Has anyone besides me noticed that their grocery bill has skyrocketed? Where are the days that I could get $50 worth of food and have five bags of food to show for it?  Today, that same $50 just might get two or maybe three bags of food. Food shopping is just the tip of the iceberg too. I won't even get into the price of gas, electricity and any other kind of energy that we just might be using. How do we manage? What do we give up? Where do we cut back? Here are a few suggestions that are working for me. I'm on a rather fixed income too.

Try bundling your phone, internet and satellite/cable services. You often can get some good deals even if they are only for a few months. Your circumstances possibly will change before the price does. If they don't, you certainly will be saving some money. The deals are out there, check them out and how they can fit into your budget.

Stop using the charge cards and ATM cards. This is the hardest to do. Somehow "putting it on plastic" just doesn't feel as if we are really spending money. We are so used to just pulling out the old credit card or cards for all our purchases that it doesn't feel normal to open our wallets and pay cash. If we stop or cut back on our ATM usage we could be very surprised at how much we have left in our checking accounts.

Don't buy bottled water or coffee at the coffeeshops. Milwaukee county has some of the safest water around so get yourself a water bottle and fill it from home. Just this one thing could save you over $200 a year, believe it or not. Also those stops for coffee get costlier and costlier. If you just have to have that specialty latte, cut back to just once or twice a week instead of daily. Get a thermos and make your coffee at home and carry it in your car. If you're a tea drinker make your own iced tea or hot tea. Both can be carried along on your errands or taken to work.

Pack a lunch and reuse your paper bag or get a lunch container. Going out to lunch on a daily basis can cost anywhere from$25 to $70 a week depending on where you go. Over a months time this does add up. Cutting back to once a week also will help immensely. This goes along with restaurant eating for dinner too. Gathering around the table is good for family life even if it is microwaved food. A slow cooker works great too for those that have a busy life and don't have time to create a meal after work.

Grocery shop with coupons and try some of the store's brands. Coupons can be printed online or cut out of various fliers that come in the Sunday paper. They do save money in the long run. Also shop the sales and stock up if and when you're able to do so. Know your prices too.

If your rent is very high and it's affecting your other financial obligations, start looking for a different place to live. Just this morning, I saw on tv a woman who was earning $50k a month and her rent of $1495 a month was consuming her. She was told by a financial expert to find a cheaper place to live. It won't be easy, but ask around to your friends. Lots of rentals never get advertised and get rented via word of mouth.

So, there you have it. These are some things that are working for me and have worked for others. Even if you are only able to do just one of these, think of the monetary savings that will be the result. Be brave and move forward.

Each time I go grocery shopping I'm so glad that my four kids are all grown and on their own. My three boys were all chow hounds and my daughter wasn't much better. If I had to feed all of them now with grocery prices skyrocketing I truly don't think that I'd have been able to keep them fed. I see smaller quantities for the same prices, staples like eggs and bread get more expensive and dairy products aren't getting any cheaper either.

Help is on the way or Superman to the rescue. Its in a program called SHARE. There are no inome requirements so folks that are better off financially are welcome too. The only requirement is that you help at your SHARE site or do at least an hour of community work a week. There are no membership dues or any other eligibility requirements. Everyone is welcome.

Unless you're familiar with SHARE you're probably asking, "so what is this SHARE exactly?" Its a non-profit food buying club that offers good nutritious products at reduced cost through a volunteer-run, community-based distribution system. (courtesy of the SHARE newsletter.) If you become a part of SHARE you can save anywhere from 30% to 50% on a full order of SHARE which will cost $18.00 a month. You can get multiples of any item and there are "select items" which often are in large quantities that can be divided. Trust me there are some great buys in the "select items".

I just picked up my SHARE this past Saturday. Here's what I got for $18.00: 2.4 lbs of chicken drumsticks, 1 lb. of porkchops, 3-5oz portions of broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breast, a 14 oz pkg of smokes sausage, 8 oz of deli-sliced roasted chicken breast for sandwiches, Jennie-O turkey breakfast sausage, 15 oz can of baked beans, 10 pkg. of Quaker Instant Oatmeal in one of two flavors, an assortment of 5 fresh fruits and vegetables ( Minneola tangerines, 2 tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and a head of lettuce this month ) Some of the items in the Select section were: french toast sticks, 2-2.25 lb containers of meatballs in marinara sauce for $12.00, 6- 8oz ribeye steaks (individually wrapped) for $14.00, 2 lbs of chicken nuggets for $5.80. These select items are just a few of the ones offered.

SHARE for May is offering chicken thighs, shrimp alfredo, sweet Italian sausage, flame broiled beef steaks, chicken tenderloins, sliced Virginia ham, spagetti sauce, pasta, a 5 item produce assortment and a bonus item which always is a surprise. This past Saturday we all got a frozen package of spinach for ordering a full share. Some of the Select items featured for May are: 10 lb box of pork breakfast sausage, 44 - 4.25 oz juice boxes in either apple, orange or strawberry-kiwi, 8-2.6 lb cheese pizzas and a 6 lb box of brats with cheese by Oscar Meyer. Again, these are just some of the Select items.

If you don't want a whole SHARE, you can pick and choose amongst the items as long as your order is at least $15.00. Becoming part of SHARE is a good deal no matter how you look at it. It's a cost saver for the grocery bill which can free up some money to pay for gas for the car or to stash for an upcoming summer event. Now, if you're interested the sites to get the food are all over the Milwaukee area. SHARE is also in various places all over Wisconsin, Illinois and upper Michigan. The warehouse is in Butler and they often have sales on overstocks. The warehouse also serves breakfast on Saturday mornings and a potluck lunch on weekdays both at a nominal cost. To find out where a SHARE site is in your area call 1-800-548-2124 or go to www.sharewi.org