I know that cold cereal is not a very frugal way to eat breakfast. However, I have a 10-year-old die hard cold cereal fan in my house, a kid who likes the expensive kinds! And personally? I like cold cereal too. I had to come up with a solution to stretch the cold cereal a little, and hopefully make it more filling and nutritious in the process.Obviously, shop the sales AND use as many coupons as you can. You might be able to find the boxes for a $1 or less if you do this. You have to be on top of your game and a careful shopper, who might have to make trips to more than one store, or special trips to certain stores, just to hit the sales. But it can be really worth it. If you want more grocery tips, specific to your state (U.S. only), visit Pinching Your Pennies for some great money saving tips.
The other method I came up with was to buy the cereal in the bags, the "Malt-o-Meal" brand, where you are not paying for the packaging. You can get 32 oz for $4.99 (reg price) in the Malt-o-Meal (cheerios) or you can get about 12 oz for about $2.50 (on sale). So, it is much more cost effective to purchase the bagged cereals.
I took it one step further and mixed the sugary cereal that my son loves with the Cheerios. I bought a container and fill it up with cereal mix when needed. My kids haven't complained one bit. I am slowly planning to increase the Cheerios to sugar cereal ratio, gradually, so that they doesn't notice that they are eating more Cheerios than sugar. Yes, I am a bit devious that way. :)
For our readers: What methods do you use to save money on cereal and/or what recipes can you share that you use for inexpensive breakfast foods? Thanks! Hope to hear from you!
I found out a couple of weeks ago, that it's actually cheaper to buy the smaller bags of Malt-o-meal cereals than the super huge ones. Bulk isn't always cheaper. Make sure you check the unit price or figure out the unit price yourself.
ReplyDeleteWe save the sugary, expensive, and less-filling cereal for Saturday. That way it is a treat they look forward to. They don't feel shortchanged because they still get to eat it, just less frequently. I don't know if it saves us any money, but it probably does because they eat more filling/lasting breakfast on weekdays. My kids also love to eat Cream of Wheat (especially with some fruit thrown in) that is a real money saver!
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