Finding a balance

This crunchy mama is getting tired of going to the grocery store.
I got out of habit ordering from my produce buying club during the holidays (where I get my milk, eggs, and produce) so I have been doing a lot more shopping at Publix. Sometimes I just feel so defeated. I know I would save so much time and money if I just ordered a portion of a grass fed cow and organic grains in bulk, but needing the money up front makes it impossible right now. I get so mad when I'm trying to decide what to buy. Why isn't beef, that was raised the way God intended, available and affordable for everyone buy?

I'm going to admit it here - Buying local and choosing the right food for my family is not always easy. There are systems that are making it easier: buying clubs, co-ops, CSA's are popping up and making organic, locally raised meat, dairy, and produce more accessible and in some cases affordable. Some days I just envy the ignorant.

We started baby step 3 of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University this month.(save 6 months living expenses) This is what is making it so difficult. I'm trying to feed my family naturally on a very small amount of money. We started budgeting again and when I set the monthly grocery budget I made it really low to challenge ourselves. I'm finding it impossible to meet. I've cut out everything I can think of. I thought about doing coupons but many of the coupons are for prepackage  items I refuse to have in our diet. There are a few I can use but nothing like the $100 of groceries for $20 stories I see.

I see the extra money we spend on better ingredients as health insurance and an investment in the future existence of natural foods, so I know I should just increase my food budget and order the bulk items I know will save us money in the long run. Every day without fast food, soda, and other junk is a good day, but we have to maintain the next level at some point. While I'm grocery shopping it's like I have a mini Dave Ramsey on one shoulder and a natural food advocate on the other bickering at me; each one trying to get their way. I need to find a way to make them friends and respect each other.