Today' Shopping

I went shopping today to stock up. I wrote sometime back that I don't use coupons, but I had an epiphany. If I have them, then I might as well use them.  All this was purchased for $60.71, plus I received a $5.00 off the next purchase coupon so that really makes it like $55.71. (Please excuse the grainy photo. I don't know why my photos look like this when posted via the Blogger app for my phone.)

I purchased 7 bottles of Wisk laundry detergent, 3 bottles of Clorox bleach, 2 bottles of Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, 4 jars of Kraft mayo, 4 bottles of Dove body wash, 10 cans of flavored almonds (for my dear husband), 12 Three Musketeers bars, 2 Reach toothbrushes, 4 body wash tools, 20 count flour tortillas, head of lettuce, tub of sour cream and 1 six count Handi Wipes.  (Whew!)

All items are regularly used/consumed items.  As a rule, I always stock up when prices are at their lowest.  Total coupon savings according to the receipt was $44.96 in addition to the store sales price savings of $42.78.  So that means if the items were not on sale and/or I did not use coupons, this shopping trip would have cost me $145.45! Now that's what I'm talking about!  I don't believe in using coupons just for the sake of using them, but when combined on top of sale prices, the savings make it worth the time to assemble and organize them.  Why didn't I think of it before??

Clearance Score!

Grabbed these 5 cans of powdered milk at Walmart on my last trip there. These are 3.52lbs/1.6kg cans. These went straight to my stockpile for future use.  These were marked off 50%, so each can came to $7.74!  With milk prices going through the roof and a gallon of milk hovering around $3.50 or so, regular milk has been relegated to drinking and morning cereal only.  I used to use evaporated milk for cooking, but I am down to my last can out of the stash I had on hand.  Last time evaporated milk went on sale for $0.50 a can, I think I purchased around 40 cans?  Since then, I have not seen them go on sale.  Regular price for them now is around $1.30 or so a can, so you can see what a good deal these canisters of powdered milk were!

I have been using powdered milk in baking and cooking for about a year now. It is convenient to have on hand. No last minute trips to the grocery store because I don't have milk to use in a recipe.  Taste wise, I think powdered milk is no different than regular milk in cooking.  I have to admit I have not tried to actually drink the stuff mixed with water.  What I have read is that if you do want to drink it, one must mix it in a container and chill it in the refrigerator first.  Otherwise, it is my understanding that it tastes like yuck!  I hope I never get to the point of having to resort to that!  I have used powdered milk in Southern biscuits, milk gravy, pot pies and cake recipes with success.  So if you come across deals like this, I recommend that you grab it! Unlike regular milk, these don't go sour on you!

(Almost) Free Pasta

Ronzoni pasta was on sale at Kroger for 50 cents each if you purchased 10 participating items in the store. Although I generally don't use coupons, I found out about their "$1 off of two boxes" coupons. I printed out the coupons at http://www.itpaystoeatpasta.com/, and had enough coupons for 16 free boxes. I had to buy 4 more to get the sales price, so I paid $2.00 for 20 packages, or 10 cents each! That's what I'm talking about!

I think deals like this makes me want to reevaluate my aversion to coupons.  I normally don't use coupons because, 1) I don't get the Sunday paper, 2) I don't buy that many processed foods, and 3) I am too lazy to try to find deals like this.  BUT, free is free, and if the stores and the manufacturers are having deals like this in these hard times, I think I better start paying attention!  A big "thank you" shout out has to go to the "Deals To Meals" blog I follow, where I found out about this.  Though the sale was over yesterday, you can still go online to print the coupons, which are good through June 9th. I would say one dollar off of two boxes is still a good deal! Hopefully the sales will continue through next week!  You can only print each coupon twice, but I have two computers in the house, so I got double that amount.  If you have access to more computers, then hurray for you!

BUT, as with most things in life, you get a break on one thing, and then get socked in another.  At the last dental appointment, our dentist informed us that both our sons better get thier wisdom teeth pulled because they are coming in and will screw up thier orthodontic work in progress. He recommended that it be done this summer.  My older son started complaining that his mouth was hurting two days ago, and is scheduled for the oral surgery tomorrow.  Out of pocket costs for us (with insurance) will be $1300+. Ouch!

Stocking Up on Hot Dogs

Bun Length Oscar Mayer Wieners are on sale at Kroger now for 99 cents a pack of 8. About time! About a year ago, they went on sale for the same price, and I think I purchased around 40 packs to put in my freezer.  With two teenagers in the house and their friends often coming over on a regular basis, I needed a go-to light meal in case I needed to feed a gaggle of hungry teenagers.  At the time, I thought, "maybe I'm buying too much?" but went ahead with the purchase.  And, can you believe it? I was down to my last three packs!  That's a lot of hot dogs!  I managed to guesstimate almost exactly how much of this stuff would be consumed in the past year.  How about that!

Walmart usually sell these for about $2.00, so this was a good purchase.  I purchased 30 packs.  Kroger normally sells these for over $3.00, so my receipt stated that I "saved" $81.00 on today's purchase. 

It's quite a relief since my freezer was starting to look slightly empty.  I also purchased a pork shoulder on clearance for $13.00.  The regular prices was about $22.00.  Last time I purchased one, they were about $7.00 on sale for the same size, so prices have come up quite a bit. . .  Still, I can feed my family about 3 times off this one hunk of meat, so it is a good buy.  The one I purchased weighed about 8 pounds.  I made some killer pulled pork the other day in the oven with the last one I had in the freezer.  I will post the recipe some time in the future.

It's Time For Guerrilla Tactics

I tell you, things are really getting scary out there. Every time I go to the supermarket to go grocery shopping, the price of everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is going up.  For instance, I purchased several cases of Gatorade a while back when they were on sale for 50 cents a bottle. I don't care for them, but my husband likes to drink them occasionally, so I like to stock up when on sale so I don't end up paying full price.  The supermarket's usual price on this item was generally a dollar.  Gas stations and convenience stores sell them double that price at around 2 dollars a bottle.  This week, it is on sale for 64 cents at the supermarket.  My math is rusty, but that's about a 25 percent increase? Are you kidding me? 

Same thing for tubs of imitation butter I buy. . . I purchased a supply about a year ago for 99 cents per 15oz/425g tub. Now the "sale" price is hovering around 2 dollars each! That's a 100 percent increase! If prices keep going up at this rate, are we going to be able to afford to eat?  Our wages are not going up 25 or 100 percent!

I'm going to resort to making meals out of my pantry stash for a while and concentrate on guerrilla tactics shopping.  What I mean is, REALLY focus laser sharp on sales and loss leaders even more so than I used to, and put away a substantial stash to weather the coming storm.  It is getting frightfully ugly out there. . . 

Security in a Bag

With food prices on a steady march upwards, I decided I better purchase another bag of beans.  Here it is, all 50 pounds of it. It cost me $22.49 for this bag today. I purchased another bag about a year ago, and I hardly made a dent in it, so that means we have close to 100 pounds of this stuff. 

Still, this is less than half of the suggested amount needed to keep in food storage for a family of 4.  According to an LDS source the recommended amount is to have 60 pounds per person in legumes.  I probably have another 10-20 pounds in other miscellaneous types of dried beans.  I suppose this is a good start, but I need to step up the purchase. . .

Why do I do this? For one thing, I am purchasing food today that I will be eating tomorrow at yesterday's prices.  Beans keep indefinitely without losing much nutritional value, so I have the peace of mind that if prices become really high, I am assured that my family will be fed. It might get boring, but at least we will have food. . .

For another, I am convinced that we are in for some dire times ahead.  I probably sound like a nut, but I am convinced that we are facing a financial meltdown in the US in the not too distant future.  If things get really dicey, I will have a food supply stashed away until we can get into the swing of having to hunt, forage, and grow our own food.  In this respect, we are more fortunate than some. We live on an acre, so we have enough land to grow most of our vegetables if it came to that. Last year was the trial run, and we plan on enlarging the beds this year, "just in case."

As I watch the protests in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol over the proposed cutback of union representation for teachers, I feel I am seeing just a sampling of what is to come.  The teachers don't want to pay into their retirement and health care at all. They want the taxpayers to foot the bill. But the governor says without doing this, he cannot balance the State budget.  Things have reached the tipping point where the taxpayers are tired of paying public workers more in benefits than they themselves are getting.  I realize teachers are upset their cozy status quo is threatened to be changed, but if they don't give in, then they are facing layoffs! They don't see that they are going the way of Detroit where the unions completely destroyed an industry!

We are all making sacrifices these days.  I think it is time for union members to see that the status quo is not the answer.  In the meantime, I am going to continue squirreling food away "just in case."

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Tomato paste and American cheese

I was down to my last can of tomato paste, so I've been on the lookout for sales. They used to go on sale 4 for a dollar not too long ago for 6 oz cans, and now they are averaging 78 cents a can when they are not on sale. Kroger now has them "on sale" at $3 for 5 cans, which comes out to 60 cents a can! Talk about inflation!

Interestingly, they also had 12 oz cans for sale at 45 cents a can. Are you kidding me? I can buy twice as much for less than the current sales price of the 6 oz can? This was a no brainer. I purchased 20 cans, since I use tomato paste frequently to add flavor to spaghetti sauce and stews.

Kraft American cheese was also on sale for 99 cents. Though they are not my favorite, my sons and husband like them on grilled cheese sandwiches and hamburgers, so I purchased 10 packages. They will keep quite a while in the fridge. They regularly sell for about 3 dollars, so this is quite a savings as well.

Bottom line though, is it is always a sticker shock every time I go grocery shopping. One must save, and stock up whenever we can. 

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Buying Out of Season Part Deux

Amazing how even the price of everyday grocery items change! Before Thanksgiving and Christmas, I had my eyes glued open, waiting for the price of Libby's canned pumpkin to come down so I can stock up on it. Generally, it is at its' lowest price every year at that time.  This past season though, the lowest price I saw anywhere was about 78 cents for a 15 oz can.  Not really anything to write home about, so I gave up and didn't buy any, since it was not worth stocking up at that price.  Back then, I think I would have stocked up if they had them offered at 2 for a dollar.

Today, when I went to Walmart to buy some lunch items for my sons' school lunches, I hit jackpot! They were 25 cents a can. I had to look twice, as the sign above the shelf said $ 1.25, but the price on the shelf itself said 25 cents.  I double checked the price at the baking aisle to make sure, and it was really 25 cents.  According to the reciept, Walmart's regular price on this item is $1.50, so I think what happened here was that the store had a supply glut over its' normal level and wanted to move it quickly to clear shelf space. I happened upon a small window of opportunity before Walmart jacked up the price again.  Thank you grocery shopping fairies! (BTW, I had to go back inside the store after I checked out to get a couple of items I forgot, and they were ALL gone!)

I bought 4 cases, which comes out to 96 cans.  Yes, that is a LOT, but as I said before, buying groceries for me is a two pronged approach; trying shop smart day to day to not waste money, but also stocking up on non-perishable items so I have a food storage supply "just in case." I spent $24.00, and that bought me peace of mind.  I will be using it in the future to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, etc.  In addition, it is supposed to be a good substitute for oil in many baking recipes, so the end result of my baking will be healthier!

Now, I am on a quest to find a good price for canned tuna. A little over a year ago, I purchased around 70 cans when they were on sale for an incredible price (which I don't recall). The other day, I opened the last can (yes, I like tuna). What are the chances that I will find an equally incredible deal?

Spam!

Spam went on for sale at Kroger for $1.50 a can, so it's time to stock up. It normally hovers around $2.00 - $2.30 at any grocery store, so this is a good buy.  The timing was perfect as I was down to our last 7 cans from the previous time they went on sale.  Last time, I believe it was around $1.25, so that's inflation for you!  I try to buy as much as I think I will use in a year's time (though the expiration date on the can is for about 3 years into the future).  I think I purchased around 30 cans last time, so I'll probably purchase the same amount again.

I know Spam has a bad reputation as it is highly salted and processed, so you don't want to make a habit of eating it everyday, but it has its' place in a good food storage pantry. You can eat it right out of the can if you absolutely must, and it is quite good in small quantities or as a flavor enhancer in other dishes.  Due to my Japanese upbringing, I think it is quite comparable to the salted salmon fillets I used to eat with rice when growing up.  I normally use it diced in fried rice for my sons who love Spam prepared that way. Other than that, it is usually a trusty standby for times when I have no bacon in the fridge and I have to get breakfast on the table on the weekends.  Did you know the State of Hawaii consumes the most Spam per capita of any other place in the U.S.? Weird, but true.

Pasta Update

Remember the 128 pounds of pasta I purchased for my food storage last weekend? I purchased 170 packages of the pasta in 12 oz packs for 38 cents each. That cost me $64.60 for the lot.  I was at the store today and noticed they were still "on sale" for $1.00 a pack (I think the regular price is about $1.30). If I purchased the same amount today, it would cost me $170.  That is a savings of $105.40 off of today's "sale" price! 

Goes to show, just because something is on sale does not make it the best deal.  One needs to know the price of the items you use on a regular basis to know if the "sale" is really a good deal!  Generally, grocery stores will have "loss leaders" most weeks to entice shoppers to come in and hopefully purchase other items at the regular price (in case you don't know, a loss leader is an item the store will have on sale at cost or at a price lower than what it costs them to purchase it from the distributor). 

If you do your homework, you will realize savings over time as you build up a stockpile of staples you purchased at rock bottom prices!  The object is to buy enough so you don't have to purchase that item again until it goes on sale the next time.  I'm still learning, but it is fun to notice the inflated prices of items already in my pantry I purchased at prices much lower than what they are sold for today!

The Case For Food Storage

Regarding the 100+ pounds of pasta I purchased the other day. . .  Before you think I went waaaaay overboard with my purchase, let me explain why I did what I did.

Just in the last few days, it was reported in the news that buyers for Walmart, Gap and JC Penny are forecasting the price of clothing will be up by at least 30% by next spring because the price of cotton futures are going up at an alarming rate.  It was leaked to the press that according to Walmart's "secret" study, inflation is already here and the price of everything is going to go up.

When my husband and I started to stock up on storable food around the summer of last year, we did not tell anyone about it for fear that people would think we were a bit wacky.  But we could see the writing on the wall and read the tea leaves, so to speak.  Though I want to keep politics out of this forum, we felt that everything our President was proposing to do was not doing Jack for the economy, and if it continued, we were in for some dire straits.  We know from studying history that if and when things deteriorate, it will happen quickly, before you realize what is going on.

So we started to squirrel away extra food in our "food storage pantry" (an unused walk-in closet).  I started purchasing extras of spices, pasta, rice, canned goods, etc. when  they were on sale.  Though we are nowhere near the point where I feel comfortable, I am confident that we already have enough to weather several months without ever having to purchase anything and still be able to feed my family fairly well if it came to that.

When we started on this journey, we thought we were the only ones feeling this way.  I certainly have not heard of it growing up.  But I had the misfortune or luck perhaps, to weather Hurricane Ike two years ago.  Our house was not damaged, but we lost power for 6 days.  Many of my sons' classmates did not regain power in their homes for close to a month.  But the power situation was really not that big of a deal compared with wondering if we had enough food.

A quick trip to our Walmart Supercenter the morning after the hurricane hit changed our perspective FAST.  The rows and rows of shelves in the grocery aisles normally stocked full of food were picked clean.  You could not buy ANYTHING.  It was really surreal to see people wandering around those empty aisles trying to find some food.  We had food in our house to tide us over; I was there to try to buy more food "just in case."  Since then, I've learned that grocery stores only carry enough food on their shelves to last 72 hours under normal circumstances. So naturally in times of crisis, the shelves get stripped clean. Because the stores had no food, there were lines of people trying to get free MREs at PODs (points of delivery) set up around the city and county by the local governments.  It was an eye opening experience and my husband and I came to the conclusion that we never wanted to be in a situation where we had to rely on our government for our next meal.

After I started researching about storing food, I realized we were not unique.  I learned that the Mormon Church teaches it as part of their religion to store a year's worth of food in their homes.  We are not Mormons, but it made sense.  I also started noticing ads on the radio for commercially packaged "food storage." We weren't so wacky after all. . . In fact, it appears that there are more and more people out there experiencing the same worries and the desire to be prepared.  Most of us have insurance policies on our home, car, life, disability, so why not for the ability to eat our next meal?  Having extra food stored in your home does not have to cost a fortune, and it will give you a peace of mind.  Wouldn't you rather be prepared and not have to use it, than not having it and then having to beg, steal, borrow, or even kill another for the next meal because you were unprepared?

It does seem like a daunting task when you begin, but if you focus on reaching a goal in increments, it is not so hard.  Aim to get enough to feed your family for two weeks, then a month, then 3 months, and so on.  Staples like pasta, rice, cereal, wheat and beans will keep indefinitely if kept dry and away from extreme heat, and not that expensive to purchase.  There are resources online to help you reach your goal.  So before you think I was crazy to buy that much pasta, think it over and get your food storage started.  I promise you will not regret it!