My grandkids recently visited for their summer break. We had a lot of great activities planned (more on that in another blog) but I went from cooking for two to cooking for seven. I therefore did what I term as a ‘mega-shop’ in anticipation of their visit. We do enjoy eating out but my family also loves and misses my cooking and we are not the kind to waste food or money. I obtained everyone’s ‘food wish list’ well in advance and baked my heart out. I then made an extensive shopping list for the big box store.
I had, as a I said in a prior blog, recently hit a major milestone by retiring from full-time work. That meant, among other things, thar I now had the time to shop in person at the big box store. I had been using their delivery service because I was literally working 18-hour days and therefore justified the cost in my head given my total lack of personal time. However, once I stopped working full-time, I had the time so to speak.
Now, not only was I saving the tacked-on delivery cost and tipping, but I found (no big surprise to me) that the prices of actual items were far lower in the big box store versus shopping online. Even so, I kept to my original plan of only shopping there once every six weeks or so. I didn’t need to go more often than that and sometimes, less frequently. I was used to making do with what I already had at home so I would make a list and when the list was long enough, I would hit the big box store and shop.
But the mega-shop is different. These are big shops driven by family visits, holidays and the like. They should only happen when you have a huge list of mostly things you seldom purchase.
The strategy to a mega-shop is to make sure you will use up all the product you buy. For me, that meant actually NOT buying a number of items at the big box store but buying some things at the local discount grocery store because the quantities at the big box store were simply going to be too much. As I worked my way through the big box store, I was mindful of what I purchased and why. A large pack of ground beef? Absolutely. I always divide that up and package it in one-pound quantities knowing I would always use it up. Saltines? No way I was going to use up a giant box before they went stale, so I put that item aside for the local discount grocery store. Same for a requested cereal one of my grandkids had asked for. The huge boxes at the big box store were frankly a better deal by per ounce but not for me because the one grandkid who eats that cereal won’t finish a giant box but will likely finish a regular sized box that I buy at discount grocery store. Berries? The bigger the basket, the better because my grandkids consume a lot of berries and fruit in general. Same for cheese, my grandkids cannot get enough and if I happen to have any leftover? Trust me, I’ll use it up. But for the seldom bought soda I treat my grandkids to? I buy the larger liter bottles at the discount grocery store so there is literally no waste.
The other strategy to employ when you do a mega-shop is to make sure you put safeguards in place to ensure that you are not going to be tempted enough to buy any of the cool stuff they have on display Most of these items are generally seasonable in nature. I was not in the big box store 60 seconds before I spied a cool food cooler with wheels. I immediately asked my wing woman, who was also doing a shop that day, to make sure I didn’t try and buy something I clearly didn’t need. She is a good friend and made sure I stuck to my list even though that darn ice cooler was pretty darn sick.
The only items I bought that were not on my list were items I found that I knew that I would absolutely consume (a couple of bottles of red wine on special comes to mind) and that the price was too good to pass up. Same with chicken quarters which are astoundingly cheap at the big box store. I use then for the protein of my frugal fancy dinner (next blog up) and to make cheap shredded chicken for my spoiled pup who requires a lot of protein.
So, be mindful of how much you consume and how often when you plan a mega-shop at your local big box store. They can save you a lot of money but only if you shop wisely and strategically.
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the house behind 