2025-01 January Frugal Thread

[Giseledta]

Here's a question for Frugal minds:

I saw a clip on CTV regarding a family of 7 living on $700/month for groceries. One of the things the father touted was that they made their own bread. I have looked at the cost of ingredients for a single loaf of bread and found that it is not possible to make bread for cheaper than one can find it (at discount) from places like Walmart.

Here are the ingredient prices from a recipe I found online: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/bread-recipe/

2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees) (474g)
1 Tablespoons active dry yeast* (There is 3/4 of a tablespoon of active dry yeast in 1 packet. 2.25 teaspoons are in a packet and there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. A standard packet has 7 grams)
1/4 cup honey or sugar (85g honey, 50g sugar)
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable)
4 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour* (500g-688g)

I will only focus on the yeast and flour. The other ingredients do have an associated cost, but I'll ignore them for the purposes of this discussion.

Approximately 9g of yeast is required and I checked the price of yeast and a small 113 jar goes for about $5. So, 9g would cost (9/113*$5=) $0.40

NoFrills currently has a sale on flour for $10 for 10kg. Since there is a range of (500g-688g) for flour, let's just say it uses 600g. Therefore, a cost of $0.60 for a loaf of bread.

The costs (without the other ingredients) are already $0.60 + $0.40 = $1

How the heck can anyone beat the day-before discount prices of Walmart ($0.80) and RCSS? You can buy a pound of bread for less than the cost of basic ingredients (not even counting electricity, time, and effort).

Anyone make their own bread? Am I missing something? I have done the calculation over the years and always come to the same conclusion. It is more expensive to buy ingredients to make one's own bread than buying it at discount.

Yeast, best price is bulk barn. Large bag., much much cheaper then those jars.

Or sourdough, takes no yeast. Uses discard or starter instead.


But, for a family that size, honestly I would worry about them not eating enough, or eating enough nutrient rich foods

Yes, one can eat ramen ( for example) daily. But long term health wise... is that prudent.


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[Giseledta]

@walkonby , I saw an article regarding the Canada is not for Sale hats as many people have come to the same realization you did the hats are not made in Canada, they are just embroidered in Canada.

It explained that they looked into Canadian Made Hats but could not find many options and either could not get the quantities they are looking for or the price was too high.

I also saw another article (can you tell when I cannot sleep I read news articles) saying the logic and want behind buy Canadian made is great but is probably not realistic as many products will not be available. One point they made was Canada mades a lot of parts but does not make the finished product. The example they gave were dishwashers according to this article no Dishwashers are made in Canada, some of the parts are made in Canada but no company makes a Dishwasher in Canada.

The other area they discussed were groceries and with it being January we are reliant on other countries for our fresh produce. But even in the summer things like citrus we do not grow citrus in Canada.

These are some interesting times we are living in and sadly it does not look like there is a clear answer.

Olive oil? Sugar? Pretty sure those are produced south of us..

I'm expecting those will increase in price.

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[walkonby]

@walkonby, I saw an article regarding the Canada is not for Sale hats as many people have come to the same realization you did the hats are not made in Canada, they are just embroidered in Canada.

It explained that they looked into Canadian Made Hats but could not find many options and either could not get the quantities they are looking for or the price was too high.

I also saw another article (can you tell when I cannot sleep I read news articles) saying the logic and want behind buy Canadian made is great but is probably not realistic as many products will not be available. One point they made was Canada mades a lot of parts but does not make the finished product. The example they gave were dishwashers according to this article no Dishwashers are made in Canada, some of the parts are made in Canada but no company makes a Dishwasher in Canada.

The other area they discussed were groceries and with it being January we are reliant on other countries for our fresh produce. But even in the summer things like citrus we do not grow citrus in Canada.

These are some interesting times we are living in and sadly it does not look like there is a clear answer.

@SassyAshley That was what was stated in some of the articles I read too! I'm very sympathetic for anyone trying to run a
business and make it a 100% Made in Canada establishment BUT because we normally pay our employees a fairer wage and
there are employment safety standards for working conditions, that is only part of the issue. The materials to make whatever
they make? means the finished products would be too expensive to convince even the most patriotic Canadian to purchase.

Oh the produce eh? We've become spoiled little tyrants having full access all year round to every delicious kind of citrus and berries,
not to mention the greens which our climate would never allow to grow. Kudos to the many sc members who have gone the hydroponic
route in their homes! ( Hmmm, crafter, Thatdone and Ciel21 come to mind ).
If the new USA administration causes us severe hardships wrt tariffs or heaven forbid actually invading us, I'll probably hold my tongue and
then drink my Maple Syrup by the shot glass! ha ha

[SassyAshley]

I sometimes make our bread but I also buy bread. We prefer homemade bread, the taste is amazing and it actually goes bad. But on the other hand I buy store bought bread for the convince.

Along the same lines of people buying groceries at a Dollar Store, the numbers are based on someone shopping sales or finding marked down bread. I do not have any statistic but I believe the way most of shop is the minority.

Most people I know might look at the sales but also would not twice of grabbing a loaf of bread if they needed and it is "an added bonus" if it is on sale.

As for finding marked down bread, this one is a hit or miss I do not think everyone looks at the marked down product, there are various reasons and I think the biggest one we have all seen is people think it is "bad" or "rotten" product, I am not going to debate that one but I have seen the looks people give me when I share some of my marked down deals off this site.

Also, it is hit or miss finding it marked down. Maybe it is the day I shop or just that my store is super busy but I rarely see any mark down stickers in the bakery sections of my local No Frills. My No Frills is not on Flash Foods, the closest is a Zehrs that is about 20 minutes away but they now seem to donate all of their marked down product to the local community fridge. Really the only items they put on Flash Foods now is what they cannot donate to the fridge.

Depending on their circumstances this might be a huge savings for them.

[walkonby]

@Giseledta and @lizzie bargain you two both made great points about the cost of making homemade bread vs store bought ( when it is on sale ).
It matters when we cost out a recipe and we should consider the Province one is living in and/or the highest priced stores vs the discount ones available
in those Provinces.
Access to those Flashfood grocery deals are out of reach as I still don't own a phone, so no APP. They're really amazing savings, congrats to those
who glom onto them!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
UGH, woke up to snow, it stopped but now it looks like a snow globe outside so I guess shovelling will be in my future.

It is a slow morning, I was up at 6:30 but took me until almost 8 to convince myself to get out of warm, comfy, cozy bed. Now I am putting off the things I do and spending time on the internet.

Not a lot of prep to be done today which is nice. There weren't a lot of fresh options in the flyers so we will rely on our freezer this week which is good as I need to make some room. I really want to use up some of the odds and ends that have accumulated.

Need to come up with a new plan for Breakfasts this week, I was going to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Berry Sauce and Whipped Greek Yogurt but my Ricotta went bad.

Also need to finish my meal plan for the week, I am not sure why but I am stuck on beef dishes which is weird because we mostly eat Chicken. I thought after we had Meatloaf last night other options would come to me but apparently not so. Maybe my body is trying to tell me something.

Alright need to find some ambition, figure out a breakfast option for the week as well as lunch options as I think I have some in office days, still waiting for my boss to send me a schedule for this week.

Happy Sunday Everyone.

[Arjon]

Here's a question for Frugal minds:

I saw a clip on CTV regarding a family of 7 living on $700/month for groceries. One of the things the father touted was that they made their own bread. I have looked at the cost of ingredients for a single loaf of bread and found that it is not possible to make bread for cheaper than one can find it (at discount) from places like Walmart.

Here are the ingredient prices from a recipe I found online: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/bread-recipe/

2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees) (474g)
1 Tablespoons active dry yeast* (There is 3/4 of a tablespoon of active dry yeast in 1 packet. 2.25 teaspoons are in a packet and there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon. A standard packet has 7 grams)
1/4 cup honey or sugar (85g honey, 50g sugar)
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable)
4 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour* (500g-688g)

I will only focus on the yeast and flour. The other ingredients do have an associated cost, but I'll ignore them for the purposes of this discussion.

Approximately 9g of yeast is required and I checked the price of yeast and a small 113 jar goes for about $5. So, 9g would cost (9/113*$5=) $0.40

NoFrills currently has a sale on flour for $10 for 10kg. Since there is a range of (500g-688g) for flour, let's just say it uses 600g. Therefore, a cost of $0.60 for a loaf of bread.

The costs (without the other ingredients) are already $0.60 + $0.40 = $1

How the heck can anyone beat the day-before discount prices of Walmart ($0.80) and RCSS? You can buy a pound of bread for less than the cost of basic ingredients (not even counting electricity, time, and effort).

Anyone make their own bread? Am I missing something? I have done the calculation over the years and always come to the same conclusion. It is more expensive to buy ingredients to make one's own bread than buying it at discount.

I bought yeast for bread maybe 6 months ago in a 1 lb package for about $7. It will keep for years in the freezer. I make a crusty hearth-style bread - so not the fluffy white stuff. The base recipe uses 3 gm yeast, 500 gm flour, 8-10 gm salt, water and nothing else. I almost always add something like cheese, seeds, etc. but they are obviously optional. When I baked more regularly, I used natural yeast, which is basically no cost since it's just water plus flour that count as part of the total ingredients.

[Giseledta]

Today is house work and paperwork day for me.
Hubby has to go to his moms and step moms. I'm staying here... I need to clean and re-center for the week.
I do have some paperwork to do.

And if I can clean the laundry room ... get it just a bit more streamlined. . I would love love love it

Hubby has 2 games to watch today, so I will crochet during that. Hugs to all

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[coupon girl]

Morning i did 3 loads of laundry for my daughter(started last night) and played a memory game with Sebastian and charades also .

My daughter has gone for a mani ,pedi as she has 2 events to go to this week and has no time .My son will bring the girls over for a small visit in an hour.

Hubby went and got daughters car early this morning for an oil change ,to help her save some time .

[lizzie bargain]

Speaking of laundry I noticed daughter and boyfriend brought all their dirty laundry with them. She said it costs $6 to wash and dry at the Whistler campground-we won't charge them nearly that much!! Lol.

[Frugalbigmama]

Morning! Woke up to snow here as well! Still under snow squall watch so sticking close to home.

Decided to go out as soon as I got up this morning or else I would have got cozy. Grabbed a coffee at Mcdonald's and went for a walk in RCSS. Meat bunker was full of ribs and chicken on sale this week. Decided I should grab some and use points.
Bananas, 10LB potatoes, 5 x pork ribs 3 x drumsticks total $51.86 Redeemed $50 in PC pts paid $1.85 cash.

Have one package of ribs in the slow cooker. and the rest in the freezer. Chicken is in the fridge and I will deal with it tomorrow.
I will organize our upright freezer tomorrow (it's pretty clean and organized now) but just need to move stuff forward and put the new stuff behind.
We really need to start using the shrimp in there...we have so much and just haven't been eating it for a long time now.

Have a million things I want to get done.....

[harbie]

Good morning all,

I've been busy with work and life I guess.

I'm busy planning a 60th wedding anniversary celebration for my parents in February. It’s going to be just the small family as my mom doesn’t like large gatherings especially if she’s the centre of attention. The plus side is that I can afford to make it more bougie for the smaller group.

I am trying to keep it as local as possible and smaller family run businesses so I’m using a local bakery for the cake and desserts, local small family run florist, local linen etc rental company and the catering is an amazing family run business ( they have the sweetest kids that actually spend some time a pt the restaurant working like arranging cutlery, removing dishes ,etc ). They’re around 6/7 years old. They are SO sweet.

Unfortunately I am having to order some things from Amazon . I just don’t have much of a choice but I’m doing as much as I can.

As for the bread making question I agree with everyone about it being cheaper and far healthier. While I’ve never done sourdough that is an inexpensive method but time consuming. Maybe if the parents are working then if they have older children they can also help since it’s a more timely method. Also if you purchase things like lentils, rice and beans which are inherently cheaper then you still eat healthy and balanced ( maybe boring for some but not me).

Today's plan is to workout ( and go for a walk in the sunshine) and wash the bedding and fill up diesel. Everything else is done so relax and maybe try to book some vacation time off for this year.

[walkonby]

Sweet redemption @Frugalbigmama

[Arjon]

While I’ve never done sourdough that is an inexpensive method but time consuming.

Sourdough only takes a fairly limited amount of time in terms of actually doing anything, especially once you have gotten your starter active. It basically only needs refreshing in advance, which is nothing more than mixing in measured amounts of flour and water. I always did this the day before baking, so a bit of planning ahead was required, but the amount of time it took was no more than about a minute.

Depending on the strength of the starter, proofing can take longer, but this isn't active time. It's just a matter of how long before you come back to the dough for the next step(s).

[HermanH]

As for finding marked down bread, this one is a hit or miss I do not think everyone looks at the marked down product, there are various reasons and I think the biggest one we have all seen is people think it is "bad" or "rotten" product, I am not going to debate that one but I have seen the looks people give me when I share some of my marked down deals off this site.

Also, it is hit or miss finding it marked down. Maybe it is the day I shop or just that my store is super busy but I rarely see any mark down stickers in the bakery sections of my local No Frills. My No Frills is not on Flash Foods, the closest is a Zehrs that is about 20 minutes away but they now seem to donate all of their marked down product to the local community fridge. Really the only items they put on Flash Foods now is what they cannot donate to the fridge.

I visit 3x RCSS stores and 3x Walmarts consistently. They have minor variances, but all have a 'scrap cart' for the things they are tossing/donating. They grab the stuff on the last day of Best Before. I have talked to the various staff and know that they give it via Loop system as farm feed or donate to food bank for no cost recovery. If you talk to the managers, they will happily sell it to you at the last discount price marked. After all, it makes them look good (less waste) and they at least recover something. The availability is usually very good. I have never seen an empty discard cart. Of course, don't ask the front-line workers. They will only do as they are told and that is usually not to do anything. Always talk to the store manager. He/she is always willing to reduce their losses. Some have said that they will not sell product on the last Best Before date, but they (should) know that it is perfectly legal and safe to do so. Also, remember to assure them that you aren't going to do anything like complain or raise a fuss. You just want to save money.