I paid $3.64 for a gallon of milk at Walmart last night! That is absolutely ridiculous. I’ve always heard of people using dry milk in recipes, coffee, etc but using regular milk to drink and in cereal. I’d love to hear from you if you use dry milk and if you have any recommendations for us.
Also if you have any other tips on how to save on milk, please share!
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My friend said Costco actually has great prices on milk out here. Out here in California they have a website RealCaliforniaMilk,com and it has coupons for milk,diary,cheese. You can print as many as you want and they don’t expire for a year. Checkout your own state if they have a diary website.
Wow! I only pay about $1.89 – $2.09 at Wegmans for a gallon of milk. I guess it’s one of those things they have lower prices on to get you in the door…works for me!
Great topic! We buy several gallons a week as well. For years I exclusively used powdered milk because it worked out to $1.50 a gallon (Sam’s club) unless I could find fresh for any less which was rare. I either used really cold water and a tsp of vanilla per gallon or made it the night before so it was chilled before using. I was shocked that my husband had no problem adjusting to it when we got married and he was a whole milk man. When the “financial crisis” began, powdered milk prices steadily rose until it was more expensive than fresh milk so I stopped using it and only looked for deals on fresh milk. Powdered milk has come down though I’m not sure it’s really lowerer than fresh milk yet. I always like that I didn’t have to rush out to the store and buy milk when we ran out since I could just mix up some more.
Chapter 2:) – I look for marked down milk at grocery stores, I buy it when it is on sale at CVS or Wags, I have used Smart balance milk on sale with a coupon, I have used soy milk for myself when I had a coupon and great price, I have supplemented my 3 year old’s milk with free formula samples, I have breast fed over a year just for the “free” milk, I have had a friend give me extra gallons of milk from her WIC that she couldn’t use, I have done the CVS deal buy 5, get one free, used a store brands’ coupon for $2.50/3 store brand products and bought two cheap items so the majority of the coupon could go towards the price of the store brand milk (Food Club at Super 1)….
Rite Aid carries milk around us for about a dollar cheaper. Also GAS stations will sometimes have really cheap milk.
If you have an Aldi near you- their milk is always cheaper. Our milk is $3.85 a gallon here in Orlando, FL- but at Aldi it is $2.39-$2.59
We are a family of 7, with 5 boys ranging from 13-4. We go through 7-8 gallons a week. We live in Northern MI and do not have much competition between stores, so no doubling coupons, great deals, etc.:( Our Save-a-lot has been running a sale on milk for $1.99, limit 2 per day, for a couple of months now. That has saved us a lot. Before that, and after the sale ends, we went to a gas station for gas. 2 gallons for $4.59, but buy 10 get the 11th half off, and the half off one counts as the 1st of the next 10.
I live in Iowa and try to get our milk at Aldis, I can get 3 gallons for $6.57. I try to only shop once a week instead of wasting gas running around town. If I could have a cow in town I would buy one, then I could fill my freezer with beef too!
I buy my milk at Aidis and it is $1.89 a gallon. Walmart right now is $2.38. I do use dry milk some when cooking but have never try using dry milk for drinking or for cereal.
All I can say I’m glad we have Aldi here in the Chicago area. I paid $2.68 for milk.
walmart’s recent policy changes make it so you can no longer price match store brands. =( im a cashier, so it sucks to tell people that part. i wish we had a kroger down here in fairhope, al. our grocery stores never seem to have such awesome sales. i usually just stick with walmart’s price unless i see an advertised price in the circulars. i was gonna get a half gallon for my mom since she watches my little one, but a gallon was only 62 cents more! half was $2.92 and the gallon was $3.54
Tom Thumb (gas station) and CVS sales are the cheapest ways I know of to get milk in Pensacola, FL. I also like to buy Smart Balance milk when it’s a good deal as Publix because it lasts much longer than regular milk and tastes just the same to me!
I pay about $5 for a store-brand organic milk gallon. sigh. I tried to use powdered milk in cooking but I really didn’t like it. i have used evaporated milk in cooking before, and have heard that you can add back in some water to it to make it more like regular milk for recipes, or so that you know how to measure it. Also, if you like your coffee sweet and with milk, you can use sweetened condensed milk in place of milk and sugar. I’ve done that before. It’s pretty good. I tried powdered milk in coffee and had to pour it out because it just clumped up and didn’t work out.
I have never tried this but some I read about a lady buying a gallon of milk (can’t remember if it was 2% or whole), dumping half into an empty gallon jug and then filling both with water. Like I said, I have never tried this, but the person said it was like making her own skim milk.
Note, nutritionally, they will only get half as many of the nutrient i.e – Calcium, Vitamin D. I wouldn’t recommend it as a dietitian.
There’s a great deal at Whole Foods right now for So Delicious 32 oz. Coconut milk.
After the $1/1 store coupon here –> http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons/ and $1/1 in either 3/13 or 4/10 SS (i think) it makes it only $.69!
It’s the kind out with the dry items.. Not refridgerated.. I generally tend to like those better anyway because they have a much longer shelf life. :) Also, the original plain coconut milk only has 45 calories per serving!
OH yeah I was going to say try SAMS they usually have it for about $1 cheaper than than walmart (kinda silly since they are run by the same company IMO)
I get it from Meijer here in Ohio and normally pay $3/gallon, which I thought was expensive. Especially since we go through 5-6 gallons a week with toddler twins and my husband and I.
Milk at our Aldis (Northwest Indiana) is about 1.99 and our local grocery stores will have a sale on it for like $1.68 with an in ad coupon. With four growing boys who love milk we go through it FAST!!!
In order to lower our milk costs we ad match once a week. I shop for our groceries at Walmart but price match the local grocery stores to save more money. We have bought milk for $1.79 for the last six months when Walmarts prices are $2.88. That extra $1.09 comes in hand when feeding 3 growing boys! :o)
Wow! I am shocked to hear that milk can be over $4 a gallon! I hate to pay anything over $1.79! Just last week I bought a bunch of half gallons for .75/ea. Chandler, AZ.
wendi, I’m from AZ and was actually in shock hearing those prices as well, I’m with you I won’t go over a $1.79 for a gallon either. I have tried dry milk and for me I didn’t grow up with it so the more watery taste just doesn’t go well with me.
We’re $5.00 a gallon in PA….and while I live on a farm, I don’t have interest in bringing on dairy (say good-bye to any type of overnight vacation/stay). So what would you do if you had to pay $5.00/gallon milk? I’m curious because I’m starting to wonder what to do (other than giving into hubby and getting a dairy cow which is his idea)? :)
For those that live in California, go to http://www.realcaliforniamilk.com and you can get .55 off any Real California MIlk purchase. The coupon is in pdf format so you can print as many as you need. Also it doesn’t expire until January 31, 2012.
About every 2 weeks it goes on sale at Safeway for $1.98 here, in between I buy mark downs at Safeway. It is Always 2.99 at my local gas station, I freeze when I can stock up. Powdered milk works okay in recipes, but at altitude it can have issues with delicate baking.
We switched to Almond Milk. Lots of coupons out there right now and you can get it on sale a lot.
Price match at walmart. I will price match the Kroger brand to the walmart brand tomorrow at 1.99! you can price match store brand to store brand at wally :) good luck to you
not every walmart will pm store brand, I used to pm milk and eggs but mine stopped. I’m not going to fight it, my husband or I just stop at the other store when we can.
Since milk has gotten so expensive (and we had twins that turned 1 and have to have whole milk), I have started freezing milk. I only recommend freezing 1/2 gallons (which go on sale frequently anyway) b/c I have had gallon bust before, but never any probs with 1/2 gallons. It doesn’t affect the taste at all unless you try to use it before it is all the way thawed- then it can taste watered down. I just put mine out the night before I’m gonna need it and it still has a little ice chips in it– but milk is good that way ;)
While we don’t get the worlds best grocery deals here with Tops and Wegmans, our milk is cheap. Wegmans has a promotion in 2011 – 40 items guaranteed never to go up, so skim milk for hubby and I has been 1.99/gallon and whole milk is 2.19/gallon. It’s been killing me to think about buying my daughter her milk because it’s 1.99/half gallon for whole milk – just 20c more for a full gallon but she won’t drink that much by the expiration date. After reading this i may buy the gallon containers, take half out in a plastic Tupperware container, and freeze the other half until she’s ready for it. Thanks guys!!!!
Check with your pediatrician before assuming she has to have the whole milk. When my daughter turned a year old her doctor told me she could have skim milk or 1% or 2% if that’s what we drank. Your daughter’s circumstnaces may be different than mine, but it would be worth checking with her doctor.
wow I feel lucky milk here (nashville Tn) was 2.54 at my wal-mart
That is lucky – I live just 1 1/2 hour away from Nashville (Lawrenceburg, TN) and our Wal-Mart has whole milk for 4.23!!! When it’s on sale for 2.79 at Kroger– I just feel bad for the people who don’t look at the price or comp. it
Wal- Mart near Ft Campbell is $2.98. We go through 6-7 gallons a week. Milk is all my daughter will drink.
My family of 4 drinks atleast 5 gallons of milk. My husband is a big milk drinker . We usually get our milk at Sams Club for $3.30/gallon for Fat free milk. The whole milk is about $3.38.
I sometimes use my CVS ECB’s to buy milk. Their milk is usually $3.69-$3.99/gal here in FL. CVS is having a promotion right now through sometime in Aug. after you buy 5 gallons of milk, you get the next one free.
I’m glad we’re only paying $2.69. I didn’t realize milk could get so high. We only buy milk at Braum’s. It is REALLY good milk. It is rBGH free and has more calcium than regular milk. (Braum’s Fat Free Milk is unique – it has up to 50 percent more natural calcium, protein and other essential nutrients than any other milk on the market. That’s because we send the milk through our special and exclusive vacuum processing system which actually removes 1/3 of the water from the milk thus concentrating the milk. That’s why Braum’s Fat Free Milk is better for you and is richer and creamier…tastes more like whole milk!)
I used to love the milk from Braum’s, but it just got too expensive here.
I too love the milk from Braum’s but it is expensive.
We buy our milk at Costco. It’s over $1/gallon cheaper. so at a gallon a week- there’s our membership fee!
It’s even cheaper than Aldi and I do find other worthwhile deals at Costco (like our Sensible Portion veggies straws- giant bag for ~$4.50 versus a bag 1/2 the size for the same price at a local chain store).
I buy it at BJ’S. We pay $2.69 . A gallon at the grocery store is$4.10. At our Walgreens its $2.99. I buy 4-5 gallons a week, so every bit helps.
Lowes Foods and Food Lion both mark their milk down by 1/2 price when it gets close to the sell by date. I’ve only had it go bad once in the last year that I’ve been buying it. I figure that if I use at least 1/2 of it I’ve gotten my monies worth.
I have never tired it but I have been told that the Morning Moo brand of dry milk and chocolate milk taste pretty close to the real thing. I have been told it is the best tasting dry milk.
I agree with the post about Kroger… I have often found it marked way down there. the last time, we bought 10 half gallons for $1 each, and froze them in the deep freezer. we have also found gallons for 1.99 there. when we find it that cheap, we buy as much as we can afford at the time and freeze it.
I haven’t tried it yet (because my freezer is too full), but I’ve heard of people stocking up when it goes on sale, and freezing it. As long as you pour out enough to leave room for expansion, it should be fine.
I’ve been freezing milk for a while now. I find at least for me the 2% doesn’t expand enough to need to pour any out, but you may want to try one gallon first. I have the best luck with the half gallons in the paper cartons. They have done great with freezing. Just make sure to give them a few days in the fridge to thaw out!
We only have an overhead freezer, so I don’t freeze jugs. I freeze in quart freezer bags laid flat in a cake pan (just in case there are leaks). After freezing I can reposition the bags throughout the freezer. Take what I need out the day before and thaw in the fridge.
I am feeling grateful to be paying 2.98/gallon! I can’t do the powdered milk thing. I do look for it when it is marked down because it is close to expiring. My family of 7 drinks 4-5 gallons per week!
If you have an Aldi’s grocery store their milk runs between $2.09 and $2.49 everyday!! Typically, it’s the lesser but I have on occasion paid $2.49. Aldi is also a great place to purchase your fruits and vegetables at lower cost . . . for example:
Strawberries 1lb — between $0.99 and $1.49
Blueberries 1 pint — between $0.99 and $1.49
Grapes 2 lbs — typically $2.00
Corn — 5 ears for $1.00
I just paid 2.99 for a gallon of 2% here in NJ @ Aldi’s. I’d LOOOOVE to see 2.09/2.49 =) You can also freeze it, just take a cup out to allow for expansion.
really? You can freeze milk?? That would be awesome because my now 1 year old is just starting whole milk, and it’s 20 cents more to buy a full gallon than a half. It’s killing me to buy a half for just 20 cents less, but she doesn’t go through a gallon by the expiration date.
You can only free milk with significant fat content, otherwise it doesn’t thaw properly. The lowest fat percent I would freeze is 1%. Great idea when you find lots of marked down milk though. Also, you could make homemade yogurt with milk that is just starting to sour.
I freeze skim milk often. Allow for expansion so it doesn’t leak out after it’s frozen. As long as you let it completely thaw and mix before using, you can’t taste the difference.
I never thought about freezing milk before, but now that I think about it, it makes sense, because you can freeze breastmilk, after all … so why not cow’s milk? Thanks for the tip!
I always keep powdered milk in the pantry just like my mother. I wouldn’t drink it or use it in cereals, cause it does taste different and is very watery not “milk” creamy. However, it is perfect for cooking and baking all most anything. I use it in cookie and certain cake recipes also homemade mashed potatoes; can’t tell the difference in the outcome.
I’d love to see $3.64 a gallon! Here it’s $4.39+!! I had considered using my Rite Aid status to begin purchasing some grocery items. Thanks for the tip! May just go ahead and try it next shopping trip.
We use nonfat dry milk quite often around here. If you mix it the night before to chill overnight and add a small amount of sugar & vanilla, you can’t taste the difference between that and whole milk. It’s not a good idea if you’re using it for nutritional value, but it does help financially. We’ve also mixed it half & half with whole milk to help a gallon of milk stretch farther.
Same here, milk is always over $4 a gallon for us too. Which is tough. I too watch for the 1/2 off mark down stickers in the store as well.
I just got it yesterday for $5.08….I’ll take the $3.69 a gallon milk. We use 5 gallons a week at $5.00. That’s $100 a month on milk alone.
THAT’S INSANE!!!!!!! I pay @ WalMart something like $3.78. I also don’t have stores that double coupons or any good deals. Ok maybe some. I did get my free milk @ CVS after you purchase 5 gallons. That’s a little way to save. What are we gonna do if the cost of food continues to rise so much? Good luck and God Bless everybody.
We have found that Kroger marks down milk when it is getting close to sell by date. We watch really closely for it. My husband usually runs into Kroger to check for it 3 or 4 times a week. We have gotten it for as low as 69 cents a half gallon to $1 a half gallon. We usually can find have gallons cheaper than full gallons
I buy all or most of my milk at Rite Aid. Because of my reward card status I get 20% off all purchases that are not on sale. So milk usually runs in the $2.50-$2.75 range.
We have tried to use powdered milk in cooking and baking, but it just doesn’t taste the same to drink it or use in cereal. We are lucky right now Ingle’s has their milk $2.98 a gallon.
I add dry milk to my stockpile JIC. I have never tried it expect for homemade cocoa mix. It works well with that. I have to figure that if it works with that, it would have to have SOME nutritional value to it. The taste may be a bit off though if you are used to whole milk.