$5.99 for a Good Bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Any Contenders?

I have embarked on a quest to find the least expensive, best quality 500ml bottle of extra virgin olive oil.

Pictured here are two bottles of 500ml extra virgin olive oil in very similarly shaped bottles. Both were priced at $5.99.

The bottle on the right, labeled Vitarroz, was bought from an ethnic (Asian) supermarket and imported from Turkey, while the bottle on the left labeled Morbido Riserva Antico Frantoio Di Mezzane, Frantoio Veneti Redoro, 100% product of Italy, was bought from T.J. Maxx's clearance shelf located in their specialty foods aisle. Both bottles are fresh-dated with at least another year before the expiration date.

While both oils were good, the T.J. Maxx purchase was really exceptional. The green nutty flavor was wonderful with blanched dark leafy greens and fresh ground sea salt and pepper. The unfortunate thing is that I'm not sure if I'll be able to find another bottle exactly like this one. T.J. Maxx does not seem to always stock the same items.

So far, I am unable to find ANY 500ml extra virgin olive oil below $5.99 ($1.20 per 100ml). This search will continue.

Even at this price, e.v.o.o. is more than double the price of canola oil, which I use for regular cooking and pan-frying. But a good e.v.o.o. makes vegetables taste so much better. A 500ml bottle can generally last a month and can still fit within our tight budget.

The Mighty Dollar Store

I've become a fan of Dollar Tree, a chain of dollar stores with branches around the Boston area. And the items there are actually $1 or less, unlike some chains that call themselves dollar stores but in fact have items that are mostly above $1.

I have to pause for a moment and amend what I said earlier about shopping with a grocery list. You can't really be strictly sticking to a list at a dollar store, nor a place like HomeGoods/T.J. Maxx/Marshalls (yes, they have a few food items there too, and I'll talk more about that later). I would recommend keeping in mind a general idea of what you need. For example, pasta, sauce, canned vegetables, soup, etc.

I had been shy about buying food from the dollar store until a few months ago when I finally took a look at the variety they have and the dates on the cans. So far, all the dates I've seen are indeed guaranteeing the cans to be fresh. The more surprising, however, are the name brand products I found on the shelves. Among them were Swiss Miss hot chocolate, Healthy Choice soups (which can cost around $2 when not on sale at a regular supermarket). The VanCamp's Chicken of the Sea smoked sardines were actually priced at $.79. I even bought a pack of artist brushes (that's my only taxable item, as all food items are non-taxable in Massachusetts) for a dollar there. Excluding the paint brushes, the bill was under $15. That's 4 cans of soup, 3 cans of smoked sardines, 3 cans of smoked oysters, 1 can of chili, 1 can of beef stew, 1 package of thin spaghetti, 1 can of meat sauce and 1 box of hot chocolate.

Just the spaghetti and the meat sauce alone can provide 2-4 meals for one. Each can of soup, chili and stew can be supplemented with bread (6 meals), Each can of sardine/smoked oysters can be supplemented with rice and vegetables (6 meals). I always try to make fresh green leafy vegetables to add to dinner. Nutrition is important, and we need to be mindful of that. Fresh vegetables can be purchased cheaply as well. More on that in a later entry.

So, I just counted 14-16 meals from the purchases above from our purchases for under $15. Oh, and the hot chocolate, of course, is a little bit of luxury.

To Splurge Or Not to Splurge: Coffee

I'm going to talk a little about lifestyle adjustment. I used to be an IT professional with a decent regular paycheck. Then back in 2002, after the dotcom bubble burst, I decided to pursue my dream to become a full-time visual artist. It was a huge lifestyle change for me. I had never budgeted before, and I was used to having a Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts coffee every morning. $1.50 - $3.50 (latte) a day didn't seem like much money to me, but what that really amounted to was $47-$109 per month just on coffee – That's $564 - $1308 per year. JUST. ON. COFFEE.

It's mind-boggling. Upon first making this shocking discovery, I swung heavily in the direction of skimping. Buying the cheapest (usually the nastiest-tasting) coffee available in the supermarket. Then I realized how stupid that is. You should not think of saving as self-punishment. There are plenty of great off-the-shelf whole bean or ground coffee choices available. If you really like your Starbucks coffee, you can even buy the Starbucks take-home beans or ground coffee to help you transition.

I think it's still okay to treat yourself to a latte once in a while, but budget for that too. I limit myself to once a month.

I guess I'm lucky that my favorite brand is not exorbitant. It's Yuban (pictured here). I had it the first time when I bought it on sale and then just fell in love with it. Unfortunately, not every supermarket sells it. When not on sale, a 12-oz can is around $4.50 ($.15 a cup) and can last a month. The only other cost is a basket coffee filter for my coffee maker. $3 for 100 count ($.03 a cup).

So, that's $.18 a cup. $5.60 versus $47-$109 per month on coffee.