How Bulk shopping saves us a bundle

You know when ever I talk to people about the fact that we do our shopping in bulk we get a lot of the same responses.

"Does it really save you money?"
"I just don't have the money to do that"
"Where would I put it all!"
"I don't have the time!"

So I thought I would share my responses with you all.

"Does it really save you money?" Why yes it does! Part of it is that we have a super sized family compared to the "normal" American family. When you have more than 2 children stuff just gets eaten faster! I could buy 4 boxes of cereal at $4 a pop or 1 giant box for $6...you do the math! Even if you don't have a super sized family buying in bulk is still feasible. We buy he giant cans of tomatoes, you know the ones that look like they are supposed to be used in school cafeterias? Well even with 7 mouths to feed I can't use a entire can of those suckers! I instead package it down into 1c. servings and drop them in the freezer. One 14.5 can of crushed tomatoes is about $1 on sale, One ginormous can of crushed tomatoes is $3. I can typically get 20 one cup portions out of the huge can. That is a HUGE savings!

Another way it saves us money is that buy buying in bulk we typically end up with a little more than we needed. I can get a great deal on 7lb packages of ground beef for example but if I only need 6lbs for that month I freeze the extra pound for later. After 2-3 mths of this type of stockpiling you find you have enough in your freezer and pantry to allow you to skip grocery shopping for several weeks! It is a wonderful feeling to realize "Hey I don't have to go to the grocery store this month!"

"I just don't have the money to do that" We didn't start out with any more in the grocery budget than we normally used. I just decided to use it differently. I decided instead of spending it 4 times a month I would spend it once. I found my local costco, made a detailed list of what we needed for that month and went to town! Over time we were able to adjust our budget so that all of our months grocery budget came out of the first paycheck of the month giving me even more wiggle room. You know what we have found though? We spend LESS buying in bulk, about $200 a month less!

"Where would I put it all!" As I stated in a previous post we don't live in a McMansion, far far from it! We have a small chest freezer, a pantry, and a cabinet in our hallway for over flow. That is it! We found that by going to once a month shopping we tend to buy more whole foods instead of processed foods. Flour instead of french bread, popcorn instead of cookies, etc.

"I don't have the time!" I have found it doesn't take me any longer to pic up a 25lb bag of flour than it does to pick up a 5lb bag. A little harder on my back maybe but not on my schedule. Actually I find it SAVES me time because I do one major shop a month then a quick dash in every other week for milk and fruit instead of 4 major shopping trips.

Exploring new options

One of the benefits of underspending the grocery budget is getting to decide how to invest the savings. Due to our once a month shopping we had some surplus in our freezer that has allowed us to not have to grocery shop for 2 weeks out of this month. (More on how this happened in a later post)

This means we have about $210 left in our grocery budget with no where to go. There are several options for what to do with this extra money:

1. Send it to our current savings goal (my Roth)
2. Invest in stockpiling meat and non perishables
3. Investing in Community supported Agriculture (CSA)in our area

We have decided to invest part of the money in a local CSA. By paying $100 now for a membership to a local organic farm I guarantee myself discounted organic produce through March. Not only do I get discounted organic produce but I get to choose exactly what I want via the internet, the price of the vegetables comes out of the $100 I sent them, and if I don't feel like going to the farm to pick it up they will mail it to me! Even better any money I have not used up by the beginning of April will be sent back to me! You really can't get a better deal than that!

Come this spring we will also be buying into the CSA's meat program as well. We will be buying several organic free range chickens and having them slaughtered for us in June, giving us a surplus of chicken to go in our freezer. Now if I can find a place that offers the option of buying a half a cow we will be set!

As we have found with bulk shopping sometimes spending a little upfront can give you big savings later on.

Tips on cutting the grocery budget

So over the years I feel like I have read every single thing ever written on the subject of cutting the grocery bill. I was trying to think of all the tips today and thought I would write them all down to help myself (and anyone else who is curious) remember them all.

*Once a month shopping
*Buy in bulk
*Shop sales flyers
*Coupon on items you will use
*Grow you own fruit/veg
*Can/freeze your home grown produce
*Menu plan
*Join a CSA
* Cut out paper products (papertowels, etc.)
*Make your own cleaning products

I am already planning our garden for this spring and researching local CSA's

End of month grocery breakdown.

This week unfortunately we went over our budgeted amount for groceries. We over spent this month by $80.45. When we take into account that we did some freezer shopping this month (total of $53.44) if this had been a normal month without putting anything in the freezer for the future we would have overspent by $27.01. I am not happy about it BUT we have had a new diet development over here this week. I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes which means I have to limit my carb intake. This means that along with looking at the prices of things I also have to look at the carb count. So we spent a little more to get the lower carb item that I can eat without causing any health issues.

Grocery Breakdown
Breakfast:
$17.05

Lunch:
$25.82

Dinner:
$4.36

Household:
$28.60

Junk/Snack foods:
$14.93

Baking:
$4.51

Dairy:
$14.10

Fruit:
$19.13

Total with surcharge: $140.80
Total Coupons used: $13.00
Total out of pocket: $127.80

Grocery Breakdown 3/22

This week we are continuing with our freezer cooking and making some progress! So far we have 11 dinners in the freezer for after the baby comes as well as 5 dozen soy muffins for the twins! More about all that prep in a later post, now though I need to get my grocery totals in for this week.

Receipt Totals
Breakfast:
$6.28

Lunch:
$3.50

Dinner:
$36.44

Junk food/Snacks:
$13.51

Baking:
$10.93

Freezer Meals:
$23.26

Household:
$4.88

Total with Surcharge: $102.63
Total Coupons used: $0.50
Total out of pocket: $102.13


My goal for this month was to bring in our grocery budget at $500. So far we have spent $452.65 leaving us with a remaining balance of $47.35 for the rest of the month. Considering there are only 3 days left in the month after this weeks groceries are used up before we get paid again we should be good to go.

Week #3 Grocery Breakdown

This weeks grocery shopping was done a little different. Since I am due to have my 5th baby in a few weeks it is time to start stocking our freezer with meals to hold us over for the first few weeks. I am really not a fan of fast food but cooking in the first few weeks with a new baby is almost impossible, especially when you have 4 older children to take care of. To solve this problem I try and make as many complete meals as possible before hand and store them in the freezer. As you can imagine when 8mths pregnant I am not all that over the moon about standing in the kitchen to cook for hours at a time either!

The easiest way to solve this problem is to just make double batches of what you are already cooking for dinner, adding one new meal to the freezer every night. So with this in mind you will see this weeks breakdown contains a new line item: "Freezer Meals" this will include 2 spaghetti dinners (will cook the pasta the night of), 1 taco dinner (taco meat frozen with shredded cheddar cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and tortillas), 1 pizza (homemade dough, shredded cheese, pizza sauce, pepperoni), 1 Poppy Seed Chicken casserole, 1 Minestrone Soup, and 1 chili dinner. So at the end of this week I should have 6 dinners in the freezer for once the baby comes. My goal is 15-30 meals by the middle of April.

Grocery Breakdown
Breakfast:
$6.16

Lunch:
$3.18

Dinner:
$23.37

Junk food:
$7.88

Baking:
$8.80

Dairy:
$9.02

Freezer Meals:
$30.18

Household:
$22.97

Total with surcharge: $117.64
Total Coupons Used: $15.75
Total Out of Pocket: 101.89

March Grocery Totals

This month I am going to be doing the grocery break down a little different. Honestly I am a bit busy right now and don't really have the time to sit down and type out what we are having for dinner each week, but I do need to keep myself accountable so I will be listing the amount spent. So here we go....The first two weeks of this month were done without WIC so the totals are for 100% of the food we eat as a family of 6.

Week One
Breakfast:
$3.75

Lunch:
$5.13

Dinner:
$23.17

Dairy:
$33.65

Snacks:
$9.18

Baking:
$13.63

Household:
$18.34

Total Coupons used: $7.65
Total out of pocket: $102.37

Week Two
Breakfast:
$7.82

Lunch:
$14.55

Dinner:
$62.35 (ouch!)

Snacks:
$16.09

Dairy:
$35.96

Baking:
$9.81

Total Coupons used: $9.40
Total out of pocket: $146.26


Total Budgeted for March: $500
Total spent: $248.63
Total Remaining: $251.37

Meal planning and Grocery Breakdown 2/19 - 3/2

This week is a little different around here. My husband's father is not doing well so he flew home to be with his family. Leaving me one less mouth to feed till he comes home. Also since he is gone I am able to make cheaper meals that he is not crazy about (he hates soups) and make them last for 2 days instead of one. We had a total of $83.41 left of our reduced grocery budget this month. This week we spent $34.51 leaving us with a total of $48.90 for the rest of this month. We *should be* done with our grocery shopping for this month though!

Meal Plan
Breakfast:
*French toast sticks
*Vegan muffins
*Waffles
*Pancakes
*Biscuits and scrambled eggs

Lunch:
*Leftovers
*PB&J Sandwiches
*Turkey Sandwiches
*Ham Sandwiches

Dinner:
*Chicken Pot Pie with Spinach Salad
*Chicken with tomatoes and Basil
*Chicken and Egg Drop Soup
*Chicken Fajitas
*Sour Cream and Enchilada Casserole
*Turkey Taco Salad

Grocery Breakdown
Breakfast:
$2.50

Lunch:
$1.75

Dinner:
$7.16

Snacks:
$11.76

Baking Supplies:
$11.27

Household:
$1.29

Total with Surcharge: $38.26
Total Coupons used: $3.75
Total Out of Pocket:$34.51

Meal Plan and Grocery breakdown week of Feb 14th

We are still trying to operate on a bare bones grocery budget and so far so good. You will notice that this weeks grocery bill was kept low by using the stockpiled chicken that I got on sale last week. We have $84.31 left out of our original $250 budgeted amount.

Meal Plan:

Breakfast
*Waffles
*Pancakes
*Cereal
*Scrambled eggs and biscuits
*French toast sticks

Lunch:
*Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches
*Turkey Sandwiches
*Ham Sandwiches
*Grilled Cheese
*Leftovers

Dinner:
*Greek Fish Bake
*Chicken Potpie
*Chicken Teriyaki with rice
*White Chicken Chili
*Chicken with tomatoes and basil, green beans, and potatoes


Grocery Breakdown:

Breakfast:
$5

Lunch:
$7.99

Dinner:
$7.65

Snacks/Junk food:
$16.32

Dairy:
$1.69

Household:
$2.49

Total with surcharge: $43.17
Total Coupons used: $5.20
Total out of pocket: $37.97

Grocery Challenge Progress

We set a goal this month of cutting our grocery bill in half and only spending $250 for the entire month. So far we are doing pretty well. Stocking up on a extra 8lbs of chicken breasts while they were on sale sure isn't going to hurt! We also got our WIC checks changed over so the twins are now getting the soy milk they need so that will no longer be coming out of our budget. I also did a inventory of our chest freezer and we have 10 loafs of bread, and 9 boxes of waffles/pancakes all which were bought last month on sale, thus lowering our Breakfast and Lunch categories.

Our progress this month:

2/3: $30 for Soy milk (before the WIC change over)
2/7: $94.78 Groceries as listed in post below
2/10: $2.94 for WIC shopping (went over $0.94 on my WIC fruit and veg check and gave a $2 tip to the bagger)

Total left: $122.28

Our goal is to not go to the grocery store until the 14th when we get paid again. As you can see by our meal plan below I only worked out 6 dinners to get us through the 7 days till pay day. My plan was that the 7th day would be a leftover clean out dinner. It is pretty simple you serve all the odds and ends of leftovers at one meal. Everyone gets a different meal, your fridge gets some space, and your budget gets a little breathing room!

Meal Plan and Grocery list, week of Feb. 7th

I am a little behind in posting this weeks meal plan and grocery budget (oops!). This weeks grocery bill was done without WIC so our Dairy and Fruit and Veg categories are higher than normal. Also they had a killer sale on chicken breasts so I added a stockpiling category to this weeks budget.

Meal Plan

Breakfast:
*Waffles
*Pancakes
*French toast sticks
*Biscuits and scrambled eggs

Lunch
*Turkey Sandwiches
*Tuna Sandwiches
*Leftovers
*Grilled Cheese

Dinner
*Spaghetti and Romain Salad
*Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans
*Homemade Pizza
*Chicken Fajitas with Fried rice
*Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas
*Meatball subs and green beans

Grocery Breakdown:

Breakfast:
$0

Lunch:
$6.56

Dinner:
$24.90

Snacks/Junk food:
$14.06

Dairy:
$17.09

Fruit and Veg:
$9.68

Stocking up:
$15.78

Household:
$3.65

Total with Surcharge: $96.28
Coupons used: $1.50 (We were having printer issues this week)
Total out of pocket: $94.78

Going to War.

Okay not really but that is how I feel when I am getting my grocery stuff together. It has come to be quite the pile of stuff! I thought I would break down my process for anyone who is interested.

First I go through our pantry and freezer to see what we have on hand. Next I make a list of meals that I can make with those ingredients or by only adding one or two items. Then I go through my recipe binder or cookbooks to decide on the rest of the meals. My rule of thumb on this front is I only pick a recipe if I am already buying one of the items or only have to get 2-3 new items for the recipe. Take this week for example I found a recipe I wanted to try and the only thing I was missing was cabbage so I put cabbage on my list, then I found another recipe that used cabbage and I only needed 2 more items to make the second recipe so I added that one as well.

Next step for me is to go through my WIC folder and pull out the checks I need to use this week, marking off any items on my grocery list that I am getting through WIC. Making a second list on the right hand side of the page for the WIC items.

Third step is to go through my coupon binder and pull out any coupons for items listed on the left hand side of my list. I have no brand loyalty I will buy any brand if it is cheaper. I then make a list on the bottom half of the right hand side of all my coupons that I will be looking to use that day, making sure to list amounts and sizes.

Here is a picture of my grocery prep procedure:

And here we have a picture of this weeks grocery list:I bring my coupon binder, my WIC folder, and my list with me every time I go to the store. I then hit up the coupon shelf at the beginning of the store and grab 5-6 of the free coupon inserts. By the time I get to my cart and get situated I feel like a Olympic event is about to start, lol. I also bring my calculator with me and keep a running total of my grocery bill as I go through the store. I know I probably look like a crazy lady but I would rather have a running total and be prepared when I get to the checkout than get a nasty shock when they start ringing items up. I would rather decide while going down the isle if I can afford that second box of pasta than have to put it back while at the register because I don't have enough money to buy it. And there you have my war strategy!

Meal Plan/Grocery Breakdown Jan 30th-Feb 5th

Even though the majority of this weeks groceries are going to be for February since we have not received February's pay yet we will be counting this in the January Budget. This week our budget is running a little tight since it makes 5 weeks worth of groceries so we have tightened our belt and cut out all junk food and non necessary items. I wish this type of grocery shopping was sustainable but my husband is going to want his sodas back :)

I also had a first at the grocery store today, I actually got something for FREE! I know many people have said over and over again how combining coupons with sales can get you items for free but I have never been that lucky. The lowest I had ever got down to was $0.10 for a item, which I am not complaining about! Today I needed Soy Sauce so I went to the store with my $1 off coupon only to find they were having a sale. The 10oz soy sauces were marked at $0.89 each. I double checked my coupon to make sure it didn't have a minimum amount of ounces and since it didn't I snapped that sucker up. I was standing there smiling to myself when I realized I had another coupon in my binder (which I always take with me now cause you never know when you are going to find a deal!). So I got 20oz of Soy Sauce and actually MADE $0.22! My husband things I am crazy for being so excited but I mean come on I was going to buy it anyways and they paid me to take it out of the store :D

Meal Plan:
Breakfast (served with milk):
*Waffles
*Pancakes
*Egg Biscuits

Lunch (served with Fruit and milk):
*Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
*Ham Sandwiches
*Tuna Sandwiches
*Grilled Ham/Turkey Sandwiches
*Leftovers

Dinner:
*Tilapia with homemade Tarter Sauce and Salad
*Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and Salad
*Chicken Fajitas with Fried rice
*Pizza Rolls
*Jazzy Ramen
*Mexican Bow tie pasta
*Chicken tortilla soup

Grocery Breakdown:
Breakfast:
$0

Lunch:
$7.64

Dinner:
$29.51

Snacks:
$3.50

Dairy:
$10.17

Fruit and Veg:
$6.73

Household:
$2.14

Total with Surcharge: $62.67
Total Coupons Used: $6.40
Total out of pocket:$56.27

Meal Plan and Grocery Breakdown Jan 22nd

Last weeks Meal plan was sort of hit or miss thanks to having company. There were several nights when my husband and his company were not here to eat so many things lasted longer as leftovers than normal so you will be seeing some repeats from last week as we get things used.

Breakfast ( Served with fruit and milk):
*Waffles
*Pancakes
*French Toast Sticks
*Cinnamon Rolls
*Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuits

Lunch (all served with fruit and milk):
*Tuna Sandwiches
*Turkey Sandwiches
*Ham Sandwiches
*Leftovers
*Frozen Pizza

Dinner:
*Honey Rosemary Chicken with broccoli
*Chicken and Egg Drop Soup
*Jalapeno Burgers and Fries (plain burgers for the little ones)
*Spaghetti
*Fried Shrimp, Spinach salad, and baked potatoes
*Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies
*Nacho chips

Grocery Receipt Breakdown
Breakfast:
$36.40

Lunch:
$17.64

Snacks:
$7.96

Dinner:
$38.58

Milk (Twins Soy Milk):
$10.17

Household:
$18.27

Junk food:
$5.25

Total before Coupons with surcharge: $141.53
Total coupons: $19.74
Total out of pocket: $121.79

Meal Plan for week of January 16th

I tend to meal plan from Sunday to Saturday since I grocery shop on Saturdays so here is this coming weeks meal plan and grocery breakdown :)

Breakfasts:
*Waffles
*Pancakes
*Cereal
*Scrambled Eggs
*Homemade Breakfast Burritos
*Milk

Lunches:
*Sandwiches (Turkey, Ham, or PB&J)
*Leftovers
*Fruit
*Milk

Dinner:
*BBQ Brisket and Pasta Salad
*Baked Shell Casserole
*Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
*Honey Rosemary Chicken with Broccoli
*Chicken, Rice and Egg Drop Soup
*Leftovers

Grocery Breakdown:

Breakfast:
$13.82

Lunch:
$5.95

Dinner:
$58.09

Dairy:
$16.85

Snacks/Junk Food:
$14.04

Household:
$20.43

Total (with Surcharge): $135.61
Coupons: $10.40
Total out of pocket: $125.21
**Fruit/Skim milk/etc. Covered by WIC**

Dinner costs were high this week because of having a extra mouth to feed due to having company staying with us. My goal was to have enough leftover from dinners to cover lunches as well. We shall see!!

My first ever endeavor into shopping by flyers!

Well today was my first ever endeavor into shopping based of flyer sales. I have to admit I was a little nervous that I would get in there and get sucked into the dreaded consumer trap of "I have to have this unrelated item NOW" mentality, after all isn't that why they do the flyers to start with? To get you in the store so you buy more STUFF! For my first attempt I thought I would go small Target is having a bread sale this week and since that is the only thing on my list I figured it would be pretty easy to check out. Plus all my kiddos and my hubby were down for naps so who was going to miss me if I slipped out for a few minutes ;) I managed to walk directly to the bread section averting my eyes from all the pretty sparkly things I passed on my way to the very back center of the store. Once there low and behold there were signs for $1 bread I was in the right section and had read the flyer correctly....only one problem....there was no bread on the shelves! Ok I take that back there were 3 loafs on one of the 5 shelves, plus 2 more shoved in the wrong place making my haul 5 loafs of bread. Not quite the number I was looking for BUT the sale does run through the end of the week so I have a few more days to go back and grab some more.

Total paid out (with my impulse chocolate bar purchase, I broke after all!) was $6.48 with tax.....price at the commissary before surcharge would have been $11.70 so in all I saved $5.22. Not exactly big bucks but it does all add up especially if I can get 5 more loafs and save $6.47 (without the dreaded candy bar, lol!). That would give me a months bread for $10.46 instead of $23.40. {Insert me doing a happy dance here!}