15 Foods To Stock and Save In October and November

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

Save money on groceries for the holidays by stocking up ahead of time in October and November. Learn how to plan and budget for everything you need at a fraction of the price.

I’m not sure if you noticed (I’m sure you have) that prices tend to jump sky-high or drop on other products whenever a holiday or seasonal change is around the corner.

Coincidentally, many items may need to be cooked or baked throughout the year.

Stock Up On The Grocery Savings While Available

Getting ahead of the holidays with your grocery budget means you have to stock up and plan so you’ve got all you need but at a fraction of the price.

I’m not sure if you noticed (I’m sure you have) that any time a holiday or seasonal change is around the corner, prices tend to jump sky-high or drop on certain products, many of which you may need to cook or bake with.

Have you ever said, I bought that (insert product here) for $2.99 last week and have 10 in stock now, while the price jumps back to $3.99 or even higher, $5.99?

We have, and those are the moments we are happy that we took advantage of a sale to put those savings towards other foods that will help bulk our savings for the season.

Often, for those who don’t plan, it may mean doing without or buying a similar product but not the one you wanted.

Often, products that aren’t on your radar may not taste the same, so you settle for something only because of price.

It doesn’t have to be that way if you plan your grocery shopping according to monthly sales and stock up when possible.

Mrs. CBB and I made a mistake several times because we didn’t consider the aftermath of bringing home what we would stock up on.

Having much experience with couponing and extreme sales over the years, we’ve had to ask ourselves a few questions before leaving the house or even creating our grocery list.

You will often find what you need in the local grocery flyer for sales to plan accordingly, but sometimes you see “stock me now” products or lose out on a fantastic deal.

Our stockpile budget of $25 a month helps in these cases, but we could use a bit more for some months, and we don’t use it as much for others.

Affordability

Products to Stock up on in October and November

After Thanksgiving and Halloween, you will find loads of sales on various Halloween or Fall vegetables brought into the stores in mass quantities.

These are the sales you want to jump on.

Let’s look at the foods you should stock up on now before the holidays and then again have enough to get you through to the next big seasonal sale in the Spring.

Pumpkins Are Practically Given Away

There are always way more pumpkins than people buy, so grab them cheaply after Halloween.

Roast pie pumpkins and freeze the flesh for up to one year to use in many recipes.

Potatoes

There is always room for potatoes in the cold room if we want to stock up, so having a few bags on hand to get through the Winter is ideal, especially if the price is right.

The grocery stores won’t hang on to them forever, so they may flog them off cheaply if they have an over-stock from Thanksgiving.

Keep an eye out for sweet potatoes, yams, and other root vegetables, typically in high demand during October and November but then taper off afterward.

Flour For Baking

This one is hit or miss, but if you like to bake, whether it’s gluten-free or not, stock up when you see the sale happening in October and November.

You may find flour will go on sale in December, but prices may still be higher.

We buy our almond flour at Costco, which is about $15.99 for 2kg, and that’s a standard price unless there is a sale, in which case we might buy 2.

Related: Complete Costco Keto Guide WIth Photos

Stock Up On Chocolate

Chocolate and winter wine are in hand as they are comfort foods that most people like to have linger in their mouths.

At least I do.

If you want a certain kind of chocolate, whether it’s for eating, melting, or baking, now is the time to stock up, especially after Halloween when the shelves are flooded with chocolates left over from October 31.

Mrs. CBB uses Krisda Chocolate Chips sweetened with Stevia, which costs $8.99 a bag, so we stock up if there is a sale.

It’s rare, but we may find that chocolate sales will start ramping up before the Christmas holidays.

Last week, one of our readers spotted a load of Bakers Chocolate and Chipits in the $0.99 bin, and she took advantage and stocked up.

Spices

Fall and Winter are fantastic in abundance for comfort food cooking and baking throughout Winter.

This is when you will want to find any herbs that your family recipes include that you use more than average seasonally.

For example, we go through lots of cinnamon in the Winter and stock up if we find a sale, especially on the cinnamon sticks.

We like to fill the house with a cinnamon smell, so we boil the sticks on low with some cloves, and it’s beautiful.

Having a spice list handy always helps to know what you have on hand.

Sugar

No matter what kind of sugar you use, grab it while you can if you see it on sale now.

You may not want to bake for the holidays just yet, but if you get that urge, it’s best to have it on hand without paying premium prices.

Bags of sugar can go on sale for under $2 and jump to $3-4 a bag, depending on the sales month.

Canned or Frozen Vegetables

You might have noticed in October that canned and frozen vegetables are on sale quite a bit, and that’s because root vegetables are at their peak, and everyone is buying them up.

If you can, take the opportunity to stock up and have a nice stash of vegetables for the Winter.

You WILL see prices skyrocket in Canada.

Canned and frozen are just as good as fresh when it’s economical.

Cranberries Can Be Frozen

Just after Thanksgiving, in October, you will want to buy fresh cranberries from the grocery store’s produce section and freeze them.

I made these delicious Cranberry Orange Muffins, which are keto-friendly with no sugar.

You can process your cranberries now and have them ready in jars for later if you have the time.

Butter Stock Up And Freeze

There’s not much to say about butter, but buy it when you can, while you can, or watch the price double!

We often stock up at $2.99 and cringe at $3.99-$4.99 IF we need to buy it.

We don’t use margarine in the house; if we had to, we’d do without.

You can freeze butter for up to 6 months without issue and quickly defrost it on your counter or refrigerator when needed.

Always Stock Up On Dried Beans

Dried beans last a long time, so if you know you like to eat lots of hummus or chickpeas as part of your daily diet and you see a sale in October and November, stock up.

Dried beans tend to go on sale during these months as they are the bulk of the comfort food meals we make during the Winter.

Buy off sale, and you’ll see the prices jump.

Turkey/Ham

Buy it now before Thanksgiving if you find a sale or after Thanksgiving when the grocery store tries to get rid of them.

We bought a PC Spiral ham for 50% and had it ready to go.

Stock Up On Bacon

Bacon is great for appetizers, brunch, and any meal, especially if you eat a keto diet, as Mrs. CBB does.

Bacon is pricey and can get even more expensive when you need it.

It runs at nearly $7 a pound, but if you find it for $3 or less, stock up and freeze it.

Related: Keto Diet Staples We Stock Up On

Cheese Stockpile Is A Must

No matter what time of year, cheese is always expensive, so we constantly search for deals but don’t always find them when we want them.

That means we either pay premium prices or go without.

We’d rather have our cheese as we love it, and everything tastes better with cheese, right?

When a sale comes up in October and November on cheese bars for $3.99, don’t be afraid to buy 10 bars, as they will be fine in your refrigerator for months.

You can also freeze it, but it breaks into chunks, and you won’t be able to grate it after, but it is an option.

Nuts Are Expensive, So Stock Up

Nut prices are just as nutty as butter prices in the Fall and Winter, so if you see a sale, stock up.

If you use cashews, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, or any other pricey nuts, take advantage of sales or coupons combined with a sale that may offer you grocery savings.

We tend to freeze our nuts; however, read the package to see how to keep them once opened.

For example, a bag of almond flour, once opened, should be refrigerated.

Dried Fruits

We don’t use dried fruits as much, but as the winter months approach, many people ramp up their holiday baking, where dried fruits are used quite a bit.

This is a big time for the dried fruit industry as other months will be slower, so expect higher prices on dried fruits.

Stock up if you find a sale; they will last a while since they are dried.

We stock up on dates so I can make my impressive Date Squares, and then I freeze them.

I’ll eat the entire pan if I’m left alone with them.

Stock Up On Beverages

Beverages aside from the food can get costly during the holidays and throughout the seasons, so stock up when you get a good sale.

Suppose you see a case of pop for $3.99 or even less; that’s a great deal.

Please watch for sparkling water juices (pineapple, cranberry), especially as they are great for mixed drinks.

You might even get lucky and find deals at the local LCBO and Beer Store on beer, wine, and spirits that you can buy before gatherings, so you’re not paying premium prices.

Remember that if milk is on your list of beverages, you can freeze it, which we do since we go through so much of it.

We jump on that sale and stock up when we get 20x the PC Optimum points at Shoppers Drug Mart.

You get enough points back, so that one full bag is FREE!!

Related: How We Grew Our Optimum Points Over Six Million

Take advantage while you can

Going for the stock-up isn’t for everyone, but if you have a grocery budget that you are trying to balance and know you can save today for tomorrow,

The best part is you won’t have to cringe when you see the product you need at an inflated price.

Discussion: What other products do you stock up on in October and November for your meal planning?

Mr.CBB

October Grocery Game Challenge

Join the 2018 Grocery Game Challenge (GGC), but before you do, you must read The Grocery Game Challenge Rules and Print the 2018 Schedule, which includes new prizes!

Last Shop from September–

• 5 Pointers To Find The Best Prices At The Grocery Store
• Freebies We Get From Our Favourite Canadian Grocery Stores

2018 Grocery Shop Results

Yearly grocery budget for two + 1 Toddler 2018: $3600 or $300/month (The above total does not include the stockpile budget of $300/year or $25/month.

Points Overview (add any other sections you need to show us your savings or that you would like to track on your own.)

• Total Grocery Budget for this Month: $300
• Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs: $300
• Total Gift Cards used to date: $0
• Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
• Total Rewards Points used to date: $0
• PC Optimum Points to Spend: 3,500,000
• Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0

Coupon Apps (add any other apps you use to save money)

• Zweet -$0
• Checkout51– $1.50

Our Grocery Shop This Week

Zehrs

• No name sour cream $2.49
• Large Eggs $2.27
• Lactancia Cream Cheese $3.49 x 2 $6.98
• Iceberg Lettuce $1.99
• Radish 1lb $2.49
• PC Kale Slaw $3.89-50%= $1.95
• PC Mushrooms x2 $2.79-50%= $2.80
• PC Field Greens $6.99-50%= $3.50
• 3-pack English cucumbers $3.88
• Spaghetti Squash $4.48
• Tomato $1.10
• Red Cabbage $0.99
• Ground Chicken $6.23-50% $3.12
• Ground Chicken $6.20- 50% $3.10
• PC Split chicken wings $6.10 – 50%=$3.05.
• Pork Bellies $10.89-50%=$5.35
• Inside round sandwich beef $6.42-50%=$3.21
• Veal Cutlets $12.63-50%=$6.32
• Chicken Split Wings $11.44-50%=$5.72
• Boneless Chicken Thighs $10.08-50%=$5.04
• Boneless pork center chops $8.48-50%=$4.24
• Honey Garlic Sausage Meat $3.73-50%=$1.87
• Top Sirloin Roast $29.13-50%-$14.57
• PC Shrimp bags x 2 $19.99×2 -50% = $19.99
• 6 x Saputo Marble Cheddar Reg $6.99 Sale $1.00 for 200 grams shredded

Total Out-of-Pocket $113.97

Month To Date

Note: All totals below have already been tax factored into them.

• Total to spend this month: $300.00
• Stockpile budget 2018: $25.00/month
• Stockpile budget used this month: $17.08
• Christmas Reserve Fund: $35/month $305 Saved
• Total coupons used this week: $0
• Total coupons used to date: $1
• Total in-store discounts this week: $115.87
• Total in-store discounts to date: $318.29
• Total spent this week: $113.97
• Total spent so far this month: $176.92
• Total over/Under spend this shop: over
• Total left to spend for the month: $123.08
• Total Spent To Date 2018: (does not include stockpile budget) Jan $323.04+Feb $169.42+March $228.70 + April $337.84+ May $275.79 + June $271.88 +July $257.76 +August $342.74 + September $255.69+ October $+ November $ + December $

Final Thoughts

We made This one of those unplanned shops only because we knew deals would be before Thanksgiving.

In light of that, we made no grocery list but had somewhat of a budget for how much we could spend.

Considering all the deals we found, which saved us $115.00, mainly on meats and cheese, we had a significant stock-up.

We did pick up a few staples, but for the most part, our meals this week will be based on what we purchased for 50% off.

See you next week!

MR.CBB

Note: All totals below have already been tax factored into them.

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Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide

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The time is NOW to get started saving money on groceries, so please enjoy the many money-saving posts in The Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide.

Coupons and Coupon Apps

Here are some great places you can find Canadian Coupons!

Related: Find all the latest coupon apps in Canada right here>> Are coupon apps taking over paper coupons?

Sign up for the Nielsen Canada Home Scan Program, and you can earn rewards points fast to redeem excellent products or gift cards.

Other Coupon Portals

If any links below don’t open properly, please report them to my email address or use the comment form.

• Kraft Canada: Sign up and receive recipes and coupons by email
• MySavings.com Printable Smart Source Coupons
• Walmart Canada Printable Coupons
• Proctor and Gamble PandG Sign up for printable coupons.

Welcome to The Grocery Game Challenge!

-Mr.CBB

• Our budget plan is going up in smoke for 2014! : October 2014 Budget Update
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• Join The 2022 Budget Challenge: October 2021 Budget Update

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