Lets talk bulk foods.

Lets talk about bulk food isle.   More stores are including them in their set up.   Fred Meyers has a new one, also QFC and Winco.    Winco was cheaper on the spice  I bought.   When you need just a little of something, or you haven't tried something new, it pays to buy a little in bulk.

I bought non fat dry milk for less than it cost to buy it at Wallmart.   The can cost ten dollars and o replaced enough to fill them an for 6.00 . Dry milk is more costly than regular milk.   Exactly the opposite of what it was in years past.    I use it for mixes and it's nice to have in case of an emergency.  

There is everything from dried beans to lentils and everything in between-- even some mixes.   Although, I have not seen any recipes for the mixes.

Sometimes the price over loomed is more than buying the bottle or box, but if you don't need a lot of something, or you use it occasionally, it's actually cheaper because you haven't got stuff in your cabinets that you aren't going to use.  


Groceries on the cheap is looking at the "put the meal on the table train" from  a different perspective. 
The emphasis is on purchasing good shelf stable or frozen food  for a RBP in quantity - enough to last you until ot goes on sale again or to keep a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you  use  on a weekly basis. 

This means that instead of shopping daily or weekly for just the things you need to cook your meals for the week. You go to two stores and buy :
1) a protein that is a RBP - enough to make that meal for x number of days. (I.e.: if you eat it once a week, buy enough for 4 meals.)
2) produce and dairy you will need to fill in the meals for the week. 
3) a stock item, if you need to and it is on a RBP - enough to fill in to your self imposed stock level. 

You often are laying 1/2 price for your food.   This allows you to put well-balanced meals on the table consistently on a four dollar a day per person budget.   You spend more time on the locomotive ( planning and shopping ) end of the train, and less time in the caboose ( cooking) by cooking more efficiently. 

 Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on 4 dollars a day, spending more is not difficult and you still get more nutrition for your buck.