For you, I wasted 59 cents. For you! Ok, really for me, so I could prove a point and feel smug. My dear Cheapskate, sometimes you tell me you're frugal because you ate a can of beans in lieu of meat. I am not impressed. You can do so much better. I will tell you how. It's simple.
Buy dry beans, not canned.
Here's what I did:
I bought a 16 ounce can of cooked black beans for 59 cents. (Wasteful.)
I bought a 16 ounce bag of dry black beans for 99 cents. (Not wasteful.)
I counted the beans in the can, one by one!!! There were 427 cooked beans in the "59 cents" can.
I counted out 427 dry beans. After that, I felt silly counting beans so I didn't actually count all the beans remaining in the bag of dry beans. I can tell you that 427 dry beans is not even 1/8th of the bag!!! That's around 12 cents for the same number of beans in the "59 cents" can!! The bag of dry beans is still practically full even with 427 beans removed!! Wow! There are lot of beans in that bag. Bean heaven.
You save over 80% by buying dry beans instead of canned beans!! That's a bundle! Imagine saving 80% on everything you spend money on!!
That's like getting five cans of beans for the price of one!! It's like getting four cans of beans free! A whole family could be stuffed with dry beans (I suggest cooking them before eating) for only 59 cents.
When you buy the beans in a can, you're paying someone four times the cost of the beans just to cook them! And put them in a can.
Dry beans are the way to go. What a bargain. Don't get me started on split peas and lentils!!
PS If you're the green type, dry beans must be the superior choice - no cans to manufacture, transport, and recycle.
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Brilliant! I've always been a staunch supporter of dry beans vs. canned beans (and black beans vs. pinto beans) See, people think everything's expensive in the store, but really it's all cheap, you just have to look around a little bit, push aside the veil.
ReplyDeleteFrugalLady:
Tip: when you're soaking your beans overnight, add a little baking soda. This takes the fart out of them.
Recipe: Southwestern Salad.
Ingredients:
Cooked and strained black beans and corn kernels
Carrots, red bell pepper, onion chopped into chunks the size of the beans and kernels
lemon juice (from your lemon tree)
Mix it all up. You can substitute the vegetables for whatever is cheap or free or handy. And it's the lemon that brings it all together, so you need that.
Good Luck
Peter, your tip about the baking soda is wonderful!! Beano is too expensive for cheapskates, and this is the perfect, cheap, solution!!!
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