I see Asparagis, It must be SPRING!

Fred Meyer ads this week are featuring asparagus!    At 1.69 a pound....ugh!  

Chuck Pot Roast is 3.99
Hamburger ( good stuff) is 4.99.

Green onions or radishes are 2/1
Red Baron pizza 3/10
Frozen veggies are a buck
Oranges .69
Milk .99@@

Note QFC has the same price on milk without a coupon.   Also chocolate milk and oj

When boneless chuck is in sale for 3.99 it's cheaper to grind your own hamburger.  

I love radishes oven roasted with potatoes and carrots.  

No one store has the best prices.   If you are shopping at one store, you are not getting the best prices.  Of that's ok for you and you are pressed for time, that's ok.  Just know that if you need rock bottom prices, one store is,not going to cut it.  

Thanks for stopping by

Please,share and follow.  

Jane

How to read a barcode.

Ot seems the origins of the food we eat are not always specified on the label.   One way to know where our food is to know how to read the bar codes.

Now, that being said, I had a long discussion with the USDA and the FDA regarding made in China  food.   The FDA has monitors that oversee the standards on food in factories that goes to the US.   Charity, as my mother would say, begins at home.   We need to have more options to buy American.

I digress.   How to read a bar code

Begins with

690-692.  China
47 1. Taiwan
00-09  USA and Canada
30-37. France
40-44 Germany
49 Japan
50 UK


I though that was very interesting.  

Thanks for stopping by
Please share

Jane

The ads

Here are the ads.  It's a mixed bags no one has a lot of great buys.  

Haggens, shoreline
grapes 1.98
Oranges 1.29
Apples .59
White albacore tuna .99@@
Orzo wheat bread 1.99@@
Cheese. 7.99***
Roma's 1.29
Dreyers 2/5@@
Free 1 lb bananas @@
Eggs .99@@


SAFEWAYS

Grapes 1.99
Oranges .99
Tomatoes 1.99
Chicken .88
Five dollar Friday
Strawberries2 lb
Cheerios  . 3/5$$

QFC

Berries 2/5
Chicken .99
Milk .99
Cheese  5.99**
Pie 2.99
Tomatoes 1.99


ALBERTSONS
Strawberries 2 lbs  3.99
Cinnamon rolls BOGO
Butter 1,99@@
Cheese 5.99@@


That's about all.  Note the prices of cheese-- all the same brand.  

Getting started-- a repeat post.

It's the start of a  of new month.  I can't believe it is October  already.  The first of each month, I usually go over the basics of groceries on the cheap.  Each time I write off the top of my head, so each one is a little different.

Groceries on the cheap takes a entirely different  approach to buying your food.  Instead of going to the store and buying all your food for a week, you go to two stores and replenish your food supply.  Because you only buy what is at a rock bottom price, you save money.  Or, if you have a male mentality, you spend less money.    I Spend about half of what the normal person does for our family and have done it for years.  

It takes a little planning at the beginning, but once you get yourself set up, you will probably spend less time than before.  Some of these things you probably already do automatically.  It's a matter of jotting them down on paper.  

Let's get started.  

1) write down the inexpensive sources of protein your  family will eat.  Do try new foods and expand your variety if foods.  My mother never cooked pork.  I first cooked it after I was married.  In our house that would be some beef, pork, chicken, eggs, cheese, beans and rice.  

2) write down  7-14 meals your family ears that use these protein sources.  

3) write down the key non perishable ingredients that you use to cook these meals.  Most families will have a list of ten or so items.  These are your stock items.  

4) track your stock items.  You can use a small notebook from the dollar store, or a spread sheet n the computer.  You want to identify the name of the item, the size of the package , the date, store, and amount  you paid for the item.  Odd you use a coupon!?   

5) when you find the rock bottom price ( I call it my target price) , buy 

A) as many as you can afford

B) as many as the store will let you buy ( limit) 

Or C) as many as you need to fill in your stock.  

Stores operate on a eight to twelve week cycle for sales.  If I use something once a week, I keep 24 max.  If I use it once a month, I keep 6.  For things like catsup, mayo and mustard, I keep one on hand.  When I open my back up, in start looking for a sale.  I found catsup for .80 this week, so I bought two.  

You never want to get stuck having to pay full price.  

When the ads come out.  I start  with a piece of computer paper, preferably  out of the recycle bin.  

I mark it off in quarters.  

Now, I write down the things on sale that are on my stock list and are rock bottom prices.  

Ditto the produce that is on season and the cheapest prices that I can use to fill out my meals.  

Dairy is next .  And a protein source that is at a rock  bottom price that I can batch cook.  

Cross off anything you don't need to stock, anything that is cheaper at a different store.  Now pick the top two stores.  Picking two stores gives you the best chance to effectively buy the best produce and take advantage of the sales.  Plan your trip with other errands to make the best use of your gas.  If your stores are far apart, split the shopping to piggy back the trip on your way home from other errands.  

If you buy a protein at a rock bottom price and buy bulk, batch cook it and portion it on meal sized containers, you will have less waste and cook more efficiently with less clean up.  Stores rotate their meat bargains.  Buy the bargain, and buy enough for a meal a week for the month.  By working on a four week cycle, you can have variety and spend less doing it.  This week, SAFEWAYS has chicken for a buck.  Next week I might find hamburger or pork loin or sausage.  

When you get home from the store, make out your meal plans for the week.  I just write down the main dish.  The rest of it takes care of itself.  I usually try for an easy dish the days I have the late shift.  You don't have to be rigid and follow the plan to a t.  Just have a plan.  Without a plan, it is too 

easy for the order pizza gremlins to rear they ugly head!   

Next time : the shopping trip

Thanks for stopping by

Please share 

Jane 

The basics, part three

To recap, we have covered in part, the planning and the shopping.  Now the cooking.  What to do with the stuff after you get it home.

Precooking your meat saves a lot of time at dinner time.  It also buys your meat when it is the cheapest in bulk, and portion controls to so you get more meals for your buck.   I have a post on almost free pizza.  If you , for instance, fry and defat sausage, and portion it for quiche or soup making, and there is a little leftover, put it in a bag in the freezer door.  Ditto any other meat you can put on a pizza.  When you are chopping a vegetable that can go on a pizza, do the same.  When you have nough, make pizza.  There is an easy pizza crust recipe on an earlier blog.  Also, I got a pizza crust package at big lots for .50.  ALBERTSONS was supposed to have one for .50 as well, but I didn't find it.  Also, there is a bisquick recipe and a fridge bread dough recipe on an earlier post as well.  Many options.  You want to pay close to 2.50 or less for cheese.  Lately, Costco has been my best bet.  Cheddar blocks I have been fitting for 2.00 a pound on a sale, limit 1.

I got clams for a buck at ALBERTSONS this week.  Two cans makes clam cakes, or clam chowder.  Add a cheese biscuit and you have a good cheap meal.

A slow cooker can be your best friend in the kitchen.  There are literally hundreds of dump and turn on recipes out there.  Just be aware of the fact that if you pay dollars each for cans of soup, or other remade ingredients , you are defeating your purpose.  There is also a recipe for cream soup base on another blog or find a good sale.  I got soup for fifty cents at ALBERTSONS.  Look for recipes that are more scratch. I post them when I find them.

Sloppy joes are cheaper to make than hamburgers.  Again, use a recipe that doesn't call for a two dollar can of sauce.   Think ahead and pull some tomato sauce fom a large can if you are making
something else.  The larger can at big lots is cheaper than two smaller cans.  Big lots doesn't take food stamps, but they don't carry a lot of food either,  so your OOP is low if you are on snap.  Buns are at the bread store for free when you buy your months worth of bread often.

I write the basics off the top of my head every month.  Please feel free to read others.  We shop at two chain stores unless the sales are bad that week.  We go to Costco and Winco about every month to six weeks.  We go to the bread store when we are out of bread and I can't get it cheaper at the store on sale.  Grocery outlet and big lots are on a need to have or when we are in the area  for something else .  I just started going to Fred Meyers and rite aid on Sunday or Monday if the ads warrant it,  rite aid has up rewards that sometimes pay you to buy something.  If I am going to need it, I get it.  Then I use my up reward bucks on something else I am going to need that is cheap, has up rewards and preferably I have a coupon for.  I have been getting toothpaste for free,  along with mouthwash.

The dollar store is a good resource for some items.  I have been getting  recipe starter for .50.  It is 2.59 at SAFEWAYS,  this is another case of buying is cheaper than scratch at 50.  I would not buy it if it cost more,  frozen veggies are cheaper there as well usually.  Ditto pepperoni.  I was getting it for
.50 for what is 3.50 at the store.

I did a blog on dinners at the dollar store, just for fun.  We did not eat the dinners, it was virtual, so I can't attest to the taste of them, LOL.  The frozen veggies and potatoes are good.  My family doesn't like shoestring.  I bought peppers to use with shredded chicken and some soy sauce for stir fry with rice.  Rice is cheap at the dollar store.

I buy the .25 cans of tomato sauce for pizza , and to make a little sauce for the grandbabys    lunch.
It's worth it because there is no waste.

There is a recipe for No Brainer pasta on an earlier post.  It is my answer to a burger meal box.  Less non-passive time, so simple anyone can do it, and a lot cheaper.

If you once learn how to read the labels of the food in boxes, you will be amazed and probably almost never buy a box of something again.  I buy ready made in moderation.  If something is cheaper than scratch, which is not too often.  I got a cake mix for free, and another for .14.  A cup of flour costs .075 cents in bulk.  At seven and a half cents a cup for flour, it eas cheaper to buy a cake mix,  I like to keep one on hand so that I have it in case I need desert quickly.  We often have ice cream or some kind of fruit.  We are coming on to apple season.

Buy your fruits and vegetables in season, they will taste better, and be cheaper,

A good exercise would be to list the meats or other protein sources on a piece of paper, or on the computer, and then list under them the things that you can make with them.  The kids can brainstorm with you if they are old enough.  It gives you a variety of meals.

Pizza, soups, sloppy joes, oven dinners, hot sandwiches, all take almost no time to make.  An ovn dinner that you can put in the oven and walk away to do other thongs is a stress less dinner.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share. I am writing this blog to hopefully help people save on their food bill, because they have to, or because they want to. SNAP monies are going to be cut in November I hear.  Many people are still unemployed or under employed.  It is possible to eat for less and still eat good, somewhat healthy meals.  I can't help people if I can't reach people.  I am not saying that your food is going to magically appear cooked on your table.  It takes a little planning and work, but the rewards are worth it.  no child should have to wake up to empty cupboards at the end of the month.  The insecurity of that is a terrible  injustice.  And, no child should have a diet of top ramen and potato chips.
 Good food on the table cheap is doable.

Jane

The basics,part two

First, if you HATE to shop, deligate this to someone who doesn't, provided you can trust them to be diligent at their efforts.  One time, we needed some things at the grocery store to fill on because I had been recovering from an operation, and no one had shopped for two weeks.  I sent my husband to the store to buy a weeks food.  He came back with two pomegranates and beer.  LOL.  I decided  it would be better off if I sent my college age daughter with a budget.  She came home with two bucks to spare and enough to make meals for a couple of weeks of things I normally buy.

Ther are a lot of places that sell food these days.  Every week, I pick two of the chain stores based on what my needs are, and what prices they have.

Warehouse stores, over-stock stores, the dollar store, and drug stores also sell food.  Many times the alternative stores have better prices.  They only  buy bargains, so they don't have a wide variety,but what they do have many times is a really good price.

The big key here is that you have to know your prices.  You don't have to know all the prices in the store, but every family has key things that are their stock items that make up the majority of the non- perishable food in their pantry.  It's usually 10-15 items.  You can't know if something is a bargain if you don't know what the rock bottom price is in the first place.

We go to the chain stores once a week.  We go to Costco on a need basis .  We go to Winco when they send us a coupon.  It is a ways away and last time I went, the prices weren't that good.

We go to the grocery outlet and big lots when we are in the area for other things.  Grocery outlet has a wide variety of cheese, some is a good price, some isn't.  You need to be really mindful of the pull dates at overstock stores.

I hit the dollar store once a week for the Sunday paper.  They keep it all week.  The dollar tree takes coupons.  By watching coupons and not being brand loyal, you can get your deodorant, toothpaste and soap for FREE.  This is really big if you are on SNAP that doesn't pay for non- food items.  We are not on snap, but on a retirement fixed income, I take advantage of everything I can find of ot is something we can use.  I have started on my toothpaste fairy basket again.  LOL. ,last week, I got eight dollars worth of food for a buck at the dollar store.  I also buy catsup , frozen veggies, Kleenex, cotton balls, and window cleaner in bulk.

We hit the bakery outlet when we are in the area, or about every eight weeks.  I fill in if bread is cheaper at the stores on sale.  They have brown and serve baguettes sometimes, otherwise I get them from Costco.

There is a couple of posts  on the Phycology of retailers.   It really helps your bottom line if you can beat them at their own game.  It's well worth the read.

Snack foods and convenience foods are the biggest profit for retailers.  Avoid them like the plague.
That being said, there are a few things that are cheaper than homemade, or homemade is just too time consuming to go that route.  Tortillas come to mind here,  the cost on sale is so low, it's not worth it.  When in doubt, do  the math.  I factor in my time.  If I can make a decent amount per hour, I make scratch.  Besides, boxes have to have preservatives.  I want to use them in moderation.  The recipe starter at the dollar store is cheaper than making white sauce from scratch.  They don't always have basil and garlic flavors.  Last time they only had tomato.  Since I got it for free, it was cheaper.

My daughter and I made the  lemon pound cake she was buying at the big bucks coffee place.  I think I figured we made 212.00 an hour making it from scratch!   I wouldn't buy it in the first place, but the comparison was interesting.



There are web sites out there in Internet land that match up store sales with coupons from the paper and coupons that can be printed on the Internet ( coupon.com) .  You have to download the coupon printer drivers, but so far I haven't heard of any bad experiences from those that have done this.
The coupon marching site in the Seattle area is couponconnections.com .  A google search should net you the one in your area.

Couponconnections is a fast search. She posts the really good deals in red, so you can check it out really fast.  I skip over any ready mades I less the price is really lower than scratch.  I can't make a cake mix  for free, or .14.  Flour costs .075 cents a cup in bulk.  I have been finding taco dinner mixes for little more than the tortillas.  They have both hard and soft shells to satisfy everyone.  When I quit finding them, I will go back to buying shells and using my own spice blend. Most of the time , coupons are for things I don't use.  By only printing the things you will use at the first of the month, and keeping the inserts from the paper in binder clips by dare, you can make the best use of coupons without spending a lot of time clipping coupons.  It takes a matter of a few minutes to pull up the matching site and scroll through the stores in your area.  If you do it after you have decided which store to go to, you narrow your search.  Then, the printables have a link, or you can go directly to the insert and pull the coupon you will use to make your purchases.

I love the word FREE, almost as much as the words that they will PAY you to take the product home. That only happens at rite aid for me.  But, when someone pays me a penny to bring a 3.00 tube of name brand toothpaste home, I am going to take advantage of it.  If I am not going to use it, I save it for the women's shelter or the food bank.

There are mix recipes on prior posts.  Buying mixes, and ready mades and snacks will bust your budget big time in short order.  Check the price of potatoes per pound.  Now, do the math on potato chips.  The exercise is eye opening.  Besides, chips have a lot of salt in them.  We feed our children 
far too much salt,sugar,  and fat.  It is hiding in a lot of our foods.  The first step in healthier children is to stop buying sugar coated cereal and salt laden snack foods.

My daughter and I dissected a hamburger meal box.  The results are quite remarkable (see earlier post) .  Since then, they have come out with a new box that is a bit better, bit I suspect not much. I also posted alternatives to the meal box.  The key words...better, cheaper, faster.

Keep in mind, in order to keep under budget on snap, you need to average five dollar dinners.....a meal, not a person.  Do your math.  If you get full snap, divide the amount by 30.  That's your amount per day.  Or, divide the monthly by 4.2 and that is the amount per week.  There are ways to make breakfast really cheap and many times kids can get lunch free or nearly free at school.  You can have leftovers.  Because of that, I concentrate on dinners.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane

The basics, part one

It's that time of month again. I usually post the basics once a month for anyone new or as a reminder.

I started this blog when it was brought to my attention that people on SNAP were running out of money before they ran out of month. Food "stamps" don't come with directions. LOL.


Groceries on the cheap takes a three pronged approach at getting food on the table, cheap. Planning and organizing, shopping wisely and cooking from scratch. All scary thoughts in so,e people. It is not as intimidating as it sounds.

Planning and organizing.

Start by identifying the sources of protein that your family will eat. These need to be economical sources of protein. In our house that would be

Chicken
Pork
Some cuts of beef
Beans
Rice
Cheese
Eggs


Now, list at least 7, preferably 14 meals that your family will eat that use these ingredients.
Gather the recipes if you need to.

Go over the recipes and list the ingredients you will use to make these dishes. ( the staple items: shelf stable.  )

These will be your staple items. You should have 10-15 items.
In our house that would be
Diced tomatoes
Beans
Refried beans
Some corn
Some green beans
Tuna
Clams
Cheese
Instant mashed potatoes
Pasta
Pasta sauce
Black olives


The basic mantra is "never pay full price" you want to pay about 1/2.
When your staple items are on sale for the rock bottom price, you buy
1) as many as you can afford
2) as many as the store will let you buy or
3) as many as you need to fill I'm your space., whichever comes first

If I use something once a week, I keep 24. If I use something once a month, I keep 6.
Sales run on a 8-12 week cycle. Some people operate on a three month supply. I would prefer not to be on the edge. This won't happen overnight.

The money will happen because you are paying half price for your food.why pay 1.59 for a can of pasta sauce when can get two cans for less than 1.59. That is how you build stock.

There is not a lot of room on snap for expensive snack foods and ready made meals. There are tricks to make cooking as easy as the boxes! LOL. Taste better too.

Keep a notebook or a spread sheet on the computer of the items on your staple list.
Record on each top of page or line

Item and size of package
When purchased where, for what price and if you used a coupon.

Soon you will see a pattern and know hour rock bottom price. I post these periodically, bit that will only work if you live I'm the Seattle area, and my staples Re your staples.

Meat is a different schedule of sales. They usually rotate every week of the month. If you buy the loss leader every week on a rotating basis,you will be saving money and time.

Ie : chicken Grill packs were a dollar pretty much at all the chains a couple of weeks ago. I bought ten pounds of chicken. I de-boned the breasts (4 halves) and cooked the rest of the pack (hindquarters) I'm wTer with onion, carrot and salt and pepper. When the meat was falling off the bone, I let it cool, strained the broth and froze it in ice cube trays, and shredded the rest of the meat and packaged in on meal sizes portions. I have enough tp have chicken two nits a week for the rest of the month.

You can do the same with sausage, hamburger, and pork loin and sirloin roast.

You buy in bulk at the lowest price and cook ot all at once, less work and leas clean up. A win win situTion.

Make meal plans after you get home from the store. I have a formula. Your's might be different factoring what your family ears.

Ours is
2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

I do it after I shop because often something is on unadvertised special, not available, or doesn't look good enough to eat.

Tomorrow: shopping

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane





might be different according to your families tastes.

Trip!

Went to visit a friend today and stopped by the bread  store.

Interesting observations.

Restraunt pack English muffins were cheaper than regular ones.   Sugar free cookies are not necessarily lower carb than regular ones.

I little ingenuity will use hamburger buns in the middle of winter. The price is right.   I love the word FREE when it's really free.   There are a lot of scams about free stuff.  They really only want you to listen to their sales pitches.    More BUY  my stuff.  I have been un subscribing to e mails all week.   I am sick of deleting e mails from my online and I don't have unlimited data.  

Last night we had loaded tomato soup and a cheese and ham sandwich on a hambirger bun.  

The night before we had scratch Mac and cheese and fruit salad.    I made the cheese sauce with a homemade mix for white sauce.    It took longer than I expected for it to thicken. But woth the cheese added it worked fine.  

I try for a matrix of weekly meal plans.  

2 beef
2 pork or chicken
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish


Beef so we get amino acids and iron.
Chicken or pork because it's cheap and balances the expensive beef.  
Vegetarian to please daughter and further stretch the budget
Fish to round our menus.  

We are past due for the basics and it's the first of the month.  Don't forget to download the coupons for the month,  


Thanks for stopping by
Please share and follow

Jane

Fred meyers

Fred Meyers ad for TOMORROW!  

Pork chops 2.48

Strawberries 2/5

Shrimp 6.88

Butter 2/4@@

Good hamburger 4.99

Apples 1.29

Pears .99

Lettuce .99

Oranges .79

Pie 2.99

Ground turkey 7 percent fat!   3.99

Chuck roast,London broil.    4.99 

Butter has a shelf life ( fridge or freezer) even if you have one, it pays to get more and wait for another sale unless you only use butter for company. ! LOL 

Making meatballs, taco meat etc ahead when ground beef is on sale saves time and money. It saves  a lot of time-- one  clean up, you can make dinner in a few minutes  and avoid take out when your life goes south.   

Not much difference in fat content between beef and turkey.  Beef  is a buck more,but has iron and some amino acids turkey doesn't.   

Note you will tend to eat more chuck roast or London broil per servimg than hamburger.   

A splurge os wonderful, but nt always the best choice if you are in a strict budget.   

That's about all.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share and follow 

Jane 

Winco

Today,we went to Winco.   I spent 37.04.   I didn't count my husbands beer or non food items in my calculations,

I only bought things that were cheaper than or as cheap as I could get elsewhere.

Sirloin ( pork) was less than two dollars a pound,
Pasta sauce was .97
Cake mix fun fetti   .88
Instant mashed potatoes .87
Parm. 2.28
Hummus 3.98  large
Grapes 2.48
Olives .58


The beer was two dollars cheaper.  That was enough to pay the gas in our little car.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share and follow

Jane

The ads including th new Hagens at 155th and aurora ( Joann's)

Hagens :   Forst there is a 5 dollar off 25 dollars coupon.   Got my attention.  

BREYERS 2/5@@
Eggs .99@@
Tomatoes 1.29
Nalley chili 1.00
Apples 1.00 lb
Celery .79
 Honestly, there isn't twenty five dollars worth if groceries I would buy!  

SAFEWAYS

Blues 2/5
Strawberries. 1,99
Spareribs 1.99

Five dollar Friday
Pizza
Cake!      
Hillshire farm sausage$$

ALBERTSONS

Yoplait .38@@

Buy 5 save 5
Dreyers 2.99
Cake mix .99
Fries, frozen 1.99
Steams less veggies .89

QFC
Milk .99
Oranges .99
Yoghurt .50
Butter 1.99
Grapes 2,99

That's about all.   Not much there.  
QFC is the best place for perishables.  Modest seem like there is any place for stock items.   Pizza and cake  in time for DG birthday!  


Something on another post bears discussion.    Sometimes ot is best to cost out the things that you are making from scratch.  Not always is homemade cheaper.  Better sometimes, but not necessarily  cheaper.  I have not cost bread flour.   I. Guessing that homemade artisan bread is cheaper.  Since it is on sale for almost four dollars and the whole bag of flour costs something like six.   Brownies, on the other hand,mat the cost of cocoa, are cheaper on sale for 1.00 a box mix.   Bakery is not cheaper.   Usually convenience starts with $$$$$.!    

Sirloin tips with a coupin are cheaper than homemade and are a good go to when you are in a hurry.  
Certainly always cheaper than going out.   The family went out one day this week.  I stayed home not knowing what my new meds would bring me.    They brought me home a chicken Cesar salad.   It fit into a shallow six inch bowl.  I couldn't find the parm.   It had a slathering of dry bread cubes and the dregs of some pieces of chicken.   EIGHT dollars!    I could have bought a whole five pound chicken and a head of lettuce for that!  

Meat still seems to be the stumbling block for a thrifty budget these days.    Everything except chicken seems to be about double what it was two years ago.   They are sure playing that drought card a long time!     Pork tenderloin was always two dollars.  

On another note,mi did our imcome  tax.  We had to draw out of retirement accounts to make it last year.  I thought we were going to have to pay a lot of tax!    I dug up every deduction that was legal on the schedule A.   To my surprise, we have a very little tax bill.  It probably was because my entire ssa check amd them some went to medical last year!   And I thought I was economizing in food for the fun  of it!   LOL


Happy shopping .  Today is the day I need to clean the fridge and make good use of anything that needs to be eaten.  

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane

Notes

Yesterday we had to go on a road trip.  It was a beautiful day to do it.   Peaceful rode ( husband doesn't have a radio in his truck).   We stopped on the way back and had a hamburger.  Then we stopped at Fred Meyer and got apples, oranges, and milk.  Milk was two dollars a gallon woth coupon  in 1/2 gallon containers.   They are easier to handle and cheaper than buying a gallon container.  

Incorporating shopping with other errands cuts gas consumption.   Shopping at more than one store saves miney.  I only buy what is on sale.m occasionally I find something that never goes on sale, but not often.    It takes some management , but well worth it in the savings.   If I went to the store and just bought what I felt like eating everyday, we would not have anything but food.   I am trying to maintain a quality of life on a very meager budget .  

I am sitting at 75.29 a week this month.  USDA stats for  TWO of us for economy meals is 85.40.  Adding daughter and granddaughter is another 62.60 or 148.00.  Now, my daughter supplements her and her daughters food.  We don't supply all of it.  Still, I am about 12 percent under not including supplementing.   I was considerably lower last month, but I stocked canned goods while they were on sale.   I got chicken noodle soup for .42 instead of 1.59 and pasta sauce and diced tomatoes for .80.  

Buying low and eating  high is the back one of groceries on the cheap.    I try to hit a middle of the road for meal plans.   We are not eating steak every night, but our steak is beef, not chicken tried oatmeal either.    Nothing wrong with either, but people's lifestyles are different.   I am retired, but I don't know how I got as much done as I did when I worked.   I always have something more to do.   I can't do some things that I have always done, and husband is picking up the slack at his own rate of speed.    But, somehow, I still do a lot.   LOL.    Shopping is not my whole focus.  I do keep well informed on the prices of things, and what is in sale any oven week.  There are some stores that I don't get flyers on and just go when I'm not finding good prices in the ads that I do have.  

Some things are on sale seasonally.   The time to buy turkey's is at thanksgiving.   Baking supplies are best bought at Christmas.   Frozen pizzas are best Super Bowl time.  Picnic supplies , Memorial Day. Stock when the prices are low on anything that will keep.   I bought about two. I this supply of pizza. It's one of the things I can make and satisfy everyone in the house.  Making two separate meals, even of daughter makes the second one. Leaves us double the dishes.    Not my favorite task.   I have been doing dishes since I was nine years old, and I'm tired of doing dishes!  LOL.

That's about all.


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Jane

Easy chocolate pudding cake. No special ingredients!

We always had a recipe growing up for cookies that  took ingredients that mom always had on hand.   A vanilla brownie and snicker doodles .   We also made a caramel pudding cake that I think came out of a Betty Crocker booklet.   It was called ranch or cowboy or something like that. Mi lost the recipe and it wasn't in my mothers things when we cleaned out the house.   Anyone have that recipe, I'd really like to try it again.  

I found this on the Internet.   It's in the oven baking as we speak.   I used half real sugar and half fake.


Chocolate Pudding Cake

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup self rising flour*
2T cocoa
1/2 cup milk
6 T melted butter
1t vanilla
Pinch salt

Mix together ingredients and spread in GREASED 9X13 pan.

Topping
Mix together and sprinkle in top of wet ingredients in pan,

1/2 cup sugar
1/2'cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa

Pour 1-1/2 cups HOT water over ingredients in pan.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Serve hot or cold

* self rising flour substitute is 1 cup flour. 1-1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt.

Chocolate... Did somebody say chocolate!  

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Jane

Trip!

We had to go into town today. Not make best use of our gas, I tagged along and went to grocery outlet and the dollar store.  

I got tissues and nail supplies at the dollar store.
The grocery outlet netted hummus, ice tea for three for a dollar. Ham slices and half price jimmy dean lunch entrees.   Split peas were more than last time,but still cheap.  Offer was more than I got ot at Fred Meyers last time. They still have Cheerios with added protein for a buck. Also, animal cookies were a buck.  

The bottom line still is you need to know your prices.

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Jane

The ads

QFC has a two week ad.    We need to refer to last week.  

SAFEWAYS ad ism it worth mentioning,   Not even five dollar Fridays,    I'm not sire which SAFEWAYS are tuning to ALBERTSONS.   Apparently the 25th of them,onto some are becoming Hagens. But not in our area.   Everett and shoreline.  

ALBERTSONS has their quarters ad again,   I see some stocking possibilities .  Pudding for the backpack gang is .80.   As is pasta sauce and I am low.    Ditto diced tomatoes.  I was paying .67 for diced tomatoes, but I am not seeing that lately,   Fred Meyers has had some good prices last summer.  

I hear Kroger is going to only carry organic veggies.  That doubles or triples the cost of fresh veggies.   I hope that Winco gets into the top building soon.  I would hate to go back to the fifties and only,have canned veggies in the winter when we can't grow our own,  

ALBERTSONS

Eggs 1.:9@@
Bacon 2.99@@

Yogurt .50 ( Tillamook)
Entrees .75
Ramen 3/.50
Small tomato sauce .25
Bc muffin mix .25
Bumble bee tuna .75
HORMEL chilli $$ 1.00
Beans .75


.80
Refried beans$
Sunflower seeds
Healthy choice soups
Pasta sauce
Diced tomatoes
Catsup
Pudding
Microwave pasta bowls ( backpack??)
Manwich


That's about all.  

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Jane

Some of those things I don't buy.   Some are on the backpack list.  

5 things I never buy cheap

Economizing on food sometimes is a necessity,sometimes  is a conscious decision.  Either  way, if you are on  a budget, you still have to be mindful of quality.  

Five things that I will never buy cheap.  

1.  Tuna fish.   I opened a can of chicken by the sea tuna.  I thought it was a good brand.  Yuk.   It looked like cat food to me.m. Kirkland has albacore tuna.   I think bumble bee is ok too.   If anyone has experience with bumble bee, please comment.   
2. Hot dogs.   I will only buy Hebrew National or Nathan's.    We don't have them often, but I still don't want the garbage that os on cheap hot dogs.   
3. Butter.,      Margarine is not good for you.  The more dense the fat,the worse it is for you.   My nutritionist told me that a little butter was better than margarine.   I think the work she used was skim.   ( in other words, not a full oat on a roll.    
4. Mustard.  Life is too short to use dollar store mustard.   Que.  the man in the rolls Royce!    
5. Chicken,   Washington or Oregon grown please!    

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The rest of the story......

I finished the rest if the shopping on Friday.    The dollar store netted the largest box of plastic wrap I have seen that wasn't the economy box from Costco amd some deodorant,    I was hoping for coupons to match, but there weren't any.

SAFEWAYS had shrimp and chicken as well as salad and strawberries.    Im still plugging along for the year at 65.00 a week.   That's for my husband and I and supplementing daughter and granddaughter.    That's considerably less than the thrifty plan for the two of us.  

The shoreline SAFEWAYS is going to be a Hagens  the 25th of the month.  We have a Safeways and an ALBERTSONS at the same intersection.  No word as to what is happening with those stores.  Since themsafeways is in disrepair, I am guessing it will close.  They haven't bothered to fix Broken  freezers etc.  

We had eggs, hash browns and mixed berries last night,  pizza tonight. Tommorrow I will roast the chicken.

Guess that's all.    


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Jane

Fred Meyers

We hit Fred Meyers today.    All the winter type clothes were sixty per cent off the last marked price.   Scarves were as low as forty percent of 7.97.  

I don't have the bottom line yet because the coupon book is in the car.  As soon as I can, I'll post and get monthly average.  

I went armed with  a list of items we needed to replenish.  I used the last of the bread flour  to make parm peppered Italian bread.  

I found blue cheese and hummus marked down cheap.   We like boxed tomato soup with basil and blue cheese.   Milk was a dollar and butter two dollars.    Cottage cheese was two dollars.    I picked up a no sugar added cherry pie for three dollars.  
Other than getting staples we needed and dairy, there wasn't much of what I would call  a stocking
item.    Keeping eyes peeled for bargains helps the bottom line.   I stick pretty much to just what's on sale , keeping in mind things we are just about out of if they are in our need to have list.   I keep one ahead on things that we use occasionally.  When we open the back up tome, I start looking for a sale, or if we are running low on a stock item, I start watching,my right now, I'm watching for does tomatoes. I want to pay less than .80.  Closer to .70 would be better.   I have got them for as little as fifty!  

Tomorrow chicken noodle soup is  10/5 and I have coupons that may or may not work.  Last week they worked, but it was my understanding that electronic coupons don't stack.    Chicken is a buck.   Shrimp is on five dollar Friday.  

I usually work on a matrix for meal plans.  

2'beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish

Since we have four dozen eggs, I am trying to make breakfast  for dinner  once a week.  
We have lots of Pozza in the freezer at this time because the six dollar pizzas on wiper bowl Sunday weekend were less than three bucks.    Taking advantage of soecials and adding appropriate coupons is a good way to get the most from your food dollars.   Sometimes it can make the difference whether  you have a decent quaility of life, or you just get by.   You don't buy the things that you need on a regular basis when you need them, you buy them when they are the cheapest and you try to buy as many as you will need until they go on sale again.    Of you pay half price,you can afford twice as much.  That will help to assure you of not running out before you find another sale.   I buy facial tissue at the dollar store unless I can find it on sale cheaper.

That's about all I have for today

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Jane

The ads

This is a holiday weekend so imam not holding my breath for good buys.   Usually the ad space is taken up with buy my holiday stuff.  

QFC

.50, when you buy six
Cheerios, when u buy six$$

Oranges .99
Pork loin 2.99
Cascade ice 1.00
Yogurt 20/10

SAFEWAYS
Strawberries 1.99
Chicken .99
Free milk when u buy 4 kelloggs cereals $$ ( have to calculate if it's a good deal or not.  
Cucumbers 1.00
Lemons .50

Five dollar Friday
Blues
Shrimp
Cheesecake
Bath tissue$$
Chicken noodle soup10/5

ALBERTSONS
Ice cream 2.69@@
Yogurt 3/.99@@


That's about it.  @@ - in ad coupon     $$ you can probably find a coupon.   See newspaper or coupons.com


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The ads, later......

First of all, Fred Meyers has butter for two dollars.   I'm not sure  who, (as soon as I find my ads......my granddaughter has been role  playing....seeeen looking at the ads while sitting in the potty chair?..LOL.  ) chicken is a buck somewhere also.  

The new woman's day appeared on my inbox.   Some really good recipes for economical meals.   Remember they have a magical figure for costs.   Costs, I have found vary between states and parts of the country.  Your availability and competition has a lot to do with how much you pay for food.  I can only report what is happening in Seattle.   Still, using a buy low and eat high mentality will service you well.   It's no great surprise, our great grandmothers did it all the time.   They got fruits, vegetable etc in the summer when it was low price or from the farm and canned to last the winter.   It's the same concept.   BUY YOUR NECESSITITY FOOD WHEN YOU CAN GET IT THE CHEAPEST, AND
BUY ENOUGH TO LAST YOU UNTIL YOU GET IT CHEAP AGAIN.  

ITS A DIFFERENT COMCEPT.  You are not necessarily buying just what you need for a weeks dinners except for perishables.  

• I buy eggs once a month when I can find them for 1.25 a dozen on sale.  They have a month pull date.   I try to make it a point to have breakfast for dinner once a week.   
• Dairy - sour cream and cottage cheese is cheapest at Costco and again , it usually has a month or so pull date.   Milk I get when I can find it for 4/5 or a buck at Kroger stores.   
• Meat or protein is best purchased in bulk ( whatever the proclaimed loss leader special is that week.  Buy enough of that particular item to last you for a months worth of that meal.   Ie :if you eat beef twice a week, you need 8 meal portions.   Cook it and freeze it in meal sized portions if appropriate.   Rotate in a four week cycle. You are spending less for meat and cooking it more efficient.  
• Staples like flour , sugar etc I keep a reasonable amount on hand and look for sale when I'm getting low.   My flour is low now because my daughter made play dough.  Play dough is better home made because you can make it edible. Mlike you,never heard of a toddler eating it!    LOL.  
• Basic staples like tomato sauce, pasta sauce, pasta and other staple shelf ready items are bought when they are on sale.  I keep a three to six months supply.   When I see it dwindling, I look for a sale.   When I see something like pasta sauce ( a staple here since it is a fill on if we are having meat and daughters are non red meat eaters) I buy it.   The savings are remarkable. I have got ot as cheap as fifty cents.   I never pay 1.59.   

Some things I make from scratch.  I don't make something that is really labor intensive or that I can get cheaper ready made.   It seems the drought of several years ago is still having an impact on beef prices, as well as many other prices. As predicted, some ready made meats are cheaper than scratch.   I am still able toget pork sirloin to cut self and whole chicken for reasonable prices.   Coupons make other proteins within reason.   

January costs were 64.00 a week.  February is shaping up to be about the same.   I was 85 gross one week and 40 the next.   I am seeing a shortage of tomato on the pantry shelf and need to start a list of a few things that are running low.  Vegetable oil and a few of those things I keep one ahead and replace them when I open the last one when prices allow.   

The bottom line is NEVER pay full price for anything.   

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Jane