One of things I have been doing is adding to my preparations by buying extras when I go shopping. Sometimes it is canned evaporated milk, coffee, tuna or things I don't really use that often but might it I was in a bind. Like pasta, dried beans or rice. If you need one of something, add two. Like dish detergent or toothpaste. It is as easy to buy two of something as the one you need. I find that by adding some extras like that into my shopping cart seems to be easier to include it into my budget.
Since most of my vegetables are replenished in the summer and fall when I harvest my garden, you'd think I wouldn't be purchasing any other vegetables at all. But I do. I always buy if I see a good sale. Sometimes farms and farmers' markets will offer such a good deal that I can't turn it down. This year, especially, I will be taking everything I can get a good price for. Food is going up and I am not going to stop eating. So the best way to conquer that problem is to find sales and preserve what you can.
I shop often at a local restaurant supply store, Mainesource Food and Party Warehouse. Not only do they offer great deals on meat, but their produce, is more often than not, from local suppliers. So I buy in bulk some of those and can it for our winter supply. You could easily freeze it if that is how you preserve your food.
Remember though, only buy foods and supplies you use. If you buy some that you have never used or that you really don't like then you are not saving anything. Only buy what your family likes. I'll throw something new in every now and then for a treat. But I don't make a practice of that.
You can easily do this by just adding ten dollars to your grocery budget and spend that only on your extra supplies. Then put that away in your pantry and don't use it unless you have to. If you do, then replace it. Once you have your supplies built up, incorporate it into your every day use, then replace it when you shop. It's easy once you get the hang of it. Make use of sales as much as possible. That is the way to get the best prices at a variety of stores.
Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
2 comments:
Great advice Katlupe. I used to buy spices in bulk, I have no idea why. I guess that when the weather gets cold here in Colorado I like to make sure my family has what we need in case we get snowed in. But with spices I found that they'd expire and they'd lose their flavor, so I only buy what I need of those now. But other things like you mention I like to stock up on too.
I grow a good deal of my herbs like sage, oregano, parsley, chives, mint, etc. and the surprising thing about the ones I grow is that they always smell fresh. I store them in tins and I just opened a tin of sage that I grew last summer and it was as fresh as if I had just picked it. Herbs, you can also freeze. I am not sure about spices unless they aren't ground.
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