Save Money with Frozen Juice Concentrate

I very much enjoy a small cup of juice in the mornings to wash down my horsepill fish oil supplement.  The gremlins and I only have a small cup for breakfast.  Therefore, we go through about a carton or 64 fl oz of 100% juice a week.  If I purchased a pre-mixed carton of orange juice such as Tropicana or Minute Maid on sale (at best $2.50/ per carton a week), I would spend about $130 per year on juice.  I am sure some families go through much more if juice is served at more times than just breakfast.

About a year ago I decided to investigate frozen juice concentrate to see if it would be a less expensive option.  I was blown away by the savings.  Many groceries stock store-brand frozen concentrate.  Old Orchard frozen concentrate can be found at Target and other stores for around $1.19 per can.  Often, the Old Orchard concentrates are a part of Meijer's 10 for $10 sale.  Of late there have been Old Orchard coupons.  After all sales and coupons, I was able to get frozen concentrate for $0.75 per can.

Pre-mixed orange juice cartons on sale for $2.50 works out to be about $0.039 cents per fluid ounce.   Per package instructions, the frozen concentrate makes 48 fluid ounces of juice.  If you got the concentrate at a rock-bottom price such as $0.42 per can, you would be paying a paltry $0.015 cents per fluid ounce of juice.  We all know those rock-bottom price opportunities only happen a few times a year, so if you paid a regular price of $1.19 for a can of concentrate, it would work out to $0.024 cents per fluid ounce of juice.  Now, here comes the farmer's daughter frugal kicker, compliments of my childhood.  Stretch the concentrate even further by adding an extra 6, if not 12 more ounces of water.  An extra six fluid ounces would probably go unnoticed by your children.  I usually reserve the extra 12 fluid ounces for grape juice concentrate, which I find rather strong if made to package specifications.

Juice can be very expensive if consumed regularly.  If juice is consumed at every meal, consider swapping out juice for water at one.  Using juice from frozen concentrate has other added benefits.  There is less waste associated with the concentrate container as opposed to a full sized bottle of juice.  It is easier to stock up and store the smaller containers.  Also, consider the fact that some juices, such as Minute Maid and some store brands, are actually made from concentrate.  Therefore, you are paying the manufacturer well over a $1 a carton to add water to the concentrate instead of doing it yourself in your own container. 

Consider purchasing a $3 pitcher from WalMart and trying out some juice concentrate.  It can really save you money.  By using juice made from frozen concentrate instead of buying pre-mixed juice (estimating a total annual purchase of 30 cans of concentrate at $1.19 and 30 cans at $0.50), I will spend about $51 a year, for a total saved of $79!  Drink up the savings!