This post contains a list of local resources and websites that have been recommended by members of our ward who have found them useful in budgeting for groceries and storing food. Perhaps a little money saved each week on groceries could be set aside for acquiring basic food storage.
Thanks to everyone who shared their ideas!
Websites with helpful information:
Finances information and budgeting worksheet.
Click here for a link to the Family Finances page of the LDS church's Provident Living website
Click here for a budgeting worksheet
Recipes using basic ingredients published by USDA.
Click here for a link to this USDA site. Halfway down the screen you will see a "Recipe Finder" box. Enter an ingredient. A list of recipes will come back, each one rated by people who have used them. I entered "beans" and a quick, easy recipe for bean burritos came back. It used inexpensive ingredients, was quick to make, and looked delicious.
$70 weekly menu planning. This is a website with many recipes and ideas for budgeting.
Click here for a link to a page with a week's worth of menus for $70. A good idea starter.
Coupons and Online Grocery Ads
Many people use coupons and online grocery ads very effectively to reduce the money spent on groceries. Here are some websites that have been recommended as helpful:
Local grocery store online ads:
Click here for a link to the Aldi ad
Click here for a link to the Hy-vee ad
Click here for a link to the Price Chopper ad
Click here for a link to the HenHouse ad
Also, keep in mind that stores (such as Price Chopper) will often have different prices depending on the part of town in which they are located.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
More Ideas for living within a grocery budget
This post is a companion post to the previous post abaout budgeting. It contains ideas for wisely budgeting/using food storage that have been submitted by members of our ward and others.
Thank you to everyone who has sent ideas. I will continue to update this post with new ideas as they are submitted.
Store what you use and use what you store
Keep a can or bag of each item in the kitchen for easy access. The #10 cans (from the church's Home Storage Center) are nice because they sit on kitchen shelves/cupboards compactly and come with plastic lids.
Buy baking supplies in bulk
Buy items such as spices, yeast, baking powder, and baking soda in bulk. Warehouse stores such as Sam's Club and Costco are a good place to find good prices on bulk items such as these. Some people purchase a membership to Sam's Club or Costco every other year, but purchase enough for a year's supply to last during the year without the membership. Also, the church's Home Storage Center sells some items used for baking, such as dried onions, in bulk.
Use powdered milk (reconstituted) for baking and for sauces.
You can't tell the difference between store-bought milk when you use powdered milk for baking. If you are interested in recipes that specifically call for powdered milk, please contact me. You can also make powdered milk more palatable for drinking by mixing it half and half with regular store-bought milk. Even a mix of 1 quart powdered milk to 3 quarts store-bought milk will help stretch your grocery budget. (The price of powdered milk varies from brand to brand, but typically it amounts to $1 or $2 a gallon).
Using wheat without a wheat grinder
Wheat can be cooked and added to chili, rice-a-roni and even fruit salad. It can be run (dry) through a blender to crack it, then cook it, then add a little to raw hamburger to stretch the meat. Whole wheat berries are also delicious in rice for any side dish. Cook some wheat, keep it in the fridge, then toss it in with your rice. (Start with 1/4 cup of cooked wheat to 1 cup of cooked rice). This adds variety and nutrition. It also helps to rotate food storage and stretch your grocery budget.
Using other grains in baking
Cooked cereal can be added to muffins, pancakes, etc.
Dried carrots
The church's Home Storage Center sells dried carrots. You don't have to peel or chop them, just toss them in to casseroles, soups, chili and just about anything that calls for carrots. If there is enough liquid in the dish (such as with soups and some casseroles) you don't even need to reconstitute them first. They are easy to reconstitute, though. Soak for 10 minutes, drain off the excess water and use the same as you would use chopped carrots. They can be added to fried rice, rice-a-roni, even cookies. Many store-bought foods (such as Betty Crocker carrot cake mix) use dried carrots as an ingredient, too.
Dried onions
The church's Home Storage Center also sells onions. Toss them into soups and casseroles and ground beef for tacos or chili.
Dried beans
Beans are an excellent way to provide valuable nutrients at very inexpensive cost. They can be easily made in a crockpot. Measure 1-2 cups dried, rinsed beans. Add enough boiling water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. Set crockpot to High and cook for 2-3 hours. They are now ready to add to any recipe. They can even be cooked, then frozen for later use.
Stretch meat by using beans
Many meat dishes can be stretched by using beans. Beans can even be used as a substitute for meat in some dishes. For example, in lentil soup, use half hamburger and half beans. In tacos use half hamburger and half beans (pinto, kidney, or great white northern beans all work well). Store bought chili can also be stretched with home-cooked beans (sometimes you also need to add a small can of plain tomato sauce). The church's Home Storage Center also sells refried beans which can be used in similar ways. Taco seasoning can be added to them and they can substitute or replace taco meat in tacos and taco salad.
Stretch store-bought mixes with cheaper products from food storage
For example, toss in an extra handful of pasta when making macaroni and cheese. The flavor will still be the same, but the amount is greater. For another example, store-bought spaghetti sauce can be stretched by adding 1/2 can spaghetti sauce, 1 can plain tomato sauce and 1 can diced tomatoes. Another examples is stretching Hamburger Helper with some of the "extras" suggested right on the label, such as canned tomatotes, dried or fresh carrots, rice, pasta, beans, etc. In the taco variety of Hamburger Helper it is easy to add black beans, corn and canned tomatoes.
Find the cheapest and tastiest brand
If there are store-bought products that you use a lot of, experiment with different brands until you find the one that you like best. It might end up being the top-of-the-line name-brand product, but it might be a less-expensive product. For example, if you eat a lot of garden salads with store-bought salad dressing, try buying the cheapest brand of dressing. If its taste doesn't suit you, next time by the next brand up. Continue this (from least expensive to most expensive) until you find the brand you like best. Then, continue to use that brand. Watch for sales or coupons and stock-up when that brand is sold at a good price. This system works well for any item in a grocery store: yogurt, jam, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, milk, cold cereal, etc.
Thank you to everyone who has sent ideas. I will continue to update this post with new ideas as they are submitted.
Store what you use and use what you store
Keep a can or bag of each item in the kitchen for easy access. The #10 cans (from the church's Home Storage Center) are nice because they sit on kitchen shelves/cupboards compactly and come with plastic lids.
Buy baking supplies in bulk
Buy items such as spices, yeast, baking powder, and baking soda in bulk. Warehouse stores such as Sam's Club and Costco are a good place to find good prices on bulk items such as these. Some people purchase a membership to Sam's Club or Costco every other year, but purchase enough for a year's supply to last during the year without the membership. Also, the church's Home Storage Center sells some items used for baking, such as dried onions, in bulk.
Use powdered milk (reconstituted) for baking and for sauces.
You can't tell the difference between store-bought milk when you use powdered milk for baking. If you are interested in recipes that specifically call for powdered milk, please contact me. You can also make powdered milk more palatable for drinking by mixing it half and half with regular store-bought milk. Even a mix of 1 quart powdered milk to 3 quarts store-bought milk will help stretch your grocery budget. (The price of powdered milk varies from brand to brand, but typically it amounts to $1 or $2 a gallon).
Using wheat without a wheat grinder
Wheat can be cooked and added to chili, rice-a-roni and even fruit salad. It can be run (dry) through a blender to crack it, then cook it, then add a little to raw hamburger to stretch the meat. Whole wheat berries are also delicious in rice for any side dish. Cook some wheat, keep it in the fridge, then toss it in with your rice. (Start with 1/4 cup of cooked wheat to 1 cup of cooked rice). This adds variety and nutrition. It also helps to rotate food storage and stretch your grocery budget.
Using other grains in baking
Cooked cereal can be added to muffins, pancakes, etc.
Dried carrots
The church's Home Storage Center sells dried carrots. You don't have to peel or chop them, just toss them in to casseroles, soups, chili and just about anything that calls for carrots. If there is enough liquid in the dish (such as with soups and some casseroles) you don't even need to reconstitute them first. They are easy to reconstitute, though. Soak for 10 minutes, drain off the excess water and use the same as you would use chopped carrots. They can be added to fried rice, rice-a-roni, even cookies. Many store-bought foods (such as Betty Crocker carrot cake mix) use dried carrots as an ingredient, too.
Dried onions
The church's Home Storage Center also sells onions. Toss them into soups and casseroles and ground beef for tacos or chili.
Dried beans
Beans are an excellent way to provide valuable nutrients at very inexpensive cost. They can be easily made in a crockpot. Measure 1-2 cups dried, rinsed beans. Add enough boiling water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. Set crockpot to High and cook for 2-3 hours. They are now ready to add to any recipe. They can even be cooked, then frozen for later use.
Stretch meat by using beans
Many meat dishes can be stretched by using beans. Beans can even be used as a substitute for meat in some dishes. For example, in lentil soup, use half hamburger and half beans. In tacos use half hamburger and half beans (pinto, kidney, or great white northern beans all work well). Store bought chili can also be stretched with home-cooked beans (sometimes you also need to add a small can of plain tomato sauce). The church's Home Storage Center also sells refried beans which can be used in similar ways. Taco seasoning can be added to them and they can substitute or replace taco meat in tacos and taco salad.
Stretch store-bought mixes with cheaper products from food storage
For example, toss in an extra handful of pasta when making macaroni and cheese. The flavor will still be the same, but the amount is greater. For another example, store-bought spaghetti sauce can be stretched by adding 1/2 can spaghetti sauce, 1 can plain tomato sauce and 1 can diced tomatoes. Another examples is stretching Hamburger Helper with some of the "extras" suggested right on the label, such as canned tomatotes, dried or fresh carrots, rice, pasta, beans, etc. In the taco variety of Hamburger Helper it is easy to add black beans, corn and canned tomatoes.
Find the cheapest and tastiest brand
If there are store-bought products that you use a lot of, experiment with different brands until you find the one that you like best. It might end up being the top-of-the-line name-brand product, but it might be a less-expensive product. For example, if you eat a lot of garden salads with store-bought salad dressing, try buying the cheapest brand of dressing. If its taste doesn't suit you, next time by the next brand up. Continue this (from least expensive to most expensive) until you find the brand you like best. Then, continue to use that brand. Watch for sales or coupons and stock-up when that brand is sold at a good price. This system works well for any item in a grocery store: yogurt, jam, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, milk, cold cereal, etc.
Living within a grocery budget using food storage
The purpose of this post is to give some ideas of how to live within a grocery budget, especially how having food storage can help with a grocery budget.
Getting started with a budget:
First, determine how much you typically spend on food each month.
If you have not lived with a grocery budget in the past, you may be unsure of how much money you typically spend on groceries. If this is the case, it may be a good idea to spend one month keeping track of how much is spent on food (including eating out, snacks, and trips to the grocery store). You can easily keep track of how much is spent by posting a paper on your fridge and writing down the amount spent on food every day. Or, you can keep a folder taped to your fridge, and put every receipt in it. At the end of the month, add the amounts on each receipt. It would also be helpful at the end of the month to categorize the money you spent on food. Three or four simple categories will help you see where your money has been spent. Three good categories are: "Eating out", "Grocery expenses for food", and "Grocery expenses for snacks." Doing this may be a good motivation for creating and using a grocery budget. If the amount you have spent on food in one month is surprising, then you may find that even simple changes will decrease the amount of money spent on food each month.
Second, create a grocery budget.
The first step is to know how much you have available for a grocery budget. Write down your monthly income. Write down fixed expenses for each month, such as rent or mortage payment, utility costs, transportation costs. Then, figure out how much is still available for grocery expenses. If there is not much available, it will be necessary to shop very wisely in order to live within that allotted amount of money. If your income is large enough that there is a lot of money available for groceries, it is still wise to create a grocery budget that uses less than you earn. By doing this, there will be money to set aside in savings accounts.
Third, set a goal for motivation to live with a grocery budget.
If the amount you currently spend on food is surprisingly high to you, then that may be enough motivation! Create a budget for a little less than what you currently spend. Each month, adjust your budget to be a little less than the month before. Continue this pattern until your grocery budget is what you consider to be a reasonable amount.
Another motivation for living within a grocery budget is to have a plan for what you will do with the money you have saved. Perhaps you can use it to save for a big purchase, perhaps you can reward yourself (if you save $50 a month on groceries, perhaps you can save $25 and use the other $25 to go out to dinner, or to purchase a new item of clothing, a movie, or book, etc.). If you have children they might notice that there are some food items you don't buy as often anymore. Include them in your budgeting. Perhaps if you save $50 a month on groceries then you can use $25 for a family activity that your children would enjoy. Help them look forward to it.
Other factors to consider when budgeting:
Balance
Grocery budgeting is all about balance. Each person's budget will look a little different. Your grocery budget will reflect these unique factors about your life:
"Big" expenses in grocery budgets
Typically, the biggest expenses in grocery budgets come from purchasing foods that are "convenient." (And, depending on your lifestyle and your income, that convenience may be more important that limiting your grocery budget, which is fine). However, if you are under the necessity to live within a limited grocery budget, here are some guidelines about eliminating big expenses:
As mentioned above, the least expensive way to eat is to grow your own food, buy ingredients on sale/in bulk and prepare your foods from scratch. The most expensive way to eat is to eat out for every meal, every day. Most of us have food budgets somewhere between "least expensive" and "most expensive." The extent to which our eating habits are near the "least expensive" end of the spectrum is the extent to which our grocery budget will decrease.
Finding a balance between the least expensive and the most expensive is the key to creating a budget that works for your income, your lifestyle and your tastes and preferences.
So, here are some ideas how home food storage can decrease your grocery budget:
Getting started with a budget:
First, determine how much you typically spend on food each month.
If you have not lived with a grocery budget in the past, you may be unsure of how much money you typically spend on groceries. If this is the case, it may be a good idea to spend one month keeping track of how much is spent on food (including eating out, snacks, and trips to the grocery store). You can easily keep track of how much is spent by posting a paper on your fridge and writing down the amount spent on food every day. Or, you can keep a folder taped to your fridge, and put every receipt in it. At the end of the month, add the amounts on each receipt. It would also be helpful at the end of the month to categorize the money you spent on food. Three or four simple categories will help you see where your money has been spent. Three good categories are: "Eating out", "Grocery expenses for food", and "Grocery expenses for snacks." Doing this may be a good motivation for creating and using a grocery budget. If the amount you have spent on food in one month is surprising, then you may find that even simple changes will decrease the amount of money spent on food each month.
Second, create a grocery budget.
The first step is to know how much you have available for a grocery budget. Write down your monthly income. Write down fixed expenses for each month, such as rent or mortage payment, utility costs, transportation costs. Then, figure out how much is still available for grocery expenses. If there is not much available, it will be necessary to shop very wisely in order to live within that allotted amount of money. If your income is large enough that there is a lot of money available for groceries, it is still wise to create a grocery budget that uses less than you earn. By doing this, there will be money to set aside in savings accounts.
Third, set a goal for motivation to live with a grocery budget.
If the amount you currently spend on food is surprisingly high to you, then that may be enough motivation! Create a budget for a little less than what you currently spend. Each month, adjust your budget to be a little less than the month before. Continue this pattern until your grocery budget is what you consider to be a reasonable amount.
Another motivation for living within a grocery budget is to have a plan for what you will do with the money you have saved. Perhaps you can use it to save for a big purchase, perhaps you can reward yourself (if you save $50 a month on groceries, perhaps you can save $25 and use the other $25 to go out to dinner, or to purchase a new item of clothing, a movie, or book, etc.). If you have children they might notice that there are some food items you don't buy as often anymore. Include them in your budgeting. Perhaps if you save $50 a month on groceries then you can use $25 for a family activity that your children would enjoy. Help them look forward to it.
Other factors to consider when budgeting:
Balance
Grocery budgeting is all about balance. Each person's budget will look a little different. Your grocery budget will reflect these unique factors about your life:
- Your income.
- Your lifestyle (single, single parent, married parent with both parents employed outside the home, married parent with one parent employed outside the home, young children, teenage children, employment that requires travel, etc.).
- Tastes and food preferences.
"Big" expenses in grocery budgets
Typically, the biggest expenses in grocery budgets come from purchasing foods that are "convenient." (And, depending on your lifestyle and your income, that convenience may be more important that limiting your grocery budget, which is fine). However, if you are under the necessity to live within a limited grocery budget, here are some guidelines about eliminating big expenses:
- Eating out is more expensive than buying prepared foods at a grocery store.
- Buying prepared foods at a grocery store is more expensive than buying ingredients from a grocery store and preparing foods at home.
- Buying ingredients at a grocery store is more expensive than buying ingredients in bulk or on sale at a grocery store.
- Frequent trips to a grocery store are typically more expensive than limited trips to a grocery store.
- Buying food in a grocery store is more expensive than growing food in a garden.
As mentioned above, the least expensive way to eat is to grow your own food, buy ingredients on sale/in bulk and prepare your foods from scratch. The most expensive way to eat is to eat out for every meal, every day. Most of us have food budgets somewhere between "least expensive" and "most expensive." The extent to which our eating habits are near the "least expensive" end of the spectrum is the extent to which our grocery budget will decrease.
Finding a balance between the least expensive and the most expensive is the key to creating a budget that works for your income, your lifestyle and your tastes and preferences.
So, here are some ideas how home food storage can decrease your grocery budget:
- Buying in bulk is almost always much cheaper than buying in smaller quanties. For example, 20 pounds of rice is cheaper per serving than buying a small box of rice. (I will post some more specific examples soon). Stock up on foods in bulk quantitites (items such as flour, sugar, grains are easy to store an inexpensive to buy in bulk. They are available at a very low price at our church's Home Storage Center in Kansas City. See www. provident living.org for a price list). There are several posts on this blog about buying/storing bulk foods. See them for more information.
- Buying on sale is cheaper than buying regular price. Watch the sales, then stock up on grocery store items that you regularly eat. Canned goods, box mixes, baking ingredients and many other items such as salad dressings and condiments will store for a long time (at least a year or two). Some foods (such as cheese, meat, tortillas, and butter) can be successfully stored in the freezer for a year or two. Use your freezer (especially if you have a deep freeze) to store foods that you have bought on sale.
- Every shopping trip costs money. Try to limit shopping trips to once a week (or less). For example, a shopping trip once each day is typically going to be more expensive than a shopping trip once a week. Also, a shopping trip once a week is going to be more expensive than a shopping trip once every other week. If you have food on hand, you will probably make less trips to the store and that alone will save money! Many families who live on tight grocery budgets shop once a month for the majority of their groceries, then make one or two other "quick" grocery stops during the month for milk and fresh produce.
- Plan menus and stick to a grocery list. Impulse buying is one of the most expensive parts of a grocery trip. By planning menus in advance, writing a grocery list, and sticking to the grocery list, you can eliminate impulse buying at the store. More importantly, you can plan menus that use your food storage and that include items that are on sale at the grocery store this week. This does take a little advance planning, but it pays rich dividends in the money saved on groceries. Also, it is easier for me to stick to my grocery list if I'm not hungry when I go shopping.
- Breakfast foods can be expensive or inexpensive. Breakfast foods can be one of the biggest expenses in a grocery budget. I have a lot of information about breakfast foods in a limited grocery budget. This topic will probably get its own post soon. However, if you eat a lot of cold cereal, consider replacing just one breakfast a month with something that is much more inexpensive (such as oatmeal).
- Use inexpensive foods from storage to stretch more expensive foods. This topic, too, will have its own post soon. Here is a quick idea. Look at your grocery budget. If many of the expenses come from more expensive foods, such as meat, consider using foods from storage, such as rice, to "stretch" the meat. For example, chicken served over rice will require less chicken per person (and, therefore, less expense) than plain chicken.
- Don't waste food. Use leftover food in creative ways for future meals, or freeze leftover portions for a ready-made meal a few weeks later. Even one leftover portion can be frozen and later taken to work for a lunch for one person. By wisely using all the food you buy, the same grocery budget can stretch even further.
- Without food on hand, you have to pay full price when you need something. If you have stored the majority of the main ingredients that you use for cooking, then when you need something, you already have it on hand. (And, hopefully, when you bought it for storage, you bought it at a sale price or a bulk quantity price). If you don't have a good storage system, then every time you need an ingredient you must buy it at the store for whatever price it is currently selling for. The same principle applies to the concept of eating with the seasons--buy fresh produce when it is in season because the price is much lower than at other times of the year.
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