Shop Once-A-Month For Groceries and Save

Question: I read that you shop only once a month. How can you do that with perishable foods like milk, eggs, cheese? Foods like that would expire within the first week.

Answer: Limiting our trips to the store means that certain fruits must be eaten earlier in the month because they are more perishable.

Bananas and grapes usually last a week. Once they're gone, we move on to other fruits. Pears can last two weeks. Apples and oranges, carefully stored, can last a month. Veggies such as carrots, celery and cabbage can last for several weeks in your refrigerator as well.

Stocking up on milk, cheese and bread is easy. We carefully freeze all three.

• Milk: Pour off a little from the container to allow for expansion.
• Cheese: We mainly buy shredded cheese, but if you do freeze chunk cheese, you may have difficulty slicing it. Freezing will cause it to crumble.
• Bread: We usually double plastic bag it to minimize condensation. It also needs to be carefully set in the freezer to avoid crushing and creating a grotesquely misshapen loaf.

It is possible to shop once each month and still have ample amounts of fruits, veggies and other perishable items in your diet. Your savings will soar when you reduce your trips to the store!

11/5/2008 9:51 AM
Christina wrote: Why exactly does this work? Do you tend to buy less when only shopping once a month? Or do you buy more items in bulk? 

11/5/2008 1:05 PM
America's Cheapest Family wrote: It works because by going to the store less frequently, you pick up fewer impulse buys. It also forces you to plan better which results in less waste and . . . fewer impulse buys.

2/7/2009 1:16 PM
Nanis wrote: My family purchased an upright freezer & stock up on milk, bread, meats, veggies & ice cream when on sale. We open our bread bags & place a paper towel around the loaf to help with the moisture when thawing.