Stock Up Prices

Now this is a very general post, but one thing to keep in mind if you're really trying to save money is to stock up when you are able to get items at a great price. It is cheaper to buy 20 boxes of cereal at $1.00 a box that will last you 5 months, than it is to buy the 4 boxes you might need that month for $3.00 a box and have to buy them again every month. With things like cereal and canned and dry goods, the shelf life is long enough that you have quite a while to use up whatever extra you buy. 

If you're planning on doing this, it is important to know what the stock up price is. You don't want to waste your money and time stocking up on something that you might find later even cheaper. Here are some of my VERY GENERAL stock up prices. Keep in mind, these stock up prices usually involve coupons. I don't have a newspaper subscription because there aren't many people in my family to feed yet, but there are many coupon websites online that will help save you money. The most popular is coupons.com.

Cereal - $1.00 a box or less
Canned Vegetables - $0.40 a can or less for name brands
Frozen cans or 64 oz. bottled juices - less than $1.00 each
Spaghetti Sauce - $0.75 or less for a 26 oz. can
Canned Fruit - $0.50 or less each
Ice Cream - $1.75 or less for a 1.75 qt container (Yes, I stock up on ice-cream. It is a staple in my house.)
Dry Pasta - $0.50 a box or less
Bottled Water (mostly for emergency storage) - $2.00 or less per 24 case

These are just a few of the things that have a longer shelf life. All of these things except for ice cream and cereal will last for at least a year. Cereal will usually last almost a year, and ice cream only a few months, but I never have a hard time getting rid of that...