Budget Shopping — How Much Does $65.89 Buy at Winco?
by Katy on July 29, 2025 · 37 comments
My grocery list finally got lengthy enough to justify a schlep across town to Winco. As always, I added extra items as they don’t advertise their sale prices, (part of how they keep their prices so low) so there’s always an impulse item ot two.
This haul might seem heavy on the produce, but keep in mind that I keep a stash of dried beans, grains, rice, etc that balance out today’s veggies and fruit. I didn’t happen to have bought any meat, which helped keep the price down.
I had “molasses” on my shopping list, but just couldn’t pull the trigger as the jar was priced at $8.38! I mention this, because I normally make my own brown sugar by mixing a couple tablespoons of molasses into regular granulated sugar. It might be cheaper in the long run, but sticker shock sent me over to the bags of pre-mixed brown sugar priced at $1.92/pound.
Not seen in this photo is $2.01 of bulk bin medjool dates, which I ate on the drive home. Gotta get a treat!
Total spent was $65.89:
The thought of going to Winco always seems overwhelming, as it’s a bit of drive, plus there’s the whole “bag yer own damned groceries” aspect that stresses me out more than it should. But I’m always happy in the end as their prices and quality are seldom beat. Plus of course, their bulk bins!
I know that grocery prices are higher than normal right now, but I feel pretty good that I was able to fill four grocery bags for under $70!
How are things in your neck of the woods?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Good shopping haul. Don’t move to the UK then, I’m originally from there. You always bag your own groceries, they keep prices down that way. You’d love the bargain brands though in most stores on the basic needs.
I think that Americans buy a larger amount of groceries at a time as we’re all driving to our big grocery stores. A lot to bag at a time.
Aldi here in America is like that too.
The upside is, no one puts your canned tomatoes on top of your bread in the bag.
(Unless you do, in which case you can’t be TOO mad.)
First
Come to Germany and you bag your groceries yourself everywhere. I am even a little avers to let a stranger touch the things after I payed for them and took them in possession.
I think molasses is no regular good around here. What else to do with it?
Best Silke
My husband uses molasses when he makes a teriyaki chicken marinade. I’ll use it when I make ginger snaps, but that’s mostly around December.
The price of molasses is crazy. I wonder if the bags of brown sugar you bought were two pounds each. The Sam’s Club website says it is $6.98 for 7 pounds.
I continue to shops sales and clearance at Giant and also occasionally shop at Aldi, Grocery Outlet, Sam’s Club, and Costco. Keep in mind that DH likes to grocery shop and other than Costco all those stores are within a mile or so of our house.
Food price have definitely risen but when I consider all the labor and energy that go into producing them I am amazed that they are not higher. There must be a lot of efficiencies built in. We do tend to stay away from processed food. It is bad for our bodies, the planet, and our wallets.
My brown sugar bags were 16 ounces apiece.
I couldn’t tell from the photo. Ouch! But great prices overall and we know that buying ingredients is cheaper and healthier.
We don’t have an Aldi or Winco near me, although my parents have one & rave about Winco prices.
Our big focus with groceries is to be organized. Meal plan, buy what we need, buy on sale when it makes sense, eat leftovers, have emergency backup options available as needed, freeze things before they go to waste, etc.
Those are all picture picture ways on keeping food prices under control.
Molasses is necessary for gingerbread. Autumn is my favorite season to make it, which is great with a ripe pear. (I mean the cakey kind, not the cookie kind.)
No discount grocery stores within hours of us. My son, who is going upisland today, has been tasked with buying some groceries at a cheaper store. It’s all kind of depressing.
I hate grocery shopping. We have enough in refrigerator/freezer to get thru Thursday pm. I anticipate a trip to Costco for dog food end of this week.
I could’ve kept going with what we had on hand, but needed produce.
That is a very good haul for the money.
I have a bottle of molasses that’s about half full. I got it for the brown sugar trick, but I found I didn’t really like the taste or the texture, and it was a bother. I would rather use brown sugar when it’s called for. I ponder what to do with the molasses. I do like molasses cookies, so I suppose that is the answer.
Molasses on vanilla ice cream is not bad!
though I haven’t had it in years. Perhaps with nuts of some sort.
Question Katy. I know you use an upholstery cleaner. They are so many out there and I am wondering which one you use. I am tired of buying products that don’t work. I live in the Portland area and prefer not to shop on Amazon.
Love the information I get from you and all you followers.
We bought our Bissell rug shampooer used through Craigslist, as Facebook Marketplace wasn’t a thing yet. Lots of people have used shampooers for sale, often unused.
I recently bought a gallon of molasses online for about $20. It’ll last us years but molasses doesn’t spoil.
That’s a lifetime supply!
I love Winco, but there isn’t one within a reasonable distance, so when I’m close to one, the pull is irresistible. Recently, we were road tripping in our small RV. On our way home, we spotted a Winco toward the end of the day. We stopped to shop and I loaded up on pre-tariff staples. It was dark when we finished, so we asked and received permission to park in their lot overnight, which was an additional frugal thrill. Now I can say I’ve slept at Winco!
The only aisle I skip is Health and Beauty Aids (HABA). Those prices are just meh.
Good haul for the money. I have been trying to play the grocery store game as hard as I can looking for discounted meat at Aldi/Target/Walmart, and then looking at rebate sites like Aisle and Social Nature, as well as purchasing items that attached to rebates on Checkout 51 and Swagbucks, then scanning receipts for point on Fetch, Receipt Hog, Shopkick, and ibotta.
It’s a lot of work, but it can cut about 25-50% off of my grocery bill for the month. One way or another. I keep going.
I don’t track it but I know my grocery spending is on the higher end. I live in a high cost of living area and my philosophy on groceries has changed as our finances improved and as I learned more about nutrition. We eat a ton of produce so rather than doing infrequent big stock up trips, I end up going to the grocery store 2-3 times a week.
That said, I mostly shop at the lower cost stores (for this area, no winco here) such as Sprouts, Trader Joe’s and Costco. I also go on my lunch break at work, I can walk to Trader Joe’s and Costco from work so I make a list ahead of time and then quickly grab it all on my lunch, the time limit means I don’t wander and make impulse purchases.
I do have splurges too though that are not at all lowest cost, I get a box of organic produce delivered weekly, and I’ve ordered spices from penzeys and beans from rancho gordo. Not the cheapest by far but really good. Since we only eat out one meal a week and no longer eat meat or processed foods, I feel ok spending more on groceries.
I think those look like pretty impressive deals –
Minus the molasses of course! Sheesh!! I haven’t checked the price on molasses here in a long time, but now you’ve got me kind of curious.
I’m looking forward to visiting FreshCo supermarket here in Calgary soon. It’s a discount supermarket that I haven’t tried before, but according to some of the prices in their flyer it looks pretty good.
Check back and let us know how their prices were.
I am in Western Canada. Prices are crazy. We buy the large can of Kirkland decaf at Costco, it has gone from 19.99 (a couple of years ago maybe?) to $32.99 when I bought it the other day. Chocolate is super expensive now, I was going to buy chocolate chips for some baking, but didn’t after all. I was never one to compare and shop the flyers but I think I’ll have to do that from now on.
I have bought one bag of groceries and it’s been $70 (CDN of course).
I noticed that our chocolate chips are also super expensive. Around $7 per bag.
I’ve been buying the Nestles chocolate chips at Costco – $13.99 for 72 ounces in the Florida panhandle. It’s a big savings even compared to BOGO for the 12 ounce bags, as long as I can keep my mitts off of them until needed for a recipe!
5 FT Beat the System Edition (apologies if you already read it on the FG site): I noticed from some online advertising that a major bank has a zero percent credit card, and you don’t start paying interest for 21 months. Hmmm. As things are now set up, I will pay off my car by income tax time and will be finished paying off the roof in one year. Word has it that we are fixing to really have it socked to us with all the Felon-in-Chief’s tariff stuff. Sooooo…..
1. I applied for the above-mentioned credit card. Banker thinks I’m a shoo-in, as my house is paid off (their bank held the mortgage) and he says (surprise!) my income is really good. After waiting a half hour and no computer response, he called and found there is a 24 hour backlog. I was worried but it seems everyone else is also applying. You are rejected almost immediately, the banker told me, if they’re going to say no. So he thinks I’m OK. My Social Security income has put me back into the middle class; let’s just hope the Orange One doesn’t axe it.
2. I have 2 more Ollie Outlet 10% coupons. I asked an assistant store manager and the next time they are going to do the 15% off everything in the store offer will be Black Friday. Meanwhile, I’ve noticed my color of LVP is getting in short supply. So as soon as I get that credit card, I will use it to buy the LVP for the large master bedroom. Plan to pay minimum payments until the car is paid off then start attacking this debt with full force. If I get a lot of hours at my two little jobs, I may pay more on one or more of the debts and accelerate this process.
3. I don’t have to *install* the flooring right away, but getting the LVP product assures that my remaining bedroom will match the rest of the house. Like Ollie’s says, “when it’s gone, it’s gone.” (I told this to the banker, along with a couple of other frugal wins I’ve already described in past posts, and he said, “I like the way you think.” Then I recommended this blog and Frugal Girl’s blog and the Tightwad Gazette book to him.) Installation can wait until I have the cash, but I want the good product.
4. Bought one of those gizmos that let you put in a few drops of soap and a bunch of water and it dispenses foaming soap. I think it’s a 1:9 ratio or something like that. Earlier, I’d gotten some liquid Apple Cinnamon scented soap on clearance and it smells heavenly. This will let me use it for far longer than just using the undiluted soap.
5. Taking some more closet cleanout items to Goodwill for another 20% off coupon. Since today is Tuesday, I automatically get 20% off anything I buy, but I can save those coupons for later. Thankfully, they don’t expire.
—-
Tragic update: I am ashamed of myself for complaining online about my neighbor’s middle-aged stepson who couldn’t put in the ceiling fan and made a general mess of things. This occurred a month or so ago. Last night, the neighbor phoned with sad news. The stepson was found in his broken-down pickup truck deceased; he’s believed to have died this weekend from either heatstroke or a heart attack. They’re sending his body in for an autopsy, and the dad is just beside himself with grief. I should not have written those ugly things, even though I was angry, bc the guy was trying his best. I apologize for fuming online; even though I felt I was justifiably angry, it’s no excuse. Please pray for his family!
Lisa, dear, I believe that you *were* justifiably angry. When we hire someone to do work, we have a right to expect competent work. And you had no way of knowing this guy’s issues, whatever they may have been. Please don’t blame yourself.
All the same, as you say, this is a terribly sad story, and I feel bad for the family members. I wish them, and you, peace.
Lisa, ditto to what A. Marie said so well.
Thank you, A. Marie, MB and Ashley. The guy made some, um, questionable or should I say, unusual, life choices, and sometimes still stumbled even when people tried to help. I think a lot of us just lost patience with him, and for that, I am sad. It has taught me a lesson, mainly that I shouldn’t judge others as sternly as my dad judged me. May the guy rest in peace.
Can you share what major CC is offering 21 months 0% interest?
I’m sorry for your neighbors loss.
Ashley, It’s the Wells Fargo “Reflect” CC. They have some other cards that are 0% interest but those are only for a year or so. The “Reflect” card does not have cash back or points, but in my situation, that’s OK. Oh, and I meant to mention: there is no fee to apply. You can see the details online.
The frugal tale of Pineapple and Black Bean Enchiladas:
1. Substituted kidney beans from Buy Nothing for black beans
2. Omitted the cilantro (as if Lindsey from Alaska would be here for dinner)
3. Used half of a gigantic green pepper purchase for 89 cents at Trader Joe’s
4. Substituted salsa and tomato paste for the enchilada sauce
5. Used chili powder for flavoring as I didn’t have a can of diced chilis.
Bonus: Baked covered with a used piece of aluminum foil on its third life.
I love it! Way to go!
I love bagging my own groceries at WinCo! I bring my own bags and I like to organize depending on the items and type of bag I bring with me. I always place things on the belt in similar groups, cold with cold, cans and boxes together, produce together, etc, but if someone else does bagging for me I nearly get whiplash trying to find things and correct the bagging mistakes.
1. My dad is in town with his family from out of state. They came over to visit and they brought snacks for their kiddos, I had planned on making something for them to eat but didn’t need to in the end.
2. Made a double batch of banana muffins to use up some sorry looking bananas in my fridge. I subbed applesauce for the eggs in the recipe but forgot to add sugar. The batter looked a little thick so I did add some extra applesauce. I can definitely tell that something is missing but my kids haven’t noticed or complained. Healthier and saved ingredients! We added 5 chocolate chips to each muffin cup, I count them out because it bothers me when I bite into something that claims to have chocolate and I get maybe 1 chip and someone else gets 12. The prices of chocolate has gone up a lot in my area so it helps keep costs low when you SEE how much goes into each muffin.
3. I’m combining my Ibotta, Microsoft points, and a little bit on my HSA account to order some things on Amazon that I haven’t been able to find locally.
4. Put a post on my area’s buy nothing group to see if anyone was getting rid of hardshell luggage as we’ve never had any and are planning a trip. Haven’t had any luck yet but if I can’t get any from the BN I’ll check marketplace.
5. Made a meal plan with my husband to clear out as much of our freezer and pantry as we can with minimal buying from the grocery store over the next month. Dug out some excess veggies and fruit from the freezer that we haven’t (and likely won’t) eat and gave it to a friend when we had an errand near them. Sharing is caring!
I wind up bagging my own groceries when using reusable bags at the local store because their check stands are not set up for those bags. The check out ladies are just as glad not to have to deal with the bags.
I checked the price on molasses at our store today and it’s $4.98 for the Grandma’s 12 ounce jar. Ouch!