Saving Money as Prices Increase

[SandburRanch]

Needing to loose some weight i cut my food intake approx. by 1/2 a little amount over time . Weight is down about 30 lbs. over a 10 month period . If i learned a damm thing in math class that seems to have cut my grocery down by about 50 % . I've even learned to make Texas Caviar to stay healthy . Don't be concerned about an old man's health because the wife knows more about nutrition than most doctors .

 

[JDZ735M]

Thanks. I decided the price hikes are here to stay, so I live now, or never. Full concrete floor, 40x20 pad out front... oh the projects I will build!

Money well spent is never regretted.

 

[Jstpssng]

Yeah, I bought about 10k rounds back in 2016... for about 1/3 of today’s prices. Gas jumped again... to $3.60/gallon. Interest rates rising. We are entering a new normal as they say. It seems we are going to be hit from all sides. I may only live 10 more years, so it’s time to stop waiting to live. We wanted the barn, we have the cash in hand for it, and it’s probably a better investment, than our investments, in this market.

You will certainly get more use from the barn, than from a few extra dollars in your bank account.

 

[Poncho]

we are about the same as you... but we are looking at starting to car pooling as we only work about 2 miles from each other but our shifts are 30 mins off in afternoon. We have been putting stuff away since C19 started, have 2 large upright freezers full of hog and deer, as well as chicken... also have about 40 chickens so always have eggs.

 

[Oaktree]

We have been putting stuff away since C19 started, have 2 large upright freezers full of hog and deer, as well as chicken...

Trouble with depending that much on freezers is you're SOL if there's an extended power outage.

 

[Gee Ray]

My dad grew up during the Depression. He spoke of his mom canning meat and how good it tasted. Wondering if anyone is canning their meat and is it difficult?

Instead of freezing the meat.

 

[Jstpssng]

My dad grew up during the Depression. He spoke of his mom canning meat and how good it tasted. Wondering if anyone is canning their meat and is it difficult?

Instead of freezing the meat.

You really should use a pressure canner, rather than hot water bath as the latter doesn’t get hot enough to kill any botulism bacteria which may be present. Having said that, a lot of people have canned it that way over the years. Botulism is a soil born pathogen which thrives in anaerobic soil, and isn’t common here.

Trouble with depending that much on freezers is you're SOL if there's an extended power outage.

That’s why I have two generators, spare gas, and the capability to can it if needed. (One big canner and an 8 quart pressure cooker)

 

[Poncho]

Trouble with depending that much on freezers is you're SOL if there's an extended power outage.

understood.... but notice I didn't discuss my back-up capability, gas stored... living in Florida, I always have several weeks gas on supply as well as others.

 

[SandburRanch]

My dad grew up during the Depression. He spoke of his mom canning meat and how good it tasted. Wondering if anyone is canning their meat and is it difficult?

Instead of freezing the meat.

i took canned meat sandwiches to school in a brown paper bag in the 40's. that's just what was done without elect. power .

 

[ponytug]

Sorry to break it to you, but clostridia, the source of the botulinum toxin is ubiquitous.

Clostridium botulinum Infection(Archived) - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

It even colonizes hard boiled eggs. It is estimated to be the cause of about half of all SIDS in infants, and the reason why you shouldn't feed babies and young kids honey.

BAM Chapter 17: Clostridium botulinum

FDA's Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) presents the agency's preferred laboratory procedures for microbiological analyses of foods and cosmetics.

www.fda.gov

+1 on @Jstpssng's advice to pressure can meat (and tomatoes, and anything else that is low acid like onions and garlic). Don't eat bulging cans or canning lids that aren't sucked down; botulinum again. It is lethal in the billionth of a gram per kilogram, or part per trillion level.

As a kid we canned lots of things, but meat and most of the green veggies were frozen. These days,we have a large freezer, and for insurance backup generators plural, plus...on the other hand we live in a wild land fire area between two major earthquake faults. A less than competent utility doesn't inspire much confidence. Without anything major, we have had 13 outages in the last six months for up to thirteen hours at a time. Hence, the belt and suspenders.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Oaktree]

You really should use a pressure canner, rather than hot water bath as the latter doesn’t get hot enough to kill any botulism bacteria which may be present.

Water bath is OK for acidic stuff like pickles or tomatoes, maybe jam, but as you said 'most anything else a pressure canner is the way to go.

 

[Jstpssng]

Beans and corn definitely should be done in a pressure cooker, but I prefer them frozen anyways. They suggest even using pressure for the the lower acid tomatoes which are available today, or at least adding lemon juice to increase the acidity. Time varies based on the food acidity.
When I started canning, my mother gave me a copy of the Ball Blue book, Ball Blue Book which can be considered the bible of canning. Since then I've given a couple away myself, to people who wanted to get into putting up their own food.

I remember as a kid watching my mother doing jam and simply pouring melted wax over the top to keep it from getting moldy. Opinions have changed a lot since then.

 

[5030]

This year is a sauerkraut year for me for sure, probably pickled beets too.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Water bath is OK for acidic stuff like pickles or tomatoes, maybe jam, but as you said 'most anything else a pressure canner is the way to go.

My grandmother water bath canned meat for years, and all she did was add a tbsp of vinegar to each jar. I don't know that she ever served any straight out of the jar, though. Botulin is unstable above 170 degrees, so if you bring anything to a boil it destroys the toxin and makes it safe to eat. I don't mean to suggest that's a good idea.

Pressure canning is the way to preserve fish. It will keep much longer canned than frozen. Of course you can pickle fish, or smoke fish too. Canned beef is really tasty, and a good way to use that tough old milk cow. The canning process tenderizes the meat, which is the big complaint about old animals. If you get that old trophy buck, I'd can anything that didn't go for sausage.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

My dad grew up during the Depression. He spoke of his mom canning meat and how good it tasted. Wondering if anyone is canning their meat and is it difficult?

Instead of freezing the meat.

Canned meat tastes great. You can either can it straight or add flavor like sage. Pressure can only. The problem with pressure canning is that it's very time intensive. The batches take a long time. I have a friend who salvaged a huge old 1950s hospital autoclave to pressure can whole tuna. I have a cousin who cans a lot of fish, and he has set up his canning kitchen in his man cave, with a big screen TV. He can watch ball games while the canner is doing its thing.

 

[ultrarunner]

Never heard of pressure canning...

Grandma would pour alcohol on top of her preserves, light it and screw the lid on at the Right time.

Hospital Autoclaves can be free or close to it...

Had several perfect older models sent out as scrap because they lack computer telemetry documentation with only basic disk recording...

How would a hospital autoclave be used.

Years ago legend has it the hospitals Autoclaves we're used for a fund raiser spaghetti feed... way before my time.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Combining trips to save on fuel. Nearly everything is 40 miles away. So it’s Civil Air Patrol, lumber yard visits and the gym in one trip. Also, using the COSTCO membership pretty heavily. Also, picking up work for the company that requires me to drive, because it pays mileage. This way my fuel is paid for when I go to work, and the mileage payment excess helps to pay for fuel the rest of the month. Granted I only drive to work three times per month, but every bit helps.

 

[ultrarunner]

Two I know have trucks ordered and decided this week not to accept delivery in a cost saving move.

Apparently, cancelling new car orders isn't a big deal as some with orders pending and pushed back found other options at no penalty?

Going back to gas lines and rationing would change dynamics drastically but seems public is resigned to higher prices as long as product is available?