Eating good food, healthier food, without crippling your pocket.
Let’s face it, money is not as abundant as we’d like it to be. The standard of living is climbing at a very alarming rate, regardless of where you live and which country or continent you live in.
They spoke of the credit crunch, until they couldn’t speak about it any longer. It hasn’t left really, has it?
Prices of food keep climbing, and portion/ size keeps getting smaller. Salaries are adjusted for inflation every year but it doesn’t make a difference does it.
We would all like to spend as much as we want, eat as much as we want. And even better eat out as much as we want. But we can’t, not as much as we want to anyway.
This post is about saving money, after having discovered my food revolution.
You watch cooking shows, read recipes, food magazines and everything is so expensive. What I’m saying is, this doesn’t have to be as expensive, all the time. There are ways to curb the cost. It’ll take some creativity and a lot more work but it’ll also be more satisfying. You might even have a lil’ bit more money for shoes at the end of the month😜👠.
- Grow it yourself. Not always practical, space an expensive commodity, but herbs by your window sill, sprigs of spring onion or tomatoes in the parking lot. Where there’s soil, there’s potential. Even better, use your children/ husband/boyfriend/ partner for all the watering needs!
- Buy fresh and buy directly from the source. If you think about it, it’s doable. You go to the butchery instead of a supermarket, take a trip down to the harbour instead of a fish shop and buy directly off the boat. Go to the food markets and buy from the farmers. It’s a lot more fun too.
- Buy in bulk. But you have to be careful not to overdo things. There’s a fine line between a hoarder and someone trying to get a bargain. Instead of buying small pieces of meat, why don’t you buy big pieces and cut/ portion them at home according to how big your family is. Buy the big fish at the harbour and portion it at home. From a R120 2kg yellow tail fish, I get 5 portions and keep the head, tail, bones for fish stock. Per portion at the supermarket I pay between R50-70, the maths looks good.
- Build relationships. Join loyalty clubs, get points and this makes a difference long term. Life is so much easier with technology. Talk to your service providers. If there’s a special on what you like, they might even send you a message. Always be on the lookout for specials and discounts.
You’d be amazed at what you might end up saving. Coupons are big in America but in South Africa it’s not even worth your effort, until further notice anyway. -
Buy what’s available, in season and fresh. Foods that are out of season are much more expensive because, either they need to be imported from outside the country or the few places making them in the country will sell them at a higher price because of the demand. Cooking with what’s in season makes your cooking experience fun and versatile. No-one said a Brocolli recipe can’t be done with corn, for example. Probably might even taste better. # team corn.
- Learn to do it yourself! Instead of paying extra or paying someone else to do it, do it yourself. Example, when buying whole fresh fish, instead of paying extra R10 for the fisherman / fish monger to remove the scales, the gut and filleting the fish for you. Do it yourself and save R10, with this you can save up to 20%.
Instead of buying dried pasta, spaghetti, pizza: make it yourself. Works out cheaper, fresher and tastier too. So do it yourself, it’s easier and quicker than you think. See previous blog posts for home made foods below and a lot more.
Happy saving! Hope this makes sense to you and it helps.😉
