A great way to help your food budget is to grow some of your own food. A couple tomato plants would provide you with some delicious food and save you a few dollars from your food budget. If you have more space, you could grow more. I've recently been started dehydrating foods and love homemade beef jerky and dried apples. A friend has suggested that as your fruits and veggies just past their prime or you find you have more than you can use before they will go bad that dehydrating them for veggie soup, ect is a perfect way to save them from the garbage. I am actually going to try some sweet onions and garlic in the dehydrator to grind into power. Not going to save me hundreds of dollars but is going to save some onions and bunch of garlic.
That’s a great idea! For me getting a good sized air fryer has been a huge time and money saver for me. You use less oil when cooking and it’s super convenient
We've started an erb and vegetable garden to help out.
I love fresh basil and it actually does save money to grow my own. $1 for a pack of seeds and it makes everything taste amazing!
You can also grow many diffferent varieties of giant winter squash, they keep all winter in a cool room. I have a bunch growing this year and I'm excited to squirrel them away for winter soups and stir fry. Checkout dollarseeds.com for fall garden and next spring.
I do want to start growing food. We got a strawberry seed kit and maybe next summer it will sprout fruit.
@Cat B. Sadly, many of my preferred squash varieties only keep a few months. Maybe you prefer the longer-holding types or are in a climate with colder storage. Here's a great chart that shows storage lengths: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/vegetables/winter-squash-comparison-chart.html
I also save money by going to different food banks and fresh food markets.
I also save money by going to different food banks and fresh food markets.
@Melissa D. Thanks for the chart. This will be my first year storing more than a few so we will see. I do have a very cold house in winter, glad it's good for something:) I'm growing giant pink banana squash, spaghetti squash, blue hubbard and butternut. Planning to put some out on the curb for others also.
If everyone did this, there would be less vehicle pollution. Also, a good way to gift neighboring friends or family.
Has anyone tried setting up a chicken coop? Seems like it would be nice to have the fresh eggs. Also, I found an interesting article about homesteading https://www.simplelifeofacountrywife.com/12-months-to-homesteading-do-one-thing-every-month-to-grow-your-homestead/
@Joselyn M. We have taken in over 100 chickens over the last 20 years (along with lots of other critters). It's important to look into how much work it is to keep them healthy and safe. Lots of people have been getting "backyard" chickens, and then they find out it's too much or they have a loud rooster they don't want, and they just dump them in a park (not that I think you would do that, but that's why I try to discourage people from getting them unless they've really thought it out). Our city is having a terrible time with that right now. We've even had people dump chickens on our farm! Chickens are very poorly bred–even the "heirloom" breeds–and they're susceptible to a lot of tumors and diseases. Hens lay so many eggs, that they often have uterine prolapse. If coops aren't clean, they'll get infested with mites. Raccoons, fox, and dogs, love to eat chickens and are very good at getting into flimsy enclosures. Hawks can pick them off if they wander. The so-called "fryer" chickens are heartbreaking to keep because they're bred to grow so quickly that their legs can't support their own weight. Chickens are also very susceptible to cold and frostbite, so they need heat in winter, like a heat lamp, which really raises your electric bill. We've had chickens live 8 years, so it can be a long-term commitment, unless you plan to slaughter them. If you're looking to save money on eggs, it's definitely cheaper to buy them at the store, though eggs from free-range chickens do taste a lot better. If you have a feed-store nearby, check to see if they sell local eggs. Ours allows kids who do 4H and other small, local farmers to bring eggs in and keep them in a fridge there to sell for $2.50/dozen. They taste better than store-bought eggs, and the chickens are probably treated better than those on factory farms. Lots of people sell fresh eggs on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, too. I've always adopted our chickens from people giving them away on Craigslist because otherwise they end up getting eaten or abandoned. We're long-time veggies, so we consider them to be pets. I love those birds, and every one of them has its own personality.
