Things to Cut When Money Is Tight...2026 November Edition

 1) overstocking...

The "prepping" stuff is upping in my youtube algorithm and I am tempted to REALLY stock up for winter.

Alas, not much storage due to living in the wee shed.  And it freezing and thawing a lot.

As you stock up, also take stock (see what I did there?) of your stock (enough already).

I look at what I still have hanging around un-eaten, un-used, and try to remember what went to waste.

Don't stock so much of that!  Also, what I tend to just binge eat rather than enjoying gradually all winter (farewell almond butter...on a spoon).  

What didn't work:  

--Cheap sardines.  Expensive sardines YES.  Cheap salty slimy brands...NO.  No point in stocking what I won't eat. (Adjustment: expensive sardines stocked up when on sale and stored at work to avoid the freeze/thaw cycle when I'm out of town for a few days in winter)

--nutbutter (I just eat it immediately)

--olive oil (left it at home and it was so cold it wasn't pourable for months...adjustment: liquid oil only at work and only enough for salads and on microwaved potatoes and squash)

--...that's about it.  I've learned over the years. 

What DOES work for me:

--beans from New Mexico and local growers near home (delicious, cook up faster and easy to cook on the woodstove in winter.  Aging beans from the store just aren't as good but I will use them in a pinch)

--home jarred/canned meat and fish in the office pantry cupboard to avoid freeze/thaw.  Easy to take a jar home and make a fast stew

--apples.  Generally what I pick myself.  They store for ages because they are random old breeds.

--local hard winter squash.  Stores for ages without special conditions.  

--sprouting seeds.  Great when I remember to sprout them!  Cheap winter fresh greens.

--berries (this year it's Service berries, raspberries and blueberries) in jars of vinegar in the office pantry.   These taste like fresh berries on pancakes or in breads or on salads with a bit of oil for instant dressing.  Also good in stews when tomatoes are not a thing.  I take them home a quart at a time from the work pantry cupboard and use them up.  The vinegar that is left over can be used on one more batch of berries if I put in a bit of vinegar mother (which has usually sprouted on at least one jar of berries) to keep it fermenting and acid enough.  Then the delicious berry flavored vinegar is used as salad dressing or a bit in water with some honey as a sort of berry-vinegar version of lemonade.  Some gets used to make homemade mustard from whole mustard seed.

--dried food (apples, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and jerky currently in stock).  These can be at home with the dry beans and make up a stew base or the fruits put in oatmeal or just eaten as is.

--onions.  At home until they might freeze, then I buy in small quanties for main part of winter to avoid freeze/thaw issues.

--jam and honey in the work pantry cupboard (This year it's partly honey from the co-op bees at a friend's house!  Three of us worked together and jointly paid for them and we each got about 5 or 6 pints of honey!  So cool.  We spun it out ourselves with a hand cranked spinner...messy and fun.)

--dry grains (current stock: a few types of flour, just 1 quart jar each, posole, wheat berries (I think...), chicos, oatmeal.)  Store anywhere, don't mind a bit of freeze/thaw cycling and cook up nicely on a warm woodstove all day.  If you haven't had chicos (corn dried in an horno or earth oven) you are missing out.   EXPENSIVE but amazing.  I'd like to get some parched wild rice in but I think I have enough grain so maybe leave that for next year.

--coffee beans.   To go with my hand grinder.   Because, I like coffee and process so it works for me.  I currently have about 3lbs of coffee beans which is a few months of supply.  (thanks Chris for the last pound..it is REALLY good stuff).

Through winter I buy a week or 2 worth of root veg at a time so it's not ALL dry veg and canned meat or dry beans.  I will also be making a quart of sauerkraut at a time now and then through winter when I know it won't freeze.  Just takes about 5 min of chopping and cramming into a jar.  Maybe some ginger carrots now and then as well.  I like fermenting and it stretches the shelf life of the food a bit as well as upping the nutrition and flavor.

Over stock is waste.  And expense.  Think about culling and sharing out what you aren't going to consume and focussing on what you do eat and like.

Over stock is the same for clothes, cleaning supplies, hygiene products etc.