Food is one of the easiest places to slash expenses. The first step, of course, is to eat all or nearly all of your meals at home. However, there are three surprisingly easy ways to decrease your food budget even further.
Save Money on Milk
With the price of milk skyrocketing, one of the easiest ways to save money in the store is to spend less on milk. You can save money buying milk without drinking less by using dry milk. Before you say no to this easy savings technique, consider the cost.
Cost Savings of Dry Milk
A 64-ounce box of dry milk costs $14.29 and makes 20 quarts of milk, which means one-gallon costs $2.86.
A gallon of 2% cost $4.49.
Substituting Dry Milk
Dry milk is often considered too weak and watery for drinking consumption. If the thought of drinking it is not an option for you, consider substituting it for milk in all recipes that call for milk.
Drinking Dry Milk
Before you refuse to drink dry milk altogether, try making your own two percent from it. “Dry milk is 100% fat free. Whole milk has 4% fat content. By mixing half and half you can make your own 2%“(Dacyczyn 210). By making your own 2% (or 1%) you reduce the cost per gallon for your drinking milk. In addition, mixed 2% tastes richer than store-bought 2%.
Look back at the cost savings when using dry milk. If you make your own 2%, this is what your savings will look like. A half gallon of whole milk costs $2.49 (verses $2.59 for 2%). If you mix a half gallon of whole with a half gallon of dry milk your cost per gallon will be $3.92.
For an easy chart for mixing up powdered milk, try the Hillbilly Housewife’s page of powdered milk basics. On it she has a chart for Reconstituting Powdered Milk. While you are there, explore her wide variety of recipes for things from milkshakes to yogurt using powdered milk.
Save Money on Ice
Some people have space-age ice machines that keep up with the family. However, many people either don’t have ice machines or their ice machine is insufficient. As a result, many people buy ice at the grocery store. A 20-pound bag costs $5. One bag a week adds up to $260 a year.
Make your own ice. Ice cube trays are a lovely cheap invention. However, to make them work, one family member will have to be responsible for making sure the trays are filled and emptied regularly. The best plan is for someone to take responsibility for emptying them at least twice a day and refilling them. The honor system seldom works. There is always a person who will use the ice without refilling the tray.
Save Money on Chicken
Don’t buy chicken breasts. Buy whole chickens or bulk thighs and legs with bones and skin intact, these are the cheapest ways to buy chicken. When you return home remove the skin and excess fat (as well as bones if desired) divide your chicken into meal size portions and freeze.
Do not discard the skin, fat, and bones. Boil them down to make broth. If you add a teaspoon of vinegar per quart of water while you boil the scraps, you will leach the calcium out of the bones and make your broth even more wholesome. After you’ve boiled your broth, remove all chicken solids and place the broth in the refrigerator to cool. Once it has cooled, remove the fat in a solid piece from the top of the container. Pour your broth into 8-16 oz containers and freeze. Use in place of weak, expensive canned broth from the store.
Dacyczyn, Amy. The Complete Tightwad Gazette: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle. Villard Books, 1998.
