TEN BUCKS A WEEK!

[bcwife76]

I've had a coupon binder for a few years now; back when the CDN$ was at par I'd shop down in Bellingham WA 2-3x a month so I had a separate binder for US coupons. Sadly, my binder for the US has been empty for a while and I don't even have as many coupons as I used to for Canada, either. Although now there are more electronic ways to save - Checkout51, Zweet, Snap by Groupon and Save all have apps I try to use as much as possible. The best is when the item is on sale, you have a paper coupon AND a coupon by your app. That's when you not only get the item free but actually MAKE some money by buying it!

I wish stores in Canada did double coupons

 

[hsmamato2]

I like your style OP! That said,I usually keep a small stockpile/rotate certain foods automatically,and I never thought of a dollar amount per week to build it but that's a good idea to avoid going 'full food hoarder' while doing it! My stockpile foods are usually different types of dried beans,jarred and canned tomatoes,coconut milk and other items used as a base for sauces and soups,and frozen meats when I get a good sale. (FWIW,you can freeze milk pretty easily too) and your posts are reminding me that I need to start using a weekly meal plan again for better organization....

 

[scrapquitler]

I'm subscribing to get some ideas (always looking for ideas on how to organize myself better for meal planning). I'm also going to use this to motivate myself and re-start my donations to the food bank. For the last couple of years, I've made a point to spent $5-$7 a weeks on things for the local food bank, but I got away from it last year when the local grocery store took out the donation box (it was a bad corporate decision that I complained about a lot on the company FB page). Now that the donation box has recently returned, I need to get myself back in the habit of doing that. This thread is going to help me do that, I know that's not really what your intent was, but.... And I'm going to work on my own pantry as well, though I am usually very well stocked that way.

 

[Arich01]

I really like this idea! OP~ you're doing a great job at keeping organized and keeping track of prices and spending! I stock up too when there are great sales, but you've motivated me to really track some prices, especially with the holidays coming up

 

[stayhomemom77]

So I just read through all of your posts, what a great job. So I think I initially misunderstood when you talked about it on the Debt Dumpers thread, I was thinking you were devoting $10/wk to stocking up on shelf staples, but you're actually building a stockpile. Totally similar things, but you're going so much deeper!! I can't believe your detail with spread sheets! I have no idea how to do spread sheets, do you have an accounting back ground?

I grew up in a house where money was always tight & if something was on sale my mom bought one & considered it a savings, but she never stocked up. We went thru things like mustard within 1-2 wks, but she'd always just buy 1 when on sale & the other weeks pay regular price.

For me now, my shopping is based on sales & stocking up on the brands I love (I do have some brand loyalities) & use most at a great price. Like this week Prego Spaghetti Sauce (my sauce of choice) was on sale, so I bought 6@ $1.50/each, plus I had .80c in coupons (I kind of wish I bought more). Or philly cream cheese was on sale for $1.50 plus .50c coupon, so I got 6 as expiration is January (I always look at dates when I'm stocking up & will often reach towards that back of stock to get dates further out).

I do coupon, I have a big binder with baseball card slots divided out by areas of the store (dairy, can goods, dry good, frozen foods, pets, cleaning, etc), plus my store does online coupons & has ways to earn $ off for next time depending on my shopping habits. I'm by no means an extreme couponer, we actually have a local woman who has been featured on the TLC show Extreme Couponer (not sure if you have the channel in Canada). I went to her class, it was free, just asked for a can food donation for the food bank. She's very different in her approach, she coupons & donates it as a religious mission in our local area, plus her own stockpile. Very cool.

I try to base my meal plans around sales. I love making fresh soups, lately Sunday has been our soup night, tonight found a great recipe for chicken enchilada soup that used mostly canned goods, seasoning & 1 chicken breast- DH loved it!! He's not a big fan of soup night.

I actually don't have an accounting background but when in university we had microsoft office at home and I played around with excel until I got to know a few things. I love the columns for organization so I use that type of software a lot. Now I just use google sheets but it's essentially the same.

It sounds as if you have a pretty good handle of thrifty grocery shopping already.

Yes, we are able to get TLC and I have seen a few episodes of that show. Pretty amazing!

Following - this is awesome!! Especially since you are in Canada too Products and prices are quite relevant to me!

That is an awesome deal on Alfredo Sauce, especially that brand!

I'm so glad you think it's awesome. Prices were higher for us out in BC than they are here in ON but yeah, the Classico sauces are a real deal when they are on for less than $2 a jar.

I tend to shop mostly at No Frills. Kamloops didn't have one and the nearest was in Salmon Arm. I couldn't imagine driving for over an hour each way to get my groceries, but now I wish I'd tried to go at least once a month when the roads were good. Ah well!

It's the closest store to where I currently live, so I get most of my stuff there and then it's Real Canadian Superstore, Freshco, Shoppers Drug Mart (mostly for eggs) and Walmart. I don't really go anywhere else.

Our local grocery store doubles coupons up to $1, so if you have a $.75 coupon, they give you $1.50 off. When I was pregnant with my 2 son and didnt move unless absolutely necessary at work, I had time to go through the coupons and sales ads and plan out my shopping. I used to get Crest or Colgate toothpaste tubes for $.25 because they often would be 2/$3 with a $.75 coupon. I wish I had this time now!

I have never encountered double coupons here in Canada. Shame. I would definitely take advantage of that. I am lucky in that I have the time to invest in the crazy planning necessary to buy when prices are rock bottom. I REALLLLLY hate paying full price for anything.

 

[angierae]

I love this! I have recently started building up a stock in my pantry as well, but I haven't really had a goal - oh, canned tomatoes are on sale, I'll grab one for a meal this week and two more to throw in the pantry, etc.

Now I feel like I need a spreadsheet and a plan, but I'm not sure where to start!

 

[dayvewc]

I love this! I have recently started building up a stock in my pantry as well, but I haven't really had a goal - oh, canned tomatoes are on sale, I'll grab one for a meal this week and two more to throw in the pantry, etc.

Now I feel like I need a spreadsheet and a plan, but I'm not sure where to start!

That is kind of my feeling. I never super stockpiled food, but I do tend to slowly accumulate it. Especially when I catch what I think is a good deal, I'll go all out and buy a full case of something then, especially if I use it a lot. Like in the next couple of weeks, I know that one of the stores I shop at is going to have rock bottom prices on cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups, so I'll probably get 2-3 cases of each as I use them year round. My general goal has been less a matter of having a reserve amount of food and more a matter of "I doubt I'll see prices this low for at least a year, so how much would I need?"

Though, sometimes that backfires. The other day I found some Dinty Moore stew that *gulp* expired in 2009. I think I bought it in 2004. It went with me through 4 different moves and just kept getting put at the back of the shelf. I really need to work on that shelf rotation better.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I've had a coupon binder for a few years now; back when the CDN$ was at par I'd shop down in Bellingham WA 2-3x a month so I had a separate binder for US coupons. Sadly, my binder for the US has been empty for a while and I don't even have as many coupons as I used to for Canada, either. Although now there are more electronic ways to save - Checkout51, Zweet, Snap by Groupon and Save all have apps I try to use as much as possible. The best is when the item is on sale, you have a paper coupon AND a coupon by your app. That's when you not only get the item free but actually MAKE some money by buying it!

I wish stores in Canada did double coupons

Yes, I have checkout51 and snap by groupon and have done very well when...as you say...the item is on sale AND you have a paper coupon AND you save via one of those apps. I keep my PC Plus points, Walmart MC dollars and the money I make from those apps separate though...that money goes to fund the vacation account. And boy, does it add up!

I like your style OP! That said,I usually keep a small stockpile/rotate certain foods automatically,and I never thought of a dollar amount per week to build it but that's a good idea to avoid going 'full food hoarder' while doing it! My stockpile foods are usually different types of dried beans,jarred and canned tomatoes,coconut milk and other items used as a base for sauces and soups,and frozen meats when I get a good sale. (FWIW,you can freeze milk pretty easily too) and your posts are reminding me that I need to start using a weekly meal plan again for better organization....

Why thank you! Glad I could serve as a helpful reminder for meal planning. There's an Eat At Home thread for just that purpose if you are interested at all.

I'm subscribing to get some ideas (always looking for ideas on how to organize myself better for meal planning). I'm also going to use this to motivate myself and re-start my donations to the food bank. For the last couple of years, I've made a point to spent $5-$7 a weeks on things for the local food bank, but I got away from it last year when the local grocery store took out the donation box (it was a bad corporate decision that I complained about a lot on the company FB page). Now that the donation box has recently returned, I need to get myself back in the habit of doing that. This thread is going to help me do that, I know that's not really what your intent was, but.... And I'm going to work on my own pantry as well, though I am usually very well stocked that way.

Hey, my intent was just to put what I was doing out there...in the chance that it might motivate someone. So, I think you definitely qualify.

I really like this idea! OP~ you're doing a great job at keeping organized and keeping track of prices and spending! I stock up too when there are great sales, but you've motivated me to really track some prices, especially with the holidays coming up

Glad I could help. When I started all of this (Nov 28th, 2013) it was just as a means for me to keep from going over budget. DH gets paid monthly here and neither one of us had ever been paid like that before...so it was a bit of an adjustment for me (I'm the bookkeeper, as well as the shopper in this household). He gets paid on the second last business day of the month for that month (ie he gets paid on Thursday, October 29th for this month's hours) and then we use that money for the expenses and bills in the following month (in this case November). In the beginning, I was overwhelmed and we'd burn through the money faster than the days in the month, so I really had to get firm with myself and this spreadsheet thing was one way I was going to do it. It served first as a shopping list/plan and then after as a tracking device. It's been awesome to look back at all that data though and know when to expect things to come up again on sale and whatnot. So, I'm putting it to full advantage. I can even see how my frugality has changed over the months!

 

[angierae]

That is kind of my feeling. I never super stockpiled food, but I do tend to slowly accumulate it. Especially when I catch what I think is a good deal, I'll go all out and buy a full case of something then, especially if I use it a lot. Like in the next couple of weeks, I know that one of the stores I shop at is going to have rock bottom prices on cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups, so I'll probably get 2-3 cases of each as I use them year round. My general goal has been less a matter of having a reserve amount of food and more a matter of "I doubt I'll see prices this low for at least a year, so how much would I need?"

Though, sometimes that backfires. The other day I found some Dinty Moore stew that *gulp* expired in 2009. I think I bought it in 2004. It went with me through 4 different moves and just kept getting put at the back of the shelf. I really need to work on that shelf rotation better.

I think I'm going to start with six of things I use fairly often, and see if that lasts until the next time it's on sale, and then go up or down from there.

 

[bcwife76]

PC Points really add up quickly - do you have the World Elite Mastercard with PC financial too? 30 points per $1 baby!! At Shoppers Drug Mart, too.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I love this! I have recently started building up a stock in my pantry as well, but I haven't really had a goal - oh, canned tomatoes are on sale, I'll grab one for a meal this week and two more to throw in the pantry, etc.

Now I feel like I need a spreadsheet and a plan, but I'm not sure where to start!

check out the website: food storage made easy dot net. They have tons of free downloadable tracking sheets that you might find helpful. I stumbled across them this afternoon.

That is kind of my feeling. I never super stockpiled food, but I do tend to slowly accumulate it. Especially when I catch what I think is a good deal, I'll go all out and buy a full case of something then, especially if I use it a lot. Like in the next couple of weeks, I know that one of the stores I shop at is going to have rock bottom prices on cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups, so I'll probably get 2-3 cases of each as I use them year round. My general goal has been less a matter of having a reserve amount of food and more a matter of "I doubt I'll see prices this low for at least a year, so how much would I need?"

Though, sometimes that backfires. The other day I found some Dinty Moore stew that *gulp* expired in 2009. I think I bought it in 2004. It went with me through 4 different moves and just kept getting put at the back of the shelf. I really need to work on that shelf rotation better.

After I read this, I looked up how long past the expiration date it is safe to eat food. Here's what I found:


10 Foods You Can Eat After the Expiry Date
Source: Food Network website

Canned Goods--four years past expiration date if kept in cool, dry place and not dented, rusted, leaking or otherwise damaged
Hard cheese--generally good for about a month after the best before date--cut off mold, rest should be salvageable
Cereal-six months past expiration date
Eggs--if you are questioning if your eggs are still good, place in a bowl of water, if it sinks you are good!
Frozen foods are okay past their date--even freezer burnt stuff, although it may not taste that great (check in more detail for frozen meats though)
Butter--if it’s getting close the the expiration time, pop it in the freezer to extend the shelf life
Bread--can be stored in fridge or freezer to extend shelf life and as long as it has not begun to mold, you can still eat it past the expiration date
Salad--chuck it if they are slimy, but it’s still good past the date if it is not
Dry pasta--generally a shelf life of 2 years but you can push it to three years (check egg based noodles with a smell test first, they produce a rancid odour if they go bad)
Cookies, crackers and chips--staleness aside, unless they smell bad or crumble apart in your hand they should be safe to eat

So it was definitely too late for the Dinty Moore but it would have been okay for a few extra years!!

I confess, my mindset is more like yours...getting a year's worth of food at rock bottom prices...but I do love the idea of have the food in the house should we need to cut back the budget some time.

PC Points really add up quickly - do you have the World Elite Mastercard with PC financial too? 30 points per $1 baby!! At Shoppers Drug Mart, too.

Hmmm...is that the newest one that just came out? I got a call about the new program at a very bad time a couple of weeks ago and had to pretty much hang up on the guy. They haven't yet tried calling back. It's a lot of work to switch all my automatic bills over to a new card if the card number changes and I just upgraded to World card about 8 months ago, so a new one would be a big headache. Still, 30 points per dollar is pretty freakin' sweet!

 

[stayhomemom77]

So, I did a little research this afternoon and found out that I'm not the first person to suggest building a food storage program with $10 a week. I thought I was being all original and stuff, but no. I didn't intentionally rip anyone off, but apparently I did. Hulk sad. (Is anyone else obsessed with Big Bang Theory? That was a reference. It won't be the last. Just sayin')

Anyway...I came across some good stuff...some of which is posted above.

I was also pondering something yesterday as I was sweeping the kitchen floor. If I have a year's worth of food stored in my home, does that mean that I don't have to cover that category in my emergency fund? I mean, you're supposed to have three month's worth of expenses in liquid assets but if you had a good food storage, you wouldn't need to buy groceries for three (or more) months, no? That would save me like $1800, so it's not exactly small change, is it? Just something to think about!

 

[stayhomemom77]

I think I'm going to start with six of things I use fairly often, and see if that lasts until the next time it's on sale, and then go up or down from there.

That sounds like a good plan. Sometimes we psych ourselves out by making things too complicated. I'm aiming for one bottle of ketchup per month, but I can tell you right now...I should probably increase that because DH and DS go through a loooooot of ketchup and one bottle may not last a month. But, I'll build up to twelve and then see how fast we are going through it and adjust as necessary.

 

[dayvewc]

check out the website: food storage made easy dot net. They have tons of free downloadable tracking sheets that you might find helpful. I stumbled across them this afternoon.



After I read this, I looked up how long past the expiration date it is safe to eat food. Here's what I found:


10 Foods You Can Eat After the Expiry Date
Source: Food Network website

Canned Goods--four years past expiration date if kept in cool, dry place and not dented, rusted, leaking or otherwise damaged
Hard cheese--generally good for about a month after the best before date--cut off mold, rest should be salvageable
Cereal-six months past expiration date
Eggs--if you are questioning if your eggs are still good, place in a bowl of water, if it sinks you are good!
Frozen foods are okay past their date--even freezer burnt stuff, although it may not taste that great (check in more detail for frozen meats though)
Butter--if it’s getting close the the expiration time, pop it in the freezer to extend the shelf life
Bread--can be stored in fridge or freezer to extend shelf life and as long as it has not begun to mold, you can still eat it past the expiration date
Salad--chuck it if they are slimy, but it’s still good past the date if it is not
Dry pasta--generally a shelf life of 2 years but you can push it to three years (check egg based noodles with a smell test first, they produce a rancid odour if they go bad)
Cookies, crackers and chips--staleness aside, unless they smell bad or crumble apart in your hand they should be safe to eat

So it was definitely too late for the Dinty Moore but it would have been okay for a few extra years!!

I confess, my mindset is more like yours...getting a year's worth of food at rock bottom prices...but I do love the idea of have the food in the house should we need to cut back the budget some time.



Hmmm...is that the newest one that just came out? I got a call about the new program at a very bad time a couple of weeks ago and had to pretty much hang up on the guy. They haven't yet tried calling back. It's a lot of work to switch all my automatic bills over to a new card if the card number changes and I just upgraded to World card about 8 months ago, so a new one would be a big headache. Still, 30 points per dollar is pretty freakin' sweet!

I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I didn't die. lol. I opened it and it looked and smelled like normal, so I heated it up and had dinner with it. Felt fine. Not sure if that says something about the quality of food preservation, or the quality of Dinty Moore stew, or the ability of my stomach to process anything.

So, I did a little research this afternoon and found out that I'm not the first person to suggest building a food storage program with $10 a week. I thought I was being all original and stuff, but no. I didn't intentionally rip anyone off, but apparently I did. Hulk sad. (Is anyone else obsessed with Big Bang Theory? That was a reference. It won't be the last. Just sayin')

Anyway...I came across some good stuff...some of which is posted above.

I was also pondering something yesterday as I was sweeping the kitchen floor. If I have a year's worth of food stored in my home, does that mean that I don't have to cover that category in my emergency fund? I mean, you're supposed to have three month's worth of expenses in liquid assets but if you had a good food storage, you wouldn't need to buy groceries for three (or more) months, no? That would save me like $1800, so it's not exactly small change, is it? Just something to think about!

Yes, very much obsessed with BBT.

I would think that if you have the food storage going then you wouldn't need to include that in your emergency fund. Just me, I would anyway. With my luck, the week after I get laid off, my house would get infested with mice and in addition to the added pest extermination fee, I'd have to completely restock all my food cause they got into it all.

Of course, I'd name the mouse Mickey, cause he would have eaten through everything I have. That's what happens on my vacations, that overdressed mouse goes through every dollar I have in my wallet!

 

[barkley]

I am issuing a challenge!! Do you want to play along??

First, a little backstory...

I've been tracking my grocery expenses for over a year and in the middle of August, I scanned back through that information because I wanted to see when the turkeys went on sale last fall. I wanted to stock up with a bunch this year (one of the cheapest meats available when you hit the after Thanksgiving sales) but I couldn't remember exactly when I stocked up last time.

As I was going through my excel spreadsheet, I was shocked to discover exactly how much of our grocery budget was going towards junk food. Chips, novelty ice cream, chocolate, pretzels, soda, pastries etc, etc, etc. One week, we spent 1/3 of our weekly budget on this sort of cr@p. And generally speaking, we were spending at least $10 a week on treats. Now, this is ON TOP OF an other area in the budget that includes these kinds of things. I was completely mortified! What kind of example was I setting for my kids? No wonder I can't seem to lose weight!

And then I thought...what kind of food storage would I have if I had dedicated that $10 every week to filling my shelves with healthy, wholesome items? What exactly would TEN BUCKS A WEEK look like?

So I decided to find out! Each Friday when I went shopping, my challenge was to set aside $10 for long term food storage out of my regular grocery budget. Because I was just starting to build it up, my goal was not to touch the stuff...to leave it to grow for three months, and then begin to rotate those items into our meal planning. At that point, I'd be growing AND replacing my food storage.

We had been doing a pantry challenge for most of the summer in anticipation of a three week vacation, so when we got back on September 4th and I went for my groceries, I had my plan in place and some very empty shelves. My chest freezer was completely empty, the fridge had only a few condiments and the pantry was pretty close to bare. So, I went to work to fill them!

I took pictures of my haul every week and posted them on facebook to motivate myself and keep me accountable. I even had some friends join in the challenge. Then I mentioned it here on the Budget Board and a fellow DISer suggested starting a thread about it.

So here it is...and anyone who wants to join in is heartily welcome. No real rules except that it's TEN BUCKS A WEEK set aside from the regular grocery budget for stockpiling groceries.

Is anyone out there up to the challenge??

**Full disclosure...I live in Canada so prices are likely higher than what is generally experienced in the U.S. and I am a horrible photographer. Plus, I don't know how to make the photos smaller and I don't plan on finding out. But if you can deal with that...we are going to have a lot of fun!

I'm in-but I will be doing it from a different perspective if that's o.k.

as I've posted in the past-once per year a couple of our local grocery stores do huge case sales during which I stock up on items I know we will use up over the course of the entire next year. it just so happens that our case sales occurred this month so I am stocked up on canned goods (and paper towels) for the next year. it doesn't usually happen this way, but over the past month I've also lucked into insane (for our area) prices on 3 types of meat so I have stocked our freezer to the brim.

so............since I've already stocked up on everything my goal is to only purchase fresh produce, dairy-and specialty items for the holidays for as many months as possible.

if it's o.k. for me to join in on this I will start out by sharing what I purchased this month in bulk canned goods (and paper towels)-

1 case of tomato sauce-$11
2 cases of crushed tomatoes-$13 each
1 case (12) of cut green beans-$6
1 case of diced beets-$15
1 case beef broth-$13.50
2 cases (12 each) progresso lite clam chowder-$15 each
2 cases (12 each) progresso lite chicken and cheese enchilada soup-$15 each
10 cases of bottled water-$2.50 each
2 cases of paper towels-$13.98 each
1 case (16-24 oz bottles) catsup-$9
1 case diced tomatoes-$13
1 case del monte diced tomatoes w/mild green chilis-$20.16
1 case del monte diced tomatoes w/basil, oregano and garlic-$20.16
1 case cut asparagus-$30.40
2 cases kidney beans-$13 each
2 cases black beans-$13 each.

I also bought 6 pork tenderloin roasts at $1.89 per pound (approx.. 3-4 # each) 2 of which were cut into multiple packets of 2 chops each,
6 whole body chickens at .88 cents per pound each (approx.. 5-6# each), and 6 rolled rump roasts at $2.97 per pound each (approx. 4# each)-2 of which were sliced and packaged into 3/4 # packages to use for stroganoff, stir fry and fajitas.

I do have a well stocked pantry of grains, beans, spices and such-so if it's o.k for me to participate I'm willing to track beginning 11/1 what I've had to purchase with this kind of stockpile in place (and i'll notate what existing packaged or other non stockpiled items I have on hand that I've used).

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Great thread!! Thanks for sharing your ideas!

 

[pjlla]

I have been following here, but haven't commented because I felt like I didn't have much to offer. I STILL don't have much to offer, but have time to chat, so here goes! And sorry if you are saying DUH to a lot of this..... just thinking out loud here.

For anyone looking into this, try googling (or searching on Pinterest) things like "emergency food storage" and the like. If you are storing a lot of canned goods there are some pretty interesting plans out there for big racks to use to store the cans.

BE SURE you are rotating your stock ALL THE TIME! Oldest to the front, newest to the back..... or you will end up with 10 cans of beans that expired 5 years ago!

Be sure your storage area is DRY and not terribly hot or cold. Stuff will go bad MUCH FASTER if conditions aren't good. And if you are buying dry goods like flour/grains/oatmeal/cornmeal, you may want to be sure you have FREEZER space so that it doesn't get buggy or rancid.

Be sure to know your "audience"..... in looking at the pictures/lists of what others here are buying, I realize that there is probably no "perfect list" that would be good for everyone. I never buy/eat what some of you have mentioned buying/stockpiling and I imagine I eat things you wouldn't..... so you need to tailor your list to suit YOUR FAMILY.

Take into consideration WHY you are buying this. Is this food you would plan to have on hand in the case of a major catastrophe? If so, does it need water/energy to be eaten? And if so, where would this water/energy be coming from? If it is food for just an economic emergency (unemployment for example) is it food that your family ACTUALLY EATS? Sure, we all KNOW we could survivor on brown rice, black beans, and oatmeal if things were desperate..... but no sense in stocking up on this stuff if your family refuses to touch it!

One of you mentioned a thought that reminded me of something I learned from the Tightwad Gazette years ago (BTW, if you are interested, look into finding her books.... a bit dated at this point since they are from the early 90's, but interesting reading still..... written by Amy Dycyczyn). If you know your family uses one jar of peanut butter a month..... and that peanut butter goes on rock-bottom sale once every 4 months, then you only need to buy a 4 month supply at a time. But KNOWING that sale cycle takes some time and research and record keeping.

Because I live in a pretty rural area (30+ minute drive to the nearest grocery store) I have always had a back-up grocery supply on hand..... but most especially when the kids were little and we didn't NEED to leave town very often (as they got older and involved in sports outside of town, I had an excuse to hit the market more often). It took a while to figure out how to shop just once every 3-4 weeks! I learned what can be frozen (milk, butter, even eggs in a pinch, any fruit/veggie intended for a smoothie, beans, cooked rice, cheese, deli meats, cookies, hummus), what produce lasts in the fridge (citrus, apples, carrots, onions) and what needs to be eaten the same week it is bought (greens, broccoli, grapes). We would start our months eating salads and lots of fresh stuff.... and then by the end of the month we were eating casseroles made with frozen and canned stuff and more pasta and rice.... NBD!

Since those years DH and I have both lost a significant amount of weight and as such we eat MUCH HEALTHIER than we did when the kids were smaller (although we have always eaten fairly healthy) and we "require" fresh produce more often.... but DH goes to a gym near the market a few times a week, so he can stop as needed.

Anyhoooo...... I LOVE the OP's idea of using just $10/month to get a stockpile going! I've been "stockpiling" to some degree for years now, and there are definitely things I've learned that we need MORE of (canned tomato products, especially in the winter), grains/beans (quinoa, barley, popcorn, lentils, couscous, brown rice), organic natural peanut butter, salsa, .... and things we can do without (anything processed, pasta [DH eats low carb so by default we all eat pretty low carb], canned veggies [don't like most of them.... would rather have frozen], canned soups [don't like most of them and don't care for the ingredients], baking supplies [I don't bake], cold cereal [we don't eat it])...... But again, I LOVE the idea of using $10/week to start rebuilding my recently depleted stockpile! can't wait to share my next "shop"!!......................P

 

[stayhomemom77]

I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I didn't die. lol. I opened it and it looked and smelled like normal, so I heated it up and had dinner with it. Felt fine. Not sure if that says something about the quality of food preservation, or the quality of Dinty Moore stew, or the ability of my stomach to process anything.

Yes, very much obsessed with BBT.

I would think that if you have the food storage going then you wouldn't need to include that in your emergency fund. Just me, I would anyway. With my luck, the week after I get laid off, my house would get infested with mice and in addition to the added pest extermination fee, I'd have to completely restock all my food cause they got into it all.

Of course, I'd name the mouse Mickey, cause he would have eaten through everything I have. That's what happens on my vacations, that overdressed mouse goes through every dollar I have in my wallet!

LOL I may just leave the plan as is. I'm pretty lazy and I have a nice round figure to work towards all ready settled.

Heh, Mickey. Funny!

I'm in-but I will be doing it from a different perspective if that's o.k.

as I've posted in the past-once per year a couple of our local grocery stores do huge case sales during which I stock up on items I know we will use up over the course of the entire next year. it just so happens that our case sales occurred this month so I am stocked up on canned goods (and paper towels) for the next year. it doesn't usually happen this way, but over the past month I've also lucked into insane (for our area) prices on 3 types of meat so I have stocked our freezer to the brim.

so............since I've already stocked up on everything my goal is to only purchase fresh produce, dairy-and specialty items for the holidays for as many months as possible.

if it's o.k. for me to join in on this I will start out by sharing what I purchased this month in bulk canned goods (and paper towels)-

1 case of tomato sauce-$11
2 cases of crushed tomatoes-$13 each
1 case (12) of cut green beans-$6
1 case of diced beets-$15
1 case beef broth-$13.50
2 cases (12 each) progresso lite clam chowder-$15 each
2 cases (12 each) progresso lite chicken and cheese enchilada soup-$15 each
10 cases of bottled water-$2.50 each
2 cases of paper towels-$13.98 each
1 case (16-24 oz bottles) catsup-$9
1 case diced tomatoes-$13
1 case del monte diced tomatoes w/mild green chilis-$20.16
1 case del monte diced tomatoes w/basil, oregano and garlic-$20.16
1 case cut asparagus-$30.40
2 cases kidney beans-$13 each
2 cases black beans-$13 each.

I also bought 6 pork tenderloin roasts at $1.89 per pound (approx.. 3-4 # each) 2 of which were cut into multiple packets of 2 chops each,
6 whole body chickens at .88 cents per pound each (approx.. 5-6# each), and 6 rolled rump roasts at $2.97 per pound each (approx. 4# each)-2 of which were sliced and packaged into 3/4 # packages to use for stroganoff, stir fry and fajitas.

I do have a well stocked pantry of grains, beans, spices and such-so if it's o.k for me to participate I'm willing to track beginning 11/1 what I've had to purchase with this kind of stockpile in place (and i'll notate what existing packaged or other non stockpiled items I have on hand that I've used).

Anyway you want to play is fine with me! Welcome aboard!

I have been following here, but haven't commented because I felt like I didn't have much to offer. I STILL don't have much to offer, but have time to chat, so here goes! And sorry if you are saying DUH to a lot of this..... just thinking out loud here.

For anyone looking into this, try googling (or searching on Pinterest) things like "emergency food storage" and the like. If you are storing a lot of canned goods there are some pretty interesting plans out there for big racks to use to store the cans.

BE SURE you are rotating your stock ALL THE TIME! Oldest to the front, newest to the back..... or you will end up with 10 cans of beans that expired 5 years ago!

Be sure your storage area is DRY and not terribly hot or cold. Stuff will go bad MUCH FASTER if conditions aren't good. And if you are buying dry goods like flour/grains/oatmeal/cornmeal, you may want to be sure you have FREEZER space so that it doesn't get buggy or rancid.

Be sure to know your "audience"..... in looking at the pictures/lists of what others here are buying, I realize that there is probably no "perfect list" that would be good for everyone. I never buy/eat what some of you have mentioned buying/stockpiling and I imagine I eat things you wouldn't..... so you need to tailor your list to suit YOUR FAMILY.

Take into consideration WHY you are buying this. Is this food you would plan to have on hand in the case of a major catastrophe? If so, does it need water/energy to be eaten? And if so, where would this water/energy be coming from? If it is food for just an economic emergency (unemployment for example) is it food that your family ACTUALLY EATS? Sure, we all KNOW we could survivor on brown rice, black beans, and oatmeal if things were desperate..... but no sense in stocking up on this stuff if your family refuses to touch it!

One of you mentioned a thought that reminded me of something I learned from the Tightwad Gazette years ago (BTW, if you are interested, look into finding her books.... a bit dated at this point since they are from the early 90's, but interesting reading still..... written by Amy Dycyczyn). If you know your family uses one jar of peanut butter a month..... and that peanut butter goes on rock-bottom sale once every 4 months, then you only need to buy a 4 month supply at a time. But KNOWING that sale cycle takes some time and research and record keeping.

Because I live in a pretty rural area (30+ minute drive to the nearest grocery store) I have always had a back-up grocery supply on hand..... but most especially when the kids were little and we didn't NEED to leave town very often (as they got older and involved in sports outside of town, I had an excuse to hit the market more often). It took a while to figure out how to shop just once every 3-4 weeks! I learned what can be frozen (milk, butter, even eggs in a pinch, any fruit/veggie intended for a smoothie, beans, cooked rice, cheese, deli meats, cookies, hummus), what produce lasts in the fridge (citrus, apples, carrots, onions) and what needs to be eaten the same week it is bought (greens, broccoli, grapes). We would start our months eating salads and lots of fresh stuff.... and then by the end of the month we were eating casseroles made with frozen and canned stuff and more pasta and rice.... NBD!

Since those years DH and I have both lost a significant amount of weight and as such we eat MUCH HEALTHIER than we did when the kids were smaller (although we have always eaten fairly healthy) and we "require" fresh produce more often.... but DH goes to a gym near the market a few times a week, so he can stop as needed.

Anyhoooo...... I LOVE the OP's idea of using just $10/month to get a stockpile going! I've been "stockpiling" to some degree for years now, and there are definitely things I've learned that we need MORE of (canned tomato products, especially in the winter), grains/beans (quinoa, barley, popcorn, lentils, couscous, brown rice), organic natural peanut butter, salsa, .... and things we can do without (anything processed, pasta [DH eats low carb so by default we all eat pretty low carb], canned veggies [don't like most of them.... would rather have frozen], canned soups [don't like most of them and don't care for the ingredients], baking supplies [I don't bake], cold cereal [we don't eat it])...... But again, I LOVE the idea of using $10/week to start rebuilding my recently depleted stockpile! can't wait to share my next "shop"!!......................P

These are good tips...thanks for the contribution! Can't wait to see your next shop!

 

[scrapquitler]

I was also pondering something yesterday as I was sweeping the kitchen floor. If I have a year's worth of food stored in my home, does that mean that I don't have to cover that category in my emergency fund? I mean, you're supposed to have three month's worth of expenses in liquid assets but if you had a good food storage, you wouldn't need to buy groceries for three (or more) months, no? That would save me like $1800, so it's not exactly small change, is it? Just something to think about!

Well, I think you could probably reduce that amount when you plan, but you'd still need to keep some money in the budget for groceries, unless you'd be willing to spend 3 months with out any fresh foods at all (and I know that I wouldn't be okay with that, even if we were in a desperate situation), and at some point, you're probably still going to run out of something faster than you had anticipated.

 

[Angeejoe]

Our local grocery store doubles coupons up to $1, so if you have a $.75 coupon, they give you $1.50 off. When I was pregnant with my 2 son and didnt move unless absolutely necessary at work, I had time to go through the coupons and sales ads and plan out my shopping. I used to get Crest or Colgate toothpaste tubes for $.25 because they often would be 2/$3 with a $.75 coupon. I wish I had this time now!

All of our stores around here used to double up to .50c, but I think that extreme couponer in my area may have played a part in that ending. She got tons of local press from her multiple times on the show, she taught local classes, is on the radio 1x/wk & wrote a book on it. I miss the double coupons