Saving Money by Using Food Stamps
March 7, 2009 by omitunde
Filed under art of living
If you’re determined to beat the odds with the current economic crisis then you, like many other Americans will be using Food Stamps. There have been many stories in the news lately about a new class of people using Food Stamps that have never had to use them before.
First you must let go of the stigma attached to using Food Stamps because it is not just for poor low income people. Millions of people use food stamps and there is no shame in needing some assistance when times are hard.
1. Don’t shop when you are hungry. You’ll end up spending a lot more money Eat a good meal first, and you’ll be more likely to stick to your list.
2. Make a list of what you need to buy, go through your pantry to make a list of staple items like rice, sugar, beans, peanut butter, spices, etc. This is essential due the fact that when you run out of all the things you like to eat, you can still make a meal out what you have.
3. Stock up on staple items. An example of a few staple items would be rice, spaghetti, macaroni, egg noodles, peanut butter, jam, canned tuna, spaghetti sauce, and canned beans and soups have a long shelf life as well.
4. Try some new recipes instead preparing the same meals every week, look up recipes online and add some variety to our collection of regular meals that your family loves.
5. Do some research on creative snacks, lunches for you, your spouse and for your children. This is important because lunch time at school or at work is an important break in your day and making the meal interesting can boost your self esteem and give you the energy to get through the day.
6. Planning meals ahead of time gives you sense of being organized and eases the stress of the daily tasks of deciding what’s for dinner. Make lunches interesting and add some love by adding some variety to satisfy your tastes and avoid making you feel deprived when you see what everyone else is eating.
7. Pack a lunch so that when you are at work and everyone is going out to buy lunch and you start feeling deprived. Everyone is getting food that smells great its fried and full of ingredients you cant identify. The advantage to your health is that you know what you are eating and what’s in it, you are much better off. I know you are shaking you head saying no, I want what they are eating. Trust me you will be proud of yourself later.
8. Search for a community food pantry or food bank from a church in your neighborhood to supplement your supply. Receiving social service assistance can be a great way to stretch you cash. Starting out with this in mind will teach you to be more conscious of what your reason is that you are taking advantage of a service that is designed to keep you fed and healthy.
9. A common misconception that people might have about using Food Stamps is that people look at you funny in the grocery store when you are paying for your food. All you need to do is make your purchase, and make sure that you don’t look around for the approval or opinionated looks of others.
If you have ever been behind a person using food stamps and the shopping cart is spilling over with frozen food entrees, junk food snacks, multiple boxes of processed food and everything is name brand items, you think to yourself “that is really wasteful”.
Instead of judging and complaining consider that they may not know how to shop So if you really want to make the most of your Food Stamp subsidy consider follow these tips gain the greatest benefit and save your hard earned cash.
This is a good, informative article. I happened upon it from CNN website. I am not on food stamps but years ago my family growing up, had to use them. One thing that people need to remember is that what is in the person’s cart that uses food stamps may not reflect the whole story. The food items may be for a loved one who is not feeling well or cannot handle other foods. On the downside, I have been in stores and at the health dept. where people who used food stamps and got WIC pulled up/left in a new model mercedes benz. I tell myself that they must be borrowing it and not the owner. I am in school full time and work full time and can’t imagine “working the system”. Also, being a vegetarian is really inexpensive. Maybe suggest a couple of meatless meals a week would help. Thanks for taking your time to read this and write your blog
A Scottish/English/Welsh American (don’t really know exactly where my ancestors came from, they dropped all that a few generations ago, so I guess I am just a plain ole American).