If you're trying to keep to a food budget, sometimes you have to make hard choices between what you want and what you can afford. But it can't be all about sacrificing - we need some luxury now and then, too! Here are our thoughts on when to splurge and when to save. What are yours?
We all have different budgets and we definitely have different ideas of what constitutes a splurge or a save. Tricks like shopping at different grocery stores to find the best products and stocking up when the deals are good are ways to find a compromise between cost and quality.
When to Splurge
Spices - We really believe that high quality seasonings can lift a dish from mediocre to amazing. Plus, we tend to need less of a good-quality, fresh spice to season our food, which spreads out the cost a bit.
Oil and Vinegar - Like spices, we think it's a good idea to invest in a quality bottle of olive oil and a few quality vinegars. Note that we said a few! Even those of us who love to collect every unusual oil and vinegar we find would agree that we don't actually need all of them.
Ingredients You Care About - If buying grass-fed beef or organic produce is important to you, then quality becomes more important than cost. You can still work it into your budget by buying less meat or saving on other ingredients, but it's important to find a way to support your choices.
Special Meals - A fun dinner party is a treat for both you and your guests! If you've been sticking to a tight budget, reward yourself every once in a while to a nice dinner with everything you've been missing.
When to Save
Fruits and Vegetables - If you buy in season, you can usually buy good quality produce at affordable prices. As tempting as it is, you might want to put down that heirloom purple cauliflower that's selling for $8 a pound and stick with the vegetables you eat every day.
Dry Beans, Pasta, and Grains - The bulk bins are your friends for these ingredients. Take a pass on the little 8-ounce packages of imported Italian pasta and stock up in the bulk aisle.
Ingredients You Don't Use Often - Especially perishable ones! If you know you're not going to use that expensive saffron before it loses its potency, maybe better not to spend the money. Ditto on the artisan-made nut oil that you probably won't use very often or any other specialty ingredient you don't think you'll use before the expiration date.
We found it surprisingly difficult to come up with even these few solid suggestions for spending and saving. We could think of counter arguments and special circumstances to negate almost each one! A lot of it comes down to our own particular values and habits.
So now we're curious to hear what you think: When do you splurge and when do you save?
Related: Conscientious Cook: What Should You Buy Organic?
(Image: Flickr member luz licensed under Creative Commons)
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We are very privileged to have access to such a large variety of foods of great quality. I think it's a good idea to read something like the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder to get a sense of how limited diet was for our ancestors. But then they were able to celebrate and enjoy peppermint sticks or oranges at special occasions like Christmas, or maple candy at the sugaring off. I think there's something to be learned from that. I've been trying to eat more locally and simply and save my splurges for times with friends on holidays or special occasions. I think it does make those treats more enjoyable. If I only eat ice cream once or twice a year when I'm at the Cape with my friends, or if I have fantastic handmade chocolates visiting friends I only see once a year, then those splurges are not only enjoyable as food but they are also associated with wonderful times!
The way my life works, there are lots of occasions, too many ingredients I care about, so many spices, and forget about oil and vinegar...If I let myself splurge in all 4 categories, forget it: budget busted. For me, I find that I have to settle for the middle ground. I don't use the finest olive oil. Nor do I use the cheapest stuff I can find. Ditto for balsamic vinegar, mustards, jams, you name it.
The downside is obvious: I rarely--very rarely--cook with anything truly spectacular. Except produce--perfect local in season corn is both spectacular and cheap. It's also a briefly available pleasure. The upside is that I'm never exactly deprived, either. So if I want to spend a little more for a favorite pasta brand instead of the bin, I will.
I totally agree on the dry beans, pasta and grains. The other perk to buying from a bulk bin is that they often have better selection and will usually let you bring your own containers so you waste less packaging. I've heard that pre-cooked beans freeze very well, too, so you can save there instead of needing to buy canned beans. Perk: they taste better when cooked at home.
Save on salt, in my opinon. NaCl is NaCl is NaCl. I happen to like the texture of coarse kosher salt sprinkled on a pasta salad at the last minute but in dishes it tastes exactly the same as flakey salt, pink salt or what have you. I find it extremely difficult to believe that trace minerals would make any kind of difference in a blind taste test so why pay $7 for a teensy can?
I'm perfectly willing to splurge a bit on cheese since it's one of my true culinary loves. Really delicious honey, too. I would say splurge on things you really love but keep it occasional. I'm not buying $25/lb cheese every day!
I couldn't agree more with Charlotte. I read an article on here not too long ago about the difference between being a foodie and a cook, and I think a lot of that boils down to economics. I live on a VERY tight budget, and being able to splurge on fresh herbs and flavored oils simply isn't possible. A splurge for me is a good jar of pasta sauce over Ragu, lol.
One of the most important budgeting lessons I've learned has been following the cycle of the local grocery stores for marking things down. I used to think it was smart to scarf up jars of sauce when they went on sale, but then I realized that sauce is ALWAYS on sale at one store or another. So for me, I've learned that making a menu and list each week and sticking to it makes the most budget sense.
For me it's cheese-- sometimes a small amount that comes to maybe $6-- so the price per oz is up there, but overall it's just a little splurge and so worth it!
Oh god, I love that someone referenced Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Since I'm a vegetarian, I save on produce, soy products (tofu, soy yogurt and tempeh) and bulk bin items (including spices), and my husband saves on meat and cheese.
Where I will splurge are on healthier versions of processed foods, although I only buy those on sale, too. So, I'll buy a Larabar instead of a regular granola bar, but only when Larabars are on sale. Same goes for Amy's Kitchen and Safeway's organic frozen meals. I don't buy any of these products often, but they help feed me when I don't have time to make lunch, or need a snack to get me through a busy afternoon at work.
BrooklynBaker:
I know!!!! I've been thinking about her a lot since reading the recent New Yorker article about her. And the time she gets an orange for Christmas and is really, really excited about it is the scene that has stuck with me the most from all of those books.
Save:
Sauces -- a big can of tomatoes is 1 dollar, a jar of sauce can be 3 or 4. The 5 minutes it takes me to spice up and simmer down those tomatoes is worth the 2 or 3 bucks.
Dressings -- Every dressing I make at home is healthier, tastier, and 10 times cheaper. I can't even stand store bought ranch anymore, it takes 30 seconds to make from scratch.
Snack foods – I avoid all the expensive pre-wrapped, frozen, or processed options to save money, but it ends up being healthier too: fruit, hummus, or hand-popped popcorn
Splurge:
Cheese – nibbling a slice of cave aged gruyere with a glass of wine… feels completely decadent to me, and I save it for my special treat
Meat, Eggs, Dairy – pastured, grass fed, and non-pasteurized whenever possible
Honey – raw wildflower honey from the farmers market is a completely different food from the stuff that comes in the little squeezy bears and totally worth the splurge.
We don't eat meat at home, so I save there, but I definitely splurge sometimes on great cheese. I like supporting great cheese-makers, and there are few greater pleasures for me than a great cheese! I also spend the money to buy high-quality milk and eggs.
I really like what Charlotte said too--it's a really interesting perspective, and I'll be mulling it over for some time, I'm sure.
I am another cheese-splurger. I also over-spend on tea.
Because I live by myself and have to work to avoid waste (esp. of bread, meat, and milk) I will spend a little more per the amount of product if it will last longer or if it comes in a smaller package. For example, spending extra on organic milk is worth it because it lasts twice as long as the "normal" stuff, so I'll be able to finish it before it goes bad!
$6 for a heirloom tomato! Wow. I get about 8 awesome heirloom tomatoes each week as a small part of my CSA.
I thought my $25/wk CSA was a splurge, but... I guess its not that bad.
@mlleErica, totally agree on sauces & dressings. Any prepared food costs more, but those are things that are so easy to make it really doesn't make sense to spend on a jar or bottle.
My husband drives me nuts buying the $9 jar of Rao's marinara when I fall behind in tomato sauce production. He truly believes that the pricier it is, the better. That stuff is watery. Maybe at the restaurant it's good? But the jar stuff is nine dollar tap water flavored with tomatoes.
Save? Stop drinking soda and bottled water. For many people that would immediately drop $10 or more off their weekly food bills.
I used to drink soda all the time. Now I drink it occasionally with certain foods like pizza, etc. Now I appreciate bit much more.
And check the price per ounce on sale items. Store are notorious for putting a smaller item on sale but the price per ounce is still a lot more than the larger item. If it won't go to waste, you're better off buying biog.
My splurges are cheese, meat, poultry and fish. We eat only grass-fed, humanely raised meat and poultry and I buy my fish weekly at the farmer's market from a gentlemen who fishes the Pacific Coast waters sustainably. These are non-negotiable items for me.
@Indy Jeffrey, not true! More often than you'd think, 2 small jars of something will cost you less than one big jar. You're spot on about checking the price per ounce, it'll show you if it's really a deal or not. We just got back from a camping trip where we ate a lot of PB&J, the PB was cheaper in 2 small jars than in one large one just as an example.
I find it's less about splurging occasionally and more about actually using what you buy. We get around this by having a dinner menu that we follow which allows for leftovers to be repurposed into more meals the next few nights. IE: baked chicken and rice leftovers become ginger/ garlic green beans, chicken and rice on day 2 and schredded buffalo chicken sammies on day 3. Slow cooker pot roast is pot roast night 1, BBQ beef sammies night 2 and soup using the crock pot broth and beef end pieces the last night. Salsa chicken with beans and rice is a main dish night 1, then repurposed into burritos night 2 and nacho topping night 3. Major bonus is that we cook once and just reheat/repurpose food 2 more nights that week. Planned leftovers have seriously saved my kitchen budget; not to mention loads of time! I'd encourage anyone to try this out...we're saving $40-50 a week using this method over regular menu planning.
I try to save every way I can. I know that by cutting out soda and bottled water I have saved $$. I also do little things to save, like freezing more foods to eat later.
I would like to start using bulk bins to purchase my spices/grains, but I'm not aware of any in NYC or the western portion of Queens. Any thoughts?
I agree with the poster who mentioned making sure you actually use what you buy. I've been working hard at reducing the amount of waste I throw out. I find that I actually do better by shopping more often and buying less at a time - especially when it comes to produce.
My splurge is on beer. Some of my favorites are $10 for a large bottle, but they are so good.
Making extra quantities of something to use for leftovers is a good way. For example, I made a big fresh stir fry three nights ago, but I threw an extra cup of rice in the rice cooker. Last night, that extra cup got turned into a fried rice dinner that used up a bunch of produce that was going to go bad soon. It took ten minutes to make, and probably cost four bucks.
Cheese is also our household weakness. And we live right near a great cheese shop so it's dangerous.
But the surprising thing is that it turns out that their prices are always lower per lb than the shrink-wrapped graveyard of "fancy" cheeses at the closest supermarket (but not cheaper than the 1/2 lb blocks of cheese in the dairy cases). They're also cheaper than the cheeses at our co-op, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's. They really know how to take care of their cheese, there's a better selection, and we only buy the amounts we need.
So I guess we're saving but we always feel like we're splurging. And we always buy from bulk bins when we can.
Also, getting over feeling weird about whipping out my calculator to figure out which product is the better buy in the supermarket has changed the way I shop. Being aware of how much you're paying per oz/lb/etc. really makes a difference.
One thing I purchased today that I'm glad I splurged on - eggs. Maybe $5/dozen (in NYC) seems crazy, when you can get them for $1-2/dozen. But straight from the farm? Yeah, I'll splurge.
I mostly save on proteins - less meat and expensive fish, more legumes and eggs.
Like many here, I love cheese and will splurge on it, but only occasionally.
My biggest splurge is seasonal: summer fruit, especially cherries and really good peaches.
@taraht: the 4th street co-op on 4th st b/t bowery and 2nd ave is pretty much all bulk bins. And you don't have to be a member to shop in there. Also, Flatbush food co-op on Cortleyou in Brooklyn as a nice bulk bin selection, including spices. You don't need to be a member there either. Natural Frontier Market has bulk bins too, they have several locations in Manhattan and brooklyn. I'm not sure about any places in Queens, though.
Now that I am a poor, un-funded graduate student (hooray, international relations) and not a corporate shill (boo, corporate law), I definately have a very tight food budget. Lots and lots of eggs, pancakes, rice, and whatever meat is .99/lb or less every other week. And the dented cans. Gotta love the dented cans pile. Thus, I usually spend $10/wk or less on food.
I end up buying a lot of whole chickens, butchering them, freezing the pieces separately on a cookie sheet, and then tossing them in a bag. The carcass gets thrown in a pot and simmers with all the random veggie scraps I've been collecting in my freezer. As I spend the majority of my time just sitting in my apartment doing reading, taking a few minutes here and there to skim stock is not exactly a burden.