There was a thread about grocery store prices which I found odd on a homesteading forum. I thought the homesteader is a self sufficient sort with little need for stores (especially for food). That thread does not seem geared towards the theme of this forum (homesteading). It sounded like a discussion of city dwellers or suburbanites.
Our goal as homesteaders has been to be self sufficient and for that which we cant yet produce, we find local sources or do without until it makes sense to acquire. Our mission is to "ion" proof our existence. This means we would not be impacted by
Inflation
Deflation
Depression
Recession
Aggression
Or the stock market
And all the other things that cause food prices to spike. I grew up in this frugal "produce all your own food" lifestyle and we continue it.
The subject of meat prices came up. (First off, DONT BUY MEAT WHEN ITS EXPENSIVE. BUY LOTS WHEN ITS CHEAP AND PRESERVE IT!)
I hunt a lot so wild game makes up the bulk of our meat so when we have a surplus, we can meat or freeze or smoke or freeze dry the meat for lean times. At any given time we always have on hand, wild turkey, hog, deer, small game meats.
Our garden is the same way. Its designed to provide an amazing surplus that we preserve so price changes other feel, are not felt by us.
That does not mean we dont buy meat but we do it only when its a great sale and its local. I just picked up 30 pounds of ground beef (that was the limit per person) for $3 Lb. I put it in 1.5 pound packages and vacuum sealed it which means it will still be good a year from now. We didnt need the ground beef but the price was good so we stocked up. I created a thread last week about mw smoking 30 pounds of pork shoulder that was marked "reduced for quick sale" and we VERY inexpensive (just the way I like to buy meat)
The same is true for things like canned tuna/salmon. We take advantage of sales and stock up.
Its fall again and we are headed into another 6-7 month winter so we moved the season's preserved foods to below ground in another building. Its always dark and 55F in that spot so foods store well. Its where we also store our garden stuff like potatoes, onions, squash, etc.
Food and water security is our daily mission so we keep a lot on hand that is capable of very long term storage. The same is true of cash and fuel. This way, if there is some sort of "ion" event, we don't feel it. Thats what homesteaders do.
Lastly, there is a local "Salvage food" store here with all foods 40% to 50% off normal store prices. Some call it the crushed can store or the expired food store. To date, Ive not come across a single crushed can or any items that were past the silly "best buy" date. That is our source for rice and pasta, butter, etc. When we get it home, its vacuum sealed and goes into cold or frozen storage.
The point being, We dont buy much food and we sure as hell dont buy it when its full price. Thats a fool's errand.
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Our goal as homesteaders has been to be self sufficient and for that which we cant yet produce, we find local sources or do without until it makes sense to acquire. Our mission is to "ion" proof our existence. This means we would not be impacted by
Inflation
Deflation
Depression
Recession
Aggression
Or the stock market
And all the other things that cause food prices to spike. I grew up in this frugal "produce all your own food" lifestyle and we continue it.
The subject of meat prices came up. (First off, DONT BUY MEAT WHEN ITS EXPENSIVE. BUY LOTS WHEN ITS CHEAP AND PRESERVE IT!)
I hunt a lot so wild game makes up the bulk of our meat so when we have a surplus, we can meat or freeze or smoke or freeze dry the meat for lean times. At any given time we always have on hand, wild turkey, hog, deer, small game meats.
Our garden is the same way. Its designed to provide an amazing surplus that we preserve so price changes other feel, are not felt by us.
That does not mean we dont buy meat but we do it only when its a great sale and its local. I just picked up 30 pounds of ground beef (that was the limit per person) for $3 Lb. I put it in 1.5 pound packages and vacuum sealed it which means it will still be good a year from now. We didnt need the ground beef but the price was good so we stocked up. I created a thread last week about mw smoking 30 pounds of pork shoulder that was marked "reduced for quick sale" and we VERY inexpensive (just the way I like to buy meat)
The same is true for things like canned tuna/salmon. We take advantage of sales and stock up.
Its fall again and we are headed into another 6-7 month winter so we moved the season's preserved foods to below ground in another building. Its always dark and 55F in that spot so foods store well. Its where we also store our garden stuff like potatoes, onions, squash, etc.
Food and water security is our daily mission so we keep a lot on hand that is capable of very long term storage. The same is true of cash and fuel. This way, if there is some sort of "ion" event, we don't feel it. Thats what homesteaders do.
Lastly, there is a local "Salvage food" store here with all foods 40% to 50% off normal store prices. Some call it the crushed can store or the expired food store. To date, Ive not come across a single crushed can or any items that were past the silly "best buy" date. That is our source for rice and pasta, butter, etc. When we get it home, its vacuum sealed and goes into cold or frozen storage.
The point being, We dont buy much food and we sure as hell dont buy it when its full price. Thats a fool's errand.
