frugal living

Frugal Style: Saving on Dairy

Frugal Style is a new series of blog posts that I came up with to help my fans save even more money during 2012, every month there will be a new theme. January’s theme is money saving tips on every day food groups. The first Frugal Style article for January was on meat. Today’s frugal tip is on Milk and other dairy products. They can be costly, especially if you have children in the home. Here are my tips for bringing the cost of dairy products down.
Write a list. A list will help you not overspend. Write down how much yogurt, cheese, and milk you need so you don’t overbuy. Of course if you get these items free then don’t worry about adding extra to your stockpile; it’s FREE. The point is you don’t want to spend extra money on items that will go bad. 
Use your coupons! I’m telling you, you’ve got to remember to use them. Take your binder to the store with you. If you must leave it in the car then do so but have it within reach, don’t leave it at home where you won’t have access. Going back home to retrieve your coupon binder wastes gas, wasted gas equals wasted money. I get the majority of my yogurt and cheese free because I keep my binder organized, and I can find my dairy coupons when I need them.
Don’t be afraid to purchase marked down yogurt, cheese, milk or other dairy products. Yes it will be close to expiration date but if you buy wisely and freeze when appropriate, you won’t waste any of it. Warning: Don’t buy products that you know your kids won’t eat just because it’s marked down, it will go to waste, trust me I’ve been there and done that! If they don’t like Vanilla yogurt and that’s all that’s free either don’t get it or get it and immediately give it away. Don’t waste food! 
Stock up on freezable dairy when there is a good sale. A chest freezer is recommended for your stock pile. Milk, cheese, and some yogurt can generally be frozen. Some yogurts and cheese freeze better than others. It’s been my experience that cheese shreds will freeze well but block cheese tends to not freeze well. Tubular yogurt freezes extremely well, the kind that’s in a long box generally marketed to kids. Milk freezes great. Sour cream, cottage cheese, ect is trial and error.
Have a tip that’s not listed? Comment below and let me know! 
Got a topic you want me to cover? email me at emily@emilysfrugaltips.com 

 

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