As the American economy sputters and families continue to struggle mightily just to keep their heads above water, the Economides family of Arizona believe they provide a model for how to not just survive, but thrive on a tight budget.
Eschewing credit cards, car loans and home equity borrowing, the clan of seven stay solvent and then some on just $44,000 a year — and that includes owning a home in the pricey Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale.
Mind you, they eat nutritious meals and their children are decked out in stylish, brand-name clothes. The key to living well for less, they say, is to search for bargains, avoid impulse buying and plan, plan, plan.
The Economides, who have been living up to their billing as “America’s Cheapest Family” since 1982, recently published the latest in their series of fun-while-frugal household tips, this time focusing on what is often a budget-buster for families: the grocery store. Their book, “Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half — With America’s Cheapest Family,” is on bookstore shelves now.
Read an excerpt from ‘Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half’
Hope and spare change
“We are the hope and change of America,” family matriarch Annette Economides told Matt Lauer Wednesday, as her husband, Steve, and daughters Abbey, 16, and Becky, 26, looked on. “With the unemployment rate where it is today, I believe that our books can allow families to not have to live on two incomes.”
NBC cameras followed the Economides through a typical grocery shopping expedition. Before entering the store, Steve and Annette sat down at the dining room table and pored over food coupons, eyeing their cost-cutting prey like hungry lions. Annette used sales as a guide to planning 30 days of family meals before the family headed out the door.
The Economides feed their brood on an average of $350 a month, even though Annette says she knows similarly sized families that put out $2,000 a month. Steve marches down the aisles with calculator in hand, comparing unit prices. His eyes light up when he peruses the meat section and finds several cuts nearing their expiration dates, which he scoops up.
“I’m sure that people probably get squeamish over that,” Lauer commented on that part of the prerecorded segment. But Steve Economides wasn’t having it. “We’re talking about being smart,” he told Lauer. “If you look at the meat and the color is right, there’s no juice around it, it looks fine; it’s probably safe to buy.”
Full Story : http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39416868/ns/today-today_people?GT1=43001
Eschewing credit cards, car loans and home equity borrowing, the clan of seven stay solvent and then some on just $44,000 a year — and that includes owning a home in the pricey Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale.
Mind you, they eat nutritious meals and their children are decked out in stylish, brand-name clothes. The key to living well for less, they say, is to search for bargains, avoid impulse buying and plan, plan, plan.
The Economides, who have been living up to their billing as “America’s Cheapest Family” since 1982, recently published the latest in their series of fun-while-frugal household tips, this time focusing on what is often a budget-buster for families: the grocery store. Their book, “Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half — With America’s Cheapest Family,” is on bookstore shelves now.
Read an excerpt from ‘Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half’
Hope and spare change
“We are the hope and change of America,” family matriarch Annette Economides told Matt Lauer Wednesday, as her husband, Steve, and daughters Abbey, 16, and Becky, 26, looked on. “With the unemployment rate where it is today, I believe that our books can allow families to not have to live on two incomes.”
NBC cameras followed the Economides through a typical grocery shopping expedition. Before entering the store, Steve and Annette sat down at the dining room table and pored over food coupons, eyeing their cost-cutting prey like hungry lions. Annette used sales as a guide to planning 30 days of family meals before the family headed out the door.
The Economides feed their brood on an average of $350 a month, even though Annette says she knows similarly sized families that put out $2,000 a month. Steve marches down the aisles with calculator in hand, comparing unit prices. His eyes light up when he peruses the meat section and finds several cuts nearing their expiration dates, which he scoops up.
“I’m sure that people probably get squeamish over that,” Lauer commented on that part of the prerecorded segment. But Steve Economides wasn’t having it. “We’re talking about being smart,” he told Lauer. “If you look at the meat and the color is right, there’s no juice around it, it looks fine; it’s probably safe to buy.”
Full Story : http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39416868/ns/today-today_people?GT1=43001
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