My Grocery Blackout is going great (if you ignore the fact that I took the kids out for burgers yesterday - lol SMH).

My son and I had some breakfast burritos and we found a whole package of tortillas that went bad. Then I made some carrot muffins and we ate those with some frozen fruit and tajin.

Taking inventory of all my extras, I realized what the "problem" aka "blessing" is. I get lots of free food.

I got used to living far away from my family where everything that made it into my home was bought by me. Now, I get freebies everywhere.

The first freebies come from a program called WIC which I qualify for because I am pregnant and make less than $4,650 USD per month. It's a generous sum, considering that they don't count my husbands income since he does not live in this household. There is a loophole, if he gives me the money and I pay the bills then it is income, but, if he pays the bills directly, which he does, then it does not count as income. Since he pays his portion of the mortgage and makes my car, phone and insurance payments directly, my "income" is much less than the $4650 allotted income.

Its a blessing. They give us milk, fresh produce, beans and legumes, cereal, cheese, and other goodies. It is on a timeline though, and if you don't use all your benefits you lose them. So I use them.

Now I know why the lentils are starting to pile up.

I also get food from my parents. They love sending us home with extra tortillas, and leftover foods which we readily eat, meaning we forget about the groceries we bought ourselves.

Also, during Christmastime. I went to lots and lots of Church parties, which were designed for families with young children. They sent us home with toys and food goods. The church feels that the holidays should not be a strain, so they help out by giving us food. We ate most of it, like the pasta, and the tomato sauce readily. But other stuff like the canned veggies, are still sitting in my pantry, taking up space and hiding the other goods from me.

So what is the solution? Better planning. I am most definitely not going to start turning these freebies away, I am most certainly going to start incorporating them into my meal planning instead of leaving them for a "rainy day."

It is time to be honest with myself. It never rains in southern california (its a joke, it does rain here, but it was a song when I was growing up). What I mean is that with my parents down the street, and my brother down the other street and the family parties that happen often, the chances of us not having food are very, very, low.

Tone tone tone - It never rains in Southern California

Especially when all the kids in our neighborhood get free breakfast and lunch (ahh, the beauty of living in a low income community).

Sure, I still have to have an emergency stash - but just a couple of day's worth, not a months worth. I know in my heart that it is more likely for me to go to my mom's house and eat her food than it is for me to give my kids peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for an extended period of time.

I am not talking about a "real" emergency stash (like the water and canned goods I have in another pantry in case there is ever a natural disaster), I am talking about the "end of the month" struggle which I sometimes had when I lived far away.

That just is not my reality anymore.

So, I am seeing that with better planning, and using my freebies effectively, then I can surely cut my grocery bill in half.

What a blessing <3

Thanks for stopping by and having a read. We truly are living in a time of abundance.

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