How the Poor Man Pays Double - Tips for Saving Money
Years ago, my father in-law (God rest his soul), was fond of saying the Poor Man Pays Double. He in fact, was very correct in that saying and I want to explain why.
The saying essentially means that the more money you have, the more capable you are of saving money when it comes to buying. In other words, the person with less money will spend more per item than the person with more money.
To put it into terms you can understand: The person with limited funds will buy the 8 roll toilet paper package for $4 dollars because of the price. If they had more money available they could have spent the extra $3 to buy the 24 roll package and tripled the amount while not tripling the price. The price per roll for the poor man is .50 cents per roll, and for the purchaser with a bigger budget .29 cents.
It may not seem like a lot but when you apply that spending method to all your purchases, it adds up very quickly and at the end of the exercise you will be better stocked at home, have better meals and reduce the number of trips and time spent in grocery stores. It’s just smarter buying.
Examples of Dry Goods
Cases of soup/vegetables/other canned goods - instead of individual cans.
Large bags of sugar/flour/rice/pet food instead of small bags.
Large boxes of cereal instead of little ones.
Case lots of Kleenex, napkins, paper towels.
Large boxes of detergent.
Large refillable jugs for windex, handsoap, bar soap, shampoo, toothpaste.
Cases of 24 or 30 granola bars and snack foods rather than the small boxes of 8.
Always buy the largest size available of whatever items you buy.
Meats
In order to follow this list, you may have to know how to cut meat and understand the rules of thumb in the cutting meat. If you don’t think you are able to do this, just choose the items that require little, if any, cutting.
I raised four children this way and saved enormous amounts of money on food while still feeding them very well and packing awesome lunches for them everyday. I am no butcher so I just searched on google about cutting meat.
You can find items like these at restaurant supply or wholesale stores in your area. I have recently seen some items that are available in regular grocery stores.
Instead of buying trayed meats at the grocery store (one meal or two) – buy whole items or cases. For example, two chicken legs (thighs attached) will cost $2.50 - $3.00. A whole chicken costs around $5.00. A decent steak is anywhere from $6 - $9. If you are feeding a family of four – this amounts to at least $24 for the meal and that is just the meat part of the meal. Chicken breast, ribs, pork chops, steak, roasts and even luncheon meats can be bought in bulk. I buy various sizes of freezer bags and portion everything in meal sizes. Look for meat sales when they are decent.
Case of Chicken Breast (you want the individually frozen ones so it isn’t one big frozen piece).
Case of Whole Chickens - 8 -10 in a case. Usually sold frozen.
Striploin Roasts or Strips - Must be fresh, not frozen. You can cut this into roast size meals or individual steaks. I choose roast size and then I can thaw and cut the roast into steaks if that is how I am going to cook it.
Pork Loin Strips - same as the striploin roasts
Case of Back or Side Ribs - Must be fresh, not frozen.
Fresh Ground Beef - you will find exceedingly large fresh quantities at the wholesaler. Five to ten lb trays are good.
Case of bacon - Must be fresh, not frozen.
Loaves of smoked turkey, chicken breast, bologna, salami, ham etc. (huge savings here – invest in a slicer or a really good electric knife for slicing (keep blade sharp).
Sirloin Tip Piece or Inside Round of Beef - these vary in size from 20-45 lbs usually. For these items, you will have to have some knowledge of cutting meat. Always cut against the grain as meat cut with the grain will be tougher. These pieces are a great buy if you are able. The Inside Round of Beef piece will have varying pieces you will remove and you have to be careful as the grain changes from piece to piece. You will be able to cut roasts, sirloin tip pieces for stir fry, stewing beef, steaks etc and the quantity you get will amaze you. (Outside Round will be available also but the steaks won’t be as nice – buy this one if you will cut mostly roasts - great to buy for winter months and will probably last through the entire winter, cheaper in price too).
Eye of Round Roasts - For those who think the inside Round of Beef would be daunting, Eye of Round will cut decent steaks and roasts. You may want to tenderize the steaks a little. This piece is usually long and you should only have to cut down for each steak or roast once. These are much smaller and you may require a few but will still save you money.
Cut or portion all meats into meal size bags or containers. Mark the bag/container with the name of the item and freeze.
There are a few things you must have to carry out this methodology.
First, invest in a freezer. It doesn’t have to be a huge freezer or even a new one, but I do suggest it be an energy saver model, otherwise the money you are saving on the shopping will be sucked away on your power bill if you are running one of those old heavy freezers constantly. You can find these for sale at used appliance stores or kijiji type websites for $75 - $100.
Second, if you want to buy the bulk sugar, flour, rice ,dog food etc. then purchase a few airtight sealable containers (5-10 gallon).
Purchase the items that make sense to you and are used by your family.
As someone who enjoys cooking and baking, I took advantage of a lot of the bulk buying because I used flour, sugar etc. constantly. I also buy case lots of berries when in season and freeze packages individually for cobbler and other recipes. In summer I would pick berries when available and make jam, freezing the excess berries to use in winter. You could also do this with vegetables.
My children never were fond of many of the prepared cookies, muffins, jams etc. so I used to make my own. I would make a large quantity and freeze them.
Once you accomplish the bulk buying and have yourself set up, you will only have to visit the store briefly once or twice weekly, to pick up your fresh dairy, fruits and vegetables. How long the bulk buying lasts will amaze you and it also makes your life so much simpler.
My children are older now but I continue to buy this way and take them care packages at university etc. They believe themselves to be the best fed students on campus and I don’t worry as much as I know they are eating well.
Years ago, my father in-law (God rest his soul), was fond of saying the Poor Man Pays Double. He in fact, was very correct in that saying and I want to explain why.
The saying essentially means that the more money you have, the more capable you are of saving money when it comes to buying. In other words, the person with less money will spend more per item than the person with more money.
To put it into terms you can understand: The person with limited funds will buy the 8 roll toilet paper package for $4 dollars because of the price. If they had more money available they could have spent the extra $3 to buy the 24 roll package and tripled the amount while not tripling the price. The price per roll for the poor man is .50 cents per roll, and for the purchaser with a bigger budget .29 cents.
It may not seem like a lot but when you apply that spending method to all your purchases, it adds up very quickly and at the end of the exercise you will be better stocked at home, have better meals and reduce the number of trips and time spent in grocery stores. It’s just smarter buying.
Examples of Dry Goods
Cases of soup/vegetables/other canned goods - instead of individual cans.
Large bags of sugar/flour/rice/pet food instead of small bags.
Large boxes of cereal instead of little ones.
Case lots of Kleenex, napkins, paper towels.
Large boxes of detergent.
Large refillable jugs for windex, handsoap, bar soap, shampoo, toothpaste.
Cases of 24 or 30 granola bars and snack foods rather than the small boxes of 8.
Always buy the largest size available of whatever items you buy.
Meats
In order to follow this list, you may have to know how to cut meat and understand the rules of thumb in the cutting meat. If you don’t think you are able to do this, just choose the items that require little, if any, cutting.
I raised four children this way and saved enormous amounts of money on food while still feeding them very well and packing awesome lunches for them everyday. I am no butcher so I just searched on google about cutting meat.
You can find items like these at restaurant supply or wholesale stores in your area. I have recently seen some items that are available in regular grocery stores.
Instead of buying trayed meats at the grocery store (one meal or two) – buy whole items or cases. For example, two chicken legs (thighs attached) will cost $2.50 - $3.00. A whole chicken costs around $5.00. A decent steak is anywhere from $6 - $9. If you are feeding a family of four – this amounts to at least $24 for the meal and that is just the meat part of the meal. Chicken breast, ribs, pork chops, steak, roasts and even luncheon meats can be bought in bulk. I buy various sizes of freezer bags and portion everything in meal sizes. Look for meat sales when they are decent.
Case of Chicken Breast (you want the individually frozen ones so it isn’t one big frozen piece).
Case of Whole Chickens - 8 -10 in a case. Usually sold frozen.
Striploin Roasts or Strips - Must be fresh, not frozen. You can cut this into roast size meals or individual steaks. I choose roast size and then I can thaw and cut the roast into steaks if that is how I am going to cook it.
Pork Loin Strips - same as the striploin roasts
Case of Back or Side Ribs - Must be fresh, not frozen.
Fresh Ground Beef - you will find exceedingly large fresh quantities at the wholesaler. Five to ten lb trays are good.
Case of bacon - Must be fresh, not frozen.
Loaves of smoked turkey, chicken breast, bologna, salami, ham etc. (huge savings here – invest in a slicer or a really good electric knife for slicing (keep blade sharp).
Sirloin Tip Piece or Inside Round of Beef - these vary in size from 20-45 lbs usually. For these items, you will have to have some knowledge of cutting meat. Always cut against the grain as meat cut with the grain will be tougher. These pieces are a great buy if you are able. The Inside Round of Beef piece will have varying pieces you will remove and you have to be careful as the grain changes from piece to piece. You will be able to cut roasts, sirloin tip pieces for stir fry, stewing beef, steaks etc and the quantity you get will amaze you. (Outside Round will be available also but the steaks won’t be as nice – buy this one if you will cut mostly roasts - great to buy for winter months and will probably last through the entire winter, cheaper in price too).
Eye of Round Roasts - For those who think the inside Round of Beef would be daunting, Eye of Round will cut decent steaks and roasts. You may want to tenderize the steaks a little. This piece is usually long and you should only have to cut down for each steak or roast once. These are much smaller and you may require a few but will still save you money.
Cut or portion all meats into meal size bags or containers. Mark the bag/container with the name of the item and freeze.
There are a few things you must have to carry out this methodology.
First, invest in a freezer. It doesn’t have to be a huge freezer or even a new one, but I do suggest it be an energy saver model, otherwise the money you are saving on the shopping will be sucked away on your power bill if you are running one of those old heavy freezers constantly. You can find these for sale at used appliance stores or kijiji type websites for $75 - $100.
Second, if you want to buy the bulk sugar, flour, rice ,dog food etc. then purchase a few airtight sealable containers (5-10 gallon).
Purchase the items that make sense to you and are used by your family.
As someone who enjoys cooking and baking, I took advantage of a lot of the bulk buying because I used flour, sugar etc. constantly. I also buy case lots of berries when in season and freeze packages individually for cobbler and other recipes. In summer I would pick berries when available and make jam, freezing the excess berries to use in winter. You could also do this with vegetables.
My children never were fond of many of the prepared cookies, muffins, jams etc. so I used to make my own. I would make a large quantity and freeze them.
Once you accomplish the bulk buying and have yourself set up, you will only have to visit the store briefly once or twice weekly, to pick up your fresh dairy, fruits and vegetables. How long the bulk buying lasts will amaze you and it also makes your life so much simpler.
My children are older now but I continue to buy this way and take them care packages at university etc. They believe themselves to be the best fed students on campus and I don’t worry as much as I know they are eating well.
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