Make Money and Save Money

The first thing I want to say is ALWAYS look for the best deal and the best deal is not always the cheapest price. What you look for is quality AND quantity when deciding to purchase an item. This is especially true in regards to prepackaged meats. Do not look for the lowest total price on the sticker, find the price per pound and compare it with other brands and types of product.

For instance, you pick up a pound of ground meat and see the total price is a little over 3 dollars. Sounds kinda pricey right? Look again to find out what quality of meat it is, what is the meat to fat ratio? This is usually displayed like this 70/30, what you are looking for is a higher meat ratio than fat. Why? The lower the fat ratio the less you loose during the cooking process, if it has a high fat ratio your one pound of meat becomes 3/4 of a pound by the time it is fully cooked.

I only purchase ground chuck or higher quality meats like ground angus because in the end you are left with more meat and less grease. I purchase boneless skinless chicken breasts for the same reasons, yes it may be more expensive per pound but why pay for bones when you are not going to consume them. The only exception to this rule is purchasing a whole chicken for use in stews and soups.

Another big no-no while shopping is buying fruits and vegetables out of season. When you buy them out of season they are being trucked or freighted to the store from out of state, and with gas prices the way they are today that spells higher produce prices. How do you get around this and get your five a day? Buy in bulk during the season and freeze them for later use. Remember that you need to pre-cook them before you freeze them, this does not mean they should be mushy just tender enough so that you can continue the cooking process later without overcooking them. I do not recommend canning them unless you are already a master with this method because you can end up losing alot of money if it is not done just right.

When it comes to chees buy bulk, especialy if you are like me and have ten people living in one home. Cheese is a wonderous thing, even if it becomes hard or gets a little moldy you can cut off the unusable part and continue eating the rest. How do you think those pungent chesses get their unique tastes and smells, thats right they purposely let them crust and mold to add those attributes. If your cheese hardens do not think that you must throw it away, set it to the side for grating on top of baked potatoes or spagetti. Melt it down to add to salsa dips or making homemade macaronni and cheese.

 These are just a few tips that I use on a daily basis and I hope that they will benefit you as well. I will be bringing you many more each day on this topic and every way I have learned to save money while raising six children. Goodbye for now and remember to kiss your babies.