Practical economies

[Gopher]

A thread for us to share money-saving tips.

[kitten]

Cooking in bulk and packaging in individual servings in the freezer is one useful idea.

[Lise]

Dollar stores are surprisingly excellent when it comes to hosting a party.

[Lil Me]

Use the library for books, movies and magazines.

  Bring one's own water, tea, coffee (or hip flask- if so inclined) while venturing out.

[49er]

pay off credit card balances to avoid paying interest

[P.C.]

Aside from buying family packs and freezing individually....menu planning is HUGE in saving money and minimizing waste.

  For example.....I can cook a roast chicken dinner....traditional style (with mashed taters and carrots and corn).  (roast chicken for 2)  From what is left, I can make a half dozen chicken enchiladas, (a few mushrooms and green peppers to fill them out)....which I freeze individually.  There is also enough chicken left to make a nice hearty chicken soup......and the left overs from THAT can be thickened to make a full sized chicken pot pie....or 4 small individual chicken pot pies.

  That's a lot of mileage out of one roast chicken.

  The same can be done with roast beef.  Traditional....French dip buns.....beef pie or shepards pie.

  (and roast pork too)

  Roast pork.....leftovers cubed for sweet and sour, rice and veggies......pulled pork buns.

[kitten]

Go to a bakery for day-old breads and pastries.  There is often a good variety if you get there early just after they open.  The same goes for shopping for meat...at least at Safeway.  If you get there early they have meat that has been marked down because the expiry date is the same day.

[P.C.]

That works Kitten.....and I think we have to do what we have to do.  Me ?......I'm not good at compromising......and day old bread and old meat doesn't work for me.  (I know how snooty that sounds....forgive me)  And I'm OK with getting a good cut of meat when I know it's going to see us through 3 or 4 meals.  Even a tiny piece of meat will go a long ways with planning.    

[kitten]

I'm more able to afford steak if it is close to the expiry date.  Even lean hamburger is getting expensive, but at least it will stretch a long way.  With the steak I usually slice it into thin strips and stir fry it to get more than one meal out of it.

[Lil Me]

We often buy the tougher "lean" cuts of meat and cook them longer.  

[kitten]

That's a good idea too.  A slow cooker really comes in handy for that sort of thing.

  I always check flyers and cut out coupons for specials that I need.

[P.C.]

I'm not as vigilant about clipping coupons any more.....but I sure used to.  They made a BIG difference.  Especially being as our local grocery store would offer Triple Tuesdays.  Three times the value of the coupon.....sometimes stuff would be free.  (can't beat free food.....even if it's something you normally wouldn't buy)

  Check out to see what offers your grocery store has.....it took me a year and a half before I found out that little tid bit.

[Gopher]

1) Eat out even less than usual.

  2) Avoid Christmas.

[purelife]

Oh my...this sounds like the lunch thread.  me hongry again. ;P

P.C. wrote:
[div style="font-style: italic;"]Aside from buying family packs and freezing individually....menu planning is HUGE in saving money and minimizing waste.[/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"] [/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"]For example.....I can cook a roast chicken dinner....traditional style (with mashed taters and carrots and corn).  (roast chicken for 2)  From what is left, I can make a half dozen chicken enchiladas, (a few mushrooms and green peppers to fill them out)....which I freeze individually.  There is also enough chicken left to make a nice hearty chicken soup......and the left overs from THAT can be thickened to make a full sized chicken pot pie....or 4 small individual chicken pot pies.[/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"] [/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"]That's a lot of mileage out of one roast chicken.[/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"] [/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"]The same can be done with roast beef.  Traditional....French dip buns.....beef pie or shepards pie.[/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"] [/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"](and roast pork too)[/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"] [/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"]Roast pork.....leftovers cubed for sweet and sour, rice and veggies......pulled pork buns.[/div]
 

[49er]

I don't know if this is valid in other cities but I find fresh fruits and vegetables are cheaper in asian markets