I belong in this tribe too
I used to buy ready made organic meals, all the bakery treats I wanted... wasted a lot of money in many ways. and now I do not have any money at all either. We had money when I was a child, then my parents split and we had no money, all our clothes were donated to us, there was often only one meal a day at home. Then I had money again, and now I don't... my life has been back and forth that way. It is good to gain perspective, but it is hard making the transitions I agree.
I sucked at making a dollar stretch and I used to throw away as much food as I ate.
I only buy clothes at the thrift store, and only for the children, and only what they absolutely need. We homeschool so she doesn't have to have 5 different outfits, though family sends stuff too so she ends up with a lot it seems. dd2 has all the stuff dd1 outgrew. The adults make do on the clothes we had before (and in my case, I have more than i need, much is stored in boxes in the garage). I stay barefoot as much as possible, which saves wear and tear on shoes too (I rarely leave the house).
You can make coffee on the stove in a pot. 1 cup of water to 1 tbs of coffee, boil the water then turn it off. Wait for it to stop bubbling and put coffee in. Let sit for a couple minutes, then pour it through a coffee filter into the caraffe, or use a funnel with a filter... (or you can put coffee in as you heat water, as soon as it boils turn it off and use it then, stronger this way IMO) (I forgo my water process decaf, fair trade organic coffee altogether right now though, I drink water)
I keep telling the bill payer here (dd1s dad) that getting rid of satellite should have been the first move (but he needs espn he thinks and it is his house, not mine, we are divorced). I was even all for getting rid of phone and internet to save money, but we decided the phone is too important and the internet is only $5 more through them as a package... but anyway, find small ways you can fine tune things.
We do not buy anything packaged, I make it all. We are GFCFSF so that is most of the reason why, but making things yourself instead of buying premade is a way to stretch it. I go to farmer's market. we eat veggies, fruit, quinoa or rice, sometimes rice pasta, and beans. Sometimes the girls eat an egg. I make cookies, pancakes, crepes, candy and muffins from scratch (even though the GF flour is more expensive, making it ourselves still saves a lot of money over the mixes) . At the store there is a grinder that grinds organic peanuts so I get it instead of ready made peanut butter. REally the bulk bins at the HFS are your friend. Ours has a big sale twice a year and I stock up on rice and other staples. I have some glass jars in the pantry. Make popcorn from actual organic kernels when something salty and crunchy is needed. Our favorite thing lately has been to mash up an avocado and put in some salsa and eat it with Garden of Eatin corn chips (I use rice crackers)... cheap meal IMO. Going meat free has really helped have more money for veggies and fruit. I eat organic, so that was more important than meat to me...
To me, organic food is the only really important thing, everything else is negotiable. I haven't had a haircut in 4 years either and I used to love my massages and getting my brows waxed, buying movies...etc... I feel ya....
Sorry you're having a rough time.
(just joking)
wanna trade places? I miss upstate NY, wanna move to Florida? You can move here and grow all your own veggies this time of year 
