I read the comments for more ideas that expound on the original post. I agree with whomever said that if you have a problem, perhaps you should email Trent directly. I have actually done this on a few different occasions and received replies.

As far as grammar flaws go, they happen to the best of us. I could probably point out something that nearly every single one of you have done if I were given access to all of your public writing.

It’s not a big deal unless you make it one.

One more thing. It’s very obvious by the context that it is meant to be *partly* in the first sentence. If you really can’t figure that out, I’d say it’s on YOU, not Trent.

I’m surprised the youngest is on whole milk already, I though (s)he was less than 1 yr old?

I reviewed my pantry inventory and here are some of the healthy foods I have in quantity:

Salt, honey, whole spices (black peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, coriander, etc.), whole wheat kernels (from which I grind my own bread flour), popcorn (from which I grind my own cornmeal), barley, quinoa, oatmeal, lentils, split peas, beans (white, black, pinto, red, garbanzo), rice (converted, basmati, short grain and brown), a wide variety of dried pastas, olive oil, dried cheese, and dried milk (for yogurt and baking needs).

Canned or dried fruits and vegetables may not be quite as healthy as truly fresh ones, but may be more healthy than what passes for fresh at some stores, and are sure healthier than none at all.

Canned meats and fish are probably healthier than fresh. Assuming proper canning technique, there’s less chance of bacterial contamination.

All of these items will easily last a year if stored in a cool, dark, dry place, without losing any significant nutritional value. Some will last 10 years or more, if necessary.

They’ll also be MUCH cheaper purchased in bulk and on sale, and they’ll be available when they’re needed.

Given the inevitability of local or regional disruptions of the food supply chain somewhere every year or two (from earthquakes, hurricanes, power supply accidents, tornadoes, etc.), and the constant possibility of personal crises(unemployment, disability, identity theft), it’s a little scary to read so many comments from people who would literally run out of food if they couldn’t get to the store for a week or two or their debit card didn’t scan. I hope they are really that lucky.

I have used milk up to 6 weeks past the “sell by” date. It is supposed to last at least 2 weeks longer. That date is for the store owner. And milk is one of those products that you can tell instantly by smell or taste if it is going bad.

The hint is very easy to do. Just open your milk when you get it home and drop in a pinch of salt. I have been doing this all of 2011 and only had one jug of milk go bad. It happened so quickly that I feel I got a bad jug to begin with.
I use milk for dry cereal most mornings and drink some occasionally. I am on a set income and cannot afford to waste a lot of food.

Try the hint – you might like it. And one further idea – if your milk goes bad, you can still use it. Ever bake a “sour milk cake?” It is luscious.

I’m not such a fan of the nitpicky “you’ll never be a good writer if you keep making this obscure grammar error or committing this questionable writing style foul or missing this or that typo” comments.

I don’t know of a better place to get good personal finance advice on the web than by posing it to Trent, and letting his commenters either agree or disagree with his mostly good, but sometimes thoroughly awful advice. If I had the sense that he was censoring his commenters or if he ever shut comments down, I would leave and never come back.

What puzzles me is that some of his commenters continue to address Trent in the comments, when it’s fairly obvious that he rarely or never reads the comments. If you have a suggestion to make or a question to pose to him, you really have to email him, it seems to me. I think he only reads the comments if the post in question is also causing him to get a lot of email traffic. How else to explain the fact that he still, every couple of months or so, gives the old “Save up your emergency fund before starting a Roth IRA” advice, when every time he gives that advice, one or more commenters shows up and gives the better advice that a Roth IRA can function perfectly well as an emergency fund so long as you invest the contributions in a stable, cash-like investment, such as a money market account?