The SCI Grocery Year
What goes on sale in October
Baking staples start moving, and candy crashes on November 1.
October is the beginning of the best stretch of the year for a kitchen. Flour, sugar and butter start their slide toward November, and the fall promotions get serious.
There is also one of the most dependable clearances of the year sitting at the end of the month, once the seasonal candy becomes a problem for the store.
A good month to make decisions calmly, before December makes them for you.
Worth watching
If you actually use these things, October is a good time to take a look.
Flour and sugar
The slide toward the November pricing starts here.
Canned pumpkin
Seasonal low, and it keeps for a long time.
Candy, from November 1
One of the steepest and most reliable clearances there is.
Soup and broth
Full fall promotion at most chains.
Don’t get carried away
Buying the trick-or-treat candy in early October means eating the trick-or-treat candy in early October. Buy it the week of, or buy it on the first.
One thing to watch
Canned pumpkin sells out in some years and sits in others. If your household bakes with it, one or two extra cans in October is reasonable. Twelve is a different decision.
October is a good month for produce too
Depending on where you live, these are often abundant and especially good this time of year.
- Pumpkin
- Winter squash
- Apples
- Sweet potatoes
- Cranberries
- Cauliflower
Worth doing this month
Decide the holiday number now
Not a budget in the miserable sense. Just one figure, picked in October while nothing is urgent, so December becomes a set of decisions you already made calmly.
Keep your own prices
Seasonal patterns can tell you when to pay attention. But the best price for your family depends on what you buy, where you shop and what things normally cost in your area.
That is why keeping your own prices is so useful.
Start your free price bookBefore November gets here
Take five minutes on one thing
Check the pantry, the freezer or the household supplies for one thing you are running low on. That is it. You do not need to stock a bunker. Just notice what you will actually need next.
Next month is the big one for baking staples. Butter, flour, sugar and broth all tend to hit their best pricing of the year.
See what is coming in November