boxes of mac & cheese mix. That combined with a fruit or a veggie makes a decent and cheap meal.

You may find that your family likes deviled eggs or egg salad. They make reasonably cheap protein sources.

Best of luck to you !

Asusual, many good suggestions here already in others' posts.  Melissa,  I definately second the "get rid of the credit cards" sentiment expressed by some others here!  Especially not for food!  When you think about it you are literally flushing that down the toilet the next day (gross, I know but true) and paying interest on it!!  You have to get a handle on where your money is going so write it all down- literally every cent you spend- cash or cheques you write- everything.  When you see how much you spend a month on some things you may realize they're just not worth it.  When my hubbie and I did that we discovered we were paying $400 per month on booze!!  And there's just the two of us, no wild parties, no big dinner parties and no BBQ's- nada!  Just the occasional case of beer or nice bottle of wine.  I tell ya, we pared that down FAST!

Call the credit card company and ask for a hardship deferral or payment plan that's reasonable.  Ask for a lower interest rate- you may need to ask for a supervisor for that one but if you've been a good customer they may grant you some latitude.  If not, let them know they will be the last to be paid.  If you run out of money and haven't paid them yet- too bad for them.  You have to worry about food, lights, heat/AC, etc first.  But stop using the cards, period.  Casseroles, beans and rice, cook at home as much as possible.  Sounds like you get a lot of food but just aren't using it wisely.  Stop eating out- if your little ones like McDonald's, start weaning them off it ASAP- make it a once a month thing or for a special treat only.  Even though we tend to think of fast food as cheap it can really eat up money fast, and let's face it- it's not healthy food anyway.  And little things can add up quickly.  Does your husband take a lunch to work?  If not, he needs to start now, along with a coffee thermos with his drink of choice.  If you're really into it, you can actually lose weight by making healthier home cooked meals, too.  And even if you don't, there are other health benefits to eating well.

Do you have any skills you can earn extra money as a SAHM?  Do you sew, cook, etc?  Could you take in another child to babysit for pay?  Walk a neighbour's dog?  Even small amounts of income could help your situation so be creative.  I also hit the local Salvation Army store to look for bargains on clothes and household items.  Last year I made everyone Christmas baskets as gifts using all thrift shop finds (candles, candle holders, ornaments, etc.) and a few homemade goodies *banana and lemon loaves and homemade crab apple jelly)- everyone raved about them.  Do you have a garden?  Freezing and preserving foods help a lot too.

And a hearty "totally agree with you" to rolo for the suggestion about Dave Ramsey.  His baby steps plan is a winner, for sure!  (http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index.cfm?intContentID=2926)  I'm not Christian so I skip over some of that stuff when I listen to his radio show (online via archives so I can fast forward through stuff that doesn't interest me) but the man knows his onions.  My spouse and I are now debt free except our mortgage, saving for retirement, have over $10,000 in our savings account and are now focusing on paying off our house early.  All because we followed Dave's program.  You can do it if I can, believe me!  It's not easy but when I paid off our last credit card- WOW! What a great feeling!