I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 27 years, disabled daughter, college-aged son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!One of the things Amy Dazcyzan recommends in the Tightwad Gazette books is to make a price book. I have never done this and I really never considered doing it before today, but it would have really come in handy these last two weeks when making up the grocery list, so today I sat down with as many receipts as I could still find and started making a spreadsheet with the prices of everything that would fall under either groceries or household expenses.
This way when I make up my grocery list I will know approximately how much everything costs so I can make sure I am coming in under budget, give or take a sale or two. I will also know which store has the better price on what, though I pretty much have that in my head already. It will also let me know if I need to bump a staples purchase to a different week or if I have enough in the household budget for whatever purchase I want to make that week.
I always thought it would be a tedious process, and it probably would be if I were doing it by hand, but typing it into a spreadsheet is easy enough. I put everything in alphabetical order, and then if I need to add anything new I can just insert a sheet row in the appropriate spot and still keep it in order. I do love modern technology.
I think it may be time for me to put the Tightwad Gazette books on hold again at the library. I am in a way different place than when I've read them each time before, much more heavily focused on the food budget and budgeting more tightly in general. I've learned something new with each read and I think that was because I was open to something different each time.
Oh, also, I am going to venture into cooking with lentils. I am looking for some good recipes that do not have beef, lamb, or pork in them. Most of them seem to be made with ham and she can't eat that much fat. Chicken or turkey or fish are okay and so is vegetarian. Lentils are a protein my daughter can eat (and likes) without fear of it upsetting her gall bladder, or in the aftermath of having it taken out. I just found out that Thrive Life has lentils, too, so I added a #10 can to my monthly order. If she likes those ones, then I'll get a bucket.
Making a Price Book + Request for Lentils Recipes
May 27th, 2018 at 12:00 am
May 27th, 2018 at 12:14 am 1527380040
Will check out my recipe book for lentil recipes - not a HUGE fan, but I know I have a couple.
May 27th, 2018 at 02:22 am 1527387754
May 27th, 2018 at 03:31 am 1527391884
May 27th, 2018 at 05:56 am 1527400585
May 27th, 2018 at 06:23 am 1527402221
May 27th, 2018 at 06:42 pm 1527446522
There are 2 disadvantages to price books:
1. Prices change all the time, so you really need to update your price book more than once a year, IMO.
2. What you'll likely find is that one store has the best price on this but the other store has the best price on that. So you end up making trips to multiple stores, and I'm not sure this is the best use of my time.
My compromise is that I now consider Alid's first, but they are a small store and don't carry everything I want, so inevitably I have to stop elsewhere for certain things. And I will continue with BJs after letting my membership lapse since I got 3 mths free membership and now have a coupon for a year at $25.
I think it's really helpful to just concentrate on the 2 dozen or so different food items you buy most regularly and gauge prices for them.
May 27th, 2018 at 09:26 pm 1527456369
May 29th, 2018 at 01:16 pm 1527599785
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lentil-stew-with-spinach-and-potatoes-349
May 29th, 2018 at 03:34 pm 1527608090
Kushari http://ceejay74. savingadvice.com/2011/12/01/awesome-new-comfort-food-discovery_86812/
Lentil-a-roni: http:// secretsofmom.com/?p=2950
May 30th, 2018 at 07:42 pm 1527709326
If you have a smart phone, maybe you could make a price book on your phone?
Here are my favorite bean/lentil recipes. These are all pretty basic, cheap to make, and easy to make and easy to substitute ingredients if you don't have a certain ingredient. The second calls for ham, but you could leave it out and maybe kick up the spices for extra flavor. Like ceejay, I put in spaces in the urls.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13978/ lentil-soup/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17628/basic-ham-and-bean-soup/ ?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220658/black-bean-burgers/ ?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results
May 30th, 2018 at 07:45 pm 1527709510
https://www.moneycrashers.com/ making-grocery-price-book/