My food budget for the month is $260. This is for a family of six with
three eating as men. (My teenagers eat the same amount as my husband.)
And also my dad, who lives next door, stopping in at dinner time for a
chat and a bite to eat. ~Smile~ I will be sharing with you many ways that
I save money on food. I think it was meant to be quite a bit of work to
save money as revealed in this verse:
"She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar." Proverbs
31:14
Notice, it is ships in plural. Not just one merchant ship, but many
merchant ships. There is a lot of work going on here. A lot of learning
and growing as well.
I think these next verses that follow also show the wisdom of a frugal
cook in the family:
"Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, in the innermost parts of your
house." Psalm 128:3a
"House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is
from the LORD." Proverbs 19:14
You can't find a wife like this without the LORD, and you can't be one
like this without Him either.
"There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a
foolish man swallows it up. Proverbs 21:20
This verse comes right under the verse where it is better to live in a
desert than with a contentious and vexing woman! I think a man can have
precious treasure and oil in his house with a wise and frugal wife by his
side. I have learned so much from such women of God.
It is a privilege for me to stretch my husband's paycheck as much as is
possible. One of the ways I can do that is by my strength in the kitchen.
The stronger that I get in that room, the more that I can save us. Not
only that, but the better we eat and the tastier it is as well. It is
blessing upon blessing upon blessing. With this in mind, I share with you
how I save money on food up to this day:
1~ I do not spend a certain amount of money each week. Some weeks I might
only need a couple of items at the market like milk or fresh vegetables.
I do a major food shopping once a month. I pray when I go, while I shop,
and at the check out. Everything in the store is set up to get me to
spend more than I need to; so I never want to go shopping without the
LORD Who has "eyes to see". At this time I buy most of what I will need
all month. So far this month I have spent $190 on our food shopping. If I
could not go shopping for over a month or more, I would still have enough
food to feed my family. I have learned the value of keeping a well
stocked pantry (as I shared before) and continue to learn how to do this
better and better each year. I don't like to spend all my budget at once
because there are usually some store specials that will come up during
the month that I like to buy. So each week I check the ads that come in
my mail to see what is on special. Sometimes there is nothing, and
sometimes, like this week, there are pears for 20 cents a pound.
2~ I buy many things in bulk. It saves us money and time. I don't buy
everything in bulk in one month, but rather stretch it out over the year.
In that way my food budget is not overly stretched any particular month.
I like to have dried as well as fresh on hand. So if I need it, I have
dried milk available.
3~ I cost items out. This helps me to avoid buying items that I can make
much more inexpensively. Take french bread, for example. I can make two
loaves for 50 cents. ( This recipe was shared in a past letter.) So I am
not tempted to buy it at the store no matter how good that hot loaf
smells in the bakery. I can make a large pizza for under $3. So, again, I
am not tempted to buy it. (This recipe was also shared in a past letter.)
4~ We have some meatless meals. I love to make a meatless meal that
everyone likes. My husband was raised on meat almost every night. So it
has been a slow process to change our dietary habits. I had to do it
primarily for financial reasons, but I now realize that it is healthier
for us. I also make meals from many different countries. Many other
countries, such as China, use far less meat with lots of fresh vegetables
for an abundance of flavor and good health.
5~ Our markets mark down their meat early in the morning, so once or
twice a month I will go to the market at that time to see what I can
find. It is a challenge for me to see if I can make a piece of meat work
for two or three meals. Oftentimes I can do this by using a recipe from
another country. As I shared before, I love to check out cookbooks from
my local library, especially cookbooks from other parts of the world.
6~ I shop many different fruit stands and stores. I keep my eyes open for
good specials. The wise woman in Proverbs 31 was likened to merchant
ships, so there is no question that she was a keen shopper looking for
the best in quality at the best possible price for her family. It is not
uncommon for me to stop at seven or more stores when I do my first big
shopping of the month. I run in to get what is on special or what is
found at that store at a good price, and then I'm back out again. I find
this easier to do in the early morning when there isn't too much foot
traffic. It did take some getting used to, and I am pretty tired when I
come home, but I only do this once a month, so it is a good workout for
me. ~Smile~ Plus I save us hundreds of dollars in a year's time by this
method. Yes, I have taken my children shopping with me since they were
infants. Sometimes my husband and my children both are with me. Sometimes
I shop alone or with my mother. It always varies.
7~ I keep my coupons with me at all times. I am not a big coupon shopper,
and if coupons were stopped in this country, I would still be able to
save money for my family by other methods. But since they are offered in
our country, I take advantage of them when it is profitable. Take this
month. I noticed that six dented boxes of Wheaties were marked down in
one of the supermarkets. (I love to check the marked down section of each
store when I shop.) I was able to buy all the boxes they had for 29 cents
a box. I don't buy cereal often unless I can get it under a dollar a box,
so this was right in my price range. (I don't buy the sugary stuff even
if I can get it for free.) Where I save predominantly in this area is by
making my own granola and such. So if I could never buy cereal with
coupons, it would be okay, as I would make granola and other kinds of
cereal for my family. I also found Ivory soap (packaging ripped) marked
down in the same aisle, so I was able to get all twelve bars for pennies
with my coupons.
8~ I try to buy "real" whenever possible. So I use butter, not margarine.
I use bread flour or freshly ground wheat flour, not all purpose flour. I
use olive oil, not all purpose oil. I am moving more and more into whole
grains and such as we get more for our money and our health.
9~ My food budget does include paper products, cleansers, and such. The
only thing that it does not include is our dog food. I have that budgeted
separately. When toilet paper goes on sale, I buy a lot. I store it under
my son's bed. Sometimes I do not buy toilet paper for months at a time. I
do not use paper towels much anymore, rather a rag. Instead of paper
napkins, I have switched to cloth napkins. As I shared with you before, I
make many of my own cleansers which is much cheaper and healthier. I also
use half the required amount of detergent when washing my clothes and
just let it agitate longer.
10~ If it is profitable for me to send in a refund, I will do so. This
past shopping trip I will get a free pair of rubber gloves for buying a
rust stain remover. So I mailed that off the next day.
11~ I love to do things with leftovers. So often little pieces of meat
and potatoes will be chopped up the next day and find their way into a
burrito for lunch. Or some squash or leftover oatmeal will find its way
into a batch of muffins. Or some mashed potatoes will find their way into
a loaf of bread. I love to learn and I find that when you love to learn,
you do! So I am learning monthly how to do more with what I've got in my
kitchen. Many times I will buy a piece of meat that has been marked down
and not know what I will do with it. This month a turkey leg was one such
piece of meat. I bought it for a little over a dollar. I cooked it on low
all day in the crock pot with vegetable and seasonings, then took the
meat off the bone and chopped it up. I made some Chinese noodles. I took
some of the noodles, put them in a bowl for each person with some of the
turkey and broth on top, added a few dashes of soy sauce, and served it
with a piece of homemade bread. It was a hit!
12~ Cooking from scratch is so important in my method of food savings.
When I first began to learn to cook, I started in the "soup corner." Once
I learned how to make soups, I progressed on to bread. And so on and so
on. I am still learning. It is such fun! So I do not "menu plan" or cook
ahead for my freezer too much (only a small one above the fridge) or
count on the garden (still learning there, but hope to add more savings
in the future). Rather I take out one of my pieces of meat or vegetables
in the morning, then sit down with my cookbooks to see what I can make
with it. I always ask the LORD to show me the way. It is never boring
because I am always trying something new.
13~ This year I did a bit of canning because it was profitable to do so.
Each can of peaches cost us under 40 cents. I have also been dehydrating.
I am so excited to learn how to do this. I have started bags of
mushrooms, chilies, bell peppers, peaches, pears, apples, carrots,
celery, spinach, and tomatoes. Some are fuller than others. It is so nice
to know that if I need a certain item and I do not have it fresh, I just
might have it dried. It is like having a mini fruit/vegetable stand in my
pantry.
14~ I love to collect recipes. I love to collect unusual recipes. Recipes
that do not have eggs or oil or butter. The reason for this is there
might come a time when I will be so glad that I have these kinds of
recipes. Some of these ingredients might be hard to come by if we fell
upon hard times, so I see the value in recipes like these. That is why I
will make a cookie recipe with oil. I like to make different kinds of
recipes so that I'll know a good one when I need it. Many times I will
see something marked down at the store and a certain recipe will pop into
my head as soon as I see it.
15~ I enjoy learning how to make things and stretching myself in the
kitchen. Such as cheese. I have made ricotta, cream cheese, and cottage
cheese. But I want to learn how to make cheese using rennet. I hope to do
this soon. I remember how much fun it was to learn how to make sour cream
and buttermilk (recipes shared in past letters as well). I make those
without thinking now. So I hope to do the same with cheese soon. It is so
helpful to know how to make things from simple ingredients. Then I do not
need to go to the store, rather to my pantry. Take noodles, for example.
If I don't have noodles on hand, it is very good to know how to make
them. I might be out of noodles, but not out of the ingredients to make
them. Within 40 minutes, I can have noodles ready for the boiling water
and my recipe.
16~ There are a couple of stores that I go to every three or four months.
They are an hour away, but worth the trip when I do make it. I always
look forward to these trips. This is the time that I will buy some items
in bulk.
17~Bakery cakes have never been in my budget. I remember when I was asked
to be in my friend's wedding. One of the girls, who was also in the
wedding, threw her a bridal shower. She asked me to buy the cake. I knew
that I couldn't afford a big cake. So I told her that I'd make it. She
looked worried and asked me if I had ever made a large cake before. I had
to admit that I hadn't. But I told her that if it didn't work, I'd buy
one. Well, I practiced and practiced. My family loved eating my efforts.
~Smile~ The day of the shower I brought a cake that looked like two
wedding rings entwined with a cream cheese/whipped cream frosting and
fresh strawberries. Everyone loved it. I saved us some money, plus
learned a lot in the process about cake decorating which I have used time
and time again.
18~ I am about a year ahead on my toiletries. What I mean by this is if I
did not buy tooth paste, deodorant, shampoos, and such for a year, I
would have ample supply. I have been buying them with coupons when they
were on sale and free or near free, so I have stocked up quite a bit.
They don't go bad as with food. And if I need to use something for a gift
or a food basket, I have it there and ready.
19~ I buy most of my spices in bulk. Much more inexpensive this way.
20~ I have been training myself to do my cooking early in the morning. I
find that I do a better job and feel so much more accomplished when my
meal is well on its way early in the day. (As taught in Proverbs 31.) It
is pure pleasure to pull out a meal that was made earlier in the day to
share with my family in the evening. I am usually pretty tired by then,
and so very, very glad that my meal is ready.
I hope these tips have been a help to you. I am still learning how to
save money on my food shopping, and I am sure many of you could share so
much more than I've shared here. May the LORD bless you as you serve Him
in your kitchen.
Love,
Laine