🍎 🛒 Hacking the Pantry Challenge: Avoid These 3 Mistakes for Year-Round Savings!

[@greysky09]

I appreciate your take on doing this weekly or as often as meal planning. I found coconut milk when checking through the pantry and got to save it before it expired. Our pantry is a shelf in the basement so things can get forgotten if I buy in bulk on sale (eg. $5 off at Costco which is already less than normal but so much more food)

[@thewholehome]

In the business of life out of sight out of mind is so real - totally! I love knowing what you saved! I think weekly or every other week is the way to really make it work for us year round. Cos otherwise by the time we get to an annual challenge we might have had stuff expire, or we’re not using our budget well through the year!

[@evelinebloom8832]

Thank you for this video. Question, organic Coffee is on sale 1+1 free . You do not buy? I want to cut my groceries budget.

[@thewholehome]

Hi! That’s a great question that has no “correct” answer but I’ll give my thoughts on it in terms of managing budget :) And I’ll assume for answering this that I wasn’t already buying coffee this week (if I was, then I’d just take the free extra one for sure and either enjoy more coffee or whatever the item was, or I’d label it for the next week.) But if I wasn’t already buying then it’s an extra spend but for a great money saving deal. And the choice to do that is going to depend on the individual and the item and the budget. I would personally buy coffee on BOGO in advance yes, and I’d label the second one that it was for the next week/month and then I’d take it out of the next week or month’s budget. So then when I come to build that meal plan I know I’ve already spent some of it. Or, if I had spare in my budget that initial week when I saw it on sale, then I’d use that and have a bit of extra money to spend the next week. Because I check my pantry before each plan and shop, I don’t risk forgetting I have it or spending too much buying extra. But I’d only buy ahead if I know I won’t then use the item earlier where it would end up not actually saving me money. So if it’s maybe blueberries for example and I know they’d just get eaten, then no I wouldn’t buy on BOGO cos it won’t get saved. Even if it’s a great deal - if it sends me over budget, it’s not a great deal for ME! But buying ahead also assumes we have a little saved so we CAN go over budget one week. I do have the ability to do this but if you’re shopping week to week with no extra then that might be hard to do! But yes managing to save a bit to have that flexibility to buy ahead is a move that compounds SO much in savings if we use it well, and a really great idea if you’re careful, organised, and plan it out! I’d say if you’re trying to save, the biggest point in this is making sure each week balances, if you’re buying ahead or buying extra make sure you have a plan for where that money is coming from, and when the item will get used so that it actually saves you money, and then make sure it does!

[@evelinebloom8832]

@@thewholehome thank you so much 💜