So a new report came out the other day saying food prices are rising faster than they have in the last 17 years. I know I'm feeling it!
Milk is $3.49 a gallon
Eggs are $1.89 for 18
Flour is $1.49 for 5 pounds.
Three pound package of shredded mozzarella is $7.50 (and we must have our pizza every Friday night)!
I first noticed the price increased about a month ago when I went to buy 5 pounds of flour at Aldi. The previous week it was 99 cents and then in a week in rose by 50%.
I try to cook as much from scratch as possible so I don't buy store bread, pancake mix, sometimes I make my own tortillas, ,make homemade mac and cheese and pizza, serve oatmeal for breakfast and buy cereal in bulk. I also started making my own laundry soap several months ago. This has saved quite a bit as TIDE costs $17. Whenever I bake something that requires milk I use powdered instead. I'm trying to wean the kids off of juice and rely on the best drink of all - water.
I've also cut down on my driving. We used to drive up to Shiloh to visit Target at least once a month. No more of that. When we first bought our Freestyle we could fill it up for $35. Now it's over $50.
Our women's group at church decided to become more cost efficient too, and more environmentally aware. We've decided to use our dishes and forgo paper plates, plastic utensils and styrofoam cups. We've used "real" dishes a couple times since the vote was cast and the dinners we've hosted feel more special when food is served on "real" plates and eaten with silverware instead of plastic.
So what are you doing to cope with these prices?
UPDATE: Hold the phone!!! I just got back from a quick run to Walmart (my favorite store -- not!) and 18 eggs cost $2.78 not $1.89. So they've gone up!
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We use www.angelfoodministries.com It's wonderful! We also drive a Jetta diesel, which the fuel is slightly more per gallon, but we still get more miles per dollar than regular gas.
I also shop the sales, we buy milk in bulk when it's on sale (we used to freeze it before we started angel food ministries) and we also buy cheese in bulk when it goes on sale (shredded can be frozen but not the solid bricks)
we're biking as much as we can, especially as the weather gets nice. Brent can bike to work and I find that I can bike with the kids most days rather than drive.
We stopped buying bottled water and now buy one big container for the fridge and it's cheaper (i HATE tap water so it's the best I can do right now!)
We're also looking forward to farmer's markets starting !!!
You're not alone... See http://www.worldnetdaily.com
/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60480
The story is " 'Silent' famine sweeps globe."
We ran part of it in our ezine today. But not the part that blamed world hunger on the subsidizing of bio-diesel, which was not something I was willing to take on!
My dad is doing quite well as a gardener, using 'growboxes' and although I do not have his green thumb, I'm going to give it a try this summer. He wrote about it here: http://parkingspacegarden.blogspot.com/
Here are some of my ideas:
1. As you put each thing into your cart, hold it in your hand for 4 seconds and ask yourself two questions:
a. In light of how most of the world lives (not America), can I live without this?
b. Is there any way to get this cheaper? (almost always there's a cheaper alternative right in front of you if you take time to search for it.)
That'll save you at least $10 every time you go shopping. That's about $500 a year. If you invest the money and make interest on it, you'll have at least $5,000 after 5 years!
2. Another method I use is the $100 rule. If I'm careful, my grocery bill can be kept under $100 a week, and I have three kids, including a teenage boy. Most people in the world live on much less than that and are well and healthy.
3. Don't listen to the "it's only 20 cents more" logic. There are hundreds of things that are "only 20 cents more." When you add them all up together they amount to that $10 saved a week, which is the $5,000 after 5 years!
4. Change your menu to fit what's on sale.
5. Eat more like developing world people and include more rice, cornmeal, beans and greens.
Shopping once a month has helped me a lot in saving money. I do a lot of the stuff you suggested, too, like using powdered milk in recipes and making a lot from scratch.
I'd love to know how you make your own detergent. Could you use it in an HE machine?
BTW, I LOVE ALDI and wish they had them where I live. I remember a few years ago they had eggs on sale for 29 cents a dozen!
Lots of good ideas shared - thanks. Just got back from Aldi - flour up again - $1.66 for 5 pounds.
Juloyes - I google homemade laundry soap and use I recipe I found there: thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
She said others with HE machines have had no problems using this recipe. Sometimes I have to make sure to treat stains prior to washing and wash a couple times for extra hard stains but I figure the trade off in cost is worth it.
I'm now looking for a recipe for making my own yeast. A jar of yeast is about $3.56 and we go through a jar every 1-2 weeks. I know there's something out there for making my own but I don't like sourdough. Anyone know of anything?
I like your blog. My mom (Viola Larson) told me about it.
Yeast is very very cheap at Sams Club if you can shop there. I pay about the same price for 2 lbs as you pay for those small jars you get at the grocery store. Also, I buy my laundry soap there, Wind Fresh, which last about a month ( I have three boys 16, 13 and 8). It costs me just over a 11 dollars. Those two items alone make it more than worth shopping there, though there are a few other items that we get cheaper there also.
fifthofnickel - I just bought yeast on amazon.com. It was Bob's 8 packs of 8 oz for less than then jars at walmart. I also picked up some spanish olive oil. And I didn't have to pay shipping because it was over $25. No gas involved either so I'm going to be looking at amazon.com for groceries more often - especially the hard to find stuff.
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