How We Will Save On Groceries in 2026(Part 2)

We will continue to only buy what we need at loss leader prices. If you keep a price book you will always know when a sale price is really a great sale price. For example, in my area, the lowest sale price for chicken breasts is usually between $ 1.79 and $ 1.99 a pound. I can get it for $ 1.49 a pound in bulk at a meat market or bulk food meat market like Camillo’s or GFS. But that is rare and I don’t have the space right now for bulk chicken. We still have about 20 pounds in our freezers. However you will not find me buying them at $2.99 or $ 3.49 a pound on sale any more. And I will never pay $5.-$7. a pound when they are not on sale.

I use this kind of thinking on almost everything I buy. I don’t buy at full price. If you know that chicken goes on sale at rock bottom prices twice a year, then that is when you stock up for what you will need for a 6 month period. If your budget is low and you are barely making it each month, take $5.00 to $10.00 a month and set it aside to accumulate for a rock bottom purchase. Hubby and I do not eat a whole chicken breast. You only need 4 ounces for a meal. So I will slice a chicken breast lengthwise in half and we will each eat a half. Sometimes the breasts are huge so we will cut one into 4 portions and eat just one portion at a meal for each of us.

Onions are on sale right now at Aldi’s for $ .99 for 3 lbs. Thanks for that tip Belinda. I will get 2 bags and peel and slice them, put them in food saver bags and freeze them in meal size portions. They are ready whenever I need them and the onions don’t go bad in the pantry. Being only 2 people we do not go through onions or potatoes quickly. Hence I have found ways to make them last. I hate food waste.

She also told me that fresh cranberries are on sale at Aldi’s for $ .99. So I will get a few bags to bake with during the next year.

Last year when celery was on sale at Thanksgiving, I made a mistake. I tell you this so that you don’t make the same mistake. I bought a bunch of celery for about $.69 a bag. We use a lot of celery in soups, stews and other dishes. I diced up the celery into small chunks and froze it. When I would put it in my soups and stews, it would disintegrate. This year if I see a good price, I will only buy 2-3 heads that will keep in the fridge.

We have a bit of store bought bread and rolls in the house right now. I keep it in the freezer because we don’t normally go through it quickly. However, I need more than I have to make French toast for family this weekend. Top’s has a super coupon to get a loaf of white or Italian bread for $ .99 this week. Since it is senior discount day today, I will buy that loaf for $ .93. I am too busy this week to make bread. However next week, I will start making all of my breads, rolls, English muffins and tortillas. I know that I can make them cheaper than buying them. I will track what I spend when I do it and let you know the cost.

We use a lot of tomato products. I have stockpiled quite a few when they go on sale. Most I bought for around $ .50 – $.79 in the last few years. We paid even less for tomato paste. I also have many jars of tomatoes that I canned that we grew in pots in previous years. Hubby makes homemade tomato soup using them. I make spaghetti sauce with them and use them in a variety of soups and other dishes. I will not have to buy any this coming year.

When peppers were in season June though August, I bought enough to slice up and freeze until they are at rock bottom again next summer. I put them on a sheet pan and freeze them and then put them in a food saver bags. I just pull out what I need when I make stir fry or fajitas.

I no longer buy fresh milk. I buy quarts of shelf stable milk at Dollar Tree for $1.25. Hubby and I would not go through a quart of fresh milk before it went bad. Once I open one off the shelf and put it in the refrigerator, it keeps quite a while. For those of you worried about the preservatives not being good for me, don’t worry. I am headed towards 80 and have eaten many my whole life. I am still here. 🙂 I always have the option of adding water to canned condensed milk too. I buy that kind of canned milk this time of year when it is on sale. I have plenty right now.

We have some canned soups in our stockpile. We will use them up and then only make our homemade soups in batches that we can freeze. They are much cheaper and taste so much better.

I need to finish this for today. We have to go vote and get back here for our landscape crew to show up. Hubby needs to tell them what to do. We always have them do plantings and the spring clean up every year. Hubby usually cleans up the gardens in the fall. But it is now too much for him and I have everything else to do. So we reached out to them about 8 days ago and they are coming today to do it. It will be another costly bill but necessary. We are so glad that we saved all our lives to be able to afford to hire people when need be.

I also have some grocery shopping to do. I will be back with a post tomorrow.