Lawmakers Find $21 a Week Doesn't Buy a Lot of Groceries

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by susan314

That's pretty impressive. I'll be happy when we get out of the diaper stage - that adds a lot to the budget. (Figure I have about 6 months left on that...) The dog food adds a hefty chunk to the budget too...he eats like a horse...but he's part of the family and good for the kids, so I suppose its worth it.

I could probably trim a little more out of the budget if I tried, but we've already saved so much money over spending levels from before ($700 dropped down to $250-300) that I'm not ready to scale back further yet. My husband has certain things/brands that he likes, which could be eliminated if absolutely necessary. But, since we're managing with where we are, I let him and the kids have a few splurges. (I could probably get meat a little cheaper at the grocery store, but we have an amazing local butcher shop that offers excellent service. I just try to stock up when they have stuff on sale - thank god for big freezers. )

Speaking of produce markets/fruit stands, I have a question that's semi-on topic...I've heard that in many inner cities, there just simply isn't a place to buy fresh produce, or at least at reasonable prices. Seems like I read an article a while back which gave examples of the lengths a person (who didn't have a car) would have to go to get fresh produce. When I think about it, there aren't any large grocery stores really in downtown Toledo anymore - a person would have to somehow get out to the outlying areas to get to the big stores which might have bargain prices, or be stuck with the small quickie marts w/less selection and higher prices. I'd assume it might be the same in other cities too.

If I were in a financial position to do so, I'd open a fruit market in that area with pricing just to cover operating expenses, not turn a big profit. It scares me that there are kids in those neighborhoods who might not ever get fresh fruits and veggies b/c its either too great of an expense or hassle for the parents to obtain.

My dog eats one 30 lb. bag of Eukanuba a month, not too bad for a 92 pound dog!

In all fairness too, by divorcing, I eliminated one adult male to feed and only feed the kids every other week. The week that they are with their dad, I don't really cook for myself. Or, I make a big batch of pasta and eat it all week. I eat rice or cereal or ramen for dinner those weeks, so that helps!

You are right about fresh produce (although the city of Detroit has Eastern Market... the city is so big that it's quite a distance for some). Big chain grocery stores are non-existant in the city of Detroit proper and there have been news stories about how the grocery stores that are in the city are more expensive than those in the suburbs, opposite from how it should be based on income levels. I go to a store called Randazzos for my mom and so I get my stuff there too. I can walk out of there with several bags of produce for less than $15. Cucumbers there are 4/$1, green pepers are 33 cents a piece, etc. They have a lot of different fruits and veggies, so the kids and I have been trying things we wouldn't try otherwise, like mangos and star fruit.