Pantry Challenge

I have taken up the Pantry Challenge given by Life as Mom for the month of January.  I have set my goal at $150.  The main point of the challenge is to limit spending of groceries, use what you have on hand and put money into savings (at least that is the challenge for me - more money in savings). 

This week on her site she acknowledged what I had been thinking - What if I can't restock my pantry?  Wouldn't you know that tomorrow at a local grocery store they are having 3 lb. bags of boneless skinless chicken breasts for $3.99 (limit of two bags)?  Incredible.  Also, 8 oz. bags of shredded mozzarella are listed at $1.00 each.  OMG.  Bananas are on sale for 29 cents a lb. and 1/2 gallons of milk are going for 88 cents.  The bananas and milk are a given.  These are needs.  But the chicken and cheese - well, for a stock up queen this is a dilemma. That is why I got a big chuckle out of the post at Life as Mom.  So what do I plan to do? 

Well here is some chicken purchase background - I will call it CPB.  Sounds important.  Last week they had a sale at the same store for $1.49 lb. for boneless skinless chicken breast which was a price that was the lowest I had seen in 1 year. I stocked up.  The one day sale of chicken comes to $1.33 lb.   There is a 2 bag limit on the chicken.  As much as I want to buy those bags of chicken I am going to restrain myself.  My reason is that I have plenty of boneless skinless chicken in the freezer from my purchases last week.  In another month or so one store always has bone in chicken breast for only 99 cents a lb.  Which even with the bone is a great deal.  Also about every month or so one store has the boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale between $4.69 and $4.99 for a 3 lb. bag.  So I would be saving between $1.38 and $1.98 if I purchased both bags depending on upcoming sales.  I think I would rather pocket the $7.98 than spend it.

The shredded cheese is another story.   Pasta casserole with cheese and pizza have become a weekly mainstay in our menu and I go through quite a bit of cheese.  I plan to purchase 10 bags and throw them in the freezer.  So the plan for tomorrow will be to spend $10.00 on the cheese; $1.76 on two 1/2 gallons of milk and .87 on 3 lbs. of bananas at our local Hy-Vee grocery store. 

I will stop by another grocery store, Fareway, to check their produce.  Fareway is closed on Sundays so many times on Saturdays they mark down produce.  I have purchased Dole salad mixes at 50 cents a bag if they are due to expire either that day or the next.  As for produce I have plenty of apples and carrots on hand here at home and some salad greens.  I also have plenty of canned and frozen fruit and vegetables. 

I am sure that the reason for the 1 day sale is the fact that the incredible holiday food sales are over and stores want to get customers into their stores to buy not only sales items but anything else they may want. 

So, I have a plan.  I have been in stock up mode for months and have been constantly searching for good deals.  I am excited to see how much money I will be able to save by the end of the month.