When we were preparing to take our daughter Katie to college about a month ago, I was panicked with the thought all through preparations that I also desperately needed to defrost the freezer--it was already way overdue and if we left it, we were afraid it would frost to the point where it wouldn't stay shut. The freezer would freeze at the top first and there was always a patch of ice that would increasingly protrude across the top where it met with the door, sometimes hindering its closing ability.
So after almost everything else was done, I resignedly started the horrible process of removing everything (it's a huge freezer and I had it packed full) and then trying to get all the ice to melt. Well, finally we ran out of time and really had to get going on our trip. I stuffed everything back in even though only about half of the ice was removed. I thought this would get us through the week and I could deal with the rest of it later.
Well, it was not to be. When we got back, it had frosted back up, all the way to the point where the door had propped itself open and could not be shut. I'm not sure exactly how this happened, unless I actually didn't shut the door as well as I thought. We even had some boxes that I was in the habit of propping against it as a safeguard, but they weren't sufficient. I think there's some principle of having all that wet ice cooling down and refreezing that may have made it so bad.
Anyway, we had to throw almost all of the food out. I did salvage some blueberries that were still embedded in ice, and not much else. It was a big loss but also almost a freeing relief when we decided not to continue using the freezer. It's one less thing to be bad at managing! The bigger the freezer, the better the steward you must be in order not to lose half of the food at the back, less-reachable and less-visible areas. I was not very good at this.
Now I'm finding I buy less groceries. I can only fill our fridge and limited freezer at the side of it, and for the three of us, I think it may be nearly perfect. The biggest I might go is that when we replace this refrigerator (soon; there are signs of wear), we might put it in the garage for some light-duty beverage holding etc. and the freezer would turn into my surplus freezer for fruit and whatnot. Still, it would be such a lot better than trying to manage that huge box freezer! So less is more, or more is less, or something like that.
Showing posts with label stewardship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stewardship. Show all posts
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
My Pantry and the Abundance of Food
I am blessed with a walk-in pantry. I have to admit I kind of take it for granted--in fact, I am ashamed most of the time of the mess therein; there is such an abundance of food stocked that it often flows to the floor especially if my 9-year-old has been there. People come over and comment on how great it must be to have a pantry, and it reminds me to be thankful.
I keep it stocked out of a long-ingrained habit, buying groceries on sale, with coupons, and we eat well for a minimum of money. Grocery shopping is serious business for me; to get the best price on food is my way of making a good investment, because I can readily save about a third of the regular amount by being careful. My mom had six kids and kept lots of food on hand; I probably outdo her. But we went out fairly often as a family, whereas our family does so far less. We usually eat at home, except once in a while at Costco or a quick dollar-menu fast food item here and there. Being homeschoolers we are home most of the time.
This is something that for the most part doesn't seem strange to me; I prefer eating at home. Once in a while, though, I realize how unusual it must be, such as when a friend of my son came to stay for a few days and was astounded at the quantity of dishes we had in the dishwasher. (I sometimes think a second dishwasher would be a good thing.) I run it once or twice per day and it's always stuffed. And then Katie who took a Nutrition course at the community college comes home with statistics about how few times the average American family eats together at home, or how often they eat fast food; then there is an appalling ad for KFC chicken that makes take-out food as if it were an "at home family meal" and though I like KFC well enough, I realize all the more how much we are blessed. We get to eat home-made food together most nights of the week, except when Katie is working, and then three of us are here!
It's a blessing in terms of family togetherness, in finances, in nutrition, in efficiency. I love it so much more than when we eat out! I would so rather make the meal than have it made for me; in fact, I was thinking the other night that just as Eric Liddell, the Gold Medal runner and missionary to China (whose Olympic feat was the subject of the movie Chariots of Fire) said, "When I run, I feel God's pleasure," the same is true of my cooking. I feel that I am fulfilling a good part of God's purpose for me: to provide for my family (and perhaps guests or a family in sickness); even though it may not evangelize the lost too well unless I feed an unbelieving family, it still might glorify God in His provision for His own. (That is, if it tastes good.) I doubt I'll ever get a gold medal for it though.
I used to feel guilty about the abundance of groceries I keep on hand, feeling maybe it wasn't good stewardship; when I go visit people they don't seem to keep as much food around and it's so much tidier. But if they go out more, or don't cook from scratch as much, then it stands to reason they wouldn't need as much. I don't feel guilty about it like I used to. Sometimes it goes to waste; but not so much of the time. It's good not to have to go to the store every day, or go out to eat. It's God's blessing on our family to have an abundance and to be equipped for that good work.
"I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor I will satisfy with food." Psalm 132:15
I keep it stocked out of a long-ingrained habit, buying groceries on sale, with coupons, and we eat well for a minimum of money. Grocery shopping is serious business for me; to get the best price on food is my way of making a good investment, because I can readily save about a third of the regular amount by being careful. My mom had six kids and kept lots of food on hand; I probably outdo her. But we went out fairly often as a family, whereas our family does so far less. We usually eat at home, except once in a while at Costco or a quick dollar-menu fast food item here and there. Being homeschoolers we are home most of the time.
This is something that for the most part doesn't seem strange to me; I prefer eating at home. Once in a while, though, I realize how unusual it must be, such as when a friend of my son came to stay for a few days and was astounded at the quantity of dishes we had in the dishwasher. (I sometimes think a second dishwasher would be a good thing.) I run it once or twice per day and it's always stuffed. And then Katie who took a Nutrition course at the community college comes home with statistics about how few times the average American family eats together at home, or how often they eat fast food; then there is an appalling ad for KFC chicken that makes take-out food as if it were an "at home family meal" and though I like KFC well enough, I realize all the more how much we are blessed. We get to eat home-made food together most nights of the week, except when Katie is working, and then three of us are here!
It's a blessing in terms of family togetherness, in finances, in nutrition, in efficiency. I love it so much more than when we eat out! I would so rather make the meal than have it made for me; in fact, I was thinking the other night that just as Eric Liddell, the Gold Medal runner and missionary to China (whose Olympic feat was the subject of the movie Chariots of Fire) said, "When I run, I feel God's pleasure," the same is true of my cooking. I feel that I am fulfilling a good part of God's purpose for me: to provide for my family (and perhaps guests or a family in sickness); even though it may not evangelize the lost too well unless I feed an unbelieving family, it still might glorify God in His provision for His own. (That is, if it tastes good.) I doubt I'll ever get a gold medal for it though.
I used to feel guilty about the abundance of groceries I keep on hand, feeling maybe it wasn't good stewardship; when I go visit people they don't seem to keep as much food around and it's so much tidier. But if they go out more, or don't cook from scratch as much, then it stands to reason they wouldn't need as much. I don't feel guilty about it like I used to. Sometimes it goes to waste; but not so much of the time. It's good not to have to go to the store every day, or go out to eat. It's God's blessing on our family to have an abundance and to be equipped for that good work.
"I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor I will satisfy with food." Psalm 132:15
Sunday, October 15, 2006
The Abundance of Things
I find it difficult to keep my day, my lifestyle, my belongings tailored to just what I suspect God has in mind rather than my preferences, which so often outpace His will for me. I conclude this, because they all tend to get out of whack at least occasionally if not almost always. I have a theory if a person does according to God's will consistently, things will fall into place quite readily almost all the time. But we as a family, perhaps as a nation, have too many belongings, almost always too much food, too many things scheduled, too many library books...a plethora of feasting and a paucity of fasting.
It is not my mindset to rein it in properly. I haven't learned the art, which is probably what many would call minimalism. I see a home with minimal furnishings and to tell the truth, it makes me restless. I want for bookcases, and choices of activities and distractions (though mine at home tends by necessity to be housekeeping...sigh). This "abundant" life makes for an abundance of things to dust, stacks to move, things to reach over, look under, lose things in...and though contending with stuff is a high price to pay, I haven't found the clarity of mind that eliminates it and changes the ongoing nature.
Eventually we will move from this house, perhaps sooner rather than later. With that possibility comes the appealing but overwhelming idea of reducing our belongings by half or so. I think in the spring we will have a series of garage sales, getting rid of a record amount of our clutter and furnishings. I want to find out what it's like on the other side, where there are margins around each furnishing, and everything doesn't have to be shoulder-to-shoulder with the next thing. Maybe I will be restless and have to refill it a bit, but it will be refreshing none-the-less to seek it and try it out for a season.
With that in mind I have been, for example, passing more and more of the garage sale signs for which I otherwise might have stopped. I have been purposefully pushing things out to the garage and boxing them up--which I can probably do for another six months before I really feel the effects of it. I haven't been on the acquisitive side for a while (though Tim does need me to buy him some pants)...I hope and expect that this will be something of a permanent and increasing (increase of decrease, that is) tendency for our lives. As a result I would expect more freedom, more time, more clarity for parenting, family life, outings, fellowship, hospitality, witnessing--in varying order. Maybe, hopefully, more time to do what God would prefer for this life He has so graciously given to me. I strongly suspect He made me for something better than to primarily dust and rearrange stuff.
Luke 12:15 Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
It is not my mindset to rein it in properly. I haven't learned the art, which is probably what many would call minimalism. I see a home with minimal furnishings and to tell the truth, it makes me restless. I want for bookcases, and choices of activities and distractions (though mine at home tends by necessity to be housekeeping...sigh). This "abundant" life makes for an abundance of things to dust, stacks to move, things to reach over, look under, lose things in...and though contending with stuff is a high price to pay, I haven't found the clarity of mind that eliminates it and changes the ongoing nature.
Eventually we will move from this house, perhaps sooner rather than later. With that possibility comes the appealing but overwhelming idea of reducing our belongings by half or so. I think in the spring we will have a series of garage sales, getting rid of a record amount of our clutter and furnishings. I want to find out what it's like on the other side, where there are margins around each furnishing, and everything doesn't have to be shoulder-to-shoulder with the next thing. Maybe I will be restless and have to refill it a bit, but it will be refreshing none-the-less to seek it and try it out for a season.
With that in mind I have been, for example, passing more and more of the garage sale signs for which I otherwise might have stopped. I have been purposefully pushing things out to the garage and boxing them up--which I can probably do for another six months before I really feel the effects of it. I haven't been on the acquisitive side for a while (though Tim does need me to buy him some pants)...I hope and expect that this will be something of a permanent and increasing (increase of decrease, that is) tendency for our lives. As a result I would expect more freedom, more time, more clarity for parenting, family life, outings, fellowship, hospitality, witnessing--in varying order. Maybe, hopefully, more time to do what God would prefer for this life He has so graciously given to me. I strongly suspect He made me for something better than to primarily dust and rearrange stuff.
Luke 12:15 Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Garden Whale Casserole
Don’t know what a garden whale is? That’s one of those big, foot-long green things that appear in your zucchini plants when you look away for a few minutes. Those work just fine in this casserole, seeds and all.
Dice:
3 c. zucchini (or more is fine)
2 lg. tomatoes
1 lg. sweet onion
Toss w/ salt and pepper.
Grate:
1 ½ c. sharp cheddar cheese
½ c. Parmesan cheese
Topping:
8 saltines
3 Tbsp. butter
Garlic powder
Finesse herbs (or thyme and oregano)
Butter a large casserole dish. In it place ½ of vegetable mixture and ½ of cheese. Make topping mixture by crumbling saltines and mixing in other topping ingredients. Top casserole with half of cheese and topping, rest of zucchini, rest of cheese and topping ingredients. Bake covered ½ - ¾ hour; remove lid last 10-15 min. (And if you’re like me, you’ll just put the veggies in and top with cheese and topping—and it will work fine.)
Here's another thing that my family loves when I do zucchini: I put oil in a pan and heat it to med. high; then slice a bunch of zucchini; scatter thyme all over the pan, add the zucchini, cook on the one side, and turn when the first side is dark; cook the other side until through. They're good! Even Tim, my pickiest, loves it.
Don’t know what a garden whale is? That’s one of those big, foot-long green things that appear in your zucchini plants when you look away for a few minutes. Those work just fine in this casserole, seeds and all.
Dice:
3 c. zucchini (or more is fine)
2 lg. tomatoes
1 lg. sweet onion
Toss w/ salt and pepper.
Grate:
1 ½ c. sharp cheddar cheese
½ c. Parmesan cheese
Topping:
8 saltines
3 Tbsp. butter
Garlic powder
Finesse herbs (or thyme and oregano)
Butter a large casserole dish. In it place ½ of vegetable mixture and ½ of cheese. Make topping mixture by crumbling saltines and mixing in other topping ingredients. Top casserole with half of cheese and topping, rest of zucchini, rest of cheese and topping ingredients. Bake covered ½ - ¾ hour; remove lid last 10-15 min. (And if you’re like me, you’ll just put the veggies in and top with cheese and topping—and it will work fine.)
Here's another thing that my family loves when I do zucchini: I put oil in a pan and heat it to med. high; then slice a bunch of zucchini; scatter thyme all over the pan, add the zucchini, cook on the one side, and turn when the first side is dark; cook the other side until through. They're good! Even Tim, my pickiest, loves it.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Ways to Save Money so You can Stay Home with Kids
When I was growing up, I had no clue of what I wanted to be when I grew up. I went to college and quit after 3 years, since I couldn't decide on a major and thought I was wasting my money. I went from job to job, starting in retail and then on to office work. I was a national sales secretary for Nike, and a department secretary at Boeing, and worked as a temp in various places. It was all interesting enough, other than Boeing, which I couldn't really describe in that way.
When I became a mother, and was working at Boeing, we were hard-pressed for money. My husband was trying to break into the field of sales and started working for various brokers. They'd hire him full-time and immediately put him on part-time so they wouldn't have to pay benefits. So he was going through regular job changes at that time. There I was with my colicky baby, waking her at 6 a.m., hurriedly dressing her and myself, taking her to daycare at 7 a.m. and going to see her at lunch; taking a pump to work so I could continue nursing. (You should have seen the gate guards' puzzled faces when they'd ask me to open my cooler with it all in there!) I'd pick her up after work and go home too exhausted to clean house well (I was anemic also...). She'd wake up at 2:00 every night. I hated work; Katie hated my work as well. She finally got kicked out of that daycare; the woman said (though she'd been doing daycare for 25 years) that Katie was the most difficult baby she'd ever watched--not a distinction that I'm proud of. I hired a neighbor to take her in instead. (Thankfully she's no longer difficult!)
Finally a month after becoming a Christian I knew very strongly that I really needed to quit working and stay home. It was truly a stretch but I had to trust in God's help. The first morning that I stayed home, I suddenly knew what I was wanting to be...I'd wanted it all my life and just didn't realize it. I wanted to be an at-home mom. Because I'd never thought of it as an option, and because I'd never really been trained in it growing up, I was ill-equipped. I had a lot to learn; I still do!
There are various ways other than what I've already blogged about (garage sales and grocery store shopping) that I use to save the money to stay home. I cut our own hair, all four of us (sometimes with better success than other times--but the biggest challenge is my own head, and I can accept that), and I figure I save about $100 or so per month by doing so. I clean our own carpets. I fertilize our yard (I recently learned that getting this done commercially would cost us about $450 per year!). I fix our furniture and many appliances and prune our own trees. I do our plumbing, sewing, gardening, indoor painting, and home schooling. I don't do car repairs or get on our roof, but I do many of the other things! Sometimes I think knowing how to do these things is a drawback, in that I never feel free to call and get someone else to do it, but we'd be struggling financially far worse if I didn't. And though getting everything done that seems to need doing is perhaps impossible, I'm never bored! Life is fuller than it ever would be in an office, away from my home and family!
For all these things that you can do to save your money and be able to stay at home with your family, you can find out how to do them either on line or by looking at books from the library--I've done this many times. If you're in the middle of a household project and can't figure it out, the hardware store is full of people who can advise you on how to finish the job. I installed a sink, for example, taking 4 trips to the store to ask questions and buy parts and tools. Sometimes the difference between being able and not being able to do these things might lie in buying or renting the right tool.
If you're perplexed with your work and longing to stay home, pray for God's help and inspiration. He'll give you the means to do what He wants, and I believe that His ideal is for families to be together.
When I became a mother, and was working at Boeing, we were hard-pressed for money. My husband was trying to break into the field of sales and started working for various brokers. They'd hire him full-time and immediately put him on part-time so they wouldn't have to pay benefits. So he was going through regular job changes at that time. There I was with my colicky baby, waking her at 6 a.m., hurriedly dressing her and myself, taking her to daycare at 7 a.m. and going to see her at lunch; taking a pump to work so I could continue nursing. (You should have seen the gate guards' puzzled faces when they'd ask me to open my cooler with it all in there!) I'd pick her up after work and go home too exhausted to clean house well (I was anemic also...). She'd wake up at 2:00 every night. I hated work; Katie hated my work as well. She finally got kicked out of that daycare; the woman said (though she'd been doing daycare for 25 years) that Katie was the most difficult baby she'd ever watched--not a distinction that I'm proud of. I hired a neighbor to take her in instead. (Thankfully she's no longer difficult!)
Finally a month after becoming a Christian I knew very strongly that I really needed to quit working and stay home. It was truly a stretch but I had to trust in God's help. The first morning that I stayed home, I suddenly knew what I was wanting to be...I'd wanted it all my life and just didn't realize it. I wanted to be an at-home mom. Because I'd never thought of it as an option, and because I'd never really been trained in it growing up, I was ill-equipped. I had a lot to learn; I still do!
There are various ways other than what I've already blogged about (garage sales and grocery store shopping) that I use to save the money to stay home. I cut our own hair, all four of us (sometimes with better success than other times--but the biggest challenge is my own head, and I can accept that), and I figure I save about $100 or so per month by doing so. I clean our own carpets. I fertilize our yard (I recently learned that getting this done commercially would cost us about $450 per year!). I fix our furniture and many appliances and prune our own trees. I do our plumbing, sewing, gardening, indoor painting, and home schooling. I don't do car repairs or get on our roof, but I do many of the other things! Sometimes I think knowing how to do these things is a drawback, in that I never feel free to call and get someone else to do it, but we'd be struggling financially far worse if I didn't. And though getting everything done that seems to need doing is perhaps impossible, I'm never bored! Life is fuller than it ever would be in an office, away from my home and family!
For all these things that you can do to save your money and be able to stay at home with your family, you can find out how to do them either on line or by looking at books from the library--I've done this many times. If you're in the middle of a household project and can't figure it out, the hardware store is full of people who can advise you on how to finish the job. I installed a sink, for example, taking 4 trips to the store to ask questions and buy parts and tools. Sometimes the difference between being able and not being able to do these things might lie in buying or renting the right tool.
If you're perplexed with your work and longing to stay home, pray for God's help and inspiration. He'll give you the means to do what He wants, and I believe that His ideal is for families to be together.
Singing the Praises of Garage Sales!
There were a lot of years even in the midst of my greatest need for frugality that I neglected the benefit of garage sales. Maybe I went to one every now and then, but not much. Then suddenly neighborhoods started having them all together, and that caught my attention! Suddenly, I could go park, and walk down the street and hit ten or more at a time! Now I buy clothes, books, furniture, hardware, tools, kitchen gadgets, pictures, frames, games, toys, and innumerable other things at garage sales. Most things sell at about 10% of the retail price; clothes, being so plentiful, run about 5%. Now I'd estimate that at least half of our furniture and other household goods must consist of garage sale finds.
I've heard people say you can't find brand names at garage sales, but they are those who don't shop there. My daughter loves brand names and almost never buys them in the stores. She can therefore afford three or four times the brand-name clothing that her friends have (space, however, is a practical limitation). We buy more clothes in a far faster time than we ever could in the malls! Then there are people who sniff that they would never buy used clothes. Well, if they're dirty, torn, or ugly, then no, I wouldn't either. But if they're respectable, why not? Take them home and wash them, and there's nothing objectionable about them.
Suppose you spend $800 per person per year on clothing. If a child goes through 18 years of his life wearing only store-bought clothes, then $14,400 is what you'll spend on his clothes until he graduates. If you spend $50 per year at the store and the rest at garage sales, you'll spend $1,575 on clothes in that period of time. Maybe there will come a day when he finds garage sale clothes unacceptable, but then maybe he can earn the money for his own clothes.
Not only that, but we avoid sales tax; at 8.5%, that in itself is a pretty normal year's return on an investment. And for those who are concerned about it, it keeps that many more useful items out of the dumps; garage sales are one of the more commendable aspects of American consumer science.
So there you go. My plug for one of the best money-savers I've found! I hope you'll try them out as well.
I've heard people say you can't find brand names at garage sales, but they are those who don't shop there. My daughter loves brand names and almost never buys them in the stores. She can therefore afford three or four times the brand-name clothing that her friends have (space, however, is a practical limitation). We buy more clothes in a far faster time than we ever could in the malls! Then there are people who sniff that they would never buy used clothes. Well, if they're dirty, torn, or ugly, then no, I wouldn't either. But if they're respectable, why not? Take them home and wash them, and there's nothing objectionable about them.
Suppose you spend $800 per person per year on clothing. If a child goes through 18 years of his life wearing only store-bought clothes, then $14,400 is what you'll spend on his clothes until he graduates. If you spend $50 per year at the store and the rest at garage sales, you'll spend $1,575 on clothes in that period of time. Maybe there will come a day when he finds garage sale clothes unacceptable, but then maybe he can earn the money for his own clothes.
Not only that, but we avoid sales tax; at 8.5%, that in itself is a pretty normal year's return on an investment. And for those who are concerned about it, it keeps that many more useful items out of the dumps; garage sales are one of the more commendable aspects of American consumer science.
So there you go. My plug for one of the best money-savers I've found! I hope you'll try them out as well.
Frugality Incorporated!
I just happen to be one of the most frugal people in the universe. Well, I'm not stingy. That's different. (I don't think I am, anyway.) Frugal is saving money so you don't go broke as fast in tough times, and stingy is not being willing to share with others when their times are tough, or give something to them to celebrate events. I jokingly attribute my frugality to my Scottish and Jewish blood. It's diluted, supposedly, by many other things, but in my fingertips, which are of course what handle my wallet, these two ethnicities run the strongest! It's good, too, because my husband has changed jobs many times and our heads are still above water so far. Now here's how frugal I am (or at least was, before kids!)--I used to spend about $70 per MONTH for our groceries. Okay, so we ate a lot of potatoes and split pea soup back then. Anyway, I thought I'd share about my frugality, since I find it very helpful. Here are some of my most effective ideas that you can accept or reject, but I've been applying them for years with great success, I'd say; I usually save at least 35% according to the store receipt, and that doesn't even take into account that I don't buy the more expensive brand or size. Imagine that! I always think of investments, and how people are glad to get 10% in a year on their investment. They'd be thrilled out of their gourds to get 35%! And my savings is far more sudden than over a year's time! Whaha! So here are my methods:
Check the ads if you have time. If you lost the ad, you probably can look it up online; often they have extra copies at the store, too. If you buy according to the ad, and make meals that suit what was on sale, you'll be miles ahead.
Look at unit pricing, EVERY time it's an option. (This is the part of the price label stuck to the shelf underneath that tells the price per unit, such as per pound, per ounce, per sheet, per gallon.) It really clarifies which version of what you're buying is cheapest. Usually it's the largest, or the store brand, but not always.
Buy the least expensive option at the grocery store of all that category that you're seeking. As an example, I found that the little 12 oz. chubs of (even reduced fat) Italian sausage, the store brand of the Jimmy-Dean type, are cheaper per pound not only than the store brand but also than the tray pack of similar, more fattening Italian sausage that is out in the meat department.
Also, use any coupons if you can stand that. I generally stick to store coupons because though I used the brand type for a while, they take a lot of time to manage (cutting out, tossing out expired, storing, transporting) and a lot of alertness to use in the store. I think it was the advent of kids that made me toss the brand type, for lack of time. Some swear by them, however.
Don't buy groceries that aren't on sale or cheaper at another place, unless it's absolutely necessary and urgent that you buy regular price. I'd say less than 1% of my groceries are purchased at regular price. This includes all categories!
Don't go to the grocery store too often. Buy and store--whether on shelves, in fridge, freezer, or even cooler if it's really a good deal and will last long enough! The more often you go shopping, the more you are bound to spend on each trip and on each meal.
Go with a list! It's not that I always stick to mine (especially if I happen upon a bargain), but then I don't forget some crucial item that I would have to return to the store to get. I make my lists in one of those tiny binders that you can get at the start of the school year. I list on separate pages according to store--slightly different lists for each. I may have something I'll check the price on at one, and wait for a trip to another store before I'll get it.
Buy the large packages of hamburger or ground turkey if they're cheaper per pound, and take them home, divide into freezer bags and freeze.
Find the meals you make that have the least-costly ingredients and make those your family stand-bys. For us, we have homemade pizza once in a while, and baked potatoes with chili, and taco salad, and casseroles and crock-pot meals, homemade soups, spaghetti...things that aren't a huge piece of meat as the focus.
Don't eat out--whether school lunches, dinners, or anything. It's incredible how fast the cost of this adds up! I think my homemade lunches probably cost about 35 cents to one dollar per serving. Dinners in a sit-down restaurant run ridiculously high-cost! We have gotten less and less frequent about eating out, and I've become much happier about it over time. Now when we do eat out, I'm disgusted at how long it takes to get seated and served, how much the waiter wants us to order some costly drink, and especially how much we spend including tips and taxes. Yow! It's phenomenal.
So there is a start. I could probably post 300 more ways, if I could think of them all. After a while, they become so second-nature that you don't even realize that you're doing them. Happy shopping, saving, and thinking how much more money you have as a result!
Check the ads if you have time. If you lost the ad, you probably can look it up online; often they have extra copies at the store, too. If you buy according to the ad, and make meals that suit what was on sale, you'll be miles ahead.
Look at unit pricing, EVERY time it's an option. (This is the part of the price label stuck to the shelf underneath that tells the price per unit, such as per pound, per ounce, per sheet, per gallon.) It really clarifies which version of what you're buying is cheapest. Usually it's the largest, or the store brand, but not always.
Buy the least expensive option at the grocery store of all that category that you're seeking. As an example, I found that the little 12 oz. chubs of (even reduced fat) Italian sausage, the store brand of the Jimmy-Dean type, are cheaper per pound not only than the store brand but also than the tray pack of similar, more fattening Italian sausage that is out in the meat department.
Also, use any coupons if you can stand that. I generally stick to store coupons because though I used the brand type for a while, they take a lot of time to manage (cutting out, tossing out expired, storing, transporting) and a lot of alertness to use in the store. I think it was the advent of kids that made me toss the brand type, for lack of time. Some swear by them, however.
Don't buy groceries that aren't on sale or cheaper at another place, unless it's absolutely necessary and urgent that you buy regular price. I'd say less than 1% of my groceries are purchased at regular price. This includes all categories!
Don't go to the grocery store too often. Buy and store--whether on shelves, in fridge, freezer, or even cooler if it's really a good deal and will last long enough! The more often you go shopping, the more you are bound to spend on each trip and on each meal.
Go with a list! It's not that I always stick to mine (especially if I happen upon a bargain), but then I don't forget some crucial item that I would have to return to the store to get. I make my lists in one of those tiny binders that you can get at the start of the school year. I list on separate pages according to store--slightly different lists for each. I may have something I'll check the price on at one, and wait for a trip to another store before I'll get it.
Buy the large packages of hamburger or ground turkey if they're cheaper per pound, and take them home, divide into freezer bags and freeze.
Find the meals you make that have the least-costly ingredients and make those your family stand-bys. For us, we have homemade pizza once in a while, and baked potatoes with chili, and taco salad, and casseroles and crock-pot meals, homemade soups, spaghetti...things that aren't a huge piece of meat as the focus.
Don't eat out--whether school lunches, dinners, or anything. It's incredible how fast the cost of this adds up! I think my homemade lunches probably cost about 35 cents to one dollar per serving. Dinners in a sit-down restaurant run ridiculously high-cost! We have gotten less and less frequent about eating out, and I've become much happier about it over time. Now when we do eat out, I'm disgusted at how long it takes to get seated and served, how much the waiter wants us to order some costly drink, and especially how much we spend including tips and taxes. Yow! It's phenomenal.
So there is a start. I could probably post 300 more ways, if I could think of them all. After a while, they become so second-nature that you don't even realize that you're doing them. Happy shopping, saving, and thinking how much more money you have as a result!
Monday, April 10, 2006
My Favorite Cooking Website
One of my favorite websites for cooking is allrecipes.com. They have innumerable recipes in an easy-to-find format. There are some neat little features to use here: Top Tens, Hall of Fame, Most Popular; Meatless Main Dishes (less ratings); Cooking Light Five-Star Recipes (not many ratings, but Cooking Light's name is behind them); and various for particular nutritional needs.
You can search for something specific by the name of the recipe or by ingredients you have on hand. It might come up with 10 or 50 different recipes based on your entry. You can narrow these down by looking at the ratings for the recipe. How many people have commented on that recipe? How many stars does it have? If you find one that is extremely tried and true, it's a sure bet (you must see their Hall of Fame page!). Read your chosen recipe's comments and you might find some very helpful advice. Then you can adapt the recipe to suit your tastes and improve on it based on others' experience. You can change how many the recipe is supposed to serve, and it will change quantities of ingredients to accommodate.
I tried entering "Easter" for a search today. It came up with Easter recipe collections; various recipes that seem appropriate for Easter dinner; and Easter leftover recipes. There are Top 10 Easter Recipes; Easter Recipe of the Day; even Easter recipes from the Middle East. You can find Easter Advice too.
Then I tried "Pineapple Upside-Down Cake" and it came up with 16 recipe results. (Here's something I have found in times past: making this cake with a mix is indiscernable from making it from scratch!)
You can search by the person who submitted your favorite recipe or by who does the most informative commenting. Each recipe has nutritional information. You can also search by nutritional need.
They have Top Ten recipes for various categories. These tend to be their most recent set of favorite recipes.
When I find a recipe, I copy it and then go to Microsoft Word and paste it by going to "Edit", "Paste Special", and "Unformatted Text." Then I get all the wording without all the format, and I can more easily delete any unwanted clutter and format it according to what I want. I have different documents for different types of recipes, sort of like sections in a cookbook.
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. It's a wonderful website for everyday, and with a holiday coming such as Easter, it's a big help! So happy recipe searching!
You can search for something specific by the name of the recipe or by ingredients you have on hand. It might come up with 10 or 50 different recipes based on your entry. You can narrow these down by looking at the ratings for the recipe. How many people have commented on that recipe? How many stars does it have? If you find one that is extremely tried and true, it's a sure bet (you must see their Hall of Fame page!). Read your chosen recipe's comments and you might find some very helpful advice. Then you can adapt the recipe to suit your tastes and improve on it based on others' experience. You can change how many the recipe is supposed to serve, and it will change quantities of ingredients to accommodate.
I tried entering "Easter" for a search today. It came up with Easter recipe collections; various recipes that seem appropriate for Easter dinner; and Easter leftover recipes. There are Top 10 Easter Recipes; Easter Recipe of the Day; even Easter recipes from the Middle East. You can find Easter Advice too.
Then I tried "Pineapple Upside-Down Cake" and it came up with 16 recipe results. (Here's something I have found in times past: making this cake with a mix is indiscernable from making it from scratch!)
You can search by the person who submitted your favorite recipe or by who does the most informative commenting. Each recipe has nutritional information. You can also search by nutritional need.
They have Top Ten recipes for various categories. These tend to be their most recent set of favorite recipes.
When I find a recipe, I copy it and then go to Microsoft Word and paste it by going to "Edit", "Paste Special", and "Unformatted Text." Then I get all the wording without all the format, and I can more easily delete any unwanted clutter and format it according to what I want. I have different documents for different types of recipes, sort of like sections in a cookbook.
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. It's a wonderful website for everyday, and with a holiday coming such as Easter, it's a big help! So happy recipe searching!
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