New realization

I just came to a realization this morning.
I made cinnamon rolls from a can for breakfast. Nothing fancy just walmart brand. So I am putting them on a plate. DH doesn't like frosting. (he's weird) and I put 3 for him. I am sitting at the computer eating and made myself 3. I can eat alot especially for breakfast. There are 2 left. I have 3 kids. The boys are not hungry yet and of course I will share mine with them if they come to me wanting one. DD is still sleeping. My realization is we are going to be spending so much on food in the months to come. I hadn't really thought about it because they eat so little now. But one can of cinnamon rolls is not going to be enough.
Just wanted to share what SY is beginning to mean to me.

 

Mine eat a lot. I try to buy organic or natural food as much as possible for them, so in the end we probably spend as much for them as for us.

 

They are starting to eat more and more. It is amazing how much milk, eggs, and cheese we go through in a week!!

 

Oh definitely on the milk. It took mine awhile to get used to it but I would say a gallon barely last us a day. DD drinks it alot too and DH loves his cereal. I now buy it 2 gallons at a time to make sure we don't run out.

 

I think, financially, the second year is way harder than the first year. I've watched our savings dwindle over the past year, and I know the cost of child care would probably offset any extra money my DH would bring in by going back into the labor force. I feel like we are stuck in a rut on the finances.

Although I do think feeding toddlers is no more expensive, than giving infants formula. The one month my boys got a lot of formula, it cost us $200. They can eat like little kings if I allot them $200 in table foods.

Danielle, do you guys have a nice size deep freezer? I live in apt., so I don't have one, but if I did have one. I'd stock up when things are on sale because in my experience that is the best way to save. In fact, I get the weekend paper, so I can check out all of the sales and get coupons. I pick which store or stores have items that I want to buy. I buy as much as I can, and try to buy with a coupon. Lately, I've been getting packs of diapers from Pampers and Huggies for anywhere from $6-7.50. I wait until they are on sale, and I use a coupon.

I'm also one to avoid buying a lot of "baby" or "kid" foods. That stuff is much more expensive, and too sugary. The other day. I got a 32 ounce tub of whole milk yogurt for $1.99. Needless to say, I grabbed like 4 of those suckers. I just added homemade pureed apples, pears, or mangos to it. It's cheap that way and much healthier.

 

Oh one more thing, did you know in my town it is almost always cheaper to buy milk at the drug store? It's like $2.69 there on sale, and just a little more expensive when it's not on sale.

 

Rachel, yes we have a deep freeze and that is what I as far as stocking up on sale items. I just am thinking about all the little things that I normally have like the cinnamon rolls. Usually we have some left over but not anymore. I am going to look into making homemade and then freezing them. Also my parents raise cows and I have already talked to them about getting beef. They haven't done this in years, probably since my brother was in high school. But my dad already said he would raise one for us and then take it to the butcher. So the only cost will be the butcher cost for us. I haven't looked into the milk prices at the drugstore. We have been on WIC since I quit working last year when the boys were born so milk hasn't been much of an expense for us. Neither was formula, Thank God!!! We still spent around $45 a month in addition to what we were given. I meal plan to help with spending on groceries but I know it's going to continue to get worse.

 

ditto!!!

 

I had to laugh at your buying 2 gallons of milk at a time. I buy 4 gallons at a time, and usually have to go back to the store every few days for more! We drink a lot of milk in this family. And yes, the food bill is going up and up, but I agree with a PP that it is still less than formula.

 

Too funny! :laughing: I now shop at BJs to do my regular weekly grocery shopping. Its actually cheaper since my girls eat a lot.

 

Ok, being a Canadian girl, I'm a little fuzzy on how much a gallon is, but we buy 4 litres of homo milk every 2 days for the twins, and 4 litres of %2 milk a day for the rest of the family.

 

Im a Brit living in Spain so Im lost with the gallon talk too! :lol: My LOs get through a litre+ of milk a day still so we are like you, snowmom!

Yes, the expense is slowly adding up. Imagine the cost when they start school! Eeek!

 

1 gallon= (approx) 3.8 liters (thanks google!!!)

 

One gallon lasts a week here! My two really don't drink much of it.

 

Rachel, I feel the same way. I feel like the cost of childcare would totally offset anything I could make if I returned to work and I hate seeing that savings pile dwindle down further and further.
We've been shopping at Sam's Club and buying items in bulk to help us save. I also shop at the local farmers market because their prices on fruits, vegetables, cheese, milk, and eggs is cheaper then the supermarkets around here. We easily go through 2 gallons of milk a week. I sit there and wonder how in the world did my mother do it trying to feed six children on a bartender's pay and whatever amount of money my biological father decided to share with the family. I struggle with two. I need my Mom to be my financial guru!

 

Sadly food prices have tripled, quadrupled and more and wages have not. Food items increase in price and decrease in volume every single time I go to the darn store. I can't believe it.

 

Sadly being two married working adults for the past 10 years I never looked at the price of food before the babies! But I realized you cannot put a price on food. I spend three times the amount on their food than ours. Their milk for half-a-gallon is $4.56! So recently we decided to get rid of the cable
Next will be the other 'wants' so we can have more of the 'needs'.