There is so much going on right now. Volcanoes erupting, the first hurricane of the season, massive wild fires, flooding, the largest solar flare ever recorded, price of oil jumping. stock market down, drought, and a massive heat wave. All that today! That does not even consider all the tornadoes, flooding and destruction of crops the last month.
Yesterday I received a note about a magazine article I had written and the reader asked how to motivate her neighbors and friends to prepare for flooding when their attitude was that if a flood comes the food storage would just wash away anyway. Yikes! My response to her was lengthy but I can't believe with all the other things that are going on right now that some are so short sighted. Does that attitude make you as frustrated as it makes me? I can't believe the attitude. I cannot relate to those who are fine with depending on the government to take care of you. We have all seen how well they do that and yet there are still those who are fine with depending on government agencies. I also do not understand the "that won't happen to me" attitude. Do they not eat or drive a car? Are they really fine with spending 25% more on food this year than last. oh! I know, they believe the government when they tell us food prices have not gone up, even though our grocery store bills have. I heard today that a gallon of ice cream can be more that $6.00 on the east coast, but milk prices have not gone up.
Last January, 2010, I began talking about he size of food containers and how price increases were being hidden from us as we were paying the same price for less product in those packages. Finally last month there were media reports saying the same thing. We must continue to stay the course and do whatever we can to prepare for the challenges ahead. We cannot give up and we can definitely not delay. It is more important than ever for us to ban together and to share what we know with each other.
This month we are putting aside cash for a major purchase of a preparedness item you are still in need of, to add to your General Store. This is crucial. Please find a way to do this. When we began our self reliance adventure together a few years ago I suggested you get a jar and place your change in it every night. I do this and never spend change except pennies. I then place the change in my jar. It adds up and doesn't impact the budget.
I have also begun to get cash back when I use my debit card. Even $5.00 each time will add up quickly and is hardly noticed. We enjoy more meatless meals and eat breakfast foods for dinner whenever we are trying to save.
I bake bread. When I first published the recipe for Easiest ever Bread a year ago (May 2010 Newsletter) it cost 30 cents a loaf, now it is up to 35 cents a loaf.
I shop at the dollar store for food more often. I have found some really great buys at the dollar store. I can purchase cookies and crackers for a dollar a box. We like some of them much better than the more common brands. I found 29 oz. cans of tomato sauce for a dollar while a 15oz. can at the grocery store was $1.19. I found Del Monte vegetables for 79 cents a can that are $1.29 at the grocery store. My challenge to you would be to take $20.00 and go shopping at the dollar store near you. I began by purchasing one of each item. We then opened each to determine which we liked and which we didn't. I don't think I will ever purchase a box of crackers at the grocery store again. You still have to watch prices. Pasta can be $1.00 but is it a pound package or a 14oz package?
Spices and herbs are another items to save huge amounts of money when purchasing. These are essential to a great food storage plan. I purchase in bulk at Winco and save a bundle. If you don't have a Winco or if you want to store for long term use visit Healthy Harvest. If you are stocking up this can be expensive since we should be storing a variety. This is why we have food storage buddies. Order and share.
Take advantage of the coupons in the monthly Totally Ready newsletter. This month there is a coupon for canned butter, the real stuff, not dehydrated. If you take advantage of this offer you will save 27% which would have paid for your 24 month subscription. If you are not subscribing I suggest you consider it now. You will receive special offers each month and more in depth information than I can post on a blog.
If you missed Ready or Not Tuesday take time to listen. I interviewed Jan Lebaron from Healthy Harvest and we talked all about food storage and food preservation. It was interesting to hear just how much prices have gone up on the wholesale level and the what Jan is hearing from suppliers.