I have been watching a number of Youtube videos in the last few days, mostly dealing with menu planning. That is something I sorely need- to start planning my meals for the week, and cooking with the things on hand, not running to the store, last minute, for this or that.
I discovered a channel called “fun, cheap, or free” by a woman named Jordan F. Page. As it turns out, she is married to her best friend, is the mother of 6, (though soon to be 8, as she is pregnant with twins), is a practicing Mormon, and the author of several books, blogs, video channels, etc., on subjects such as cooking, meal planning, organization in general, finances- well, you get the idea.
Once I started watching her channel, I was hooked. Her ideas about using what you have on hand to prepare your meals for the week caught my interest. That is something I have always wanted to do but do not have the skills, yet, with which to do it. I did not know where to begin. But, since we have to restock our entire fridge, freezers, and pantry, I thought, why not start now?
So, this morning, I got up, took my notes that I made while watching her videos, and made an inventory list of all of the items we will need to buy to start cooking. She suggests you write down the unit price of everything you purchase, from every store you might purchase those items, so you can see if a “sale” price at the local Costco, or Sam’s, or Walmart, is actually a better price than the regular price you pay at your local store. It has to be the unit price for each item, ounces, pieces, whatever is the base price for the item.
I am anxious to get started making our my pricing list, because, since everything is in pesos, it is difficult for me to remember what the cost of, say, bananas are at Costco, versus what they are at Soriana, our local grocery store.
I have my work cut out for me, but I want to save us as much money as I can, as often as I can. Not everything has to be the least expensive, because some things are worth their cost. But where less expensive does not matter, then my price comparisons should help us make better choices.