Another great way to save money is to start canning. If you don't have a garden it still can save you money if you buy the produce while it still in season.

This is what I have done in the last two days.

(8) pints of Bread & Butter pickles, I used cucumbers from my garden.
(5) Pints of diced tomatoes, from the garden
(4) pints of Blueberry Syrup
(5) Pints of Blueberry Jam

I purchased the Blueberries from the Shipshewana flea market for $1.70/# which figured to be just over .85/ pint. Which is cheaper than you can get them anywhere around here. The other positive is I didn't have to pick them, so it also saves me time.
Another great thing about canning is that you can give these items as gifts at Christmas and you'll have no rushing around at Christmas trying to find gifts.



I will say you do start off spending a little more out of pocket but the investment in the jars will be well worth it. Also, they have had coupons for the jars in the paper so you can also save on those.

I bought some of my pints at garage sales and I bought some at Rural King on sale for $6.49 - the $1.50 MQ = .42/jar. If you put stuff from your garden in them then you only have the jar price and that is cheaper than any canned veggies right now!

I have also recently canned chicken and potatoes that I picked up at Kroger for almost nothing.

If you haven't canned before please consider doing it to help you cut your budget.

(Hint: If you use the package of Mrs. Wags Bread & Butter Pickles, I reccommend NOT packing your cucmbers first as the directions indicate. I would add the cucmbers to the liquid and then put into jars. You will use less jars and have more pickles per jar. As you can see in my photo the cukes shrink after adding the hot liquid and causes them to floatwith extra room.)