Saving Money with Powdered Milk
So I took your advice. While the kids were at school on Monday I grabbed an empty 1/2 gallon milk jug out of the recycling bin and gave it a good wash.
At the time I had absolutely no idea Mrs. Hillbilly and Francisco would be gifting me milk for Christmas, and I really needed to make the food {milk} budget stretch. So with only $6.83 left, I finally broke down and went the powered milk route.
Several people suggested I combine a mixture of 1/2 powered milk with 1/2 regular milk in a jug to try and fool the HH and kids. Having tried to get my people to drink 100% powered milk before, I was a bit skeptical.
They didn’t like it when I gave them powered milk last time {it was 100% powered milk}, so what were the odds they’d like the 50/50 mixture?
Clearly, I didn’t tell them about my little experiment. So after mixing the 2% milk with the powered milk mixture I put a tiny red dot on the bottle with the secret concoction and placed it in the refrigerator where we normally keep the milk. I hid the other jug of milk {full of 2% milk} towards the back of the refrigerator.
2 days went by and nobody said a word. Once the container of 50/50 milk was consumed I whipped up another batch.
Not one of them said a peep. Ahhhh Ha Ha!
Oh my, I’d say a gold star for Mavis is in order, don’t you?
Thanks for your help, you guys are awesome! Saving money with powdered milk. What a cool {and frugal} trick!
~Mavis
Want to save more money in your grocery budget? Pop on over HERE for more of my money saving tips.
Carol says
Now, will you keep doing this or is the experiment over as of Jan. 1, 2013?
LaToya says
OK – so have you done like a cost analysis by chance…like how much do the powdered bags cost and that will get you how many gallons made, do you know?
Sophie says
I was wondering that same thing!! I would love to know how much you can actually save doing this.
Mavis says
Quality powdered milk costs more than regular that’s for sure. The Carnation was $5.19 {?} a bag and it makes 3 quarts. If went the store brand powdered milk route it would have been much less.
HOWEVER … I will be buying some off Amazon when my I get my next Swagbucks gift card because I think having some powdered milk in he pantry is great for emergencies.
Debby says
My mother-in-law use to do this 35-45 years ago. There were 6 of 8 children at home and milk didn’t last long. When there were only 3 left she stopped mixing. What I don’t remember is how much money she was saving.. Next time I go to the market, I will check the price of powdered milk.
Annabel Lee says
I would think it would be a nice savings. So your HH and MB and GWTSAB do not read your blog? You don’t want to give away your secrets!
Mavis says
MB no, GWTSAB only reads the chicken stories, and the HH rarely reads it. LOL. 🙂
> says
sorry, no matter how good you wash those old jugs you’re putting yourself at risk because the mildew from the old milk doesn’t go away. try a different container – those can’t be sterilized properly. your new milk will last longer.
Sharon says
In this country you can only find fat free powdered milk which many people do not like without it being very cold or a 50/50 mix with regular milk. However, I have never tried this but I have read several times there is a product called “Nido” in a yellow can made by Nestle in larger Hispanic sections of grocery stores and it is just whole milk powder you mix with water just the same and the fat content makes it taste much better than the nonfat version. The last place I read it was an article written about what to have around if you live in areas where extreme winter weather conditions could make it difficult to get to the store easily, or to keep around if the power goes out and you don’t want to open your refrigerator.
Emily says
Amazon sells Carnation Instant Nonfat Dairy milk for $10.61 for a 25.6 oz container that makes 8 quarts (2 gal). Where we live, WalMart brand milk is almost $4 a gallon. Amazon’s price is more expensive, but I haven’t looked into coupons and sales and whatnot. It’s possible that it could be found cheaper than fresh, but initially, I didn’t find that to be the case. Mavis, what did you find?
Kathy says
I have done the powdered milk for years and in Ohio it just about breaks even to about 6 gallons of milk to big box of store brand powder, the powder being about a buck cheaper. And I didn’t mix it 50/50. My kids will drink anything that resembles milk.
On another note, cnn.com has a story that the price of milk could double in 2013.
Mavis says
Thanks Kathy, I am going to look for the article.
Lynn says
Yay. You are most welcome. It’s a great way to store milk. On the shelf in powdered form. Right there whenever you need it in an every day emergency or even in a bigger worse emergency and you are sheltered in and can’t leave your street.
squiggy says
i dont get it. dried milk is twice the price of fresh milk. unless you are preparing for a time when fresh milk will not be available, i see no reason for paying double.
kat says
1 gallon 2% milk @ Sam’s Club= $3.67
1 gallon’s worth dry milk @ Sam’s = $2.77
50/50 mix = $3.22
Savings is 45 cents per gallon
Your prices may vary depending on location and grocer. 🙂
D'Anna says
I used to give my sons powdered milk when they were kids, they didn’t seem to mind it. I stopped buying it when a box of powdered was the same as regular milk, I haven’t checked pricing in awhile.
samantha says
That’s awesome! You are so sneaky!
schmei says
If you can find it, try WHOLE powdered milk. We’ve found it in the Mexican food area of one of the local grocery stores. It tastes considerably better than powdered skim milk, and passes as “real” milk. It’s also nice in bread, if you use a bread machine.
schmei says
Also, if you really get in to powdered milk, you can get enormous bags of the Carnation stuff at Costco! (Why do I know so much about powdered milk? I do not know…)
Mavis says
I’ll check and see how much it is. Thanks for the tip. I know I’ll be getting more.
kat says
Costco online says:
THRIVE Non Fat dry milk, 28 lb pail/409 servings: $99.99/25 cents a serving
THRIVE Real instant milk, 20 lb pail/648 servings: $99.99/16 cents a serving
Both in an emergency food pail with a Gamma seal lid
(Gamma seal lids are great. You don’t have to pry the lid
off a bucket, it twists off. These lids are $6-7 each usually)
LaToya says
Oh my word… I mentioned this to my husband and he went batcrap crazy. He was like furious that I would even consider it. Said he’s a “milk connoisseur” and there’s no way he’s drinking it and there’s no way he wouldn’t know. Ha. Makes me want to try it that much more and show him.
Mavis says
I double dog dare you.
Deb says
I triple double dog dare you! It’s Christmas Day & I’m sitting here onHilton Head Island, watching A Christmas Story right this minute-can’t believe your timing, Mavis!
Melissa H. says
I just made some of this tonight! We’ll see if they notice! The kids and Hubby already know that I water down whole milk to a 50/50 ratio, so if this first attempt doesn’t go we’ll, I’ll just tell them I must of gotten the ratio wrong. 😉
Mavis says
Keep us posted! 🙂
Debbie Maxwell Allen says
I used to do this, but I hit on something cheaper and easier. I buy a gallon of whole milk. Measure out 5 cups, and replace it with water. The 5 cups I removed go in another container with 2 additional cups of water. If I buy 2 gallons of milk at $1.99 each, I end up with nearly a whole extra gallon–and I didn’t have to buy powdered milk.
~Debbie