by LDS Intelligent Living
“Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage.” All Is Safely Gathered In
Remember to build-up your supply gradually!
How to Save Lots of Money and Build a 3 Month Food Supply much faster
If you are well organized and know what you are doing, you can build your food storage much faster. When you shop smart, you save lots of money!
- Don’t go to the grocery store on an empty stomach: Eat before you go shopping so you don’t succumb to impulse buying, and get extra food not on your shopping list because you are hungry.
- Leave your children at home : Go by yourself if you can; you will have more success sticking to your shopping list.
Those are great tips to follow, but there are many more helpful ones. You should be paying close attention to these money saving ideas because, remember: when you plan your grocery shopping wisely, you can save a lot of money and build your food supply faster!
Here are my suggestions about saving money on groceries; I share them with you because they truly work!
If You Want to Save Money, Lose the Traditional Menu Planning Idea
I read a book, years ago, that changed my grocery shopping habits. It explained that the traditional planning of menus is counter productive in the attempt to save money on groceries. When you start planning meals, and collect the recipes for the meals planned, and then, head to the store with your list, you will be most likely paying full price on most of the food on your shopping list.
Barbara Salsbury said: “Plan to eat the bargains you find, rather than trying to find bargains on what you plan to eat!” In other words, you should plan your meals after reading the ads in the newspapers, after comparing them to find the best deals, AND after checking your well stocked pantry for what’s already on the shelves. Using the food in your storage is an important factor in this method; if you can buy food in bulk when it hits rock bottom price, you will never have to pay full price again; you can stock-up your pantry and wait for the next sale cycle.
A grocery price book will help you keep track of the sales cycles for the items you regularly buy in each store so you’ll know if the sales are truly “great deals”. The best way to find those price cycles is to record the prices and dates for each of the products you regularly purchase. So, next time you go shopping, don’t throw away your receipts and start recording. Don’t be overwhelmed, take baby steps, start with a few items at a time and build up your price list slowly.
When you add coupons to those bargains, you will have much better results saving money on groceries; the extra savings will help you acquire your three month food supply faster.
When you learn to combine a price book with coupons and other shopping techniques, you will be able to save hundreds of dollars. Remember: It will take planning, organizing, and time at first, but it will be well worth the effort when you see the results.
Why do all this? For peace of mind, to save money, and for convenience–you never run out of food in your house because your pantry is well stocked. Think how much better you will feel knowing that if you experienced economic hardship, had to “shelter in place”*, or were caught in a natural disaster situation, your family would have what is needed to survive.
Also, don’t forget the other necessities like toilet paper, deodorant etc. and the other needful things in your life that should be included on the list.
*A grocery price book is the ultimate money saving tool: you can use a notebook, or go digital. Melanie Pinola on lifehacker said that “Both paper and digital price books have advantages. A paper notebook is quicker to jot down prices and refer to when you shop, but grocery apps make quick work of calculating prices (plus, they serve as grocery lists).” You can also use a spreadsheet to create a price book to record the prices of all the items you regularly purchase at different grocery stores; the grocery price book enables you to detect price cycles in different supermarkets; find the real bargains, and plan your shopping trips for maximum savings.
Involve your children in your self-reliance projects, get the whole family on board! They need to learn about self-reliance, and they need to understand that it is a way of life, one that will bring peace of mind.
Here are several articles that will help you build a price book
How to Save the Most Money on Your Grocery Budget with a Price Book
How to create Your Own Grocery Pricebook
…and some great ideas on these sites that will help you save hundreds of dollars on groceries
15 Ways to Save Money on Groceries Without Coupons
15 Money-Saving Ways to Outsmart Your Supermarket
Second photo is from the public domain
LDS Intelligent Living