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Inflation Busting #2 – The Sell-to-Buy Strategy

Inflation Busting #2: Master the Art of "Sell to Buy"

Welcome back to Part 2 of our Inflation Busting series!  In our last post, we kicked off our journey by looking at quick ways to stretch your dollar and stop inflation from eating away at your hard-earned cash.  Today, we’re shifting gears from just cutting costs to actively bringing money back into your household budget.

The concept is simple but powerful: "Sell to Buy."

Instead of opening your wallet or reaching for a credit card when you or your family need something new, turn around and see what you already have—or what you can acquire for free—to cover the cost.  This is a great technique for not only finding money at home, but it can be a solution to the accumulation trap.  (Those of you who have had to deal with an elderly relative's home after they died will know what I mean!)

1. Local Flipping: Nextdoor.com & Facebook Marketplace

When you need something new, commit to making your budget net-zero.

  • Need new clothes?  List a bundle of outgrown or unworn clothes online.  See my shopping tip below to create more 'clothing bundles' that can attract more customers!

  • Need a new dining room table?  Sell your current set first to fund the swap.

Watch for Freebies

One of the easiest ways to build your buying fund without spending a dime upfront is leveraging the "For Sale & Free" tab on Nextdoor.com.  People frequently post perfectly good furniture, home decor, toys, and household items just to clear out space quickly.  Pick up a solid free item locally, clean it up, take a few great pictures, and re-list it on Facebook Marketplace.

Those $20 and $30 wins add up fast into a serious fund for your own household purchases!

And if you search 'free' on Marketplace, you can find giveaway furniture, clothing and bric-a-brac.

2. Expanding to eBay & Etsy (With a Smart Shipping Routine)

If you have smaller items, collectibles, vintage goods, or unique crafts, widening your reach to platforms like eBay and Etsy opens you up to millions of buyers nationwide.

To keep this from taking over your schedule, streamline your listing and shipping routine.  I did this for years while working a full-time legal assistant job!  Check out the strategy below:

  • The 5-Day Monday Strategy: List your items on Monday using a 5-day auction or sale window.  This creates urgency for buyers and aligns all your closing times for the end of the week.

  • Batch Your Shipping:  Don't waste time and gas making daily runs to the post office.  Create a free account at USPS.com to weigh, pay for, and print your postage labels directly from home.  Pack up your orders as they close and make just one single drop-off trip on Saturday morning.

3. Become a Big Box Clearance Hunter

Want another simple way to keep your resale inventory stocked? Make it a habit to check the hidden corners of your local big box stores.

Every major retailer has specific shelves or clearance endcaps tucked away in the back corners of the store. Next time you're swinging in to grab groceries or everyday essentials, take two minutes to check those racks.  If you're a first-timer, you may need to hunt to find these little hiding places, but it's worth the effort.

Big box stores will practically give away perfectly good, brand-new merchandise to clear shelf space for upcoming holidays—whether it's clearing inventory for Halloween, Christmas, or Mother’s Day—or just making room for current bestsellers.  Grabbing an item marked down to next to nothing and putting it up on Marketplace or eBay is an effortless way to keep your resale profits rolling in.

PRO TIP:  Once you find a nice item, take advantage of the store lighting and the item being on an eye-level shelf to take your pictures even before you put it into your trunk!

Get the Whole Family Involved!

Resale hunting doesn't have to be a solo chore. Get the kids involved in the treasure hunt!  Turn weekend trips to garage sales, BOGO sales, Nextdoor freebies, and neighborhood Junk Days into a game.  Teaching them how to spot value, bargain, and sell is a fantastic hands-on lesson in practical finance that pays off for the whole family.

Stay tuned for Inflation Busting #3, where we'll dive into another practical strategy to keep your hard-earned money right where it belongs: in your pocket!

writing-in-layers-short-list

Have a peek behind a real novel.

Check out my novelette Writer's Block that I wrote and narrated!  It's available on Audible but if you want to download for free, click below to get professional audiobook delivery from Bookfunnel

I wrote and narrated it.  It's my first attempt at narration!

Inflation Busting #1 – Bulk Buying & Cooking

Beat Inflation at the Dinner Table: Buying & Cooking in Bulk.

Whether you live alone and only cook occasionally for one, or you have a tribe of kids, this method of watching the sales, buying in bulk, cooking in bulk, and storing in individual meals works for anyone or everyone.

In retirement, this method helps me cooks once a month!  I'm not kidding.  Plus, it's ALWAYS worth my while to go where the sales are.  I don't get a sale on one chicken dinner -- it winds up being a sale on all of my chicken dinners!

I'm going to talk specifically about cooking chicken below, but this can be done with pork, sausage, beef, fish, pizzas, and more.   All the strategies are contained in this one graphic -- that I included in my newsletter.

SEVERAL STRATEGIES IN ONE:

I've compiled several strategies that I call Inflation Busting that have to do with saving money, saving shopping time, saving cooking time, and all the thinking and worrying that goes along with it.

Starting in 2025 and continuing into 2026, I believe everyone is looking for ways to stretch their budget right now. With grocery prices soaring, it can feel like your favorite family meals are becoming a luxury. But with a bit of planning and a few clever techniques, you can enjoy delicious, healthy, and satisfying dinners every night for a fraction of the cost.

My first "Inflation Buster" strategy is incredibly effective, but I want to dive deeper and share the simple, step-by-step process I use to consistently provide my family with amazing meals for well under $5 per serving.

How to Beat Inflation: Step-by-Step

This approach is all about strategic buying and bulk preparation, creating a "convenience store in your freezer." Here’s exactly how to make it work for you:

  1. The Strategic Buy: The entire process begins at the grocery store. This method leverages economies of scale.

    • Buy in Bulk: Head to your local club stores like Sams Club or Costco, or watch the weekly circulars for Walmart, Aldi, and other grocers. A huge, multi-pound package of chicken breasts will always cost significantly less per pound than the smaller, pre-trayed options.

  2. The Master Prep: This is the magic step that sets you up for weeks of success. Dedicate an afternoon (maybe a Saturday or late in the day on Sunday) to get your protein ready.

    • Slice and Pound: Take your massive chicken haul and portion it. Slice thick breasts horizontally and pound them with a mallet into uniform 4oz to 6oz pieces. This has two key benefits: it ensures fast, even cooking and creates perfectly sized individual servings.

    • The Big Marinate: The secret to restaurant-quality flavor is simple: time. Overnight. Prepare a huge batch of your family’s favorite marinade (Italian, teriyaki, BBQ, garlic-herb, etc.). Divide your pounded chicken pieces into a few gallon-sized zip lock bags.  Pour a different marinade sauce over each group.  Massage the sauce easily by massaging the chicken inside the bag and let it marinate overnight.

  3. The Efficient Cook: This step was and is the game-changer for batch cooking.

    • Invest in a Large Electric Grill:  Forget juggling multiple small pans on your stovetop. A large, inexpensive electric griddle can cook 10–12 chicken breasts at once!  This method is faster, ensures consistent temperature, and results in gorgeous char marks and juicy flavor. Cook all of your marinated chicken in one big, satisfying batch.

  4. The Freezer-for-Convenience Pack:  This is where you create true "fast food" at home.

    • Double-Wrapped for Freshness: After your cooked chicken has cooled, individually wrap each breast in a smaller sandwich bag. This prevents the pieces from sticking together. Then, cluster 4–6 individually wrapped breasts into a large gallon-sized freezer bag for an extra layer of protection against freezer burn. This is crucial for maintaining flavor and texture for weeks.

  5. The Effortless Dinner: The strategy is complete, and now you reap the daily rewards.

    • Pull-and-Go: In the morning, simply take an individual chicken breast from your freezer-store and let it thaw in the refrigerator. At dinnertime, your protein is already cooked, flavored, and thawed.  

    • This even works if you forget to take the meat out in the morning.  One or two chicken breasts can be laid in warm water and thaw at light speed.

    • 3-Minute Prep: Pop your pre-cooked chicken breast in the microwave for 90–120 seconds to heat. In the same time it takes to heat the chicken, whip up a simple side dish: some microwave rice, a quick pasta, or a fresh side salad. Your entire dinner is ready to serve in less than 5 minutes!

    • And I'll be talking soon about bulk buying and cooking side dishes, so the entire meal takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and with little effort, it has high-end taste.

The Bonus Benefits Beyond Your Wallet

This system is about more than just a low price tag. Here is why you will fall in love with it:

  • Saving Time and Effort Every Day: The most incredible benefit is that you have eliminated the question, "What’s for dinner?" Your primary protein is ready. Your "cooking" time is reduced from an hour to 5 minutes. No more scrambling to prep dinner on a tired weeknight.

  • Maximum Freshness and Less Waste: Pounding the chicken ensures it cooks perfectly and evenly, preventing it from drying out. More importantly, this entire process locks in freshness. When you pull a chicken breast months later, it will taste as flavorful and juicy as the day you cooked it. You’ll never again throw away a spoiled piece of chicken that you forgot about in the fridge.

  • A "Fresh-Not-Frozen" Experience: Because you handle the entire cooking and flavoring process, your "convenience food" is made from high-quality, whole ingredients. You know exactly what is in your marinade, avoiding the hidden sodium and preservatives found in pre-cooked, store-bought freezer meals.

This "Inflation Buster" is a true life-hack that puts money back in your pocket and gives you back your valuable time. Give it a try, and let me know how much you save!

writing-in-layers-short-list

Have a peek behind a real novel.

Check out my novelette Writer's Block that I wrote and narrated!  It's available on Audible but if you want to download for free, click below to get professional audiobook delivery from Bookfunnel

I wrote and narrated it.  It's my first attempt at narration!

Inflation Busting #6 – Use the Flipp App to Plot Your Route

Level Up Your Meal Planning Game with the Best Local Deals

Hey everyone! You know how much I love finding the best deals, especially on books. But my passion for savings doesn't stop there. Lately, I've been refining my meal planning process, and I've found a way to significantly cut my grocery bill.

I used to start by deciding what I wanted to eat for the week and then I'd build my shopping list around those ingredients. That approach works, but I always felt like I was spending more than I needed to.

Then, I tried reversing the process, and everything changed!

The Game-Changer: The "Flyer-First" Method

Here’s how it works in my household:

  1. Start with the Deals: Before I even think about recipes, I take a few minutes to look at the store flyers and digital circulars for the grocery stores nearby. You can always find the biggest and best sales, often on the very front page!

  2. Plan Around the Sales: This is the fun part! I let the deals dictate the menu.

    • If a great cut of pork is on sale, looks like we are having a succulent pork tenderloin for our Sunday dinner.

    • Find a great deal on shrimp? That's a perfect excuse for a delicious and healthy weeknight stir-fry.

    • When I spot a favorite snack or a non-perishable on deep discount, I stock up!

  3. Create Your List: With my main meals and some great deals mapped out, I fill in the gaps with other needed items and create my final shopping list.

For many of us who considered ourselves too busy to bother with sales and coupons, the extreme rise in prices of groceries and everything else is challenging every budget.  Even people with money are experiencing sticker shock.  For me, it's more about the principle of the matter.  I can afford the high prices, thank the Lord -- at least at this writing -- but I think of younger women with teenages who eat like machines!  How can they manage?  Being retired, I've decided to use some of my time to explore what some solutions can be!

By letting the local deals inspire my weekly menu, I’m able to create exciting, varied, and, most importantly, cost-effective meals. The best part is that I don't feel like I'm sacrificing quality for savings; I'm just being more strategic.

I hope this helps inspire you to try a slightly different approach to your meal planning. Happy cooking and happy saving!

writing-in-layers-short-list

Have a peek behind a real novel.

Check out my novelette Writer's Block that I wrote and narrated!  It's available on Audible but if you want to download for free, click below to get professional audiobook delivery from Bookfunnel

I wrote and narrated it.  It's my first attempt at narration!