Quote:
Originally Posted by
mamaofthree
i remember reading someplace (maybe in a book i have) that in america we spend less on food then pretty much anywhere else in the world. and we value food alot less. like we won't spend what it truly cost to grow and raise food. and for the most part we do not, alot of what we eat is subsidized by the government. unless you make a choice to shop at the farmers markets, you are really getting a steal on food. i mean even in apple country (maine) when i would go to the grocery store to buy apples i could get them for $1.00 a pound from washington or new zealand but if i went to the farmers market and got apples from a local grower it was well over $2.00 a pound sometimes closer to three and it was apple season.
you have to make a choice what is most important. shelter, food and water and clothing. BUT i know of people who spend more time picking out a cell phone and cell phone package then they do on what they eat. you spend $400.00 a month on food and $500.00 a month on cable, internet and phone service. seems a bit backwards to me. (not any one of YOU do i mean in the YOU i just said, sort of a general you... you understand. lol)
we do buy local and grass fed beef when we can, i buy organic and i make most of what we eat but i still spend $1000.00 a month for a family of 7. that just under 1/4 of what dh makes. BUT i personally feel it is worth every penny because
i believe it is important to feed my family well to keep them healthy and it is important that they enjoy and love good food. alot of stuff from scratch doesn't take much longer to make then the boxed stuff anyway. at least that is what i have found. i have a few quick cook recipes that are in my head at all times and we have the stuff for me to make them in the house so if i am not in the mood to whip up some fancy dinner then i can make homemade mac and cheese or pizza, or risotto, etc. throw in a salad and some steamed vegetables and tada great simple dinner that takes really no time to make.
but i am rambling now. lol
h
Mamaofthree-I definately agree with you in many of you points!
Most of our veggies come from a local farm stand. I get fresher, tastier, organic veggies from him for cheaper than I could find regular ones at the grocery store, and I know I'm supporting a worthy cause. This time of year, most of our apples come from MIL's tree, we get a few dozen eggs from her, some from somebody local, and the rest at the grocery store.
I don't buy boxed for the most part, bake about 1/3 of our bread, we do eat bananas, regular meat most of the time (occasional grass fed/organic), we drink non-organic non-rbst milk, and like I said in a post above our biggest splurge is cold cereal (chex, cheerios, sometimes organic, etc). This week I managed to get 4lbs of Tillamook cheddar for $8, and 10lbs of oranges for $8, I really bargain shop.
I'm a lady that does know the value of our food, I follow NT ways of cooking most of the time, can a lot of our own foods, I'm a shade-tree herbalist and a respiratory therapist, I've taken nutrition classes, we eat the best way we can most of the time.
Our internet, cable, landline, 3 cell phones come up to less than $200 a month. We thrift store shop unless I find a very good bargain on clearance, we cloth diaper, and have only occasionally had a new piece of furniture. We don't have car payments. I'm pretty sure our dollars are being spent as well as we can, I think that net pay can only go so far, and there are other bills to pay. I WISH we could spend more on better meat, and I wish there was more time in the world to do even more. Hee hee, guess I'd better get busy on this pumpkin butter (cooked the sugar pie pumpkin last night), and pickled beets!