Affording groceries during times of rapid price increases
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During the past two years alone, the price of some household staples such as bread, milk, and eggs have increased in price by as much as 69%*, while the median household income has only increased 1%*. In this video, I discuss these increases and offer tips to help your family cope with the rapidly increasing cost of groceries.
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References for this video:
- Soaring Food Prices: Compare Cost Increases
- Food Prices Soar as Incomes Stand Still
- Milk Prices Could Go up 60 Cents a Gallon
- Rice: The Ultimate Budget Extender
- Money Saving Tip: Rethink Bulk
- Come Home to Supper
“American families have always shown remarkable resiliency, or flexible adjustment to natural, economic, and social challenges. Their strengths resemble the elasticity of a spider web, a gull’s skillful flow with the wind, the regenerating power of perennial grasses, the cooperation of an ant colony, and the persistence of a stream carving canyon rocks. These are not the strengths of fixed monuments but living organisms. This resilience is not measured by wealth, muscle or efficiency but by creativity, unity, and hope. Cultivating these family strengths is critical to a thriving human community.”~Ben Silliman
Love the video and your recipes, thanks. I buy basket type coffee filters at the dollar store. I use them in place of paper towels. They make a great bowl for popcorn or chips.
What a fabulous idea Karen! Thanks for sharing!!
Lots of good ideas. Our 4×4 foot raised bed gardens worked well for tomatoes, and green beans last year, My turnips went crazy and got way too big and too strongly flavored. This year we will try more squash and hopefully peas. I hope to have a freezer by next fall. I shop very early in the mornings and sweep up the marked down “sell by today” meats, bringing them home and putting them in the freezer right away makes them keep just fine until I am ready to cook them and I usually save about 1/3 to 1/2 on the meat. I also only buy the meat that is not marked down if it is a “loss leader”. Those few items on the front of the weekly adds that the stores mark below cost to attract customers.
Shop only the perimeter of the store, the veges/fruits, bakery, dairy and freezer sections and meat sections are usually the perimeter areas and have the cheapest, least processed foods.
Try to avoid anything that comes in a box or can. Those are the most processed and most expensive least nutritious foods.
Home made muffins, pancakes, oat meal and rice make great breakfasts for much less than sugary cereal.
water, tea and coffee are the cheapest drinks.
There are few yummier meals than beans, bread and fried potatoes.
great english muffin bread can be made super easily with only yeast, flour and water!
homemade laundry detergent, and fabric softeners, even stain sticks can be made from recipes easily found on line and super cheaply.
I am considering either buying half a cow straight from the farmer or actually learning to hunt for deer plentiful here
I do like to take sandwiches for lunch to work, buying a small ham and having it sliced in the deli, or baking a turkey breast and slicing it yourself saves tons of money and is healthier than lunch meat.
Mom made instant milk and mixed it half and half with “real” milk when I was growing up, once it was super cold, you couldn’t tell. Not that instant is all that cheap now.
surprisingly some foods are cheaper ordered from amazon with free Prime shipping.
hi beth,
I make my laundry detergent and it lasts forever esp since its just me. u use 1 T or mayb 2 T if the clothes r really dirty.
You have some great tips and suggestions Beth!! I also would like to buy half a cow sometime!! Thanks for sharing!
Christy…
Would you mind posting the name of the coupon site that you talked about in this video? I would like to check that site out too.
Thanks!
The site is http://www.couponfleamarket.com
Thanks so much for sharing. I will check it out.
When I buy meat, I often buy the “emergency” markdowns and freeze them immediately. I also buy the bulk sized family packs, but never cook the whole thing at once. I break them down into meal sized servings and freeze individual packages. That manages quantity for cooking and if I’m hungrier than anticipated, supplement the meal with additional veggies – healthy for the body and the budget!
Great ideas Susan!!!
One thing that I’ve been trying out lately is lentils. In place of ground beef in recipes. The price of ground beef in my area is just WAY to expensive to buy to make things that were usually lower cost meals. Like tacos for instance. I have a family of six and three grandgirls and often the whole family gathers for supper. It would take $16.00 or more for the ground beef it I didn’t find it on sale (and that’s rare). So I used lentils. The first time or two no one even noticed. Then I told my mom about it and then of course they noticed. But it’s GOOD.
If it’s not at least as tasty as with ground beef, I wouldn’t use it again. It’s not a bargain to me if my family doesn’t care of it.
Lentils also make a great chili (also another recipe that uses about five pound of ground beef), no one knew it didn’t have meat in it at all.
Now, the lentil meatloaf, while very tasty, didn’t have the right texture and it isn’t something I’d make for them again unless I can change the recipe in some way to make it more meatloaf like.
I’ve even heard some at least two of my family member say they like the lentil tacos better than the ground beef. I usually make two or three pounds while I’m cooking them. I use the leftovers in another meal with baked burritos in a cheese sauce.
So changing up ingredients were I can, to less expensive ingredients is something I’m working on. One pound of lentils is about a dollar vs one pound of ground beef that’s on sale for 3.99. One pound of lentils is equal to at least two pounds of ground beef in a recipe so that is a REAL savings I can count on.
It does take a little longer to cook the lentils (I cook them until they are very soft) but not as much work because you’re not standing over them like you would a skillet of ground beef. Just remember to start it earlier in the day.
What a great idea Glenda!! I am going to have to try lentils more often!
Hi! I want to try lentils (thanks for the idea). My family likes to have “Taco Tuesday” and using lentils would save us a lot. Do you have a recipe? 🙂
Great ideas, Christy.
Another resource is the internet. A quick Google search offers alternative sources of vitamins and minerals. When milk goes up in price, look for calcium in kale, collards, legumes, shellfish, and fortified juices. To supplement protein, look for sales on nuts, eggs. and legumes. For Vitamin D, get 10-15 minutes of good old sunlight and eat eggs and fish. B2 is available in leafy greens, meats, whole grains, and sweet potatoes.
Enjoyed the video……can you name the store brand ketchup and the good spaghetti sauce???????