Rising cost of groceries...

[ChickenToes]

Wow you guys have some awesome tips! It never occured to me to shop for cleaners at a dollar store. I do make my own detergent, and I have been making soap for awhile. Does anyone else make their own candles? Whenever I have a candle that burns down, instead of throwing it away I melt it down and make a new candle out of it. I just melt the wax and pour it into old jars with a natural cotton wick.

 

[Beekissed]

Toilet paper is cheaper at the Dollar Store also, as are the socks and underwear for the boys. Same brands as the bigger stores, cheaper prices.

I also avail myself of "government beef", in season, and plan to apply for a permit for crop damage when the apples come on, so as to harvest a few then. Its free and its lean! If you don't hunt or you don't have a place to do so, you might contract with local hunters who don't actually use their kill. I wouldn't trust anyone but my mother or myself to gut and process properly but some folks just take them to a processing place.

 

[Tutter]

I do what, Thechickcrew does, which is plan ahead. Before the first, I write down the days of the next month, 1st through 31st, say, and what day of the week each is. Then I make a menu, making sure to stagger the meals so that you aren't eating all the meat and chicken meals the first week, then nothing but potatoes and eggs for the rest of month!

Remember to make easy dishes for the days of the week you will be busiest.

Once I have a menu I'm satisfied with, I make my shopping list for everything which can be bought ahead.

Generally I have a few items which just can't be bought a month in advance, but not too many. So once a week I get them for the following week. Maybe 1-6 items, at the most.

Also, I prep my own foods, which I like because: #1, I eat the foods I want, #2, it saves money. An example is cheese. I don't buy pre-shredded cheese. I buy one I want, then shred it myself. It's ready when I want it; it's the cheese I want, and it cost me less. (If you want one silly "gadget", get a Salad Shooter. It's great for cheese, slicing tons of carrots, and cross cutting cabbage for KFC-like coleslaw etc.)

I, too, stick to my list as best I can, though if there's a sale I didn't know about, and it will help me, I adjust.

Speaking of sales, don't miss one, if it's something you use. And make friends with your butcher, produce manager etc. We just got a case of butter which the store was going to have to throw away if it wasn't sold immediately, because of upcoming date. It was fine, better than fine. The manager marked it down to $40 for the case, and when he saw us looking, marked it down further to $30.....$1 a lb.! It stays perfectly in the freezer, so into the chest freezer the case went!

I "put up" what I get in quantity.

Rather than buy spice mixes, I often make/grind my own. I enjoy making it to my own specs. I used an electric coffee grinder. It will do dried peppers to cinnamon sticks, and I also make powdered sugar in it. Peppercorns last forever, so I grind some fresh each month or so, and it's nicer than what you buy, and just as finely ground if you take an extra moment to make sure it is. Caution: When grinding peppercorns, or making powdered sugar, Do Not open the lid as soon as you are done. Give it a couple of minutes to cool down, and for the powder to settle. You don't want to inhale either pepper, or sugar, dust!

I also make my own stock/chicken broth each month. It's very easy, and can easily make all we need, freezing in 2 can equivalent portions. It comes out to pennies on the dollar, compared to storebought, and is really tasty, I think!

Well, that's what I can think of off-hand.

Beekissed, I make a lot of my own things. Would you mind sharing your detergent recipe?

 

[Beekissed]

Yep!

6 qt. water
1/2 bar of Felsnaptha soap
1/2 c. Borax
1/2 c. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (hard to find so I just use a cup of the Borax when I can't find the A&H.)

Grate the soap. Combine ingredients into pan and heat until soap is dissolved. Pour half of mixture in 1 gal. jug and 1/2 in another. Fill to top with water and shake well. I would shake again in about 10 min. Let sit 24 hrs. Use 1/2 c. per washer load.

*This recipe is slightly modified to suit me and is not the original.

Note the detergent will not suds, but watch the dirt roll out of those clothes!! When you use it after the setting up period, you make have clumps of jellied detergent. Just shake well and know that these will dissolve in the wash. This detergent is good for septic systems and people with allergies. Rinses out well and makes your clothing soft and odor free.

This soap smells wonderful! The original recipe says you can add essential oil. I tried this and, while in the bottle, it smelled wonderful. It does not, however, carry over into the laundry. Probably because the EO is an oil and the detergent breaks this down and carries it away.

Here's a great tip for jugs. The Family Dollar store sells Sun detergent in the gal. jugs. The spout is removable from these jugs and a canning funnel fits perfectly in the opening...great for filling the jugs! The lid will suffice for measuring and this keeps this plastic out of a landfill. Good and better! Also, I keep 3 of these jugs going on a rotation. As soon as I have 2 empty, I make a batch.

I will never buy detergent again! Hope you like it!

Half of my large family is already converted to this type of detergent and couldn't be happier.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

We are blessed to have beef and a huge garden. I can, freeze, make jams and jellies and have honeybees. We are in the process of getting chickens-so we will have eggs and maybe chicken down the road.

I buy in bulk, keep a running list of things I need and I buy even more when things are on sale.

I always mark products with the date of 'start to use'. I can tell how long packages/boxes/jugs/jars of items last us. For example: I know my liquid washing det. last me 38 days (average). That means I will need 9.5 jugs for the yr. ! I also know that one 44lb. bag of dog food lasts me 15days.

I alway measure each item careful.

 

[redhead83402]

I love the detergent idea!! I have a family of 7, and although we only spend about $150 - $200 per month on groceries & cleaning aids, I would just as soon spend $8 less by making my own. Plus, no added filler ~ so I bet it lasts longer!! I also love love love the start to use date idea!!!! Thanks!!

One way that we save money is to look through the ads and see what is on sale, then make the menu up according to what can be purchased on sale. This really helps, especially if you keep it to just one store.

Also, I can't stress it enough, cooking from scratch! It's so easy to soak beans overnight, and have them ready to start cooking by 10 the next morning. Then, left on low, they simmer all day, add a bit of water if it gets low, then about an hour before dinner, add some pearl barley, lentils, veggies, and seasonings/spices. Just before serving, add tomatoes. ( Tomatoes stop the cooking process in beans, so they should always be added last.)

We also have a bread machine that we use 3 times a day. I have played with the recipe so that in our high altitude we can still get homemade fresh flavor without all the kneading & etc. For the effort of literally 5 minutes, I can have fresh bread a few hours later. We are going in with a family that has a *real* farm ( I live in a neighborhood, so my contraband chickens are as farmy as I can get) to get a 4-H pig slaughtered. And we put up fruit and veggies as well as growing a garden.

One thing I learned from my mom, is that there are a lot of people that just don't have the time to harvest the fruit from their trees, so I have gone around and found folks that have fruit trees with apples falling on the ground or plums that are dying of ripeness on the tree, and asked if they would mind if we harvest the fruit for them, if we paid for it. In every single case, the people were of the mind to just let us have it for the taking, and thanked us, since they felt guilty about not using it and letting it go to waste. We get all the apples, plums and the like we can possibly use. Also, look around your town and see if there are any university potato farms, or even just potato farms in general ~ they will usually let you glean for either a small fee (per bushel) or for free. We can load our entire cellar for under $20, with over 700 - 800 pounds of potatoes. ( enough for a family of 7 through the winter).

And one other great $$ saver ~ turn off the tv. Really, those puppies suck up some serious power. As do computers. We used to have 2 on all the time, but have since only hooked one up to the internet ~ wow, computer usage cut by HALF! :-D ~ and so was our power bill, quite literally. And this may sound silly, but with 5 kids, it helps us ~ we buy some clothes from a 2nd hand store. Not underthings, of course, but jeans ( especially for a active 9 yr old boy), shirts for the girls. And all of my kids have had to learn how to sew on their own pair of pajamas. (Easy to do, and if it's really messed up ~ well, you're only going to be sleeping in it :-D)
~Red
edited to add ~ I love that start to use date ~ awesome idea!!

 

[BettyR]

My Grandmother grew up during the depression. She was the queen of making a dollar stretch a mile.

Here are a few things I’ve learned from her.

I use this recipe to make cupcakes and they are WONDERFUL and use no eggs or milk.
Gramma’s Fudge Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2-cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups flour
3/4-teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4-cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups water (I like to use leftover coffee for the water)
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients together; add the liquids and stir just until blended.

Pour into a greased 9x13 in cake pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Frost with your favorite frosting, cake is extremely moist so care must be taken that you don't tear up the top of the cake.
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When you plan your menu plan meals that work off of one another.

---Cook a piece of pork or ham and save the bone.

---The next day cook a pot of red beans and use the left over meat and bone to flavor it; serve Red Beans and Rice.

---The next day make a pot of chili and use the leftover red beans to make your chili with.

---The next day have chilidogs for supper.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

---Cook a roast beef

---The next day make a stew from the leftover roast and gravy.
2 cups of left-over roast beef (cut into bite size pieces)
any left-over roast gravy
1 large onion (chopped)
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 of a bell pepper (chopped)
4 large carrots (chopped)
2 ribs of celery (chopped)
4 medium large potatoes (cubed)
4 cups water
4 beef bullion cubes
2 tablespoons oil
flour and water to thicken
In a large Dutch oven, saute the onions, bell pepper and celery in the oil until they are very tender.

Add the gravy, carrots, potatoes, water, and bullion cubes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the carrots and potatoes are done. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Make a slurry out of the flour and water and thicken to your taste. Taste and adjust seasoning to suit. Stir in the roast beef and heat through.

----The next day bake some large potatoes…split them open put a little butter and a couple of spoonfuls of leftover stew into the potatoes.
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----One of my family’s favorites is tuna salad on homemade bread.
When we make our tuna we use 3 to 4 eggs per can of tuna and it makes a lot of sandwiches; big tuna flavor but not a lot of tuna.

----One chicken will feed a lot of people in a gumbo over rice or a pot of chicken and dumplings.

----You can stretch a small piece of beef by cutting it into bite size pieces stir-frying it very quickly and making an onion gravy and putting a can of mushroom soup in it. Stir the beef into it and serve it over noodles. We call it Beef Tips and Noodles.

You get the picture.

 

[Tutter]

Goodness, where to start?

Beekissed, Thank you so much! I'll be trying the recipe next week, after gathering the ingredients!

Hmmm, I know someone who said they used, Sun. I hadn't heard of it, but I'll bet they are willing to share an empty container, or 3!

DixieDoodle, what's good about the dates, and knowing how long it takes you to use things, aside from knowing your annual useage, and being able to measure and figure your budget well, is that you are never caught unaware, and needing something on a non-marketing day/week!

Redhead, you're so right about cooking from scratch! I do, and it's less costly, but also it's also so much healthier, it's not even funny.

I love my breadmaker!

And you're so right about the fruit.

I wish there were potatoes here. At one time potatoes were grown here, but that was in the 20's, 30's and 40's....no longer. I'd give a lot to be able to stock up on potatoes, as we do use them liberally for food...especially in the winter. Rats.

We don't have the same power issues as some people, but we don't use a T.V. anyway, unless it's to watch a DVD, now and then. But anything you can not have plugged in, or on, helps.

Betty, I have a similar recipe, which I call: Salad Dressing Cake, because of the oil and vinegar. It's a chocolate snack cake, and absolutely wonderful. I'll have to give yours a try! And yes, there's no harm in leaving the milk out of most cakes, just replace with water. The eggs can be problematic in some, but heck, with all of our chickens.....!

Absolutely! I love making recipes which work off one another! And there's always a use for extra potatoes etc. I love that kind of planning/saving!

When I make my broth for the month, I use 2 chickens. The legs stay out, and every other month I use the 8 for a bar-b-qued chicken leg dish. Meanwhile, the chicken is added nearer the end, and I use a pressure canner. When done, the meat and bones have given me great stock, but the chicken's still good for meals. The breasts can be chicken salad, or shredded for chicken tacos, quesadillas, rice and chicken casserole, etc. And the rest of the meat for whatever you like.

 

[farm_mom]

Many people avoid local and/or organic food because it is considered expensive. With the rising cost of food recently, many people may want to reconsider their local farmer, butcher, farmers market and dairy. My mom bought a gallon of regular milk at the grocery store the other day for 1 cent cheaper than a gallon of the raw, organic milk I get from my local dairy. You may want to consider looking into what's available around you locally, you may be suprised! If you have to pay more for food, you might as well get the good stuff!!

 

[Acre of Blessings]

Here is the detergent recipe that I use....similiar to beekissed.

http://us.f622.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Co...=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b&box=Draft


Also here is one for fabric softner.................

http://us.f622.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Co...=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b&box=Draft

Hope this helps you all.