Money Monday

I'm thinking about doing a weekly thing on money. Just to inspire myself, and maybe others, to keep finding ways to float our financial boat. I was thinking about it today because we just got our new BJ's membership. The corporation offered a special membership rate recently as a fundraiser to benefit foster children. We got a discounted rate on the membership while a small portion of the cost went to the fundraiser. It had to be done by mail and so it took a few weeks to come in, but we have it and now we get to learn the intracacies of buying in bulk. We're a small family, but it still helps to be able to buy the stuff that will keep in large quantities. And it was great for Sweetie's birthday party stuff. It can be a tad expensive upfront, but I think we are going to save money over the long-term, which is the goal. We also have a neat resource here in our town, which is a discount grocer- they buy damaged or out-of-date goods from local food companies and sell them at low, low prices. I can get a whole cart full of groceries for $50. I can't even get one bag for that at the chi-chi coop downtown, though that membership comes in handy for the best local and organic produce, the area where we are willing to shell out full-price. So, any discount shopping experts out there? What are your food-bill strategies?