Easter -- And After: Ways to Stretch Your Food Budget

     Saturday, we stopped into the local Walmart...and found a huge empty space where the cartons of eggs normally are.

    The day before Easter -- when practically everyone in the country is boiling and coloring eggs. And...

    Not. One. Egg.  Not even the "are-you-kidding-you-must-be-nuts-to-buy-these" expensive ones. 

find out more here.

A few days later, our local Safeway had eggs -- but the CHEAPEST dozen was $2.99 -- more than double the price I'd paid just a few weeks ago. (The skyrocketing price is being blamed on bird flu, but I honestly wonder.)

We already knew that food prices had gone up. (I just wonder whether the experts who say inflation 'isn't that bad' are doing their own grocery shopping. Probably not.) And it's not just eggs, either. Milk, which was running between $1.99 (on sale) and $2.39 here in Colorado, is now $3.69-3.99. Other foods are quickly following suit. Heads of lettuce, formerly a buck, are now $1.99. Cheese on sale is around $4/lb. And steak? Don't even talk about it. 

That's a heck of a lot more than the "10% or so" price increases I have heard our beloved government officials talking about in reassuring voices.

     So what do we have to look forward to? Obviously, in the case of canned and dry goods that have only increased 50% -- more of same. Chocolate Easter candy wasn't toooo bad. (If you don't mind smaller amounts in the package, that is.) And it was still possible to fill an Easter basket reasonably. 

     If you want to do better than just survive these price increases, you've got to do something. Since we're generally on a fixed income, due to Social Security and the Brick's pension, we must keep our food purchases within a set parameter. 

     So here are tricks I use, over and over again:

*Buy half-priced -- AFTER the holiday. Easter may be over, but there are sure to be chocolate bunnies and peanut butter eggs hanging around -- at least for a while. This goes for many other holidays, including Valentine's Day and Halloween. (For Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day, look for half--price sales on soda, hot dogs and potato chips.) 

     My family has grown used to seeing some candy goodies stretched out this way. One year, they even got Easter bunnies in their Christmas stockings!

*Use your holiday foods up BEFORE they go bad. We may have had a lot of ham-and-potatoes breakfasts, but we also had pizza and a potato casserole. Next on the menu: Michigan bean soup, using the hambone. The Brick also makes it a personal mission to see that every cookie and cake slice are safely disposed of.  (The man has a real sweet tooth.) 

*Amazon Warehouse. If you read my monthly Hits & Misses reports, you'll see this mentioned often. When Amazon gets ready to clear out certain areas and products, these are discounted and offered for sale. Sometimes the 'Grocery and Gourmet Food'section has expiration dates...but anyone using these quickly realizes that those dates are 'guidelines, really.'

 

I learned this from my forays at grocery discount stores: nearly every canned item can easily go another 6 months to a year...or longer.  You'll want to test a can quickly, because Amazon has a window of time for returning things. If there is a problem, they can be returned at Amazon's cost -- and you get your money back. (I have only had one issue. An order for 3 pounds of black licorice arrived as -- I am not making this up -- a big stick. That was quickly rectified by Amazon. I still wonder what yahoo was munching on my licorice while they giggled about sending me a stick.)

    I have found everything from pasta to sauces to flour to breakfast bars to chips on Amazon Warehouse -- all from 25-75% off retail. The items are often high-end brands, including organic and gluten-free offerings. A recent box of oversized Heath candy bars, sent as a birthday present, cost me about 75 cents a bar. Shipping was free, thanks to Daughter #2's Amazon Prime account. If I'd bought these retail, it would have been double or triple the price.

    The drawbacks: if it's a great deal, the items on Amazon Warehouse go FAST. (I often check at least once or twice a week, just in case.) Also, if it's a multi-pack, there's only one left. If you have to buy $25 minimum (to get free shipping), you'll have to hustle to check the other categories. There are several to choose from. 

*Buy up your favorites that haven't gone up in price yet -- or increased just a little. I bought a case of green enchilada sauce last fall from Walmart; I could eat this stuff by the spoonful. Buying several cans meant I had plenty -- true to form, enchilada sauce is up at least 50%. 

     Other canned and jarred foods that keep well -- and WILL go up in price:  

           *Other Mexican favorites -- refried beans, nacho sauce, green chilies, salsa, etc.

             Beans -- the amazing stretcher for many dishes, including Mexican

           *Corned beef hash (the 'Mary Kitchen' brand is great), tamales, sausage & gravy, chili, beef stew. (We swear by Dinty Moore as a quick supper -- but many hearty soups go further, used like this. Buy the brand you like -- but serve it over rice.)

          *Canned fruit -- pretty much any kind. (I've noticed a price jump in vegetables too, but it's not quite as serious. Or they're decreasing the amount in the can. Or both.)

      Frozen food prices have pretty much already jumped -- but you may find a bargain here and there. Compare with Amazon Warehouse, Sam's Club and Walmart's prices (I use their websites), and you'll know for certain.

*Headed to the grocery store? Check the sales -- but also the clearance section. Or in the case of our local King Soopers, a bin of marked-down fruit and veggies, encased in red mesh -- the whole package is 99 cents. Some stores put their meat in one area -- others space it out wherever the regularly-priced meats are sold. (By the way, don't assume that vegetarian entrees or 'almost meat' products are going to be cheaper. They usually aren't.)

*Add things you grow or process -- a garden is an increasingly-great idea, Even a leaf or two of spinach, kale or basil will perk up a dish -- and they can be grown in pots, as well. So if picking your own fruit, if possible. Daughter #1 swears by a weekly box of fruit and veggies delivered by a co-op.

Okay -- maybe not this 'crop.'

*Cook it yourself -- or at least heat it yourself.  Homemade is usually the cheapest, and often the best -- but what if you don't have the time or energy that day? Freezer entrees, bought earlier, will almost always be cheaper than stopping by Burger King. And if you put them in the microwave or oven when you get home, they'll almost always be faster, too. One family swears by frozen pizza for those "I'm exhausted -- YOU cook" moments. (They also cook several meals-worth at a time, which works -- if you plan ahead.)

*If you're still going out to eat -- make it a late lunch. Going before 4 p.m. will generally get you the same food items, but at a discount. And you will be satisfied enough for a light supper, as well. (I'm assuming that you'll take every bit of your leftovers home, for use later -- even if it's just for The Grateful Dog. Or Cat.)

*Serve less of the more expensive items. Instead of one steak per person, cut the steak into strips and serve it as a stir-fry or goulasch. Add TVP or other fillers like beans to meat when you use it for chili or burritos. Even one eggshell of water can be substituted for an egg in baked goods -- provided you add at least one or two more eggs, that is. (I just got away with 3 eggs plus a little water for a 4-egg carrot cake, which was praised for being so moist. Hmmm.)

*Put out your food, accompanied by 'appetizers:' crackers with a thin slice of cheese, cut veggies, breadsticks/rolls... or a cup or bowl of soup, made from leftovers! This not only helps fill up your eaters, but stretches the main dish a bit further. Another option, for leftovers not quite enough for a full meal: save them up, and serve all together as a 'buffet.'

I make extra of this copycat Panera tomato bisque, whenever possible --

especially in the summer, when tomatoes are fresh. Mavis got me hooked on it.

*Don't eat it if you don't like it.  I am finally giving myself permission to skip those two eggs for breakfast most mornings. The Brick, on the other hand, loves eggs in any shape or form. So I make his -- and have my toast with cream cheese, instead, for extra protein. If you're not a fan of whatever your family adores, go ahead and make it for them -- but feel free to indulge yourself with something else for that meal -- especially if it's cheaper. The World will not End. 

*Make an occasion of it. Stop keeping your nice china for special occasions. That also goes for candles, festive napkins and table linens. After The Mama's death in January, I discovered shelf after shelf of beautiful items she'd been "saving for later." That date never came...and I could not take it with me, either. (Space in a fifth-wheel trailer, after all, is limited.) Use your pretty things -- they may crack or chip eventually, but they'll be remembered with love.

     And don't waste anything, if at all possible. Period. 

Do you have ways you save money on your food budget? Please share in the comments -- I can always use more inspiration!