I know alot of you who read this post are already prepping but for those of you who haven't started yet this is something to consider.With prices going up in the stores everyday I decided to begin my preps by investing in food. My reason was and is simple. Food prices are going up and they won't be going down. What you invest in your food storage today will save you money in the future. For example, last year a can of tuna was around $0.59 a can around here. Today it is around $0.79 a can. Who knows what it will be next year. You are already ahead of the game if you start now because it WILL be more expensive next year.
You don't have to break the bank either. If you are going to have tuna this week just pick up an extra can. One extra "item" at a time may not seem like much at first but it does add up. When I started working on my food storage I approached it in little steps.
Make a list of meals your family eat regularly and what ingredients it takes to prepare those meals. This is a great place to start. You really want to remember the motto " Store What You Eat and Eat What You Store". For example, if your family doesn't or won't eat Spam why would you want a case of the stuff when there are other things that they will eat instead? We happen to like pinto beans and rice. It's a regular meal for us. So when I pick up a bag of beans or rice I will pick up an extra one for later. This is just an example but I'm sure you understand how this will build up your food storage. These days, if something is not on sale or I don't have a coupon for it I will rarely buy it.
Take an inventory of what you have in your pantry. Could you make it 3 days? 5? If a natural disaster happened and you couldn't get to the store how many days would your food's last? This is a good place to start. Let's say you have 3 days stored. Set your goal at one weeks worth. If you are at 2 weeks strive for 4. It always helps to have some sort of goal.
Prepping doesn't have to be expensive and it definitely doesn't have to be overwhelming. You just have to start..... and what better time than now?
what do you think of costcos 1 year of freeze dried food for one person for 800 bucks?
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Sci :D
ReplyDeleteMy pantry is full of various pasta because once in awhile the store has a 10 for $10 sale on 1lb boxes, lots of tuna too. We do what you do an extra can of something here and there.
Hugs~Fel~
OGT knowing how you love cooking and all things related... the Costco deal may just be the ticket for you. :D
ReplyDeleteFel it ads up faster than people think! A bit here and there adds up to faster than ya think doesn't it! Thanks for stopping by my friend!
I have always done this when I grocery shopped. I make a menu for 2 weeks, which then becomes a list of ingredients. Next I take the list of ingredients to the kitchen and check off everything I have on hand. The list is rewritten, by sections of the store (little OCD there) and I go grocery shopping.
ReplyDeleteI have always purchased 2 of an item, whatever item is on the list is always purchased in multiple quantities (unless I'm really broke). I have always purchased meat in the jumbo packages, then brought it home and divided it into meal size portions.
I've had times when I haven't needed to go to the store, with the exceptions of bread and milk, for upwards of a month, when times were tough.
I've tried teaching several people how I shop and alot of them "just don't get it". For me going to town to grocery shop is an all day thing. It takes me time to prep, then the drive and shopping, then home to divide and prep. I too love those "dollar days" sales.
I never considered myself to be a prepper until about a year ago. We currently don't grow all our own food, but we do have a garden. Friends have given us excess hunted animals each year, which we process outselves(they hunt for the tsport, we hunt for meat). We have a cow that will go to slaughter this fall and are looking hard for a milk goat and some meat goats, rabbits and a pig or 2. My husband is disabled and I have been the sole earner for many years but unfortunately have been laid off for a little over a year now.
Wow, sorry for the life story. Keep up the awesome work, love reading your blog!
Great post, and great suggestions. We're not even close to where I want to be, but if the grocery store were to close tomorrow, and we had to depend on what's in my cabinets, we would probably be okay until the growing season started in earnest here. Meals would get boring, but we wouldn't starve ;).
ReplyDeleteAnd starting is super easy! If you store what you eat and eat what you store it is even easier! Say if your family uses cream of something soup, and you find a sale. Buy a couple more than you need. OR if you find a case lot so something that you eat, get a case. ONLY IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT!! Do NOT go into debt for this.
ReplyDeleteSame thing with matches, underwear, socks, or anythign else you might need.