Today I’d like to talk about price caps-what they are and why food budget success depends on them!
A price cap is a the highest set price you allow yourself to spend on a specific item. For example, my price cap on grapes is 1.98/lb. I refuse to spend a penny more on grapes than 1.98/lb. because if they are over that amount they probably aren’t in season which means they will be poorer quality. Also, a price cap protects your food budget from overspending on one item so you will still be able to afford enough food with the budget you have. My price cap for apples is 99 cents. One of my favorite apples is fuji-I’m not a fan of red delicious and neither is my husband so when Fuji apples hit less than a dollar, my kids break out the peanut butter! Having set price caps makes it easier to walk away when the item is prices over your budget.
Depending on your budget you can adjust your price caps. To me, 1.98/lb for grapes is pretty generous because when they are in season the common sale prices are 99 cents/lb to 1.49/lb. my price cap for grapes is higher than the lowest prices because my little kids love grapes and they are easy to put in a baggie on the go or bring to church as a snack. HOWEVER, if money is tighter it doesn’t matter how convenient grapes are or how much my kids like them-my price cap on any produce would be .99/lb. which usually means we would stick to apples, bananas, and oranges most of the time. My cap on bell peppers is .99/each but at the store thy are an amazing 57 cents! I know that during the winter bell peppers hike up to 1.89 each so when they are in season for such a great price I buy a bag stuffed full so that when I get home I can slice them up for fajitas or dice them up for sloppy joes or omelets, enchiladas, etc. I use quart freezer bags to put them in and freeze them-chopping them all up at once saves me a bus load of time when dinner preparations come around. I Wash them all at once get out the cutting board once and wash one knife. Walah! My kids inherited their love of fresh bell peppers from their father. I eat them raw only because they are good for me- my kids think I love them! On the other hand, I absolutely love cooked bell peppers! I think they make a pizza and I absolutely LOVE fajitas! Yum I think my mouth just started to water… ANYWAYS, oh yeah-price caps! I don’t have a paper with all of them written down, they are just in my head but I should probably write the list down someday for my kids-when I went to college I didn’t know what was a good deal and a bad deal and sometimes my mom forgot too because she just bought stuff once a year at case lot sales!
Here is an example of why price caps are a good idea:
Scenario 1: You go to the store because you want to make guacamole for game night with friends. You have ten bucks in your pocket. Unfortunately avacodos are 1.49 each at the moment and you know you will need five of them to mash and get the amount you need for the group. Set on guacamole though, you pick five avacodos, get a small onion at .49/lb. , 2 limes at .20 each, and 2 tomatoes which you notice are a very good price at .88/lb. You pick up a bag of chips for 2 dollars. Your total comes to 10.37 plus tax equals 10.99, more than you have. You decide you need to make a smaller batch to afford it and take out 1 avacodo, bringing your total down to 9.41. You happily checkout because you get to make guacamole and secretly hope some people their don’t like it or aren’t that hungry because you have to make a smaller amount.
Scenario 2: You go to the store because you want to make guacamole for game night. You see that avacodos are 1.49 each and immediately know that’s not gonna happen because your price cap on avacodos is .99 each. Looking around for another idea you see that tomatoes are a great deal at .88/lb. Maybe you can make salsa instead?! You grab 8 tomatoes, 2 small onions at .49/lb., one lime at .20 each, a bunch of cilantro at .88/bunch, and a bag of chips for 2 dollars. You don’t want spicy salsa but you do like the flavor that peppers add so you go get a can of fire grilled chillies, mild for .52. Your total comes to 6.58 plus tax is 6.98. You remember the kids were out of toothpaste last night and had to use Mom and dads “spicy” toothpaste so you swing over and grab a new kids toothpaste for 2.29. Your total is now 9.40. You leave happy knowing that you stayed within your budget and there will be plenty of salsa for everyone-plus the kids will be excited to brush their teeth tonight!
Important price caps off the top of my head:
ground beef 93/7 -3.99/lb.
Chicken breast -1.98/lb.
canned veges- .50
Butter- 2.50/lb
cucumbers- .59/each
Milk- 1.99/gal
Gummies- .13/pouch
cereal- .16/ounce
The only exception to my price caps is if an item is requested by the birthday boy or girl for their special day.
One of the greatest quotes of all time:
“Make it do, or do without.”
Learn to really think about ways to save money, or use what you have and not spend anything at all. Do you really need it or just want it? If you really do need it, can you use what you have to make it or make something that would suit its purpose? Hanging up pictures and decorations after we move is such a chore to me because I need to get out the ladder with little kids around, carry a hammer and nails. The only hammer we have is this huge long one and I always think to myself I should just go out and get a small travel size hammer I can fit in my pocket and I would have a lot more motivation to get these pictures up! I tried using a wrench one time, and then it hit me-why couldnt I just use a large smooth flat rock-just like the one the kids kept bringing in the house from outside! That rock is now allowed inside the house.
Take time to sit and think things through. Sometimes I think that is why fasting is so effective for us. We focus on one or two issues, and we don’t eat. Every time we feel a hunger pain we think of what we are fasting for and come up with a solution from our brain and the spirit a lot of times because we are taking time to focus and think about the dilemma.