With four kids between the ages of five and 12 — and a busy schedule that includes hockey, lacrosse, juggling appointments and multiple play dates and a successful home-based business — time management and research play a big role in ensuring everyone gets what they need and gets to where they need to be for Midhurst's Burke family.
First things first, Whitney Burke says it's important to know your prices, adding although Costco can serve her well, it’s not always the best for cost savings.
“Costco is great, but sometimes there is a better deal at FreshCo or No Frills and then I stockpile," she told BarrieToday. "If crackers are on sale, then I bulk buy them. For fruits and veggies, if things are not on sale, then they’re not necessarily bought that week.
“I am a big fan of buying things at 50 per cent off."
Freezer meals and food prep are absolute musts in her home, she added, not just for saving money, but also for saving time.
“If I get a great deal on meat, (then) when I come home I will spend half an hour making them and throw them in the freezer. When things come in the house, I wash and I prep them right away,” said Burke, adding she considers herself lucky as her children eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.
“It's awesome because those fill them up and they’re not reaching for all of the other stuff all the time," she added.
Burke said more often than not all of the kids are responsible for making their own lunches, which goes a long way in reducing food waste, something that's a big topic of conversation around their home, especially as the price of groceries continues to climb.
“They can pick what they want and are not wasting food. Then the veggies come out at dinner and they pick what they want, versus me picking for them and then it being wasted.”
And getting the entire family involved, whether it’s in the growing of the food or in the kitchen is also key, she said.
“If you get your kids involved, then they are more apt to eat it.”
Last summer, Burke created a vegetable garden in their backyard and said she’s aiming to expand on that again this year. But for now she will be focusing on the items that seemed to grow the best.
“Peppers don’t yield enough for our family, so other things that will yield more I will donate more time to," she said. "It’s fun and the kids tend to eat more vegetables because they get to go and pick it out of the garden themselves.”
Another big money saver has been incorporating meatless meals into their weekly menu.
“The kids have no problem with black beans, so I do black bean quesadillas, vegetarian chili or half meat and half black beans … and they’re totally fine with that, but it wasn’t overnight or anything," Burke said. "It’s about exposure over time. If you try a few times, or mix them together, all of a sudden it will work.”
Burke admits she rarely uses her oven to cook, instead relying on her purple, silicone Epicure steamers or her slow cookers during the week for meal time.
“Time-saving is huge for me," she said. "If I can prep a meal, put it in the steamer and then walk away and it’s cooking while I am doing homework or packing hockey bags, that’s huge.
"The other night, I had already made enchiladas. I just put them in the fridge when I went to get the kids, then threw them in the microwave for the seven or eight minutes of cook time while I was making sure they were getting ready to go for hockey because we have to leave by 5 p.m.," Burke added. "Not having to stand over the stove is a huge thing.”
Burke said her oven often only gets used on the weekends, when she can set aside some additional time to do large batches of muffins, make-ahead pancakes or cookies, which she will then toss in the freezer to be pulled out as needed.
“When those come out, the roast or whatever goes in, so it’s not like I am constantly turning on and off the hydro with the stove," she said.
Ensuring all of her kids are well-versed in financial literacy is an important skill, Burke added, no matter their age.
“I have always been the type of person who chose my priorities. We have had a lot of financial conversations with the kids about everything," she said. "We drove to Disney before Christmas … and we took the steamer with us and bought groceries to have meals in the hotel. It worked out really well and saved a lot of money.
"The one meal we did have at Disney was $250 and that was not something I was willing to budget for when we could stay for an extra couple of days instead.”
Having these conversations with her kids, even the youngest ones, has gone a long way in easing some of the pressure that comes along with being able to give her children the kind of life experiences she wants them to have, she said.
“The gimme-gimmes go away. There are still some, but the oldest one had a great assignment at school before Christmas, and when we were down at Disney we had a lot of conversations because of it," Burke said. "We could talk about the exchange rate on top of tax of things … and understanding that with sports and things coming up that they want to do… we had to make sure we have the extra money if needed.”
Growing up, Burke said she was always taught the importance of saving and looking at the bigger picture when it came to finances — and she’s determined to pass that along to her own kids.
“I feel like their reality is going to be very different from ours, especially without any kind of game plan and savings choices.”
