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I don't know about anyone else but food costs in our house are one of the biggest expenses. In fact after our house payment, food is the next biggest bill. So how can we be frugal while at the same time feeding the family properly?
For us the best moneysaver isn't the food itself but our chest freezer. It makes a big difference being able to pick up those marked down bargains and stash them away for another day. You do need to be careful that the food is still within its date and that you wrap it properly but even if you don't feel like the dish there and then, on another day you'll be glad of it. It even tastes better when it's a good buy. ;)
I've heard before that some days or times are better for picking up bargains in the big stores like WalMart than others. Anyone know anything about that? Please share your tips here.
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I hate to see food wasted. I have at least one leftover night a week where the fridge gets emptied of all the odd bowls of this or that and the food's reheated. The family's finally used to putting it in there but not so good at taking it back out and reheating it. I got tired of all the waste and leftover night(s) evolved from that. No one minds as long as it's put in front of them. Thank goodness for the microwave!
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The family's finally used to putting it in there but not so good at taking it back out and reheating it.
Mine's is the same, greenmachine. I don't understand how they can like something one day and turn their noses up at it the next. I prefer quite a few dishes more the next day like homemade soup or chili when the flavors have more time to blend. I need to be like my mom was. It was "take it or leave it" at our dinner table and you didn't moan about not wanting it.
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I like to pick up those special foodie Christmas gift sets after Christmas Day. You know those themed ones you get with chocolates or filled gift box towers that are specially packaged in Christmas styles? They become dirt cheap after that. The stores can't get rid of them fast enough and reduce them down to half price or less.
If it's something I'd use I buy some. The food hamper ones with smoked sausage and cheeses can be a real bargain and luxury cookies or fancy chocolates too.It's also a nice cheap treat after all the Christmas rushing around. The dates on them are normally well into March if not further but always check. Once it's out the box and in your belly, the Christmas wrapping it came in isn't important. :)
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My problem with the freezer was I always needed the dish I froze things in to make something else. I only had the one 9x13 and used it all the time. I couldn't figure out how to make it work. My friend said she lines the casserole dish with heavy aluminum foil doubled, overlapping the edges with enough foil to cover the top later and makes the dish as usual.
Once the meal's been cooked and cooled, she freezes it (in the dish) to the point where it's solid enough that she can lift the meal out by the foil sling and parcel it up properly with the extra bits of overlapping foil then sticks it back in the freezer. You might need to stand the baking dish in water for a minute to help loosen it.
When the food needs reheated it fits perfectly back in the dish. You must use the heavy duty stuff because cheap foil is too thin and will rip when you try to lift it but that frees up the baking dish for other meals.
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Hi cookiefan, welcome to billeater.com! And what an ingenious idea that is to share. :)I wouldn't have thought of doing that. I try get extra ones second hand because cookware's not cheap but that's a great alternative. Thank you!
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On a seasonal note, don't throw out that turkey carcass! It makes very tasty soup stock. I boil it up for about an hour then simmer for another half hour, cool it and put it in the fridge until the next morning. The fat will rise to the top and solidify making it easy to lift off. Underneath you have a stock you can freeze or make within a day or two into soup.
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This one is a no-brainer. When you've got freezer space and extra cash to spare, buy the biggest pack of meat you can afford and split it up in smaller parcels before freezing. Something like pork chops are cheaper per pound the larger the pack. It's silly to buy one pack one week and another two weeks later when you could have bought a big pack and saved money on it.
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True, greenmachine! And if you buy in bulk, buy the right freezer paper to wrap the food in properly. I made a mistake once of buying up ground beef that was on sale but I didn't wrap it right. Within a few months it had freezer burn and I had to throw it out. I was nearly crying that my big bargain was wasted but I never made that mistake twice. The paper's not cheap but it's cheaper than replacing all the discarded food.
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Buying fruit and veg that's in season when it's at its cheapest then freezing it saves a lot. You need to blanch most of them before freezing to kill the germs and clean the fruit or veg. When you get a big batch together it's easier to pick a day to do that than buying small quantities because when you get busy, you'll forget.
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I just have to brag here that I got a half price foodie item today! :) It's a tower of boxes with sugar cookies, almond cookies, caramels and fruit bon bons reduced from $10 to $5. I'd have bought it for the boxes because they don't even have Christmas decor on them. I'll be recycling them by adding nice notepaper and envelopes inside the bigger ones for birthday presents next year. Stationery sets are at rock bottom prices too if you can find them.
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Buying fruit and veg that's in season when it's at its cheapest then freezing it saves a lot. You need to blanch most of them before freezing to kill the germs and clean the fruit or veg.
Frazzledmom how do you store them? Do you need to put them in freezer bags or does a standard ziplock bag do the job? The plain ones are much cheaper but would it be a waste like not using freezer paper?
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I just have to brag here that I got a half price foodie item today! :) It's a tower of boxes with sugar cookies, almond cookies, caramels and fruit bon bons reduced from $10 to $5. I'd have bought it for the boxes because they don't even have Christmas decor on them. I'll be recycling them by adding nice notepaper and envelopes inside the bigger ones for birthday presents next year. Stationery sets are at rock bottom prices too if you can find them.
I've been patiently waiting by the mailbox for my share to arrive, Savannah! What gives?! And make it the caramels...LOL. Just kidding. That was cool and what a nice tip there on recycling the boxes. I looked at a stationery set all tied up with ribbon in one of those fancy gift stores and it was almost $20! For paper! I could have bought a lot of blank 50 cent cards at the dollar store for that.
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Frazzledmom how do you store them? Do you need to put them in freezer bags or does a standard ziplock bag do the job? The plain ones are much cheaper but would it be a waste like not using freezer paper?
Savannah, I have a Seal a Meal I got in a sale and I use that. I don't know about using ziplocks but I don't think I'd risk trying it. I think I'd spend the extra for the proper freezer bags. You'd know then for sure the food was okay. Maybe someone else can help you there that's tried it another way. :)
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Not everyone is fond of buttermilk but my family is. It's expensive to have to buy but you can easily turn a cup of ordinary milk into a buttermilk substitute that works the same. Put a tablespoon of lemon juice in a one cup measuring cup then fill it up with the milk and leave it alone for five minutes. That's all you need to do then just cook with it as normal. Mine never know the difference. If you don't have lemon juice, white vinegar works too.
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Frazzledmom how do you store them? Do you need to put them in freezer bags or does a standard ziplock bag do the job? The plain ones are much cheaper but would it be a waste like not using freezer paper?
Savannah, I have a Seal a Meal I got in a sale and I use that. I don't know about using ziplocks but I don't think I'd risk trying it. I think I'd spend the extra for the proper freezer bags. You'd know then for sure the food was okay. Maybe someone else can help you there that's tried it another way. :)
I've been known to use the dollar store gallon ziploc type bags when I didn't have any freezer bags to hand. I've found them okay as long as you still wrap them well. I added extra layers of plain grocery bags, wrapped it all up tight and stuck a label on the outside of the parcel. Those brown paper bags you get at the ice cream and pie section to take them home in work great. Grab some of them when you next get a quart of something and use them to keep the cheap ziplocs with your frozen meat and veg in. They've got more layers than plain paper bags.
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This relates more to the fridge than the food but you should check the seal on your fridge and freezer regularly too. The way I was told to do it was to see if you can slide a dollar bill between the seal on the door and the fridge when it's closed. If you can you need to get it fixed. It's got to work harder to keep the food cold when that's faulty.
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I have one - don't give in to dining out so often. We're not ones to do it much but when I was a kid I don't think I set foot in a restaurant more than a half a dozen times. When I did it was a special occasion. All these casual dining places now make it too easy but really when you look at what's on your plate and work out how it would have cost you to whip up the same dish or similar at home, it's daft. It's still a food cost no matter how you look at it. Even that kiddy meal at the drive-through isn't cheap comparably.
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I noticed that we were spending more and more on snack foods (i.e. soda, chips, cookies, ice cream, candy etc) of all types. Not a lot of stuff, but it was stuff that we really did not need to buy and did not need to be eating regularly.
So we stopped buying this kind of food on our regular visits to the grocery store and bought more fruit. We still occasionally have a hankerin' for ice cream or cookies or a candy bar, but we force ourselves to make a special trip to the grocery store just for the item of our desire. Quite often I have a craving for a bowl of ice cream, but rethink the effort it would take to acquire it at 9PM, so I just settle for an apple or orange or popcorn. Less$. More healthy.
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I noticed that we were spending more and more on snack foods (i.e. soda, chips, cookies, ice cream, candy etc) of all types. Not a lot of stuff, but it was stuff that we really did not need to buy and did not need to be eating regularly.
So we stopped buying this kind of food on our regular visits to the grocery store and bought more fruit. We still occasionally have a hankerin' for ice cream or cookies or a candy bar, but we force ourselves to make a special trip to the grocery store just for the item of our desire. Quite often I have a craving for a bowl of ice cream, but rethink the effort it would take to acquire it at 9PM, so I just settle for an apple or orange or popcorn. Less$. More healthy.
You must feel better physically as well doing that. You're making me feel guilty LOL. I have to confess I'm sitting here with M & M's on my desk but they were cheap! I got them when the Valentine's Day candy went on sale the day after it. My hips won't thank me but my wallet will.
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I noticed that we were spending more and more on snack foods (i.e. soda, chips, cookies, ice cream, candy etc) of all types. Not a lot of stuff, but it was stuff that we really did not need to buy and did not need to be eating regularly.
So we stopped buying this kind of food on our regular visits to the grocery store and bought more fruit. We still occasionally have a hankerin' for ice cream or cookies or a candy bar, but we force ourselves to make a special trip to the grocery store just for the item of our desire. Quite often I have a craving for a bowl of ice cream, but rethink the effort it would take to acquire it at 9PM, so I just settle for an apple or orange or popcorn. Less$. More healthy.
You must feel better physically as well doing that. You're making me feel guilty LOL. I have to confess I'm sitting here with M & M's on my desk but they were cheap! I got them when the Valentine's Day candy went on sale the day after it. My hips won't thank me but my wallet will.
It's funny, I've still to recover from all the Christmas excesses and don't want sweets or rich things. All that baking and cooking (and eating!) sickened me for now. Micharch, I used to keep a drawer in the kitchen filled with all kinds of candy and not even bargains like greenmachine. It was far too easy to dive into it and my weight crept way way up because I did that. That's a smart approach not keeping it on hand.
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I totally agree about having a freezer! What we do is go to Kroger 2-3 times per week. At the end of the meat case, they have stuff there with orange stickers. This meat has been marked down a lot! If I had to name one example, it would be the time that we got 2 NY Strips for $9.34. We put them in the freezer on Tuesday and grilled them on Saturday. I'll never pay full price for meat again. Also, a Sam's membership is well worth it. They even beat Wal-Mart prices.
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I totally agree about having a freezer! What we do is go to Kroger 2-3 times per week. At the end of the meat case, they have stuff there with orange stickers. This meat has been marked down a lot! If I had to name one example, it would be the time that we got 2 NY Strips for $9.34. We put them in the freezer on Tuesday and grilled them on Saturday. I'll never pay full price for meat again. Also, a Sam's membership is well worth it. They even beat Wal-Mart prices.
That was a good buy for the strips. How much is a Sam's club membership, Bryan? I was going to find out about the bulk buy type stores before but forgot. Are there quantity limitations or any kinds of restrictions on it?
I'm sad to report I lost everything in my chest freezer because of adverse weather we had here last month. The power was out for days and with it being a freak storm, we were totally unprepared for it. I'm not joking, I could nearly cry when I think about losing all that food because we'd spent almost a year building up the contents of it by doing the same kind of thing as you, Bryan. We were picking up bargains whenever we could. It was the one thing that wasn't worrying me in case my husband lost his job ( I don't assume anyone can be complacent nowadays) because I knew it was almost full to the brim.
Got any cheese to go with my whine? Sorry but it feels good to get it off my chest.
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I'm sad to report I lost everything in my chest freezer because of adverse weather we had here last month. The power was out for days and with it being a freak storm, we were totally unprepared for it. I'm not joking, I could nearly cry when I think about losing all that food because we'd spent almost a year building up the contents of it by doing the same kind of thing as you, Bryan. We were picking up bargains whenever we could. It was the one thing that wasn't worrying me in case my husband lost his job ( I don't assume anyone can be complacent nowadays) because I knew it was almost full to the brim.
Got any cheese to go with my whine? Sorry but it feels good to get it off my chest.
Kay, that's a shame! Did you check your insurance policy to see if you're covered? Mine has freezer insurance included. You're not whining either. That's a big thing to lose. Food is the second biggest expense I have.
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Thanks, frazzledmom. I did check the insurance but we have a $500 deductible on the policy which makes claiming not worth doing. There would have been around three hundred and fifty or four hundred dollars worth of food in the freezer. I never appreciated how much I used it until now when I don't have it but I don't feel like beginning all over again.
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Hi Kay,
The Sam's club membership is around $40 per year. You buy stuff in bulk like diapers and food. They even have computers and electronics. I personally don't recommend buying your food there unless it's frozen. The reason why is that if your family can make it on the smaller portions that you get for less at Wal-Mart, you'll actually save money. What happened to us is, we bought a larger container of spinach leaves at Sam's. We got double the portion for only 1 1/2 times the price. The problem is, we couldn't eat all of it, so it went bad. Therefore, we spent more than normal, but got about the same use out of it. That wasn't a good deal. But other stuff that is either non-food or frozen is good to buy at Sam's.
Sorry about your food loss :( The same thing happened to us during Hurricane Ike. I must have thrown away 7 garbage bags of food!
Take care!
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Kay, sorry to hear about that.
I don't know where I'd store it all if I bought in bulk. What about when you get fed up with eating the same old thing? Don't you get tired of not having variety? I'm imagining cases of green beans as tall as me.
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Hi Kay,
The Sam's club membership is around $40 per year. You buy stuff in bulk like diapers and food. They even have computers and electronics. I personally don't recommend buying your food there unless it's frozen. The reason why is that if your family can make it on the smaller portions that you get for less at Wal-Mart, you'll actually save money. What happened to us is, we bought a larger container of spinach leaves at Sam's. We got double the portion for only 1 1/2 times the price. The problem is, we couldn't eat all of it, so it went bad. Therefore, we spent more than normal, but got about the same use out of it. That wasn't a good deal. But other stuff that is either non-food or frozen is good to buy at Sam's.
Sorry about your food loss :( The same thing happened to us during Hurricane Ike. I must have thrown away 7 garbage bags of food!
Take care!
Thanks for all the info, Bryan. Guess what I discovered today? A printable coupon for Sam's Club. You avoid a 10% service fee that applies to Non-Members shopping with a one day pass, the coupon says. I thought you had to be a member to use Sam's at all but guess I was wrong. It's valid until March 31.
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You can join the sites of the major food brands for their email updates. It's free and they will send you coupons by mail, printable ones or special deal information about new products. I find it's better to keep an email address for that purpose alone to keep your main email address free. When you get into the shopping frame of mind, you can browse through them all at your convenience. I would only sign up for brands you use frequently or you'll get fed up looking at them. The website address will be somewhere on the product's packaging.
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I was thinking earlier as I was clearing up after dinner about how much we throw away. I'm talking about food that's on their plate they never got around to eating before leaving the table. It might only be an odd slice of bread here or a half glass of milk there but it all adds up.
I'm going to start rationing my lot and get them to take bread one slice at a time to go with their meal and a small cup of milk instead of a big glass. They can always go back for more if or when they want it. Portion control, that's what I'll call it LOL.
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I was thinking earlier as I was clearing up after dinner about how much we throw away. I'm talking about food that's on their plate they never got around to eating before leaving the table. It might only be an odd slice of bread here or a half glass of milk there but it all adds up.
I'm going to start rationing my lot and get them to take bread one slice at a time to go with their meal and a small cup of milk instead of a big glass. They can always go back for more if or when they want it. Portion control, that's what I'll call it LOL.
If you find you don't go through the bread fast enough when you do that, remember you can freeze it. I make croutons from odd slices that are left over. Bag them up in a ziploc in the freezer and keep adding them in until you have enough to make a batch. It doesn't matter if you use different breads.
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Also stewed fruit's a good way to use up leftovers when the fruit basket's starting to look a bit sad and wrinkly. Peeled apples, pears and peaches all are good stewed with a little sugared water slowly until softened. I whip up a cake mix and serve them with that and Cool Whip. Save the overripe bananas for banana bread.
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Yummy, banana bread! I had tried making that unsuccessfully for years before I found out the bananas needed to be overripe to get the best taste. My Mom's first question when I complained about my rubbish banana bread was do your banana skins have brown spots on them. I was quite defensive when I said of course not LOL. That was also the day I discovered you don't need to throw them out as soon as a spot develops. My banana bread's good now! :)
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My wife prints out coupons instead of clipping them out of the Sunday paper.
A few are Coupons.com (they have a coupon for $1.00 off cereals right now...and there on sale for $1.99 at the grocery chain by my house...so we have a LOT of name brand cereal for $0.99) Smartsource, RedPlum and ValPak
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My wife prints out coupons instead of clipping them out of the Sunday paper.
A few are Coupons.com (they have a coupon for $1.00 off cereals right now...and there on sale for $1.99 at the grocery chain by my house...so we have a LOT of name brand cereal for $0.99) Smartsource, RedPlum and ValPak
Hi MikeM, welcome to billeater.com! :) Thanks very much for the links. That's fantastic, getting them for under a dollar a box. Mine will eat cereal until it's coming out their ears. Please do share more tips on coupons if you have any for beginners. :)
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My wife prints out coupons instead of clipping them out of the Sunday paper.
A few are Coupons.com (they have a coupon for $1.00 off cereals right now...and there on sale for $1.99 at the grocery chain by my house...so we have a LOT of name brand cereal for $0.99) Smartsource, RedPlum and ValPak
Thanks, MikeM. :) I'd only heard of the first website so that's great. Nice to meet you! You must go through a lot of printer ink. That puts me off printing them because it's not cheap. Does your wife have a secret about that too? :)
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My wife prints out coupons instead of clipping them out of the Sunday paper.
A few are Coupons.com (they have a coupon for $1.00 off cereals right now...and there on sale for $1.99 at the grocery chain by my house...so we have a LOT of name brand cereal for $0.99) Smartsource, RedPlum and ValPak
Thanks, MikeM. :) I'd only heard of the first website so that's great. Nice to meet you! You must go through a lot of printer ink. That puts me off printing them because it's not cheap. Does your wife have a secret about that too? :)
Sure. You can use the local library for only 5 cents a copy, and try to get around 8 coupons on each page.
Another tip that answers that is to subscribe to get these coupons via postal mail. RedPlum and ValPak do that! They are reigonal specific
And thank you very much Kay for the warm welcome!.
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Sure. You can use the local library for only 5 cents a copy, and try to get around 8 coupons on each page.
Another tip that answers that is to subscribe to get these coupons via postal mail. RedPlum and ValPak do that! They are reigonal specific
That's a very good idea! Smart lady you've got there. :) Thanks MikeM. I'll check out those sites too then. :)
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Sure. You can use the local library for only 5 cents a copy, and try to get around 8 coupons on each page.
Another tip that answers that is to subscribe to get these coupons via postal mail. RedPlum and ValPak do that! They are reigonal specific
That's a very good idea! Smart lady you've got there. :) Thanks MikeM. I'll check out those sites too then. :)
I second that! What a great idea.
I know this is a silly question and you guys will laugh at me. I'll ask anyway. :) Do you have to print them in color if the coupon's in color online? I mean does it need to be exactly the same or would they accept a black and white copy?
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Check the expiration date on canned foods and use them before they're out of date. When you have more than one of something, put the ones closest to expiring at the front of the cupboard and the others further back or in a different cupboard. You won't waste anything then because you're past the expiration period.
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Check the expiration date on canned foods and use them before they're out of date. When you have more than one of something, put the ones closest to expiring at the front of the cupboard and the others further back or in a different cupboard. You won't waste anything then because you're past the expiration period.
Great idea, Jewel. You have NO idea how many times i thought all dinner ingredients ready, only to find something was expired.
A great annoyance as well as flushing money down the toilet.
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Check the expiration date on canned foods and use them before they're out of date. When you have more than one of something, put the ones closest to expiring at the front of the cupboard and the others further back or in a different cupboard. You won't waste anything then because you're past the expiration period.
Great idea, Jewel. You have NO idea how many times i thought all dinner ingredients ready, only to find something was expired.
A great annoyance as well as flushing money down the toilet.
Me too Carly. I never think about taking everything out and checking it first before I start cooking either, so it's either a mad dash to the store or abandon a half prepared recipe. And why is it never the FIRST ingredient??? LOL.
Thanks, Jewel. Mine could do with being reorganized anyway. :)
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And why is it never the FIRST ingredient??? LOL.
Because if it was the first ingredient, it would be in your cupboard. That's how it works. ;) You never know you don't have it until you're up to your elbows in flour. That's one of the big mysteries of the Universe, like where that sock went that you know you put in the dryer. Two go in but only one comes out.
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Because if it was the first ingredient, it would be in your cupboard. That's how it works. ;) You never know you don't have it until you're up to your elbows in flour. That's one of the big mysteries of the Universe, like where that sock went that you know you put in the dryer. Two go in but only one comes out.
LOL, true. Today I was at the dollar store. I don't tend to check their food section much as a rule. They had both salmon and corned beef cheaper, the same brands, than my grocery store! From now on I'll pay attention to those aisles.
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This will save you on drinks as well and it's easy. Drink more water. It takes the edge off your appetite when you have a glass about half an hour before a meal or when you're in a snacking mood. You'll eat less and feel better because you're not dehydrated and will save on sodas too.
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This will save you on drinks as well and it's easy. Drink more water. It takes the edge off your appetite when you have a glass about half an hour before a meal or when you're in a snacking mood. You'll eat less and feel better because you're not dehydrated and will save on sodas too.
I'm really bad about not drinking enough water. I had leg cramps the other night and it turned out that was what had caused it, being dehydrated. Once I had three bottles of water inside me I was fine. Thanks for the reminder!
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This is 17 Healthy Foods for under $1. Seeing pinto beans reminded me I have a can of them in the pantry. It's been there two months because I don't know what to do with them LOL. How do you serve them and with what? It was a bargain!
http://www.tiphero.com/newsletter.html&lpid=905?=lpid=1
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This is 17 Healthy Foods for under $1. Seeing pinto beans reminded me I have a can of them in the pantry. It's been there two months because I don't know what to do with them LOL. How do you serve them and with what? It was a bargain!
http://www.tiphero.com/newsletter.html&lpid=905?=lpid=1
Kay, that can of pinto beans you don't know what to do with? This salad would take care of that. :) There's several variations in the comments.
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How many is in your family,,under one roof?
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couponmom.com is good for printing coupons for walmart :)
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At our local Walmart bread and bakery items get reduced later in the day, especially when it's late evening I noticed. Meat's the opposite. The best buys I find are when I'm there first thing in the morning and they're putting it on clearance. I don't know if there's differences between individual stores in big chains or not.