2024. Money Saving From The Long Ago Tightwad Gazette Newsletter: Our First

 I learned these ideas about thirty years ago and they are still saving me money.  

1.  Regular brand or store brand popcorn kernels can save a lot of money.  Microwave popcorn is expensive and never gives you the amount of popcorn it says it will on the box.  Popping your inexpensive kernels in a saucepan with just a tad of oil gives you more popcorn, without the additives, and costs you less.  An easy win.  And it takes about the same amount of time.  We pop a batch about once a week, sometimes more.

2.  Your cold beverage of choice can save a fortune over time.  Soda pop is one of the most expensive.  Water out of the tap is cheapest.  I am not a water person, I know, I know.  So I make solar ice tea using two teabags that I bought on sale.  Gallon to gallon you save a lot :  Pennies vs dollars.

3.  My cupboard is stocked with dry milk and canned evaporated milk.  It is extremely rare to find milk in my fridge.  Granted, I don’t have kids at home any more, but I cook from scratch for every meal and I bake a lot .  When a recipe calls for milk I use dry milk.  Sometimes I mix it with water, sometimes with vegetable juices, etc.  if a recipe calls for half and half or whole milk, I use evaporated milk.   For cream I use evaporated and some melted butter.   I always have what I need and I don’t have to throw away a partial gallon of milk.    Money and time running to the store saved.

4.  I make my own bread but even if I bought it,  I would always be ready to make croutons or bread crumbs.  I have never bought them:  too many additives and too expensive.  If you have stale bread, make French toast or bread pudding.  Never toss.  It’s like throwing money away, a lot of money when you add it up.

5.  There are only two in our family now, but I still keep track of our groceries closely.  While I am sure others do better, I am content with the, on average, $35.30 per week to feed the two of us.  And we eat well.    How?  The biggest is by bulk buying.  When something is found at a very low price I stock up, sometimes buying several month’s worth .  Another big one is by not buying convenience foods:  pre chopped, small individual servings, basically not paying for things that I can do myself.  Buying marked down items such as fruits, vegetables and meats.  All my meat is either marked down to sell quickly, or a n holiday loss leader such as hams and turkeys.  Learn to cook low meat and no meat dishes.  Soups and stir fries and other ethnic meals work great .