Save money buying dry beans & rice

Instead of buying instant rice and canned beans, I've taken to buying 2 pound bags of regular brown rice and pinto beans, both the Great Value brand. I knew it was less expensive than already cooked or instant but I didn't know by how much.

So I decided to check. I did not check the difference between whole white rice vs. instant white rice as I rarely buy it.

What I do is either soak overnight or quick-soak and then cook at least half a bag of beans, and then freeze them in 2-cup quantities. I do the same with rice.

Here's the breakdown for beans. A can of Great Value pinto beans is 68 cents and it provides 2 cups of beans. A bag of Great Value dry pinto beans is $2.28 and provides 12 cups of cooked beans. So, it would take 6 cans of Great Value beans to equal one bag, at a cost difference of $4.08 vs. $2.28. A savings of $1.80 and a better taste in my opinion.

The breakdown for rice is $1.66 for 14 ounces of Great Value instant brown rice (not even 1 pound!) and $1.38 for 2 pounds (32 ounces) of whole brown rice. Wow, I don't even have to do figuring for that! It's clearly cheaper.

It takes time, but it sure saves money.