Spreadsheet Shopper

Good Prices - Pantry Items

This is the next post in my series of posts on good prices for items.  This time I will be discussing strategies for purchasing pantry items.  Since these items often have very long expiration dates, it’s easy to buy 10 of them when they are free/cheap with a coupon and just keep them in the pantry.  Pasta lasts 2 years according to the box, so don’t worry about not being able to use it up by the expiration date.

• Pasta - $0 to $0.40/box.  They usually go on sale for $.80 to $1/box, and of course I use coupons.
• Cereal - $1.50 or less.  Cereal is a bit harder to get cheap.  You really have to wait for a good sale and stack coupons.
• Oatmeal - $2 or less per 10 pack.  However, it is more frugal to buy a canister of oatmeal and mix in your own flavorings.  A canister costs about the same as a 10 pack box but contains much more oatmeal.
• Granola bars - $1.50/box of 10.  Usually the best I can do is wait for a $2 sale and use a $1/2 coupon.  BJs has a decent deal on these.  A box of 48 is $8.99, or $0.19/bar, which is fairly close to $0.15/bar, if you are desperate.
• Snack crackers - $1 to $1.50/box.  Again, I usually wait until there’s a $2 sale and use a $1/2 coupon.  Nabisco puts those out frequently.  Also, if you are a fan of Wheat Thins on Facebook, you can print out a $1/1 Wheat Thins coupon.
• Nuts - ~$1/12 oz. Nuts can be very pricey.  Emerald nuts (usually in 12 oz canisters) go on sale for $1.67 and there’s often a $1.50/2 coupon, making them under $1 per canister.  Recently I got a good deal on Planters — 2 for $5 - $1/2, and they had 25% more free in the bottle, so well over a pound of peanuts for $2.
• Baking Items - coupons for items like flour, baking powder, cornstarch, etc. are rare.  If you see them, snap them up!