How to live well on less
- Thread starter Ross
- Start date
Living well on less starts with smart food shopping. Watch the meat counters for meat coming up against the "sell-by" date. I bought Shadybrook turkeys after Thanksgiving for 5 dollars each because they had hit the sell by date. The next step involves some work but is worth while. I boned out those five turkeys and froze the breast portions the thighs, the drumsticks and the large portion of the wings. I boiled the skeletons and made broth and canned 25 quarts. I picked the meat off the boiled bones and got five pounds of soup or sandwich meat. There are about a hundred ways to fix turkey besides roasting.
When I can I do the same thing with beef and pork and chicken. For the most part I don't buy food unless it is truly on sale.
When I can I do the same thing with beef and pork and chicken. For the most part I don't buy food unless it is truly on sale.
You bet! it involves Husbands and label reading instruction, unit pricing calculations, meat cutting and wrapping for freezing. Also Bread baking and soup making. One pound of beef, bought on sale for $2.50 made into vegetable soup will feed two people four meals along with a loaf of bread made from 40 cents worth of flour. I have been doing all the food shopping, cooking and baking for 30 years. Nancy does the clean up.
I just finished recording my grocery store expenditures for November and checking totals per month since the first of July the average for food, wine , household products (laundry , paper, cleaning ,food storage etc.) is about 475 per month for the two of us with occasional company dinners and rarely a restaurant meal. We get better food at home.
One pound of shrimp will feed both of us generously for about 9 dollars or I could buy them at Red Lobster for 24 dollars already cooked. And then pay their 4.50 per glass of mediocre wine or buy a decent bottle for 9 dollars and wash my own dishes.
One pound of shrimp will feed both of us generously for about 9 dollars or I could buy them at Red Lobster for 24 dollars already cooked. And then pay their 4.50 per glass of mediocre wine or buy a decent bottle for 9 dollars and wash my own dishes.
Ross, sounds like it might be a good ideal for me to get a little more involved in the grocery shopping. You sound like me I would rather have a good home cooked meal instead of going out. We eat out some times but that is just to keep the other half happy. Food cooked on the boat is my favorite.
Ross,
Wish you could teach my wife as well..I will say though..she does buy all our bread at the thrift store, cuts all the coupons and packs a lunch for me everyday (most of the people where I work go out everyday for lunch). We don't buy any junk food, no chips, soda pop, etc. and the only beer we buy is during the summer to consume on the boat (gotta havesome entertainment!). Everything we have is paid for except the boat. There are always more ways to cut back I guess. I'm thinking of finding a cheaper place to store the boat next winter even if it means being further away.
Wish you could teach my wife as well..I will say though..she does buy all our bread at the thrift store, cuts all the coupons and packs a lunch for me everyday (most of the people where I work go out everyday for lunch). We don't buy any junk food, no chips, soda pop, etc. and the only beer we buy is during the summer to consume on the boat (gotta havesome entertainment!). Everything we have is paid for except the boat. There are always more ways to cut back I guess. I'm thinking of finding a cheaper place to store the boat next winter even if it means being further away.
Mike, Nancy has voiced a desire for certain types or tastes of food and has been patient with me perfecting my recipes. I am acknowledged to be a better cook than most restuarant chefs. Good cook books are a must and they are not cheap
If your cooking is as good as the advise you give to this site, then Nancy must be a very happy person when the dinner bell rings!
Thank you. I feel rather sad for those folk that fill a shopping cart with prepared portion controlled meals at such high prices. I even see frozen buttermilk biscuits offered. They don't call biscuits and muffins "quick breads" without reason. If you spend more than about five minutes making a batch of either then you must be distracted by something.
I have enjoyed reading some of your tips on living well for less. I would really love to know how to can. Can you direct me to some site that teaches sailors how to can aboard. Thanks in advance, Jean s/v Ryen`s Quest
I use an eight quart "Mirro' brand pressure cooker. It will hold 7 regular pints or 5 wide mouth pints or four quarts. The book that comes with the pressure cooker has the basics for canning but I use the Ball Blue Book for specifics on recipes and processing times.
Generally meat requires about 75 minutes in pints that includes soups with meat. I don't believe that I would try canning without a gas stove, it takes a lot of heat.
A good Ace or Tru-Value hardware store will sell canners and jars but most of my jars have been found in yard sales and give-aways.
The Classico pasta sauce jars are 26 ounce reusable jars that Nancy and I find to be just right for one meal of soup. Five will fit my canner. Shop carefully for the one-time use "dome lids" the price can range from 1.50 to 2.89 per dozen. Half pints are about right for meat for one meal for two people. Turkey cans better than chicken. Chicken is too tender to hold together with that much cooking. Beef, pork, and ham process well, stuffed cabbage gets a little over done but is still a welcome change.
When making soup from canned meat get everything else cooked and add the meat last or you will shred it and lose the little chunks.
Generally meat requires about 75 minutes in pints that includes soups with meat. I don't believe that I would try canning without a gas stove, it takes a lot of heat.
A good Ace or Tru-Value hardware store will sell canners and jars but most of my jars have been found in yard sales and give-aways.
The Classico pasta sauce jars are 26 ounce reusable jars that Nancy and I find to be just right for one meal of soup. Five will fit my canner. Shop carefully for the one-time use "dome lids" the price can range from 1.50 to 2.89 per dozen. Half pints are about right for meat for one meal for two people. Turkey cans better than chicken. Chicken is too tender to hold together with that much cooking. Beef, pork, and ham process well, stuffed cabbage gets a little over done but is still a welcome change.
When making soup from canned meat get everything else cooked and add the meat last or you will shred it and lose the little chunks.
Basics are always better for us financially and for our health. BEANS are always good and tofu is a great way to extend a pot of soup. Reasonably cheap and healthy. Growing up we had potatos at every meal and beans most meals. Mom always made fresh biscuits or cornbread for every meal. Meat was fairly rare reserved for Sundays. Actually it was a healthy diet!!!!! Too many of us eat too much meat and chicken. I think that the "best" decision my wife and I made was 8 years ago buying much less house than we could afford but all that we needed. A paid off house is a great asset in hard times. Same thing with cars. We have a good truck and car that are paid off. Sure we could finance much niver stuff but we sleep better with money in the bank and no bills. Yep though our financial net worth isn't great it is a positive number. My Mom told me long ago to always spend less money than I made..very good advice. I have known a lot of people that make a lot of money but are always broke. Our wants are without limit but our resources are always limited. Uncle Sam needs to acknowledge this fact.
Moonie, I buy one package of every variety of beans I can find and dump them into a very large bowl and mix them for bean soup. Then I rebag them in one pound packages and put them in the pantry. We probably have some meat every day but very rarely is it not in a soup or stew or stir-fry of some sort. A little meat can go a long way if you do it right.
I like my beans separate usually. Red Beans and rice, pinto beans,black beans, lima beans, butter beans all taste differently. Chick peas and black eyed peas(field peas) are all good. Green beans are always a favorite. But like you we usually eat meat as part of a dish and not as a separate item. Pork,beef ,chicken all usually end up as soup or stir fry. Catfish and other fish most often are eaten separtaely but sometimes end up in gumbo or fish soup. Of course there are times when steaks grilled out are the meal of choice but this is for special meals not routine day to day meals.
My grand Daughter was picking through a bowl of bean soup tasting the different beans separately and she fished out a big fat butter bean and asked what kind it was. I told her to which she replied that she liked them and popped it into her mouth. Many of the beans in bean soup stay firm and some break down and form a gravy. I grew up in Connecticut during WW2 and we learned to eat what was served and be glad that we had that.
When I lived in Bangor during the late '50's I would buy 3 smoked ham hocks and a pound of split peas first before I bought anything else. That always insured at least some food at the end of the pay period.
Eggs are good food!!!! Pretty much the cheapest high quality animal protein that you can buy. I don't buy old meat!!!!! If I can't buy fresh or frozen meat I just don't eat meat. Some stores seem to keep the meat until it is sold or worse than old road kill. WinnDixie got caught changing sell by dates!!!!
many of the hunters around here, esp. deer hunters, will mix wild game with store bought meat...I have a good friend that got two deer this year...over the past 20 years he has saved a good bit of money. Eggs, pasta, rice, and peanut butter (not so cheap but very yummy!) and jelly sandwiches got me through school.