Surviving In Deep Water - Hope Floats

So, earlier this month when I wrote a post about the virtues of poor people food, I made a reference likening turning your clothes into a flotation device in deep water with making it through the current economic torrent. Whether you’ve lost your job, your retirement or your house, or the financial bail-outs haven‘t succeeded in bailing you out yet, these five steps can make all the difference in your ability to survive and thrive. While these tips could be applied to many money matters, I’m really not qualified to give you financial advice. My goal is to help you keep your head above water with more of your food money staying with you and less of it going to the grocery store.

As promised, here are the steps to surviving in deep water by creating a life-saving device from what you already have. Remember, this is a metaphor.

1. Don’t Panic - Tread water.
This is where you asses your current situation. In the case of groceries, figure out where you are with the food you currently have in you cupboards, pantry, fridge and freezer. Do you have a month’s worth of food, a week, a few days? Make an inventory and the beginnings of a menu from what you find. Remember, calm. Panic will drown you at this point.

The food in my pantry when I started my experiment. This lasted a month and fed 6+ people all month long.

2. Kick off your shoes, they are a impediment to floating and movement.
Where do your weaknesses lie? What is keeping you from achieving your financial goals? For me, it’s waste. Wasted time, wasted money, wasted opportunity. The USDA reports that American consumers waste 26% of the food they buy from grocery stores and restaurants. Are you wasting 26% of your food budget? At this juncture all non-essentials are considered waste, they’ll just drag you down and keep you from moving in the direction you need to go. Be careful in deciding what is imperative (Read on because though you drop the shoes, the laces can still come in handy.) Kicking off your shoes also reminds you to relax. Metaphorically speaking , what are the shoes on your list of grocery items?

3. Take your pants off and modify them to float.

Now that you’ve considered your weaknesses, ponder on your strengths. Before I started my No More Grocery Shopping experiment, I knew my greatest strength in the grocery department was my well stocked pantry combined with my ability to cook cheap and easy food. This is how I stay afloat during hard times. What is one thing you can do right now to prepare for the challenges of the coming meals?

This is the produce I had for a month of No More Grocery Shopping

4. Determine if you have any other items that will help you float such as a shirt, dress, tote or anything else that will hold air.
These are supplements to your strengths. It’s the difference between keeping your head above the water and being able to comfortably float until help arrives. Learn to make everything you can; bread, convenience food, snacks and treats, even toys and gifts. In my case, along with a bunch of staple foods, I make sure I have plenty of chocolate, spices, condiments and dressings. What are do you know how to make from scratch? What do you need to learn?

Fridge and freezer food that kept us going for the better part of five weeks+.

5. Keep socks, bras, belts and shoe laces, these can help tether your flotation device to you. Lose the jewelry and the wallet and anything else that will weigh you down.
As with any new endeavor, there will always be practical ideas to keep in mind. Use the best of what you find, let the rest go. Pick a few things and work on them. Don’t get weighed down by the enormity of things to do and learn. You can survive and thrive if you learn this important principle: Keep what’s useful to you, mostly keep it simple, and let go of the rest.

End Note - After all is said and done, don't forget, despair will sink you quicker than a stone, but hope floats. And, chocolate is an essential part of any survival plan.

Check back Thursday for Homemade Holiday fare including gifts, toys, ornaments and of course cheap and easy holiday recipes.