The Basics

Groceries on the cheap takes a different process of buying and cooking your food..   The net result is that you can feed your family well on four dollars a day each.   Four dollars is the proverbial amount of money that some say SNAP is based on.

Besides eating on four dollars a day, we also grew a pantry on that budget.   One of thee premises of groceries on the cheap is to have a basic stock on hand for emergencies.   Studies have shown that when people have to worry about where the next meal is coming from, they reduce their life expectancy.

This methodology is based on principles.   The more you incorporate them into your routine, the more money you will save.

1. The biggest:   NEVER pay full price.   Find the RBP on the things that you use on a regular basis. When you find an item that you use a lot of at a lowest possible price, buy as many as you will need until they go on sale again or as many as you need to fill in your specified amount of stock.   Keeping a four to six week supply of non perishables is a good benchmark.   
2. Plan your meals and portion control.   Portion control is a dirty word for many people, but your doctor will tell you that it is really important for your health.   The other word is balance.   Eating a well balanced diet has always been a good idea.   
3. Buy things at their lowest possible price in bulk quantities when it makes sense.   We buy oatmeal, rice and flour.   Oatmeal when purchased a Costco in bulk costs . 085 cents a serving. A serving of regular oats equals 4 servings of the envelopes of instant oatmeal, nutrition wise.   Flour is a real bargain when you use it to efficiently make bread and bakery items.   The savings are remarkable.   A loaf of artisan bread can cost upwards of 2.50.  The actual cost is a quarter to make peasant bread and takes about ten minutes hands on time.   
4. Efficient scratch cooking.   Another time and money saving concept.    Besides, you aren’t eating things you can’t pronounce.  Or soap!    Yes, there is soap in some foods your children want to eat. 
5. Plan your meals.   The best way to avoid temptation is to take it away.   If you have meals planned and prepped, life is easy even if you are tired. 
6. Use any trick that comes your way to cut food costs.   Waste not, want not—use up bits of things leftover and salvage a little of something before you make a dish.   Pulling a little sausage away from a tube of sausage you are using for breakfast just means you can use some of it for a pizza another night.   Ibotta, coupons, discount food stores, all help in making you get more for your buck.  

Why?

This blog is about a different way of buying your groceries.   A lot of people have a lifestyle that buys just what they want when they want it.   And, if it works for them, that’s all that matters.  

Some people, however, have time or budget constraints.   Give it because they are saving for that iconic trip to Disneyland or because they have fallen on harder times and need to stretch their money.
Others, have a full plate and need to be more efficient in the kitchen.   I have heard more than one retired person say they wondered how they worked, they are so busy.   Many of us have been through working all day and then coming home to dinner,dishes, laundry, and kids that need help with baths, etc.  

This blog is based on helping people save time and money on the biggest discretionary budget item .

Knowledge is funny, you never know when it will become useful.  As an accounting major, I never understood why I needed to know what happens when you produce lesions on the upper hyperthalamous of a rat.   Knowing how to fix food when you have limited resources may come in more handy.  

I remember a Fourth of July when we went with the boat to a Hidden Harbor at what seems to be in the middle of nowhere.   My husband got the flu.   We couldn't get home and there was a small deli and no grocery stores for miles.   It wouldn’t have mattered how much money we had, what we had was what we were going to eat.   I managed to stretch the food in the six square foot pantry and bar refrigerator for a week.   Life happens , and the more educated we are, the better we survive.


I don’t take money, I am here to help people that may need to get our of a jam— time or money wise.
I can’t  do that  if I can’t  reach people.   Please share.  You never know who you might help..   Its good give people food when they need it....we do that, but it’s also good to help them help themselves.   Knowledge is power.   Pass it on.  

How did she do that?

This is one of those...not quite a five dollar dinner.   I have not counted spices or anything that cost less than a dime.   

Salmon cakes 

Seasoned rice from homemade mix 

Green beans (frozen) 

Green beans were purchased for a dollar a bag.  They are frequently a dollar a bag at Winco and Safeways.   I used a third of a bag for 2 people. 

Rice costs 2 cents a serving.   Rice mix is made from chicken or vegetable dry bouillon, parsley I dried from the garden, and spices.   

Salmon cakes were made from homemade bread crumbs with Parmesan, onion and garlic, a slice of red pepper that was chopped fine., and an egg with a can of salmon from Costco..   

This would be a six dollar dinner for four people.   

One of those days where you can still average five dollars a dinner because some dinners are a lot cheaper than five dollars.   

Thursday Grocery Haul / QFC

QFC had a coupon for 5 percent off of 20.00 basket .

Cherries 3.74

Blueberries 3.49

Pizza 3.99

Kroger cottage cheese 1.99
Kroger sour cream 1.99

Sargento cheese 1.99 less coupon for 1.00 off two
Done twice

5 percent savings (1.31)

Total 19.85

The Franz bread store

Bagels
English Muffins
Doughnuts
9 carb a slice bread is 4/5 or 1.29 each

Bread sticks.....humungus sack. 2.00

Total 8.29
Price does not include the percentage off for hubby being old and a vet.

Total 28.15

Fred Meyer ad

Fred Meyers; done on line, its the best I can do...if you are there I would suggest getting an ad and giving it a quick look.  

90 /10 hamburger 3.77
Shrimp 5.77
I really cream bas 2/5-Klondike -sometimes they have no sugar died
18 oz blues 2.99
Brats 2/7
Frozen beef patties . 2 lbs 7.99
Cheries 1.99
Strawberries 3.99

DIGITAL COUPONS
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ONLY

RITZ .99
NATHANS OR HEBEW NATIONAL FRANKS 1.99
PORK RIBS 1.77

———
DIGITAL ALL WEEK
GM CEEAL 1.49
RAGU 1.29

NOTE:   THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON IF YOU CAN STACK A DIGITAL COUPON AND A PAPER ONE.  

Chain Store Ads

QFC

Tillamook ice cream 2/7
Bush Baked Beans 2/3
Butter 2.99
GM Cereal 1.99 - look for coupons


DIGITAL COUPONS
KROGER SMOKED SAUSAGE 1.99
P. CREAM CHEESE 1.79


ALBERWAYS

Just for You coupons
Sweet BabY Rays BBQ .49
Hot dog or hamburger buns .49
Butter 2.49
Best Foods 2.49
Store brand ice ream 1.99
Blueberries 2.99 - limit one
Johnsonville sausage 2/5
Darigold sour cream -large 1.99


————
Salad including spinach .99
Cherries 1.88
Hormel pepperoni 2/7


Fred Meyers on another blog.   Ive run out of space on the reader feed.

How did she do that?

How did she do that....meals under five dollars.
Four people, one meal, five dollars.

Four dollar a day meals means that you need to keep a dinner for the proverbial family of four—two adults and two school aged children for five dollars.

Using foods on sale and incorporating them into meals is an age old concept.   My mother did it for years.

Buffalo Chicken salad

• Package of mixed salad .99
• 1/2 cucumber .44
• 2 Roma tomatoes  .50
• 1.2 lb chicken, cooked from froze in the insta pot, then pulled with wing sauce tossed.   .49

Total 2.42

That leaves plenty for bread, tortilla chips or bread sticks and a fruit desert. 

I got yogurt for .50 for white chocolate and .38 for fruit yogurt.  Hint:  you can freeze yogurt in its own container.  A good desert with protein and calcium.   

Monday Kitchen Management

Part of the concept of 1/2 price groceries is efficiently cooking.   The idea of spending a bit more time organizing , planning and shopping, and less time cooking a meal is more efficient and cuts food costs.

Working from a meal plan, you can take advantage of anything you have an abundance of and precook or wash all your veggies etc at the same time.  This saves time and money.   You are more likely to scratch cook even when you are tired if your work is half done.

Reminder of meals:

Nacho Pot Pie
Pizza
Sweet Potatoes, shredded chicken
Tomato soup, ham and cheese toasted sandwiches
Slow cooked chicken enchaladas chilli
Salmon, baked potatoes ,

1. Wash kitchen floor 
2. Wash and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains.
3. Clean out refrigerator and dump anything dead.
4. Print recipes from Betty Crocker for Nacho Pot Pie and Chicken enchalada chilli 
5. Cook a batch of chicken breasts 
6. Wash carrots, potatoes , and salad makings 
7. Cook black beans 
8. Straighten pantry. 

Things that helped keep costs down.   Eggs were .79 at Safeways, limit 2.  I purchased two even though we had 1.5 dozen in the house already.   Don’t hesitate if something is versatile enough to stretch your food dollar.   We like hard cooked eggs, even the child and cooking them in the oven makes the job easy.   We always have breakfast for dinner once a week.  Its a family affair. 

We got bread for free this weed—and healthy bread at that.   

Milk was a dollar a gallon.   Pudding is a good way to add protein and calcium to a dinner that might not have a lot of protein.  

Chicken breast was purchased in a case lot for a dollar a pound.  The chicken and pork that I purchased in bulk I incorporated into the regular budget at four dollars a day.   The hamburger was a bit more costly and I have been prorating it at 2 pounds a month.   We tend to eat hamburger once a week.  It was almost impossible to incorporate 100 dollars worth of meat into a months budget.   

Jan-March average weekly spent.   51.98

April -June so far average weekly spent. 48.96

4 dollars a day for 2 people is 56.00

Meal Plans 6/24/18

Meal Plans are a necessary component in a plan to reduce your food costs.

Our meal plans usually are predicated on a matrix that is based on protein sources.   It provides variety and balances cost factors.

•  Nacho Pot Pie (Betty Crocker) 
• Pizza (scratch ) 
• Sweet Potatoes and shredded chicken w wing sauce, salad 
• Tomato soup, ham and cheese toasted sandwiches
• Slow cooked chicken enchiladas soup (Betty Crocker) 
• Baked Salmon, Baked Potato,salad 
• Breakfast for Dinner 

Notes 

1. Use broth from bouillon or scratch broth, scratch taco seasoning, milk instead of cream , cooked and shredded chicken , not deli, and fresh cooked beans. 
2. Pizza is scratch and cost about a dollar for a cheese pizza.  
3. Sweet potatoes were cheapest at winco.-like 1/2 the price  of Alberways.  Shred chicken enough for Nacho Pie. The wing chicken , land the chicken enchilada soup. 
4. Tomato soup is from a 2.00 box bought at GO.  You could also make scratch. 
5. Baked salmon from winco.  
6. Breakfast for dinner is a mainstay for Sunday dinner.  We all cook for a family experience. 

Concept

Like almost everything, concept is key.  Once you get the concept of anything you are trying to do, its the jumping off point for success.

The basic concept of not paying full price for anything that you use on a regular basis is key to saving a lot of money.  People have seen as much as 1.50 price difference between the same item depending on where and when it was purchased.

It isn’t as much what you buy as when and where you buy it.

This necessitates going to two stores a week.   Buying food once a month, while efficient, is not the best for your budget.  Most of the time the word convenience means $$$$.

You can, when you shop with a plan, get in and out of a store in a half hour.   We don’t spend any more time in two stores plus than many people do going to one.   Know your store layout.   It saves going up and Dow every isle looking for something.   If you dont have a reason to go down an isle, don't go there.    Stay away from the paper goods, pet, household goods, and personal heigene isles.
Most of those things are overpriced compared to other stores.   Impulse buys count for 70 percent of a stores profits.   Their profit is your loss.

Go with a plan.   You don’t necessarily need to go to the point where you make a list.   Do your due dillaglence in making a meal plan, noting from the check off sheet what perishables you don’t have, and check the ads to see if there are any rock bottom prices (RBP) on what you use.   Check the ads for your rotation meat.

Rotation meat is a bulk meat you buy that is versatile and averages two dollars a pound.   We can still get FF boneless, skinless, chicken breast for 2.00 a pound.   Whole or half pork loins are between a dollar and 1.69 a pound.  And good hamburger can still be found for under three dollars a pound.
Add beans (Dollar Tree). Cheese (2.00-2.49 a lb ) and eggs.  Eggs need to be at a buy price of under 1.50—closed to a dollar is preferred.

Rotation meat is when you buy a four to six week supply of a bulk protein that is at a low price and rotate the protein you buy per week.  You are buying your protein at the lowest possible price and you are portion controlling the bulk package into meal sized portions.   It saves time and money.

Thats what this blog is about,   Saving time and money.   Our grocery budget is four dollars a day.   We also supplement our grandchild and grow a stock.   Its a good thing to be prepared for emergencies—big or small.   Life happens, and the least amount of stress you put on yourself the better off you are.

The thesis is that if you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more wouldn't be hard to do.

Friday Final

We hit the motherload with specials at safeways.   Taking advantage of specials and freebies:  bread and cranberry juice., is a good way to stretch your food dollar.   Use your imiganation to incorporate them into meals.   A lot of breakfast meals can cost as little as a quarter.

1. Oatmeal , banana, splash of milk 
2. Egg, toast .06
3. Pancakes , fruit 
4. Yogurt, granola

• Toasted cheese sandwich 
• Soup from scratch 
• P b and j 
• BLT’s 
• Bean and rice burritos 

Thursday Safeways Haul

total spent 15.23

Cranberry juice -0
2 kraft sharp cheese slices 3.98
2 dz eggs 1.58
Shredded cheese .99
Shredded cheese .99
2 percent milk .99 gal
2 lbs ground turkey 3,98

Cheries 2.72

Safeway’s haul and meals

Safeways has a number of really good prices on basic necessities using digital coupons.  I suspect that the future life of coupons will become less paper and more digital.  That , unfortunately, makes it harder to buy multiples of items and eliminates our ability to shop stores for the best prices to match with coupons.  There are still ways to make the best use of your money to feed your family the best meals possible.   Balanced meals have never gone out of style because it is the best nutrition.   

Signature Kitchens Cranberry Juice:  FREE

Sour cream, 24 ounces 1.49

Cream cheese 1.29

Kraft slices cheese 1.99

Shredded cheese .99 ( also on Saturday digital -kroger ) 

Milk -gallon .99

Eggs limit 2 .79

Ground turkey 1.99

Now what to do with what you got.   These are all really good RBP .   The trick now is to figure out how to incorporate them into your meals. 

• Cranberry juice can be drunk as is, or with ice. You can thicken it and use it for a syrup on ice cream, pancakes, or drizzled over peaches.  
• Sour cream is a  good base for chicken enchiladas. , an addition to baked potato bar, topping for chilli or other soups.  
• Cream cheese can fill celery sticks, did anyone say cheesecake?   There is a good recipe for cheesecake in the insta pot. Also, a lot of recipes on pinterest use cream cheese for sauce or filling for chicken breasts. 
• Sliced cheese is pretty self evident. 
• Shredded cheese is at the RBP.   And useful for quesadillas, mac and cheese, sandwiches, topping for cassaroles ...
• Milk:  besides drinking and on cereal, you can make bread pudding, or pudding.  Scratch pudding is not much more work than the box kind and a lot cheaper. 
• Eggs:  an inexpensive source of protein. 
• Ground turkey can be added to other ground meat for meatloaf or makes good taco filling. 

Thursday Safeways Haul

Safeways Haul for 6/15/18

Cheese .5.00
Tillamook ice cream 2.88
Milk 1.79
Salads .99:   Shreds, salad, spinach express salad
Strawberries 2.50

Total 19.01

Saturday ‘s Winco haul

Green grapes 1.98

Romas .98

Yams .98

Tater tots 2 lbs 1.68

Bread 2.78

Salmon 4.98

Shredded parm 1.98

Beans .48

Olives .78

Green chillies .66

Total 20.88

Chain store ads 6/21/18

Again, we didnt get any ads in the mail his week.   

Alberways 

Just fort You digital coupons 

Milk 99 gallon 

Eggs .79

Bread .49

Ground turkey 1.99

Bubbly water free 

Salsa 1.79

QFC 

Blueberries 18 oz 3.49

DiGiorno pizza 3.99

Shrimp 5.99

Buy 6, save 3

Sargento cheese 1.99-coupons?

Sour cream -large 1.99

Cottage cheese 1.99

Natural choice lunch mat 2.99

Fred Meyers 

DIGITAL-ALSO QFC 

SATURDAY 6/23 ONLY 

CHEESE .99

POST CEREAL .99

REG AD 

AVACADOS .99

FOSTER FARMS SPLIT CHICKEN BREAST .87

NOTE:  MY VOTE FOR THE ROTATION MEAT WOULD BE THE SPLIT CHICKEN BREAST AT FRED MEYERS.   AND THE CHEESE FOR A DOLLAR WITH DIGITAL COUPONS, SATURAY ONLY.   BOTH ARE GOOD SOURCES OF PROTEIN AND SAVE A LOT OF MONEY FOR VERSITILE PROTEIN.   

How did she do that? TUESDAY

Remember, Its not what you buy as much as when an where you buy it..   A little planning is key .
If you decide at ten o’clock at night that you want some chicken noodle soup and you hit the nearest store , you are probably going to pay three times the price as if you plan and buy that soup on sale.

Not everything on a sale ad is a sale.  On sale is just saying that you can buy it.   A real sale is a marked down price or a price that is less.   Knowing what price is the lowest price is key.   It doesn’t have to be on everything in the store.   Simplify, buy at low cost, and always have food in the house.

BBQ pork sliders.

Sometimes adjusting for what you have is a  good thing.   We have hamburger buns from the hamburgers we had earlier.   There is not much sense in making slider buns and then throwing away the hamburger buns.  The smaller buns that are store brand are a lot less expensive , especially at a holiday time.

Buns: .88 or .44 for a half package

Pork Roast is from a Pork Loin.  It was 1.29 a pound.   Slicing your own roast and chops takes a matter of minutes, almost no talent, and saves a lot of money.   Center cut porkchops can be 3.50 a pound.   The difference between the dollar or dollar twenty nine that I am paying, and 3.50 is two dollars a pound.   This is huge.   Pork Roast for a smaller family does two meals. Pork Roast “Sunday Dinner” and a bbq slider another day.   Slice roast thin, and heat in bbq sauce that has been watered down a little.   You can add cheese if you want.

1.5 pounds of thinly sliced pork roast 1.94

Salad :   1.00
We use head lettuce these days.  I would prefer to buy romaine.  The darker the leaf , the better food value and it lasts longer.  But, there have been too many times lately, that there have been ecoli outbreaks.   We will grow our own soon.   Meanwhile, we are using dollar a head iceberg lettuce.   Tomatoes have been .88 a pound.   Lettuce  and tomato salad is good.   I add cucumber when I find it.

There is also a cucumber and tomato salad that is really good.  Cost is probably close to the dollar or more like 1.50 if you don’t get cucumbers cheap.

1.94 .44, 1.25 for salad is 3.63  condiments are not added.   Still, way below the five dollar budget.

Monday Kitchen Managment.

Kitchen management is a tool that helps save time and money in the kitchen.   By rotating deep cleaning chores and doing some meal prep in one kitchen session, you can save the set up and clean up time and save the hectic dinner time.


Recap of Meals:
Tomato, roasted red pepper and carrot soup quesadillas
Pizza
Minestrone , bread
Stuffed chicken breast, baked potatoes, green beans
Salmon, rice pilaf, fruit
Enchiladas, lettuce, tomato
Breakfast for dinner

• Wash kitchen floor 
• Clean and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains.
• Clean refrigerator and dump anything dead 
• Wash veggies 
• Mark the meal plan with the time to take chicken out of freezer. 
• Make rice mix 
• Make bread 
• File recipes 

Meal Plans 6/17/18

Meal Plans are a tool that saves time and money.   Because GOC operates on the assumption that you have a stock of versatile basic food , you write meal plans after you grocery shop.   Having a stock of food on hand, you can always do a pick up meal.  

• Tomato, roasted red pepper and carrot soup, bean and bacon quesadillas  
•  Pizza      

•  Stuffed chicken breast, baked potato, green beans 

•  Salmon, rice pilaf , fruit cup

•  Enchiladas , lettuce, tomato 
•  Breakfast for Dinner 
•  Minestrone , bread 

Notes:

1. Tomato, roasted red pepper and carrrot soup uses red peppers purchased for .88 last week.  And part of the milk bought for 1.79.   Usually the regular price of milk here is 1.79 for a half gallon rather than a whole gallon.   Bean and bacon  quesadillas bump up the protein.  
2. Pizza is a mainstay:  everyone likes it and it can be made for 1.00 a pizza.  Save toppings from other meals .  
3. Stuffed chicken breast uses spinach purchased for a dollar at Alberways.  
4. Salmon is frozen. Pilaf uses peas purchased for a dollar frozen. 
5. Chicken or beef enchaladas.  Chicken enchaladas have a homemade sauce made with chi;clean stock, mild diced peppers and sour cream. 
6. Minestrone uses more spinach.   

Incorporating items found on sale helps to keep your food costs down.   Working with a stock of inexpensive , but versitle foods and scratch cooking .  Using every available way of saving money on food maximizes your savings.   

 

Saturday Concepts

What not to buy at Grocery Outlet ( Or any other discount overstock store)

1. Dented cans 
2. Items out of date :  except items that truly never go out of date.   Pasta has an eight year shelf life.  Honey never goes out of date.   Cereal a little out of date is a little stale, but won’t  hurt you.  Canned goods are good for a while out of date.  Check the internet for exact numbers.   I tend to be really careful of anything acidic.   
3. Anything that is more expensive than other stores.   Yes, everything at any store is not necesssarily a good buy.   It always goes back to knowing your prices.   
4. Stick to tried and true brands.   If you are adventurous, try an off brand by buying one.   
5. I steer clear of produce and meat.   The meat is prepackaged .   
6. Do buy deli that is name brand.   The sliced cheese, while more expensive than grated, is good. We have been getting it for two dollars a package.   The grated cheese is not a bargain . 
7. They carry Nathan's and Hebrew National hot dogs.  There are just some things that are best bought high quality.   Dont buy dollar hot dogs.   They are full of nasty things.   
8. Many things are on the edge.   IF you intend on eating them immediately, its OK.  W bought bacon for 1.50 a package yesterday.  It had a pull date of today.  It usually means its good for a while.   I cut it up and put it rendering in the pan while I put the groceries away and fixed our lunch.  When it was done, we removed it with a slotted spoon and drained it on paper towels. It hit a zip lock and the freezer.   I will use it to season greenbeans, or bean soup.   A little bit goes a long way to season a dish.   
9. I have been getting diced tomatoes or tomato sauce for really cheap:  like .33 and .50 cents.   It can be 1.58. Don’t buy quantities of things close to the pull date.   Only buy what you can safely use before the pull date.  This is where having meal plans and knowing how often you make certain dishes works.   You can incorporate those items in your weekly meal plans and us them before they expire.   A few days past doesn’t hurt.   Nothing is going to expire exactly on the date it is marked.   
10. Tilipa.   Just Tilipa......never anywhere!  Its garbage fish.   Its hard these days to get good fish.   Dont skimp.   There are places to economize and places not to economize.   

Recipe Friday- pasta with garlic sauce

Friday recipes will be an attempt to incorporate things on sale this week into a meal.    Even if you are not in the PNW, things on sale are typically things in season.  Bacon was on sale for 2.99 at Fred Meyers last Saturday and Spinach is on sale at Alberways this week.   Barilla Pasta is a dollar fat QFC.  It is on sale for 1.25 at Alberways today only.  That is 25 percent more.   It pays to know your prices and make your decisions accordingly.

Pasta with Garlic Sauce

1/2 package of spaghetti , cooked
8 ounces of bacon

Two handfuls of fresh spinach
1/2 small onion , chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup sour cream
2T butter.
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Salt, pepper to taste
Nutmeg

• Cook bacon in skillet. 
• Remove  bacon with a slotted spoon  and reserve some of the drippings. 
• Add chopped onion and garlic powder to the skillet and cook until the onion is softened.   
• Add the spinach and let it wilt.  
• Scoop vegetables to the side and add milk, sour cream and butter.   Stir sauce together.   Gradually add in the cooked vegetables and sprinkle with bacon.  
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• Sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped walnuts