Imma cheap old bird

Pardon to those reading that know me from other forums etc. I am "Reprinting" some stuff I posted in them.

Fresh Pork Loin, Mashed tators, green beans.
Total meal cost ..under 4 bones

There is a chain grocery place on the west coast called The Grocery Outlet http://www.groceryoutlet.com/

Tho most of the products they carry are brand names you have never heard of, buts its all good food. Its not a scratch and dent place, nor do they sell outdated or about to be outdated items. Many of the brand name items they have are promotional things that have since outlived the "trend", such as Dr Pepper with Spiderman on the can instead of whatever movie hero is popular right now, or limited size or packaging styles. I have found some "off" brand snacks that taste home made and also some pre packaged meals that are better than what Mom makes .. stroganoffs and stuff like that. I have found a brand of "Rice-a-roni" style rice at 1/4 the cost and 10 times better flavor.

Carnation or Borden condensed milks run 2+ bucks a can.. "Joes" condensed milk.. 79 cents. Tastes and cooks the same to me! Same with other canned goods. Brand name stuff like Campbells soups with the old label on them.. 59 cents.. the companies just want this stuff gone and out of their warehouses and off the big name stores shelves so they can pedal the new look (And higher prices LOL!) to the masses.

Problem is, like Big Lots.. often times you can not find the same things twice. So.. you can have fun trying new things and if you get a dud on occasion, you haven't lost a lot of money.

I get pounds of Folgers coffee in those vacuum packages instead of the cute plastic cans.. 2.99 each. I have a plastic can from an old purchase.. I put the foil packaged stuff in it when I need it

One of the wasteful things we do not think about (Because it never occurs to us) is that a LOT of good food gets chucked right at the factory because of our expectations that everything be/look perfect.

The green beans I buy for 59 cents a can are shorter than what you would expect. They are the non uniform sized "Leftovers" from the cuts. It has been ingrained in us that "things" must be consistent and look just like the same "thing" next to it. They taste exactly the same, they have the same nutritional value, they are just different lengths.

Makes you wonder just how much food has been tossed in the bog over the years for something as non important as a measurement.

So, some (Or several) resourceful company purchases the odd sized beans and cans them.. they probably make a huge profit doing so as well. I don't care. I can have a full good and balanced meal for under 3 bucks using these products. When money was not really an object, I never thought about these things. I wish I had. I may have a larger cash store than I do now.

It goes along with my new moto.. "Its not what you make, its what you don't spend".