Budget Stretchers: Use it Or Lose it 2012 - Join the fun!

[Roxanne]

I am also carrying over some items from January, like the C. bacon, cream cheese, orzo and couscous. This time for sure, I'm going to use it all so I won't have to keep looking at them month to month and thinking "when will I use this up?"

When I think about it, C. bacon is a couple dollars more than deli ham here too. I did use it in the recipe I intended to use it in and found I liked it so I decided to sub. it for ham in a cheese and ham pinwheel recipe, bad idea! It was way too salty and I didn't add extra salt to the recipe and since that I kinda didn't want to eat it anymore but putting it in the omelet was good cause I put just a small bit of it in there.

Cookie dough and quick breads freeze really well and I have had nuts in my fridge for a while now (I have a ton of pecans in my veggie crisper draw which I sealed in bags) I just toast them up before using and they are still as good as new. So you can do that too.

[Kchurchill5]

rac, that is a great plan. I don't mind new items for a party. But I also try to use on hand first. Good for you.

And seasonal, I can't blame you for that.

Sometimes when I have a few friends over for card nights we call it CORN. Literally I serve them all my leftovers. I take 3-4 soups out. We grill a mix of chicken, shrimp, pork etc. Or we just reheat 4-5 different dishes and make a fresh salad to go with it and it's a giant smorgasboard which is fine. And we all have fun. Someone usually brings a dip, and another beer or drinks and presto. You can make it a fun party. Great for close friends or family. Play cards, a game, watch movies and just use all your leftovers. Nothing wrong with that.

[Roxanne]

Totally agree Kc, in the future I will be doing that - looking for more than 1 recipe using a particular item before buying. I don't eat out much, only once a week with my BF and all I do is home cooking. The foods I have grown up eating is definitely different cause of where I live but I did go through a period where I was trying lots of other new food items and recipes which is how I kinda got stuck with some of these things. Since I cook my local cuisine regularly again it is kinda hard to use up some of this stuff. Also, I have been thinking of doing a thing called "meatless mondays" basically you eat vegetarian for that day, I think it is a grand idea.

lol racr, I love your grocery bill story. I am too much of an impulse buyer for sales (BOGO or reduced prices) I have still been impulse buying in January. But most of the recent impulse buys have been chocolate related - and I do have a major sweet tooth but still I probably shouldn't stock pile too much lol. I did do a pasta and sauce mix impulse buy though. I should know better as I am already over run with other pastas! But they don't have a sauce mix with them and that pulled me in with it being less than 1/2 the price

[HeatherFeather]

My impulse buys usually involve anything that says it is a holiday flavor or "limited edition" type food. I love seasonal items and specialty flavors, so this sales tactic is very successful at getting me to buy things I really don't need.

I have gotten better about it now, but I still let myself get a few things now and then, like holiday flavors of coffee. My biggest incentive now is to wait until just before the holiday hits, and for a few days after the holiday as well - all of those limited edition items get marked down heavily if any are left. With most things, I can make myself wait until the markdown prices have appeared.

I have 5 bags of holiday flavor gourmet coffees in my pantry right now that were all clearanced. I go through coffee fast, so I will definitely go through them. I don't mind drinking things like pumpkin spice flavored coffee in February. Who made it a rule that it is only a fall flavor anyway?

[racrgal]

rac, that is a great plan. I don't mind new items for a party. But I also try to use on hand first. Good for you.

And seasonal, I can't blame you for that.

Sometimes when I have a few friends over for card nights we call it CORN. Literally I serve them all my leftovers. I take 3-4 soups out. We grill a mix of chicken, shrimp, pork etc. Or we just reheat 4-5 different dishes and make a fresh salad to go with it and it's a giant smorgasboard which is fine. And we all have fun. Someone usually brings a dip, and another beer or drinks and presto. You can make it a fun party. Great for close friends or family. Play cards, a game, watch movies and just use all your leftovers. Nothing wrong with that.

CORN night at your house sounds wonderful!

[racrgal]

Roxanne, I was in my 20s when I started shopping from lists. Over the years it has become such a habit that I "forget" to buy ordinary things which aren't on the list. I've thought of "milk" on the way to the market and come home without milk because it wasn't on my list. You should see me fly through a store if I know the layout and have my list. I'm not a grocery store browser.

[racrgal]

HF, anytime is a good time for gourmet coffees! They are very difficult to find in decaf so I do stock up when I find a nice decaf flavor. Oh my! An impulse buy for me.

[Roxanne]

Roxanne, I was in my 20s when I started shopping from lists. Over the years it has become such a habit that I "forget" to buy ordinary things which aren't on the list. I've thought of "milk" on the way to the market and come home without milk because it wasn't on my list. You should see me fly through a store if I know the layout and have my list. I'm not a grocery store browser.

Well I'm in my 20's now and I do shop with a list of regular and non regular items on there cause if I don't I surely forget one or some items . But I think I get caught up in sales cause I am a browser! I love to look around to see if there are any new items stocked and of course in this process I see lots of sales I wouldn't otherwise see .

Heather, I also love certain seasonal items. There is this one item, a chocolate hazelnut wafer that they only have at Christmas time. Every year I look forward to it. The other day they had half price sale at a store on stocks from Christmas so I bought a couple. I also got Hershey's caramel filled kisses at 1/2 price (another thing they only import for Christmas) Luck so had it I got Reese's Whipps at 1/3 the price even though it is year round item - I bought a whole dozen bars. Then I got bogo on a caramel filled and hazelnut studded chocolate bars. lol see, told you I stock piled on lots of chocolate items . I don't even need chocolate for V-day at this rate! I don't see a problem with having pumpkin spice in February btw. No one says you can't enjoy something "out of season" ;)

[racrgal]

Browsing is our difference, Roxanne. I just don't browse the grocery store. Now a Farmer's Market is an entirely different story! I love fresh fruits and veggies. I like to check out the "weird" produce too. I can get carried away in a Farmer's Market.

[Roxanne]

I went out yesterday and browsed (half-way) gosh, so many temptations still! But I resisted and bought nothing extra! . I don't usually browse the market here looking for new things, I browse looking for better prices and how good the produce looks too.