Q&A Tuesday: How do you save money on groceries in rural areas?

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by Crystal on February 1, 2011

I’m writing to you to see if you have any suggestions for people who live in rural areas, far from Walmarts, Targets and Walgreens. My husband and I live and work at a Baptist camp in the Panhandle of Texas with our sweet baby girl. We try to use cash for everything, and have tried to narrow our budget down as much as possible in order to eliminate. The nearest of any of the stores I mentioned above are at least two hours away. I can use coupons and things like that at the local grocery stores, but things are so much more expensive here (for example, sometimes $6 or $7 for a box of cereal).

I am also trying to be healthy for my family: whole grains, lots of fruits/vegetables and little processed foods. That, however, also adds up. Healthier foods are often more expensive, and the produce sections can be really shabby. Do you have any suggestions or advice?
-Lacey

Lacey, it sounds like you are doing a great job already, so be encouraged!

I’ve never lived far, far away from big box stores before, but my advice would be to “think outside the box”. You’re not going to be able to score some of the amazing deals other readers here do, but you can still keep your grocery bill rather low. Here are a few ideas I had (many which you’re probably already doing!):

Stick with simple meals. It sounds like you are not using a lot of processed foods, which is likely helping you keep your grocery budget low. If your husband is okay with it, you could plan a weekly meatless night where you have burritos or beans and rice. A weekly breakfast for dinner, a weekly soup night and a weekly homemade pizza night are a few other simple ways to keep dinners inexpensive. If you serve meat as a condiment rather than the main thing, you’ll usually greatly reduce your grocery budget. (Mary Ostyn writes more about this in her book, Family Feasts for $75 Per Week. Excellent book, if you’ve not read it yet!)

Examine your expenditures. Where are you spending the bulk of your grocery money? If it’s on household products, consider making your own cleaners, using cloth diapers or and eliminating paper products.

Look for great deals online. Based upon the price of cereal in your area, I’m guessing the sales at Amazon are usually always going to beat your local prices. You could also look into ordering from places like Mountain Rose Herbs or other online sites. Watch for specials, free shipping offers and coupon codes.

Consider growing a garden for as much of your produce as you can. If you don’t have a green thumb, see if you can find a friend who grows a garden who might be willing to sell you produce or barter their extra garden produce for your willingness to bake them bread or babysit.

Buy in bulk. If you’re eating mostly whole foods, I’d suggest making a trip to the nearest town every few months to stock up in large quantities. It would totally be worth a drive of an hour or two both ways to save $500 on your groceries. You’ll want to calculate in the cost of gas as well as the wear and tear on your car, though, when considering how much this will save. And remember that your time is valuable, too, so I’d only recommend a big day trip like this every six to eight weeks.

Keep a positive attitude. Maybe you can’t get great deals on groceries where you are living and you’re probably going to have a higher grocery bill than others, however, I’m almost certain that living where you live is providing you opportunities to bless and minister to others which are worth the extra costs.

What ideas do the rest of you have for saving money on groceries when you live in rural areas?

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{ 117 comments }

Lori Carter February 1, 2011 at 5:57 pm

These are some great ideas to consider even when some of these stores are close to you. Thanks!

Jessica February 1, 2011 at 6:34 pm

Another option to look into is a local CSA/co-op for fresh vegetables and fruit. You can find if there is one near you: http://www.localharvest.org

Elizabeth February 1, 2011 at 6:36 pm

Not sure if anyone else has already suggested this, but you might look in to azurestandard.com for fresh produce and other organic things. You’d have to see if there is a drop point within a reasonable driving distance of you for their monthly pick up, but I have friends that use them and are very happy with it. Good luck!

sarah February 1, 2011 at 6:50 pm

Could you have a chicken for eggs?

Courtney February 1, 2011 at 6:55 pm

Look for farmers in your area who are willing to sell/barter produce like you said but also look for beef and poultry farmers. Certain farmers are willing to sell you half a cow or as many chickens as you need, they’ll slaughter them for you, then you pick up the meat. For a family of three half a cow should just about last you a year. Also check to see if your local high school has an Agriculture program. If they do they will probably have a garden or grow produce in their greenhouse. You might be able to work out a payment/trade-off for them to grow your produce. I know my ag dept would’ve loved community members buying our produce.

Erica February 1, 2011 at 7:04 pm

We live in a pretty rural area. Luckily we are around several Amish communities and are able to shop at grocery stores they run. They don’t always have a big inventory but $1.00 per box cereal is pretty good for us! Just yesterday I hit one of the stores we call it the “bent and dent store”. I purchased 2 boxes of pop tarts, 4 boxes of cereal, 12 packs of gum, 1 can corn, 1 can creamed corn, 2 boxes scalloped potatoes, 2 boxes of granola bars , 1 bottle of BBQ sauce, and a chocolate bar for just over $18.00. In the summer they carry lots of fresh fruits and veggies and always have a great inventory of spices, flour, sugar etc.

Stephanie February 2, 2011 at 12:08 pm

This is one of my favorite stores, the salvage store. Just went there earlier this week. I have learned to stock up on an item I will use when I see it because there is no guarantee that it will be there next time. I was hestiant at first to shop there, because of the stigma that may go with it. However, I feel very different about it now. It isn’t all expired or dirty stuff, which is what I thought. Some of it may be that the manufacture changed labels, or that a store ordered too much, or maybe it isn’t selling as well as the other store thought it would. Some of it is dented, which I tend to shy away from personally if it is a can, or expired, which is actually the “best if used by” date not the “dangerous to eat after this” date, so I do try to keep my eyes open for those. The majority of it though you can’t tell if you got it from there or from Walmart.

Most of their items are cheaper than our local store will have it, but not always. Their milk, for example, is more expensive, but their yogurt is cheaper. Guess it all works out.

This is the first place we have lived that has this as a shopping option. It is also run by Amish, which may be why. I count this as a “use what you have local to you” option. It was not always something that I could do, but I can where we are now, so I do. It has actually decreased my use of coupons (which ours no longer takes) and trips to the further away stores.

The local Amish community also has a produce auction during the summer that is open to the public. Most prices are wholesale, but it can vary from week to week depending on who is there and what has just come in to season or is going out of season. It also helps to know that the quantities are also wholesale. So if you will have a hard time figuring out how to use three or six bushels of green peppers, it may not be the best option for you. Make sure you pay attention! As the bidding is usually PER bushel or pint or such, NOT for the whole pallete. Check with your local auction to see how they do it and perhaps go to one just to observe the first time. I go with a friend and we usually split what we buy. What we can’t use (too much for either of our families) gets put out on our produce table for our neighbors to buy from. We may not have the biggest selection, but we can beat the local store prices. Our neighbors get cheap produce, we make some money back, and also end up with fresh, cheap produce.

Sometimes I will call friends after going/on my way home to see if they want any of what I got. Sometimes they insist on paying me and sometimes I just give it to them because it was such a good deal for me. Like when I got 90 cantalope for 5 cents each. After some people at the auction bought about 30 off of me, the rest I gave away. All I really wanted was 1 melon, so the amount I spent on 60 was about what I would have paid at the store for the 2. Unfortuantly this deal never came around again; I just was at the right place at the right time. This is another “see what your local area has” option. Again, not something I’ve been able to do in other places.

soury February 1, 2011 at 7:31 pm

I just posted a topic on this very topic, you might something useful from it:
http://www.choosingsimplicity.com/2011/01/finding-good-deals-at-your-small-town-grocery-store/

I just stopped in again at our small town grocery store and scored more $0.99 cheese blocks!

Dianne February 1, 2011 at 7:36 pm

My family has worked at a couple different camps. I agree with a previous commenter, take advantage of the leftovers (my husband is a cook so the food was always wonderful). I often got chicken or pork and tried to get creative to morph it into a different meal.

Are there other families at the camp? I’m sure that they’re in the same boat as you. If I were you, I’d ask if they’d like to help you plant a “community garden.” You all could share the start up costs, work, etc & reap the benefits. You could also cooridnate schedules and when you do have to make a big trip you all could split gas.

Lastly, I wanted to encourage you in what you’re doing. I know that camp is a very rewarding, but at the same time very exhausting ministry. No one really understand what it’s like until they have worked full-time themselves. One of the best pieces of advice I got from another wife in camp ministry was to be creative & think outside the box in every area (time, resources, etc.) Because of your unique situation things will look a lot different for you than they do for most. God bless you as you minister to so many.

ks grandma February 1, 2011 at 7:55 pm

I keep several types of seeds for sprouts on hand. They keep nearly forever, growing sprouts is no big deal, and if you have not been to a produce department for awhile, it’s nice to have something fresh. And this may not be the time in your life to think gourmet. Plenty of simple food can be quite tasty, keep you within your budget and be healthy for your family.

Krista February 1, 2011 at 8:19 pm

Lots of good ideas!

It is hard to hear all the tips about double and triple coupon days when no one within hours of you ever doubles coupons, and deals found on meat like ground beef for $0.99 a pound? In my dreams! But even though I can’t cash in on some of those deals, I have found ways to keep my grocery budget down.

I would recommend a stand mixer over a bread machine. It won’t bake the bread for you, but is so much more versatile-especially if you consider the available attachments. And it makes bread making so simple. Toss in the ingredients and turn it on. I never buy bread anymore.

Since there are no stores near me that ever double coupons, I have simply figured out what foods are less expensive and that is what I build my meals around. It is nice since “coupon foods” tend to be more processed, we eat mostly from-scratch foods simply because they are less costly.

Try to plan meals in succession. That is make something Monday that will turn into something else on Tuesday. (Roast a chicken one day for dinner. The next day have chicken quesadillas. The next day chicken soup.-if that’s too much chicken for one week, freeze the soup!) There is much less waste this way.

Michelle February 1, 2011 at 8:28 pm

I’m sure someone has already commented on this part, I tried to do a quick scan….but I have discovered Subscribe & Save on Amazon.com for Amazon Moms. If you buy enough, it’ll let you have the amazon prime membership for free for so many months and that means free shipping. You can order cereal through there. It’s a hit on the budget at one time…only cause you have to buy 4 boxes at a time, etc. etc. and I saw a package of 4 boxes of cereal for $10 and that is just beyond your local budget of $6 or $7 a box.
but…it’s soooo worth while. I ordered Tide detergent and won’t need it again for months and months, but it was very much worth the $47 investment.
Good luck in your search. I am originally from a very small town and understand the prices!

HMercer February 1, 2011 at 8:30 pm

Amazon Subscribe and Save or Alice.com. We just went in with a group and purchased 1/2 a cow. I have about 60 lbs of beef in my freezer to last us the year. Purchase whole chickens and do just like PP mentioned; meals in succession.
Oatmeal instead of cereal. Make friends with a farmer.

cheryl February 1, 2011 at 9:31 pm

There are some great ideas here! One thing I did was found a friend who shopped alternate weeks that I did. It was great for both of us when there was a really good sale but it wasn’t worth it to drive for THAT item.

Julie C February 1, 2011 at 9:59 pm

I wonder if you could network with someone 2 hours away that could barter their excess drug store items for something that you could share with them; maybe you have a skill in some sort of handwork (needle point, knitting, etc..)?

I read of so many women donating their excess to good causes and your Baptist ministry camp would be a GREAT cause to donate towards. Do you need cleaning items, toiletries or female supplies?

Jennifer Schulte February 1, 2011 at 10:02 pm

I agree with a lot of what has been said, particularly the garden ideas. Let me contribute a bit of my Master Gardener knowledge.
Living in a dry climate, I suggest you take advantage of rain barrels at every downspout. Check online for how to make some on the cheap. Link them together and store up as much as you can for those in-between times when the tender veg needs a drink. Tap water isn’t so good for plants, nature’s unaltered water is better. If you raise the barrels, you can get more gravity for flow, otherwise, a bucket brigade is a fun activity. You can move a lot of filled, lidded jugs and buckets in a re-purposed kid’s wagon.

Compost! Make your own “garden gold”. Layer together (like making a lasagna) raked leaves, dried grass (weed free), and kitchen veg/fruit matter (peels, cores, skins, stems, leaves) make wonderful fodder for a compost bin. You can make them on the cheap from nearly anything, or if you have the space, a pile on the ground does the trick. The more you turn it, the faster it goes. Keep it moist with an occasional sprinkle from the rain barrel. It is likely that you will have to prime your garden spot with better soil or heavy amendments. Composted manure has to be aged, but if you know someone who raises rabbits, their poo can go direct to the garden. Poo makes better plants! (wash well)

Mulch. Keep the moisture you do have where it belongs, plus keep plant roots cool in the TX sun. Clean straw does nicely, as do commercially available wood chips, and even some garden fabrics.

You can use zuccini in breads (freezes nicely), flash-boil tomatoes to remove the skin and then ziplock and freeze for winter (excellent in chili!), cut the corn off the cob/freeze on a cookie sheet/bag for freezer storage (slice peppers and onions and do the same). I was shocked to find my 5 yr old ate the majority of our spinach crop straight out of the cleaning bowl. Fresh is better!

Maria Beth February 1, 2011 at 11:19 pm

I’m the wife of a part-time music minister. For several years of our marriage, he taught at Bible Schools for several months out of the year, and that’s a good way to lay up treasure in heaven, but certainly not on earth.

When I worried about money, my mother told me, “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and when you need something, you ask God to sell some of those cows and get you what you need. And then you Thank Him.”

God has resources we know nothing about, and when you have a need, He knows exactly how to fill it. Just today, my husband, brother, sis-in-law and I cut up part of a beef from a local farmer. This was a meat cow with a dislocated hip which couldn’t make it in the cold. It took time and work, but we got about 100 pounds of meat for $1 a pound.

It’s great fun to keep a “Jehovah-Jireh” notebook where you record all the ways God provides for you. One year when we were especially busy doing the Lord’s work, God creatively provided the equivalent of $6,000 through all kinds of ways, including a canner on freecycle.

So that’s my best idea for how to make it when you’re far from stores and living on faith–Pray.

tulips52 February 2, 2011 at 5:59 am

We have been in camping ministry for 24 years. Fortunately, we have never lived in an area that remote. I just really have to laugh at the suggestions that you start a garden. Summer is the busiest time for us! The job is virtually 24/7 when campers are here all week. There is no time to tend a garden! We have always been solo at our camps: there has never been a camp community who might pool time and resources, so I grant that a community garden might possibly be an option if you have help.
I agree with those who suggest a periodic trip to a warehouse club. We have practically run camps with Sam’s Club. I would also save coupons and have a massive ‘coupon shopping’ day with my daughter. She has since said that she would be so embarrassed when we pushed 3 carts around the grocery store, but it was a big savings. Also, what about the grocery vendor who services your camp? We have always been able to buy from Sysco or US Foods etc and add it onto the camp order and then reimburse camp for it. Most of the vendors run weekly specials, so we’d stock up on whatever was on sale that week. This is especially good for meat purchases. You do have to have some storage space so I would suggest investing in a freezer! Buying a case of 96 rolls of toilet paper is the only way to go!
God Bless you!

Stephanie February 2, 2011 at 11:50 am

Growing a garden does take time. We have lived in 5 states and none of my gardens have looked the same from one place to the next. Part of it was because they are each in a different zone, but also because of time and space limitations. I think I have finally found what works for me, and that is a raised bed garden. I have maybe thirty minutes worth of weeding the whole season! Well, unless I didn’t leave the compost composting long enough and have hundreds of squash sprouts appear everywhere. :) It is also easy to water and plant. For the three beds I have it may take ten minutes to water each week, and that includes getting the water into the bucket. Now, in northern TX you will probably need more water than what we use here in the midwest, but it still is not very time consuming.

I followed the guidelines in the Square Foot Garden book and went from there. I used some boards my father-in-law had laying around (so it is 4.5′ square instead of 4′ square) and some paint from our basement to make the boxes. The rest of the items I’ve added over the past few years, one at a time. I have found that my tellises last at least two years (they will be going on their third summer here soon) so that isn’t an item I need to replace annually. For us, having fresh cherry tomatoes for our salads is the biggest savings. What I pay for a pack of seeds is what we would spend in one week on a container, and we get at least that much each week for several months. I’m still working on perfecting the growing of other things, but think it has to do with planting too late. My biggest expense was the soil/compost to put in the boxes, but that may be gotten around with a little thinking. I would recomment not using your normal soil because it is lacking in something (drainage, nutrients, etc.), even though it is tempting to do so. You could even start a worm bed in one of them, which is a great way to compost and add directly to your soil.

It has been the easiest and least time intensive way I have found to garden. It also doesn’t take up a lot of room, does not require tilling, and can be taken out if no longer wanted.

Pamela February 2, 2011 at 6:15 am

I see a lot of great ideas but I think I can toss a couple in the mix. I also can and freeze from my garden, buy local, at sales etc. We live 30 minutes from a large store but are also dealing the loss of my job and a young child so frugality has become my ‘job’. Some things just don’t can or freeze well and there is always the canning expenses and freezer space issues to contend with. A couple of years ago my dad bought me an Excalibur dehydrator. This is the greatest investment. I can dry about anything. While I still can and freeze things like peppers I also make sure I have plenty of dried bell pepper on hand. It will quickly season soups that call for pepper, or use it as a seasoning like black pepper. I also dry zucchini and squash for use in soups and spaghetti sauce through the winter. Dried tomatoes – potatoes – carrots – cucumbers make great ‘chips’ for veggie dip. When I can find fruit in season I buy as much as I can afford and dry everything we wont eat in 1 week. If you aren’t sure how something will dry try just a small portion. there are books out there on making your own dehydrator. they may be just as effective in the dryer southern climates. Hang in there and do what works for you.

Lee February 2, 2011 at 6:44 am

I would investigate local farms. Help your neighbors and yourself :)

Kristie February 2, 2011 at 8:19 am

I see some suggestions about bread machines here, but let me put in a plug for the fearless do-it-yourselfers. It does save money (even cheap mixes can’t compare to bags of ingredients), and don’t be intimidated by time!! I make 12 loaves a week for our family of 8, and it really doesn’t add up to hours and hours of kneading like you’d think. Plus, my kids can help (including our 21-month-old “flour blizzard”). And, there’s a great option for us “rural folks”: our grain elevator sometimes sells the wheat by 50-lb. bags. We ground it ourselves a few years ago and it lasted almost a year. (And was much, much better than King Arthur’s!)

We rurals also get to raise chickens–only drawback is they don’t lay in the winter. :(

Crystal February 2, 2011 at 8:28 am

We buy wheat by the 50-lb. bag and it is so much less expensive than buying it otherwise!

Debbie Rioux February 2, 2011 at 8:27 am

I would be happy to share coupons. I may have access to coupons that may not be available in her area, I also get multiple copies from friends and family. Please share my email.

Shannon February 2, 2011 at 9:08 am

I have loved reading through all of these ideas. Like Lisa, I live in a very rural area and a couple of years ago looked at out grocery/household budget and decided we need to cut back what we are spending. Our local grocery store charges a lot more for his items than what I could find at larger chain stores. So now I do most of our shopping on-line or monthly shopping trip to a town 100 miles away. Here are some of my suggestions:
1. Figure out what your family likes to eat – I really do not do a meal plan, but I know that what I like to cook and what they like to eat. Also, write down those things so that you can build a list for your “mega” shopping trip. I don’t purchase thing that we would not use.
2. Learn to stock-up on food and household items. I loved the recent article from http://www.allyou.com on how to stock-up your food items. I started stocking up items like can veg’s, can fruit, soup, flour, sugar, ceral, etc when I did a “mega” shopping trip to a larger town. This saves me from having to go to our local store when I can build a meal from my stock pile. I keep between 3-6 months worth of food stock piled. One thing I do since I can not find any papers who will deliver where I live it order coupons off line (yes it does cost a little, but using coupons still saves me money) and I also print on-line coupons for these “mega” shopping trips.
3. Purchase a freezer – I learned a long time ago that you can purchase things and put them in the freezer. I freeze milk, cheese, bread, even fresh items like mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, etc. Then I am not needing to go to our local grocery store to purchase these things.
4. Purchase meat from a local farmer/rancher or hunt for your meat. Every year we get 1/2 a beef, a pig and then my husband hunts. The cost per pound is cheaper and it taste better than store bought.
5. Build a relationship with the store manager (at the store where you like to shop). I usually shop at Albertsons (when I get to town – our town 100 miles away does not have a Sam’s, Costco, etc but does have an Albertsons, Safeway, Wal-Mart and Kmart). However, over the last couple of years I have built a relationship with the local store manager. Then if I see on a sale ad that something is on sale, I contact the store manager and ask it he would hold that item for me at the sale price. I pay him over the phone, and then pick it up when I go shopping. It has save me extra money, as I still shop the sale ads (which you can look at on-line) and I can get the deal for that week with out traveling to the store. I have even told him I have a coupon for the items and he will even give me the discount on the coupon – I just give it to him when I get to the store.
6. For fresh items, I do try to grow a garden, but our growing season is very short so we don’t get that much out of the garden. However, I purchase fresh thing when I go to town. Purchase things like whole lettuce, whole cabbage, whole cauliflower, broccoli, etc (whole things keep longer than bag lettuce, bag vegs)- I also purchase things like bag apples, oranges, banana’s, etc. One thing that I found is that I put things in a cold storage area of our basement. I have found I can keep things like fresh corn, potatoes, squash, carrots, and apples down in it for a month or more with out them spoiling.
7. Sign up for on-line shopping. I have found deals on household items, food things like cereal – like yesterday on Amazon they had peanut butter on sale. Yes, sometime I have to pay for shipping, but given the cost of gas on-line is pays for itself to shop on line.
By doing some of things, I have cut our family of four food /household budget down from $4,000 a year to $1,000 a year. Good luck.

Elizabeth February 2, 2011 at 11:48 am

We live in a small town and things often are higher here than elsewhere. We do take advantage a few times a year to shop Costco which is 90 minutes away and we go several times a month, for other reasons, to a larger town about an hour away and always shop then too. But a very nice way I have found to get some items much cheaper is via Amazon. If it is something coming directly from them, you just order at least $25 worth and the shipping is free. That has been the most helpful. Also, sometimes you can order directly from a company and get better prices. Worth looking into anyway. Many things that are canned or boxed will keep long enough to be worth buying a case of.

Lisa S February 2, 2011 at 1:35 pm

I live with a similar store with $6 cereal and $6 jugs of welchs juice. I found something out on accident one day. I was in the store the day after the 18 packs of eggs passed their sell by date. They asked me while I was at the checkout if I wanted them, they couldn’t sell them. I said sure. They handed me 6 dozen eggs for free. So now, when I’m in there, I check the soon to expire type items like dairy, meat, and eggs, to see what dates they have on them. I stop by the day after said date just in case they have some left. If they are still on the shelf/in the case, I take a few up to the register and ask for a discount since they are past their date. They always end up giving them to me. You might try that.

As for meat, this is actually one of the less expensive items at our store because it is locally sourced, so we eat sell quick sticker meat quite a bit. To save further, see if you can get the meat direct from a farm, maybe go in on a cow with another family or two. You can also do this with the produce and will likely have to, or eat canned, if your store is like ours. Right now, we have oranges, apples, bananas, and grapes for fruit. That’s it. So it is nice to stock up with farmers in the summer and can and freeze a lot of it for the winter months. We also dehydrate some of it. If you have to buy more than you think you can use, go in on it with another family. Or make a ton of jam/marinara, and see if the little local market will put it in their store to sell or buy it wholesale from you to make some of your money back. Or sell it in the next church bake sale.

Beverly February 2, 2011 at 4:40 pm

I live in Illinois and shop at Meijer, which has stores in the midwest. The store is like a super Walmart or Super Target. It sells everything and now sells groceries and other items online. I don’t know if they will ship to Texas, but you could check it out. Just go to meijer.com You can even view the weekly ad online. Grocery items on sale are very reasonable.

Melissa Carter February 2, 2011 at 11:21 pm

Love all the ideas. We live in the Ok Panhandle and my hubby’s a minister too. I have 4 kids and am just looking for the very ideas given. We try to have a cheap food added to every meal—usually rice, potatoes, or pasta. We also do the meatless meals. I need help with quick but cheap lunch ideas. We homeschool and I do not have time to prepare something elaborate. I hope I can add some of these new ideas. I know the food co-op near us does have a charge too…….

marilynn February 3, 2011 at 4:00 am

drive the 2 hours to walmart and buy staples for 6 months using your coupons. it is worth it/ or order online as others have suggested.no one should pay 6 or 7 dollars for a box of cereal. grow your own vegetables too and swap with the neighbors.

Sarah February 4, 2011 at 8:52 am

My husband and i also work at a rural christian camp, the closest walmart is about 45 minutes away, so we prefer to drive to sams club which is about 2 hours away and buy in bulk. We only have to do this every month or so. We usually take a big cooler with us and buy meat in bulk, then when i get home i package it in portion sizes and freeze it.we also heavily rely on our garden and freezer. In the summer we grow our own vegetables and fruits and i can and freeze them for the winter, we usually have more than we can eat!

Beverly February 4, 2011 at 11:28 am

I would do a search on local co-ops, they normally have a low monthly fee for produce (alot of times organic) and also can supply a lot of other foods for good prices. http://www.localharvest.org/food-coops/ is a great website to check out. If there aren’t any in your area, consider creating one…its a group of people who get together and make deals with local growers for lower prices, the produce is in season, fresh and great deals can be made.

Stephanie February 4, 2011 at 11:35 am

Make your own bread w/0 a mixer or breadmaker. I got the book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day from my local library and I love it! Now we always have fresh bread without spending a lot of time or money and all of the ingredients can be bought in bulk and stored. I used to use my breadmaker once or twice a week and made a lot of rolls, but now I’m making all of our bread, including sandwich bread and fancy artisan breads.

Colleen February 6, 2011 at 12:51 pm

Check out Freecycle.org. This is a totally free message board where you can request what you need and see what other people are offering for FREE in your local area. This is not a barter or pay site. If someone posts that they are giving away diapers (which I have seen in our local Freecycle), they are GIVING them away. If you need canning or drying equipment, just ask. You would be surprised at what people have just laying around that they will give you if you will go get it. I have even seen them give away cars! The Freecycle network is broken down into cities, so the one I belong to is actually in the town about an hour away. I look at what is being offered, and if I can use it, I email or call the individual to set up a time for pickup. Then I plan my shopping trip to coordinate with the date and time of my pickup. I have gotten canning equipment, computers and monitors, a digital converter box, gardening equipment, a cd player, and a printer all for free. I regularly see folks offering children’s items such as toys, clothes, diapers, formula, you name it! I hope your local town/nearest city has a Freecycle group! The best part is when you find something around your place that you don’t really need, but it is too good to throw away. Just offer it on Freecycle! Someone may need just what you have and you could be a blessing to someone without even knowing it!

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