$5 Food Storage: Week 16

This week's item is

5 lbs Honey (for 2 people)

The best prices I found:

4 lbs Western Family $8.32 (Sherms)
6 lbs Costco $13.99

The price of honey has also gone up in the past few years. One other alternative for finding a cheaper price is to search your area for independent bee keepers and honey makers.

$5 Food Storage: Week 15

Week 15 is a good week to catch up. The only item this week is

One box of Macaroni and Cheese

The lowest price I have found for mac & cheese, is Sherms store brand, which is 44 cents each. Also Sherms is having their case lots sales, so you might want to check it out if you stop by.

$5 Food Storage: Week 14

I have no idea how old my list is, but the $5 part does not pertain to this week, sorry. This weeks item is

• 100 lbs of wheat (per 2 people)

Wheat prices have skyrocketed in the past few years and I suspect they will continue to rise. Some sites have wheat listed as "out of stock". I am not sure holding off is the smart thing, but spend what you can afford. Every little bit will help, lots of sites I have looked at also have "monthly shipment" features, which allow you to get certain food storage items every month with an automatic order and payment schedule. All that being said, I have looked at a lot of food storage sites I have used in the past and here are the best prices:

• http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/search.aspx?find=wheat"><> style="font-size:130%;">Honeyville Grains $48.99/50 lbs plus shipping





• http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href= $46.95/50 lbs, order 4 or more price drops to $39.95, shipping $12





• Sherms has it in the bulk bins for 69 cents/lb, although it is a limited quantity available and it is not canned.





• Again if you are LDS, please check with your local bishop's storehouse to get a good price.

Another tip, ask grocery stores for their used 5 gallon buckets, especially at the deli and bakery counters. They may sell cheaply or even give you these buckets. They are great to store wheat and other grains in. You may also wish to buy some.

$5 Food Storage: Week 13

This week's item is 100 ct bottle of vitamins.

*Best deal this week is Rite Aid where most vitamins are Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Some vitamins may even qualify for a bonus + Up, (spend $20 get $5 + UP). I will try to get to Rite Aid tomorrow and scout out the best deals.

$5 Food Storage: Week 12

Another week that we can stay under $5!

This week's item is 4 cans mushroom soup

The best price is 50 cents each for store brand Fred Meyer, total $2!

It might be a good week to make sure you are updated on previous weeks, check back here to make sure you are caught up!

$5 Food Storage: Week 11

This week's items are:

10 lbs Sugar

1 box salt


Best price for sugar:


Sherms: $5.59 for 10 lbs

Best price for salt:

Walmart 38 cents

*These items will go on great sales when it gets closer to baking and holiday season in November and December.

$5 Food Storage Week 9

I am returning to the series $5 Food Storage, sorry for the weeks off. This week's item is

• 5 lbs Honey (for 2 people)

The best prices I found:

• 4 lbs Western Family $8.32 (Sherms)


• 6 lbs Costco $13.99

The price of honey has also gone up in the past few years. One other alternative for finding a cheaper price is to search your area for independent bee keepers and honey makers.

H20

*This is a partial exert from my personal blog...I share it for two reasons. One, to explain why the posts have been so sporadic lately (especially deal matchups) and two, to emphasize why we need to be prepared with our food storage...especially water.

May 26 started out normal enough, I did laundry and dishes just like every other day. Then my son went to wash his hands and there was no water. I sent Greg (my husband) to fix it, he had determined it was blown control box,(what controls the pump from the well) but had already called the co-op and they were going to gives us a new one since they sometimes..."just go out." So Greg and our contractor worked on it until about 10 pm, but we had water again!


May 27, I got up early to finish some laundry/dishes to get ready for camping trip. Greg took a shower, I started a load of laundry and a load of dishes. About 9 am, I went to wash my hands...no water, another blown control box. These boxes run about $800 a piece. The power company was called out to investigate whether or not there were surges or changes in voltage that was causing the boxes to blow. The power company couldn't find anything wrong...and since we were heading into a holiday weekend, nothing much more could be done. They couldn't get a new control box until late Sunday night. In order to distract ourselves (and to have showers...) we went camping as planned (in cabins, let's not get crazy). We stayed the extra day since home would mean no water.


May 29, Sunday. Got home, got the new control box, installed it and within a hour it was blown. Now we are in trouble. Power company, contractor, and co-op guy come out and try to figure out what is wrong. Finally decide to do some tests with the power company, but since it is a holiday weekend...they can't come until Tuesday.


May 31, Tuesday. Power company comes out and sets up tests.

June 2, Thursday. Power company removes test box and read results, nothing wrong and no surges. No one has a clue what is wrong, but it has been a week and the laundry/dishes are sky high.

June 4-5, I finally realize we are in for the long haul...Greg brings not one but two water trucks and buckets, so we can be able to flush toilets. Let's just say pretty girls should never be on latrine duty, ever.

June 6-12 This week passes with frustrating phone calls and little actual progress. The problem cannot be identified therefore the solution cannot be found.

June 15, Wednesday. The original electrician also comes out and cannot find anything wrong with any of the wiring. We also get a surge protector put in, just for precaution.

June 15, Thursday. We have invested thousands of dollars in this system that is less than a year old. We don't want to put in a whole new system and spend more, but this is beyond ridiculous. (Think about it...aside from laundry/dishes/toilets/showers...how do you cook, something that doesn't have to much dirty dishes or take water to cook, my daughter's toilet training is non existent and we have had sick kids, probably due to lack of proper hand washing...it is a nightmare! One I would only wish on a few middle school mean girls!)

The solution...they will pull up the well pump. It is down 340 feet, so not a small feat. They will replace the well pump motor and a new control box. No one still knows what happened or if that will even fix it. The worst part...they can have the truck out NEXT THURSDAY! I have a meltdown (well I had have several through this process), but this is the biggie...

Ironically I wake up Friday and feel better. There seems to be an end in sight and we do not have to spend thousands of dollars. I have actually fallen into a routine of baths and laundry at my in-laws, eating crappy frozen food and take out and using paper plates.

June 23, Thursday, Day 29. The pump truck comes and I feel joy! They pull the pump leave a new box and we only have to have an electrician put it in. He makes several suggestions to improve things.

June 24, Friday, Day 30. The electrician sets up the system. I am gone all day with the kids' day camp and running errands for our trip to Utah. I finally get home about 3 and run a load of laundry, and another and another and dishes and showers and FLUSH lots and we STILL HAVE WATER! Oh, Happy Day! I still hold my breath every time I flush, but so far so good!

And finally, my daughter just says it best...

By the way, if you want to help us decorate out bare walls, please go here and vote for us!

The moral of the story...I am buying water in the gallon jugs and the 24 case packs whenever they go one sale...because you can never be too prepared. We had several cases of water, but not nearly enough.

$5 Food Storage: Week 8

This week's item is:

• 5 lbs powdered milk

This is a product that has gone way up in price since this list was written. The cheapest I found in town was $22.49 for 5 lbs at Sherms. You might want to buy this item in bulk and large cans, since these cans can be stored for up to 20 years.

Two of these sites are:

Honeyville Grain, 4 lbs can for $13.99, $4.99 shipping

or Sam's Club 6 cans (4 lbs) for $54.62, shipping $7.94 (not sure about membership?)

If you are LDS, you might also want to check with your ward food storage specialist, right now the price for a 4 lbs can is $8.60.

The price of this long storage type of food has gone up significantly in recent years, remember to consider this an investment, but also buy what you can afford and add according to your budget .

Also this week, you might want to catch up on other weeks (or buy for future weeks) on these items:

• Rite Aid, St. Johns Aspirin 36 count bottle $1.50, get $1.50 + Up=so free (limit of 2)


• Fred Meyer, Chicken of the Sea Tuna 3/$1 with in ad coupon

$5 Food Storage (Not really): Week 7

I have no idea how old my list is, but the $5 part does not pertain to this week, sorry. This weeks item is

• 100 lbs of wheat (per 2 people)

Wheat prices have skyrocketed in the past few years and I suspect they will continue to rise. Some sites have wheat listed as "out of stock". I am not sure holding off is the smart thing, but spend what you can afford. Every little bit will help, lots of sites I have looked at also have "monthly shipment" features, which allow you to get certain food storage items every month with an automatic order and payment schedule. All that being said, I have looked at a lot of food storage sites I have used in the past and here are the best prices:

• Honeyville Grains $48.99/50 lbs plus shipping


• BePrepared $46.95/50 lbs, order 4 or more price drops to $39.95, shipping $12



• Sherms has it in the bulk bins for 69 cents/lb, although it is a limited quantity available and it is not canned.



• Again if you are LDS, please check with your local bishop's storehouse to get a good price.

Another tip, ask grocery stores for their used 5 gallon buckets, especially at the deli and bakery counters. They may sell cheaply or even give you these buckets. They are great to store wheat and other grains in. You may also wish to buy some gamma lids to seals these buckets and make the contents easier to use.

Anyone have some tips for dry canning wheat, or where to get wheat, buckets, or lids? Please leave a comment.

$5 Food Storage: Week 6

This week's item:

• 1 bottle of aspirin 500 count

The best price I found for this was $3.64 at Walmart (store brand)

I know we could probably get this item free some weeks too with drug store deals, but not this week :( At least we stayed under $5 this week though.

$5 Food Storage: Week 5

This weeks items are:

• 4 cans of tomato soup, cheapest price is still Fred Meyer brand at 50 cents



• 10 lbs of powdered milk

This is a product that has gone way up in price since this list was written. The cheapest I found in town was $22.49 for 5 lbs at Sherms. You might want to buy this item in bulk and large cans, since these cans can be stored for up to 20 years.

Two of these sites are:

Honeyville Grain, 4 lbs can for $13.99, $4.99 shipping

or Sam's Club 6 cans (4 lbs) for $54.62, shipping $7.94 (not sure about membership?)

If you are LDS, you might also want to check with your ward food storage specialist, right now the price for a 4 lbs can is $8.60.

The price of this long storage type of food has gone up significantly in recent years, remember to consider this an investment, but also buy what you can afford and add according to your budget.

$5 Food Storage: week 3

The items for week 3 are:

• 3 cans of mushroom soup
• 2.5 lbs peanut butter

Best price for Mushroom Soup are:

• Fred Meyer, store brand 50 cents, limit 4
• Sherm's, Western Family Brand, 88 cents
• Costco, Campbells 8 cans (4 mushroom/4 chicken) $6.65, 83 cents each

Best price for peanut butter:

• Through today only, Albertsons has 1 lb Peter Pan on sale for $1.49 (must be 10 items in participating promo to get price)
• Fred Meyer has store brand 4 lbs for $5.99
• Sherms has Jiff 2 lb 8 oz for $4.58 or 4 lbs Jiff $8.89
• Costco 2 jar combo pack, 6 lbs total of Jiff for $7.99

For 2 people 3 cans of FM soup (3 @ 50 cents)=$1.50 and Jiff at Sherms $4.58=$6.08 ($1.08 over)

Kitty Total: $4.06-$1.08=$2.98 left over

A few notes:

1. I am pleasantly surprised at how cheap Fred Meyer store brand products are :)
2. I hit a few stores each week and try and compare prices, I will update previous posts with the comparison prices
3. I think the $5 might be hard to stay under as I see the items in the week to come...this list must have been written in the 1980s, but we will try. I will find the lowest prices anyway.
   

$5 Food Storage: week 2

The items for week 2 are:

1. 5 Boxes of Macaroni and Cheese
2. 4 cans tomato soup

Best price for Mac & Cheese:

• Fred Meyer and Albertsons both have store brand on sale for 50 cents/box
• Costco store brand, 15 boxes for $7.99 (53 cents each)
• Costco Kraft brand 15 boxes for $11.49 (77 cents each, cheapest if you like Kraft best)
• Update: Sherms Mac & Cheese store brand 44 cents
  

Best price for tomato soup

• Fred Meyer store brand, 50 cents each
• Costco, Campbells 12 cans for $9.99, 83 cents each
• Update: Sherms store brand 50 cents
  

For two people, 5 boxes @ 50 cents=$2.50, and 4 cans of soup @ 50=$2 making the total for this week $4.50.

Kitty total: $3.56+0.50=$4.06 left over.

$5 Food Storage: week 1

I am starting something new. A few years ago I got an email from a friend about $5 food storage. Basically, you set aside $5 each week to purchase a few items (keeping what is left over in a kitty for other weeks) and after a year you have easily and cheaply built some food storage. This list is for 2 people, so you might need to double or triple the money and amount of items you need. These items are "everyday" type items that you can buy in a grocery store. The idea is after you have your year of storage, use these items and replace them as needed. They are food your family is used to eating and pantry items that you will normally use. If you would like a complete list of the food items, send me an email and I will send you the document. Thanks and I hope this helps you in your preparedness.


For my part each week, I will compare prices and find you the best deal. Note: this list is several years old, so I am not sure if we can really stay under $5 each week...but as couponers, we will sure try!

Week #1: (remember this is for 2 people)

1. 2 cans of tuna fish

• best price Fred Meyer: Chicken of the Sea Chunk Light Tuna 3 for $1 (with in ad coupon)
• Update: Costco, 8 cans for $10.99=$1.37 each (these were Chicken of the Sea Chunk Light)
  
• Update: Sherms Western Family tuna 55 cents
  

2. 2 containers salt

• best price Fred Meyer: 39 cents each
• Update: Costco (Roseburg, OR did not carry "ordinary" salt)
  
• Update: Sherms salt 50 cents
  

Price for this week: $1.44 (per 2 people), save $3.56 for later on.

Tillamook Shredded Cheese $1

Here is an easy, good deal! Tillamook Shredded Cheese are only $1 at Fred Meyer with in ad coupon. Check at customer service for the coupon. Limit of 10. Cheese freezes really well when it is shredded too.

Food storage deal of the day

Fred Meyer (at least in Roseburg) has Tillamook Shredded Cheese 8 oz size on sale for $1 each. There were several kinds and varieties to choose from. The expiration date wasn't until September. Stock up and throw the extras in the freezer! These shredded bags freeze well and defrost quickly!

Food storage deal of the week!

Through Tuesday at Albertsons, Dole Pineapple and Mandarin Oranges are on sale for 79 cents! I love these for summer salads and quick sides or snacks. Buy 4 get back a 50 cent catalina. Also every purchase of these products triggers a Dole Mandarin Orange coupon. I have gotten a 0.75/3 and $1/5 ones. Wash, rinse, repeat, wash, rinse, repeat!

Food Storage Deal of the Week

Albertsons has Campbell's Cream of Chicken (or Mushroom or Celery) on sale for 75 cents a can. Coupons for "cooking soups" are in the 1/10 or 2/28 SS and also $1/4 printable make this soup closer to 50 cents a can. That is a food storage stock up price! You should be able to buy it by the flats, my store was well stocked. If they are gone, make a rain check or special order for more.

Food Storage Deals

Two good things to keep in your pantry/food storage are a great price at Albertsons this week.

1. Bumble Bee Tuna 50 cents per can, Buy 10 cans of tuna, use 2 $1/5 coupon (should be able to print two), use two double coupons, pay just 10 cents a can!
2. Del Monte Veggie and Tomatoes $1 each, but there is a Catalina deal too! Through 2/20 Buy 3-4 get $1
   Buy 5 get $1.50
   Buy 6 or more get $2
   Scenario:
   Buy 6 veggies,
   use $1/5 coupon or $1/4 and a double coupon
   pay $4 get $2 cat, so it makes the cans 0.33 each! You would have to buy in separate transactions of 6 each to get this deal. The water in canned veggies can also be used as drinking water in an "emergency".

<>