If you're looking for a deal on fresh produce, try volunteering at a farmers market. Many times, farmers will give out free (or cheap) produce to volunteers at the end of the market.
And it doesn't do any good to accuse local farmers of overcharging. It simply costs more to raise produce in a sustainable manner, especially when you don't grow in huge volume like a large-scale commercial farm. The transportation costs to get that produce into the city is also considerable. Believe me, the farmers you see at your local farmers markets aren't getting rich off of this business.
We didnt' do it, because at the time we bought our house rents were way more than mortgage payments around here. If we'd thought about it a little more, added in repair and upkeep costs, we probably would have waited six years...and bought a house for cash in this current housing market.
But, in the 15-20 years leading up to the crazy late-90's rental market, rents where I live were significantly cheaper than mortgages. So I know several people who rented for 10 or 15 years and put the extra couple hundred dollars a month (the difference between rent & mortgage payments) into an investment fund, and bought for cash or nearly-cash when they were ready - about the same time we bought, actually, because like I said there were a few years when rents jumped and mortgage interest rates fell significantly. Right now, it may still be cheaper to buy, but the market is getting flooded with cheap rentals so I don't expect that to last.
It's totally doable, you just have to actually sock the money away. And the thing is, if you can't afford to rent & put something away every month, in most markets you also can't afford to buy - because that couple hundred bucks a month is going to go to a new water heater or replacing sidewalk squares or discovering your dryer stopped drying or whatever.
What a bummer that some of your Farmer's Markets charge so much! I've never encountered that, in all the places I've lived. How frustrating!
A food co-op sounds fascinating, but I've never actually seen one in action. Does anyone have more details to share on how it works, one a practical level?
Chase can be one of the worst banks for fees, but one thing they do is Chase Mobile. If you use your cell phone, it can be a big help. I text them and they will send me my balance. It's fast--I often do it while I'm standing in line. All the transactions clear instantly at major stores, so if I'm making several stops (Target, Dominick's and CVS or whatever) I can check it between stores and know if I'm within my budget. It's free and really easy; I can also check my last 5 transactions and they told me that soon I'll be able to transfer money from one account to the other that way too.
Before making blanket statements about Farmer's Markets - our farmers market has prices equal to or more than Whole Foods here. I wish I could shop more there, but if I can get organic foods elsewhere in season I will. A CSA took care of this by in large for me!
The farmer's markets in Philly are prohibitively expensive, even moreso than Whole Foods. It's really a shame that people overcharge so that only well-to-do yuppies can afford this wholesome, local food.
The list that you provide from the Environmental Working Group is really a great resource! I am going to start taking this with me to the grocery store.
There are sometimes programs like CSA through universities that also provide this. I know around where I live, the university has an organic farm that they work and offer shares in. The veggies are just delicious! So much better than store-bought!
Personally, I don't stockpile food for an emergency. I'm trying to decrease the amount of "stuff" I keep around my house, and having another cupboard filled with emergency just doesn't make sense for the amount of space I have. If something were to happen, I guess I would have to ration the small supply that I do have available.
I was raised in the military, back when living in a foreign country was really foreign. When there was a commissary in the vicinity, my parents would make a monthly trip to stock up, and in between we bought from the local markets and stores. When my parents retired, they moved to the country, twenty miles from the nearest small town and almost a hundred miles from the nearest commissary, so the habit continued. As a result, I tend to store food also, even though I now live in a large city. I don't have a pantry, so I have a couple of bins in my office/guest room. There's a closeout grocery in this city, and since I like to cook, I have a lot of gourmet-type items stored away. They might not be the usual survival food, but in case of emergency, I can make it on canned mushroom-truffle spread and minced hazelnuts with honey and cardamom.
I grew up on a small dairy farm in the middle of no where (eastern Nebraska). About twice a year we'd have no power for 2+ days & snow drifts higher then a mountain. Between that & my Dad hating to drive town to get one things we always had a bit of a stockpile.
Due to needing a job (something that paid better then a Pamida cashier) I had to move to a bigger town :(
Even though Walmart is down the street from our house, we stockpile.
I cook from scratch buying a good deal of our stuff @ Ethic markets which are cheaper(yes, cheaper then Walmart) & that sell things in bulk.
I love the fact that when there's a big storm we can just stay home, make some yummy baked thing & watch movies all day while the snow (and sometimes rain) blows.
We go grocery shopping once a month & I'm able to feed myself & my growing boy on about $100 a month. About twice a year we'll get the 20lb bags of rice and such so that probably bumps our monthly average up to 180-ish. Until I can figure out why our garden doesn't really grow, we're kinda bartering & getting other peoples over flow veggies & fruit this year. I'm learn to can this fall - for fun. Someday I hope to get us to the point we only go to the store for TP & scotch tape. Then we can spend all our weekends living life, not pacing around a store.
The time we save by not running to the store all the time is spent going to the park, reading, socializing, gardening, doing my son's sports & working on our fixer upper house.
This winter we're going to experiment growing our greens indoors - not to save money but for fun & to see what happens! If it works then (like so many of my "experiments") the money saving part will be gravy.
I have studied for emergencies. They occur more frequently than you may think. I have therefore before even worrying about food, improve my house (electrical systems, water damages, etc.), then I have made a list of the home inventory, and create a special place to put all the food and other emergency items.
If you buy food, and the food will be damaged in a fire or because of humidity, or whatever other reason, you will be more desesperate than if you did not have any food, because you will feel frustrated, asking why it happened to you, feeling stupid because you lost your money and your time, and most of all, because you SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING.
So, yes, I am preparing for emergencies, with a first aid kit, with organization, with a better inventory system, and by the way, I have set ut hidden places, where no one will likely search for the food. Please remember, some people will steal anything from you... Specially if they are hungry.
By the way, you should TASTE the food you buy, before you stock it, because you may be alergic to it, and if you are, and there is a problem, you will likely not be able to be treated...
Choosing good food is the most important thing for your body. Some recent science reports show that food is in the top 3 factors that directly impact human being's health.
But when you choose the healthy food like vegetable, then cost is another issue. Saving money on grocery is always we need.
I will make my plan before the month and then start to hunt the good deals online or locally. Sometimes I would like to buy some from amazon.com due to its coupon codes, also prefer to CVS because of their promotions.
Coupons and promotions are everywhere, depends on how deeply you can do hunting.
We do keep a supply of food on hand. Where we live we could have hurricanes, or tornadoes, so keeping things stock up for emergencies is something that needs to be done. It is always good to know you are prepared.
I've probably got enough food on hand that I could last a bit over a month. Mostly that's just a result of buying things when they are on sale and with coupons. Living alone, it makes things a little easier to have a stockpile.
is much more and much less than the other commenters I guess LOL!
We do have a large stock of food mostly because I buy the things we use most when they're at their best price - the longer they store the more I keep - not for disaster emergency as much as for convenience and financial 'emergency' [I consider it more part of my emergency 'fund' than my emergency 'supply']
I have stocked up to some extent on water and am trying to increase it too - and to figure out a way to keep some in the car [I had some 'juice box' type stored but they didn't hold up well in the storage places I have available there] that works well for us [since my place for storing water is an upstairs closet - hard to move lots of it in an evacuation situation]
I stock my freezers for my convenience - I do NOT count them as emergency storage because of the power outage possibility.
My Grandfather had a grocery store and he taught me that most everything goes on sale roughly once every 12 weeks.
Ergo I buy enough of an item to last me 12 weeks based on my average usage.
This might be say 12 cans of yams or 24 cans of pasta.
As for storing it a 1 foot square bookcase 6 foot tall will hold almost 300 standard size 15-16 oz cans...actually around the 12 weeks worth if all you eat is canned....much more if the canned goods are for supplementing.
One of the advantages to canned goods are they are edible directly from the can without having to be cooked as the canning process cooks the food for you...they may not be appetising if cold out of the can but in an emergency you take what you can get.
Specialization indeed is key in any business or even professional (or non) service. However, before specialization during specialization process, we need to be doing a constant research in the field to tinker our specilization according to market needs and our interest/capability.
I grew up on a farm and we would often not be able to get into town during inclement weather.
As a result of this, I've always made sure to have a few months worth of food at a time.
I keep a large plastic storage bin in my kitchen(the trash can and the composter sit on top of it) and make sure it is full of dried beans a rice and some canned veggies at all times. I also make sure to have canned tomatoes because they can make anything taste better. I also keep some extra seasonings and stock cubes in there. I'd hate to have an emergency and end up eating plain rice for a long time!
I go through it about once a month and put anything that needs to be used in my regular pantry so that i remember to use it soon.
It doesn't take too much to keep the bin full--I just buy a bag of beans or some rice or pasta every time I go to the store.
I'm hoping to someday have a year's supply of food available. The trick with this however is to rotate your supply! Don't buy stuff that is "cheap" that you won't eat. If there was an emergency you'd be miserable. And don't rush out and buy it all at once. If there's something you buy a lot, and there's a good sale, stock up, you'll start building your extra stash. And if you do it slowly (save the free one from bogo sales, etc.) you won't notice changes in your daily life, except that your groceries might get cheaper because you don't have to buy when stuff's expensive, and if something happens like a job loss or a natural disaster you're that much more prepared. :)
I understand and agree with what the guest in comment #11 is saying. This country doesn't have enough actual gold and silver to back each of the notes that are printed. That's why most of our transactions are becoming cashless ones. Our paper money only has value, because we all agree that it does. We receive it as payment for our jobs and it's accepted as payment for goods. We consider it "legal tender", because the government printed it and the words "legal tender" are printed on it. I hope this helps the guest in comment #12. I would like to add that I'm grateful for the new changes to our money, which helps to keep people from printing their own.
Unless you know for sure he is actually buying this stuff for you, and storing it, I would think you would be better off putting that extra $25 a week in savings. I might be pessimistic here, but why don't you buy and store the stuff yourself instead of trusting someone else? And do you have easy access to you supplies if they are ever needed?
If you're looking for a deal on fresh produce, try volunteering at a farmers market. Many times, farmers will give out free (or cheap) produce to volunteers at the end of the market.
And it doesn't do any good to accuse local farmers of overcharging. It simply costs more to raise produce in a sustainable manner, especially when you don't grow in huge volume like a large-scale commercial farm. The transportation costs to get that produce into the city is also considerable. Believe me, the farmers you see at your local farmers markets aren't getting rich off of this business.
We didnt' do it, because at the time we bought our house rents were way more than mortgage payments around here. If we'd thought about it a little more, added in repair and upkeep costs, we probably would have waited six years...and bought a house for cash in this current housing market.
But, in the 15-20 years leading up to the crazy late-90's rental market, rents where I live were significantly cheaper than mortgages. So I know several people who rented for 10 or 15 years and put the extra couple hundred dollars a month (the difference between rent & mortgage payments) into an investment fund, and bought for cash or nearly-cash when they were ready - about the same time we bought, actually, because like I said there were a few years when rents jumped and mortgage interest rates fell significantly. Right now, it may still be cheaper to buy, but the market is getting flooded with cheap rentals so I don't expect that to last.
It's totally doable, you just have to actually sock the money away. And the thing is, if you can't afford to rent & put something away every month, in most markets you also can't afford to buy - because that couple hundred bucks a month is going to go to a new water heater or replacing sidewalk squares or discovering your dryer stopped drying or whatever.
What a bummer that some of your Farmer's Markets charge so much! I've never encountered that, in all the places I've lived. How frustrating!
A food co-op sounds fascinating, but I've never actually seen one in action. Does anyone have more details to share on how it works, one a practical level?
Chase can be one of the worst banks for fees, but one thing they do is Chase Mobile. If you use your cell phone, it can be a big help. I text them and they will send me my balance. It's fast--I often do it while I'm standing in line. All the transactions clear instantly at major stores, so if I'm making several stops (Target, Dominick's and CVS or whatever) I can check it between stores and know if I'm within my budget. It's free and really easy; I can also check my last 5 transactions and they told me that soon I'll be able to transfer money from one account to the other that way too.
Before making blanket statements about Farmer's Markets - our farmers market has prices equal to or more than Whole Foods here. I wish I could shop more there, but if I can get organic foods elsewhere in season I will. A CSA took care of this by in large for me!
The farmer's markets in Philly are prohibitively expensive, even moreso than Whole Foods. It's really a shame that people overcharge so that only well-to-do yuppies can afford this wholesome, local food.
Join a food coop.
The list that you provide from the Environmental Working Group is really a great resource! I am going to start taking this with me to the grocery store.
There are sometimes programs like CSA through universities that also provide this. I know around where I live, the university has an organic farm that they work and offer shares in. The veggies are just delicious! So much better than store-bought!
Personally, I don't stockpile food for an emergency. I'm trying to decrease the amount of "stuff" I keep around my house, and having another cupboard filled with emergency just doesn't make sense for the amount of space I have. If something were to happen, I guess I would have to ration the small supply that I do have available.
Can I come to your house if something happens?
I was raised in the military, back when living in a foreign country was really foreign. When there was a commissary in the vicinity, my parents would make a monthly trip to stock up, and in between we bought from the local markets and stores. When my parents retired, they moved to the country, twenty miles from the nearest small town and almost a hundred miles from the nearest commissary, so the habit continued. As a result, I tend to store food also, even though I now live in a large city. I don't have a pantry, so I have a couple of bins in my office/guest room. There's a closeout grocery in this city, and since I like to cook, I have a lot of gourmet-type items stored away. They might not be the usual survival food, but in case of emergency, I can make it on canned mushroom-truffle spread and minced hazelnuts with honey and cardamom.
I grew up on a small dairy farm in the middle of no where (eastern Nebraska). About twice a year we'd have no power for 2+ days & snow drifts higher then a mountain. Between that & my Dad hating to drive town to get one things we always had a bit of a stockpile.
Due to needing a job (something that paid better then a Pamida cashier) I had to move to a bigger town :(
Even though Walmart is down the street from our house, we stockpile.
I cook from scratch buying a good deal of our stuff @ Ethic markets which are cheaper(yes, cheaper then Walmart) & that sell things in bulk.
I love the fact that when there's a big storm we can just stay home, make some yummy baked thing & watch movies all day while the snow (and sometimes rain) blows.
We go grocery shopping once a month & I'm able to feed myself & my growing boy on about $100 a month. About twice a year we'll get the 20lb bags of rice and such so that probably bumps our monthly average up to 180-ish. Until I can figure out why our garden doesn't really grow, we're kinda bartering & getting other peoples over flow veggies & fruit this year. I'm learn to can this fall - for fun. Someday I hope to get us to the point we only go to the store for TP & scotch tape. Then we can spend all our weekends living life, not pacing around a store.
The time we save by not running to the store all the time is spent going to the park, reading, socializing, gardening, doing my son's sports & working on our fixer upper house.
This winter we're going to experiment growing our greens indoors - not to save money but for fun & to see what happens! If it works then (like so many of my "experiments") the money saving part will be gravy.
I have studied for emergencies. They occur more frequently than you may think. I have therefore before even worrying about food, improve my house (electrical systems, water damages, etc.), then I have made a list of the home inventory, and create a special place to put all the food and other emergency items.
If you buy food, and the food will be damaged in a fire or because of humidity, or whatever other reason, you will be more desesperate than if you did not have any food, because you will feel frustrated, asking why it happened to you, feeling stupid because you lost your money and your time, and most of all, because you SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING.
So, yes, I am preparing for emergencies, with a first aid kit, with organization, with a better inventory system, and by the way, I have set ut hidden places, where no one will likely search for the food. Please remember, some people will steal anything from you... Specially if they are hungry.
By the way, you should TASTE the food you buy, before you stock it, because you may be alergic to it, and if you are, and there is a problem, you will likely not be able to be treated...
Choosing good food is the most important thing for your body. Some recent science reports show that food is in the top 3 factors that directly impact human being's health.
But when you choose the healthy food like vegetable, then cost is another issue. Saving money on grocery is always we need.
I will make my plan before the month and then start to hunt the good deals online or locally. Sometimes I would like to buy some from amazon.com due to its coupon codes, also prefer to CVS because of their promotions.
Coupons and promotions are everywhere, depends on how deeply you can do hunting.
G
Member of Amazon Coupons
We do keep a supply of food on hand. Where we live we could have hurricanes, or tornadoes, so keeping things stock up for emergencies is something that needs to be done. It is always good to know you are prepared.
I've probably got enough food on hand that I could last a bit over a month. Mostly that's just a result of buying things when they are on sale and with coupons. Living alone, it makes things a little easier to have a stockpile.
is much more and much less than the other commenters I guess LOL!
We do have a large stock of food mostly because I buy the things we use most when they're at their best price - the longer they store the more I keep - not for disaster emergency as much as for convenience and financial 'emergency' [I consider it more part of my emergency 'fund' than my emergency 'supply']
I have stocked up to some extent on water and am trying to increase it too - and to figure out a way to keep some in the car [I had some 'juice box' type stored but they didn't hold up well in the storage places I have available there] that works well for us [since my place for storing water is an upstairs closet - hard to move lots of it in an evacuation situation]
I stock my freezers for my convenience - I do NOT count them as emergency storage because of the power outage possibility.
I stockpile by default.
My Grandfather had a grocery store and he taught me that most everything goes on sale roughly once every 12 weeks.
Ergo I buy enough of an item to last me 12 weeks based on my average usage.
This might be say 12 cans of yams or 24 cans of pasta.
As for storing it a 1 foot square bookcase 6 foot tall will hold almost 300 standard size 15-16 oz cans...actually around the 12 weeks worth if all you eat is canned....much more if the canned goods are for supplementing.
One of the advantages to canned goods are they are edible directly from the can without having to be cooked as the canning process cooks the food for you...they may not be appetising if cold out of the can but in an emergency you take what you can get.
Specialization indeed is key in any business or even professional (or non) service. However, before specialization during specialization process, we need to be doing a constant research in the field to tinker our specilization according to market needs and our interest/capability.
I grew up on a farm and we would often not be able to get into town during inclement weather.
As a result of this, I've always made sure to have a few months worth of food at a time.
I keep a large plastic storage bin in my kitchen(the trash can and the composter sit on top of it) and make sure it is full of dried beans a rice and some canned veggies at all times. I also make sure to have canned tomatoes because they can make anything taste better. I also keep some extra seasonings and stock cubes in there. I'd hate to have an emergency and end up eating plain rice for a long time!
I go through it about once a month and put anything that needs to be used in my regular pantry so that i remember to use it soon.
It doesn't take too much to keep the bin full--I just buy a bag of beans or some rice or pasta every time I go to the store.
I love the analogy I read (somewhere...?) by Chip and Dan Heath (authors of Made To Stick).
They said that *not* specializing in business is like yelling 'hey you' in the street. No one knows who you're talking to.
I'm hoping to someday have a year's supply of food available. The trick with this however is to rotate your supply! Don't buy stuff that is "cheap" that you won't eat. If there was an emergency you'd be miserable. And don't rush out and buy it all at once. If there's something you buy a lot, and there's a good sale, stock up, you'll start building your extra stash. And if you do it slowly (save the free one from bogo sales, etc.) you won't notice changes in your daily life, except that your groceries might get cheaper because you don't have to buy when stuff's expensive, and if something happens like a job loss or a natural disaster you're that much more prepared. :)
I understand and agree with what the guest in comment #11 is saying. This country doesn't have enough actual gold and silver to back each of the notes that are printed. That's why most of our transactions are becoming cashless ones. Our paper money only has value, because we all agree that it does. We receive it as payment for our jobs and it's accepted as payment for goods. We consider it "legal tender", because the government printed it and the words "legal tender" are printed on it. I hope this helps the guest in comment #12. I would like to add that I'm grateful for the new changes to our money, which helps to keep people from printing their own.
Unless you know for sure he is actually buying this stuff for you, and storing it, I would think you would be better off putting that extra $25 a week in savings. I might be pessimistic here, but why don't you buy and store the stuff yourself instead of trusting someone else? And do you have easy access to you supplies if they are ever needed?
My brother just received a netspend card. After reading this helpful information he going to shred the card.
OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OOWWWWWWW!