For over twenty years Tiefernie and Neil Citizen have worked hard to stay on budget.
"I try to make groceries for the week," Tiefernie said. "If they have a sale--we have to shop sales. I buy and we cook accordingly."
With ten mouths to feed, Tiefernie said she has to make sure to pick out meals that will stretch.
"We go got the local grocery store and you can get your meat according to how you want it," Tifernie said. "I can get $5 worth of sausage and a pack of beans, that I pay a $1.29 for, and that's a meal. It doesn't take much."
Her husband Neil added, "you want something that will stick to their ribs so that they way they're full while they're outside and playing. If you feed them something light then they'll be back hungry again."
While they can have the same meal several times, it is also about making those meals different so it does not seem that way.
"If we do red beans and rice, we'll add fried chicken to it at night," Tiefernie said. We always have to have cornbread with it because they love cornbread. They can eat the cornbread the next morning for breakfast because they like cornbread and milk. It's almost like three meals. You have red beans and rice, at night you add fried chicken, and the next morning you have cornbread."
As for the children, no complaints when it comes to those budget-friendly meals that last for days at a time.
"They eat breakfast every day, lunch every day, and when it comes to dinner they are at this table full stride," Neil said.
The Citizens said that times may be tough for many, but there are ways to make those ends meet--it is just about getting creative while staying on a budget.