Bulk Bins for the Win

Shopping at WinCo's bulk bin section is one of my favorite ways to save on groceries. There isn't a WinCo close to us, but when I make a trip up to visit my mom, I make a stop in to refill my pantry. Beans, grains, pasta, baking supplies, tea bags, spices, and treats can be bought in any quantity at a huge bargain, so I can really stretch my budget.

Today, I spent $108.44, including $29.80 in ground beef (I'll share how I prep it later this week!), $8.98 in olive oil, asparagus for $.98/lb, and *lots* of rice and beans!

Beans and lentils are almost always cheapest out of the bulk bins, but I was a bit surprised to find that a 10 lb. bag of rice in the aisles was cheaper than bulk rice. I bought the 10 lb. bag for $4.54, whereas the bulk bin was $.54/lb - making 10 lb. $5.40. Occasionally, the packaged product is on sale or has a coupon making it cheaper as well. If you're shopping in bulk, always double check that the packaged version isn't a better deal!

Our everyday oatmeal  breakfast is made with steel cut oats, bought in bulk for $.63/lb.

 When baking goods go on sale around the holidays, I can often find a 4 lb. bag of flour for under $2.00, but I've never seen it as low as the everyday price of $.35/lb at WinCo.

 Refilling my spice containers out of the bulk bins is one of my favorite ways to keep my meals flavorful on a budget. Today, I completely refilled an empty container of cumin for $.42.

Bulk tea bags! It doesn't get much cheaper for this variety. I get chamomile, lemon ginger, orange spice, chai, peppermint, green tea, and earl grey here.

Frozen spinach is so versatile, and SO cheap! I especially like adding it to my beans, sausage and greens soup, to meatloaf, and to quiche.

I stock up on orange juice concentrate at $.99 a frozen can, and we drink about one each week. I've also used this in orange chicken recipes.

Using the pantry principle to grocery shop, I have a set price point I won't spend over on particular items. I shop to replenish my stock rather than for specific meals, so it's helpful to know where I can get the best deal on things I buy regularly so I can restock and stay on budget. 

Do you have stores with bulk bins in your area? What are your best finds? 

Everyday Oatmeal

Oats are hearty, filling all morning, easy to prepare, and very affordable.  My favorite are steel cut oats, which take a bit longer to cook but provide a nice chewy texture.

I've taken to preparing a big batch over the weekend so we can quickly grab a bowl in the morning. I cook 2 cups of dry oats with a can of evaporated milk, a stick of cinnamon, and a large can of fruit, such as pureed pumpkin or peaches in juice or applesauce. I only add sugar if needed at the end of cooking; usually it isn't necessary.

Oats are one of the items I can regularly find in bulk bins at WinCo, at about $.68/lb.

I occasionally find deals on canned fruit and stock up. I try to keep the fruit under $.99. Grocery Outlet and the Dollar Tree frequently have large cans, 24-28 oz, for this price.

During the winter holidays, evaporated milk goes on sale and I stock up. I bought several dozen cans at $.78 each right after Thanksgiving and am slowly working through my stock.

By stocking up at the best prices, this makes for a satisfying meal for about $.35.

Making the most of manager's markdowns

Find your manager's markdown section and start your shopping there.

Recently, I found 1 lb. boxes of "stuffing mix" - diced onion, celery, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme - marked down to a quarter apiece. I bought 12 for $3.00.

Since I couldn't use them all before they would go bad, I sauteed 9 packages of them (making my kitchen smell like Thanksgiving!) and froze in meal-sized portions of 1 cup each. Cooking them helped them take less space in the freezer and saves me time when I'm getting ready to cook them into winter soups and casseroles. I got 10 baggies out of 9 of the containers. The other 3 mixes were used while still fresh.

Awhile back, I was buying bananas while the produce manager was restocking and pulling the slightly-too-brown bananas. I asked what they do with the (perfect to my taste) spotted bananas and he offered to sell me the entire box for $2. I snapped that up and froze the bananas for months of smoothies and banana bread.

Ask your store's butcher when markdowns are put out and if possible, shop around that time. I routinely find meat at or close to its sell-by date but still perfectly fine, marked down by at least 50%. I buy it even if we can't eat it that night, because it can be frozen for months after the sell-by date.

Frequently found on a shelf at the back of the store, I often find scratch-and-dent products that are perfectly edible but have less-than-perfect packaging. You can even use coupons on these products if you have them!

What has been your best mark-down find? 

$2 a Day: About our budget and how I stick to it

Our budget is $2 per person, per day, which works out to $49.13 per week for our family of five. It's not a lot of money, but it's enough to meet our needs.

How did I get that number?

$2 per adult, per day = $730 a year, per person

$1 per kid (because they spend half of their time with their dad) = $365 a year

2 adults = $1,460 per year

3 kids = $1,095 per year

Total for the year (2 adults + 3 kids) = $2,555

Divided by 52 weeks = $49.13
How am I keeping spending low?

That's what this blog is all about! I'll share lots of ideas as the blog continues, but here are a few of the basics:
Menu Plan

Having a weekly menu plan helps me keep costs down since I don't have to stop and pick anything up for dinner on the way home, which often leads to impulse shopping and buying convenience foods while I'm hungry. It also lets me use less expensive items that take more time to prepare, such as...

Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans
I use less expensive items like beans and rice to bulk up meals. The "rice and beans budget" doesn't have to be literal rice and beans, but the budget goes further when meals include inexpensive, hearty and filling foods. A serving of beans and rice is under $.10 - it just doesn't get much cheaper!
Meat is not the entree

Meat is often the most expensive part of a meal, so to keep costs down, meat is used more as a flavor enhancer than an entree on our plates. For example, a pound of sausage could be grilled and served one or two per person for 3-4 servings, or it could be diced and put in my favorite beans with sausage and greens soup, making 10-12 servings. I almost always pick the latter. Additionally, Mondays are meatless in our house.

Watch unit prices
Rather than focus on the cost per package, I look at the cost per ounce when comparing products. Sometimes a larger size saves money, but not always. Sometimes the brand name is more expensive than generic, but not always. Comparing the unit prices helps to get the most bang for my buck.

Per Pound Limit
I have a per-pound price limit for cheese, produce and meat. I won’t spend more than $3.00 per pound on cheese, $1.50 per pound on fruits and veggies, or $2.00 per pound on meat. Having a max budget on an item helps me recognize when to stock up, and is a good tool for avoiding overspending.
Shop loss leaders and manager markdowns

I look at store flyers to pick up the loss leaders of the week. Loss leaders are the advertised specials that are often priced lower than the store's cost in an effort to draw you into the store so you'll spend more on other, higher margin items. These are most often items on the top of the front page of the sales flyer. In addition to loss leaders, I make a point to look for manager markdowns, especially on meats.
Shop in bulk
I buy most of our baking goods and dry goods like beans and grains from bulk bins at WinCo, a store in my mom's city. I can get split peas for $.68/lb, where individual pound bags are over $1.00 at the local grocery stores. Flour is regularly $.31/lb, where a good sale will have it at $.50/lb locally. Making a trip up every few months, we make a point to go hit up the bulk bins and come home with a few months' supply.
Free food

Occasionally, we pick fruit from neighbors trees, with permission. Or we are treated to meals by generous friends or family, who sometimes even send us home with leftovers. Or someone we know grew way too many zucchinis and brings them just to get them out of their garden. Or someone bought a jar of something to try and didn't like it, so they pass it along to us (and then we get to try something I likely wouldn't necessarily buy, like cranberry shallot chutney, which was delicious.) Or my spouse is tipped at work with a bag of oranges. While we don't rely on it, we appreciate these extras and they help us stretch our budget and add variety.

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As this blog continues, I'll share the deals I find and how I make the most of my budget. What are your favorite ways to save money on groceries?

Weekly Menu Rotation

There are lots of methods for menu planning. Some people go to the store and buy what looks good, then plan their menu around their purchase. Some sit down with the sales flyers and plan based on the weekly sales before going to the store. Others make a plan a week or a month ahead, regardless of sales or current taste. All of these have their place, but none quite work for me. 

What works for me is using the Pantry Principle, which I learned about in The Tightwad Gazette, a newsletter about frugality that ran in the 1990's and (while a bit dated) is worth a read in book form. Author Amy Dacyzyn explains: "The basic premise is that you stockpile your pantry (and/or kitchen, freezer, basement, closet and/or the space under your bed) with food purchased at the lowest possible price. The sole purpose of grocery shopping becomes replenishing your pantry, not buying ingredients to prepare specific meals."

This shift in mindset has made the biggest difference in my food budget!

My menus are based on pantry staples, and then I shop sales to maintain those staples. I will stock up on an item when it hits a rock bottom price, even if I don't need it that week. Then I have enough on hand to make my meals with the least expensive option and I am not compelled to spend more for the same item when it isn't on sale.

My weekly menu rotation is flexible enough that I can plug in something I find on manager's markdown while shopping, but rigid enough that I don't come home after work wondering what's for dinner. It's a balance that works for me. 

Here's our weekly rotation: 


Sunday - Something Special 
I do meal prep for the week on Sunday evenings. I cook something like a roast chicken or meatloaf on Sunday nights, and then pack leftovers up for lunches throughout the week. I also make a big batch of steel cut oats to have for breakfasts throughout the week, boil eggs and cut veggies for snacks, and pack lunches. A solid two hours of prep on Sunday evening makes the rest of the week smooth sailing! 

Monday - Meatless
I make a big pot of beans and we start eating them Monday night, often with rice. Rice and beans are the rock stars of the frugal kitchen! Bean leftovers are then incorporated to bulk up other meals throughout the week. 

Tuesday - Tacos
Simple, fast, cheap and we never get bored of tacos! 

Wednesday - Whatever's On Sale 
I generally grocery shop on Wednesdays, when there's an overlap of two weeks' sales flyers and my local Mexican market has a meat special of the day. Dinner is whatever meat special I've bought, or more of Monday's beans, spiced up in a new way.

Thursday - Fish
My spouse, Starling, has dinner with his family on Thursdays, and he doesn't care for fish, so it's a perfect night for the kids and I to enjoy a meal featuring canned tuna, sardines, or salmon, or fresh or frozen fish found on sale.

Friday - Leftovers
Having a specific night for leftovers has proven an absolute necessity to avoid food waste. On any budget, wasted food is money in the trash; on a tight budget, money in the trash is not an option! 

Saturday - Soup
We eat soup year round. Chili, stew, chowder - it's all hearty and filling, and a good way to feed a crowd affordably.

Do you menu plan? What method works best for you?

WIC for a Week

A friend was going through a hard time earlier this year. She had WIC vouchers but not much else to get her through a week of food for her and her preschool-aged child. With her WIC food package and $5 at the dollar store, I created this emergency one week menu to feed the two of them.  

Shopping List

• Milk: 3 gallons
• Juice: 128 oz (64 oz. tomato juice, 64 oz. fruit juice of your choice)
• Strawberry Yogurt: 32 oz
• Cheese: 1 lb.
• Cereal: 36 oz
• Eggs: 1 dozen
• Fruit & Veg: $8 (7 bananas @ $.20 each= $1.40; 1 bag of small apples @ $1.49; 1 lb. carrots @ $.68; 1 lb. onions @ $.50;  1 can tomatoes $.69; 4 bag frozen mixed veggies @ $.99 = $3.96) 
• Whole grains: 2 lb - 1 lb. bread (10 sandwiches) and 1 lb. brown rice (11 servings)
• Peanut butter: 16-18 oz. (9 servings)

Extras from the dollar store

• 1 lb. lentils (7 one-cup servings) - buy the dry beans instead of using the voucher, because dry beans cost less out of pocket than peanut butter
• Jelly
• 1 box pasta
• 1 jar pasta sauce (like Hunt’s pasta sauce, already seasoned)
• 1 container Italian herbs

Menu

Sunday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese

Monday:

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: Fried egg on toast, apple slices with peanut butter, milk

Dinner: Mujadara (lentils with fried onions over rice), mixed veggies

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Pasta and lentil soup with cheese

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: Leftover mujadara, mixed veggies, milk

Dinner: Leftover Pasta and lentil soup with cheese

Thursday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Leftover mujadara, mixed veggies, milk

Friday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: Egg over toast, apple with peanut butter, milk

Dinner: Leftover soup - add any extra veggies to bulk it up, add cheese on top

Saturday

Breakfast: Cereal, milk, ½ banana, 4 oz. fruit juice

Lunch: PB&J, carrot slices, milk

Dinner: Fried rice with mixed veggies

Snacks

Carrots

Hard boiled eggs

Cereal and milk

Strawberry yogurt

Additional Tips for Shopping with WIC

WIC is a supplemental program and not intended to provide for every meal. Its mission is "to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care." 

While it is intended to be supplemental, there are times when it's all a parent has for a bit, and they have to make it last. This menu is based on the WIC food package for California for one young child. I understand that types and amounts of food allowed by this program vary state to state, and by age, so what you receive for your child might not match this list. You also may have an EBT card instead of a paper voucher, depending on your state.

• If you have a fruit and vegetable voucher, ask if there is a farmer's market or store in your area that will match the voucher dollar for dollar. California has such a program, called Market Match.

• Choose the more expensive option if you have more than one choice on a voucher. For example, buy beans with cash, and use the voucher for peanut butter. Peanut butter costs more out of pocket. Similarly, bread often costs more than brown rice. It is more cost effective to pay for the rice and use the voucher for the bread.

• Watch your box sizes on cereal! Years ago, one could buy three 12-oz boxes of Cheerios with the 36-oz voucher. Cheerios boxes have changed to 10.6-oz and 12.25-oz, so you can't get the full 36 oz. It is worth doing a little math and figuring out how close you can get to 36 oz without going over.

• If you're redeeming many vouchers at once and can't use all the fresh milk before it expires, buy powdered milk or evaporated milk. They're great for cooking!

• You can use coupons with your vouchers, and participate in sales such as Buy One, Get One Free deals. If your store is offering a BOGO on cereal, you can get two boxes for the price of one - and the one is covered by your voucher.

• Shop when it's not busy, have your order organized, and let the cashier know you're using WIC before you start. If there are multiple lanes open and you have several vouchers to redeem, you might suggest to people behind you that they could save time in a different line. 

Do you have tips for people using WIC? Share them in the comments! 

Additional tips for shopping with WIC