Jim:
Great article. You say you have a stock of spices you bought in the 1980s, and this saves you money. As someone who gets a lot of pleasure from good food, I would caution that most spices lose much of their flavor in a short time, certainly within a few years, especially for typical herbs and powdered spices stored in jars as bought in supermarkets.
Yours may be specially packed or stored, or selected long-life types. But for most people, as advised in the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, buying in moderate bulk makes more sense. A mail-order house like penzeys.com (they are pleasant but leftists, and there are surely others out there) will have spices that are superior to supermarket prices at vastly lower prices, if bought not in jars but in zip-lock envelopes of about 4 ounces each. Fill a spice jar halfway for normal use, and keep the rest in the envelope in the freezer until a refill is needed. You’ll always have fresh spices, not the stale ones that everyone has gotten so used to (most people are amazed when they compare a sniff of their old jar of garlic powder to a freshly opened package that just arrived in the mail.) Best, – Jake Stafford
Sir;
In reference to your recent article about coping with inflation, I did research of my own and found a table/chart of interest.
This last November had the highest rate of inflation, since the year 2000. It reinforces the need of investing in tangibles versus wasting money in savings and investments [that don’t keep ahead of inflation.] Thank for your great source of info. – EG
Dear Jim:
For those people with a budget crunch (almost everyone), suggest that they look into Angel Food Ministries. There is no income qualification, the food is of excellent quality, and there is probably a church near most people that is a part of this ministry. About two months ago, my wife took the Angel Food menu and priced it our at our local supermarket. The brands were the same and the price at the supermarket came to just under double what Angel Food charges.
This isn’t charity. Rather it’s a wholesale program that allows a family to buy a considerable amount of their monthly groceries at a lower price. I recommend that folks at least go to their web site and check it out for themselves. Cordially, – Jonas
Hi Mr. Rawles,
Another way to save on long distance phone bills is to use one’s cellular phone on nights/weekends where minutes are unlimited, although this is dependent on having service and the carrier. I have Verizon and make all of my long distance phone calls this way. Merry Christmas, – Sam