To All My College "Peeps"

One of my favorite college girls left a comment yesterday asking how college kids can shop more efficiently and save money. Great question!

When Colin decided he wanted to go to Full Sail University - everything looked great - the teachers, the location,the program - he will come out with his bachelors in just under 2 years - not bad!! The only downside was that there are no dorms - our son would not only be living on his own, doing all his own laundry, cleaning his apartment but also cooking all his own meals. The first 3-no problem, the last took a little prep work. So the summer before he left, he grocery shopped, cooked more meals and we talked a lot about meal planning. We even wrote up 3 x 5 cards that listed meal options and all the ingredients he would need to make it. Since he has a limited budget, eating out is not on his meal plan. He called me last week at 9pm to ask how to make chicken cordon blue - yeah, I would say he is doing OK!

So if you need some help with frugal ways to make your grocery money last as well as the food that you buy with it - read on.

You defiantly get a better deal on food if you buy in bulk but how do you keep it fresh as long as possible. When I get home from grocery shopping I divide all the meat I bought into amounts that I would use for a meal - so a 3lb package of ground meat will go into 3 separate *Ziploc, I write the date on the bag and then put it into the freezer.

If I am feeling ambitious I will cook it up first, then divide it and freeze it - that way when I pull it out, all I have to do is defrost and add it to the recipe - that cuts the prep time in half.

Chicken is great for this - I cook it in the crock pot or you can put it in a pot of water on the stove - just add salt and pepper - then pick out the bones and skin and will have cooked chicken to use for the week or I can put it in the freezer and pull it out as needed. Just make sure you package it in smaller portions.
Added bonus - I make chicken soup from the stock.

Repeat after me "The freezer is your friend" - but keep track of what you have in there and how long it's been there. Tape a piece of paper on the outside of the freezer and write the food you put in along with the date. When you use it, cross it off. So at a glance, you know what you have and how long it's been in there. I'm a generous landlord, but after a year - it has to go.

Things that I freeze:

Bread,bagels and rolls - if rolls start to go bad, I stick them in the freezer and use them for garlic bread.

Butter

Shredded cheese - it defrosts great in the fridge (never defrost in the microwave) and will last for months - I stock up when it is 3/$5

Nuts and Frozen Fruit - we always have this on hand for smoothies, oatmeal and yogurt

Bananas - I peel them, put them on a plate and when frozen put them in a *Ziploc and back in the freezer

Ice Cream - are you still with me????

So there are some ideas. When you are shopping for 1 or 2 people it is still worth it to look for a good deal, stockpile, food share with some friends and freeze all that you can - hope these ideas make you a lot of cents!! Now get back to studying and call your mom!!

* When I say Ziploc what I mean is the cheapest generic brand of bag that zips shut!