Now, I don't claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, I have seen more then my fair share of lean months. Back when dh worked at a private school his paycheck would only cover the mortgage, the car insurance and the life insurance. I had to make everything else and if I had been sick or one of the children sick then my paycheck would be short. In recent memory, I have had to feed four adults (my children are 19 and 21 now) on $50 a week. Like everyone else, who has been to the supermarket recently, I have been concerned up the steady climb of prices and the smaller packaging attached to those price tags. Most women, through choice or necessity, work outside the home now and don't have time for "cooking from scratch". At church on Sunday I heard, "well of course you can do that (I don't remember what now) you stay home all day." Now I am a SAHM due to my disability and in that I do have more time than some folks but there ...
I sort of tried to figure how much of some basic items we were using in a month - but gave up because it just seemed to fluctuate too much because I buy different sizes and brands bases on sales and coupons. And it flucuates wildly when we have house guests or our kids "shop" in my pantry - with my blessing though.
ReplyDeleteI have been dating some items when I open them to see how long they last. I thought we were using up cooking oil too fast, but my last 48 ounce bottle lasted 57 days.
I think some of the LDS sites have figured up what a yearly average amount of staples would be since they advocate storing up a years worth all the time. You might get some ideas from them.