It’s Winco Haul Time!
by Katy on September 4, 2025 · 45 comments
My refrigerator had once again attained “impressive echo” status, so I jotted down a grocery list and drove myself over to employee owned Winco Foods. I ended up with a few unplanned items, but only because they were on sale. (Winco keeps prices low by not advertising.) This is why I picked up pasta, (99¢) cream cheese, (88¢) string cheese, ($1.98) macaroni and cheese, (98¢) and mini cucumbers, ($1.78.)
My list:
The grand total for everything? $40.99! This should get us though until next week.
Other methods that I use to keep our food spending low:
• I buy our bread from the Franz Bakery outlet when it’s $1/loaf on the first Saturday of the month.
• I hit Fred Meyer’s (Kroger) produce clearance shelf whenever I shop there. It can be hit or miss, but always worth a look see.
• We buy certain items at Costco such as cooking oils, frozen berries, eggs, rotisserie chicken.
• I keep an eye out for and stock up on loss leader items from the corporate chains.
• I forage and freeze blackberries during the summer months.
• I shop at Asian grocery stores for specialty items.
• I steer clear of pricier produce such as berries, fancy apples and out of season asparagus.
How are you doing with food prices?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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1. Yesterday, at Market Basket, I found a 16-bag of Kingsford charcoal on the clearance rack for $5.99. The bag was torn open, but it still looked full. When I got home, I weighed it, and it was indeed the full 16 pounds. We spent $40, total.
2. Today, my partner works his job where he gets a free CSA box. That will keep us in veg until I leave on Sunday for a work trip-cum-vacation. For the next 9 days, all of my food consumption (here I come croissants, cafe au lait, and local specialties from Flanders) will be paid by work.
3. Today, I’m doing a mystery shop that requires purchasing both chicken and ground meat (reimbursed). I’ll do another on Sunday.
4. The mystery shop also requires that we buy some products that we use infrequently, so I called my parents and they will take those foods, so a win-win.
5. Harvested a volunteer spaghetti squash from the garden, and used basil, parsley, and mint from the garden as well.
Bonus: making inexpensive meals like congee (with homemade stock), homemade pizza, and Buddha bowls.
Beginning with the frugal fail, I managed to completely ignore the fact that a doctor’s appointment in town with a fasting blood component meant I should make my own coffee at home and have something to eat afterwards. Enjoyed eggs and coffee from Starbucks, but not spending money!
Managed to invent some peanut noodles that I really like. That has been three meals on very little input.
Had a realization that if oldest intact undies no longer fit because they and I have changed, a simple seam in a strap or a side of a garment will bring them back to happy use!
Got things out of the kitchen cupboard for donation.
Covered my garden of pots on the porch since temperatures were predicted to be 37 F last night and I am hoping to bring these large Cherry tomato plants into the house for the winter. Last year, I had a golden cherry tomato that supplied us with amusing and delicious eating and I’m hoping that will work again this year.
Harvested two garlics that had grown in the pot along with the tomatoes in my room.
Thanking everybody on this list for the inspiration to keep going when times feel hard. What a great community!
Kathryn, I love your spunk!
I have a strict budget for groceries. I try very hard to stay under $100 a month. I live alone, and I don’t count household supplies in this budget. Also, if I am hosting, I count that in my gift budget.
I get help from a little free pantry. This is new to me. I never felt food insecure before, but this administration has me running scared. I live on Social Security and I a tiny payout from a modest retirement fund. My income is just high enough that I don’t qualify for many programs. So I use the pantry, always mindful of others, especially the homeless. I don’t take anything that can be eaten on foot. I take canned and frozen food and ingredients. I do this on my walks, maybe a couple times a week.
I shop at Aldi, my main store. Once a month I shop at Jewel, an Albertsons store, because there I can use my rewards from my Advantage plan — $10 a month for self-reported exercise. I go to Walmart when I run out of bread, because I love their $1 French bread (which is now $1.49).
I shop once a week. Sometimes there are four shopping days in the month, and sometimes five. So for each trip I have a $20 or $25 limit. I select items from my perpetual shopping list (which I keep on the phone) and I stop when I have reached the limit. No, I never get everything on the list, but this keeps me using my noggin to come up with creative meals.
Of course I cook from scratch as much as I can. Prepared food would shatter my budget quickly.
Beth, your planning and fortitude are impressive!
Totally agree!
Beth, this is very impressive. Please don’t feel inhibited in taking what you need from free pantries. Some may have greater needs, I love that you are thoughtful of the homeless, but if this helps keeps you from becoming one of them you can say you’re helping them that way.
Anyway, EVERYONE deserves to eat. You in particular must have contributed work, service, and taxes over the years given that you qualify for social security.
I hope things lighten up for you and everyone else sooner rather than later. Prices right now are downright scary.
Most food banks have special programs for older folks, who just like you have worked hard but are struggling in retirement. Our program even delivers the boxes to your home. Please consider using that resource so you’ll have some money for more things on your list. Let others in the community care about you, jus a you care about the homeless by not taking things that can be eaten out of hand so they have more.
Thank you, all. Your caring comments mean so much to me. I am really doing all right. I have never been to a food bank, and I think my income is probably a little too high. I know I don’t qualify for the monthly handout at our community center, nor SNAP, and I have figured out that most programs seem to use the same scale. I am lucky, though, that I was granted a ride-free card for getting around on public transit. It’s very helpful. Their scale must be a little different.
I worked most of my adult life and didn’t take Social Security until I was 70, so my benefit is pretty good. And I do have that retirement fund. I am getting RMD’s — I think I could ask for more, but I want to preserve the principal for in case I need it for health reasons.
Beth,
If you do get stuck and need a little more, please do look into additional food pantry/food shelf/donation sites. We we live, we have several that have no income limit but they may limit you to once or twice a month pick-up. Sometimes the wait is fairly long (hour +) but it can definitely be worth it. We regularly volunteer at a food shelf that gives out lots of vegetables and fruit, day-old bread from a local bakery and a $25 gift card to the local grocery store (IGA affiliate) with each box. Customers can come twice a month and “shop” the shelves just like they would a regular store (though there are some limits so people don’t clear shelves).
As Cynthia says, everyone deserves to eat.
Lea
Good for you, great planning! I’m working on retiring. It does take planning, selling anything you can, and hoping for the best.
I fear that’s where i”all be. Makes just enough to be ineligible for any help.
I have been home the past couple of weeks due to a total right knee replacement. My husband has been doing the grocery shopping, so our bill is a lot lower. I should see if he wants to do a shop a couple of times a month even after I heal. I think this would keep our budget down.
99c for Barille pasta is a steal!
* I was shopping at Tesco and the lady at the self checkout beside me asked if she could “borrow” my clubcard as she was buying some items that had a reduction for clubcard holders only. I did of course oblige – she got her items cheaper and I got 80 points on my clubcard!
* I sold a rather awful decorative figurine on Vinted. Absolutely delighted to have it out of the house (it was an unwanted present)!
* There was an avocado in the latest Aldi Too Good To Go box that turned out to be rotten. Inspired by a recent post by Katy I have peeled the pit and put it in a glass of water (with toothpicks) in the hope that it will sprout! Fingers crossed.
* Made another batch of homemade greeting cards using sea glass that I collect from the beaches in Ireland.
* It is such a good year for apples, we have an absolute abundance of apples at the moment! I find it incredible that last year we had exactly 4 apples and this year there are about 400 … I don’t understand what would have caused this huge difference and I guess I will never know. I already made: apple sauce (4 large jars), apple pancakes, apple crumble (gluten free), apple strudel, apple cake bars.
Biennial bearing is a pretty common occurance for apple trees. If you want to help avoid it, you need to thin the buds on the heavy years. It is because this year (for example) is producing SO much fruit, that it saps the energy from next year.
I have read that these are one of the reasons for biennial bearing. It appears that the native bees that were designed to pollinate these things pollinate less of the buds. The European bees overpollinate. This results in biennial bearing. Caveat: I do not bear fruit and am not an expert, just an interested bystander.
Thank you BettafromdaVille and Kathryn! It would be nice to spread it out more evenly so I might try thinning the buds the next heavy year (which should be 2027 if it’s every 2nd year). I guess we will have no harvest again next year 🙁
Or, BEES are one of the reasons, as it left my mouth…
I’m looking at your Winco haul, and I see that you’re not a big consumer of convenience foods. To me, one of the best frugal skills is to know how to cook. I was talking to one of my adult(ish) kids yesterday, and they were ranting about how their roommates buy pre-made foods and order DoorDash, and then complain about how little money they have. It was music to this frugal mother’s ears. I’m so proud.
I’m doing OK with food prices. I use the same tricks you do. I’ve noticed that the craziest prices at the grocery store are for some of the highly processed foods like chips and cookies and breakfast cereals and soda. I am happy replacing those items with popcorn, homemade cookies, oatmeal and water. I buy processed food only if it is deeply discounted on clearance. Fred Meyer just sent me coupons that are customized based on my shopping habits. They’re all for whole foods, like vegetables and eggs. They know me well.
I’m not a big fan of “hustle culture”, but this is the time of year when I’m hustling, because there is SO MUCH FREE FRUIT!! I’m busy getting things into jars. The effort will be worth it over the next year as I eat up my goodies.
Totally agree that the ability to cook – with or without a recipe- is a big money saver and also helps eliminate food waste. I do try to have a TJ frozen entree in the freezer for times when I just can’t cook and need a treat. Mostly we have pretty basic meals and find that most restaurants can’t duplicate the quality so we don’t eat out much. If we do eat out, it is a mom and pop ethnic restaurant for something we don’t cook at home. I can’t imagine how families can afford to eat out as a way of life.
Grocery prices are crazy expensive (contrary to the propaganda that prices are coming down). This week tiny broccoli crowns (not organic) were $1.99 at Meijer (a large supermarket chain in the midwest)!
@Jean C – totally agree this economy is *not* “phenomenal”. And to quote BTO, you ain’t seen nothing yet. It is going to get worse, a lot worse. Even if SCOTUS finds a spine or other selected anatomical part, Smoot-Hawley Act (may it get rid of this time small r republicans) allows temporary tariffs of up to 50% to for five months.
We grow vegetables. Picked berries. Shop sales. I have frozen and canned vegetables that we grew or got for the lowest price. I have gotten free produce and eggs from neighbors. We have a table at church where we take extra produce or food items we don’t eat and I have gotten canned items from that.
I thought this said, “Pickled berries” when I first read it, and I was like, oh that is new to me!
I always shop with a list, stock up on loss leaders, load digital coupons, check ibotta for rebates, and scan my receipts into Fetch and Swagbucks. I love when I can stack sale, digital coupon, and rebates in 2 different apps. Feels like I’m winning at groceries lol.
I know where the clearance sections are at every store I shop at, and do a quick loop to check them all out before I start my actual shopping. Sometimes my entire list and menu will change if I find something good marked down.
I try to shop early in the morning when the meat is marked down, and if I find a good deal grab extra to throw in the deep freeze. Even if I’m shopping later in the day I always cruise by meat just to check.
Hate to waste food I’ve already paid for, so I try to always have a plan for leftovers. Fried rice, quesadillas, and breakfast bowls are my family’s fave ways to eat leftovers, so I make sure to keep the basic ingredients in the pantry.
forgot to add – we were camped in the Columbia Gorge this summer, and the foraging at camp was amazing. We stuffed ourselves with marionberries, blackcaps, and blackberries, and anything we couldn’t eat was tossed into a freezer bag that I used in smoothies after we got home. I miss the Northwest foraging I grew up with!
We keep our budget down with many of the same tricks. I always start with a basic meal plan even if it is just “tuber Tuesday” instead of a specific recipe. That helps create a grocery list of foods I know we’ll eat. We thankfully have room in the budget and in the house to buy staples when they are on sale – like your pasta haul. We use digital coupons and apply rewards to the grocery bill. I don’t cross shop at too many other stores because I want to support (and like) our local grocery chain over big national chains. Since we cook at home and like ethnic food (always tasty, mostly inexpensive ingredients like beans and veg), I do go to a couple of ethnic stores for spices and specialty ingredients. Always cheaper than a national chain if you can even find what you need there. Using up sad produce rather than throwing it away is a great technique too. So smoothies, banana bread, fruit crisps. Also having a taste for veg that is filling but inexpensive. I have a mean curried turnip recipe for example. We were on a high protein diet for a while because dh needed more during a medical issue. It was very expensive! Thankfully, we can now use meat more as a garnish and get sufficient protein from other foods.
Neighborhood store always has discount/reduced priced dairy. I never pay more than $0.99/gallon of milk & just scored 15 dozen free range large brown eggs for $8.99!!! Yes, that’s a lot of eggs, but so versatile & healthy, especially when feeding a dual athlete preteen this fall sport season.
Your score on eggs is amazing!
I just bought 25 lb bags of flour, pinto beans and sugar. I have food grade 5 gallon buckets with the gamma lids. I freeze all of it for 24 hours and they’ll last in the buckets perfectly.
This is peak produce season in our garden and my friends gardens. Which means that I have bought a single piece of produce except for potatoes for the last 2 months. That really helps the bills.
When I’m away helping with grandchildren, dh buys a Costco pizza which lasts him for 4 dinners. Cheap and so easy.
WinCo bulk section is my favorite thing! I use gifted and thrifted jars for storing the ingredients when we come home with our bulk supplies of rice, beans, oats, sugar, flour, spices, etc.
I make almost all of our foods from scratch, which is incredibly beneficial to our bodies and budget. My husband and I both like to cook and I like to bake and rely heavily on meal planning and repeat foods to cut back on costs. Honestly at this point we are so used to it that very little would change if we had more money to spend on food.
This week is homemade pizza, refried black beans in the instant pot, vegan “buttermilk” biscuits, lumpia, pulled pork sandwiches, and breakfast bagel sandwiches. We do have a “cheat” day on Saturdays this month, frozen chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries, that were on sale, to give us a bit of a break when we do the bulk of our chores and things around the yard and house on the weekend.
Did some decluttering, repaired a shelf in the pantry, took a bunch of decluttered items to the new thrift shop that supports homeless women and children. Got DH to help me groom the cat and hold the dogs while I trimmed their nails. Cat grooming starts at $90 here, so I feel frugally accomplished doing it at home. It helps that she’s a very easy-going kitty.
I had bought for $3 a brick of Bustelo coffee, which is a little too strong for me, but I knew that and picked up another brand on sale that is very mild and mixed the two together. My custom blend is decanted into reused jars and in the freezer.
Ruby, my equally easy-going Betty sends her regards to your Dora. And I too have taken to mixing milder and stronger coffees for a blend I prefer.
Dora sends Betty big fluffy chin scritches!
I think there are a few principle ways to shop….
-Buy on discount/sale
-Buy in bulk to get a better quantity price
-Buy just want you need
I utilize all three strategies when they make the most sense. Some items are cheaper in bulk, but I have to weigh out the need and if I’ll go through the item before it goes bad. Some items I buy when they’re on sale and buy enough to enjoy the lower price. Other times I need something that is not often on sale and I buy what I need when I need it and no more as there is no incentive savings.
This weekend I utilized two gift cards from apps where you submit receipts and was able to save $15 off of my purchase on groceries. I went to Target and bought their brand sour cream, bread, etc, and bought just what we needed the ingredients not put together food. We have nachos and shredded cheese at home, I bought red meat and sour cream to make nachos. We were out of eggs, I bought eggs. We had bacon and sausage in the freezer we have some meals. When it came time to pack a lunch I brought things I already had on hand like Greek yogurt and protein bars. When I eat at home we tend to eat simpler meals and that works just fine for us. Sometimes ham and cheese hits just fine, or pbj with an apple. I try not to go too complicated. This is also a week or two where when I’m hungry and dont want to make a big meal it’s a great time to have a bowl of cereal, we never eat it and have a ton in the cabinets.
Also we’re not big soda or juice drinkers. If we went out to eat we may have a drink like that, but I dont buy it at home. I do however buy protein drinks as a supplement to my diet for health reasons, those can be pricey. I bulked up on them at Costco last month when they were on sale.
I think a low buy month on groceries sometimes is good to help you get some perspective on things.
No WinCo here in Central NY, alas. But I did an “around Cape Horn” food-shopping tour today (partly planned and partly due to road construction; the seasons here are winter and road construction), which may amuse the crowd.
(1) First stop was the Thursday farmers’ market at the Regional Market, where I picked up a dozen eggs from a truly free-range farmer, plus an eggplant, six medium-size tomatoes, and a pint of blueberries, for a total of $10. I think this egg farmer is the same one who, a few years ago, told a suburban-looking lady who asked dubiously, “Are these eggs…fertilized?”, “Lady, these are free-range chickens. The boys run with the girls.” 😀
(2) Next stop was the local no-name grocery outlet, where I got a loaf of Pepperidge Farm 15-grain bread and a six-pack of PF sub rolls for 99 cents each, plus a nifty-looking 1-liter bottle of organic Tunisian EVOO, a package of Xochitl tortilla chips, and a 12-pack of toilet paper made from bamboo and sugar cane waste by a woman-owned company, for a total of $25.
(3) Next stop after that was Price Chopper, where my only purchases were a half gallon of fat-free half and half and a pound of frozen shrimp on special, for $10.
(4) And because road construction forced me around by my nearest Aldi, I swung in there and got 8 ounces of white mushrooms, a 24-ounce jar of salsa, a gallon of 1% milk, and a family pack of chicken drumsticks, for a total of $11.50.
So not WinCo–but not too shabby either, I think.
I like your #1 farmer. Sounds like a fun person!!
I do not envy many things that people who live Outside have access to, but the abundance of grocery stores is right up there. Anchorage has a lot of stores, both national and small family stores (and fast food places) that are lacking in Fairbanks. Actually, I am glad they are, except when I am paying higher prices for food. (Which again, is partly due to our location at the end of the food transportation chain. More expensive to ship here and also if it is 30 or 40 below zero, anything left on the tarmac for loading begins to have frost damage within minutes. And it is much worse in the villages, where milk can be $9 a gallon and often not available…I remember being so desperate for a summer fruit that I bought a small watermelon for $27, and this was in the 1990s.) So, if we ever meet in person, I want a tour of all those stores you frequent!
Ah, Lindsey, if the two of us ever got together–to quote a letter that Flannery O’Connor wrote to a friend she didn’t often see IRL–“we would have blown something up. I’d have found the matches and let you light the fuse.”
And I may have an abundance of stores–but you have an equal abundance of salmon, moose, local eggs (which I’m sure are as free-range as mine), and other Alaskan treasures. So I say let’s call it a draw.
Like others, we freeze, can, and eat from the garden. We eat game and harvest most of our own meat. Not shopping for meat is a real time saver and the quality is better. We compost.
Groceries mostly come from Aldi or the dented veg store. Dollar General will do in a pinch but I try not to get pinched!
We have a garden. Our home is small. Our couch is a day bed and I keep 4 laundry baskets under it. They are our pantry. One each for pasta, canned goods, baking, and misc. The dust ruffle keeps them hidden.
Drinks are milk, tea, coffee, or water. We cook from scratch, pack lunches, and eat seasonally. We don’t buy fish because it’s not local, over fishing is problematic, and industrial fish farms are aren’t good for the environment. If we lived near the coast, I’d hit up the local market for sure :
WinCo for the win! My list is growing, won’t stop there if I have less than 10 items. I helped a friend’s mom organize and prepare for down sizing. She rarely cooks, however she has not stopped grocery shopping like she is still raising 4 kids. Most of it I was able to take to the food banks, making a big donation to the kids pantry at the local charter school. I took the bulk items to share at the 4H meeting and gave the laundry soaps, cleaners and shampoos to the local apartment community for the kids aging out of foster care.
I made 12 quarts of dill pickles and put up a batch of pickled beets. Tomorrow is pickled sweet hot carrots and pesto for the freezer.
Made a gallon of sun tea. Invited the neighbor up for a sit under the trees.
Gave him plums and slicer tomatoes and a loaf of artisan bread, his stomach growled so loud during our visit as the bread was baking in the solar oven.
His wife called later today, saying that he nibbled on it during his 3/4 MI hike home. Ha ha ha.
I am reducing my intake and my bills are increasing anyway. It’s very hard and I expect it will get worse. I am quite old …. I remember before Medicare when seniors ate canned cat food for protein. I can’t afford cat food prices.
PLEASE VOTE!!!!!!
1. I am using the $5 off $25 Dollar General coupon to buy at their Dollar General Marketplace fresh vegetables, and diet drinks that I don’t need: potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, sour cream, olive oil, diet drinks (bad habit).
2. I walked while my laundry was in the machine at the laundromat.
3. I washed my work skirt in the bathtub and hung it outside to dry.
4. I cancelled my root graft for my future implant because $$$$$. I am being sent a refund check. I will do this later when hopefully, things are not so tight financially with the tax bill coming up at the end of the year.
5. I kept the air off at night and used only the fan thanks to outrageous power bills in one of the poorest states in the nation.
Cindy,
We do the same thing with the Publix BOGOs and I ‘m astonished at some of their regular prices lately. I’ve also noticed more people talking about the high prices in the store when shopping. Maybe it’s time for them to stop using the phrase “surprisingly low price” for items that are not on sale!
We do not have Winco. I shop Aldi for most of my main groceries, and then “fill in” with anything that is a good “buy one get one” at Publix – where the prices have gotten VERY high since the pandemic and never come down – so I only shop there now for loss leaders. I always check my freezer and build meals around what i have on hand. I make my own granola, bake my own muffins and banana breads. And, I am lucky that my work provides weekly Instacart of assorted foods for the employees (bagels, yogurt, sodas, crackers, baby carrots, assorted fruits, cheese sticks, granola bars, etc) – so I can forage breakfast and lunch there at no cost…this is a huge help to my wallet!
I’m a UK reader and follower and love your blog. I haven’t commented before but I read in today’s news that your president is threatening to send troops to Portland. I hope it’s just an idle threat. It must be a worrying time to be a decent person in your country. Supportive communities like this are vital in these troubled times. Wishing you all well.
It’s likely not an idle threat. It’s a whole surreal scenario.