Cheapism

[Artemis Windsong]

Eating well with Dollar Store food.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/how-to-live-off-dollar50-a-week-at-the-dollar-store/ar-AAdRYwE?li=BBieYpp#page=1

[marvholly]

<p>I spend MUCH less than $50/week on food.  I DO buy a few food items at Dollar Tree but can buy most food MUCH cheaper & healthier at my independent grocery storess/chains.</p><p><br></p><p>Example: 5 oz turkey burger for $1 or 16 oz pkg of ground turkey on sale $2.</p><p><br></p><p>Also, my dollar store does NOT sell fruits, veg or salad fixings.</p>

[Deleted]

We have different definitions of well.

[Artemis Windsong]

No independent grocery chains here.

I know some peeps have posted they were short on funds for food in the past.  I usually recommend dollar stores as a start.  Here, a person needs to know their prices.  I bought green olives for a dollar then the grocer across the parking lot had them for 89 cents.

We have several dollar stores.  Only one has frozen foods.  None have fresh fruit/vegies.

I get my allergy nasal decongestant at dollar store.  Next door it's a $1.50 for the same thing.  Then stair step up in price at mass merchandisers like Walmart then grocers.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I read that week's menu and I don't think it has one thing on it that I actually eat

[Shooby]

Well, you buy what you can afford. But the idea that you can't "afford" to eat decent food unless you spend a ton of money is bunk. A bag of apples, a couple pounds of carrots, 10 pound bags of rice, oatmeal, and frozen veggies are all very healthy. But, most people would rather just have an excuse than actually help themselves.

[marvholly]

Sept 7, 2015 18:15:32 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

I read that week's menu and I don't think it has one thing on it that I actually eat

I looked at several days worth of menus. Like Molly said - NOT nearly enough fruit & veggies to be healthy. Also, as I said - I pay MUCH less than $50 for a week of food stuff that has 1 fruit and 3-5 servings of veg/day.

[wvugurl26]

I would think Aldi's would be a better idea. I know when you have limited funds you have limited funds but if you have kitchen facilities must this mean highly processed crap?

[Deleted]

I think Artemis was trying to be helpful. I'm not picking at you A... I just agree on the processed crap. And I'm just grateful I'm in a position to be able to buy better things...

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

We have one true Dollar Store here but it doesn't sell a lot of food that isn't heavily processed junk.   We have Family Dollar and Dollar General which I find to be even more expensive than the grocery store when it comes to a lot of the items on that list.   Their sales on food items aren't very good either.

Your better bet around would be Alidi's if we're just going to go based on regular sales price.  If you have the time planning around the sales Hy-Vee has could stretch your $50 pretty far.  A lot of those items on teh list go on sale for 5/$5 or even 10/$10.

[marvholly]

And when things are on sale 5/$5 or 10/$10 you do NOT usually have to buy 5 or 10. You can buy however many you want/need for $1 each at most stores. I have seen/heard a LOT of people do NOT know that.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

DH and I got in an argument once that I had to buy 5 to get the deal.   So I put one in the cart and then shoved the recipet under his nose after we checked out. I was right.

The ads usually specify if you have to actually buy X of whatever to get the discount price. 

[emma1420]

With that menu you need to save for the medical bills from the diabetes or heart disease you'll develop.

[kittensaver]

Sept 9, 2015 16:25:11 GMT -5 emma1420 said:

With that menu you need to save for the medical bills from the diabetes or heart disease you'll develop.

 a bunch of "food" in the 3 P's category (packaged, processed and preserved) and nary a fresh fruit or green vegetable in sight. Well, I saw a smattering of peas in one dish, and a tomato slice and a leaf of lettuce on a sandwich, but the grocery list certainly didn't have any fresh veggies on it at all  

[Artemis Windsong]

Boxed, bagged, canned and frozen are also food groups. 

[kittensaver]

Sept 9, 2015 16:46:32 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Boxed, bagged, canned and frozen are also food groups. 

Canned I understand, because I can my excess produce a few times per year.

Frozen I get too - I freeze excess, and I've seen the studies that show fresh frozen (immediately, right out of the fields) fruits and veggies retain more nutrition than produce that sits for weeks waiting to be bought.

Boxed and bagged? not so much . Most of it has been highly processed (stripped/peeled, heated, pressed, rolled, extruded, etc.) and laced with artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, "enhancers," "stabilizers," fillers, etc. No thanks.

Call me a Luddite . . . .

[Iggy aka IG]

Sept 7, 2015 9:14:50 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

No independent grocery chains here.

I know some peeps have posted they were short on funds for food in the past.  I usually recommend dollar stores as a start.  Here, a person needs to know their prices.  I bought green olives for a dollar then the grocer across the parking lot had them for 89 cents.

We have several dollar stores.  Only one has frozen foods.  None have fresh fruit/vegies.

I get my allergy nasal decongestant at dollar store.  Next door it's a $1.50 for the same thing.  Then stair step up in price at mass merchandisers like Walmart then grocers.

I was one of them.  Thank goodness for this SS board.  It wasn't too long ago I would have $10 for food and list out what I could buy that would go the farthest.  It also wasn't too long ago I had a few dollars worth of quarters to donate at the food bank in exchange for a few bags of food.

[Artemis Windsong]

I spent a lot of time in my 20s eating bologne sandwiches and tomato soup.  The reason I was so thin was I underate so the kids could have more.

Now, I'm good at stretching meals with casseroles.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I'm really pretty good at cooking from scratch with not much $$.  I cooked with a lot of loss leaders though.

What I don't get is why would you buy a cornbread mix for $1 when you can make more than 5 muffins with less than $1 in ingredients?  Why would you pay $3 for 15 oz of canned tuna when you can buy boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99/lb?  Why would you pay $1 for a quart of milk when you can pay $2.50/gallon?  Just because you are buying in smaller quantities doesn't mean that you are paying the least for what you receive.  8 oz of dehydrated potatoes for $1 when you can get russet potatoes for 0.39/lb or a 10 lb bag for $2?

Celery, carrots and onions are incredibly cheap veggies that impart a LOT to meals and they're healthier than opening a can of soup to make a sauce.

[Deleted]

Sept 13, 2015 16:55:56 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I'm really pretty good at cooking from scratch with not much $$.  I cooked with a lot of loss leaders though.

What I don't get is why would you buy a cornbread mix for $1 when you can make more than 5 muffins with less than $1 in ingredients?  Why would you pay $3 for 15 oz of canned tuna when you can buy boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99/lb?  Why would you pay $1 for a quart of milk when you can pay $2.50/gallon?  Just because you are buying in smaller quantities doesn't mean that you are paying the least for what you receive.  8 oz of dehydrated potatoes for $1 when you can get russet potatoes for 0.39/lb or a 10 lb bag for $2?

Celery, carrots and onions are incredibly cheap veggies that impart a LOT to meals and they're healthier than opening a can of soup to make a sauce.

But if you only have, say $20, you might be more concerned with being able to buy as many items as you can with the money instead of larger quantities of fewer items. Sometimes people don't have enough money available  at that moment to save money on food by shopping "smarter", if that makes sense.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 13, 2015 17:46:46 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Sept 13, 2015 16:55:56 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I'm really pretty good at cooking from scratch with not much $$.  I cooked with a lot of loss leaders though.

What I don't get is why would you buy a cornbread mix for $1 when you can make more than 5 muffins with less than $1 in ingredients?  Why would you pay $3 for 15 oz of canned tuna when you can buy boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99/lb?  Why would you pay $1 for a quart of milk when you can pay $2.50/gallon?  Just because you are buying in smaller quantities doesn't mean that you are paying the least for what you receive.  8 oz of dehydrated potatoes for $1 when you can get russet potatoes for 0.39/lb or a 10 lb bag for $2?

Celery, carrots and onions are incredibly cheap veggies that impart a LOT to meals and they're healthier than opening a can of soup to make a sauce.

But if you only have, say $20, you might be more concerned with being able to buy as many items as you can with the money instead of larger quantities of fewer items. Sometimes people don't have enough money available  at that moment to save money on food by shopping "smarter", if that makes sense.

There have been times where I have had a whopping $15 to spend on groceries each week. When I bought groceries, I would buy those that gave me the most flexibility.  Is a single package of 8 oz a better deal when you can buy 10 lbs for $2, if you only get a single use out of that 8 oz?  Potatoes are versatile, and can extend a lot of meals.    

For instance, this morning I made breakfast tacos for 2.  Normally, I'd use 4 eggs for 2 stuffed tacos each.  Idiot me, I had 2 eggs left so I stretched those 2 eggs with hash browns that I made out of a single potato.  With eggs at $4/dozen, 4 eggs would have been $1.33.  2 eggs were 0.65 + 0.10 for the potato.  That made the filling .75 vs 1.33, saving 0.50+.

And as we will be having potato salad with the grilled chops tonight, it means we have to eat potatoes twice today.  Oh, well....

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 13, 2015 18:08:19 GMT -5 southernsusana said:

Sept 13, 2015 17:46:46 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

But if you only have, say $20, you might be more concerned with being able to buy as many items as you can with the money instead of larger quantities of fewer items. Sometimes people don't have enough money available  at that moment to save money on food by shopping "smarter", if that makes sense.

And sometimes you don't want to eat the same thing every night for a week.  And sometimes you barely know how to cook.  And sometimes you don't drink milk because you are lactose intolerant but need some to cook with.

My point is that there are a dozen reasons why people buy smaller quantities of stuff or convenience packages. 

As a society, we have become really quick to point fingers at other people's eating habits.  Sometimes it is because we as taxpayers pay for it.  Sometimes it is simply because they don't do what we would do.

It isn't society's best characteristic. 

None of those reasons are valid, as the person apparently knows how to cook, and they bought milk to use for cereal.  If I was lactose intolerant, the milk wouldn't be used for their cereal and the lactose intolerant people I know simply don't cook with it.  Milk is a fairly cheap source of protein, if you are looking at things nutrient wise.  It has more protein than protein shakes that are given as food supplements (yeah...I was given these after surgery when they were trying to get me to eat more protein).

Do packaged foods have a purpose?  Absolutely.  But it is not the least expensive way to eat.  I kept packaged oatmeal at my desk at work because it was cheaper for me to spend $2 for the 6 packges to avoid the cafeteria at work.  But had I eaten it at home from the bulk, it would have cost me less.  If my budget was so tight, then I would have brought a thermos of it to work.

That shopping list had a phenomenal amount of sodium in it, it is not the healthiest and I don't remember seeing a single fresh fruit on it....but it contained high fat granola bars as a snack.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Also, how are you having potato salad if you don't have eggs? Lol. See, I would go, "Uh, I can't make potato salad because we have no eggs." You know how to substitute . . . or leave out. Of course, it would be really bad potato salad to me if it had no eggs. It would be just potatoes and mayo and mustard. It wouldn't be good potato salad for me without eggs.

I got dressed and went to the grocery store.  But I wasn't about to get dressed and go to the store at 8:30 am before I had my first cup of coffee and I was hungry.  You're right, potato salad definitely needs eggs!

Right now, we spend a lot of money on groceries but there was a time where I was budgeted down to a gnat's ass.  One of the things I quickly discovered was that packaged food is expensive and gives you far less flexibility than if you have the raw ingredients.  If I buy canned tomatoes on sale at 0.50/can, I have a lot more flexibility than I do if I spend $1 on a can of spaghetti sauce.  Being stocked with flour, cornmeal, baking soda/powder means that I am not dependent upon a package to make 5 corn muffins, but I can make a pan of cornbread AND bread AND biscuits, etc.  Last time I looked flour was about $3, cornmeal $2.  Being stocked with those 4 ingredients + yeast would probably cost you $10 but you have the ability to do a lot more with it - and it's healthier.

[dannylion]

Sept 13, 2015 16:55:56 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I'm really pretty good at cooking from scratch with not much $$.  I cooked with a lot of loss leaders though.

What I don't get is why would you buy a cornbread mix for $1 when you can make more than 5 muffins with less than $1 in ingredients?  Why would you pay $3 for 15 oz of canned tuna when you can buy boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99/lb?  Why would you pay $1 for a quart of milk when you can pay $2.50/gallon?  Just because you are buying in smaller quantities doesn't mean that you are paying the least for what you receive.  8 oz of dehydrated potatoes for $1 when you can get russet potatoes for 0.39/lb or a 10 lb bag for $2?

Celery, carrots and onions are incredibly cheap veggies that impart a LOT to meals and they're healthier than opening a can of soup to make a sauce.

Probably because there are folks who have no idea you don't need a mix from a box to make corn muffins.

I recall remarking at work some years ago that the night before I realized I had all the ingredients for hot cocoa, so I made some. One of my colleagues (younger than me but not terribly young) was baffled.  What did I mean by ingredients?  You just mix the stuff in the package with water.  I explained that I preferred to make it from scratch with whole milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla.  She had no idea you could make it yourself and make it taste the way you wanted.  I expect it is the same for some folks with muffins, cakes, scalloped potatoes, and any number of other things that can now be purchased as boxed mixes.  They never learned any differently. 

I do keep a few boxes of muffin mixes and the like for when I'm too tired or disinclined to make the item from scratch.  They're convenient, but not particularly cost effective if the food budget is tight. 

[Apple]

Dang it, I lost a big post

I wish home ec was a requirement in school, I think it would be helpful to a lot of people, even those kids who, like my son, have learned to cook from their parents.

I think skills of following a recipe, as well as having to make do with what you have would be great skills for jr high and high school kids to learn.  Sadly, a lot of schools don't even offer the classes as an elective anymore.

Articles like this may not be perfect, but if they can help spark an idea, or help encourage someone to who has to get by on very little that they can get by on very little, it's a good thing.  Sometimes you just need to feel like you can do it.

As for mixes, I often make my own.  I currently have chai mix, rye biscuit, cornbread, oatmeal smoothie, and pie dough mixes in the pantry.  When I have to pull everything out to make something, if I have enough of the ingredients, I'll go ahead and throw together mixes of the dry ingredients, putting them in sandwich bags or mason jars.  Then, on a night when I'm pressed for time, I just grab a homemade mix, add the wet ingredients (usually milk, eggs, butter/oil), and it's just as fast as something that comes in a box from the store, but tastes much, much better.  

[Deleted]

It's called Family and Consumer Science now... At least around here.

[marvholly]

I buy smaller quantities of some items (such as milk) because I ONLY use it in cooking. So I DO buy the shelf stable quarts at the dollar store & plan several items when I open the container (mac & cheese, au gratin potatoes, pudding……….).

I DEPLORE waste. As a single I DO buy some package foods because to make from scratch = WAAAAY too much leftover or over eating. I buy corn muffin mix to give me 2 servings. I could make from scratch but I don’t want a big pouch of corn meal clogging up my shelves.  & attracting pests.

[Shooby]

I wouldn't call someone "cheap" who was simply living within their means. I don't consider eating ramen noodles to be cheapism if that is truly all you can afford.

[Shooby]

I don't see the point of buying in bulk or buying a lot more than you need. If you are only going to eat a 4 oz can of green beans for example and it is $.69, then you are not saving money to buy the 8 oz can for $.99 cents if you indeed are only going to eat 4 oz and throw the rest away. If you are not going to drink a gallon of milk in by the time it will expire, then buying a quart may make more sense. And, for bulk buying, sometimes your tastes change or you get sick of eating certain things. And, in reality I think most people have enough dry food and canned goods to weather a storm so don't need to stock up.

[haapai]

I found the 7-day meal plan oddly deficient in bulk and calories.  For some darned reason, I just kept getting hungrier as I read it.  I don't think that I could hack a meal plan like that without having a stash of rice, pasta, or potatoes that I could eat with abandon if a meal didn't fill me up, or got burnt, or just to dilute the overwhelming amount of salt in that plan.

I work a physically demanding job and have to be quite conscious of my caloric intake or I will lose weight and strength and become a whiny, useless rhymes-with.   I might become very difficult to be around if I followed that meal plan.  I'm not nice when my weight falls below 110 lbs.