I have been shopping primarily at Wal-mart simply because in the research I had done their every day prices on the items I buy were lower than other stores. I have tried to watch the sales at Kroger and Publix and have gone there when I’ve seen better deals on the items I had planned to buy anyway.
So my question to you……I now want to start stocking up so that I can try to lower our weekly food budget even more. I’ve looked at your lists of Publix sales and coupons and the one at couponmom.com, and I’m not sure how to begin.
Where do I begin? How does one start stocking up?
This is a question I get quite often, and it doesn’t have a straight answer, but I’ll try to provide a little direction.
Have a Grocery Budget Set: First off, you need to know what your grocery budget is going to be. It sounds like you do, but for those of you who don’t, you would want to do a review of your expenses versus your income to see at what amount you can afford to set your grocery budget. Once you have set your grocery budget you need to determine what goes on the list, your needs versus stockpiling items.
List Needs and Stockpile Opportinities: Each week when you do your grocery list, you will want to start with adding your “needs” to your list. Make out your meal plan according to what you already have on hand, and what is on sale in the store fliers that week. Your list should start with your staples you purchase each week like milk, eggs, produce etc, and then you add the items to round out your meal plan on your list.
Use Remaining Budget For Stocking Up: Add up all those things and see what your difference is – How much do you have left to work with? That would be your “stock-up” budget for that week. So, over the next few weeks what you will see is that the “need” items on the list will begin to shrink, which will allow you more of a budget to purchase your “stock-up” items.
Lowering Overall Budget: As you begin to create a stockpile, you can slowly start to decrease your budget a little every few weeks because you have most everything you need. Your “needs” on the list will begin to shrink and the majority of each weeks budget will be spent on items that are a really good deal, at “rock-bottom” prices.
What type of items do you stockpile?
Here is an abbreviated list for you to get started. I just stockpile my staples for most of my recipes.
Common Food Staples
a. Pantry – canned tomatoes (diced, crushed, sauce, paste), chicken broth, pasta, cereals, snacks (crackers, raisins, nuts), canned vegetables and beans (black, kidney, white northern, ect.), taco shells, rice packets, peanut butter (condiments)
b. Freezer – chicken, ground beef, pot roast, shredded cheese, frozen veggies, chicken tenders, pizzas, prepared casseroles
c. Refrigerator – milk, yogurt sour cream, tortillas, biscuits/doughs
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Do you freeze shredded cheese? How much time do you take to use it once thawed?
My parents freeze shredded cheese all the time. We can’t tell the difference.
I need help! We have Winn Dixie,Publix, Walmart, Food World, and that is really it. Yes, we have Walgreens. I have coupons cut out of the paper but do not know where to start. Please help. Thank you, Jane Johnston
@ Jane, Winn-Dixie regularly has sales on meat (BOGO’s on Chicken, Beef Roast and Pork) and canned vegetables. These help me to ‘stock up’ monthly for my large family of 10. Publix has some great BOGO sales too, including ketchup and olive oil. Start by checking your stores weekly ads to find out what deals they have. It helps if you can find something on sale and have a coupon for it too. Only stock up on what you know you will use and have room for. It helps to clean out your fridge and freezer before shopping, that way you know how much room you have and will be able to put it away without delay. It’s best to repackage meats into meal portions in freezer bags, freezer paper or tin foil, and don’t forget to label with what it is and the date you put it in the freezer (I use a permanent marker and, if needed, masking or painters tape to write it on). Hope this helps and good luck! 🙂