Single Frugality

I like being single but it is hard work.  Have you ever noticed most everything in the grocery stores are designed for a family of 2.5 plus pet.  And if it is not then it cost you double or more.  Today I was grocery shopping and had milk on my list.  For me to buy milk is a rarity.  I use Nido or evaporated milk for most of my cooking.  But cold cereal just doesn't work with either of those.  And sometime I'd just like to drink a little cold milk.   I usually buy a pint of milk,  have my cereal and drink the rest.  Right now in my grocers, milk is $1.29 pint.  Today I realized that makes that milk $10.32 per gallon.  That's a little hard to take when I could buy a gallon for $3.91. Well penny pincher that I am, I had to buy the gallon.

Now  it will take me a month or more to use that gallon of milk. So my solution to preservation was to also buy 2 of the 12 oz/8pks of pepsi in bottles (on sale).  Pepsi is something I also drink and would have bought it anyway.  I usually buy the 16.9 oz bottles, but the 12 oz was a better size for my milk use.  I am now pouring those 12oz pepsi's into a 16.9 oz bottle to drink (so I don't drink out of them) and then washing the 12oz bottle for the milk.

As each bottle is filled, it then goes in the freezer.  Yes, you can freeze milk. I know this because I had an uncle that worked for Formost.  I drank previously frozen milk for years.  Formost milk is a little richer than most. So when thawed it tastes just like any other milk.  Most frozen store brand milk will be a little richer than 2% but not quite as rich as whole milk that has not been frozen. Either way for $6.41 difference, it will work for me.

Now if you can use whole gallons but still want to freeze it when it is on sale.  There are a couple of thing you should know.  First you can't freeze it in it's original container.  There is no room for it to expand.  With the 12oz bottles I leave enough room for the liquid to expand when it freezes.  Second, even if that container had room it won't take freezing well. You can freeze it,  but if you bump it, it will break most of the time.  Different plastic than the soda bottle.

I just spent the last couple of days re-packaging meat and canning some peach jam from a #10 can of peaches. No I did not buy a #10 can of peaches. A friend had it left over from when she sold her food concession business last year and was going to throw it away.  I hate waste, but there was no way either of us could eat a whole #10 can of peaches.  I took it anyway and looked at it for a couple of weeks before I decided that I would make peach jam and peach butter out of it.  I now have 3 pints plus a half pint of peach jam and 4 half pints of peach butter.  I will share those with her and we will both have plenty of jelly. 

If you are single you can either spent more money than a family would on the same amount of food.  Or you can learn to do some creative preservation. Which is work.

NOTE:  ... And before I get into ecological trouble about the single serve plastic bottles.  I do recycle what I don't re-use.  I don't like the taste of cans and the 16.9oz bottles are cheaper than the 1 & 2 liter. Also they don't go flat before I can drink it all. I am not green or a prepper, but I am aware. If you are aware you will be a little of both. When you buy those one or two items, you will tell them to keep the bag. When food is on sale, you will stock up.  If everyone would just make a little difference, as a whole it would make a lot of difference. Maybe not utopia, but better.

 And  Further more I also know soda pop is not good for me but we all have our vices.  Pepsi is mine, it could be worse.