Milk Prices

If you buy milk regularly for your family you undoubtedly have noticed that the price of milk has spiked recently.  The last time I checked at Wal-mart the Great Value brand was $3.07 a gallon!!  I was shocked.  Luckily it was a week that Walgreens had it on sale for $1.99 a gallon so I was able to price match and stock up with an extra gallon. 

The past two weeks I have been getting my milk at Sam's Club.  Here's the prices that I found there today:

Fat Free = $2.28 a gallon
1% = $2.34 a gallon
2% = $2.38 a gallon
Vit D = $2.44 a gallon

That's a little easier to swallow, since our family drinks a lot of milk.  I have heard of several frugal friends who freeze milk.  I have never tried this, but I am told all you have to do is leave a little head room in the container and then put it in the freezer.  Once you are ready to use it, let it thaw in the fridge and then shake it up.  The only milk I was advised not to do this with is whole/vitamin D milk.  Apparently it separates too much and doesn't really ever go back to it's pre-frozen state.  If you want to read more about freezing milk or it's "best buy" date check this info here (this page seems to take a minute to load).

If you have ever froze milk, leave us a comment and tell us what your experience was.  How did it turn out?  Did it taste the same?  Did you leave it in the plastic jug?

A Real Eye Opener

With warm weather, spending time with family & friends and some unexpected things that have come up I have really been off my game for a couple weeks when it comes to couponing and deal seeking.  It's a good thing that I have been able to build up a very healthy stockpile for us to live off of during these "off" times.

I stopped in over at my old shopping ground, Sam's Club, on Friday to grab just a couple things that I haven't been able to stockpile (or stockpile enough of).  I used to shop at Sam's Club for most of our essentials for a long time, but it's been ages since I had been into a Sam's Club store, probably only once or twice in the past year.  As I walked around and grabbed the few items that I needed, I was floored at the prices I used to pay for items.  Did you know that at Sam's Club a box of 24 Rice Crispy Treats is $7.53 (before tax)?  Just in the last couple of weeks I paid $2.00 (before tax) for 32 Rice Crispy Treats at Walgreens - that's a real eye opener! 

It made me realize that I need to keep couponing as a priority and balance my time better so that I can continue to seek out the deals.  If I don't keep up with couponing and deal seeking,  we may not be able to do all the fun things we have been doing this summer because we wouldn't have that extra money in our budget. 

I just want to offer up some encouragement and a reminder for you during these lazy days filled with excitement and fun things - it's still important to your family to make time to check the blogs, clip and print coupons and get to the store while your necessities are on sale.