Daily Preparedness

So, you have your shopping list carefully coordinated with your menu plans and activities, you’ve taken an inventory of what you have on hand, have your menus planned, your coupons organized, you know your budget and you are ready to go to the store.

Hold the presses! Not so fast there, X-Treme Shoppers. Sit down for a moment and look at that list. How serious are you about trimming the X-cess from that X-treme list? Want to save 10%, 20%, 30% or even 50%? Do you NEED to save 50% or more? Let’s look at that list and find the hidden money-wasting time bombs that will blow your budget sky high. The top budget busters to be avoided by X-treme Savers are:

1. Prepared foods. That box of Hamburger Helper is an over-priced, well preserved & nutritional questionable box load of budget waster. Read a recipe and cook it from scratch–you’ll save 50% or more. Chicken fingers, frozen entrees, store-prepared entrees, etc, etc, etc are almost all low in nutritional value and high on cost per serving. Also avoid recipes that require you to purchase expensive premade items. For instance, while searching for a lemon chicken recipe, one ‘celebrity chef’ included a jar of lemon curd. Lemon curd is usually $4 to $5 a jar–a lemon is 50 cents! BUST them all off the list!

2. Single Serving Packaged Foods. Yep, anything that comes in a single serving size is probably over-priced and wiping your savings off the plate. Instead, buy the big size and portion it out yourself. You not only save money, but excess packaging to boot. It takes mere minutes to package up lunchbox goodies in mass.

3. Chips & Snack Foods. Nearly all are priced per pound higher than the best fresh fruit or meat. The average cost of potato chips is over $5lb. Apples average $1.79lb and are loaded with nutrition rather than empty calories. Substitute popcorn (yes, you can pop it one day and send it in lunch the next), fresh veggies or fruits for those snacks and chips. Your family will be healthier and your wallet fatter.

4. Baby juices, cereals & baby foods. Baby juices are merely ‘regular’ juice watered down. Water is cheap, so buy frozen juice and add extra water to it. Baby foods can be made in minutes at home with an inexpensive hand grinder, food processor or potato masher. Baby oatmeal can be made by whirring up some regular rolled oats in the blender before cooking. Add extra water to the oatmeal once it is cooked and you have baby oatmeal for pennies. Better yet, breast feed your baby and skip all of that baby food for a longer period of time!

5. Disposables. We throw away everything from diapers (one of the greatest health hazards in landfills) to wipes to plates, pans, cups, towels, toilet bowl cleaners, mops…on and on and on. Want to green up your wallet and the planet? Remember the three R’s–REDUCE, reuse, recycle. Substitute cloth diapers and save thousands of dollars between birth and potty training. (Some economists claim that getting rid of disposable diapers, wipes & ‘baby’ juices, etc is enough money to finance a child’s higher education–put that money in a tax-free account & Junior will go on to college). Make your own wipes if you must have disposable or use a washcloth at home! A dollar store toilet bowl brush and some bleach do a great job of cleaning the toilet. Paper towels? Use & wash cloth dish towels. Carefully scrutinize how many items (look at them as DOLLARS) you are hauling to the curb every week & think about what those dollars translate into. Google for ideas on making your own wipes, etc. for pennies on the dollar.

6. Cleaning Products. In addition to the disposable mops, dusting cloths, toilet bowl cleaners, most households spend ten times or more on cleaning products than they need to. Most household cleaning, including clearing clogged drains, can be accomplished with a short list of inexpensive products. Bleach, baking soda, vinegar and ammonia (DO NOT MIX THEM ALL TOGETHER) can take care of nearly any household mess you will ever need to clean up.

7. ‘Air fresheners’ and related ’smell good items’. Oh please, scratch these off your list. Home air fresheners either mask odors with chemicals OR coat the inside of your nasal passages with an oil that blocks smells. Both can be hazardous to pets and humans who suffer from respiratory ailments. Instead, open the windows, find the offensive smell or make your own boiling potpouri from citrus rinds, apple cores, some cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg. Boil it on the stove and then simmer for a few hours. Your home will smell apple pie welcoming and your neighbors will think you are baking.

8. Over-priced hair care. Compare prices occasionally between the grocery store, discounters and beauty suppliers. You can often buy the best products for much less if you purchase in bulk from a beauty supplier.

9. Name Brands. Always try a ‘generic’ version or store brand of your most commonly purchased items. Try them at least once and you may find that you like them! Start your children off with the generics and they’ll be happy. Many store brands are packaged in name brand factories and simply relabeled.

10. Impulse Items. Avoid anything near the registers. Smart shoppers often segregate impulse items from the rest of their groceries and harshly reconsider each item before checking out. If an item isn’t on your list, think not twice but three or four times about whether you need it and can afford it within your budget guidelines.

Again, review your list for budget busters and carefully weigh their value against fiscal restraint. Now, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have sufficient time to shop carefully?

2. Am I going to be hungry half way through the store? (if yes, have a snack now)

3. Am I too tired or stressed to shop carefully?

4. Are there other errands I can do on the way to the grocery store?

5. If the weather is warm, do I have a way to keep cold items cold on the way home?

6. Do I have my chosen method of payment with me?

If you passed this mini-quiz with flying colors, it is time to go to the grocery store! Join us next week as we battle the budget busting lay out of most grocery stores in order to claim victory. Cross the finish line with your budget intact, your pantry organized, your menus healthier and your time saved!

If you have been on task with preparing your yearly budgetary guidelines, you now know how you spend your money, how you will spend your money and what your goals are. One of the easiest and smartest ways to remain on task is to monitor and cut your weekly expenditure for groceries. And the best way to do that is to begin a food storage program.

How do you save money storing food?

• Take advantage of sales and coupons for products you use frequently. REALLY smart shoppers can reduce their food bill by more than 50 - 75%. Some products end up free.
• Reduce your dependency on carry-out or eat-in restaurants.
• Cut the number of times you go to the store, which is an important step in trimming the budget!
• Eat a greater variety of foods which contributes to a healthier you.
• Protect yourself from sudden cycles of inflation.
• Buy in bulk and greatly reduce your per item cost.
• Increase your sense of security, knowing that you can always feed your family.
• A freezer enables you to take advantage of deep discounts on meat and other frozen items. A freezer will also allow you to ‘cook ahead’, thus saving you time, money and energy costs. Don’t forget that many meal components can be frozen, such as chopped onions, cooked meat and vegetables.
• A freezer will allow you to ‘cook ahead’ for busy morning breakfasts, workday lunches and hurried dinners! Huge money savers!!

How to begin with a food storage program?

• Develop that basic shopping list that we already talked about. What items do you routinely purchase?
• Keep that list with you and when you see a sale, purchase as many as you can reasonably afford. Be certain to check for expiration dates. Know the difference between ‘best by’ (when the product is at its optimum), ‘use by’ (some foods can safely be eaten–especially canned goods–this date if they stored and prepared properly), and expiration date (the food may not be safe for long after this date).
• Your first goal should be a 30-day supply of foods you routinely eat. Include in this 30-day supply a 2 week supply of food that can be eaten with little or no power.
• Educate yourself about how to store the food you wish to use. (More on this later)
• Seek out resources for purchasing basic foods in large quantities. Always be certain to double check the price per pound/unit before purchasing in bulk.
• Seek out and find the areas of your home in which you can store food.
• Store a variety of foods.
• Work towards a year’s supply of basic commodities. This includes foods that can be stored for up to or exceeding 30 years, such as whole grains, beans, sugar, salt and some canned goods.
• Learn to cook with your food storage and introduce it into your family’s diet.
• Store a number of meal ingredients or complete meals that anyone old enough to safely cook can prepare on those ‘horrible, no good, very bad days’ when you might be tempted to pick up pizza.
• Store foods for times of sickness. Canned soups, gelatin mixes, pastas and other ‘gentle’ foods are good choices.

Where to store your food?

• Nearly all food will store for the longest period of time when it is kept cool, dry and away from direct light.
• Not all food needs to be in kitchen!
• Store foods by category whenever possible.
• When installing shelving for food storage, be certain that you anchor the shelves to wall studs.
• Put bed risers on every bed in your house and store food under them. If your children are very young, you might want to add safety rails to the sides of their bed to prevent them from falling too far.  Cardboard flats of vegetables are a great thing to store under beds. You can keep like vegetables together and keep the cans organized with the boxes. They slide out easily!
• The bottoms of closets are a great place! Instead of using this space as a breeding ground for dust bunnies, put it to work for you!
• Look up–high shelves in closets can easily store a variety of goods. Install extra shelving in every closet that you can. Foods in glass jars can be stored on sturdy shelves above your washer and drier. This has become our ’second pantry’ and provides easy to find storage for a huge variety of foods!
• High kitchen cabinets are great places for dry storage items such as rice, sugar, pasta. Store other goods in those hard to reach backs of lower cabinets.
• Utilize every glass and plastic food safe container you get! Look for the ‘PETE’ symbol which signifies that the container is food safe. ‘Juicy Juice’ type bottles can be washed in the dishwasher without the dry cycle and used to store a wide variety of foods. They often fit on the narrow shelves attached to closet doors. Glass jars with ‘pop top’ safety lids can be resealed to store dry goods (but not utilized for home canning).
• Canning jars make wonderful storage containers. They can be sealed with a ‘foodsaver’ type device and provide insect and rodent free storage. Sizes vary from 4 ounces to gallons.
• Ask for empty large sized jars from daycare centers, restaurants and other mass-feeding places.
• Most goods should be removed from their original paper packaging before storing.
• Plastic totes can store plastic bags of food such as powdered sugar and beans.
• Learn which foods can be stored without losing quality in your garage. Be certain that containers are tight so that you don’t invite critters. Sugars and salt can safely be stored in your garage. For more specific temperature guidelines, check the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.
• Analyze every room of your house to see if you can put up heavy-duty shelving for food storage and then disguise it.
• Food in packages can be stored in new metal garbage cans with lids. Add a ‘decorator round’ tablecloth and you have an end table.
• Dry basements are often the ideal environment as they stay cooler than the rest of the house.
• If you are storing in a variety of places, keep a directory of what you keep where.
• Ask at your local bakery for the plastic buckets that they receive their icing in. These make great food storage containers! If you line them with mylar bags, they are essentially rodent and insect proof. Just be certain to wash the buckets thoroughly.
• Food grade plastic storage containers are available in a wide variety of sizes and types. If you are investing in more than a few, seek out wholesalers and those that sell to the commercial food trade.
• Disguise lightweight items, such as pasta, in decorative baskets or other containers (IKEA is often a good resource) and place on open shelving in any room.

How much should I store?

• First, do NOT go into debt to obtain your food storage. Do NOT purchase over-priced ‘kits’ of food storage. Effective food storage programs require that they be tailored to your family needs. Keep in mind food allergies, sensitivities and the ages of your family members.
• A 30-day supply for two adults would most likely include 15 lb. of meat (mix of frozen  & canned), 1 lb of crackers, 10lb of sugar, 5 lbs of dry beans, 20 lb of whole grain (rice, oats, corn, wheat), 10 lb of pasta, 2 lb of butter/margarine, 1/2 gallon of cooking oil, 15 cans of vegetables, 10 cans of tomato sauce, 10 cans of fruit, 2 lb of dried fruit, 10 cans of soup/stew/chili, 5 lb of flour, 1 box of pancake mix, 1 bottle of pancake syrup, 1 large jar of jelly/jam, 2 lb of peanut butter, 1 jar of years, 1 lb of salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, 2 lb of powdered milk or equivalent in shelf-stable milk, 1 lb of Parmesan cheese or other shelf-stable cheese, a variety of cold cereals, spices & flavorings. This 30-day supply includes 2 weeks of food requiring minimal preparation. You will, of course, want to add or subtract foods according to your own tastes and needs!
• A simple way to develop your own 30-day supply is to write out menus for two weeks. Develop a shopping list based on that menu and then double it. Don’t forget items you do not replenish frequently such as salt, baking soda, etc.
• Once you have a 30-day supply, consider doubling the amounts stored until you have a 60-day supply, incorporating more long-term storage foods such as whole grains, dried beans, sugar and salt. When you achieve the 60-day supply, work towards a 90-day supply and then add predominately long-term storage items.

How do I use food storage so that I do not waste money?

• This is an important component of an effective food storage program! You do not want to store food and simply have to throw it away.
• Rotate the food so that the newest food goes to the back of the storage area. This is fairly simple to do, especially if you store foods by categories. For instance, if you store all of your cold cereal in one place, you simply place the new boxes at the bottom of the stack or at the back of the row. This same principle is used in every grocery store and is often referred to as ‘first in, first out’.
• Mark expiration dates on sensitive foods (such as mayonnaise) clearly on the outside of the package. Keep a permanent marker handy for just this purpose. A quick glance at your storage will alert you to the fact, for instance, you have two jars of mayonnaise that are going to expire in the next two months. Adjust your menus and plans to accommodate items due to expire.
• When you find an item at a super-good price, work it into your menus!
• If you are storing long-term items, work them slowly into your family’s menus. One way to do this is to grind beans or grains and slowly add them to soups, stews or use as a thickening agent for gravies. Add just a few beans to a vegetable soup or stew. Wheat can be boiled and added to chili, spaghetti, soups and other foods.
• Experiment with new recipes that utilize items from your storage or that you find on sale.

Storing food is a proven way to not only save you money, but ease the stress of ‘what’s for dinner’, save energy, improve the quality of your diet, reduce your time in the kitchen and allow you be more self-sufficient. It is a wise, provident and easy thing to do that will enable your family to be prepared for many of life’s events! It is, ‘a good thing’ so start today. Start slowly, work diligently and be richly blessed for your efforts.