Government shutdown info

If you are like me, a military family, the threat of a potential government shutdown may have a serious impact on you and your family. I want to go over a couple of ways that you can manage until pay is back on track.

1) This is no time to discontinue purchasing your necessities, this will only hurt you more if this continues in the long run! Remember to use your coupons for this. Next week I will post match ups for all of the grocery stores in town (bloom, food lion, kroger, harris teeter, farm fresh...did I miss anything?)

2) Evaluate what your necessities are when it comes to food. You don't need to be purchasing prime steak cuts, or boneless skinless chicken at this time.  You can utilize a crock pot to make cheaper cuts of steak and bone-in chicken taste delicious. You can find many recipes on http://www.recipe.com/ to utilize and substitute a $3 cut for a $10-$15 cut you might usually use (although I would hope you are avoiding spending 10-15 on dinners generally). Can you drink water instead of soda...can you drink tap instead of bottled? Think of all the little things you can change, as convenience is NOT CHEAP!

3) Separate your meat as SOON as you get home from the store!  I usually separate about 6 drumsticks of chicken, 3 boneless breasts, and cut my roasts into thirds.  No need to waste it by only eating HALF of what you defrost!

4) Meatless meal days! How about that box of pasta in your pantry? Can you toss it with some sauce on hand, or olive oil and cheese on hand and some veggies to make a delicious meal still (broccoli, etc)? Try it, my family doesn't notice that we do meat free Mondays!

5) Look in the back of your freezer. Now is the time to look in your pantry, fridge and freezer and make note of what might go bad if you don't use it this weekend and use it before you lose it. Make a menu plan for the next week or so based on items and what you can make with what you have if you only buy something that is less than $1 vs spending 4 or 5

6) Check back on Tuesday evening, I will add a frugal meal plan! This will be less if you choose to utilize now as a time to use coupons. And I will continue to do so, until the freeze is over.