Hello Everyone!
The next few posts will be dedicated to sharing some ideas that will help you to drastically reduce your food budget. I love to ramble the preparedness sites on the web........it has gotten to be a favorite hobby of mine.....so many great ideas and loads of help out there. I ran across one family in Las Vegas who manages to feed a family of 9 on $100 a month. Yikes!........I was impressed. Their family was devastated financially when the real estate market hit the skids as they were in the Real Estate business. It can be done and I'd like to share with you some principles that you can take advantage of if you want to lower that bill. I have added some of her suggestions to others I have gleaned along the way. Of course, like anything else, your results will be defined by how much of these ideas you incorporate into your life. Your food budget will not drop overnight but as you follow the steps..........in time........you will see a drastic difference......I promise! It has worked for us.
Please feel free to share this blog address with anyone............It excites me to see hits from across the world!
Step One......... A Well Stocked Pantry
If you followed our "90 meals in 18 weeks" program on Building the Ark you will be familiar with this step.
Three Month Pantry List
If you have a well stocked pantry you
will be able to cook most any recipe without having to run to the
grocery store. You can prepare most meals at a moments notice and you have the luxury of shopping specials rather than paying full price when you shop. I have added freezer items to the list I picked up from a site called Everyday food Storage. On the right hand side of my Building the Ark blog..... under "Labels" is a 3 Month Pantry List. If you click on that link the list will come up. You will be surprised how much a well stocked pantry will pay off in dollars for you. We all buy all sorts of Insurance………..Food Storage really is the best Insurance there is!
Keep in mind seasonal sales when stocking or re-stocking your pantry. Watch the price "trends" at the grocery store...........keep a PRICE BOOK for items you want to stock normally. Then you will know how good that "sale" price is. If it's a killer deal then stock up ..............
Most of us shop with general prices of goods in our heads, and not a concrete price that we have obtained from past experience. That's where creating a price book can save you hundreds of dollars.
The problem is that what a grocery store says is a good price and what actually is a good price aren't always the same. When you walk into a store and see an item on sale for $2.99 that normally retails at $4.00, the automatic assumption is that it is a good deal. If you knew, however, that that same product is sometimes on sale for as low as $1.49, your perspective on the “good deal” would significantly change.
EXAMPLES....Sales/trends:
Smith's has a "case lot" sale twice a year.........save for them!
In season fruits. You will pay 3 to 5 times more if the fruit is out of season. Take advantage of the sale price in season.....freeze/can for off season use
Holidays.......Thanksgiving/Christmas.......Turkeys/ham/roasts/baking needs
Feb.....National Canned Food Month
March - Frozen Foods
Manufacturers purchase shelf space for their new products. example........soup on sale at the end of summer as the shelves need to be ready for the new harvest soups coming in from the manufacturer.
keep this information in your price book............it will help you to plan ahead. With a fully stocked pantry you will have the "luxury" of waiting for the best price.
start now........add a few items each time you go to the grocery store......you will be glad you did
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Note: "Labels" 3 Month Pantry List.........click on it
Enjoy! deb
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