Grocery budget might even be more expensive now :(

[runnersdelig]

On our dermatologist's recommendation, we are getting all 3 kids tested again. Turns out my oldest is allergic to more foods than we thought. She's now developed an allergy to milk and dairy in addition to corn, wheat, soy, all tree nuts.

I have doctors notes galore etc for when we file...but man, just this week alone I've already spent $50 in copays and another $50 for medication. On top of their diet.

Does anyone just want to beat their heads against the wall? I mean how in the world am I going to trim our food expenses? We already don't buy processed stuff.

Oh as an update, we're going to completely fill out the paperwork with the lawyer on Thursday. If things look good, we'll be filing Thursday if the 6 month puts us way over, we're waiting another 6 weeks til Sept 1 to file.

[SMinGA]

Some things can't be helped unfortunately! I do not know your family size or gross income, but look around to see if there are any resources that can help. Especially if you have kids in school - the school system should be able to handle meals for those w/ food allergies, at a lower cost than you sending special meals to school each day. And in my opinion - there is no shame in applying for reduced price lunches. Makes a big difference. I think the level for a family of 5 is income under ~$50k per year. (Don't know the exact #, but its based on federal standards.)

[sah2]

I try to buy in bulk at BJs at least once a month. I find that I am spending less at the supermarket on the in between weeks. I am a big fan of ground meat- particularly turkey. It is a lot cheaper than regular meat, and very versatile- turkey burgers, turkey tacos, pasta with meat sauce, meatloaf, meatballs etc (although I prefer beef for the meatloaf and meatballs). A 1.5 package of ground turkey (get the lean, not the extra lean) costs less than $3 and will make 4 turkey burgers or enough meat for pasta with meat sauce (about 6 servings) or turkey tacos. Eating non-meat alternatives also saves money- Pasta with butter or red sauce, cheese quesadillas, homemade mac and cheese- I realize food allergies for you are an issue but you could use lactose free products or soy cheese, and gluten free pastas. I believe that cheddar cheese is actually OK for people that are lactose intolerant. And of course, clip coupons and use your supermarket rewards card.

[wonderingrov]

On the medication front, there is a website that a hospital had told me about when I was without health insurance. I was able to get my diabetes medication for free (in the case of insulin) or greatly reduced prices. I've posted the website below - you can look up different companies to see differing income requirements for assistance:

http://www.needymeds.org/

Not sure if this will help in your specific situation, but thought I'd offer the information. If you have several medications required by members of your family, it might be worth looking into.

[sidhesadie]

I have celiac disease, which means no gluten, and also cannot have lactose.

Cheddar is not OK if you have a severe lactose intolerance, btw.

Yes, she can make Gluten Free pasta, but you must understand, while regular pasta can be had for a dollar a package, Gluten free costs $5-7 for a smaller sized package, so you do not realize the per meal savings.

The child's corn allergy complicates matters further, as many gluten free pastas are made from corn. There is one that is made from brown rice but it's expensive. Corn tortillas, which are a cheap alternative, are also out for her (the child can't eat a taco because they can't eat either corn OR flour tortillas, for example)

OP< I don't have a lot of advice for you other than to say I feel your pain. My experience with the school system is that they do NOT provide special meals for the kids and that the reduced/free lunch is ONLY for the regular meal offered, which 99.9% of the time, this child won't be able to eat.

Focus on fruits, veggies and lean meat like chicken is my best advice. It's not cheap either, but it's going to be cheaper than the 'alternative' products your child can eat. If you have a bread machine, it's cheaper to buy the tapioca and rice flours needed to make bread in bulk and make your own. (Gluten free bread is also $5-7 a loaf).

[dumpinmydebt]

My wife buys all kinds of organic foods and stuff on this website:

https://www.vitacost.com

I know they have gluten-free items. They are quite reasonably priced as well.

[momofthree]

We're gluten-free dairy-free as well, and I LOVE Tinkyada Rice pasta, it tastes JUST like gluten to us. You can buy it by the case (12) on Amazon.com with free super saver shipping for around $40, (you can sometimes get them as low as $30/case) which makes it just under $3.50 per package. They have spaghetti, lasagna, elbow noodles, etc. So many to choose from and SO yummy.

[runnersdelig]

My worry is that because our grocery bill is so high once we file the ch 7 the trustee is going to balk at it. I clip coupons for the stuff that dh and I can eat (cereal, juice, etc) but everything else pretty much doesn't have a coupon.

Right now we're already spending over $1100 a month on groceries on an annual income of approximately $100K.