Stockpiling on a budget

[yamnan]

Twinspluss14me, and others looking to cut your food budget, hubby and I have been through a lot of lean times. There are many sources of protein besides meats, some are much better for you than beef. Men need 56 grams of protein daily, women 46. Four oz. beef has 23g, fish 19.4g, 1 cup cooked lentils, 20g, 2 Tbsp pnut butter, 10, 4 oz canned tuna 33g, 4 oz.pork 23g, cottage cheese 1/2, 16g. Dried beans are a great, cheap source of protein. Considering this, 8 ounces canned tuna gives him all the protein he needs for a day! If hubby feels he has to have meat, slice a little smoked sausage into a big pot of beans, cook in your crock pot and you have a great source of protein, easy &cheap. Smoked sausage keeps and is a great budget stretcher. Beans are great, when going to the grocery in winter is an ordeal -you can stock lots of kinds of dry beans easily. Lentils are so easy to make and they come in lots of colors. I watch for frozen, shelled soybeans on sale - l/2 cup = 10g protein. Also, think of ways to stretch the beef such as making a stew- you can use l/2 Lb. stew meat for 2 people and fill it with veggies. Save bits of leftover ham and stir into scrambled eggs for breakfast.I never throw anything out. So, do some research and your can save a lot of money. I'm no authority but there is a lot of info out there that can really save us all money if we are willing to consider options. Good luck and if you want more ideas/recipes, I'm happy to share if you PM me.

[PattyCake]

Yamnan, that was a great post!!

[yamnan]

Thx PattyCake. That's what CM is all about - helping each other while saving money - right?

[Djane]

I am building up my stockpile by buying items when I can get them free or almost free so that it does not dip too far into my budget. Like in the past week I was able to get several months of pop tarts for free to where I only paid about $5 for 60 boxes.

[erfillare]

I am in agreement with everyone. The stockpile is key to keep costs down. It is difficult and slow to start but once you get rolling it is so worth it to go into your stockpile to get a tube of free toothpaste vs going out and buying a 3.00 tube! It all adds up! Good luck!

[r2short]

Originally Posted by CherryPicker

Hi r2short....I am known to say make a list and stick to the list....and there is a very important reason as to why.....

Obviously, if you are finding freebies in your store, (and I am defining freebies in this example as .00 OOP BEFORE store incentives such as RR's and ECB's) then obviously, that is a no brainer....

However....It must also be noted that the average grocery cart contains around 100 items per grocery trip. Now presume, that many of those items were all "deals" found in-store at .50 each.....that is an additional $50 added to that shoppers grocery budget that they might not have been prepared for.

Unfortunately, I have encountered a few couponers who have raked up credit card debt because of impulse deals (in store) and they were struggling as a result.

So, Hope you didn't mind me quoting you....but the purpose of sticking to the list is to help shoppers get great deals while staying within their allotted budgets. Its about discipline. HTH.

Cherrypicker, I couldn't agree with you more. I guess I should have worded my post a bit better...you explained it perfectly...and yes, discipline is the key.

[nhladyslipper]

I have always stockpiled everything I can. I think the best investment anyone can make is to buy a big freezer with their income tax!! One way to cut the cost of meat is to buy it differently. I always bought roasts on sale, the bigger the better. A sharp knife is all you need to cut it into smaller roasts, steaks, stew meat, and strips for stirfry or casserole. I also bought chicken leg quarters, and used a cleaver to whack it into thighs for casseroles, stuffing, and soups. The drums were for baking. Also the breasts are cheaper with the bone in rather than boneless. A filet knife for fish works awesome to remove it from the bone and pull the skin off. Freeze them as is or cut them into tenders or strips for casseroles. Also save the skin and bones for soup stock. I buy cheap hamburg and repackage in the sizes i need for anything that the meat can be cooked and drained before adding to it, such as spaghetti sauce. I buy the good stuff for meatloaf and meatballs. They are real easy to do if you want a recipe. You can cook anything that is in the store, i even used to make my own cake mixes for the kids to use. If you need any recipes, I can probably find one for you! Another good investment at income tax time is a foodsaver, it does keep things fresh so much longer, and the bags are reusable!! Plan out what you need for a meal, package accordingly, and plan to use the leftovers. I used to make up frozen dinners with leftovers so that the one cup of vegs and that lonely piece of chicken didn't go to waste. I used to stick them in small bags until I had enough to make up dinners, which I put in sectioned trays that could be stuck in the oven but I guess now just something to go in the microwave would work the same. I haven't seen those trays in years, lol!!!

[Irishgirl4u2c]

Well said... and I couldn't agree more on your point on investing in a freezer. Best income tax investment I ever made. I had one for years until recently (yep, that's the next big ticket purchase... holding out for a really good sale!). When I was in the military and single parenting, the freezer was a godsend. I cooked in bulk, and put everything into individual serving containers. You want chicken soup tonite? Fine, I want beef stew... everybody gets what they want, and everybody's happy. Never buy pre-made hamburger patties... make your own, season 'em up the way you want, and freeze 'em. We always have bread, buns, etc. in there too. Every 4-6 weeks or so I would make large batches of mini-muffins in loads of flavors, stick them in gallon freezer bags and toss them in the freezer. My daughter could choose how may of what flavor(s) she wanted the night before, put them on a plate and I'd cover the plate with plastic wrap. They'd be thawed and ready to eat for breakfast, and all she had to do was pour a glass of milk and take the plastic off the plate. Make cupcakes in advance and freeze them too. If you have a crock pot, take advantage of that too. There isn't a whole lot that you CAN'T freeze. I'm a big fan of the "cook it once" theory. Make a lot of pasta or rice, and place it in individual containers or freezer bags after it's cooled and freeze it. Just add water and nuke, and you've got a quick and easy side. Cream cheese on sale? Freeze it. Yogurt? Same thing. My freezer saved me bundles of moolah!!!

Got leftover chicken from a rotisserie chicken? Those rice and sauce or noodle and sauce mixes are always on sale or BOGO, and there's usually a ton of Qs out there for it.... fix up some of that and mix in your leftover chicken or whatever. Quick and easy dinner... serve it up with salad or a veggie on the side, and you're done in no time flat!!

[MaddSaver]

Thanks for the great info.

[debl08]

we found that we can buy meat from a processor much cheaper than the grocery stores or department stores even on sale, of course you usually have to buy in larger quantities, but a dollar saved is a dollar earned. As for not letting anything go to waste, I use the bones from the rotisseried chickens for soup stock as well. Esp. the large bones, like the drumstick, wings and thigh bones. Makes the best soup or gravy ever!!