I agree. Scan Hispanic grocery ads in your area. Most have lower meat and produce cheaper. They also have a lot of in-store sales. I got a pint of strawberries for 67 cents last week
Another suggestion ... It is always a good idea to check your receipts before you leave the store. Something my mother taught me. I have made a habit of using self check out where available due to cashier error and incorrect prices, particularly on sale items and discounted products.
Something to consider about self check out. The ultimate goal of those calling the economic shots is to eliminate human checkers altogether and replace them with machines. I won't use the self check out if at all possible for that reason. The people at the bottom rings of society need work.
I do not use self checkout because the Elites want to cut humans and replace with robots and self check out. I urge shoppers not to use self checkout because people will lose jobs.
Going from Door Dash at $15 a meal to a fairly healthy frozen meal and maybe a side salad or fruit for $4 is a great start for those who are single and busy with jobs!!! I did that first, now I am venturing into very inexpensive meals that run about $2 per serving. Take those baby steps. You will still save and not overwhelm yourself.
There are never any left after dinner hour, not in any of the 4 grocery places I might shop Military commissary is hard to beat, but sales, clearance rack, and salvage stores do have lower prices. Btw, United States veterans with Honorable Discharge are eligible to shop in Commissary. Not sure what paperwork/ID is required
The pet peeve I have with these frugal ideas is the people giving the tips live in less expensive areas. I live in California where prices are through the roof.. I'd like to have someone come up with ideas for frugal living here. We do not have Aldis or other less pricey stores. So help!
@@maureenmannion6748 I believe the Kroger brand in California is Ralph’s. Check their clearance sections for some deals. I shop ours (Smith’s) regularly to find special prices, like the rotisserie chicken.
I take an inventory at the end of the month and do my meal plan based on that. I just can’t believe that everyone doesn’t do this. I buy everything at the cheapest price possible to stock the fridge, freezer and pantry and it allows me to do it again the next month. I spend $200 per month for our family of three. All of these tips are great. Also download apps and save coupons which gives you great discounts on lots of things at the stores and even free things. Great tips and I hope it helps people save lots.
In Alaska, there is a program people can sign up for to be called when there is a roadkill moose. If you get a call and agree to take it, then you are responsible for going to pick it up.... like, with no help ... so bring a flatbed. Usually the roadkill moose are pretty beaten up from whatever car they ran in front of, but sometimes the damage is minimal. Ariel and Eric over on Simple Living Alaska have done it a couple times.
Sounds like an awesome program, not only to save money and have nutrious food, but also so the animal's death isn't totally in vain, some "good" came out of it.
I am blessed to have extra freezer space and bought butter when it was on sale at Christmas time a couple of years ago. I think I bought 20 pounds and am still not through all of it. I also stock up on meat when it is on sale. Normally it’s beef or pork or chicken. A couple of months ago I was going to make a meat run and all three were on sale. For $300, I got what normally would’ve been $900 worth of meat and it will last us more than six months.
I bought a quarter of a grass fed cow last November. We were shocked by the difference in texture and taste. It has lasted my family of 4 and sharing some with my grown children. We will have enough to last a few more weeks. Its the best 1200.00 dollars we've ever spent. We know who raised the cow and what it was fed. We will be ordering again in a week or so.
I love these tips! I almost never go down the "not food" aisle at Aldi. That aisle can be such a trap! It has saved me from making so many impulse purchases.
Lentils are a great substitute for beef! Bolognese, bbq, chili, loaf, meatballs, nachos, in pasta sauce, lentil pie (instead of beef or lamb in cottage or shepard's pie), salad, sloppy lentils, soup, stew, stroganoff, tacos, wraps
Yes it is time for me to crack open the 10 lb bag of organic puy lentils and actually delve into lentil cooking. And maybe even try sprouting them (sproutpeople sends me inspiring emails).
We reverse meal plan, works better for us. The loss leader deals every week are my jam! Im all over them. My supermarket had a one day e-commerce sale this past Saturday. I was able to get a 2lb bag of shrimp for $1.99! So worth it. 😊
I do exactly what you’ve described! Monday is pasta, Tuesday is tacos, usually one night is chicken, one is roasted root veg night which is sometimes sausages or sometimes sale steaks… I cook the same similar things on rotation and it’s fast and easy and I know my family will eat it!
We buy a 1/4 of beef every year from a rancher we know. It’s way cheaper and better quality than buying from the grocery store! We live in the upper Midwest.
Unsupervised small appliance 😂..I am a household of 3 and I have 3 IPs .. I have an Instant Pot problem😅. I have the 3 quart, 6 quart and 8 quart. I use them all though frequently! And got them from buy nothing and bulk week❤! Between my IPs, Airfryer and crockpots...I rarely use the oven/stove top anymore. New Years day? Pork and kraut in the 8 quart, mashed potatoes in the 6 qt and southern greenbeans in the 3 qt.🎉 Great suggestions in the video!
I store my pans inside the oven, since IP does most of the cooking. The occasional time I need the oven, pans sit on extra empty chair till food is baked, pans go right back in hot oven
I love holiday sales. I stock up on flour, salt and seasonings for the year. I also bulked up on 50% off meat and chicken at Aldi on Christmas Eve since they were closed on Christmas Day. Was no where near out of date, they just wanted to get rid of what was in the shelves.
Ok I’m going to be honest… I rarely learn anything new, simply, because I’ve been living this lifestyle for a long time and have these hacks already in play, But I absolutely love your energy and personality and just enjoy watching your videos for that purpose. Keep up the good work!
It's worth pointing out that you can now use EBT cards online at some retailers. Selected Amazon purchases count for this as do several other stores now.
Thank you so much for all of these amazing tips and strategies! Here in Norway, the time of year where we can find the largest savings is in the weeks leading up to christmas. The competition between stores become so fierce that the media has dubbed it "priskrig" which directly translates to price wars! What happens is that there are three big main companies/chains of stores that compete with each other over here. They know that that time of year is when Norwegians spend the most money in the grocery stores by a lot, and so the three of them try to out-cheap each other on foods traditionally eaten around this time. As soon as one store marks something down the others follow or try to go even lower, to the point where some foods get marked down with as much as 98%!
@@Homegrown_Hillary Yes! The best deal I can remember the exact price of this year was pickled cucumbers that were marked down from 22,90 NOK (2,21 USD) to 3,90 NOK (0,38 USD). A few years ago they went all out on a kind of short grain rice we use for a traditional rice porrige and reduced the prices from around 25 NOK (2,41 USD) to 1 NOK (0,097 USD according to the converter I am using!) The best Christmas related deal we ever got was when the lady that owns the local store came over to me and my mom when we were shopping there, and asked if cows can eat bananas. I had to call my dad to check (he's a dairy farmer) and he said they do, so the shop lady gave us all the bananas she had left for free because they would go bad during the christmas break otherwise. The cows were very happy😂❤️
Oh and Asian stores in my area (the Upstate of South Carolina) had Tofu cheaper by as much as a dollar. I buy once a month the tofu and dehydrated mushrooms. I go to the middle eastern store to get spices. I go to the Indian store for rice, beans and lentils. Way cheaper. I spent 25.00 for a really good 25 lbs of long grain rice. I love getting the mung beans, lentils, and such for 1.00 to 1.50 for a 1 lb or higher weighted bag. I have jars full of dried beans, lentils, dried mushrooms and I have soy curls. Online shopping can save you tons of money. I buy frozen veggies because they don't go bad. I tend to buy when they are super cheap.
The majority of our meals consist of a protein and veg with a small amount of fruit. I buy processed foods at a minimum except for adding to my pantry for emergency (family members need help sometimes) We are in the midwest, my husband works with a couple guys that also raise pork and beef. We order 1/2 beef and whole hog at a time. Beef is about 4.79/lb, pork is about 3.49/lb after processing. They are raised with a mostly grazing diet, well taken care of. I give away some of the hams and ground beef, I freeze dry leftovers and staples. We also have a garden that takes up about half of our yard, then pots where I can't dig in directly. Utilize vertical gardening, repurpose materials. Compost. Compost. Compost. Squirrel away food but do not forget to rotate!
I love online shopping. I do what I think is a good frugal sensible shop. Then at checkout I see I was about to spend so much more than I imagined. Then I go back and remove items until I am at the budget I wanted. It's so educational. You can see why your frugal shop is more than you can explain and where you are spending on items or the amount you buy of an item that I did not need
We love our Dillons app and do the same thing! We set our weekly $ amount, fill the cart with what I think we need then I let hubby weed through it until it's to that $ amount. Hubby often tries to take off my coffee and replace it with snacks but I fix that when he's done 😜. This is why you don't take husbands or children to the store!
Also, food storage ideas... we've put drawers under the desk to store all our dried legumes, big cans under the bed and we've turned our linen closet into food storage (linen can fit up high in the top of a wardrobe, for instance, as it's a lot lighter!)
I bought a whole cow and shared it with a friend of mine. It was $1600 for our half, We bought it almost a year ago and there is STILL a ton left! I had to go check that Amazon vs Walmart option since grocery stores near me aren't the greatest.
@@Homegrown_Hillary it included everything, every month we go with any left, is less I am buying at the store! I shop much differently than the rest of my family and friends, because of it I was able to "shop" my pantry during the pandemic.
I live in cow country and it’s pretty standard for the farmer to include a small deep freeze chest freezer with a half a cow and a full sized one with a full cow during the fall butchering season. It’s definitely a plus being out here.
I like your tips and subtips. You are a kick! If you run out of ideas I love when you do the comparisons like the laundry soap one. Thanks for your grocery saving ideas and energy!
We eat "low carb", (I think) because we aren't fans of white rice, pasta heavy meals, potatoes. We also eat beans because they are so good for you and taste good. We could never eat keto because it's high fat and too restrictive. We also cook from scratch. "Keto" labeled products are expensive and often lack nutritional value.
I just love your channel! So much information presented in a happy, helpful, FUN way! Thanks so much for doing what you do. I send your videos to my daughter all the time!
My family has paid a yearly subscription for Walmart delivery since Covid. It is worth every penny because it saves us so much time and gas to get to the store as well as wear and tear on the car and we only order what we need so it saves us money because we are not impulse buying.I also have fibromyalgia and the energy that I save because I am not spending time. Grocery shopping allows me to spend more time with my family.
In North Carolina we are a HUGE sweet potato and pork producing state, so our prices on these are low year round. They get crazy cheap around holidays. Getting sweet potatoes then for .29 - .39/lb. is common at almost every store. 🎉
I'm vegan and think cooking from scratch is tastier and healthier, as well as cheaper than buying the convenient ready-made option. I know it's not for everyone, but I use Aldi for tinned food and the occasional other thing, but Morrisons for loose vegetables and fruit. I also like buying lentis and oats in bulk.
I agree with almost all of your tips--you even had some that took me years to figure out on my own. Your channel is informative and practical! Our family has been living frugally for over 20 yrs. We do almost everything you suggested. However, a few years ago we were diagnosed with several food allergies (gluten, egg, lactose, and some nuts). While your tip for those with food allergies is certainly valid, the desire to eat foods you are familiar with is very real. While we do avoid almost all processed convenience food, realistically, most people are not going to stick with eating the very basics (even with different seasonings) for years on end. However, learning to make our own snacks that fit within the confines of our food allergies has been a much better compromise for our family. We don't feel like we are missing out, but we aren't spending quite as much at the grocery store. The reality is that we are limited by a single brand of some items that aren't easy to replicate and are somewhat at the mercy of our local grocery. (We are using Amazon, Costco, etc. as well, but they don't carry some of the items, or they are actually more expensive.) Moral of the story here: Sometimes there are legitimate reasons why keeping a grocery budget is extra difficult and not easily remedied.
I read somewhere you can prepare meal recipes asking AI “what is a recipe that uses these ingredients” and it gives you a lot of ideas. I have to check it out
Oh my gosh, I just downloaded the Flipp app you mentioned and I love it! Much easier to use, but I love the feature where you put things on your list and you see it all listed by store and can compare items to see where they are cheaper. Thank for for all these ideas. ❤️
Your splurge method is also useful for weighting. Identifying what is you splurge food and start having those more sparingly. Totally cutting out foods you love making sticking to it harder.
I love your channel - you are so enthusiastic and positive! I in the UK so not all of your info is relevant, but I was today years old (half-way to death according to my small fry) to learn not to keep onions and potatoes together! Off to Google why....
Thank you for addressing the specialty diets. I am have to eat gluten free and allergic to soy, nuts, oats, bananas, and some other things, the only eggs i can eat are free range and I have to call the number listed to make sure the hens aren't fed grains. It is expensive and hard and I rarely eat out because of the limits.
Quick make your own take out food - Dragonfly brand Tom Yum Paste (mix in any clear soup for instant yummy thai soup). - Koon Chun brand Hoisin Sauce (you will never buy any other after using this) just put it on anything, it is superb. My personal new fave - Ahmed brand Rose Petal Jam (such a gourmet treat - perhaps not for everyone) - on toast, or shortbread, or just a spoon). Tip - if you are doing any far east asian cooking (Chinese etc) - add a few tablespoons of medium sherry (I read this in a Sunset mag cookbook and suddenly my food tasted like restaurant).
We buy a whole cow it averages $5/lb but that also includes ribeyes, porterhouse, other Steaks, brisket, ribs, all the good stuff plusses ground beef. It is very economical for us because basically we plan around that and buy on sale. Really helps. It's about $4000 for the whole cow.
When we lived in the Midwest, we would often buy a quarter or a half of a beef or a hog. But there are lots of butcher shops in those areas that offer that kind of thing. Because that’s where I’m from, I assumed every place was like that. When we moved to Florida 20 years ago, we found out that’s not the case. It actually is more expensive for us to Buy it that way then it is to buy quality meats at the higher priced grocery stores. Even contacting a farmer and buying it on the hoof and having it processed is way more expensive per pound here than it was when we lived in the Midwest. My dad raises cattle and it is more expensive just to have it processed than it is to buy it at the store because there are no butcher shops in the area.
I only buy on sale, and there's 2 grocery stores in my area that have a buy one get one free sale every week, I have learned the cycle on these so I don't pay regular price anymore. Another grocery store has clearance on different Salad Greens Salads, Potatoes ane Fruits, instead of paying $6.00 and up for salads ,potatoes and fruits. I pay $1.00 to $3.00 for bag salads, potatoes and fruit. I also buy reduced meats. It's all about learning the grocery stores cycle on sale items.
•Chicken bacon potato casserole •Cabbage sausage and onions •Homemade biscuits and gravy •Cubed steak cream of mushroom w/ Fried onions over rice •Beans and rice • spaghetti- a BIG POT then put cheese on it and bake it after the first day or 2. • Tuna/shrimp/crab Salad • chicken Alfredo- canned chicken or chicken breast • ox tail and rice • Bbq Hash and rice • bbq These are just a few things we do weekly or monthly (bbq) and we then store them or eat them for 2-3 nights. Of course there are far more than this and you can combine or mix these together to make something else. Be creative but calculate!!
I had a "bad" day at work this week. Practically every day was bad. On Monday I "treated" myself to lunch. Also on Tuesday. Wednesday was particularly bad. Thursday wasn't much better so I treated myself on those days as well. However on Friday, my day went VERY well and I decided to treat myself yet again but as a "reward ". They were all fast food garbage meals on which I spent $92!! They weren't even that tasty. This fact made my "bad" week far worse! I think that getting away from work to treat myself is key. This realization hit me like a welcomed ton of bricks. Next week I will be packing a healthy lunch and treating myself to a walk during my lunch hour instead.
That was me!! Alll the time with the gas station snacks 😂 If the walk doesn’t feel like enough of a treat, my go-to was to bake a batch of treats on the weekend and pack one for each day’s commute home. ❤️
In our area we have a grocery store that has a 3 day meat sale every 3 months and we save a ton. They even cut your steaks to your specific thickness. We are empty nesters and now we don't need a feeder calf so this works for us.
We actually go in halves or thirds for a cow. We split the cost with another family, and it makes it more affordable. This is in Northwest Arkansas, so in other places, it might not be the ideal savings.
I have to brave the negative temperatures to get groceries today. I thought about doing curbside but after some research I found it was going to cost quite a bit extra.
We have an Aldi. It’s pretty good. Our expensive store only does loss leaders with coupons from their app, but you have to earn those coupons by buying all your groceries there. I quit trying at that store. There’s also Meijer. They do sales but never a loss leader. You can save 5¢ by shopping their sales. 😂
When we lived in Ohio, we found that Meijer rotated their sales in a predictable cycle. We learned that x item ran on sale every 6 weeks or so. We knew to buy at that price for six weeks worth of that item. I kept track of what we spent at Aldi, Meijer, and Walmart over the years, and to our surprise, Meijer won out nearly every time. (I would however, stock up at Aldi for cheeses and a few other items that they were consistently less expensive on.) So, maybe consider looking for the pattern to their ads to see if you might be able to save more.
@@bethanyg153 I sorta miss the Meijer sale of when they used to run the "buy 10 get the 11th free". Participating items were $1.00 each and one could use MC's for the appropriate item bought and save even more.
I love Meijer. I get meat, all the time , for between 45 and 75 percent off. I would say probably 70 percent of our meat is majorly discounted. We have never had a problem with the taste or quality. We have steaks, whole chickens, ham, pork chops, ground beef, Italian sausages Etc.
First off, I love your content. Your pep is just a joy! Secondly, would you mind making some content on the apps that you recommend and use? Bonus points for links! Thanks again for the content
Just binge watched two of your videos and have more in my queue. I can already tell you're my new favorite channel. Happy to be here and follow along on your youtube journey!
I have to say, you are awesome. Enjoying your videos. So wish I would have been more frugal & thrifty at your age and not waited till my 40s to get serious about it. Better late than never. Lol. I use to do once a month shopping when my 4 kids were little then did a cooking day. It was great (tiring but do worth it). Now I shop the sales add. Love walking out with my 3 sales item.
When I find a really good deal like the ham or turkey that has limits ,I buy my limit and take my husband or older child and let them have part of my list and also get 2 of whatever the deal is. Or when able go the next day.
We don't have low price stores, no place here sells in bulk, no sales circles, no ads online for stores, no coupons, no apps to scan resets. There are sales now and then but no way of knowing when. What I do is use less meat and more pasta, rice and bread. I have an ok pantry but most of the stuff there I bought full price.I welcome any food saving ideas.
Lots of great tips here. New subscribe! Going to bookmark this video for future references. Yay for the WFPB (Whole Food Plant-Based Diet)! Trying to stay consistant with this diet. That should help with costs of multiple categories. Downloaded Flipp. Thank you!
I love yr tips!! I'm not in the majority type when it comes to going grocery stores or me not having the time for grocery time as well. I've got to not being busy by using my food saver which has helped me so much MOLLA!! 😊😊😊 Instead I've used it to save alot of MOLLA!! By not going to the store every week or every month...I haven't gone to the store in weeks...Which has helped me to save alot of MOLLA....😊😊😊
I do Keto because I'm a diabetic. But you are correct on just eating basic foods. I see Keto-friendly stuff that is ridiculously expensive, and it's so bad for you if you read the ingredients
While I have been frugal for decades, thusI am not necessarily here for budgeting tips. You are so fun and energetic. I love watching!
Money is stressful enough! I figure the internet can use more upbeat and lighthearted videos about saving money. 😊
I agree. I've been debt free for years and enjoy these videos. I think Hillary is so cute and fun.
I have saved almost $1,000 for the last month because of watching money saving videos and getting intentional with what we don't need when shopping.
This is amazing!!
The BEST frugal tip of all time is to buy on sale and stock up!
I agree. Scan Hispanic grocery ads in your area. Most have lower meat and produce cheaper. They also have a lot of in-store sales. I got a pint of strawberries for 67 cents last week
Another suggestion ... It is always a good idea to check your receipts before you leave the store. Something my mother taught me. I have made a habit of using self check out where available due to cashier error and incorrect prices, particularly on sale items and discounted products.
I love the Albertsons/Safeway app but every single time my receipt is wrong. Anywhere from $1 to $9 once! So definitely worth double checking:)
Many stores have policies about price accuracy.
Often the item is free if its price is under five dollars.
Something to consider about self check out. The ultimate goal of those calling the economic shots is to eliminate human checkers altogether and replace them with machines. I won't use the self check out if at all possible for that reason. The people at the bottom rings of society need work.
I do not use self checkout because the Elites want to cut humans and replace with robots and self check out. I urge shoppers not to use self checkout because people will lose jobs.
Going from Door Dash at $15 a meal to a fairly healthy frozen meal and maybe a side salad or fruit for $4 is a great start for those who are single and busy with jobs!!! I did that first, now I am venturing into very inexpensive meals that run about $2 per serving. Take those baby steps. You will still save and not overwhelm yourself.
Yes!!!
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Rotisserie chickens go on clearance at my local store after 6:00pm. I am happy to pay $2.50 for a pre-cooked chicken!
There are never any left after dinner hour, not in any of the 4 grocery places I might shop Military commissary is hard to beat, but sales, clearance rack, and salvage stores do have lower prices. Btw, United States veterans with Honorable Discharge are eligible to shop in Commissary. Not sure what paperwork/ID is required
The pet peeve I have with these frugal ideas is the people giving the tips live in less expensive areas. I live in California where prices are through the roof.. I'd like to have someone come up with ideas for frugal living here. We do not have Aldis or other less pricey stores. So help!
Wow! That's an unheard of price where I live in CA. The best price for rotisserie chicken is Cosco.
@@maureenmannion6748 I believe the Kroger brand in California is Ralph’s. Check their clearance sections for some deals. I shop ours (Smith’s) regularly to find special prices, like the rotisserie chicken.
I take an inventory at the end of the month and do my meal plan based on that. I just can’t believe that everyone doesn’t do this. I buy everything at the cheapest price possible to stock the fridge, freezer and pantry and it allows me to do it again the next month. I spend $200 per month for our family of three. All of these tips are great. Also download apps and save coupons which gives you great discounts on lots of things at the stores and even free things. Great tips and I hope it helps people save lots.
In Alaska, there is a program people can sign up for to be called when there is a roadkill moose. If you get a call and agree to take it, then you are responsible for going to pick it up.... like, with no help ... so bring a flatbed. Usually the roadkill moose are pretty beaten up from whatever car they ran in front of, but sometimes the damage is minimal. Ariel and Eric over on Simple Living Alaska have done it a couple times.
That is so cool!
Some areas of the northern states have this as well … when we lived in Wisconsin, the area we were in had something like this
We got a large deer and an orynx at White Sands Missile Range., NM. After paying for professional butcher it was about $1 a pound. Yummy
Sounds like an awesome program, not only to save money and have nutrious food, but also so the animal's death isn't totally in vain, some "good" came out of it.
I like to buy a pork loin and slice it into pork chops and freeze. Pork loin can be found around $2 a lb
Oh my goodness my grocery spending IS just as much as my mortgage. I've never ever thought about it that way. Yikes.
Isn’t it crazy how fast it can creep up?!
I am blessed to have extra freezer space and bought butter when it was on sale at Christmas time a couple of years ago. I think I bought 20 pounds and am still not through all of it. I also stock up on meat when it is on sale. Normally it’s beef or pork or chicken. A couple of months ago I was going to make a meat run and all three were on sale. For $300, I got what normally would’ve been $900 worth of meat and it will last us more than six months.
I bought a quarter of a grass fed cow last November. We were shocked by the difference in texture and taste. It has lasted my family of 4 and sharing some with my grown children. We will have enough to last a few more weeks. Its the best 1200.00 dollars we've ever spent. We know who raised the cow and what it was fed. We will be ordering again in a week or so.
I love these tips! I almost never go down the "not food" aisle at Aldi. That aisle can be such a trap! It has saved me from making so many impulse purchases.
That’s where I start ! Lol
We have a Mennonite bulk store it saves our grocery budget massively
I couldn’t agree more! The “ I deserve this!” mentality is hard on a budget.
Lentils are a great substitute for beef! Bolognese, bbq, chili, loaf, meatballs, nachos, in pasta sauce, lentil pie (instead of beef or lamb in cottage or shepard's pie), salad, sloppy lentils, soup, stew, stroganoff, tacos, wraps
Yes! Looove lentil shepherd’s pie.
Yes it is time for me to crack open the 10 lb bag of organic puy lentils and actually delve into lentil cooking. And maybe even try sprouting them (sproutpeople sends me inspiring emails).
Yes! I just made a yummy red lentil chili and cornbread. So Good and filling.
We reverse meal plan, works better for us. The loss leader deals every week are my jam! Im all over them. My supermarket had a one day e-commerce sale this past Saturday. I was able to get a 2lb bag of shrimp for $1.99! So worth it. 😊
Oh my gosh I am SO jealous! Can’t remember the last time I found shrimp for cheaper than $5/lb…
Unless there was a limit on them my freezer would be full right now.
I do exactly what you’ve described! Monday is pasta, Tuesday is tacos, usually one night is chicken, one is roasted root veg night which is sometimes sausages or sometimes sale steaks… I cook the same similar things on rotation and it’s fast and easy and I know my family will eat it!
We buy a 1/4 of beef every year from a rancher we know. It’s way cheaper and better quality than buying from the grocery store! We live in the upper Midwest.
Thank you for giving us GRACE, when we are not where we should be by now.
❤️❤️❤️
HI Sister, many, if not most, of us are on the journey.
Unsupervised small appliance 😂..I am a household of 3 and I have 3 IPs .. I have an Instant Pot problem😅. I have the 3 quart, 6 quart and 8 quart. I use them all though frequently! And got them from buy nothing and bulk week❤!
Between my IPs, Airfryer and crockpots...I rarely use the oven/stove top anymore.
New Years day?
Pork and kraut in the 8 quart, mashed potatoes in the 6 qt and southern greenbeans in the 3 qt.🎉
Great suggestions in the video!
Wait hold the phone...you can make mashed potatoes in the instant pot???
@@Homegrown_Hillary I will find my recipe! I haven't made them any other way since I got my IP in 2019!
I store my pans inside the oven, since IP does most of the cooking. The occasional time I need the oven, pans sit on extra empty chair till food is baked, pans go right back in hot oven
I love holiday sales. I stock up on flour, salt and seasonings for the year. I also bulked up on 50% off meat and chicken at Aldi on Christmas Eve since they were closed on Christmas Day. Was no where near out of date, they just wanted to get rid of what was in the shelves.
Ok I’m going to be honest… I rarely learn anything new, simply, because I’ve been living this lifestyle for a long time and have these hacks already in play, But I absolutely love your energy and personality and just enjoy watching your videos for that purpose. Keep up the good work!
It's worth pointing out that you can now use EBT cards online at some retailers. Selected Amazon purchases count for this as do several other stores now.
Good point! And that includes using EBT or eWIC for online ordering and in-person pickup, at least at Walmart and Hannaford.
I’ve been frugal since I moved out at 18 in 1983 and love your ideas! Thank you!
Thank you so much for all of these amazing tips and strategies!
Here in Norway, the time of year where we can find the largest savings is in the weeks leading up to christmas. The competition between stores become so fierce that the media has dubbed it "priskrig" which directly translates to price wars! What happens is that there are three big main companies/chains of stores that compete with each other over here. They know that that time of year is when Norwegians spend the most money in the grocery stores by a lot, and so the three of them try to out-cheap each other on foods traditionally eaten around this time. As soon as one store marks something down the others follow or try to go even lower, to the point where some foods get marked down with as much as 98%!
That’s so cool! What kinds of food had the best deals before Christmas in Norway this year? (98% off?? That’s insane!!)
@@Homegrown_Hillary Yes! The best deal I can remember the exact price of this year was pickled cucumbers that were marked down from 22,90 NOK (2,21 USD) to 3,90 NOK (0,38 USD). A few years ago they went all out on a kind of short grain rice we use for a traditional rice porrige and reduced the prices from around 25 NOK (2,41 USD) to 1 NOK (0,097 USD according to the converter I am using!)
The best Christmas related deal we ever got was when the lady that owns the local store came over to me and my mom when we were shopping there, and asked if cows can eat bananas. I had to call my dad to check (he's a dairy farmer) and he said they do, so the shop lady gave us all the bananas she had left for free because they would go bad during the christmas break otherwise. The cows were very happy😂❤️
Wow! Awesome story. Hope u got lots of bargains 🎉
It’s great how you consider different situations and points of view.
You are a ray of sunshine!!!
☀️☀️
In Australia :) We get loss leaders relating to BBQs around Australia Day (which is coming up).
I just got one of those jar sealing systems from Amazon, for produce. I’m so tired of throwing out fruit and vegetables!
Oh and Asian stores in my area (the Upstate of South Carolina) had Tofu cheaper by as much as a dollar. I buy once a month the tofu and dehydrated mushrooms.
I go to the middle eastern store to get spices.
I go to the Indian store for rice, beans and lentils. Way cheaper. I spent 25.00 for a really good 25 lbs of long grain rice. I love getting the mung beans, lentils, and such for 1.00 to 1.50 for a 1 lb or higher weighted bag. I have jars full of dried beans, lentils, dried mushrooms and I have soy curls.
Online shopping can save you tons of money.
I buy frozen veggies because they don't go bad. I tend to buy when they are super cheap.
I'm so jealous of the variety of ethnic food stores you have available!
The majority of our meals consist of a protein and veg with a small amount of fruit.
I buy processed foods at a minimum except for adding to my pantry for emergency (family members need help sometimes)
We are in the midwest, my husband works with a couple guys that also raise pork and beef. We order 1/2 beef and whole hog at a time. Beef is about 4.79/lb, pork is about 3.49/lb after processing. They are raised with a mostly grazing diet, well taken care of. I give away some of the hams and ground beef, I freeze dry leftovers and staples.
We also have a garden that takes up about half of our yard, then pots where I can't dig in directly. Utilize vertical gardening, repurpose materials. Compost. Compost. Compost.
Squirrel away food but do not forget to rotate!
I made a bear creek soup broccoli cheese soup. 2nd day i added some rice and chicken. 3 added black beans and taco seasoning used it for burritos
I love online shopping. I do what I think is a good frugal sensible shop. Then at checkout I see I was about to spend so much more than I imagined. Then I go back and remove items until I am at the budget I wanted. It's so educational. You can see why your frugal shop is more than you can explain and where you are spending on items or the amount you buy of an item that I did not need
We love our Dillons app and do the same thing! We set our weekly $ amount, fill the cart with what I think we need then I let hubby weed through it until it's to that $ amount. Hubby often tries to take off my coffee and replace it with snacks but I fix that when he's done 😜. This is why you don't take husbands or children to the store!
Also, food storage ideas... we've put drawers under the desk to store all our dried legumes, big cans under the bed and we've turned our linen closet into food storage (linen can fit up high in the top of a wardrobe, for instance, as it's a lot lighter!)
I bought a whole cow and shared it with a friend of mine. It was $1600 for our half, We bought it almost a year ago and there is STILL a ton left! I had to go check that Amazon vs Walmart option since grocery stores near me aren't the greatest.
That sounds like a good deal! Esp if that price included all the processing and packaging. Nice find!
@@Homegrown_Hillary it included everything, every month we go with any left, is less I am buying at the store! I shop much differently than the rest of my family and friends, because of it I was able to "shop" my pantry during the pandemic.
I live in cow country and it’s pretty standard for the farmer to include a small deep freeze chest freezer with a half a cow and a full sized one with a full cow during the fall butchering season. It’s definitely a plus being out here.
Shred tofu and add Taco seasoning. Fry in pan. Cheap and healthy.
I follow the same diet as your.husband!
I can’t believe I’ve never tried this one!!! Thank you!
Fine chop mushrooms into the same mix Heartier, chewy
I like your tips and subtips. You are a kick! If you run out of ideas I love when you do the comparisons like the laundry soap one. Thanks for your grocery saving ideas and energy!
“Give yourself grace” thank you I needed this!! ☺️
We eat "low carb", (I think) because we aren't fans of white rice, pasta heavy meals, potatoes. We also eat beans because they are so good for you and taste good. We could never eat keto because it's high fat and too restrictive. We also cook from scratch. "Keto" labeled products are expensive and often lack nutritional value.
I just love your channel! So much information presented in a happy, helpful, FUN way! Thanks so much for doing what you do. I send your videos to my daughter all the time!
Aww, thank you!
I agree! Spunky, fun and entertaining! Such a delight! 😇
I agree! Spunky, fun and entertaining! Such a delight! 😇
I agree! Spunky, fun and entertaining! Such a delight! 😇
You can use rolled oats and such to extend your ground meat. It blends right in just don't overdo it.
I didn’t know this! Cool!
@@Homegrown_Hillary yup! i found it on pinterest back when i was on my own for the first time and have used it plenty.
Also mushrooms, lentils, rice, quinoa, couscous.
I'm so glad you there's such a thing as grocery pickup now. I only use it when it's free.
My family has paid a yearly subscription for Walmart delivery since Covid. It is worth every penny because it saves us so much time and gas to get to the store as well as wear and tear on the car and we only order what we need so it saves us money because we are not impulse buying.I also have fibromyalgia and the energy that I save because I am not spending time. Grocery shopping allows me to spend more time with my family.
The Kroger subsidiary in my area has great mark down deals on produce, dented / damaged packaging, meat and bakery items. It's always worth a look.
What are the best times to look? I cannot seem to find much
Love Kroger clearance, I ll stop at Kroger whenever we travel in the van , save $$$ on whatever we will eat someday
Be careful buying dent cans, if dent is to bad the metal can leech into food. Slightly dent shouldn't break the lining covering the metal of the can.
In North Carolina we are a HUGE sweet potato and pork producing state, so our prices on these are low year round. They get crazy cheap around holidays. Getting sweet potatoes then for .29 - .39/lb. is common at almost every store. 🎉
I'm vegan and think cooking from scratch is tastier and healthier, as well as cheaper than buying the convenient ready-made option. I know it's not for everyone, but I use Aldi for tinned food and the occasional other thing, but Morrisons for loose vegetables and fruit. I also like buying lentis and oats in bulk.
I agree with almost all of your tips--you even had some that took me years to figure out on my own. Your channel is informative and practical! Our family has been living frugally for over 20 yrs. We do almost everything you suggested. However, a few years ago we were diagnosed with several food allergies (gluten, egg, lactose, and some nuts). While your tip for those with food allergies is certainly valid, the desire to eat foods you are familiar with is very real. While we do avoid almost all processed convenience food, realistically, most people are not going to stick with eating the very basics (even with different seasonings) for years on end. However, learning to make our own snacks that fit within the confines of our food allergies has been a much better compromise for our family. We don't feel like we are missing out, but we aren't spending quite as much at the grocery store. The reality is that we are limited by a single brand of some items that aren't easy to replicate and are somewhat at the mercy of our local grocery. (We are using Amazon, Costco, etc. as well, but they don't carry some of the items, or they are actually more expensive.) Moral of the story here: Sometimes there are legitimate reasons why keeping a grocery budget is extra difficult and not easily remedied.
Couldn’t agree more. You guys sound like you’ve found the best balance possible for a serious challenge. That’s a LOT of allergies!
I read somewhere you can prepare meal recipes asking AI “what is a recipe that uses these ingredients” and it gives you a lot of ideas. I have to check it out
I’ve actually got a video about that!
Oh my gosh, I just downloaded the Flipp app you mentioned and I love it! Much easier to use, but I love the feature where you put things on your list and you see it all listed by store and can compare items to see where they are cheaper. Thank for for all these ideas. ❤️
Your splurge method is also useful for weighting. Identifying what is you splurge food and start having those more sparingly. Totally cutting out foods you love making sticking to it harder.
I love your channel - you are so enthusiastic and positive! I in the UK so not all of your info is relevant, but I was today years old (half-way to death according to my small fry) to learn not to keep onions and potatoes together! Off to Google why....
Thank you for addressing the specialty diets. I am have to eat gluten free and allergic to soy, nuts, oats, bananas, and some other things, the only eggs i can eat are free range and I have to call the number listed to make sure the hens aren't fed grains. It is expensive and hard and I rarely eat out because of the limits.
I.recently subscribed! St. Therese on your shelf was the key! 😇
She’s our family’s home girl. 😊
I noticed her religious icons as well
Found you through Under the Median and this is the 2nd video I'm watching I'm definitely binge watching your channel now 😊
Quick make your own take out food - Dragonfly brand Tom Yum Paste (mix in any clear soup for instant yummy thai soup). - Koon Chun brand Hoisin Sauce (you will never buy any other after using this) just put it on anything, it is superb. My personal new fave - Ahmed brand Rose Petal Jam (such a gourmet treat - perhaps not for everyone) - on toast, or shortbread, or just a spoon). Tip - if you are doing any far east asian cooking (Chinese etc) - add a few tablespoons of medium sherry (I read this in a Sunset mag cookbook and suddenly my food tasted like restaurant).
We buy a whole cow it averages $5/lb but that also includes ribeyes, porterhouse, other Steaks, brisket, ribs, all the good stuff plusses ground beef. It is very economical for us because basically we plan around that and buy on sale. Really helps. It's about $4000 for the whole cow.
When we lived in the Midwest, we would often buy a quarter or a half of a beef or a hog. But there are lots of butcher shops in those areas that offer that kind of thing. Because that’s where I’m from, I assumed every place was like that. When we moved to Florida 20 years ago, we found out that’s not the case. It actually is more expensive for us to Buy it that way then it is to buy quality meats at the higher priced grocery stores. Even contacting a farmer and buying it on the hoof and having it processed is way more expensive per pound here than it was when we lived in the Midwest. My dad raises cattle and it is more expensive just to have it processed than it is to buy it at the store because there are no butcher shops in the area.
I only buy on sale, and there's 2 grocery stores in my area that have a buy one get one free sale every week, I have learned the cycle on these so I don't pay regular price anymore. Another grocery store has clearance on different Salad Greens Salads, Potatoes ane Fruits, instead of paying $6.00 and up for salads ,potatoes and fruits. I pay $1.00 to $3.00 for bag salads, potatoes and fruit. I also buy reduced meats. It's all about learning the grocery stores cycle on sale items.
•Chicken bacon potato casserole
•Cabbage sausage and onions
•Homemade biscuits and gravy
•Cubed steak cream of mushroom w/ Fried onions over rice
•Beans and rice
• spaghetti- a BIG POT then put cheese on it and bake it after the first day or 2.
• Tuna/shrimp/crab Salad
• chicken Alfredo- canned chicken or chicken breast
• ox tail and rice
• Bbq Hash and rice
• bbq
These are just a few things we do weekly or monthly (bbq) and we then store them or eat them for 2-3 nights. Of course there are far more than this and you can combine or mix these together to make something else. Be creative but calculate!!
Ijust love her vibes!! Underrated channel fr. - New subscriber
I had a "bad" day at work this week.
Practically every day was bad.
On Monday I "treated" myself to lunch. Also on Tuesday.
Wednesday was particularly bad. Thursday wasn't much better so I treated myself on those days as well.
However on Friday, my day went VERY well and I decided to treat myself yet again but as a
"reward ".
They were all fast food garbage meals on which I spent $92!! They weren't even that tasty.
This fact made my "bad" week far worse!
I think that getting away from work to treat myself is key.
This realization hit me like a welcomed ton of bricks.
Next week I will be packing a healthy lunch and treating myself to a walk during my lunch hour instead.
That was me!! Alll the time with the gas station snacks 😂 If the walk doesn’t feel like enough of a treat, my go-to was to bake a batch of treats on the weekend and pack one for each day’s commute home. ❤️
@@Homegrown_Hillary That's a great idea!
Having something ready as a treat.
In our area we have a grocery store that has a 3 day meat sale every 3 months and we save a ton. They even cut your steaks to your specific thickness. We are empty nesters and now we don't need a feeder calf so this works for us.
Our expensive store the meat market marks down ,eat at 6am
Oreo prices are absolutely ridiculous right now 😢
We actually go in halves or thirds for a cow. We split the cost with another family, and it makes it more affordable. This is in Northwest Arkansas, so in other places, it might not be the ideal savings.
I have to brave the negative temperatures to get groceries today. I thought about doing curbside but after some research I found it was going to cost quite a bit extra.
Good thinking! I wasn’t sure if stores were still doing markups by item for online orders. I haven’t noticed it in my area anymore.
Some areas do have higher price for pick up. Ours does not the prices for delivery also are not higher than in-store prices.
I love Flipp!!! Huge time saver!!!
Even if 1/4 a beef is a little pricier it is worth it. The meat is way better. 🌞
You are so adorable - I feel like I’m watching my daughter 😊🎉🎉 God bless you ❤
Your videos are fun to watch and informative! Thank you! 😊
I enjoy how you convey all this info. You don't take forever and you make it interesting and humorous. Just subscribed. All the best.
Lots of good ideas! I’m starting my extra 😀frugal journey. This helps!
We have an Aldi. It’s pretty good. Our expensive store only does loss leaders with coupons from their app, but you have to earn those coupons by buying all your groceries there. I quit trying at that store. There’s also Meijer. They do sales but never a loss leader. You can save 5¢ by shopping their sales. 😂
Yes! Some of the gimmicks the expensive stores come up are laughably confusing and worthless.
When we lived in Ohio, we found that Meijer rotated their sales in a predictable cycle. We learned that x item ran on sale every 6 weeks or so. We knew to buy at that price for six weeks worth of that item. I kept track of what we spent at Aldi, Meijer, and Walmart over the years, and to our surprise, Meijer won out nearly every time. (I would however, stock up at Aldi for cheeses and a few other items that they were consistently less expensive on.) So, maybe consider looking for the pattern to their ads to see if you might be able to save more.
@@withheldwithheld8969 yes, they used to have some stellar bogo and 10 for $10, but absolutely no great bargains anymore.
@@bethanyg153 I sorta miss the Meijer sale of when they used to run the "buy 10 get the 11th free". Participating items were $1.00 each and one could use MC's for the appropriate item bought and save even more.
I love Meijer. I get meat, all the time , for between 45 and 75 percent off. I would say probably 70 percent of our meat is majorly discounted. We have never had a problem with the taste or quality. We have steaks, whole chickens, ham, pork chops, ground beef, Italian sausages Etc.
Love your channel. Your personality is the icing on the cake
Oh my goodness you have some really great tips and strategies I hadn’t thought about- and will implement. Thank you!
First off, I love your content. Your pep is just a joy! Secondly, would you mind making some content on the apps that you recommend and use? Bonus points for links! Thanks again for the content
Ha! Funny you should ask. I just did one exactly like this about a month ago. 😊
Just binge watched two of your videos and have more in my queue. I can already tell you're my new favorite channel. Happy to be here and follow along on your youtube journey!
This is the nicest comment! Thanks! :)
Also please try shopping at Save a lot, this store is amazing
Thanks for your videos great information have a great week 😀
Have been cooking off stock pile for months ❤😊
Thanks thing that stuck out most was Amazon for pasta sauce.
I have to say, you are awesome. Enjoying your videos. So wish I would have been more frugal & thrifty at your age and not waited till my 40s to get serious about it. Better late than never. Lol. I use to do once a month shopping when my 4 kids were little then did a cooking day. It was great (tiring but do worth it). Now I shop the sales add. Love walking out with my 3 sales item.
Ah! You’re too kind! (But I agree: love walking out of a store with just markdowns and loss leaders 😊)
When room in freezer will make freezer meals ❤😊
When I find a really good deal like the ham or turkey that has limits ,I buy my limit and take my husband or older child and let them have part of my list and also get 2 of whatever the deal is. Or when able go the next day.
We don't have low price stores, no place here sells in bulk, no sales circles, no ads online for stores, no coupons, no apps to scan resets. There are sales now and then but no way of knowing when. What I do is use less meat and more pasta, rice and bread. I have an ok pantry but most of the stuff there I bought full price.I welcome any food saving ideas.
Lots of great tips here. New subscribe! Going to bookmark this video for future references. Yay for the WFPB (Whole Food Plant-Based Diet)! Trying to stay consistant with this diet. That should help with costs of multiple categories. Downloaded Flipp. Thank you!
Albertson's has the best sales lately
Love your channel ❤im central California and love the tips im finding
I so agree with your points! Thank you.
Thanks for your videos ❤😊
Hey fellow whole food plant based 👋🏼 Mexican cuisine is the best!!💕
Love your personality. You help make this process fun! Thank you! 😊 😂❤
That’s the goal! 😁
great show😄
Thank you!
🎉Thank you dearly for your wisdoms 😊
I love yr tips!! I'm not in the majority type when it comes to going grocery stores or me not having the time for grocery time as well.
I've got to not being busy by using my food saver which has helped me so much MOLLA!! 😊😊😊
Instead I've used it to save alot of MOLLA!! By not going to the store every week or every month...I haven't gone to the store in weeks...Which has helped me to save alot of MOLLA....😊😊😊
Thank You from Germany 😀
Great ideas! And yes, sadly no bananas on Keto 😢
Oh noooo!
I think celery is the only universal food.😅
I do Keto because I'm a diabetic. But you are correct on just eating basic foods. I see Keto-friendly stuff that is ridiculously expensive, and it's so bad for you if you read the ingredients
"Kind of like a real squirrel" 😂
Seriously such a great video!!! I miss you!! Love and hugs!!
Ahhh how’d I miss this comment?? I miss you too❤️❤️