You
probably have noticed that the size of a standard box of cereal has shrunken
considerably and what used to pass as the standard size is now touted as
"Family Size". The price of
cereal has gone up as well.
To
combat this in the past I've waited for sales, collected coupons and then
stocked up when my net price was around a dollar a box. Even still, the smaller boxes don't last very
long and we'd go through it surprisingly fast.
Not to mention, there is a tremendous amount of packaging waste, which
we recycle, but still. Even the bagged
cereal, which used to be quite the bargain, doesn’t seem to be so much of a
bargain anymore.
Normally
for our weekday breakfast we eat a lot of toast, bagels and English
muffins. Cereal in between for
variety. Even still, it seemed I'd stock
up and it was gone in no time.
One
evening at dinner we discussed this very issue and the possibility of
eliminating cereal from our regular shopping.
Instead we would make it an occasional treat. To my surprise the girls were actually
excited.
"Does
this mean you'll start making granola more?"
"Can
we have oatmeal?"
How
about making pumpkin bread and applesauce bread?"
"Oh,
oh, and coffee cake!"
It was
agreed.
With
cold cereal pretty much eliminated from our shopping list it frees up quite a
bit of cash. I do have one box of All
Bran on my next shopping list but that is it.
It is one of the ingredients in my granola recipe and I used up the last
of it when I made granola last week.
With a
double batch of granola already in the pantry along with a tub of oatmeal and
half a box of Zoom we are off to a good start.
I still have a box of raisin bran and some Total too. Plus there is a loaf of banana bread and a
loaf of pumpkin bread in the freezer as well.
I really don't think we'll be missing the cold cereal all that much.
How
about you? Does your family eat cold
cereal regularly? Could you give it up
for awhile to save money on your grocery bill?
My husband loves cold cereal for breakfast, so I buy it for him. But I can eat way too much of it, so I only buy kinds he likes and I don't. I eat oats with fruit every morning. :-) And we only buy cereal at Aldi - none of the name-brand fanciness for us!
ReplyDelete- molly
I like cold cereal too and I can eat way too much of it if I'm not careful as well. Cutting back will definitely help my waist line. :)
DeleteWe don't eat a lot of cereal around here for breakfast all the time- my kids would eat toast every single morning if it was up to them. I often have to encourage them to change it up with waffles, oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, etc. I think we eat cereal more often for a snack or dessert instead of breakfast- as weird as that may sound. :)
ReplyDeleteBecause we are privileged to have a grocery outlet in the next town over, we get our cereal at that store as opposed to the regular grocery store. The prices for cereal in that store really cant be beat in this area. It is a hit or miss type of store so I cant always find a certain kind of cereal, I usually just pick from what is available at the time. I usually pay anywhere from 50¢ to $1.49 a box- I don't ever pay more than that for any box or bag of cereal. Most of the time the cereal is a generic brand but we don't care about that at all- it's all the same to us. When I see a cereal that we really like- such as rice krispies or apple jacks (brand name or generic, whatever is cheaper at the time)- I make sure to stock up, especially if it is for $1 a box. Certain cereals go much faster than others in our house. :)
OMG! I eat cereal for dessert too. Of course you do. Our grocery outlet store isn't a bargain and it smells like a catbox. I'm afraid to ask why that is. I can't keep Captain Crunch in the house and that is totally my fault. :)
DeleteWe do eat a lot of cereal. I rarely pay more than $1.00 a box so it is not too bad. I eat it most days & my hubby takes it to work with him in a tupperware bowl as he starts work at 5 or 6 am most days & he likes to eat a bit later. Before he started taking cereal he spent a bunch more than that getting something at work so for us it is a cheaper alternative.
ReplyDeleteRhonda
That would definitely make it a bargain for you. Lately the sales haven't been as good around here so the best I can do right now is $1.38 on the small boxes.
DeleteI buy cold cereal maybe twice a month. My husband likes it when he is on day shift because it is quick. My 16 year old eats it off and on. My 12 year old son won't eat it unless it is some sugary type. He could easily eat a box in a day, then. I buy what is on sale only. A good sale in Canada would be $2.49 a box. You will not find coupons for cereal here.
ReplyDeleteMy could easily eat a box of cereal in one sitting and has on more than one occasion. I didn't buy if very often as a result. I try to buy the healthy stuff most of the time.
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