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The following is a guest post by Outside the Box Mom:
Thanks to your comments on this series, we have some great questions to address…
Based on a comment left in this series about 1 big monthly shopping trip using coupons, I began wondering about Once a Month Grocery Shopping. Is it possible with coupons?
Advantages of Grocery Shopping Once a Month:
*help you stick to budget
*allows large amount of money to spend at once
*makes you more aware of actual spending
*save money with bulk purchases
*force eating out of the pantry
*encourages eating all that you purchase (instead of just the most recent purchases)
*reduces the number of trips and impulsive purchases
*reduced travel, especially great if you live a great distance from grocery stores
*reduced amount of times with kids at store
*reduces major shopping trips only 12 times per year
*save on gas
*save time ( 1 trip vs 4 trips)
Disadvantages of Grocery Shopping Once a Month:
*have to calculate a month’s needs
*must last 4 weeks / 30 days
*save up money weekly vs. monthly
*requires weekly trips still needed to replenish produce
*requires care and organization in creating your list
*requires refrigerator/freezer room for up to 4 times your usual stock
*lose variety of sales from other 3 weeks of the month (if strictly avoid shopping during those weeks)
*requires organized storage (i.e. break frozen items into individual or meal’s serving)
*could require shopping at more than 1 store to get prices on most staples
*requires a list of month’s meals or plan to repeat same meals during the month
*discourages whims or cravings
*requires discipline and consideration required of all family members
Do you shop only once or twice per month? Do you use coupons during those shopping trips? We’ll continue the discussion in the next post.
Submit your questions and challenges in the comments and they will be addressed in future posts.
–Sign up to receive my new FREE e-book on Saving Money with Coupons. Find quick, easy, time-saving tips and solutions for moms at Outside The Box Mom.
If you missed any posts in this series:
- Goals when using coupons
- Common reasons why people don’t use coupons
- #1 obstacle in using coupons
- Types of coupons available and where you can get them
- Ways you can organize your coupon stash
- How to make a grocery list
- Shop at different stores to stretch your buck
- Know the sales cycle
- Start small
- I have no luck in couponing
- No coupons on products I buy
- Remembering to use your coupons
- Am I a casual couponer?
- I get frustrated easily. Why do I always fail with coupons?
It depends on the product. If we’re talking milk, fresh fruit and veggies, you gave to get that stuff weekly. Meats, snacks, canned goods and other things of that nature can be bought and stored sporadically. I suppose its about the individual family’s preference
Isn’t requiring discipline actually a pro, especially if you have kids? If your teens are eating your month’s groceries, that suggests they aren’t involved in the food planning (how will they learn?) and that they lack self-discipline wrt food. Teaching your kids to plan ahead and to limit themselves to the food plan seems like a valuable life skill to me! We meal plan once a month (and my three year old helps!) We then shop for most of the month. I list the things we need for the rest of the month once a week or even biweekly. We get vegetables delivered as part of a CSA, so I don’t have to worry about that aspect. Since we started doing this my monthly bill halved.
I couldn’t do this mainly because we eat SO much fresh fruit and vegetables. I can get away with certain frozen things, but each day my lunchbox to work has at least an apple, 2 cuties, a baggie of carrots and a container of cherry tomatoes. I do enjoy freezer cooking and eating out of the pantry but I need that fresh produce.
With three growing boys, my husband, daughter and I – I just can’t make once a month work for me. If it’s here they will eat it ALL. For my household it just works out to be less if we shop weekly. Although, I would love to only have to go once a month. I hate food shopping
You make a great case but I am so afraid to go to just once a month…..with 3 man-sized appetites they would go hog-wild and eat everything up at one time. They have no concept of make it last.
It would be a good goal to work toward.
I do a large shopping trip once a month on 10% off day.
whats the best way to save?