Food budget thread

Windigo said:
Not sure who you're asking? I specifically mentioned buying in bulk and keeping a pantry.

But I also think most people living in cities have a much smaller pantry than those in a rural area and often shop more frequently due to more stores being close by.
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Absolutely. None of the homes I ever lived in even had a pantry. I had to use kitchen cupboards or an Ikea shelf as pantry.
 
Pantry items are not a big expense for me on a regular basis. I have a big pantry, and buy in bulk for things with long shelf lives. For paper goods, laundry and dish detergents, and stuff like that, buy a lot of lower cost brands, and even store brands. I can buy six months worth of some of those things at COSTCO for a decent price if I buy their Kirkland brand.

CD
 
LissaC said:
Absolutely. None of the homes I ever lived in even had a pantry. I had to use kitchen cupboards or an Ikea shelf as pantry.
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We didn't have a pantry either, we just converted our skullery room for it. Like you, in the past the utmost I had as a pantry were kitchen closets or a dedicated small kitchen trolley. Most houses here have no pantry.
 
Windigo said:
Not sure who you're asking?
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I hadn't quoted anyone because I was asking generally within the thread.

The original source implies that pantry items were not part of their budget which to me is unrealistic. Even when we lived close to supermarkets in the UK, we still had a decent "pantry" and used it almost everyday. Not including the cost of pantry items in a frugal living concept seems very odd really. It's kind of like starting with a whole load of free food and not acknowledging it isn't a bottomless pit of free food or free money. There is only so many times you can use a bag of flour and once you get to the bottom of that bag, what are you going to do? You void move on to the next bag that slightly different, but that will run out as well, by which time you'll be onto (accidentally) gluten free flour such as chickpea flour or tapioca starch and so on. They do have to be replaced at some point and budgeting for an entire year without taking a pantry restock into account (it isn't necessarily a room, just a concept of store cupboard staples) is frankly unrealistic and not exactly accurate.
 
Wevac Chamber Vacuum Sealer..jpg

For those of you who are on a food budget, doing so means that you'd also need a vacuum food saver to keep your precious meat in the freezer safe from spoilage. Yes, food can also spoil that's in the freezer! You might not think so, but it DOES because if your food is not stored in air-tight vacuum seal bags, air can get into the bags or wrappers & dry out foods. The moisture leaves the food in the form of ice crystals on the surface. Then the meats freezer-burn & can turn brown & unattractive, leaving a horrible taste when it's cooked. Veggies & fruits can also lose their vibrant color & taste. So if you are planning to go on a food budget, it might be a good idea to invest in a vacuum food sealer to help keep your food safe & secure. it also works in the fridge, helping to keep cheeses & other food fresh & tasty. Trust me, I've had food spoil on me many times! Even dry foods that you'd normally store in the cupboard. Please take my advise & consider this. You'll be doing all of your food a great favor!! :whistling:
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I hadn't quoted anyone because I was asking generally within the thread.

The original source implies that pantry items were not part of their budget which to me is unrealistic. Even when we lived close to supermarkets in the UK, we still had a decent "pantry" and used it almost everyday. Not including the cost of pantry items in a frugal living concept seems very odd really. It's kind of like starting with a whole load of free food and not acknowledging it isn't a bottomless pit of free food or free money. There is only so many times you can use a bag of flour and once you get to the bottom of that bag, what are you going to do? You void move on to the next bag that slightly different, but that will run out as well, by which time you'll be onto (accidentally) gluten free flour such as chickpea flour or tapioca starch and so on. They do have to be replaced at some point and budgeting for an entire year without taking a pantry restock into account (it isn't necessarily a room, just a concept of store cupboard staples) is frankly unrealistic and not exactly accurate.
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She didn't mention a bottomless pit, she has said she has a 1000 euros for the year. She might use that to replenish her stock.

I'm not saying it's realistic, I'm not saying it's accurate, I only mentioned her because she inspired me to talk about our budget. I don't recall making a post breaking her story down or using it as an example. I just wanted to start a thread on how people here manage their budgets.

So yeah, I do think people should include their pantry staples in their budget. But nobody here said they shouldn't. Maybe she has a seperate budget for pantry items, I don't know I haven't looked into it. I was just interested in a discussion about our budgets on the forum, not about that lady and how she does things.
 
If I have time today, I’m going to go back through our bank statements last month and see what we spent.
 
Windigo said:
Do you have a farmer's market nearby?
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Yes, but not this time of year. We’re probably another six weeks before that happens.

We do have year-round “farmers’ markets,” but they’re little better than the grocery store, in that in the off season, they get their food off the same trucks the mainstream stores do.
 
TastyReuben said:
We do have year-round “farmers’ markets,” but they’re little better than the grocery store, in that in the off season, they get their food off the same trucks the mainstream stores do.
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You have to watch out for that at any "farmer's market" we have here. Even the one we go to brings in things that they don't grow. Some of it is from other local farms, I guess they probably share to give customers a better selection but some
 
Comes from far away.

I keep getting oops error messages on posts in this thread for some reason, also in the budget thread.
 
The last time I went to the small farmer's market in Frisco, the boxes of tomatoes were all labeled from Florida. :facepalm:

Dallas has a good farmer's market, but it is a 40 minute drive to the East side of downtown.

CD
 
TastyReuben said:
Yes, but not this time of year. We’re probably another six weeks before that happens.

We do have year-round “farmers’ markets,” but they’re little better than the grocery store, in that in the off season, they get their food off the same trucks the mainstream stores do.
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Onions and potatoes are available year round because they are stored in large cool sheds and naturally keep for at least a year. The reason they don't at home is because they are not bought directly from the seller and thus usually not fresh from the ground.
If you want to store your potatoes for a year you need to go directly to a farmer.
This also goes for summer potatoes and onions, consumers here don't get the freshest potatoes unless bought directly at the farm.
But the crop is available all year.
The rest of the farmers market sells seasonal produce, bread, cheese, meat and eggs. So that's how there's a market all year .

Even if the farmers market would sell food that's not as fresh as on the farmers itself, at least here it's still miles better than supermarket produce as also proven by it's shelf life.
 
Windigo said:
Even if the farmers market would sell food that's not as fresh as on the farmers itself, at least here it's still miles better than supermarket produce as also proven by it's shelf life.
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Here, the truly local farm markets are completely closed up.

I can go to the year-round ones that are open (and they all have twee names like “The Countryside Farm,” or “Grandpa’s Barn”) and I’ll see the exact same onions, potatoes, etc. for sale that I see at Kroger - same packaging, same brand name, but half again as much (because it’s a farmer’s market). :laugh:
 
TastyReuben said:
Here, the truly local farm markets are completely closed up.

I can go to the year-round ones that are open (and they all have twee names like “The Countryside Farm,” or “Grandpa’s Barn”) and I’ll see the exact same onions, potatoes, etc. for sale that I see at Kroger - same packaging, same brand name, but half again as much (because it’s a farmer’s market). :laugh:
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Wow, and I was told Dutch food culture was bad. I can't believe they would get away with that!
The farmers market here does always carry food unavailable at supermarkets. Supermarket food here is the lowest quality though that also varies per store
 
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