Saving money tips

[tanteva]

The world is a crazy place right now & it's messing with my head. One of the things I stress about is the cost of food. Feels like everything is getting more and more expensive by the minute! Or the shrinkflation - drives me crazy. If you don't know, shrinkflation means how the food producers sneakily makes a product smaller, but keeps the price without us noticing. Here in Sweden right now, this is happening a lot. You really got to keep your eyes open when shopping and really compare brands!

I just thought we could share ideas, articles, recipes & stuff for stretching our money. I'm going crazy over here, stressing about money.

I'm starting with this video. Not all is for me, but might be for others. Plus it got lots of ideas of how to think about food. I'm picking the pieces that's helpful for me, you do the same!

 

[Jeannette]

I know what you mean. In the Netherlands life has become very expensive too. The prices for groceries and gas and energy are over the top and still getting more expensive every day. Also fuel for cars is costing so very much.
We are lucky, my husband and I both have fulltime jobs. We will manage, but my hearts goes out to all those people who are not that fortunate.
Also I grow potatoes and vegetables in my own garden, which saves money.
We try to eat only seasonal food, because that's often cheaper. Perhaps when something is very cheap you can buy extra to freeze it in.
Also we try to cook no more food then we really need. We save leftovers, and Saturday is our leftovers day.
We don't eat meat every day, and we do not have deserts. This however has been so for a longer time, not because the prices now.

It's not easy at the moment. We don't have time to shop for all the cheap offers, but we did decide to go to a cheaper store once every two weeks, and buy the stuff there we need and which last longer, like dogfood, soda, rice, toiletpaper etc.

 

[*sylvia*]

Yes Eva, I agree with you. One have to be careful when shopping, plan well and take advantage of special offers. I make sure that nothing has to be thrown away. This also saves a lot. I'm worried about the energy costs because they can't be influenced and the corporations certainly don't want to forego profit. A German gas supplier has recommended its customers to increase the monthly deduction from 152 € to 648 € !!! Madness. If one want to save on heating costs, one should warm up the room with a clay pot and candles !!! We're going to have to tighten our belts and it's not going to get any better...

 

[Cherylndesigns]

"Shrinkflation" drive me nuts and they've honestly been "sneaking" that in on us for quite a long time. I've bought the same products for years and they've been getting smaller (by tiny increments) for a long time - it's been very gradual and now it's SO obvious. It still shows the same amount, but "REALLY"????? Do they think we're stupid???

 

[tanteva]

Thought I'd share some of my own tips:

1. If you don't know how to - learn to cook stuff from scratch. There's money to save there. Having said that - it's not always true. I know here in Sweden right now, it's cheaper to buy frozen meat balls than getting the ground beef and make them yourself. Crazy! Healthier probably to make your own, but there you have to decide. But - most of the time it's cheaper to make things from scratch - if you have the time.

2. And talking about time. If you know you haven't got much time to cook on week days - set aside a couple of hours on a day when you have time and prepare food. It's great to have prepared meals in the freezer on a busy day. That way you won't have to get a pizza cuz you're stressed.

3. Make a list of your go-to-food. This way you always have that list to fall back on when you run out of ideas. Every meal doesn't have to be a new spectacular experience - basic mac'n'cheese or something quick and easy will make you just as full.

4. Compare prices. ALL THE TIME. Compare stores - easier now that you can google most stuff.

5. Eat your leftovers. This is something I've had to teach myself. I'm not a fan of re-heated food, but hey, I'm not a millionaire. We ususally eat the leftovers from yesterday's dinner for lunch the next day. Also, I often cook extra of something to build another dinner around another day of the week, i.e. boiling extra potatoes one day, and make wedges for another dinner. Or cook extra pasta one day and make a pasta bake another day of half of it.

6. Great tip for leftovers: keep a box in the freezer. In this box, put all the leftover veggies. I can be as little as a tomato slice or a tablespoon of something. Just add it to the box. Pick a box that is a suitable size for your family, I have one that's about 2 cups. When to box is full - take the veggies and boil up some water and a stock cube or two, add the veggies and you have a nice soup. Mix if you like. When I was a meat eater, I had another box for meat leftovers. Cut it all in small pieces, and when the box was full, I made a pasta sauce from it.

7. You're not gonna like this one LOL Skip the meat! Meat is so expensive, I almost cried in the store last time I wanted to get some meat for John. You don't have to go vegan - if you leave out meat one or two days a week, you can save money. If you think it through, you probably know of meatless dishes you make already. Pancakes, beans, lentil soup and so on. Homemade pizza is great meatless - add onion, favorite veggies, olives, whatever - pizza = party no matter what the topping.

8. Shop by season. You have to google this - what's in season at yours is probably different from what's in season here in Sweden. Usually it's cheap when it's in season & it tastes better.

9. Take some time and google recipes. Google is your friend! There's so much resources out there, all for free.

 

[faerywings]

Eva, that is a fabulous list of suggestions. Food is crazy expensive here too and while I have typically made a lot of food from scratch, I am doing a lot more of it lately. My bread machine is getting a workout I also make treats for the dogs and rats with sweet potatoes and ground rolled oats.

I am an electricity miser and make sure all of the lights are off and unplug things when not in use. I bought a special electric strip that keeps one thing running, but the rest of the things plugged in stay off until the first thing is turned on. (For your TV-- it keeps power off from the cable box until the TV is turned on) . We'll see if it makes much of a difference in a month or so

I reuse things- like clean aluminum foil and I wash Ziplock bags.

I shop online using Honey. Every once in a while it comes up with a coupon for my grocery shopping site. Oh and it sounds like a splurge but I do my grocery shopping online. The fee os only $5 and if I save myself one impulse purchase, then it has paid for itself. Its also a lot easier to stay within my budget since I can see how much the cart is and take out items if I go over

 

[Betty Jo]

Eva, what an awesome thread. I do basically everything that is mentioned here. There is only one of me to feed, and the items I normally purchase have gone up so much I can hardly believe it. It blows my mind to see what my son and family have to spend for the four of them. I'm using many more store brands than ever before, and have discovered some of them are better than the brand-name products I used to buy. Last year, during Covid, I stocked up on many basic items, canned goods, paper goods, rice, pasta, dry and canned beans, salsa, spices, sugar, salt, pepper, coffee, tea, and toiletries (toothpaste, soap, shampoo). I also stocked up on cleaning products and trash bags. We still get plastic bags when we buy in the stores in my area, so I save those too, I figure I'll find a use for them, other than trash can liners, at some point. I could go for several months without buying anything, if I had to. I figured these things were all going to be rising in cost, so was trying to plan ahead. When I use an item from what I have stored, I buy one right away to replace it. I don't eat much meat, the occasional grass-fed ground beef in soup, to stretch it. I don't do well with dairy, so that saves since the prices of dairy products have increased tremendously. I do eat eggs, and buy them when on sale. I can get three meals out of one can of red salmon, so have stocked up on that. I eat fresh fruit and veggies in season, and bananas since they are still rather cheap in my area. As more ideas come to mind, I'll add them. ♥

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Eva, what an awesome thread. I do basically everything that is mentioned here. There is only one of me to feed, and the items I normally purchase have gone up so much I can hardly believe it. It blows my mind to see what my son and family have to spend for the four of them. I'm using many more store brands than ever before, and have discovered some of them are better than the brand-name products I used to buy. Last year, during Covid, I stocked up on many basic items, canned goods, paper goods, rice, pasta, dry and canned beans, salsa, spices, sugar, salt, pepper, coffee, tea, and toiletries (toothpaste, soap, shampoo). I also stocked up on cleaning products and trash bags. We still get plastic bags when we buy in the stores in my area, so I save those too, I figure I'll find a use for them, other than trash can liners, at some point. I could go for several months without buying anything, if I had to. I figured these things were all going to be rising in cost, so was trying to plan ahead. When I use an item from what I have stored, I buy one right away to replace it. I don't eat much meat, the occasional grass-fed ground beef in soup, to stretch it. I don't do well with dairy, so that saves since the prices of dairy products have increased tremendously. I do eat eggs, and buy them when on sale. I can get three meals out of one can of red salmon, so have stocked up on that. I eat fresh fruit and veggies in season, and bananas since they are still rather cheap in my area. As more ideas come to mind, I'll add them. ♥

Betty Jo, we've always been "preppers" - keeping canned food, lots of water, dried goods, like beans and noodles, rice products and a non-electric can opener - we both grew up poor - we lived many years off our gardens and the foods our moms and grandmas canned and we always had something to eat - not always "the cream of the crop" but filling. We ate a lot of breaded tomatoes, green beans and other beans and we certainly never went hungry. I never had a steak until I was in my twenties - we couldn't afford it - we had a lot of hamburger stuff - hamburger gravy, you name it - if it had hamburger in it, we had it. Our favorite "treat" was hamburger crumble on toast with garlic sprinkled on it - i the broiler. I don't think you ever forget your "poor roots".

We always had a grape arbor and had lots of wonderful, canned jelly.

 

[Betty Jo]

Betty Jo, we've always been "preppers" - keeping canned food, lots of water, dried goods, like beans and noodles, rice products and a non-electric can opener - we both grew up poor - we lived many years off our gardens and the foods our moms and grandmas canned and we always had something to eat - not always "the cream of the crop" but filling. We ate a lot of breaded tomatoes, green beans and other beans and we certainly never went hungry. I never had a steak until I was in my twenties - we couldn't afford it - we had a lot of hamburger stuff - hamburger gravy, you name it - if it had hamburger in it, we had it. Our favorite "treat" was hamburger crumble on toast with garlic sprinkled on it - i the broiler. I don't think you ever forget your "poor roots".

We always had a grape arbor and had lots of wonderful, canned jelly.

Almost exactly the same with me, Cheryl. Growing up, my mom and dad always had a huge garden, a cow for milk, an occasional cow for beef, and fished a lot from both fresh and saltwater (I grew up in Florida). My dad was also a hunting guide in his spare time, so we had wild game year-round. They grew up during the depression, and my mother's thriftiness rubbed off on me. Unfortunately, I now live in an apartment, so can't have a garden and am physically unable to drag container gardening stuff up the stairs. As far as being a prepper, it really hadn't occurred to me that I needed to do that, other than for a winter storm, until last year. I had a gut feeling our economy was going to suffer. I have a portable water filter that I can use to filter water even from a nearby stream. Also, my parents were avid campers so I know how to cook over a campfire if necessary. I also have friends who are Cherokee, and they taught me a lot about foraging wild foods in my area. When my hubby was living, we had a huge garden and I canned a lot of our food. My apartment now is all-electric, and we've had some outages in the winter, so during those months I always cook extra food to have on hand just in case. If worse comes to worst, I can eat beans and pineapple out of a can. Thank God, I'm not really a picky eater. I don't have a lot of room to store much, but I do try to keep a few month's worth. ♥

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Almost exactly the same with me, Cheryl. Growing up, my mom and dad always had a huge garden, a cow for milk, an occasional cow for beef, and fished a lot from both fresh and saltwater (I grew up in Florida). My dad was also a hunting guide in his spare time, so we had wild game year-round. They grew up during the depression, and my mother's thriftiness rubbed off on me. Unfortunately, I now live in an apartment, so can't have a garden and am physically unable to drag container gardening stuff up the stairs. As far as being a prepper, it really hadn't occurred to me that I needed to do that, other than for a winter storm, until last year. I had a gut feeling our economy was going to suffer. I have a portable water filter that I can use to filter water even from a nearby stream. Also, my parents were avid campers so I know how to cook over a campfire if necessary. I also have friends who are Cherokee, and they taught me a lot about foraging wild foods in my area. When my hubby was living, we had a huge garden and I canned a lot of our food. My apartment now is all-electric, and we've had some outages in the winter, so during those months I always cook extra food to have on hand just in case. If worse comes to worst, I can eat beans and pineapple out of a can. Thank God, I'm not really a picky eater. I don't have a lot of room to store much, but I do try to keep a few month's worth. ♥

You probably already know this, but there's this thing called a "life Straw" that you can literally drink from a mud puddle and it filters the water so you can drink it. You can actually use any water source and they have
"water treatment bags" that you can drink water from any lake, etc. That's probably what you're referring to as the way to get water. I'm not a picky eater either and can get by on next to nothing. As long as I can get bread - I'm ok. Maybe a bit of cheese and we're trying to get some goats for a cheese source. Now if we can actually figure out how to grow grapes and make wine - I' m set. LOL We're working on that.

 

[Veronika]

Oh yes, that's my topic too - and that of my friends - for weeks.
I've changed my cooking habits - and try to get by with as short cooking times as possible.
I bought a new, high-performance microwave especially for this, because cooked vegetables, for example, work so super quickly and deliciously, then I have a hot air fryer for quick browning and steaming, I cook a little with gas - e.g. eggs, I use the kettle to to start cooking right away with boiling water and shorten the time.
Yes - and then I have a brand new thermal future box/wonder bag -> Wonderbag, -> Thermo-future-box -> DIY -> do-it-yourself instructions
for cooking without electricity/gas, wood, ....just like our grandparents used to cook.
In Germany it is called "Kochkiste" - the food is boiled for 3 -5 minutes, the pot must also be hot and then the pot either goes into the Wonderbag or into the thermal box and then continues to cook on its own - of course it takes accordingly longer - e.g. potatoes 1 hour, pasta about 45 minutes, stew about 1.5 hours, goulash about 3 - 5 hours - there are now lists for that.
But if you know, you can calculate accordingly.
Our grandparents use the down comforters for this.
My friend made her own thermal box out of a wooden box, with these emergency heat blankets inside and a Styrofoam lid on top and fabric around it....... meanwhile she often cooks lentil dishes and stews with it, which taste very good , because it continuously cooks in its own juice.
I see a high savings potential for me.

Then I'll go more expensive now... sounds absurd... but I'll buy better and fresher and more valuable. a lot of regional vegetables from the surrounding area. I have found that it tastes much better at first and above all lasts much much longer. As a result, I use less.. and it is ultimately cheaper.

Then I don't cook normal noodles anymore, I use Chinese noodles that you just have to pour boiling water over and that don't have to be cooked any further.

 

[Betty Jo]

You probably already know this, but there's this thing called a "life Straw" that you can literally drink from a mud puddle and it filters the water so you can drink it. You can actually use any water source and they have
"water treatment bags" that you can drink water from any lake, etc. That's probably what you're referring to as the way to get water. I'm not a picky eater either and can get by on next to nothing. As long as I can get bread - I'm ok. Maybe a bit of cheese and we're trying to get some goats for a cheese source. Now if we can actually figure out how to grow grapes and make wine - I' m set. LOL We're working on that.

I have heard of the "life Straw" but haven't looked into it. And I've heard of the "water treatment bags" but my filter is a portable Berkey filter which I use all the time to filter our city water. I hope you get the goats, we had some on a farm when I was a child. My favorite cheese of all is Feta. I'm sure you'll figure out the grape thing. I used to have a few grape vines around our yard and the grapes were divine.

 

[Betty Jo]

Awesome ideas, @Veronika. I'm going to look into the Wonderbag for sure. I don't use a microwave but cook most of my food in an Instant Pot. I have two, one for regular foods and another larger one just for soup. I even cook "boiled eggs" in my instant pot and they come out perfectly every time. I use a rice cooker for rice and other grains. I basically only boil water and cook noodles on my stove top, and recently had to dust my oven, it's so rarely used. I'll look into Chinese noodles, the ingredients, as there are many grains I can't tolerate.

 

[faerywings]

You probably already know this, but there's this thing called a "life Straw" that you can literally drink from a mud puddle and it filters the water so you can drink it. You can actually use any water source and they have
"water treatment bags" that you can drink water from any lake, etc.

Scott has one of those, gets a kick out of grossing everyone out when he goes camping and slurps up hahah

 

[faerywings]

Back on topic:
I always get the free 5 lb box of Matzoh when the supermarket has the coupons for them. I grind them up for breadcrumbs.
I try to remember to set aside the bread ends before they go moldy to do the same

We don't eat a lot of meat, mostly chicken but I try to stretch the meals with pasta or rice.
Cheap bean dish: vegetarian refried beans mixed with salsa, and some spices. Spread on a tortilla, topped with cheese, rolled up tight, and fried in coconut oil for a crispy burrito

Store brand: there are very few things that *have* to be a "real" brand, when I know there is something that has to be (like batteries- the cheap ones have to get replaced soooo often), I mark them as a Favorite on my store's website so I know when they go on sale and I'll stock up then

I always make my own greeting cards (bet you do too!) and while I get a twinge occasionally that people think I am cheap for doing that, I got the best boost when my friend texted me a photo of the shelf above her sink: filled with every birthday card I made for her over the years ♥

I plastic my windows every year in the winter. I also live in blankets. the best $5 I ever spent was a blanket/shawl I got from Five Below. It's perfect when I am sitting at my desk and leaves my hands free

I almost never ever buy books, I either download them from my library or I get free ebooks online

So many of these are obvious, I am sure you do them too

 

[Betty Jo]

@faerywings If I could eat the ingredients in your 'crispy burrito,' I'd be having those today! That recipe sounds soooo good! ♥

 

[LSlycord]

I missed this thread. What a great idea this is Eva. I am trying to figure out how to be more economical with our eating. That is new for us...as is the fact that there are only 3 of us. I'm going to go back through and look for ideas!

 

[VickiStegall]

This is a great thread! I'm taking notes!

One thing I recently discovered for lowering meat prices is shopping at Chef Store which is a restaurant supply chain that's open to the public. You have to buy in bulk so be prepared to freeze and/or can. Sadly, we just lost our entire garage freezer full of steaks, whole organic chickens and bacon - absolutely devastating. So, I'm starting over on our food reserves.

 

[Betty Jo]

This is a great thread! I'm taking notes!

One thing I recently discovered for lowering meat prices is shopping at Chef Store which is a restaurant supply chain that's open to the public. You have to buy in bulk so be prepared to freeze and/or can. Sadly, we just lost our entire garage freezer full of steaks, whole organic chickens and bacon - absolutely devastating. So, I'm starting over on our food reserves.

Oh no, Vicki, about losing your freezer full of food. That's a HUGE loss. I'm so sorry.

 

[VickiStegall]

Oh no, Vicki, about losing your freezer full of food. That's a HUGE loss. I'm so sorry.

Thanks. It is heartbreaking.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

This is a great thread! I'm taking notes!

One thing I recently discovered for lowering meat prices is shopping at Chef Store which is a restaurant supply chain that's open to the public. You have to buy in bulk so be prepared to freeze and/or can. Sadly, we just lost our entire garage freezer full of steaks, whole organic chickens and bacon - absolutely devastating. So, I'm starting over on our food reserves.

Oh no, Vicki!!! That's stinks with a capital S!!!

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Scott has one of those, gets a kick out of grossing everyone out when he goes camping and slurps up hahah

It IS pretty gross. Hahaha But they work.

 

[faerywings]

This is a great thread! I'm taking notes!

One thing I recently discovered for lowering meat prices is shopping at Chef Store which is a restaurant supply chain that's open to the public. You have to buy in bulk so be prepared to freeze and/or can. Sadly, we just lost our entire garage freezer full of steaks, whole organic chickens and bacon - absolutely devastating. So, I'm starting over on our food reserves.

Is there any chance it can be covered by homeowners insurance? That happened to my parents, they lost power from a hurricane (IIRC) and lost everything both freezers/fridges. They were able to get a small amount of money back from the company. It wasn't a lot, but better than nothing

 

[VickiStegall]

Is there any chance it can be covered by homeowners insurance? That happened to my parents, they lost power from a hurricane (IIRC) and lost everything both freezers/fridges. They were able to get a small amount of money back from the company. It wasn't a lot, but better than nothing

No, because it was a series of unfortunate events that caused it. There was a very light rain, but it was human error in us not paying attention to multiple clues that if we had clued in to any one sooner, we would have been ok

 

[tanteva]

Just stumbled on this page:

Budget-friendly recipes

Explore our budget-friendly hub, packed full of easy, delicious recipes and inspiration to help you save money in the kitchen.

www.jamieoliver.com

 

[faerywings]

Just stumbled on this page:

Budget-friendly recipes

Explore our budget-friendly hub, packed full of easy, delicious recipes and inspiration to help you save money in the kitchen.

www.jamieoliver.com

I am scrolling through this website in another tab right now, lots and lots of good info. TY!!!

Unfortunately, he has no advice on how to get your husband to stop complaining that the store-brand mayo you bought doesn't taste the same as the stuff he prefers but is $6 a jar. :/

 

[Betty Jo]

Just stumbled on this page:

Budget-friendly recipes

Explore our budget-friendly hub, packed full of easy, delicious recipes and inspiration to help you save money in the kitchen.

www.jamieoliver.com

Will check this out. Thanks for sharing. ♥

 

[Betty Jo]

I am scrolling through this website in another tab right now, lots and lots of good info. TY!!!

Unfortunately, he has no advice on how to get your husband to stop complaining that the store-brand mayo you bought doesn't taste the same as the stuff he prefers but is $6 a jar. :/

I totally get it per the mayo. Mine is almost $5 per jar at Walmart, Hellmann's, and I honestly can't stand other brands. Fortunately, I stocked up when the prices first started rising.

 

[tanteva]

Unfortunately, he has no advice on how to get your husband to stop complaining that the store-brand mayo you bought doesn't taste the same as the stuff he prefers but is $6 a jar. :/

You just tell him I told him to suck it up and shut up!
(Just don't tell him I refuse to eat that UGLY store-brand ketchup I bought to save money, and went back to Heinz LOL)

Tip ... try and add some salt to the storebrand mayo ... or mustard. Just a liiiiittle. It might do the trick. Try with a TB or something first so you don't spoil the entire jar if it's not right.

 

[LSlycord]

Eva, I took a brief look and think that I'll go back and spend some more time there. Looks like there are some good ideas!