I live 365 days on a 190 day salary as a teacher aide in a public school. I work hard at being frugal. I have to in order to make the budget stretch. I also get to, shepherding God's provision wisely to His glory. Along the way I've learned tips and tricks.
Last summer I finally went to a nutritionist and I learned more about what kind of foods were making me ill. I'm on the spectrum and often that means one needs to go gluten free and lactose free since for some reason our immune systems are more sensitive or work different. I also learned last summer about FODMAP foods, various foods from all different food groups that react badly in the gut. This diet takes a lot of effort and study. I can have oranges but not apples. Strawberries but not blackberries. I can have blueberries, but only 15-20 at a time. And so on. Sigh.
My grocery bill doubled since I have to buy gluten free bread, lactose free milk, and other foods that I can eat that will keep me healthy but not react in my digestive system. I ramped up my frugal shopping into high gear.
One thing I am grateful for at my local Kroger is the marked-down produce bin. Perishable fruit and veggies that are damaged in some way are put into a special bag and set aside for a price of 99 cents, no matter what is in it. Don't turn your nose up at a marked down produce, oftentimes most of it is still good. Here is a great 'how-to' on examining which fruits and veggies might still be good for you or your family, from Chicago Food Bank on Salvageable Fruits and Vegetables.
As an example from my latest foray into the grocery store and my marked-down salvaged vegetables:
Two tubs of cherry tomatoes were in the bag. What would have cost me $5.00 since they are $2.50 each, cost me 99 cents. How much was waste and how much was salvaged? See:
Waste:
Salvaged:
Some of the orange ones were slightly wrinkled, but there was only one crushed and moldy cherry tomato in the bunch. A great frugal deal.
Yellow squash is about 73 cents per squash.
Waste:
Salvaged. I got about $3.75 worth of yellow squash for 99 cents.
It's a lot of squash so I'll make a casserole with them. Between the two items I got $8.75 worth of fresh vegetables for $1.98 and only lost 1 cherry tomato and 1 yellow squash. It only took a moment of time to examine, cut, wash and put back into fridge.
I liked this page from The Simple Dollar explaining strategies for radically cutting your food expenses. I do these things myself and I find them helpful tips.
Happy shopping in 2020!
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