Using bulk buys to cut the grocery budget

It's not that we eat tuna all that regularly. It's not that I'm prepping for the zombie apocalypse. It's just that, when I find that deal that's so good I have to post it on Facebook (you know you've done it), I don't ever buy a sensible amount. I buy almost everything on the shelf.

There's a little controversy surrounding stock-up buys. Some people say it's not fair for one person to buy two cases of tuna because it's a loss leader at 2/$1. I say, since when is life fair? Everyone else should have gotten there sooner, because my pantry will be stocked with cheap food for as long as I can keep it that way (50 cents for a 5.5 oz can of tuna is a protein source at less than 10 cents an ounce). When I find that once-a-year deal, I have to be able to pay for it, and that's where a stock-up fund comes in handy. It's the cushion that allows you to buy your normal grocery budget while stocking up on the occasional awesome deal. Normally, $100 is a good amount to budget for unexpected windfalls, but if you can set aside more, that's even better. These are the sales that will get your grocery spending down further than you ever imagined was possible, so don't be shy – buy everything you are comfortable buying. Store it under a bed or a couch if you run out of room in the kitchen.

Of course, spotting these super awesome deals means knowing your prices and/or carrying your price book. Hubs glanced away for a moment at the grocery store last week and was SHOCKED, I tell ya, when he looked back and saw me loading 10 pounds of butter into the cart. I explained, gently, that butter is a staple and staples don't ever go on sale, so 30 cents off is a big deal for butter (which is yet another thing that freezes beautifully). If I had a decent sized deep freeze, I would have gotten three times as much as I did: it was the cheapest I had ever seen it. I'm still kicking myself for only bagging up seven pounds of free mangoes at the local Mexican market last week. D'oh!

Some women brag about some fancy shoes they got for 10 percent off. I brag about a year's worth of coffee for $54, or two months' supply of milk for $5 (freezes!). My shoes, by the way, are $120 shoes that someone got a "great deal" on, then wore twice and sold to me for 50 cents at a garage sale.

What is Aeropostale, and why should I care?

First off, let me say that I'm just a regular person and the ideas I have aren't new.

Are you still here? Hellooo?

You see, I've been living this super-tightwad life for several years now, constantly finding new ways to pinch pennies, falling off the wagon and getting back on again. And, I keep learning stuff and living this life and, while it's old hat to me now, every time I open my mouth about the things I do to save money, people act like I've just invented this cool new widget that I must share. Huh.

I started looking into it because I didn't think it needed to be done. I figured all this stuff was covered, what with all the frugal, thrifty coupon sites out there. Heck, I was subscribed to a lot of them. But, as I found myself unsubscribing from the blogs and sites that hawked coupons and ways to save $10 at Aeropostale (what?), I realized that maybe I did have something to offer.

This is not a site for the faint of heart, although if you think you can't do the stuff I do to live the life you want, you might just surprise yourself. I haven't worked outside our home since 2007. On a teacher's salary, we've bought a house with land in the country. We are well on our way to being debt-free, we're healthier than we've ever been, and I have lots of pretty little chickens and two happy country boys to show for it. And, I've gotten to live my dream and raise my kids. That's the most valuable part to me, and who knew I could get there by changing my attitude and washing some Ziplocs? You can, too. Follow me to some sheer tightwad awesomeness...