Does your weekly grocery budget...

[cristina47454]

include money to stockpile sale items/ stock your pantry? And what percentage would you say makes up your stockpile amount?

[ltlmrs]

Originally Posted by cristina47454

include money to stockpile sale items/ stock your pantry? And what percentage would you say makes up your stockpile amount?

I multiply my monthly food budget by 12. I then calculate how much our yearly expenses are:
-pastured chickens (which we get three times a year)
-csa
-bulk grains/beans/etc
-food that will be canned (tomatoes, fruits for preserves) that we get a upick or bulk in season but only if it is cheaper if we buy already canned items at the supermarket
-cheese & butter (items that we buy at Costco about five times a year)

Then I subtract that total from the yearly food budget and divide the remainder by 12. That's my actual monthly budget. For a monthly budget of $250, I usually have $100 left each month for our day to day food: milk, eggs, other veggies & fruits, etc.

HTH!

[ChristyMarie]

Yes but I don't have any specific plans for how much. I just kind of wing it each week depending on what is on sale and what we need.

[dachshundqueen]

Not right now, as we're on a super tight budget. Generally, I have an extra $25 per week to play with and that allows me to grab things that are on sale. Right now I'm doing the pantry challenge to keep grocery costs low, but I still have a ton of brown rice, dried beans, tinned diced tomatoes/tomato paste and dry milk in my stockpile. Aside from that, I'm low on pretty much everything.

Liz

[crunchy_mommy]

We don't follow a strict budget (we're just super strict with money in general) but we always stockpile! There aren't generally sales where I shop because the prices are so low already (bag your own place) but if I do see a good price on something I get a ton. Maybe like 40-50% of our total is stockpiling? We really only go grocery shopping less than twice a month so we live out of the freezer/pantry often.

[Drummer's Wife]

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie

Yes but I don't have any specific plans for how much. I just kind of wing it each week depending on what is on sale and what we need.

same here. If I see a good sale on say rice, I may grab a bunch to stock-up. But it doesn't mean buying less of the groceries I was already planning on, if that makes sense.

[annethcz]

I have a monthly grocery budget, which allows me to have a little more leeway. I don't dedicate a certain percentage of the budget to bulk purchases, I base my purchases on what's on sale and what I've already got at home.

[BetsyS]

Every once in a while, I go over budget to stock up, but usually I stock up within the bounds of my budget.

This month, I've bought 30 pints of blueberries, as well as 50 lbs of peaches. It came out of the regular budget. Last year, though, I bought 250 pounds of tomatoes, and for that, I dipped into some extra money (dh's comission is higher in spring and fall, which is helpful). I like to stock up when things go on sale, so when there is a fabulous sale, I'll just buy less of the other regular groceries that week/2 week cycle. Sort of a mini pantry challenge to free up the money to stock up.

[wombatclay]

We try to stay at or below $100/week and I spend roughly $10 dollars a week on stockpile items. At our local store 10 dollars will buy 10lbs of dry beans, or 10lbs of rice, or 10 canned items, or 5lbs of raisins, or 4 boxes of shelf stable milk. Stuff like that. If there is a sale then I'll get however much 10 dollars can buy. It's not a really fast technique, but it's affordable for us and I feel like doing a small bit every week is better than doing nothing!



--family of 5, moderate to high COL area, members of a local/organic csa, eat meat (which for us is chicken) 3-4 times a month, dd1 has celiac disease so all food is gluten free, generally purchase store brands, toiletries are included in that $100 so some weeks we have more "food" money and other weeks we have more "stuff" on the list--

[Ianthe]

Yes. I spend about 10-20% on bulk foods for the pantry, and I regularly rotate those items in my meal planning. I usually spend more when our local store is having a case lot sale.

[KatWrangler]

I would say 90% of what we buy has to be on sale and I have a coupon for it. If it's a good sale and I don't have a coupon, I will probably buy it. As long as it fights are budget.

[smokeylo]

I've heard 10% is a good amount for stocking up.