I'm having real budget issues. I bought all the food I needed for the month, but now I am out of money and the only food in the house is JC food. So my son gets my JC food and I get what he doesn't like and the two cases of Myoplex I have left over from BFL. Oh...and I also have two boxes of Atkins cereal (which actually happens to be high fiber, so it will be OK for breakfast).
I am so bummed out. I don't get paid again until April 12. I hate my financial situation. My ex-husband is behind on his child support, but he does make efforts to pay so I'm not to the point of turning him in. I need to get on the phone and ASK HIM for the money, but I get a knot in my stomach whenever I need to talk to him about anything. You would think after being separated for 12 years and divorced for 11 that it wouldn't be so hard.
I've been thinking about maybe looking for some consulting work to do on top of my current job. I just hate that that would take even more time away from my son. Money sucks!

Good luck on the cash flow situation!
I'm single parent as well (probably like the rest posting on this board). I tried all of the Jenny Craig meals and decided to buy only the ones that I really liked. The canned soups, tortellini, etc. were the first to go. Since I don't really like sweets for desert every day & do like chips, the next things substituted were the snacks. The cereals are good, but you can buy some less expensive high fiber cereals at the grocery store or health food store. Whole grain/high fiber breads & pastas are good to fill up hollow teenagers & healthy as well.
I mostly buy frozen meals for lunch for work days & the breakfasts that I like. That cuts the cost of the program in half, but it means more careful shopping & more cooking.
Good luck!

JC is kinda expensive for us single parents. I didn't know we could substitute the snacks and cereals etc. so I learned something new today. My only tip is to keep your eye on the website for discount coupons, there was one for $15 earlier this month.
Try not to let your financial worries bring you down. Keep your head up and focus on all of the progress you have made on the program.

I am not a single parent, but I have a very strict budget as well. You should ask your consultant to help you with the exchanged for breakfast ie eating cereal instead of JC foods, I just told them I had a tight budget and they were really helpful, I know some consultants are tho because the hole point is for them to promote there food. I was told instead of the JC breakfast have a cereal high fiber 3/4of a cup! Good Luck

I do my own breakfast cereal too. I bought some plain bite-size shredded wheat, and I pre-bagged it in 3/4 cup servings and put all the bags back into the empty box. The whole box was about $2, and I've got about ten breakfasts in it. I make fruit and yogurt parfaits (if you use frozen fruit, you don't end up throwing out fruit that goes bad) and use the cereal with it, all crumbled up with some Splenda and cinnamon mixed in it. Only thing you have to add it the 1 oz lean meat, ie, piece of lean lunch ham, or even non-lean to include the one fat.
Budgeting is difficult. I thought the food would be about $35 a week, but it's more like $100. I'm learning how to stick to my portions and cook for myself a lot now. The first couple of weeks of JC food was great for learning my portion sizes and menu planning.
Budgeting takes a lot of creativeness. I bought some low-fat shredded mozzarella to include on my pizza, in my fajita, and on omelettes, and I pre-portioned it by the ounce in little baggies, put all the little baggies back in the original cheese bag (so I know what it is), and froze it. Pre-portioned, and nothing is wasted! I find I waste a lot of food if I'm not very careful
I'm rooting for you, and everyone else out there on tight budgets! Good luck!

Rene, I only buy 5 lunches & 5 dinners a week & do the rest on my own. That cuts my JC bill down to about 1/2.
Breakfast are easy for me because I'm happy with cereal. Snacks can be easy & much cheaper too. Most snack servings are 100-120 cals (comparable to JC) the trick is to buy a large bag & immediately pre-package it into individual servings.
Budgeting CAN be done if you're creative with it.
Good Luck

thanks for all the great suggestions to budgeting on the program, but I was wondering about the snacks you substitute for the JC snack......which ones do you use.
Thanks,

I sub snacks by the label on it. I look at calories/carbs/proteins/fat on existing JC products and sub them for equal amount of cal/carbs/proteins/fat on my own snacks. I bake zuccini breads and use a slice for snack. I buy Pria bars (from power bar) and use them as snack. Sometimes I substitute for fruit - banana or orange does it for me. i often buy small containers of yogurt, too.
I am not single Mom, but Mom of 3, and my budget is very tight - I solced it for myself a bit different - I don't buy breakfasts, I am halfway so I have 2 days on my own. I also finished fitness istructor courses and I teach fitness - so instead of gym membership I basically HAVE to GO and TEACH 4 classes a week - I can not skip them as I have to instruct PLUS I get payed for it = it is a big motivation for me.

LPrene,
Perhaps now isn't the time to be buying expensive specialty foods, JC, BFL, or whatever.
Your food dollar would go much further in a grocery store. I'd take what I have learned from the different programs and try to buy the healthiest food possible at my local grocery. If you like the convenience of frozen dinners, you can get two (or sometimes three, if you catch a sale) comparable Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice meals for the price of one JC dinner.
Get your support online here if you don't have a good support system around you.
You and your son could both be eating for what you're paying for one JC dinner, and I'd think he needs more calories than he's getting. In my opinion, your son needs to be your highest priority now.
JC is great, but "to every thing there is a season." You can always come back when your finances are in better shape. It sounds like you just can't afford JC now; we've all been there.
I guess I sound like your mother, but I'm pulling for you and I wish you well.

Every one here is talking about buying certaing things from JC, can you really do that??? I was under the impression that you just have to eat all their food. It would help me out alot if you had an option on what you wanted to buy.

I've been on JC for 11 months and lost 50 pounds! I am still 15-20 away from goal and I just can't afford this any longer. I've been ordering 2 weeks frozen and 2 weeks shelf every month for $419.99. As of today I am going to only order 2 weeks of the JC foods that I love and the other 2 weeks I will follow weight watcher guidelines and just buy smart ones or lean cuisine and eat all foods within my points allowance. I hope this works!! Oh goodness I think my brain lost weight! Maybe this will help me get back on Weight Watchers full time and I can still come here for support. I am a Platnium member so I can always come back full time if Donald Trump hires me (ha)! I do LOVE JENNY CRAIG it has brought me from 190 to 140 and I can't say enough good things about it. I am not a single parent but we are a one income family.

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Originally posted by BadAdnie:
Every one here is talking about buying certaing things from JC, can you really do that??? I was under the impression that you just have to eat all their food. It would help me out alot if you had an option on what you wanted to buy.

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Yes BadAdnie you can buy only selected items, there is no mandatory requirement to buy ALL of their foods.
I don't know how long you've been on the program, but most will recommended you at least do 2-4 full weeks of JC so you can get fully accoustomized to the program, portion sizes etc. You have to be sure that you have the confidence to start doing meal replacements on your own. It can be done, just be sure you're up to it. Breakfasts are easiest to do on your own, snacks can be as well as long as you prepackage them from the larger package and are sure you won't be tempted.
Good Luck