Fight rising food prices with 'stealth stock-up'

[collectorofbells]

wow....she almost gets it! the comments at the end of the article are a good read too!



Fight rising food prices with 'stealth stock-up' - Smart Spending

Fight rising food prices with 'stealth stock-up'
Posted Apr 16 2008, 12:04 PM by Donna Freedman


I have 29 cans of tuna, thanks to a really good sale at Albertsons. Last week's ad had a coupon for Chicken of the Sea tuna at three cans for 99 cents, limit six.

The fine print said "one coupon per transaction," not "one coupon per customer." Some of my neighbors toss the grocery ads unread into the lobby recycle bin, so I wound up with a handful of coupons.

Guess which destination walk I chose a bunch of times in the past week. And guess what I had for lunch on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.

It had been almost a year since I bought tuna. I'd gotten irritated when the price went up as high as $1.09 a can -- and not even for albacore, just for the chunk light. "When it goes on sale, I'll stock up," I kept telling myself.

Did I ever. It's part of my ongoing maintenance of what MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston calls "the emergency fund you can eat."

This doesn't even have to cost a lot if you use what I call the "stealth stock-up" plan. Almost everybody has 99 cents, or even 33 cents, left over each week. Little by little you can build a decent pantry without breaking the bank.

Stock up and save
The idea is thrifty on several fronts. Having just a few basics on hand can mean the difference between making dinner and making a pizza run.

Stocking up helps cut extra trips to the store for, say, a jar of peanut butter for school lunches. This not only saves gas and wear and tear on your car, it protects you from impulse buys like the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that make the store smell so good. Full cupboards also let you pack a lunch at least a couple of times a week, which can save a bundle.

Worst-case scenario: If you got laid off, wouldn't you feel a little more secure with a full larder?

Stealth stock-up relies heavily on loss leaders. Suppose a decent brand of spaghetti sauce goes on sale for 99 cents. Why buy just one? Buy at least two, preferably more. Then you can feel all smug and proactive once it goes back up to $3.29. You'll also be looking for sales on pasta, of course.

And yes, all you food purists, I know it's better to make your own sauce from scratch. The fact is, a lot of people aren't going to bother. Pricewise, this beats ordering out.

Cheap chow
Each time you shop, aim for at least one extra item. If store-brand tomato soup costs three for a dollar, buy three -- or six. Dried beans on sale? Get a couple of bags. Canned fruit at something approaching a decent price? Grab it. Peanut butter is a frequent loss leader; recently I even found an all-natural brand on sale, and because I had a coupon I paid only $1.65 for a 16-ounce jar of the good stuff.

"Pantry" can also mean "freezer." If pork chops are 99 cents a pound, buy several packages; you can rewrap in smaller portions if necessary. Bread prices have skyrocketed, so when your favorite multigrain is on sale, throw a couple of loaves in the deep freeze.

Don't forget to watch for great prices on nonfood items like toiletries, laundry soap, bathroom tissue and, of course, Ziploc bags.

Be flexible about where to shop. I've bought wax paper, foil and bar soap at yard sales. My local dollar store sells two-pound bags of rice. Walgreens sells raisins, cranberries and other dried fruit for $1 a box, and regularly puts its spices on sale two for a buck. Obviously, I'm no epicure; fancy rice and pricey spice would be wasted on my proletarian palate.

The key, according to Weston, is to "store food you actually eat. … otherwise, your pantry becomes a food mausoleum." It's also important to rotate the stock, as it were; use and replace these things regularly.

What if you don't have a pantry?
You'd be surprised how many extra items can fit in even a small apartment. Myscha Theriault offers some great storage tips in an essay she wrote for partner blog Wise Bread.

As I was shoehorning Chicken of the Sea into cupboards, I marveled at all the other stuff I've stashed: pinto and black beans (dried and canned), spaghetti sauce, flour, rice, catsup, canned tomatoes, mustard, pasta, sugar (stored for next summer's jam-making), pickles, soups, spices, barbecue sauce, aluminum foil, oatmeal, dried cranberries, peanut butter and tea. All of these items were incredibly cheap; a few, such as the mustard and barbecue sauce, wound being free with coupons.

Elsewhere in the apartment I have months and months' worth of toiletries, laundry soap and bathroom tissue. Many of these items were free or nearly free thanks to coupons and drugstore rebates.

Sometimes I think I'm becoming one of those weird hoarders, the kind who die and leave relatives to deal with a house full of Spam and bundled newspapers. But then I'll go a week or two without having to go to the store at all, which makes me feel better about my shopping patterns. Living out of the larder is very satisfying. Especially if you like tuna.

[pedspeech]

Great article- of course not "news" to us "hoarders" but maybe someone would be enlightened by the read and have an epiphany! "Wow, why didn't I think of that!"

[quiltingdiva]

Neat article!

My whole family was making fun of me because of my huge pantry stacked full with stuff. "Why do you need to buy 20 of these?" they ask.

Well, now that food prices are rising they aren't making fun so much anymore. Instead they are asking to grocery shop in my pantry!

[Dealio]

I'd rather be a larder hoarder than a clutter keeper.

Doesn't it feel good to think: Hey, I'm already doing this!

[extechy]

Thanks for the article. I've been trying to stress this point to some non-couponing friends.

The increasing price of food is bothering me, even though I have a stockpile.

[darkwing932]

Thanks for posting that. Its a cool article.

As quiltingdiva mentioned my family likes to pick on me too. Pathmark had a great deal a while back and I picked up 10 jars of mayo. The kids were joking that "mom will be the only one prepared when the mayo famine comes." Its all in good fun though and in reality the kids are great about helping.

I have to agree that the rising prices are making me nervous too. Its a sad day when I can buy a Black Angus roast cheaper than I can buy a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk.

[Colinsgrandma]

I've been into extreme couponing for over a year now and what I really notice is that what I put in my shopping cart looks more and more strange as time goes on because all I'm buying is what is super cheap. One week I look like a health nut with tuna and frozen vegetables .Then this week I bought 24 packages of 100 calorie packs, 8 boxes of the cracker crisps from Target, a case of Bushs beans from Cub and Alavert and bodywash from CVS. The only other items I bought were a pork roast at $.99 a lb. a gallon of milk, dozen eggs and 2 packages of pasta. People have to wonder what king of meals you are going to put together with that combo and of course the Kroger Mega sale really looked strange. I also think that's why so many people can't get their mind around what we are doing , it doesn't seem logical until you really get going.

[thickbluebug]

Great posts, I feel the same way. It's so nice to look at a sales paper and tell myself that's an ok sale, but I am good for now.
My family makes fun of me too. After we watched some "talk" program on tv about costco and rationing the flour and rice, Dh says we may need a gun to protect my stockpile.
His family says we know where to come for xy and z.
I will share, but don't get my pickles and condiments in the winter when the q's are not so great and the sales aren't either.
I might run low and have to get some at a just ok price !~

[XUfan]

My husband's friend stopped by the other night, and sat down at the table where I was sorting through some receipts. He picked up a rather long receipt from Meijer, and said, "Wow...you buy a lot of groceries for 3 people". I pointed out that half of the receipt was the coupons I used, and then told him to look at the total. The receipt was over 3 feet long, and the OOP was less than $20. He was speechless!

My husband asked me to follow him to the kitchen, where he said, "Do NOT show him the cabinets or the freezer!! He'll think we have extra, and can shop here!"

[latte]

my frankenstein *kinda* gets it, he now asks me "hey if you can find this and this on sale will you get it please" instead of "hey we are out of this, we need more"