Save A Few Bucks in the Kitchen, Part 1

Everyone has tips and ideas that they like to share on how to save money around the house. One of my favorite places to see if I can save a few bucks is in the kitchen. There are the old standbys, like using coupons or reusing disposable containers, and I’ve got a few that I’ve done for a few years that I’ve found help us out when times are lean.

Invest in a kitchen scale. We buy our ground beef and ground turkey in bulk, in packages of five or so pounds each. A kitchen scale lets me get exactly the amount I need when I separate the ground meats into bags to freeze, instead of just guessing or eyeballing. Which brings me to:

Get six pounds out of five. No, I’m not bending the laws of physics or performing magic. When I do buy the five pounds of ground beef, I only weigh out 13 ounces per bag instead of 16 to make a full pound. Those three less ounces have never made a difference in my meals, especially when the meat is used in something like a spaghetti or meat sauce. The bonus is that you get an extra 14 or so ounces (mine are never exact, otherwise it’d be 15, I know), which means six packages of meat, and an extra meal.

Take advantage of your freezer. Along the same lines as buying meats in bulk, you need to store it in the freezer unless you’re going to use it all immediately. Freezers work better when they have more in them, so storing perishables that you won’t use immediately saves in two areas. I buy bread, ground beef and ground turkey in bulk and they all go immediately into the freezer. If I have something on my menu plan (which I do in two-week increments) that can go bad before I’ve scheduled its use, it goes in the freezer. Things like rolls, hot dog or hamburger buns, bagels, English muffins, lunch meats, bacon, etc, do very well in the freezer.

See Part Two

[image: flickr]