Sustainable Tips to Save Money on Groceries

[FarmerJamie]

- Can, not freeze, if possible.
- find some local friends to buy in bigger bulk amounts (there are companies that provide the bulk service)
- lower your personal standards, store brands can be much cheaper than national brands.
- learn to bake bread
- eat more seasonally. Do you really need strawberries regularly in the middle of winter?

 

[CrealCritter]

@SS Project Manager

We have implemented all of what you mention.

If I could add a couple of things to your list.

Grow a garden and preserve the harvest. I can't stress the "buy local" mentality enough, there are numerous benefit to buying local, not to mention you're helping the local community and developing real relationships. You can even barter or give away the excess to your neighbors. Personally I enjoy giving excess away, with no expectations of anything in return.

When going to town, ask the neighbors if they need anything. A lot of stores you can place an order on-line and pay for it, and pick it up. You can pick up your neighbors, while you pick up your own. In turn your neighbors will return the favor and ask you if you need anything.

Also check your local meat processor. Many times they offer package deals based on 1/4 or 1/2 animals. And at greatly reduced prices per lb of what you will find in the grocery stores. Think long term when purchasing 1/4 or 1/2 animal. For example this is our beef or pork or lamb for 6 months or a year and plan your meals accordingly. Ensure you have adequate deep freezer space to store the packaged animal.

Find a farmer and enquire about purchasing a 1/2 or 1/4 animal, that's going to the meat locker (meat processor). You'll be amazed how much meat you'll receive and how much $$$ you can save. Plus by doing so your helping your local community.

One last thing... Hamburger is a universal meat. Just think how many meals can be made from hamburger. My personal favorite is taco Tuesday's 😋

Thanks for the list of ideas, they are good ones and worthy of consideration for implementation.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[Hinotori]

I follow the ad cycles for laundry detergent, shampoo, soap, deodorant. Usually I can get some of that with a coupon as well as the ad because I have a store card.

Everything goes in buckets with Gamma lids here if it's dry goods. We do have a freezer. I do stuff as I was taught growing up. Why we have stuff during shortages when my brothers dont.

 

[Phaedra]

I also did all the items on the list. One more helpful thing - do the grocery after a good meal - this helps to eliminate unnecessary spending on heavily processed food.

 

[baymule]

it hurts my soul to buy from the store.

You are in good company here!

 

[baymule]

Protein tubs will hold 21 gallons of water which is a little over 3 cuft of compost soil.

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The least expensive bagged soil I've found last year was on sale at rural king (40 lbs or .75 cuft) 4 bags should get you close for each tub. Currently top soil at rural king is $2.75 a bag so that's $11.00 a tub, if you went with all bagged soil.

At this rate, if you got access to a plow and disc you would be a lot better off money wise. Probably wouldn't take but a few dollars in fuel to plow and disc. If you have access to a box tiller you could also till instead of plow and disc but I like top soil on the bottom rotting when the roots find it they take off like a rocket.

Just thinking out loud

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

You are absolutely right. I’ll look around for a place where I can buy compost by the yard. It will be cheaper that way. I have horrible fences, with 40 years of brush and trees, vines, briars and just a mess. That’s where I’ll be directing my energy. I have to clean all that up, take down the old fence and put up new fence. The tubs are to give me the fresh vegetables I enjoy. A real garden will come later.

 

[Phaedra]

Mooch off of friends and family.

DD is soooo wasteful. She always tosses the turkey carcass. I got it simmered yesterday.
She always throws out the giblets. Not anymore. I'll take them.
She throws away alot of food. Lots of rice. I bought her a large round foodservice bucket with lid from the Chefs Store and now anything that she wants to throw away goes in there, and placed in the extra fridge in the garage.. Purportedly for the 12 chickens, but sometimes I find things for us. (like half a cabbage yesterday).

Elderly neighbors below us let me glean their garden a few times. In exchange, I passed on some Harry & David gourmet items I had picked up from their Medford OR giveaways.

Another neighbor has a large apple tree. All the apples fell off. I asked and then got permission to pick up the fallen ones and so I made applesauce.

Love it, too!
Carcasses and giblets are all beloved items here - they all came from lives sacrificed for us so I always try my best to make the maximum use from them.

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

I do most everything on the list, but buy local, for us buying local is a great thing but it will not save you any money

 

[Phaedra]

We could add moredetail to meal planning. You can save the most money by mastering "piggybacking," or rolling leftovers onto a new meal.

@baymule shared an example in an earlier comment!

Experienced frugal cooks often start with a bone-in roast (or a rotisserie chicken, which might cost even less!).

Eat the choice meat the first day, and pick the rest of the meat off the bone. Save the picked meat. You can usually get 2 meals out of it. You can mix with rice or another grain to stretch it for tacos or sloppy joes. (Save the bones and all your veggie scraps, like onion peels)

Put the bones in a big pot of water and boil them all day or night. (Crockpot or instant pot if you're not home to supervise). Ladle off the broth. You can make soup, keep it in the fridge up to 5 days, add salt and drink it, freeze it, or pressure can it. Refill your pot with water and repeat. You can keep making broth from bones until you can smash them between your fingers. If you can't use or preserve that much broth, freeze the bones and make more broth later.

You can also piggyback in less obvious ways. I cook chili 3 to 5 days after spaghetti. Why? I can toss any leftover marinara into the chili. Adds bulk and you'll never taste the difference. Nothing wasted! Then in a few days when my family is tired of chili, I make mac n cheese and mix it in with the chili for an easy goulash.

Little bits of leftovers can be reincarnated as quesadillas or grilled cheese.

Leftover oatmeal can hide in sloppy joes or meatloaf (if its not too sweet), or in bread, muffins, or cookies.

So many ways to piggyback!

I love piggyback cooking! Especially we share most of our ingredients with dogs/cats/chickens/quails - very limited things go straight to the compost heaps.

 

[Mini Horses]

I believe she has a tractor and disc. But with several other things "to do" time for a new garden plot may be limited. Don't think a site has been decided yet. 🤷. Agree about cost factors.

A tiller attachment here this year has been worth the expense!! Not just garden but some shallow pasture reno has been good. More this spring will be done.