Getting Started with THRIVE Foods

I realized that I've dived right into Shelf Reliance lingo and that maybe not everyone is as familiar with the terms or you're feeling overwhelmed trying to figure out how to start.  So I'm taking a step back to the beginning today to help you figure out how to get started.

A year ago I had the basics in my food storage - rice, wheat, sugar, flour, pasta, etc.  I also had some canned fruit and vegetables (about 1-3 months worth) but I wasn't happy with the health aspect of those canned goods and knew I wanted to add more variety as well.  I also didn't want to depend on my freezer for storing a whole bunch of fruit, vegetables, dairy and meats. So that's why I started looking at THRIVE.  THRIVE Foods are freeze dried and dehydrated foods in a variety of sized containers with an unopened shelf life up to 30 years depending on the product and packaging and storage conditions.  It does not need to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer and once opened, most THRIVE Foods have a shelf life of 1-2 years.

Create a Plan
It's hard to be successful in reaching our goals without a plan.  To help with that Shelf Reliance has developed the THRIVE Planner.  It generates a custom food plan based on your choices.  I have a step by step tutorial on using the THRIVE Planner here.  The Planner generates a custom food plan for you but you also have the ability to edit it to match YOUR family's preferences and needs.  Note that to save the plan you need to have a Shelf Reliance account, but it does NOT require any purchase.  You can create an account yourself through www.shelfreliance.com or my webstore at http://imthriving.shelfreliance.com, or you can have me set up your account in my customer database.  If you have me set up your customer account, I will be your default consultant but you are not restricted to ordering only through me (one exception is that generally, your Q stays with the consultant who sets it up).  Also if I set up your account, it helps me to serve you better in the future because you are already in my customer database.

Put your plan into action
After you have your plan, the next decision is whether you want to set up monthly shipments with a Q, buy it all at one time, or buy it in individual shipments on your schedule.  I chose a Q for my family because I can have great intent on reaching my goals but a few months in, that intensity diminishes or something else comes up to distract us or distract our finances.  I have the Q set up in my budget as a monthly bill just like all the other bills.  This keeps us making progress every month.

Want to get a jump start on your food storage?  You can also combine individual orders with having a monthly Q.  My first order was an individual order taking advantage of  Black Friday sales (I'm expecting that they have a Black Friday sale again this year and can't wait to see the deals that are offered). And at the same time I set up a Q to start a few weeks later. 

Why not just start the Q immediately?  You definitely can and most people do!  When you start a Q, you are locked in for 3 months at the budget you set and for the shipment date you set.  When I placed my Black Friday order, we had a little extra we were investing in our food storage, and it was more than what we could do on a monthly basis.  So I did it as an individual order and then set my Q to start a few weeks later for what my monthly budget would allow.

How do I know what the specials are?
At the beginning of each, Shelf Reliance announces month long specials.  You should get an email from Shelf Reliance with that information if you sign up for their newsletter when you create your account.  I also post the monthly specials on this blog.  Here's a link to the August specials.   You also can sign up for my email newsletter.  I send out information on all specials via my newsletter and this happens normally 1-2 times per month so your inbox is not going to be filled with emails from me.  Shelf Reliance will also offer limited time special pricing on packages only available through consultants.  I will post information about the packages on the blog but without the prices.  You have to contact me to get the pricing OR sign up for my email newsletter.

What's the benefit of a Q over doing individual shipments each month?
The simple answer?  The Platinum Q Club.  By contacting me as your Shelf Reliance Independent Consultant, you can get Q Club pricing on your individual orders.  But only Platinum and Gold Q Club members have access to the monthly Q-Pon.  This is one THRIVE Food for a special price each month.  The other benefit to the Platinum Q Club is you earn reward points for every dollar you spend in your Q.  These can then be redeemed for free product.  The other BIG advantage of a Q is it is automated, making it easy for you to consistently make progress in building your own home store.

I don't know what I'd like or how to use it
Shelf Reliance has created the THRIVE Smart Start option for those who want a quick, easy way to get started.  Smart Start is made up of 3 shipments of THRIVE Foods plus a recipe booklet with recipes you can make after each shipment.  Smart Start will show you how easy it is to use THRIVE Foods and allows you to sample 52 different THRIVE Foods.  See the flyer here and the FAQ here.

I'm ready to get started!
I am here to help at any point along the way and can even get your plan started for you.  Contact me at 417-886-9489 or at imthriving@gmail.com with any questions or to get started.  In the near future, I will post more information on the Q and a tutorial for creating it.