Thursday, July 7, 2016

Stocking The Pantry On A Budget

Whether you live alone or have a large family, stocking a pantry on a budget is one of the biggest money saving moves you can make. Food and paper goods as well as hygiene products are a huge part of every home's budget. Why not save where you can. Here is how I stock the pantry on a budget.

I am going to break down in a series all of the ways we stock our pantry and how we use it and keep it organized and used because there is no point stocking the pantry if you are not going to use it and cook it up before it spoils.

grocery haul, emergency good, shopping  on a budget

You know how I feel about grocery shopping and stocking my pantry. I can care less about clothes or purses but give me a stocked pantry and I get so excited. It means security and plenty for my family. You will want to use some of my tips cause see that basket above? It was jammed full and had steak and chicken breasts as well as craft beers and it was all just over $100. I think $107 to be exact. 82 items for that price is amazing to me.

On average when I coupon and shop the sale cycles I save anywhere from $50 to $70 off of my usual grocery bill. That is at least $200 a month and one benefit of a fully stocked pantry is that if money is tight one week and I don't want to spend money on groceries, I can skip to the following week and cook from what I have.

Amazon prime, k-cups from Amazon, coffee by the case

Budget Friendly Tips For Stocking The Pantry

1. Stock what you will use. Make a list for a couple weeks of what you are cooking with and actually using. That fancy bottle of olives may have looked good but at $8 you could have bought pounds flour.

2. Use coupons. I have started spending time each week planning my shopping list. I stopped couponing for a couple of years but deciding to really get our food storage accomplished as part of our emergency preps made me decide to get back at it so I could save money on groceries and have extra in the budget for long term food. Now when I see how much I am saving, I am so mad at myself for ever stopping.

3. If you don't want to use coupons, then make sure to check out your grocery sale papers when they come and then shop the loss leaders. Loss leaders are the items on special that week that they are selling at great low prices to lure you in and hoping you spend way more. Sometimes I will pop in a store just for those stock up items.

4. Here is the main way you will save big bucks. BUY way more than you need when the price is low. Here is an example. I was in Target, the hand soap I like was marked way low at .69, with a 20% off deal, that made each hand soap .55. Almost half of the usual $1 price. So I bought 20. Stock up on the sale cycles and then wait until they are on sale again before you have to buy them.

Shop at discount grocers or local markets. Our local produce market is such a good bargain and they sell bulk bags of beans and grains as well. You can watch my youtube video of my latest haul here.

5. Consider using subscribe and save from Amazon. We have been ordering groceries and paper goods from Amazon for years now. Once a month my box comes and it has a few regular items like our coffee and toilet paper and then I switch up other items that come every few months and you can't beat the prices if know your price points. I will do a whole post on what I feel is worth order from Amazon to stock your pantry or emergency food storage. And I always make sure I order five items because then you get an extra 15% off the prices. 

Amazon Prime Day is coming up in a few days too, so I am hoping to snag some really good deals. You can find details below.

6. Now cook up what you have and save money eating at home. I am experimenting with good shelf stable pantry foods so I always have what I need beyond just canned soup and beans.

We are now on youtube and am really loving that medium. A new video will be posted tomorrow on how to clean your vacuum and get rid of any smells and make it clean well again. Come subscribe and say hi.

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4 comments:

  1. When I was raising 5 kids, I always bought those sale items in quantity to stock up! People in the check out line would joke I was preparing for a national disaster. But it is such a great feeling to know that you can feed your family for an extended period of time if there is some financial emergency. Sometimes the pantry was bare and money was tight and I think back to those times. I am blessed that those times were few and my pantry has remained full (although) it was hard to downsize when we went down to a family of two! Now if I see those "can't resist" sales, I buy extra to donate to our local food bank and our "non-food" bank - a church that collects non food items like toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper and detergent for families in need.

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  2. Great tips! I too stock up when the prices are low. I have 2 totally packed large freezers and a well stocked food pantry as well as a gift closet and health and beauty care items. I don't need to buy shampoo, conditioner, razor, toothbrushes, soaps and antiperspirant for the rest of the year or even longer because I got all of those items for pennies on the dollar by combining sales and coupons. I have our grown children shop our pantry and cupboards for things they need also.

    We do have a garden and I do some freezing and canning as well as dehydrating. One of my sons and his wife, along with her parents and brother, are hunters and fishermen and they provide us with lots of venison, elk and fresh fish. I provide them with fresh raspberries, cherries and green beans when they are in season and my garden is producing them. This year I hope to have lots of blackberries to also share with them.

    This all works out well for all of us and saves us lots of money while allowing us to live a frugal but abundant life. :)

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  3. Debbie that is awesome. I wish we were more rural and could grow larger quantities. I have been dehydrating tomatoes this year though. The ability to hunt and bring home that wonderful fresh meat is awesome. What a blessing for you all.

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  4. I have been tempted by San Francisco Bay Coffee. Now I will give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

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