It's not rocket science, but it does taking a bit of planning ahead.
The first basic is only buy food when it's on sale. Pasta and canned goods are two easy things to buy ahead. We ate spaghetti once a week so my folks would watch for sales on spaghetti and pasta sauce and buy a case of it when it went on sale.
Last week I did some buying ahead and saved 60% off normal retainCampbell's Select Harvest Soup, normally $2.89/can was on sale for $1/can. That's $1 for a ready made meal and fits nicely within a $30/week budget. I bought 8 cans and I'll have them for meals throughout the fall.
Not everybody same foods and not everyone will be able to find the same sales across the board but, through paying attention to to sales that your local stores run, you'll be able to stock up on your household staples. There is a higher initial output, but you should be able to save 30-50% off the normal retail price in the long run.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Introductions
The idea for this blog came when reading the local paper. Two employees have been writing articles for hunger awareness this week and, to get a better feel for it, they're only spending $30 this week for food - about what a person on food stamps would receive.
But in the process it seems that they're practically starving themselves. Peanut butter and celery and a bag of microwave popcorn were a couple of meals mentioned. Forgoing coffee because their favorite drinks are too expensive. Today mentioned how one of them went out and bought a bag of potatoes and finally felt full after cooking up some and eating them!
Now I don't want to make light of hunger or a lack of food, but I grew up in a family on a tight budget. In the early 1990's my mother's food budget for the week was $45 for a family of ten. Yup, you read that right, just about $5 a day to feed eight kids and two adults. We ate great, healthy meals and never went hungry. Mom bought food in bulk (50# bags of oatmeal), on sale (a case of pasta when it went on sale) and used more expensive ingredients more sparingly. Meat was used in stir-fry and gravy instead of roasts and steak. We did have an advantage with fruits and veggies as my grandpa was an incredible gardener and shared the bounty with us, but there are also ways for the average person to get these more affordably in many cases.
Today I'm a returning college student, I only work part time and I'm on a tight food budget. I probably spend $20-$25 a week on food. Now in all truthfulness I do eat about a third of my meals at my folks, but I'm still pretty close to the food stamp allowance. And the meals I eat are much more satisfying than peanut butter and celery!
In this blog I'll share tips on how my mom did it (and still does), how I do it, simple recipes, cooking hints and frugal habits.
I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful in at least a small way!
But in the process it seems that they're practically starving themselves. Peanut butter and celery and a bag of microwave popcorn were a couple of meals mentioned. Forgoing coffee because their favorite drinks are too expensive. Today mentioned how one of them went out and bought a bag of potatoes and finally felt full after cooking up some and eating them!
Now I don't want to make light of hunger or a lack of food, but I grew up in a family on a tight budget. In the early 1990's my mother's food budget for the week was $45 for a family of ten. Yup, you read that right, just about $5 a day to feed eight kids and two adults. We ate great, healthy meals and never went hungry. Mom bought food in bulk (50# bags of oatmeal), on sale (a case of pasta when it went on sale) and used more expensive ingredients more sparingly. Meat was used in stir-fry and gravy instead of roasts and steak. We did have an advantage with fruits and veggies as my grandpa was an incredible gardener and shared the bounty with us, but there are also ways for the average person to get these more affordably in many cases.
Today I'm a returning college student, I only work part time and I'm on a tight food budget. I probably spend $20-$25 a week on food. Now in all truthfulness I do eat about a third of my meals at my folks, but I'm still pretty close to the food stamp allowance. And the meals I eat are much more satisfying than peanut butter and celery!
In this blog I'll share tips on how my mom did it (and still does), how I do it, simple recipes, cooking hints and frugal habits.
I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful in at least a small way!
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