Sharon : Hi Gayle thanks for sharing your time with us. Please introduce yourself and tell us what led to the decision to budget 60.00 a week for not only groceries but household needs too. How did you come to that figure? A family of 6 on 60.00 a week? I would've thought no way. It's not possible!

 
Gayle:  Well, I've been married to Chris for 15 years and we have four kids from age 14 to 6 that we home school.

Chris used to be an investment advisor for a fortune 500 company but his long work hours were eating away at our family life. So we decided to bag the corporate life and use his skills to start his own home based financial advisory practice.

We went from a six figure income to below poverty level knowing full well we were in for a bumpy ride but our family and marriage were worth it.

When we worked out that first slim budget we realized that after paying for our house payment and other living expenses we were left with just $60 a week for food. So we prayed a lot and got very creative.

I didn't think it was possible, especially because it was such a drastic mental shift from the way we were living before. But we did it and we've learned some great practical lessons as well as some great faith lessons.
 
Sharon: You blog about your experiences at The Grocery Cart Challenge. On the post "chocolate and other stuff: the husband speaks" it is obvious that your husband thinks you are pretty special and is proud of your accomplishments.  What do your kids think? Did they jump right on board?

 
Gayle: Yeah, I've got a pretty great husband. He's been very supportive of my creativity in the kitchen even when he's been served some "interesting" dinners.

When we began this the kids were 3, 6, 9 and 10 so they just went with the flow. We explained that things were going to change and it was pretty gradual changes since I was learning right along with them.

Now that I have teens the quantity and appeal are much more important to them than when they were younger. And I've noticed that it's exciting when we actually eat out now. It's a much more celebratory occasion than it used to be. Before it was just taken for granted that we would regularly eat out. I kind of like the switch in attitude.
 

Sharon: What has surprised you the most in this whole experience.
 
Gayle: Probably the fact that we actually CAN eat for $60 a week and we eat healthy, have plenty, and it tastes good too.
 

Sharon: I see that you do a little bit of canning yourself. Does this help your budget in any way? Or is it mostly a for fun thing.
 

Gayle:  Canning really does help my budget but only because it goes hand in hand with my gardening and fruit trees. If I had to actually buy the produce to can I don't think I would save any money.

It's also SO rewarding to know that I have food put away for my family that was nearly free but I also know exactly what ingredients are in my jar. No chemicals or pesticides or extra salts or sugars.
 
Sharon: What is the most common question people ask.
 
I get asked "How do I find a local grocery liquidator" and the answer is here.... Grocery Outlet Stores

I also get asked "How do you feed a crowd" and I posted some ideas here... Feeding More Than Just Your Own Family
   
 
Sharon: Lets do a what if question. What if your family suddenly saw a big income jump. Would you go back to your old shopping habits? What would you buy first? What new frugal habits would you continue?
 

Gayle: Chris and I talk about this a lot. I used to spend $1200 a month on groceries and household items and now I spend about $250. It's become so normal for me now that I'm not even sure if I COULD spend that much money again.

But it's likely that our income will grow as our business grows. I have such a different perspective on money and debt now than I did before. I've deepened a lot of convictions about our spending, saving and giving through this experience.  We had good ideas in place before but they've solidified as we've learned to rely on the Lord for the basics of food and shelter.

I would like to see our weekly grocery budget increase to $100 as our income continues to grow. I'd probably use the extra for more meat-protein in our diet. But I hope that I would continue with the frugal habits that I've learned.

And I think I might buy more chocolate.
(Sharon's comment -I had a feeling that chocolate might come into the picture! LOL)
 

Sharon: You are super-woman! You run two blogs, a family of 6, homeschooling, and I believe you write a frugal living column in The Daily News. How do you manage your time? Have any time budgeting tips?

Gayle: I'm SO not super woman I'm just passionate about this area of my life. And when you're passionate about something it makes it much easier to do. I do sometimes struggle with balancing it all, just like every one else and I've learned to say "No" to the things that don't fit into my life.

I'm a naturally task oriented person so I can juggle several things at once but I'm also learning my limits and how to recognize when I just can't add anything else to my plate.

It also helps that my husband works from his home office most days so he's available to referee kid issues right along with me or jump in wherever needed or give me a break when I'm having a meltdown of my own. So my tip is know your limits and say No when you need to.
 
Sharon: Last question here: If you had to pick 3 tips to give a young wife and mother. What would they be? These can be, but don't necessarily need to be budget related.

Gayle: Oh that's hard to limit it to three. I feel like I've learned so much in the last few years.

Don't be rigid with your kids. Let them get dirty, make messes, not match, eat something that fell on the ground....it's all good.

Don't compare your life, your marriage, your kids or your possessions with anyone elses. For one thing you don't know what truly goes on behind closed doors and for another everyone's life looks different. That's a good thing.

Having a healthy marriage is the best thing that you can give your kids. When kids see unity between their parents they are so much more secure and happy. And don't be afraid to get help in your marriage if you need it.


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