I have received many of your wonderful letters, and I thank you so much
for writing. I wish that I could respond to all of you, but I can't. I
try to answer some of your questions as I write, so I hope this is
helpful.
A woman has incredible saving possibilities in the home, if she is
willing to learn. I keep praying for the LORD to teach and train me. A
woman also has incredible possibilities to build up the spirituality and
health of her children, as well, from her gleanings in The Word and from
her gleanings elsewhere.
"She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar." Proverbs
31:14
Notice that the word ships is in the plural. There is a whole lot going
on in this verse, for which her family is very blessed indeed. She is a
woman that builds up her pantry when the price and quality are right.
Both are so very important. Or when the garden is plentiful. She is like
the ant, spoken as exceedingly wise in Proverbs 30, who prepares her food
in the summer. In other words, when there is a harvest, she is there
gathering and storing. She is quite a saver. And I have prayed and sought
to be like her for the blessing of my own family.
I took my friend shopping with me to help her realize how much you can
save by shopping many stores and having your lists prepared beforehand.
As I told you, my goal was to spend $20 this past week on groceries, but
I ended up spending $27.68. My friend was amazed at all the food I got
for that amount of money. And my husband was so surprised when I pulled
it all in the house and told him how much I had spent. I usually go
shopping when he is at work, so he doesn't see what I bring home. But
this particular shopping trip I wanted to help my friend, so we went in
the evening.
I shopped at six stores in a nearby town. Here is what I bought:
El Tigre
3 lbs. of pinto beans for .99
1 bunch of celery .50
2.86 lbs of white onions for .94
3.58 lbs. of bananas for .89
Total: $5.05
*******
Henry's Marketplace
1.77 lbs. of roma tomatoes for .59
.90 lbs. of broccoli crowns for .62
5.88 lbs. rolled oats for 1.96
Total: $3.17
*******
Ralphs
Craisins (I used a double coupon for this): .89
Nurich Raspberry Yogurt Drink (I used a coupon for this): .29
Total: $1.18
*******
Vons
Dover Sole Filet (1 pound, it was marked down and looked good) at $1.79
1 whole Foster Farm chicken at .59lb for 2.68
3 lbs. of yellow onions for .99
1 lb. of honey ham (I had a double coupon) for 2.39 ( I know this is not
good for you, but my husband wants it for lunch.)
1 lb. of honey turkey (I had a double coupon) for 2.94 (Same here. So I
do my best to buy it now and then at a good price.)
Total: $10.79
*******
Albertsons
1 Gallon of milk: 2.10 ( I can usually buy this cheaper in doubles at
Costco, but I couldn't go that far this trip.)
1 lb. of Monterey jack cheese: 1.99
Total: $4.09
******
Stater Brothers
1 bunch of cilantro for .20
1.69 lb. of cabbage for .42
1 Gold Medal Bread Flour for 1.99
2 lbs. of carrots for .79
Total: $3.40
******
So the total for all six stores was $27.68. If you didn't see something
on these receipts, it is because I already had it in stock in my pantry
or freezer as this was the last week of the month. I build up my pantry
all month. I had pinto beans in stock, as well as oats, but the price was
so good that I stocked up a bit more for these are staples for us every
week in refried beans, granola, and oatmeal.
My food budget for the six of us is $80-$90 a week including cleansers,
washing products, and paper or plastic products. (I have yet to try
making my own laundry detergent, but I hope to get to that as well. This
does not include herbs, vitamins, or nutritional supplements. Nor animal
food. I have a separate budget for those items.) My husband and older
boys are big eaters, so I have increased my food allowance since I wrote
many years ago. That figures out to be about $12.86 a day for the six of
us, or $2.14 per person per day, or .71 per meal per person per day. This
is my average. Sometimes I can better it, and that is always the goal,
and sometimes I have to use my weekly allowance to chip in if my food
budget has increased due to company, a special holiday or event, or some
such thing as that.
I shop weekly from the ads that come into my mailbox. I shop once a month
with a friend from a semi-organic co-op. And I shop every four months
with a friend from an organic butcher. I also shop at the Dollar Store
and Big Lots for food as well. Trader Joes and Costco are two of my
favorite stores for quality and price, but I didn't need to go there this
week. And I like a health food store called Jimbos for special items; I
go there about once every month or so. And every six months or so, I
travel 45 minutes away to a canned food store which has some wonderful
deals. There used to be one here locally, but it closed down, so now I
will have to make the trek again soon, especially for Christmas. Lastly,
another friend and I buy herbs together every six months or so.
I keep a master list of all my grocery needs in my Control Journal (as
taught by the Flylady at www.flylady.net), plus a list of the things I
usually buy at each store. So with a quick glance at the master list, as
well as the chalkboard in my kitchen where I write something down as soon
as I'm out of it, I can tell what I need. I keep a running list in my
purse on a small notepad, that way I don't lose my list. (Can you tell
I've had that problem before? ~Smile~)
I also keep a running list next to my freezer of what I have on hand in
it. This is very helpful and saves rummaging around, as I have the
freezer divided into three sections with each item in it under the
section I will find it. I think I am going to start dating each entry,
which will show me what I need to use and when.
Now what have I made so far this past week? Well, we had pizza last night
with a salad, and whole wheat cinnamon rolls and a smoothie Gabe made
with the yogurt drink. You can find the pizza recipe and sauce on our
website at www.lainesletters.com. (Most all the meals I am going to
mention are on our website, so please check there.) The night before that
we had homemade pasta with spaghetti sauce and meatballs, french bread,
and a salad. The night before that we had carne asada (a Mexican dish
barbecued over the grill after marinating) with refried beans, spanish
rice, homemade tortillas, salsa, and a salad. Tonight we are having
chicken soup, a salad, and feather loaves. (I took the breasts off the
chicken for either a stir fry tomorrow night or peccadillo (a Mexican
dish similar to a burrito). My son, Brady, is making a tuna pasta salad
for lunch today since my folks are stopping by. I also put a pot of pinto
beans on because I love to have beans cooking in the crock pot, and I
made tortillas yesterday so we could have burritos for lunch the next
couple of days. There is still a bit of salsa left in the fridge as well.
And I suspect Abbie will make something with the leftover pumpkin in the
fridge. I am hoping it will be pumpkin cookies. Again, most all of these
recipes are on the website.
Do I menu plan beforehand or after? I plan after. I've tried planning
beforehand only to find that I can't get something that was on special
because the market is out of it. So that messes up my menu planning. My
friend menu plans for the week, but she doesn't shop by specials. She
shops only at one or two stores and has a lot more grocery money to work
with than I do. So this premenu planning works for her. I usually plan
that morning or the night before what I will have the next day. I
oftentimes ask the LORD what we should make. Just like I ask Him to guide
me in my grocery shopping. It's great to shop and cook with the LORD!
I do know how to can from our garden or the supermarket. This year I only
made sauerkraut from the supermarket for our garden was not so good this
year. I can sauerkraut once a year when the cabbages go on sale either at
Thanksgiving time or on St. Patrick's Day. I can do this pretty
inexpensively. I have shared the recipe with you on the website. I also
canned a lot of jam a couple years ago from the local fruit stands in my
area, and we are still eating that jam and probably will until next
summer. Each small jar came out to 40 - 60 cents a jar, which is a real
savings for fresh fruit jam. So I didn't need to can jam this year. What
helps is to know what will go on sale and when, then stock up. (Much like
learning that sheets and such go on sale in January.) Presently, I am on
the hunt for pumpkin at a good price. I typically stock up this time of
the year for the whole year.
I do keep fresh bay leaves, rosemary, oregano, lemon balm, and thyme
growing year round due to my climate, so this helps in the purchase of
fresh herbs.
What about cleansers? I don't buy many of those anymore, rather I make my
own. I make "windex" with half rubbing alcohol to half water, then I add
about 10-12 drops of eucalyptus oil or rosemary oil.
For scrubbing the floor, I use a bucket of hot water with 2 T. white
vinegar and 1 t. oil. We sprinkle eucalyptus oil on the mop as we wash
the floor. It smells wonderful.
For scrubbing the tub, toilet, and sinks, I swish daily now with a couple
squirts of eucalyptus liquid Castile soap. This also smells wonderful.
My kitchen sink is white porcelain and gets easily stained, so I've found
Barkeepers Friend to be very good for scrubbing it daily and keeping it
clean.
I use Dawn dish detergent, which I buy in bulk at Costco, for the dishes.
I also use their baking soda and laundry detergent for my clothes. I use
half a scoop of detergent with half a scoop of baking soda per load,
along with a 1/4 cup of white vinegar (also bought at Costco) in a Downy
ball. I soak each load overnight to get my clothes really clean, if
possible. Especially jeans and such.
Now before I go, you're probably wondering if I really save money on food
since I am going to so many stores and using gas. Yes. If I shopped at
only one or two stores, my food bill would be much, much higher than
spending a few dollars on gas to go around town shopping, even the next
town. All these stores were in the same town about twenty minutes from
me. I also went to five of these stores when I was in that area of town
on one day of the week. And I went to another store when I was in that
area of town another day of the week. I typically shop early in the
morning on Tuesday (after helping to clean our church) and then one other
day in the week when I am down in town.
I have tried shopping every two weeks, but I find that I can stretch our
money shopping the specials each week and save us more. Plus I do not go
out of my home four to five days out of the week, so I look forward to my
shopping trips and try to get the most out of them the couple of days
that I am out. I had a friend who shopped once a month. She invited me to
go shopping with her. It was something! The problem with her system was
they ate a lot of prepared food, so it was feast, feast, feast at the
beginning of the month, then famine at the end. She also spent a lot more
on food. The way my system works, I stock up all month when there is a
"harvest" to glean from, so that my pantry is full at the end of the
month and it is less costly. It is always my goal to have a well stocked
pantry should we need it. My grandmother taught me this valuable lesson,
as well as the Word of God.
"The wise woman builds her house." Proverbs 14:1
"In all labor there is a profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty."
Proverbs 14:23
"In the house of the righteous there is much treasure." Proverbs 15:6
"A prudent wife is from the LORD." Proverbs 19:14
"There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a
foolish man squanders all that he has."
Proverbs 21:20
"Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."
Proverbs 24:3
"She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar. She also
rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and a
portion for her maidservants." Proverbs 31:14
What it takes is prayer, patience, preplanning, and perseverance. I'm
still learning so much. I learn from the Word of God, older women of
faith, friends, family, and the list goes on. I am so very grateful.
Love,
Laine
P.S. Please check out the website for so many recipes that I have shared
in past letters. If you do not have internet access, I am afraid you will
have to do what I do, either visit a friend and copy the recipes or go to
your local library and copy the recipes. I do not have internet access
either, so this is what I must do when I want a recipe. A good recipe is
worth its weight in gold!