Author Topic: How many grocery transactions in a month?  (Read 16011 times)

Zikoris

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How many grocery transactions in a month?
« on: August 06, 2014, 11:30:52 PM »
The beauty of Mint is that it shows just how wacky your spending patterns really are. Our grocery spending is really weird - the lowest number of transactions/month over the last several years of tracking has been 22, and we were traveling around France for a good chunk of that time. The highest has been 41. Typically between about 25 and 30. But predominately small amounts - 60% are under $5, and several are under $1. In July we had 3 transactions out of 23 reach double digits. We don't overspend or anything - $230/month total, including cleaning stuff and toilet paper - but it certainly looks strange in Mint, and people in real life think it's pretty bizarre and that we must constantly be in the grocery store.

How many grocery transactions do you guys have in a month?

HappierAtHome

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2014, 12:10:08 AM »
Usually about five. We shop once a week, plus roughly one extra shop per month when we realise we've forgotten something vital.

Paulie

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2014, 12:17:53 AM »
A lot! I think we go grocery shopping about 20 times per month. My BF doesn't like to plan ahead on what we will be eating, and we don't own a freezer we go to the supermarket 4-5 times a week. I don't mind, since we have a supermarket at 5 minutes walking distance, he does most of the buying/cooking, and we don't spend a lot on groceries (about 45 EUR per week for the two of us).

Ian

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2014, 02:35:51 AM »
Looks like the average is eight, which feels right to me. My trips are split between the grocery store and a local market that only meets on certain days.

Adventine

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2014, 03:07:34 AM »
8-12 times a month, equal to 2-3 times a week. I walk to the grocery and don't own a car/bike/grocery stroller. I just bring along a backpack and a couple of cloth bags. I like doing the groceries this way - I get lots of exercise, I'm forced to buy only what I need, and I like scouting for good deals, which change every few days at the local supermarkets.

EarlyRetirementGuy

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2014, 04:31:40 AM »
8 times.

Every Monday for the big shop and again on Friday/Saturday morning for weekend supplies.

Paul der Krake

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2014, 05:25:44 AM »
At least once a week, plus one or two when we forgot something or run out of something needed right now. So on average probably 5-7.

Albert

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2014, 05:32:15 AM »
I tend to do grocery shopping every other day, sometimes more often. No big storage space plus I like fresh produce (bread, fruits, vegetables).

little_owl

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2014, 05:32:44 AM »
We hate grocery shopping, so we max out at once per week.  We meal plan really aggressively, go on Friday evenings, and that is it.  I can't imagine going 20 times or more per month!  Fascinating.

TeresaB

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2014, 06:57:31 AM »
I went 8 times last month and have been 6 times this month (our months go from 15th to 15th). The grocery store is only a few blocks from our apartment, and we only just got a cart on wheels, so I expect that number will go down as we are able to make bigger trips.

lauren_knows

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2014, 06:58:32 AM »
Typically between about 25 and 30.

Holy hell!

I think we hit the major grocery store once a week, Trader Joes once a week, and the farmer's market once a week when it's open (not winter).  So, 12.

Trader Joes is ultra-convenient for us (it's 1/8mi from my front steps), but I find it hard to shop for everything there.

Albert

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2014, 07:17:30 AM »
We hate grocery shopping, so we max out at once per week.  We meal plan really aggressively, go on Friday evenings, and that is it.  I can't imagine going 20 times or more per month!  Fascinating.

Why not if you walk past a big grocery store every day coming back from work anyway? I have three big and four small grocery stores within 5-7 min walking distance.

soccerluvof4

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2014, 07:21:44 AM »
12 but 2days per week.


Sunday- Sams for Bulk/Aldis

Thursdays- Aldis

I will say though my purchases at Sams for bulk is diminishing and my stops are dropping.


shotgunwilly

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2014, 07:27:20 AM »
I hate shopping period, so I usually am at the grocery store just 1 time a month.

Noodle

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #14 on: August 07, 2014, 07:33:15 AM »
Fascinating!

I go to the grocery store once a week, and probably once a month I will go to Trader Joe's and once or twice to someplace else (the farmer's market, specialty store, etc.) If I run out of something in between times, I pretty much make do unless it is toilet paper or some other vital supply. (Ie, the milk went bad earlier than I expected, so this week I'm using almond-coconut milk on my cereal that was bought for a different recipe.) However, I tend to do all the shopping in one trip and plan it all together, so even if I'm making different stops it feels like one trip.

Back when I was car free, I probably shopped a couple of times a month because dragging everything home was such a hassle, even with a cart (my neighborhood was quite hilly).

Philociraptor

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #15 on: August 07, 2014, 07:37:56 AM »
Interesting question.  Looking back...

May - 14
June - 13
July - 16

I never really thought about it.  We tend to make a trip to Sprouts or Fiesta each weekend for longer lasting stuff, while we hit up Tom Thumb or Albertsons during the week for shorter-lived items.  Add in the occational trip to Sam's Club and the numbers are still pretty high...

nordlead

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #16 on: August 07, 2014, 07:39:39 AM »
Based on Mint I've gone 233 times in the last 11 months or 21 times per month. Mind you some of those may be multiple stops on the same trip (BJ's, then ToysRus for on sale baby food, and then the grocery store).

Part of the reason that number is so high is because when there is no snow on the ground we walk to the grocery store that is 1 mile away. We go to places like BJ's or ToysRus closer to 1-2 times per month.

senorpanqueque

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #17 on: August 07, 2014, 07:49:41 AM »
Looks like we average about 9-12 trips per month, with the majority being smaller buys. We average about 410 bucks a month for groceries currently. Our goal for this year was under $5k, so it looks like we'll come under that. Next year, it will be lower.

simonsez

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #18 on: August 07, 2014, 08:48:42 AM »
Costco - once every 6 weeks
Harris Teeter - once a week
Trader Joe's - once every 2 weeks
Other (specialty, farmer's market, etc.) - once a month

So ~8 trips.

Very interesting to see everyone's numbers.  When I stop renting and own a house, I plan on getting a deep freeze which should decrease the transactions a little.

Doomspark

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #19 on: August 07, 2014, 09:23:36 AM »
2-3 times a week on average, so 8-12 times a month.

I would like to get this down to 1-2 times a week, but I don't see that happening until we buy / build a place of our own.  Our rental has a tiny freezer.

Roots&Wings

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #20 on: August 07, 2014, 10:12:21 AM »
Once per week.  I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, and that is the longest I can make things like greens, bananas, peaches, etc, last.

swick

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #21 on: August 07, 2014, 01:55:01 PM »
I really miss living in Turkey, I'd pop to the bakery and get fresh bread every mmorning, stop at the green grocers and get fresh veggies and fruit daily, and pop into the butchers, pazzar or grocery store as needed every couple of days.

Now a days, it's more like one big trip a month where we go to costco and super store supplemented by trips to our local supermarket every week and a half-ish when we run out of something between trips.

Mrs. Frugalwoods

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #22 on: August 07, 2014, 02:07:26 PM »
-1 trip to local grocery store every Sunday
-Possible 2nd and 3rd trips during the week for a produce stock-up (we try to buy exact amounts to avoid waste)
-1 trip per month to Aldi's
-1 trip per month to Costco

So, anywhere from 6-14 trips. We're fortunate that we can walk/bike to our local grocery store so it's not a big deal to go multiple times/week.

Hilarious tangent: last weekend at the grocery store, someone asked us if we were through hikers on the AT. We busted out laughing 'cause we were just doing our weekly shopping trip in our hiking shoes with our hiking packs. My husband does have a gigantic beard and I wasn't wearing any make-up, so I guess we looked like we'd been sleeping in a tent for 2 months! Been laughing about that ever since.

meadow lark

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #23 on: August 07, 2014, 03:53:37 PM »
28 in July.  Trader Joe's -2, Walmart -3, Haagen Das supplier -23.  (Okay, in reality the corner grocery store sells more than Haagen Das - we get our fruits, veggies, bread, etc there.)

MrsPotts

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #24 on: August 07, 2014, 03:57:48 PM »
Twice a week like clockwork.   Once to Costco and once to Winco.  My new goal is to just do Winco 2x
Per month...we will see how that works out.   

little_owl

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #25 on: August 07, 2014, 04:09:17 PM »
We hate grocery shopping, so we max out at once per week.  We meal plan really aggressively, go on Friday evenings, and that is it.  I can't imagine going 20 times or more per month!  Fascinating.

Why not if you walk past a big grocery store every day coming back from work anyway? I have three big and four small grocery stores within 5-7 min walking distance.

Because I hate grocery shopping?  I realize others may not feel that way, but it is a hassle and I would prefer to spend my time elsewhere!

The Borgs

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #26 on: August 07, 2014, 04:15:59 PM »
I end up in the supermarket maybe 3 or 4 times a week, but I may not buy anything, if I'm nearby anyway I go in to check on reductions on fresh produce. I pick up things like cheese, leaf salads, capsicum, potatoes etc. when they're half price or less. We also get to sample some fancier or premade foods when they're reduced like that (fresh noodles, premade sauces, posh yoghurts). My menus tend to be based around what I find there, if I find a really good reduction and it can be frozen I do that too. And then there's the farmers market on a Sunday, but unless I'm feeling flush that tends to be just for a fresh Turkish bread.

Helvegen

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #27 on: August 07, 2014, 04:52:40 PM »
Usually:

Costco: 2 once every two weeks
Winco: 2 once every two weeks
Fred Meyer: 2-4 times a month

Beric01

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #28 on: August 07, 2014, 04:55:46 PM »
We hate grocery shopping, so we max out at once per week.  We meal plan really aggressively, go on Friday evenings, and that is it.  I can't imagine going 20 times or more per month!  Fascinating.

Why not if you walk past a big grocery store every day coming back from work anyway? I have three big and four small grocery stores within 5-7 min walking distance.

Because I hate grocery shopping?  I realize others may not feel that way, but it is a hassle and I would prefer to spend my time elsewhere!

Fully agree. Grocery shopping, like any kind of shopping, is a PITA.

I'm in the store once a week, and only because things like bananas and bread are perishables.

angelagrace

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #29 on: August 07, 2014, 05:17:06 PM »
Wow this really is fascinating. I probably go every 2-3 weeks. If it were in walking distance the idea of going every couple of days sounds awesome, because sometimes it's hard to use up everything I get in a bigger grocery run before it goes bad. I'm not a great planner. I just don't really enjoy shipping, but I wonder if it would be fun if it were only a few items. I wonder if I'd spend more or less.

nora

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #30 on: August 07, 2014, 06:33:21 PM »
We get one major supermarket delivery a week. Then visit the local one which is a few blocks away several times a week. Looking back over the last three months, we went there 16, 11 and 6 times.

Funnily enough and it is what I expected, the total grocery amount for the month is correlated with the number of times we go. I think we go for one item but end up buying other things which we see which are totally unnecessary, like chocolate, nuts, fancy fruits.  I would like to only get the weekly delivered shop, so that we aren't tempted in this way.

frugalnacho

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #31 on: August 07, 2014, 09:38:33 PM »
We hate grocery shopping, so we max out at once per week.  We meal plan really aggressively, go on Friday evenings, and that is it.  I can't imagine going 20 times or more per month!  Fascinating.

Why not if you walk past a big grocery store every day coming back from work anyway? I have three big and four small grocery stores within 5-7 min walking distance.

Because I hate grocery shopping?  I realize others may not feel that way, but it is a hassle and I would prefer to spend my time elsewhere!

Fully agree. Grocery shopping, like any kind of shopping, is a PITA.

I'm in the store once a week, and only because things like bananas and bread are perishables.

Yes.  Seems very time inefficient to go every day.  We go weekly to replenish fruits.  I gotta eat a banana every morning.  Mrs. frugalnacho browses recipe sites online and when she finds something that tickles her fancy she makes a special trip to the store; This seems to happen twice a week.

Albert

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #32 on: August 07, 2014, 10:32:12 PM »
We hate grocery shopping, so we max out at once per week.  We meal plan really aggressively, go on Friday evenings, and that is it.  I can't imagine going 20 times or more per month!  Fascinating.

Why not if you walk past a big grocery store every day coming back from work anyway? I have three big and four small grocery stores within 5-7 min walking distance.

Because I hate grocery shopping?  I realize others may not feel that way, but it is a hassle and I would prefer to spend my time elsewhere!

Fully agree. Grocery shopping, like any kind of shopping, is a PITA.

I'm in the store once a week, and only because things like bananas and bread are perishables.

Yes.  Seems very time inefficient to go every day.  We go weekly to replenish fruits.  I gotta eat a banana every morning.  Mrs. frugalnacho browses recipe sites online and when she finds something that tickles her fancy she makes a special trip to the store; This seems to happen twice a week.

I can spare extra 15 min (max), but more importantly I eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables which can't be stored for long. The kind of bread (from a local bakery) I like also doesn't last more than 2-3 days. If I were to shop only once a week I'd eat less well and waste more food.

JoyBlogette

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #33 on: August 07, 2014, 11:10:17 PM »
About 10 per month.  I'm surprised, I thought it would be more actually.  Great question!  It's interesting to see everyone's responses.

Rural

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #34 on: August 08, 2014, 03:54:00 AM »
Lately we've been up to once a week. Now that the semester is starting back up, though, I'll probably try to get back down to once evey two weeks. The only downside, that I run out of milk for my coffee the second week, is more than offset by the gain in time on the weekend.


So now I average roughly four times a month (occasionally stop for something forgotten, but just as often skip a week). I'm aiming to average roughly two, maybe three times a month during the school year.


On this model, by the way, we do eat fresh produce every day. The longer-keeping stuff is for week two.

erae

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #35 on: August 08, 2014, 06:11:17 AM »
We live without a car, so we do one big delivery of mostly freeze-able foods (meat and some frozen veggies for when we're in a pinch) and non-perishables every 3-4 months, then supplement with more expensive fresh food and milk, juice from local groceries every 1-2 weeks.  It probably shakes out to around 3 trips/month in total.

AJT

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #36 on: August 08, 2014, 06:37:18 AM »
Probably between 25-30 times per month.  We live in the UK with no car and four major grocery chains (Sainsbury's, Tesco, M&S, Cooperative) five minutes away on the main road into town.  So it's very easy to pop in and grab something we've missed, or check the day's deals.  Time spent can be as little as two minutes in the store on the way home from daycare.

What's counterintuitive is it seems to cut down on impulse buys, because if I'm going in, it really is for one or two things.

JoyBlogette

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #37 on: August 08, 2014, 07:24:14 AM »
The only downside, that I run out of milk for my coffee the second week, is more than offset by the gain in time on the weekend.

I've had success with freezing milk.  We buy it in bags (is that a Canadian thing?) and they freeze well.  No impact on taste after thawing in the fridge (takes about 2 days in fridge to thaw).  We've done this a bunch of times before going on vacation, etc when we wouldn't use up the milk before the expiry date.

zinnie

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #38 on: August 08, 2014, 08:03:22 AM »
According to Mint, 13 times between today and one month ago. I'm counting Sundays where I stop at the farmer's market and two grocery stores near it as one trip.

I guess that is three times a week--which seems a little low so maybe this month was abnormal. We live one block from a grocery store and stop there often for odds and ends--there have definitely been days where I go in the morning for eggs and in the evening for a loaf of bread. Recently we have been eating a lot from the garden, too, which offsets it.

Albert

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #39 on: August 08, 2014, 08:13:38 AM »
It looks to be partially cultural with posters from US shopping less frequently. Perhaps it has to do with what kind of shops are available

swick

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #40 on: August 08, 2014, 11:58:41 AM »
I've had success with freezing milk.  We buy it in bags (is that a Canadian thing?) and they freeze well. 

I have never seen milk in a bag here in BC. Only time I have ever come across bagged milk was when a neighbor where I lived in  rural Turkey, knocked on my door one evening and gave me a supermarket bag of fresh warm milk from her cow.

JoyBlogette

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #41 on: August 08, 2014, 12:13:50 PM »
I have never seen milk in a bag here in BC.

I think it's an Eastern Canada thing.  Our 4L (or Gallon for our US friends) milk comes in 3 bags.  You guys have the "big jug" which we don't have here anymore.  You could easily portion out some milk to freeze from whatever type of container you buy (I freeze homemade chicken stock in mason jars).  The bags are just easy because you just throw them right into the freezer.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #42 on: August 08, 2014, 03:22:27 PM »
Depends on the time of year. In winter, it is 5 max. (Costco once per month, Woodman's once a week.)

In summer/fall, since biking is easier, I'll sometimes stop at the local stores if we need something quick, and of course there's the farmers market if the garden isn't producing enough of what we need.

We also have a local butcher that makes amazing pepperoni and bratwurst. So sometimes an extra trip there on foot or bike.

Probably averages out to 8 per month over the year.

simonsez

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #43 on: August 08, 2014, 03:27:20 PM »
I have never seen milk in a bag here in BC.

I think it's an Eastern Canada thing.  Our 4L (or Gallon for our US friends) milk comes in 3 bags.  You guys have the "big jug" which we don't have here anymore.  You could easily portion out some milk to freeze from whatever type of container you buy (I freeze homemade chicken stock in mason jars).  The bags are just easy because you just throw them right into the freezer.
So you just go in the store and ask to see their milk bags, preferably the big jugs if they have them? 

slugline

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #44 on: August 08, 2014, 03:41:30 PM »
About 10 times. One of the best parts of where I live is being 1/2-mile from the grocery. And since I avoid shopping on weekends, it's no big deal to swoop in for a handful of items and check out quickly.

MBot

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #45 on: August 08, 2014, 04:17:37 PM »
I am trying to move from "once weekly" to "twice a month" right now. Less opportunity to spend unnecessarily

Rural

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #46 on: August 08, 2014, 07:59:23 PM »
The only downside, that I run out of milk for my coffee the second week, is more than offset by the gain in time on the weekend.

I've had success with freezing milk.  We buy it in bags (is that a Canadian thing?) and they freeze well.  No impact on taste after thawing in the fridge (takes about 2 days in fridge to thaw).  We've done this a bunch of times before going on vacation, etc when we wouldn't use up the milk before the expiry date.


It does freeze just fine, though we have jugs here and I'd have to make some headroom. I might just do that, though. Thanks for the reminder.

frugalnacho

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Re: How many grocery transactions in a month?
« Reply #47 on: August 11, 2014, 07:35:58 AM »
So you just go in the store and ask to see their milk bags, preferably the big jugs if they have them?

Caution: Last time I did this I got slapped pretty hard.