Principles of thrift

Basic necessities of food can be inexpensive and are the start of providing good meals for your family.  Trying to keep up with the Jones’ that earn three times your income doesn’t work.   The reality is, you have to make it on what you have. It’s the truth, but you can actually eat better, because you aren’t eating a bunch of preservatives and fat.

Buying your groceries 1 week or day at  a time means you are paying  top dollar for your food. Using a replentish based shopping strategy instead of a panic strategy is key.  Panic strategy is when you have nothing left in the refrigerator but a jar of pickles and you rush out to buy groceries at the nearest store.   Replentish based shopping, replentishes  what you used, yet  you still have food in the house,  It is a lot more relaxing,  you can go to the store at your leisure and take advantage of sale prices at two stores.  You are going to the store for a rotation protein, your dairy, and produce, and to replentish your stock of something  is at a good price.   The price of the same thing, in identical box and brand can have a spread in price of two dollars.   All those two dollars add up fast.  Something as simple as buying frozen instead of fresh can make a big difference.  In actuality, many times the meat you are buying has been previously frozen anyway and the frozen vegetable has been frozen at its peak of freshness.

Ten dollars during spring and summer months at a Sprouts or a farmers market can buy a basket of food.   Not buying organic saves a lot of money.  Pesticides are water soluble.  Wash your produce with vinegar water. Peel it if it makes sense.   There are a lot of storage containers  that keep  the gasses  out and keep vegetables longer.  Organic food doesn’t last as long as regular.   The upshot can be a sixty percent markup from regular food.  My take in that is that I have lived through almost three  quarters of a century with regular food and  they used to use a lot more caustic pestisedes than they do now. I am still alive and kicking!   LOL

Oxy moron. LOL
They say that not buying junk food and pop can save 50 percent of you food budget.  Buying things half price can save 50 percent.  But, somehow that doesn’t mean you are getting your food for free!

• Never pay full price.  My mother used to say that some people could have a bargain get up and bite them in the butt, and they wouldn’t see it.   Don’t be that person . 
• Identify the foods you use in a regular basis.   If they are  on perishable, consider keeping a four to week supply of those foods.   That means that of you eat spaghetti and sauce once a week, you need  to keep four packages of pastah and four containers of sauce. 
• Buying your protein in bulk when it is a “loss leader” and purchasing enough for a four to six week supply, saves money and avoids waste.   Break  the bulk down on meal sized portions.  If you eat ground beef once a week, you will need four meal sized portions. For is, that would be two pounds.   
• Keep fresh fruit and vegetables in stock at home,   Buy produce when in season,   The basics of carrots , celery, and potatoes are year round.   When produce is in season, it tastes better and is cheaper.    
• Dairy usually goes on sale once a month,  most dairy with the exception of milk had a month pull date.  Buy the basics when it is on sale.   Milk can be had usually with coupons or with deals for free pairing cereal and milk,   Use coupons for the cereal.   
• Eggs are a good source of protein .   The prices vary,  again, you have a month pull date.  Buy them when they are cheap and keep a four week supply.   Replentish as you use them and when they are at their cheapest. 
• Know your prices.   If it is something that you can substitute something else for or go without, don’t buy anything unless it is at or below you target price.   
• Portion control is good for your waistline as well as your pocketbook.   Know what the RDA mis for protein and milk.   It just might surprise you. 
• Keeping a four to six week supply means you never have food anxiety,   Food anxiety can actually lower you life span.   This also good insurance against not having  food  in an emergency.   It’s not like you can live without it.  I’m recent years, we have had floods that meant the trucks couldn’t get to the grocery stores; snow, and a government shutdown  .   Grocery stores carry a three DAY supply of food.   In an emergency  situation, you can’t depend on the store to cover your butt.
• Learn to efficiently scratch cook.   If you are stretched for time, spend more time planning and organizing and less time cooking.  Planning an organizing, and shopping wisely saves money, efficient scratch cooking saves time and money. It costs .28 to make a loaf of artisan bread and takes ten minutes of your hands on time.  It costs up to 3.99 for a loaf of artisan bread.    ( Safeways) .   A full pot of potato soup and cheesy drop biscuits cost about 1.50. The same price of a can that serves 1