For the past two months I have been working on lowering our grocery bill by cutting out weekly trips to the grocery store and going every other week to Costco. It seemed like every time I went to the store for milk or fresh produce, I would end up spending between $50 and $75 worth of groceries because there was always some treat or sale item I couldn't pass up. Going to Costco every other Friday has helped tremendously because I buy enough milk, produce and bread to last us 2 weeks, so I'm not tempted to go to the local grocery store, unless I need a specialty item like canned beans, sour cream, etc. It also helps on saving gas.
We are blessed to have an extra refrigerator and a chest freezer in the garage, so there is plenty of room for the overflow of groceries. I don't think we could do this if we didn't have the second refrigerator. I keep the refrigerator in the garage on the highest setting since we keep the extra milk and eggs and produce in it and the freezer at a lower setting than the one in the house because we don't open it as often. I store all the extra loaves of bread in the chest freezer because they take up the most room.
The first two weeks I started this new way of shopping didn't work out as I had hoped. I didn't buy enough milk, so I had to go to the store to get a few gallons to last us until Friday, which defeated the purpose. The second two weeks, I had the opposite problem. I bought too much milk and gave a few gallons to our neighbors. At least we did a Corporal Work of Mercy that week :-) By the third cycle, I was able to figure out how much of each item to buy so it would last until the next trip to Costco. I'm a very slow learner.
Ever since I've been shopping this way we have lowered our grocery bill quite a bit. I was spending over a $1000.00 a month for a family of 9 and now I spend around $300 every two weeks. There is no longer the need to make a quick trip to the grocery store because we are out of something, so I don't get tempted to buy extras. The only negative thing about this is that it takes forever to unload the van and put everything away. I'm exhausted by the time I get home, but I go around 11:00 in the morning and with all the samples they have, the kids are fed for lunch :-)
Here is a list of what I buy every two weeks, or monthly, depending on the item. The cleaning supplies and toiletries last for a month, so I don't have to worry about those items until the next month. The grocery bill evens out because I don't have to buy the big items like cleaning supplies, paper products and larger food items every two weeks. I can honestly say I don't miss going to the grocery store at all.
Every 2 weeks:
12 gallons of milk
4 dozen eggs
1 barge bag frozen breakfast sausage patties
6 loaves of bread
10 pound bag of apples
5 lbs. onions
1 package of 6 Romaine hearts, large bag of fresh spinach
2 packages of grape tomatoes
3 pack of cucumbers
bag of frozen strawberries
bag of frozen blueberries
4 quarts of half anf half
1 liter of heavy whipping cream
6 jars of apple sauce
2 bags of mozzarella cheese sticks
2 pack vanilla ice cream- 1 1/2 gallons each
(2) 6 pack frozen OJ
1 large bag of tortilla chips
large jar of salsa
1- 5 lb bag of fresh chicken thighs
10 lbs. ground beef
Once a month
Paper products- plates, napkins, toilet paper, coffee cups, trash bags
1 case of dry pasta
1 large pork loin
1 case of diced tomatoes
5 pound bag of onions
1- 32 oz bag shredded cheddar cheese
1- 32 oz bag shredded mozzarella cheese
10 lb. bag sugar
2 pack of strawberry jam
2 pack peanut butter
1 box of 72 slices (3-1 lb.) American cheese
10 pounds red potatoes
5 lbs carrots
Once every two months
Toiletries
3 pack salt, large jars of garlic powder, oregano, pepper, etc.
10 lb. bag flour
1 gallon Canola oil
51 oz bottle olive oil
1- 64 fl oz jug pancake syrup
large bottles mayo, catsup and mustard
Not as often
20 lb. bag of Basmati rice (once every 4 months)
large jar of yeast (once every 6 months)
