My wife and I have spent seven years together, and we are constantly finding new ways to stretch our food dollars... Buying whole ingredients in bulk and making things from scratch is the best advice I can offer.. Start small, the little things add up. Last year we were able to buy a Harvest Right freeze drier, fkn expensive, but fkn worth it. We've been cooking large batches of our regular menu, much of it from our garden, and packing it away..

Like bread? Sourdough is easy, just takes a day of prep, with a few steps that take very little effort overall. Once you've got a starter going, you can use it for pancakes, tortillas, pita, deep frying batter, biscuits, donuts, pasta, etc. Buying whole wheat berries or einkorn, even organic, is much cheaper than buying all the products that you already buy but could make yourself.

Maybe twice a year I make large purchases of grains, rice, beans, corn, and that sort of thing - and I mean hundreds of pounds at a time. Most of it goes to long-term storage for preparedness, while the rest goes to daily nutrition.

Bought a quarter beef last year, our avg cost per pound was about $4, and that's for every cut of meat, t-bones, brisket, ground, and several cuts of roasts. Yeah the upfront cost is high, but it's cheaper in the long run.