I love having a second freezer. I would venture so far as to say a second freezer is essential to maximize your ability to save money. And if you're serious about trying to save money with your grocery bill then buy a second freezer!! We got ours on craigslist for a great price! If you're uncomfortable buying second hand then check out the 'scratch and dent' section from your local appliance stores.
Right now we have tons of bags of shredded cheese that I got for $3.00 for 2 lbs, 6 1/2 gallons of milk that I got for .95 cents each*, tons of lunch meat I got free from coupons, 13 loaves of bread I got free from coupons, some pre-made suppers I made a couple months ago for lazy days, 8 bags of M&Ms I got free from CVS, 10 bags of organic vegetables I got for .50 cents a bag after coupons ... there's more in there, but that gives you an idea.
If we didn't have that freezer we couldn't have all that stuff - it would go bad way before we'd get around to eating it! But that is all stuff we eat, and most of those deals are not ones you see every day- free bread and lunch meat!! Kraft Cheese for $3/ TWO lbs! I like having the ability to stock up on those items knowing we have a place to keep them.
That is also what is enabling us to go without grocery shopping for so long. We have a lot more food we can eat up and clear out from the freezer.
All of those items I bought that are in our freezer were bought with my monthly grocery money in the month that I bought the items - so while I spend $300/month on groceries, I am stock piling my freezer as well as feeding us for the month.
I ended up needing some unexpected dental work done, so the savings on groceries for this month will just go straight into paying for the dental work. With a little bit of tweaking in a few other areas we hopefully won't have to touch our emergency fund to cover any of the dental work.
*A nearby grocery store frequently marks down their gallon and half gallons of milk. I find that the 1/2 gallons freeze/thaw out better, so if they have both marked down then I get the smaller size, as they work out to the same price per gallon anyway!
Right now we have tons of bags of shredded cheese that I got for $3.00 for 2 lbs, 6 1/2 gallons of milk that I got for .95 cents each*, tons of lunch meat I got free from coupons, 13 loaves of bread I got free from coupons, some pre-made suppers I made a couple months ago for lazy days, 8 bags of M&Ms I got free from CVS, 10 bags of organic vegetables I got for .50 cents a bag after coupons ... there's more in there, but that gives you an idea.
If we didn't have that freezer we couldn't have all that stuff - it would go bad way before we'd get around to eating it! But that is all stuff we eat, and most of those deals are not ones you see every day- free bread and lunch meat!! Kraft Cheese for $3/ TWO lbs! I like having the ability to stock up on those items knowing we have a place to keep them.
That is also what is enabling us to go without grocery shopping for so long. We have a lot more food we can eat up and clear out from the freezer.
All of those items I bought that are in our freezer were bought with my monthly grocery money in the month that I bought the items - so while I spend $300/month on groceries, I am stock piling my freezer as well as feeding us for the month.
I ended up needing some unexpected dental work done, so the savings on groceries for this month will just go straight into paying for the dental work. With a little bit of tweaking in a few other areas we hopefully won't have to touch our emergency fund to cover any of the dental work.
*A nearby grocery store frequently marks down their gallon and half gallons of milk. I find that the 1/2 gallons freeze/thaw out better, so if they have both marked down then I get the smaller size, as they work out to the same price per gallon anyway!
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13 comments:
You are so thrifty! I am not a good enough bargain shopper, and I don't have an extra freezer. I am the lady who's in the grocery store almost daily buying stuff to cook for dinner. I actually went two whole days without going this week! I know I should keep my eyes peeled for those CVS coupons, but....I will try to do better. You have inspired me.
We don't even have a CVS. Ugh. We do have Walgreens though. I didn't even know MILK would stay good after the date..
Becky
I will have to check out that magic bullet.. Oh, and let me know when you run across some other good Walgreens sales.. It seems like I always miss em. Thx.
Becky
I have a second freezer and I love it.
I have 2 refrigerator/freezers, too, and it does help to stock up on things. Not that much lasts very long with 4 teenagers in the house! LOL
I had no idea you could freeze milk! I am constantly running to the store for milk! I'm gonna try it! Thanks for the tip!
We are also stock up people like you! We have 2 refrigerators and 1 huge deep freezer.
I wish I lived close to you so that I could also partake in those deals, unfortunately NO CVS here in El Paso. But I do find great deals once in awhile.
I also found out that 2% milk freezes better than whole milk. LOL We only drink 2% now!!
wow, i never would've thought to freeze all that stuff. i guess i freeze bread & cheese sometimes but never lunch meat, candy or milk! mr. m left behind a second fridge/freezer so as soon as my sister stops USING IT, i'll get to try stocking up on stuff! ;-)
where do you find coupons for organic foods?!?!?!!? we are eating organically and i cant find any coupons for the brands they sell!!!! please let me know!!!! thanks, ashleigh
DH and I were just talking today about getting a second freezer. We're going to look tomorrow.
I get marked-down milk all the time and freeze it. Right now we have about 10 gallons in there!
Seems like every time I get a good deal on M&Ms or chocolate chips I have to HIDE them in the freezer! They are always found and eaten long before I have need for them. Oh, well!
Blessings--
Dana
We couldn't live without our upright freezer. We bought it when we bought our house, and it has been packed the whole time since.
I never see deals like those here though. They just dont exist! I use our freezer for big bags of veggies, grains/flours, and the huge quantities of grass-fed natural beef & buffalo we order from a farm upstate.
I just started cooking again (we went through a 5 month kitchen remodel) and now that I am doing the whole coupon thing I realize how much I could use a second freezer.
Hi Jessica,
I just bought the smallest chest freezer I could find (5.5 cubic feet) and am slowly filling it with on-sale and marked-down meat and vegetables, and butter for my holiday baking.
I started by putting in things from the freezer on top of my fridge. (Surprising how much will fit in there if you're really determined!) As I buy new things -- like four whole fryers at 97 cents a pound -- they go first into the fridge freezer to freeze solidly. I wait until I have a bunch of stuff, then put it into the new freezer all at once.
Why? Because it's MANUAL DEFROST and I want to limit the number of times it gets opened. (I can still hear my mom yelling, "Close that freezer door!" when we kids would linger for more than a couple of seconds.)
I'll probably be writing about my new "baby" for the Smart Spending blog. It surprised me how little energy it's going to take to run the freezer: 242 kWh per year, on average, which at local rates amounts to about 78 cents a month.
Incidentally, the freezer lives in my bedroom. Ah, apartment life... ;-)
Hi again, Jessica:
I wrote my Smart Spending blog about the freezer, and linked to your essay. In fact, I quoted from it. I think your bargains will inspire others.
You can find the article at http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2008/09/23/i-share-my-bedroom-with-a-freezer.aspx.
Keep up the good work, and I hope your husband is feeling better soon.
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