OAMS: The Mini Trip

If you’re new to the concept of Once a Month Shopping (OAMS), readthe beginning of my series here, and more information about how it saves you money here.

So you’re thinking about OAMS, but the question comes to mind - what about the food that won’t last for a whole month? Dairy products? Meat? Produce? And what about foods I forgot to buy during the monthly trip but really need?

The truth is that produce is really the only thing that has to be bought on a regular basis before it goes bad.

Dairy products often last as long as a month if you buy them at their freshest and leave them un-opened until you use them. Excess milk and butter can even be frozen if you have a large freezer. Yogurt often has a shelf-life of at least 2-3 weeks; we don’t have any problem buying one months’ worth at a time. Cheese will start to mold shortly after the package is opened, so consider buying smaller packages (which is unfortunately more expensive), and once opened, repackage it carefully to prevent molding. You can also grate it and freeze the grated cheese: frozen cheese isn’t great eaten straight up, but it can be used in baked goods, casseroles, and pasta dishes.

Meat can be frozen to extend its life by quite some time. I almost always put my meat directly into the freezer unless I know I’m using it within a few days. The only time I don’t is when I plan to use the meat that day or the next. The only trick is remembering to pull meat out of the freezer at least a day before you need it to give it adequate time to thaw (where a menu plan comes in handy!)

That brings us to produce, really the only thing that needs to be replenished on a regular basis. This is where the mini-trip comes in.

A “mini-trip” is a short shopping trip that occurs on the “off” weeks between monthly shopping trips. On a “mini-trip”, you can replenish your supply of fresh produce, and take advantage of any super-good sales that might occur. In a typical month, I take about 30% off my total monthly grocery budget and spread it over the 3-4 off weeks to spend on things as I need them.

For me, that means $15-20 a week to spend on whatever is deemed essential for that week. Typically, this is what I spend that money on:

The vast majority of it goes to produce. Two-thirds or more of the weekly allotment goes to fresh fruits and vegetables, usually from the farmers’ market during the growing season. We go through fruits and veggies fast around here, so a lot of my money goes to that.

I also usually end up at one grocery store to pick up a great sale. I try not to go to more than one grocery store on the off-weeks, so I scan the ads to determine who has the best deals (if any) on things I need or can’t afford to pass up. Usually this means great prices on produce or meat, or occasionally super-cheap and free products.


Once at the store, I check out the clearance and the marked-down produce and meat, too. Sometimes I find really great deals that fit within my budget that I can take advantage of.


If a store is holding a super-doubles or tripled-coupon event, I buy the best deals there. Depending on what foods we need to get through the rest of the week, and how much that leaves in my weekly budget, I’m able to buy more or less of the best deals offered at that store during the week. Because I have a smaller amount of money available to me, I’m able to really prioritize what are the best deals, and what I can leave behind.

I’ll use this week as an example: I spent about $11 at the farmers’ market, so I have about $9 left, which I’ll probably use at Harris Teeter to get some deals I saw in their ad, including some additional produce.

Find the complete series here:
How to Make the Most of Your Grocery Budget Dollars: Just Jump In to OAMS!
Five Ways OAMS Saves You Money
How the “Mini Trips” Work
How to Make Your OAMS List, Part 1
How to Make Your OAMS List, Part 2
Sample OAMS Trip