I bought $90 worth of food the other day- 4 boxs cereal, two bags chips, bananas, pears, apples, and picked up the CSA box on Thursday. Bought nuts, almonds, dried fruit, bread, pita, and a box of Oreos. 

The food and food stamps are going quickly this month. Everyone is hungry.  I wil use more from the freezer this weekend. 

All sounds good Tracy. Of course they are hungry... you have growing kids!

I was pretty good going in to Walmart... I wasn't in the mood for getting anything really... bought a carton of eggs for $1. (and 2 other things, non food)

Hello all,

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. Our car decided to stop working yesterday after I did a quick errand. Sent my husband out late this evening to walk to the grocery store to pick up some items to hold us over while we both work on the issue with the car and wait out the EBT maintenance CA is doing on their system. 

I do not remember our exact starting EBT amount (we normally shop at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter, but Stater Bros is closer for him to walk to), as I have become a bit spoiled by seeing it on my receipt both before and after. This store only shows after. He had to put the food in a carry-on bag, so he tried to buy small convience meals to tide us over:

• 2pk bread $3.89
• 2 gallons Silk Soymilk $5.89/gal
• 6 large cans of Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup $2.49 ea
• 3 boxes Velveeta Shells and Cheese $2.29 ea

Dear Tracy, Did you fidn that the almonds were particularly pricey/expensive?  THey, avocados, grapes, artichokes, & lettuce gorown in CA have all been adversely affected by drought (tooomatoes, onions, & olives also, but coosnsiderably less so). 

Did you count ther cost fo the CSA box in that $90?  Then you did very welll indeed.  (How much does the CSA box cost?)  Love in Him, Deb

Dear Luvd_Lioness, $1 for a dozen eggs is a price tha you'd NEVER see in San Francisco!  Love in Him, Deb

Der Melllissa Sue Irish Moooom, The way I keep track is to write my shopping list on an index card.  Above the top line (there's lots of sapce there), I write the opening balance.  I write the items with enough space to put things in near-by aisles together.  (Sometimes I copy the list over, if there's a lot on it.  I wriet (C) next to items tht have a coupon.  I clipo all of my coupons to the card.  From now on, so that I can report how much I've saved on loss leaders/sales, I'm going to write the regular price next to the item on teh card.  I sue a 3x5 card, but you could use a 4x6 or 5x7 since your family is so large.  (There's 2 years wortth in a package of cards, 100 cards)  I recommend a card over paper, because you can write on it w/o needing to put it on a hrda surface.  Love in Him, Deb

Almonds didn't seem too bad yet, compared with some produce. $5.99, for a bag of raw almonds. I have also been reading paranoid, I think, info on the web recently that the government shut the water off to the California crops, and wants financial trouble to push for an international money system.  You should only believe some of what you read these days.

The CSA I bought the year's every other week box at the beginning of the summer. I paid $560 for every other week delivery, through December.  I recently added $80 for two deliveries of root vegetables in January.  I bought 4 deliveries of cheese for $100.  

This is a giant production, we will go there on Sunday for pumpkin picking and a potluck, it is a ways from our house, about 3 hours, but I would love to see it.  They are huge.  Check out the website. http://www.harmonyvalleyfarm.com/ If I have the same food resources next year, I will be tempted to get the summer fruit and once a month cheese share, instead of the vegetables. The kids love fruit so much, and I would enjoy buying more of my vegetables at the farmer's market I discovered that takes food stamps, getting what I know we like. 

Melissa, I hope you are thinking of adding to your pantry with the money you have on your card.  It would be worth it when the car is fixed to buy tons of the loss leaders to help out with cheap food for the winter.  Plus the convenience of a pantry can't be beat. I know I have lots of food on hand now, and Deb does, and I think LL keeps quite a stash, it helps save money in the long run.  I think Kate buys tons of sale items when she can, to keep the kids fed well.  Things I want to buy this week- buy 10 boxes of cereal/granola bars and bites at $2.50 each, get $10 off, so for $1.50 a box for name brand cereal is very good.  I will invest some time in looking for coupons also, to brng down the price.  I live in the same town as Genenral Mills and Malt O Meal, keeps prices very low. Last week the other store had 5/$7 for Quaker products, Life, oatmeal, panckae mix and syrup. Look at the ads and pick a few bargains, if you get a chance. 

I bought a few extras and sent the card with dh, he is gone for three days on business. I don't think he will use the card, but it's nice not to have to go to the store all the time. I will have to get a little milk.

Things I bought:  large container of plain cous cous, doughnuts for Sunday after church, a few frozen pizzas, a cantaloupe for 99 cnens-my best bargain, cheese, bread, bananas, ice cream. I did shop hungry, but there were good prices on the frozen stuff. Ice cream was $2.50 each. I think.  We have some veggies left, and apples from last week. Tonight my mom's neighbor brought over half a Dairy Queen cake, so for dinner had ice cream cake, a spinach mushroom pizza, and Paula Red apples. Tomoorw maybe cous cous and veggies from the farm, and the rest of my banana cake with caramel frosting. 

What you read, Tracy, about teh CA government's haaaving shut off the State's waater supply has, like all good urban leengnds,, a grain of truth.  Northern & Southern CA are in a constant baattle for waaater - we have more up North  & they have more population down South.  Sooooooooomeeiimes there is talk  of secessiooon.  Anyhow, periodically tht water flow is diverted.  I haaven't heard of anything recent, though -- but the Stae Legislature failed  iin its last session to do anything about the problem.

I agree that next eyar you should buy your veggies at the Farmers Makeeet, & jus t   get CSA cheeses & fruuuit.  I kkknow from my Jewish Family & Children's Services deliveries that it is very hard to use up veggies that you can't predict what they are going to be!

Love in Him, Deb

latenightleader:

This is a giant production, we will go there on Sunday for pumpkin picking and a potluck, it is a ways from our house, about 3 hours, but I would love to see it.  They are huge.  Check out the website. http://www.harmonyvalleyfarm.com/ If I have the same food resources next year, I will be tempted to get the summer fruit and once a month cheese share, instead of the vegetables. The kids love fruit so much, and I would enjoy buying more of my vegetables at the farmer's market I discovered that takes food stamps, getting what I know we like. 

You know you'll be in my area??  

I don't have the balances in front of me but the prices I remember... 

Tuesday I bought a can of tomato soup (Campbells Natural Select) $2.99 and a pkg of starbust candy $.79.

Wednesday on the way home, I bought a bag of skim milk for $.89.

I know I'm still over $100. 

Ddear Luvd_Lioness, That's pretty cool, to have so much money left at the 10-day mark!  Good for you!  Love in Him, Deb

 LL, maybe we can meet up for dinner, let me know. It would be great to see you. I don't know what time we will be leaving, will try to have all kids done with homework on Saturday. 

Sale at Byerly's this weekend, all cereal 40% off.  Maximum of 8.  I am collecting my coupons today. Will take dd and hope to buy 16 boxes.

Dh took a trip on Monday, I shopped on Saunday and sent the cand with him, and have yet to use it.  I had a WIC check for milk, but this is the longest I haven't shopped in a while. I do only have $184 left until 10/13, due to the purchase of food from the CSA, $25 for tomatoes and $80 for two deliveries of root vegetables in January.  Will buy the cereal, bread, cheese, eggs, butter, and cottaage cheese this weekend.