Stocking a Pantry

 One of the many things I did with my Sister before we took off on our big week or has it been two?) of adventures was to stock her pantry, OH MY!! Being someone who rarely pays full price for anything I got a bit nervous paying full price for almost everything. My goal was to stock her pantry and freezer for at least 6 months. Being that she lives alone I took my "Food Saver" along to repackage meats for her. Her job was to pick out things she liked, my job was to figure out how much of each item would hold her over for the long haul. We hit a second buggy before we were half way through the store, by the end we had 3 buggies full top to bottom. Frozen meat totals, 20 PKG ground beef. 20 PKG chicken breast. 20 PKG pork chops. 20 PKG hot dogs, 10 ham steaks, 10 beef steaks, 2 small turkey roasts, 2 PKG Fish, I think that was about it in the meat department. Canned and boxed goods? More than her pantry could hold :) Toiletries, cleaning supplies and paper products? TONS. A once a week quick trip to the grocery for perishable things is all she will need for a VERY long time.

Tater Tot update :) He is a doll baby, always smiling and laughing but refuses to sleep unless its in our arms, spoiled little guy for sure.

These dirty face little guys have had the house rockin this week, it's a bit hard to go from adult vacation time back to toddler patrol. Today is the end of my toddler week, I am ready for some down time :)

Our budget has been blown out of the water the past 2 weeks. Thank goodness for the EF. I say bring on the fall so I can get that bank account built back up!!!

Pantry stock up cost....Over $600.00 for the first trip, another $200.00 on the second day. Holy cow!!! After getting the lay of the land in my Sisters town we think we have the weekly transportation problem solved. Her town has a bus transit system but the closest bus stop is 2 miles from her home. After a few phone calls regarding her situation we learned the bus can pick her up at her home for the cost of $2.00 each way with a two day notice. That is very doable for her. She has a nice shopping area that includes a grocery store along with lots of affordable restaurants she could enjoy once a week. She NEEDS to get out of the house!!! I NEED to know she has a way to purchase food when she needs it.  It's a win, win for both of us :)

One problem solved (I hope)

The other mini spending was to buy her a small George Foreman grill. Cooking for one is not so easy, using the little grill will make things a bit faster. Best part of all she is excited to try her new kitchen tool out.

Figure I might as well share what she did have on hand to eat. One tub of something that she seemed to think was butter, so NASTY!! A few packets of soy sauce leftover from carry out, a few Popsicle's in the freezer for her grandson. That's it for the freezer/fridge. The pantry. a huge bag of instant potatoes that had no directions on how to prepare it, 2 tin cans of squash, double nasty!!

It is beyond my understanding why people don't have a real pantry. Any of us can face a job loss, illness, bad weather,  or too many visits from Mr. Murphy. It's so simple and cost effective to build a pantry by watching the sales and using coupons :)

Another thing that has me baffled is how can you reach middle age and not know how to cook? I'm not talking about making home made bread, laying the table for 20 guests, or making a gourmet meal. My sister ask me how to make chicken salad.....what??? How long should you cook a hamburger? This is one of the reasons stocking her pantry cost so much. I knew she has no kitchen knowledge. Knowing how to cook real meals from real food is so much cheaper than depending on quick fix meals and baking.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Changing bad habits of eating out every meal every day is not going to be easy. Not having a retirement fund or disability insurance....It's just nuts!!!! My Sister will be living for the rest of her life on a Social Security check of $1,214.00 each month. Could you make that amount work with your budget? As frugal as hubby and I are we couldn't do it...that is why money goes into savings and our retirement account each and every payday. That is why we are willing to pass on the must have newest gadgets/electronics that come out. That is why we live well below our means today so we can eat and have a roof over our heads in the future. If you don't have disability insurance put that Latte down right now!!! Get yourself and your better half a policy today. You might be surprised at how VERY cheap they are!!!

Off to bed for me. We had our Sunday dinner tonight as I will be taking my Sister back to AL tomorrow, had Kara and Tater Tot since 8:00AM. I am done, done, done!!!