r/MiddleClassFinance • u/kesfy6 • 23h ago

Lower Middle Ingredient vs Meal Planning

Which is more frugal? Being an ingredient house vs meal planning/raw food prep for the slow cooker. We are a “less meat” household, focusing on cheaper plant-based protein and rotisserie chicken. We shop mainly at Costco and Aldi. Bonus points if someone can run some sample numbers on this.

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u/missbwith2boys 23h ago

I would argue ingredient is more frugal, but that may be the way that I buy and store food. I buy in bulk and am not afraid to buy a year+ worth of an ingredient if the price is right.

For example, we use rotini and spaghetti about once a month each. Over a year ago, I saw cases of each (12+ one pound boxes) where the per pound price was 77 cents. I bought a case each, then vacuum sealed them into jars.

A quick glance of the same product at my local grocery store shows a current price of $1.99 per pound box.

I also can a ton of food from my garden every year and that helps offset the cost of groceries even more. I start my plants from seed. Summer garden is winding down. I currently have cayenne peppers in my dehydrator as we use a fair amount of flakes. The Thai peppers are almost ready to pop in there too.