Simply Frugal Inventory List

All you ever need to make the simple or extremely frugal recipes.

Groceries Catsup Green beans Green chilis Lemon juice Mayonnaise Evaporated milk Oil Peanut butter Pineapple Raisins Soy sauce Tomato paste Tomato sauce Vinegar Walnuts Worcestershire sauce Dairy Bacon Butter Eggs Milk

Baking Banking powder Baking soda Cornmeal Cornstarch Flour, unbleached Flour, whole wheat Dry milk Honey (or Molasses) Lard Rolled oats Popcorn Rice, brown Salt Sugar, white Sugar, brown Vanilla Yeast Beverages Coffee Tea

Fresh Vegetables Cabbage Carrots Celery Garlic Ginger Green pepper Onion Potato Frozen Orange juice Green beans Beans Lentils Navy beans Pinto beans Split peas

Simply Frugal -- Herbs and Spices

Herb and Spices
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

The flavors you add to the basic foods can change a cornmeal concoction from Southern USA to Southern Italy with just a pinch of dried herbs.

If you live in a town with a food coop or a natural foods store, you can probably buy these in bulk at prices that are far less than the itty bitty jars on the shelf in the grocery store. If not, stock up first with cinnamon, chili powder, ginger, and vanilla extract, and add the rest as the budget allows.

Allspice
Basil
Bay leaf
Celery seed
Chili powder
Cinnamon
Cumin
Curry powder
Cloves
Dill weed
Ginger
Marjoram
Mustard, dry
Nutmeg
Oregano
Paprika
Peppercorns
Red pepper flakes
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme

Extremely Frugal recipes only use
Cinnamon, chili powder, and ginger.

Weekly Shopping

Baseline Prices
Originally uploaded by Simply Frugal

As much as I'd like to go shopping once a month, I can't afford to.

If I skip three weeks out of four, I have skipped 3/4 of the bargains and sales that keep my pantry stocked. So, each week, I compare the sale prices in the store fliers to the list of Bare Cupboard Basics and make sure I stock up on items I'll need when they are on sale.

To help me, I've created not only a list of Bare Cupboard Basics, but a list of their normal prices as well. Once a year, I take my list with me when I shop, and update any prices that have changed over the year.

With that list in hand, I can immediately tell if a sale is a bargain, or just flashing advertising that will not actually help my budget.

For example, most of us know the price of milk. In my area, it's been hovering around $3.25 to $3.50 a gallon. When it goes on sale for $2.77, it's time to stock up. But if it only goes down to $3.10 I don't.

How To Shop SaveALot

SaveALot is an extreme value grocery store. That means that they sell a carefully selected assortment of the items you purchase most frequently, in the most popular varieties and sizes.

For the 53 items on the Simply Frugal shopping list, SaveALot is hands-down the least expensive place to buy them if you can't wait for a sale at Meijer or Kroger.

SaveALot has a monthly, not weekly, flier with great deals that are better than their usual price. For meats and produce, those deals are only available for the first two weeks of the month. I usually shop SaveALot once a month, during the first couple weeks, to take advantage of these specials.

While I'm there, I stock up on the pantry items from the list below. Items on this list usually are not sale items at Meijer or Kroger, so there's no need to wait for a better price. The better price is here at SaveALot, every day.

Groceries Catsup Green beans, canned Mayonnaise Evaporated milk Oil Pineapple Tomato paste Tomato sauce Worcestershire sauce

Baking Banking powder Baking soda Cornstarch Molasses Lard Rolled oats Salt Sugar, white Sugar, brown Vanilla Beverages Coffee Tea

Fresh Vegetables Cabbage Carrots Green pepper Onion Beans Lentils Navy beans Pinto beans Split peas Rice