FRUGAL FRIDAY: CUTTING COSTS ON DAIRY PRODUCTS
1. Unless you buy powdered milk in bulk for a price break, you won’t save money over fresh milk. On one shopping trip, I found a box of generic-brand powdered milk that yields 31 cups of milk was $6.49. If you can buy fresh milk at $3 a gallon, you can get 32 cups for $6. Currently I’ve been able to buy fresh milk for $2.39 a gallon.
2. Milk fat costs. You can often save about 10 cents to 20 cents per gallon by dropping from 2 percent to 1 percent or skim.
3. If you use margarine instead of butter to cut costs, don’t use anything less than 100 percent margarine for baking. The lower-fat spreads have water and fillers that bake poorly (and when poured over popcorn turn it to mush). Real butter is approximately $3-4 per pound, but gives a much better quality product than a water-laden spread. And 100 percent margarine (such as Nucoa) can be $2-3 per pound. Save the less-expensive spreads for your toast.
4. Consider home delivery of milk and bread. It costs more, but it might save on extra trips to the store and impulse buying.
5. There is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs; it has more to do with the color of the hen. White eggs usually cost less.
6. Freeze butter to keep its fresh flavor. Grate it, frozen, over toast, baked potatoes, etc. for portion control.
7. Finely shred cheese when topping pizzas, grilled ham and cheese, etc. You’ll use less.
8. When you’re visiting Cache Valley, stop at Gossner Cheese Factory (about 10th North and 10th West) to buy economy “end cuts” of their cheeses. You can find Swiss and cheddar cheeses for around $2 per pound. The store also sells individual-size shelf-stable milk and flavored milk. These can be great for lunch boxes and don’t need refrigeration.
If you have any frugal-minded tips, please add a comment below!