How much Cereal to Buy?

IMG_1370

Just in case you missed the huge Post cereal sale going on at Albertsons this week click here….remember last day to get it at this price is Sunday 3/21.

The question has come up….how many boxes so you REALLY need. I was able to get my cereal free with coupons and doubles so I wanted to make sure I bought enough to meet my families needs.  But I do not want to buy it, store it ( it does take up space) and not use it up before it expires.

Each families needs are so different, family size plays a huge part.  As well as how many days a week you eat cereal.  In the winter time we normally eat hot oatmeal, pancakes or toast for breakfast.  But we do still eat it, more for quick lunch or snack.  But during the spring, summer and fall we eat it much more.  It varies but my family of 5 tend to eat about 2-3 boxes of cereal a week.

Now most the cereal that I bought at the post sale is good till Feb 2011 so I have 11 months to eat it up.  That gives me about 44 weeks to buy cereal for.   At 2-3 boxes a week that means I will use  88-132 boxes before they expire.  I know that sound like a TON of cereal.  But in thinking ahead and getting it for FREE now…I will save my family hundreds of dollars.  I decided to only buy 90….because I know there will be more cereal deals coming up in the year.

I know some will still think I am being greedy for buying that many boxes, I know not all stores stock up.  So you may not be able to buy as many as you like.  But I have been blessed to shop at a store that still has a MOUNTAIN of cereal…and are happy to load any customer up with as much as they like.

One other important thing is to keep  a close eye on  expiration dates, it is important to rotate your food.  If you see items are getting close to the use by date, and you still have a bunch …..that is a great time to share with others or donate.  So your Thrifty deals so not go to waste. The longer you coupon the better you will get at knowing your families needs, and knowing how much to buy.  We end up giving away lots of cereal every year, to family or friends that we know are struggling.  Or if one of my friends watch my kids, I always send them with a box of cereal.  Never fails even if I feed my kids…they say they are hungry as soon as they get to someone else’s house.  We also like to donate to food drives and food banks…it is nice way to teach my kids to give back.

IMG_1392
Before Sale Price, catalina or coupons this would have cost $458.40

I was able to get it all for $8.40

Plus I still have a $4.00 catalina so it like getting it all for $4.40

This is how I did all my transactions

Scenario with double coupons

  • Buy 6 boxes cereal = $9.54
  • use 3 coupons for $1.00 off 2 = take off $3.00
  • use 3 double coupons = takes another $3.00
  • Total will be $3.54
  • I then bought a  .59 cent can of veggies so my total would be over $4.00 so I can pay with the $4.00 catalina from before.
  • This brought my subtotal to .13 cents plus .43 cents tax=.56 cents ( for 6 boxes of cereal and 1 can of veggies)
  • after you pay you will get back another $4.00 catalina

Comments are closed.