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LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, I’ve been experiencing sticker shock lately when I step into the grocery store.
Meats, vegetables, paper products, canned goods—everything is costing a lot more. One example: My favorite brand of Good’s thin pretzels now costs $2.50 a bag—75 cents more than I was paying a year ago. Compared to the other brands in the snack aisle, those Good’s pretzels are still a bargain, but it sure doesn’t feel that way.
Along with steeper prices for gas, utilities and other necessities, higher food costs are making it hard for retirees and semi-retired folks like me to stick to a budget. The good news is that core food prices dropped for the sixth straight month in September, but it will take some time for those lower costs to show up on supermarket shelves.
In the meantime, this value-seeking frugalist is doing everything he can to stretch his food dollars while still eating healthily. And those choices start with breakfast.
These days, Rachael and I do most of our grocery shopping at the local Aldi. We figure we save 30% to 40% on groceries by shopping at Aldi rather than the chain supermarkets, and the quality of the food is every bit as good or better. I also find Aldi’s stores to be less overwhelming than big-box supermarkets like Costco, albeit without the yummy handouts. Just remember to bring a quarter for a shopping cart—which you’ll get back when you return the cart.
My day always starts with coffee, and so does my shopping list. With even mass-market brands like Seattle’s Best and Dunkin’ now going for $7 to $8 a package, we’ve been picking up Aldi store-brand Barissimo dark roast ground coffee for about $5 for a 12-ounce package. It’s not Starbucks, but it’s darn good coffee and certainly a lot better value. We get about 16 cups of coffee from each package, so my two morning cups of coffee cost roughly 60 cents.
As for the main meal, we eat a lot of oatmeal. Yeah, I know—porridge is boring. But cooked with an apple and cinnamon, and topped with a touch of brown sugar, walnuts and blueberries, that bowl of oatmeal is not only tasty, but also packs a nutritional punch. Think whole-grain carbs, soluble fiber, protein and other juicy goodness.
In fact, oatmeal is one of the most nutrition-dense meals you can eat. It’s good for the heart, lowers blood sugar and bad cholesterol, and promotes healthy bacteria in the gut, helping to keep that digestive machine running like a clock.
We avoid instant packaged oatmeal with all those artificial flavors and additives, preferring instead the real stuff that comes in a box and requires cooking. Our favorite brand is Aldi’s Millville store brand of steel-cut oats. An 850-gram box of Millville oats costs $3 for 6¾ cups of milled oats. At a quarter cup of oats per serving, each box yields a whopping 27 bowls of oatmeal.
That means each bowl of healthy oatmeal I’m eating in the morning costs about a dime. Throw in the cost of the other ingredients and that figure goes up to maybe a quarter. Which means that overall, including my two cups of coffee, I’m spending less than a buck for a healthy breakfast. Now, that’s value.
Some may say that, in my quest for value, I’m missing out by not stopping at Starbucks or Dunkin’ in the morning and spending $12 for a fresh-brewed cup of coffee and an egg-and-cheese sandwich.
I would beg to differ. I grew up eating oatmeal and consider it to be one of life’s simple pleasures. Our mother used to make a big pot of Quaker oatmeal for us six kids to chow down for breakfast before heading off to school. After setting the piping hot oatmeal in front of us, she would circle the table with a paring knife, cutting slices of banana into our bowls. That hot oatmeal sure felt good in the stomach as we waited to board the bus while blowing steam into the frosty morning air.
These days, whenever I smell oatmeal cooking in the pot in the morning, I think of my mother stirring that pot of goodness on the stove. I think of warmth and home and abundance. I think of all the ways our parents provided for us, despite not having two nickels to rub together. We didn’t go on fancy vacations, didn’t eat at fancy restaurants, but we always had enough, and it was because of things like oatmeal that stretched the dollar.
As I describe in my book The Long Walk Home, memories of those cozy mornings in the old kitchen eating oatmeal with my siblings helped bring me out of a dark period years later, when I was going through a grueling divorce. It’s the simple things, I firmly believe, that not only provide the greatest value in life, but also leave the best memories. Who remembers going to Starbucks?
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For me, I get a healthy one for less than a buck. Now, if only I could cut down on those snacks.
James Kerr led global communications, public relations and social media for a number of Fortune 500 technology firms before leaving the corporate world to pursue his passion for writing and storytelling. His debut book, “The Long Walk Home: How I Lost My Job as a Corporate Remora Fish and Rediscovered My Life’s Purpose,” was published in 2022 by Blydyn Square Books. Jim blogs at PeaceableMan.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesBKerr and check out his previous articles.
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aw geez, the article ended too soon, I thought you were going to go on to talk about lunch & dinner, perhaps. Anyway, it’s a great evocative article, sure is a sign of a good writer, drawing the reader in & making them want more.
yes! I make homemade granola with oats and nuts and we even take it when we travel to mix with fruit and yogurt, so yummy and frugal!
Try making some “zesty” style. Add olive oil, garlic salt and Parmesan cheese!
I love the imagery of your mother circling the table with the paring knive and banana. What wonderful warm memories for you and your siblings .
Great article! Frugality is such a wonderful thing as prices rise and portfolios decline.
My son turned me on to this simple, tasty treat.
https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/overnight-oats/
Just a side note — you might want to get a coffee grinder and buy whole beans instead. I have the one recommended by the NYT site Wirecutter and it’s a real step up in quality to have fresh-ground instead of beans that have been oxidizing since they were ground and packaged. If you have a friend with a grinder maybe you can try ground vs fresh-ground side by side and see what you think.
Great suggestion, Mark! I’ll check it out!
So far, bananas are still reasonable – here they are $.69/lb, but it’s only a matter of time. My parents were products of the Great Depression so it is easy for me to revert to frugality. I’m afraid the grandchildren will be suffering, though.
I love oatmeal! I use my Instant Pot to make a batch, and it will last me at least three days. I use Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and unsweetened almond milk, a pinch of salt, a little knob of butter, and maybe a pinch of cinnamon. Then I put whatever fruit/nuts combo I have or am in the mood for on the finished product.
I can start the oatmeal in the IP when I get up in the morning, and by the time I’ve showered and am ready to eat, it’s done.
Yum!
Even though oats of all types have literally doubled in price over the past year or so, as you point out they are still a good value. I’ve learned the differences between steel-cut and rolled, teaching myself how to cook the various types due to our local store not always having my preferred version. They’re all great stuff!
Right on. Really appreciate articles like this. Oats are a great staple food and your family recipe looks very comforting indeed. I don’t eat a lot of oatmeal because I don’t make time to cook it properly, but I do use quite a bit of instant oats to mix into smoothies.
There may only be one other frugal food I eat more than oats but I appreciate equally. PEANUT BUTTER.
Yes! I love peanut butter as well. Loaded with protein and the good fats.
I like oatmeal when it’s cold outside. My go to breakfast is triple berries, (big frozen bag from Costco), greek yogurt, honey and Grape Nuts all mixed together. Wish I had Aldis or Trader Joes nearby!
James, great contribution—thanks. Another oatmeal fan here. I make a bowl for my wife and myself every morning and you’re right—the extra ingredients can really jazz it up. I add: oat bran, raisins, cinnamon, hemp seed, flax seed, walnuts, apple, blueberries, strawberries, and often an additional fruit like raspberries, blackberries, peaches, or bananas. Whew! I guess I go a little overboard, but it makes for a great bowl.
Sounds good, Andrew. I forgot to mention in the article that I add a spoonful of flax seeds for some protein.
Leftover pizza and sugar free caffenated lemonade, total cost $0.75. Preparation time 2 minutes to reheat the pizza.
I agree about oatmeal! I have a bowl of the old-fashioned kind every morning of the year.
James, I’m reminded of the Dictionary’s entry for oats https://harpers.org/2007/07/dr-johnson-on-oats/. But I’m an oatmeal lover myself.