As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I had an epiphany while doing my daily Facebook and blog reading. I’m the type of person who feels the need to instantly put any new plan into action, so I headed to Costco yesterday afternoon to stock up.
Some numbers first though. I have discovered (and this is shameful to admit) that we spend somewhere between $1800-$2200 per MONTH on groceries and household necessities (toilet paper, laundry detergent, shampoo, body wash, etc.). I also discovered that the $20 bucket of laundry detergent I purchased at Costco two months ago is barely half gone…and the giant containers of fabric softener and dishwasher detergent have quite a bit left too. Considering that I used to have to purchase these things nearly weekly when I was buying them at Walmart or Target, I’m saving a TON of money in that department.
I realized that there definitely is a way to do bulk shopping RIGHT. I’ve had memberships to Sam’s and Costco for years (sometimes not at the same time, but usually both) but I’ve never had a lot of success with them. I tend to shop there only sporadically and often find myself stocking up on junk food and things we wouldn’t normally buy…and then still needing my usually thrice-weekly visits to Walmart, Target and the grocery store for staples and things we can actually, you know…use for meals.
So back to my epiphany and trying a new method of keeping us fed for less money, I decided to start an experiment where I’ll buy our groceries and household items at Costco for 3 months and then compare our spending. Our closest Costco is about 20 minutes away and I live less than a mile from Super Walmart and Super Target, so it’s not going to be so easy for me to quit all those “quick” runs to the store, but for the sake of our budget I’m going to try.
I ended up spending nearly $500 at Costco, which was quite a bit over the $350 I’d anticipated. I did however purchase a rice cooker and some school supplies for our soon-to-be 9th grader, so without those items, the trip would have been able $425, which is much closer to $350. I realized however that if I went to Costco twice a month and spent $500 each time, I’d only be spending $1000 per month, which is a only half the average $2000 per month we’re been spending! Not too shabby at all.
I plan to visit Costco weekly for milk, meat, bread, produce and to replenish household supplies and staples (including supplements, medicines, toiletries, etc.) and I think I can definitely keep my weekly spending in the $250-300/week range for EVERYTHING.
I told the kiddos that from now on, I will only be buying milk and other items once a week and that once we’re out, we’re out. There’s no more till shopping day, which is Monday. Perhaps this will stop the constant drain on milk and other items. ‘Oh, we drank eight half-gallons of expensive organic milk in two days? That’s ok…mom will go right out and get more!’
For comparison, I purchased four gallons of whole milk (not organic but hormone- and antibiotic-free) for $10.40 or $2.60 per gallon. We usually spend $7.50-8 or more per gallon (yes, organic, but we simply can’t afford it anymore at this point).
I purchased five dozen conventional but local eggs for $6.00 whereas I usually spend $4.50 to $5.00 per dozen (for organic).
I realize that these savings are not just due to bulk shopping but because I’ve switched from organic to conventional BUT at the others stores I shop, the price differences often are not great enough to justify getting the conventional.
While I loved the idea of feeding my family natural, organic, humane products it just wasn’t working for us budget-wise. I often found the fridge and pantry devoid of what I needed to make a meal (even if I’d recently shopped) and that would lead us to eating out or eating fast food. So buying the priciest items and having to skimp on them wasn’t necessarily helping our budget (or our health) in the big scheme of things. I’ve decided to switch my focus to real, whole foods with minimal processed foods so that we can meet our goal of eating from home the majority of the time, even when we’re busy.
Other items we stocked up on:
bread (sourdough and whole grain)
cheese
sandwich meat (not nitrate-free for now)
bagels and english muffins
butter
cream cheese
chicken (whole and breasts)
ground beef (bulk and patties)
hamburger and hotdog buns
hot dogs (birthday party coming up)
eggs and milk
wild salmon
tomatoes
grapes
strawberries
onions
nectarines
romaine
cucumbers
carrots
celery
spinach
broccoli
10# of sweet yellow onions
bell peppers (red, yellow and orange)
canned tuna
tortillas
potato knishes (treat)
Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches (emergency grab-n-g0 meal)
28 can case of low-sodium V8 (my recovery drink of choice when I’ve been at the barn)
24 can case of Costco brand “Slimfast” (yeah, I know…a grab-n-go item for me; much less expensive than the $1.50/8 oz Atkins drinks I like)
Coming home with $400+ worth of groceries doesn’t really do anyone a lot of good if most of that goes to waste! We tend to waste huge amounts of food. To combat this, I decided to prepare and repackage as much as possible in advance. I seasoned and browned the bulk ground beef and froze in portions for cooking. I diced and par-cooked 4 large onions and portioned and froze. I diced and froze half the bell peppers. I washed the grapes and strawberries in vinegar so they’d last longer in the fridge. I made a huge casserole last night and portioned and saved the leftovers.
Today I plan to use my food processor to slice celery, carrots and onions to freeze for soups and stews. I also froze the bread and english muffins (we already had a loaf and a package going) as well as the bagels. Today we also plan to prep and freeze a large quantity of bean and cheese burritos. I will roast the two chickens for dinner one night and then can make bone broth with the bones/leftovers. I love my homemade bone broth/stock and drink it plain as well as use it in my cooking.
I don’t have a complete meal plan for the remaining fresh items, but my son has offered to help me with that and we’ll have it done by tonight, incorporating freezer and pantry items we already have. Our hope is that we can feed ourselves for the better part of the 45 days till our new house closes, with minimal weekly purchases. This way we can save money and avoid moving a lot of food when moving day comes!
Once we’re moved and settled, I hope to switch to making my own bread items again and this time I would like to try using soaked flour. I just don’t have the time or emotional fortitude for that right now with all the changes we’re experiencing.