In my part of the country we have a few discount grocery stores

[w0nderer]

7. soup or stock?

stock btw there is a great idea, after reducing stock, freeze it in an icecube tray, then store those icecubes in a ziplock

easy dosage

yeah frequently unit price hurts and then hurts from other end because we can't afford storage

i like the prep planning there (beans in trunk of car)
have you checked surplus army stoves or coke can stoves? if you heat water in a pot with a can inside (waterbathing the can) they won't burn the beans

also like you mentioned elsewhere, if it's something you eat and you see it for sale..splurge if possible and stock up