Groceries: 900.00 monthly for a family of 4??!!!

[mrsmiller]

For the past four weeks I have been saving all the groceries receipts. I just came from the supermarket and the total for 4 weeks was 965.56!!! It is only my husband, my two boys(7 and 8ys), my dog (medium size mutt) and me. I could not believe how much me spend. I do not buy lots of junk food but do buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and 100% juices. My boys drink almost a gallon of milk daily other than that I do not see how we spent so much. I am not a brand name kind of person but certain items like cereal and bread I have to buy brand name because my boys will know the difference and they will refuse to eat it(Kelloggs and Wonderbread only!!)I always go to the same supermarket(pathmark) and watch out for the sales. I just saw in the tv a family with quintuplets and their average monthly groceries was 300.0 :earseek: I do not know how can they do it then again I know that NY is more expensive and maybe that have something to do. But I still believe that we are spending too much.... :guilty:
How do you save money when you go grocery shopping?
Linnette

[goudaman40]

I use lots & lots of coupons. Also, I analyze the price w/ coupon for a name brand, versus off brand price.

Something else that has helped, is we plan out our meals for the week and have a list when I go to the store.

Hope this helps!

[jeancbpugh]

For the past four weeks I have been saving all the groceries receipts. I just came from the supermarket and the total for 4 weeks was 965.56!!!

Honestly, you aren't spending an unusual amount. We spend over $1,000 each month for me, DH, and two DSs. People who spend a lot less may not be having complete nutrition. People also forget to mention how frequently they eat out, too, when they talk about their grocery bill.

We almost never eat out.

[Mom to Jordan]

That is a lot! We are a family of three and a dog, but our DS is almost 13. WE spend less that half of that. Do you use coupons, plan meals around what is on sale that week, or plan left overs. For example bake a roast one night and then make stew out of it the next. Do you buy larger container of items and bag into single servings instead of buying the snack size? Bottles of juice instead of juice boxes. Try shopping arourd for a differnt store that will double or triple coupons.

Also consider if you are also buying things like soap, tissues etc at the grocery store. Our food cost does not incude many of these items and they are often cheaper at a discount store.
Good luck on finding ways to cut back.

Jordnas' mom

[skiwee1]

We spend way over that for a family of 4. That wouldn't even include eating out at least twice a week! Sounds like you are doing pretty good.

[westjones]

Shop the sales! I always go through the sales for the grocery store, what is on sale is what we are having that week. Sometimes, if it is a good sale, I will stock up.

I also use coupons whenever possible, but shopping the sales really helps. When my girls were young we had the funniest experience. We were in the store and I picked up something that didn't have a sale tag under it. My DD looked at me and said, "Mom that isn't on sale!" I told her I knew, but I needed it so I was going to buy it anyway. She looked at me astonished. Then she said, "You mean they will let you buy stuff that isn't on sale?" :laughing: She actually thought that you COULDN'T buy things at stores that were not on sale! I thought that was so funny!

DJ

[disneymom3]

DJ--your DD and my kids would get along well! I plan our meals also based on what is in the sale flyer. I have a family of 5 and I would croak at spending almost $1000 a month on food! We don't even spend half that! We do not eat a lot of meat and we do not eat out hardly at all. We also cover all nutrition/food groups. I even have a little chart to make sure that the kids are getting the right amount of everything. Fresh or canned fruit and fresh vegies as they won't eat the canned or most of the frozen. I know we actually spend less than a family of our size is expected to. We went to a budget analyst guy and he wouldn't believe my grocery estimate until I kept my receipts for the month. Anyway, I knew we were low, but your total seems awfully high! Of course, as you say, we live in totally different parts of the country so that could have a lot to do with it.

In the last week for dinner we have had
Lasagna--some hamburger in that
Roasted chicken
Chicken casserole with leftover chicken
Cheese enchiladas
tostadas-meat free
steak
spaghetti with meatballs

And the accompaning bread and salad or vegies and dip.

Maybe you should do an internet search for budget recipes. tHere was a thread on here awhile ago that had some good ideas on it. Good luck

[Twinkies]

for a family of 7 plus one dog. We rarely eat out and that includes the soaps, toilette paper etc too.

I've noticed a huge difference between grocery stores, even for generics. I'm not familiar with the store you use, but that sure does sound for alot!

Also, if I notice we're going over on the grocery budget, I'll purposely plan more budget-minded meals (like eggs, or soup)

And like another poster mentioned, planning those meals out and sticking to it make a big difference too.

Good luck!

[kimbac3]

I guess I'd add about $50 to that for dog food (we have a doberman and a mutt). I cook everything from scratch and we just about never eat out. (Once every 5 months!) I'm diabetic so I do buy special things for myself. We cut soda out of our lives - that alone saves a fortune! Also I shop at a really great store. It's not a chain store but the meats and veggies are almost 50% cheaper and a whole lot fresher. My kids HATE the store, it's always crowded but I LOVE saving money! I know my sister feeds her family of 5 -er- 6(son-in-law to be) and she spends one and a half times what I spend. But she shops at ACME for everything.
We honestly could not afford $900 per month. I don't know what we'd do if we had to spend that much. Eat at my mom's alot I guess!!
Kimba
PS: I always plan my meals out ahead of time, then check the pantry for what I have on hand then I make a list. Also I agree with what someone already suggested - eggs. Have breakfast for dinner it's cheap and fun!!

[drumflower]

I only spend half that much for a family of 4, but I live in Indiana and she lives in New York which cost much more to live. When I use coupons and buy what is on sale we eat for $50 a week.

[Renysmom]

To me that use to be how it was but I managed to cut a ton of our monthly food bills (me, DH, DS#1 (division #1 college athlete, who when he isnt playing his sport is usually shoveling food in his mouth, I need it for energy mom is his favorite phrase :D ) and DS#2 (17 years old and he just takes a chair to the fridge, easier than using the table :D ) and two pups. Sons also have friends pop in all the time and that means they are eating too. I spend approx $400 a month on everything (including eating out) and living outside of Washington DC we are a very expensive area.

I learned many tricks on some message boards on AOL and the web:

Shop the sales, especially if your grocery stores are near each other, stock up on those loss leaders when they are on sale. Learn the sales patterns, in our area I know that Chicken Breast go one sale every three weeks at one of our chains, my favorite roast every month or so, another as an example places all the lipton rice and pasta mixes on sale once a month.. I stock up on them when they are on sale, never buy them when they aren't.

Also OAMC if you can, (OAMC- Once A month Cooking). Basically you plan a months worth of meals, create a shopping list and shop all at once, then the next day you cook and cook and cook some more. I can cook all or most of my meals for a month in one day, I label them and freeze them. It is so much easier to come home from work and stick dinner in the oven and because its so easy the tempation to run out and pick something up is gone. Often my DH or one of the boys will place it in the oven as I am driving home (of course I have to call them and tell them what to do, even if I leave directions :D . Those prepared meals are very expensive and you can save tons by doing the preparing yourself. Have your kids help you in cooking day. Great bonding time and they learn to cook without realizing it. Also by doing this you create a dinner hour with your kids, the time you spent cooking dinner everynight is now spent with them, so much better use of your time.

There are LOTS of websites and recipe sites that cover OAMC, just google it.

Invest in a Tilia vacuum sealer, this little machine has saved us hundreds and hundreds of dollars as food just doesn't go to waste. You seal it up and the foods last and last. I can get a head of lettuce to last up to two weeks with no spoilage by vacuum sealing it, I can buy meats in bulk at Costco and repackage it to create several meals, etc..

Pick one night a month or week as your dinner out time and stick to it. We use Tuesday nights and rotate between pizza night or Chinese with an occasional switch to a sit down. This works as we know when we are eating out, what it basically costs and are able to work that cost into our budget. Not sure why we use Tuesday nights, just always have.

Buy generic whenever you can, almost always the quality is the same.. My kids were like yours with cereals, cheese, sandwich meats, cookies, etc so what I did was make sure they saw me put their favorite brands into tupperware and bags to store it in instead of the boxes. I would do this as part of putting the groceries away. Just tell them it keeps it fresher, lets you see what you have left easier and keeps bugs out. After a few times doing this I switched to generic, since they never saw the boxes and cans they never knew. They never caught on for years and now they buy generic most often when I send them to the store because they know there is no difference, one DS complained this summer when on vacation I had to buy real capt crunch cause it wasn't as good as what we have at home :D

If you need to make a milk and bread stop dont use 7-11 and such, use your grocery as it is cheaper BUT carry only the cash you need to buy those items into the store. I leave my wallet in my glove compartment, if I dont have the cash in my hand I can't buy anything else.

Lastly, get everyone to start bringing their lunch to school and work. Since school started this year my youngest has not bought lunch once (although at his school as a senior they have microwave privelages in one of the teacher lounges, which really helped me on this one). He brings leftovers all the time and loves it. I also have stopped buying lunch and take the $25 a week I am saving and put it into my disney cash box.

Keep your receipts from the grocery store and price out what you spend daily for a few weeks by actually adding up what the eggs and toast for breakfast cost, then those lunches and then the meat costs, potatoes and veggies you used for dinner. By doing this I realized what I was spending per meal, it was very eye opening at first and as I brought down the costs while still preparing healthy good meals it was a great feeling.

Hope some of this helped, it definiately helped this family of 4.

Kelly

[minnie1928]

for a family of 4, and that includes diapers & wipes. I look at the Sunday circulars, stock up on specials, use coupons and actively rebate whenever possible. The local stores have been running a lot of Buy One Get One Free sales and triple your coupons (up to face value of 99 cents). So when I see these I REALLY stock up! I buy toothpaste and shampoo for pennies, with the right coupon during sales. We are huge milk drinkers and when I have time I buy my milk at the local dairy to save a little extra money. Also, NEVER EVER go to the store hungry! I also do web searches for coupons, use www.valupage.com and register with companies' web sites to sign up for samples and coupons.

Good luck!

[Mom of Sleepy, Bashful and BabyDoc]

WOWZER!! We are a family of 5 plus one dog and our budget is $450. I try to get it under $400 but have lots of difficulty.........I guess I'm not doing too badly.lol

I try to make most things from scratch. I buy generic if I can. Use a little coupons, but not many. I buy a lot of my meat at Sam's club, along with eggs, cheese, some fruit......stuff like that.

I bet the city prices have something to do with it.

[doubletrouble_vb]

just an fyi...food in nymetro can cost less than other parts of the country. It is a port so a lot of stuff comes in there. Milk and milk products still astound me in the south...I just don't get it.

I think its possible to feed a family of four and a dog on less than $900 a month. There definitely is some room to reduce the total bill if it is worth the work to the OP.

[Mom of Sleepy, Bashful and BabyDoc]

just an fyi...food in nymetro can cost less than other parts of the country. It is a port so a lot of stuff comes in there. Milk and milk products still astound me in the south...I just don't get it.

I think its possible to feed a family of four and a dog on less than $900 a month. There definitely is some room to reduce the total bill if it is worth the work to the OP.

Interesting. And yes, I think with some planning the bill could come down.

And I have to ask........How much is milk in the south?? My sister lives in Atlanta but I've never asked her about this. Here in upstate NY, I just bought whole milk for $1.99 at superwalmart on Sunday. 2% is usually $1.89.

[ErinC]

I pay $3.29 for most of my 2% milk here in south Alabama. If I buy it at my little fruit market next to my house, which I did today, I paid $4.89!! I thought I was really getting a great deal at Sams Club for $2.89 the other day! Too bad Sams is 20 miles away!

[Sleuth]

We are a family of 4 and spend $300 per month. We do all of our grocery shopping at the Walmart Supercenter- it beats all of the local grocer's pricing hands down. If we went to the local grocery store we would be spending a heck of a lot more.

I know if we have a budget set, we usually stick to it. I allocate a certain amount every two weeks to get groceries and try to stick to it.

[mrsmiller]

Thank you all for all the great ideas!!!

One thing that I have to say is that I never plan ahead any meals I usually go with the flow and that is when I get into some trouble, sometimes my boys want to eat spaghetties and meatballs and when I look in the refrigerator some ingredients are missing and I have to run to the supermarket I usually ended up buying more than I have plan for.

Also the kids take their lunch for school everyday and their school have a policy for snacks and lunch. I can only buy 100% juice boxes for them any other kind is not allowed, snacks have to be also healthy like fresh vegetables and fruits, no cakes or cookies(too much sugar as per the principal) so this also kind of takes a big chunk every week.

Momofsleepybashfulandbabydoc: Is that the price of a gallon of milk? everyday I pay 4.79 for a gallon!!!

minnie1928 Thank you so much for the link. :D

Linnette :D

[LauraAnn630]

We are a family of four. With 2 growing boys with different taste! We easily spend 900.00 a month. I shop at Bjs, Walmart, and Giant E! Plan your meals around the sales. We often have found its cheaper for us to go out to eat. Its not as healthy though!

[bexareaglecheryl]

Here in upstate NY, I just bought whole milk for $1.99 at superwalmart on Sunday. 2% is usually $1.89.


WOWZER on this price of this milk. We live in San Antonio, TX and for the house brand of milk we've been paying about $3.09 for 2% and $2.99 for whole. Walgreen's has specials for $1.99 but it's been over a year since milk was in the $2.79 range.

To the OP I would ask if this total included amounts you spent during the Christmas holidays? I know we give sugar coated pecans(shelled pecan halves are about $5+ a pound), pumpkin bread and cookies. This added quite a bulge to our grocery budget. In addition, did you purchase a lot of health and beauty aids and household cleaning supplies that you suddenly ran out of? Do you get your Rx's filled at the grocery store and are these items included in the amount? Did you buy all of your Christmas wrapping paper and supplies at the grocery store? I know that my last 4 weeks of grocery shopping included a lot of unusual charges.

My budget is busted if I spend more than $300 a month on groceries. We're a 1 income family and my illness requires a boatload of meds each month. Plus, we put our daughter in a Christian high school in August. I hope the OP didn't suffer too much from the spending. Grocery prices are simply outrageous. Today's families have to struggle way too much just to eat a healthy well-balanced diet.

[capthooksmom]

Interesting. And yes, I think with some planning the bill could come down.

And I have to ask........How much is milk in the south?? My sister lives in Atlanta but I've never asked her about this. Here in upstate NY, I just bought whole milk for $1.99 at superwalmart on Sunday. 2% is usually $1.89.

Milk costs us $3.89 - $4.50ish depending on where we buy it. I can't remember the last time I saw milk for $1.99 :earseek: . I had no idea the prices were so different!

[twinklingstars4u]

Two of the best places to learn about saving on groceries are:

thegrocerygame.com (check out the discussion forum)
cutouthunger.org

We are a family of 5 (plus 4 cats) and spend an average of $300.00 a month. I use tons of coupons and stockpile items when there is an excellent deal (we will never run out of shampoo again!).

Good luck!

Mary

[Sleuth]

In northern Michigan milk prices were up well over $3 this last summer (which we felt was crazy!) but now they're back down to $2.89-$2.99 a gallon. Sometimes Walgreens or Rite Aid will have a sale of $1.99 per gallon. I couldn't imagine paying over $4 per gallon :guilty:

[cookie2001]

On one website I visit people have mentioned that they were surprised at how much they saved by having a planned menu and sticking to it. I think you make less last minute trips and also throw away less. I'm working on it and I do think it saves money and is also less stressful to have a plan. There are a few web sites that do menus with grocery lists.

[CinderellasMama]

Here in central New Mexico, we pay $2.69 (Super W-M) to $3.50 (local grocery) for milk. I usually try to pick it up when I'm at work (SWM) so don't have to pay the higher price here.

I live outside a resort town so prices are a little higher for groceries but I still manage to pay less than $400 a month for 3 people and 2 dogs~~that includes paper and personal products. I don't use coupons but I do buy store brand and stock up from the local grocery store sales. I try to use what I have and make my list before I go to the store. I have to add that my husband hunts so I have a freezer full of venison (steaks and ground). I occassionaly buy bulk packs of pork or chicken (on sale) and divide them out in to meal size portion then use my food sealer to package them. We also have a meatless meal at least once a week~beans and cornbread, cheese enchiladas, etc.

I try to only shop once a week and not do impulse buys (hard!). It's much easier when I don't take my daughter. Usually I end up shopping when I get off work so I'm tired and want to get it done fast...really cuts back on extras. I also noticed someone mentioned not going when you are hungry..this is so true! I tend to buy more when I'm hungry. Pre-packaged or individual snacks/meals are really expensive to. It's so much cheaper to buy a big bag of chips or whatever and put it into baggies than to buy the big multi pack of bags. Twelve packs of sodas are really expensive~~buy 3 litters or make iced tea/koolaid.

Paper products add up so fast. We try to use regular plates instead of paper plates and just wash a few more dishes. I have tons of hand towels in the kitchen and sparingly use paper towels. I don't have to have Charmin--I can live with a less expensive brand.

Good luck! I think everyone has given you some great ideas!
Brenda

[Grand Canyon]

I just checked last year we spent $11600 on groceries or about $1000 a month. We have a family of 4 two boys 9 and 5 a cat and a small dog. We buy what we want and shop alot at SAMs Club. We by 2 weeks at a time as it is a 190 mile round trip to the store ( Grand Canyon to Flagstaff). We buy a small amunt of fresh veggies and milk here in the park (we pay dearly at the little store in the park :smooth: ) So don't feel bad! :D

[TNKBELL]

Try reading How to Save Money Every Day by Ellie Kay, this book really changed my grocery shopping life and also how to save on everything else too!! I'm a very frugal shopper and don't like to pay more than 50% off on anything! Not including some staples that are not always on sale like eggs, milk and TOMATOES my gosh I can't believe how expensive these things are now, since the hurricanes wiped out alot of the crops!! One tip in the book mentions using coupons only on the items that are on sale and shopping at a store where they double coupons. Hope this helps! princess:

[Mom of Sleepy, Bashful and BabyDoc]

Milk costs us $3.89 - $4.50ish depending on where we buy it. I can't remember the last time I saw milk for $1.99 :earseek: . I had no idea the prices were so different!

Can't sleep, so here I am...................

OK. I KNOW I paid $1.99 for a gallon of whole milk on Saturday at Superwalmart. I'll call in the morning and check what it is this week.

And I will stop complaining right now about some of our prices of food. I had NO IDEA people paid that much for milk. Maybe it helps being a little in the country around a lot of dairy farms, but I didn't think SW bought local milk, but maybe they do.

[capthooksmom]

Can't sleep, so here I am...................

OK. I KNOW I paid $1.99 for a gallon of whole milk on Saturday at Superwalmart. I'll call in the morning and check what it is this week.

And I will stop complaining right now about some of our prices of food. I had NO IDEA people paid that much for milk. Maybe it helps being a little in the country around a lot of dairy farms, but I didn't think SW bought local milk, but maybe they do.

We have a local dairy, but they sell directly to stores and their prices are the highest. The amounts I mentioned earlier are for store brand/generic milk.

[shirleyb]

I have two strategies, I shop at a discount, no frills place about once a month or so -- their staples are so much cheaper than regular grocery stores. Around here, it's Sav-A-Lot, but I know Aldi's if you have one is even cheaper.

My second strategy is coupons, it does take time, but I can routinely save about $40 to $50 per week. My kids do buy lunch every day at school, I don't pack. You might check to see if your kids could buy lunch cheaper than what you are packing it for.

BTW, I am feeding two teenage boys -- a 15 yo and a 12 that is already over 6' tall.

Shirley

[Sunbeamblue2002]

Well at least your not going out to eat alot and stuff. That would cost way more. I agree that if you have kids that are picky they won't eat some of the foods that are store brand and my two are picky enough. I know I spend less then I should. Milk around here is aprox $3.50 a gallon and if your doing that at least 3x a week that can add up. Also personal care is not really included in my grocery bill just because I don't buy them in the grocery store so I don't really think about it. That being said I do shop chain (save-a-lots and Marcs) and my dollar dose go alot father esp for ceral, and stock goods. Plus we have chain discount bakerys (wonder bread and Sweabals) and I get my bread there 2@1.09 but not sure if they have those every where. Hey as long as your kids arn't hungry (not saying that people let their kids go hungry) and happy its wouth the cost to not have them screaming at you for stuff. For our faimly of 5 we spend around 350-400 a month baised on sales. But my children are smaller and really don't eat alot. However the average for a faimly of my size I belive is aprox 600. So if I added in personal care stuff like TP or paper towel and shampoo it would prob. match yours.

[golfgal]

I think that from the comments you made, the best way you could save money would be to plan ahead and only make one trip to the grocery store/week or every other week. I think you will be amazed at how much you save. My thinking is that if you need to make a "quick" trip to the grocery store for bread and milk, you end up picking up a lot of other things and that gallon or two of milk and the loaf of bread costs you $50 or more. We have our milk delivered for the same price as we can get in the store and it saves us probably $100/month by not making those quick trips to the store.

Our kids take hot lunch at school, but it is only $1.25, so a bargin I think.

There are 5 of us and we spend about $500/month-$600 if you include hot lunches at school and the occassional pizza delivery. We would eat out more but we live in a smaller town and the choices are limited. Oh, and our milk is $3.65/gallon. I live in Minnesota, there are dairy farms everywhere. Milk is less expensive in other states because Minnesota has price controls on milk. We can NEVER get milk on sale.

[patsal]

Wow, that does seem like a lot, but fresh foods are more expensive than packaged foods. Still, I think you could bring that down with coupons and sticking to a list. I spend $400 in a bad month (low coupons for the things I want) to $240 in a great month (family of 4 DS 13 gallon of milk every other day and 3 boxes of cereal per week).

[cbusby]

You would be suprised what you can really do if you put your mind to it.
A few years ago....DH husband lost his job........I bought a months worth of groceries for 150.00......ate alot of the same thing. There is a lot you can do with a package of Tuna and noodles.

[mickeysaver]

We spend roughly $400 a month for me and my honey....our 4 cats, 3 Chihuahuas, one hampster and an asian firebellied toad. This also includes toilet paper, laundry detergent, and house hold necessities. We always clip coupons and then check the "savings" against the store brands. We jump on sales when the budget allows. Like this past week, Ingles was running a sale on canned veggies 12/$4. We didn't need the veggies this week, but we went a head and bought them while they were cheap. Our usual ritual is to get the early edition of the AJC (www.ajc.com) and sit down to clip the coupons. Then we check the coupon bag against our needs list and the sales that will start on Sunday. Sunday, we shop the sales with the coupons and save as much as possible. We have noticed that the healthier that you eat, the more expensive the grocery budget becomes. Gabby is on a diet now and those fresh veggies and fruits are a budget killer. Maggie

[2angelsinheaven]

For me and DFiance our grocery bill is around 300-320 a month, this includes household things like TP and Bleach, etc.
Although you may think your bill is high it's not too bad, thats around 240 or so a week. We don't drink milk so if your boys are drinking a gallon a day at our prices for milk thats around 85$'s alone for milk, so there is one explanation. I agree on stocking up when you can with canned and boxed things when they are on sale, or visiting a Warehouse club for items you use alot of. Goodluck in shrinking the bill, we had to do ALOT of work to come up with a grocery list withen our budget.

[jennz]

We spend between $400 - $600/month for a family of 3 (dd is 6) and 2 large dogs. Our dog food runs around $25/month. That amount includes medicines, tp, shampoo etc, so we're on the higher end when we're low on those things. We moved to Indianapolis last year from St. Louis and I was excited, expecting to be able to lower my budget and see some $ savings but it's been the opposite! I think the competition is not as strong here, so the sales aren't as great (we had some great sales where I was before!). That said, I've been shopping at Super Wal-Mart (in St. Louis I used Aldi's alot, here the Wal-Mart is actually LOWER on some things than the Aldi's that's next to it!). A big savings financially and time-wise that I just discovered (yes I'm a little slow! :) ) is price matching. Now I take in the competitor's ads to Wal-Mart and tell the person at the register and they will lower their price to match it, except for buy-one-get-one-free. I really use this on soda!

Hope that helps! I've been getting some good tips here to try to get mine under control again.

[Cindy B]

Milk is never 1.99, its usually about 3.50 here (NJ)

I do about $75 a week for four people. I do shop sales, uses coupons and other stuff. I never go over $100 per week. My store also doubles and triples coupons occasionally.

I do use BJ's also.

[ducklite]

Tha's about what we spend. I agree with the poster who said that people spending less might not be getting good nutrition, although I'm certain many have a great budget and eat very well.

I have a friend who feeds two adults and three teens on about $500 a month. Regretfully they eat meals like macaroni elbows with melted Velveeta, a can of diced tomatos and a can of chopped up Spam thrown in. Not at all healthy--very high in sodium and fat, and they are all mildly to quite overweight because of it.

We eat a lot of chicken breast, once a week salmon and/or tillapia, and once every couple of weeks tenderloin steaks. I buy the entire beef loin and cut it up myself to save almost $5 a pound, and freeze it.

We buy things like rice in bulk (I use the steamer a lot!) as well as buying stock up items like cereal and other dry goods when they ahve a two for one sale.

My son drinks a lot of iced tea, and I buy the canisters of Crystal Light rather than bottles of pre-made iced tea to save quite a bit.

I don't do much couponing, it takes a lot of time, and I find that my time is worth more than the coupons are, although that's not to say if I come across one I won't use it :)

I buy some "junk food" like nacho's and salsa, microwave popcorn and Granola Bars. We have an ice cream maker and make our own, but I'll also buy it when it's on sale. I buy things in bulk at Sam's Club which saves a ton of money.

We get pizza one night a week, $10 for two large cheese pies. Healthy and cheap--we have enough leftover for lunch the next day.

Anne

[mrsbornkuntry]

My kids are younger, but $900 a month for a family of 4 seems really high. We are a family of 7, DH and I, and 5 kids, 8,7,5,3, and 9months. I have 2 in diapers and we buy all of our toiletries and household stuff with my grocery budget and we spend about $800.00 a month. This also includes cigarettes for DH (usually 2 cartons a month) and add another $20 for DH and I's terrible Mountain Dew addiction (my New Year's Resolution is for me to lose that, but we'll see!).

My system is this: DH gets paid on the first and the 15th of the month so on those two days I sit down and make a list of 15 or so dinners (all of the ingredients I will need) and whatever else I need and I shop for those 15 days and that's it. We usually plan at least 3 meatless meals, like pasta. The only time I go back to the store is if they are having a really good sale or if I run out of something (which doesn't happen often). We have a deep freeze so I stock up on sale items that we use alot and I use coupons religiously, usually saving $20 or more with them.

I go to Aldi's first and get what I can there, then I go to Superwalmart. They're prices are the lowest around here, but I hate their bagging. If you're military the commmissary really is the cheapest place to shop, we don't live near a base anymore and I miss it dearly!

I also try not to take ANY kids to the store with me. Besides asking for stuff, they distract me from paying attention to prices and I'm usually in a bigger hurry with them. My 3 oldest kids buy lunches at school, but what it costs in money it saves me in headaches so I think it's worth it! DH packs his lunch, usually leftovers.

To my knowledge my meals are healthy and the snacks I'm buying are healthy as well. My kids also drink 100% fruit juice (the last thing I need are 4 kids on sugar highs, LOL) and milk around here is $2.89 at it's lowest, but I have seen it as high as $3.49. All of them are at a healthy weight and are generally healthy. I think what saves us the most is probably cooking from scratch instead of buying prepared foods. There is a cookbook I bought a few months ago called "Saving Dinner" by Leann Ely and I absolutely love it. I don't follow the grocery lists, but the recipes save alot of money because they reuse alot of spices instead of things like shake n bake.

[crisi]

Learn to cook ethnic foods. Tortillas are cheap - add beans and rice and some veggies and make Chipolte style burritos. Rice and beans - particularly from ethnic grocers - can be really inexpensive and provide decent nutrition. Indian, Asian and Mexican can all be cooked fairly cheaply.

You said your kids need to take juice boxes. How about buying the tupperware juice boxes and buying your juice (100% juice concentrate) in cans. That would save a bunch. Or sending filtered water (via a Brita filter and your tap) if they will drink that. We only keep juice boxes in the house when we have parties with little kids - the kids suck them down too fast and they are way too expensive.

[Mom of Sleepy, Bashful and BabyDoc]

To my knowledge my meals are healthy and the snacks I'm buying are healthy as well. My kids also drink 100% fruit juice (the last thing I need are 4 kids on sugar highs, LOL) and milk around here is $2.89 at it's lowest, but I have seen it as high as $3.49. All of them are at a healthy weight and are generally healthy. I think what saves us the most is probably cooking from scratch instead of buying prepared foods. There is a cookbook I bought a few months ago called "Saving Dinner" by Leann Ely and I absolutely love it. I don't follow the grocery lists, but the recipes save alot of money because they reuse alot of spices instead of things like shake n bake.

This is how I think I save money also. When I make oat/whole wheat bread, I figure this costs me $1. It is over $2 in the store for stoneground whole wheat bread. That's more than $104 a year that I save on the bread ALONE. I make my own spag. sauce. Crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes(that I then puree in the food processor), some olive oil, onion, garlic, some meat and seasonings............simmer for a while..........I can usually make at least DOUBLE the amount of what is in the jar of the prepared sauce, for the same price. And it doesn't have anything added that I don't want in there.

Where I spend a lot of my money is the produce section. There are no coupons for fresh broccoli, but it's my family's favorite veggie. And fruit!! Yikes........what I pay in fruit! But what am I going to do. This is where I try to buy at Sam's club.............big quanities help the price.

I do go to an Amish bulk food store to get the whole wheat flour, oats, raw sugar, molasses, honey...stuff like that.

Oh, and I didn't figure this into the bugdet so I'd have to add it..............about twice a year we get a couple gallons of GRADE B (second run of the sap, more minerals and vitamins than grade A) Maple syrup. There is nothing else(except fruit) that is allowed on my kids' pancakes and waffles! lol ( I am from New York and not too far from Vermont, so what did you expect :D) None of that fake stuff. It's around $35 a gallon. That is a great price when you consider what you pay for that little bottle in the store.

This thread is interesting. And that website, thegrocerygame.com...........WOW, did that ever have a lot of good ideas. No supermarkets in my area, so I have to do the work on my own, but I'm going to try it. There's always room for improvement.

[Mom of Sleepy, Bashful and BabyDoc]

You said your kids need to take juice boxes. How about buying the tupperware juice boxes and buying your juice (100% juice concentrate) in cans. That would save a bunch. Or sending filtered water (via a Brita filter and your tap) if they will drink that. We only keep juice boxes in the house when we have parties with little kids - the kids suck them down too fast and they are way too expensive.

And this is where I think I save money also. Ofcourse, since I homeschool, I don't have to pack them lunch.........(but I do have to MAKE them lunch) but I don't buy much juice. We have orange juice in the morning, but not everyday. And there are some times when we have some juice in the house, but not often. I made homemade grape juice from concord grapes one fall, but I think it was too much work. It was outrageously delicious though. My kids mostly drink purified water. Once a week, maybe soda. Sometimes lemonade. That probably saves me A TON of money. It's much better to give them the whole fruit instead of the juice.

[ducklite]

Oh! That Brita filter is the greatest thing ever!

We hardly ever buy bottled water anymore, except I like Pelligrino with Italian food--still better for you than soda! I drink TONS of water, all filtered from the tap!

Anne

[mjbaby]

Our budget for all household consumables is $300 (including people food, animal food, cleaning cupplies, diapers, etc.) for a four-person, two-animal household. I disagree that this budget might not be nutritionally sound - we eat fresh fruit and veggies, best-quality canned and frozen goods, meats and dairy. We eat out less than once per month.

The biggest thing I think that helps keep our food costs low is shopping sales and, especially, loss leaders and keeping a pantry. I might not need 10 cans of black beans in any given week but I'll still buy them if the price is right. I always use a "shopper's club" card and combine with coupons when possible - but only if the coupon price + sale is still cheaper than store brand or homemade. I make my own bread in bread machine (whole grain bread that meets my fiber standards is almost $4 a loaf where I live, but I can make three and a half loaves for that cost using scratch ingredients) and then I use it for french toast, bread crumbs and other bread-based products (stale bread makes awesome bread pudding for dessert - something you'd pay dearly for in a restaurant).

I buy juice (other than orange juice) very, very rarely. At nearly $3.00 a bottle drinking a bottle a day could result in nearly $100 in juice alone! And for a product that has very few vitamins and no fiber it's just not worth it to me. I'd rather my kids eat actual fruit and save the juice for a treat, since it's really no better than liquid candy, you know? Even 100% juice brands (like juicy juice or whatever) have little nutritional value.

And as for milk - we offer our kids a cup or so a day. Other drinks are water, decaf unsweetened tea or a cup of o.j. (one a day). Calcium needs are also satisfied by homemade and/or storebought yogurt, veggies like spinach and broccoli, greens, oatmeal, and cheeses as part of other dishes.

It take a bit of motivation and organization, but we've found the $300 budget works us. We save any surplus we have to put into an "eating out" fund so if I spend $270 this month then the $30 buys us a dinner out with no adverse effect on the rest of the budget. Nice!

[btass]

I have to commend you on taking a look at those grocery slips, it can be really scary when you actually start looking at where the money really goes. I have gotten the habit of constantly looking at it but it has taken me a long time to get to that point. I now how you feel about the groceries, I used to spend a lot and I have friends that spend the same as you for a family of four and a mother in law who spends more than that for 3 adults in a month.

I have a Pathmark in NY not to far from me so I would say the pricing on items is probably about the same as you.

I recommend taking a look at www.miserlymoms.com or doing a search for "frugal living" on google. :D

[tar heel]

I think the most important thing you can do for cutting the bill is to plan ahead. I feed a family of 5 (one son is in college, but I'm talking about when he is home) including two huge-eating big boys for less than that and we eat quite healthily. I have a 29-hour a week job, do freelance work and don't have a housekeeper, but I still find time to do this:

1. I shop alone. That way my kids or even my dh isn't putting expensive junk food in the cart.

2. I plan ahead and make a list. I decide on our meals by what is on sale at the grocery store and try to also combine sales and coupons when possible. When something we use a lot of is on special, I buy extra for another week. One of the stores I shop at emails "my specials," that is the things I often buy that are on sale that week.

3. There are some things I will not buy for full price at the grocery store. Cereal is a good example of this. I'm not giving $4 for a box of cereal. By watching for the kinds we like to go on sale and picking up some when I'm in Walmart or Target (almost 50% cheaper), we always have some in the pantry. We like expensive meats -- boneless chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, london broil, extra lean stew beef, etc. -- and I always get them at big discounts.

3. I shop two stores and BJs regularly, but not necessarily every week. I decide on Wednesday which of the two stores will be my main shopping venue that week. I'm lucky in that they are beside each other, so I can go to both if I need to. Often, I shop at one on Friday and the other on say Tuesday. I also sometimes shop at Target or Walmart.

4. When my college student is home we use a gallon of milk a day. One of the grocery stores charges $4.19 and the other $4.09, but the Walgreens inbetween them charges $2.99. It's $2.32 at BJs -- I buy some when I'm there but don't make a special trip.

5. I make double portions of things on weekends. That way, if I get home late or am really tired, I can pull out something already made instead of making something from scratch.

Hope this helps.

[Dory's Twin]

Hi all,
I have been lurking in the shadows, reading your great comments and finally had something worth posting!!!! YEA...you all made our early Dec trip to WDW FANTASTIC

I buy a quarter cow each fall. I get steaks, roasts, ground beef and stew meat....its grain fed, no steriods and I pay a total of 1.19 a pound for all cuts! :cool1: It takes us a year to eat the whole thing, so you can see we eat meatless several times a week.
Milk out here, delivered by an honest to goodness milkman is $2.04 a half gallon...no longer than 24 hours out of the cow again no hormones etc....

I get my chicken pretty much the same way....

I like high quality and am willing to find a way to get it. Buying it straight from the source is usually the cheapest, and you get the best.

My DS14 eats a ton and is very picky...but frozen fruit smoothies are fairly inexpensive and filling. He loves pizza so I buy the crust dough from a local pizza chain (Black Jack 25 cents for a ball) and make it the way he likes.

plus, I stay home and can bake muffins and such, they are inexpensive and fairly heathy too.....

By the way....I am a junk food addict!!! :cheer2:

[Disney_1derland]

Also the kids take their lunch for school everyday and their school have a policy for snacks and lunch. I can only buy 100% juice boxes for them any other kind is not allowed, snacks have to be also healthy like fresh vegetables and fruits, no cakes or cookies(too much sugar as per the principal) so this also kind of takes a big chunk every week.


Your school can dictate the kinds of snacks you are allowed to send in your childrens lunches? WHAT!?! Admittedly, I don't have a school age child but is this something that is common? I think I would be livid if someone tried to dictate what I can and can't send to school in my childs lunch. Not that I would send a bunch of junk, but the thought of someone telling me what I can and can't feed my child would just put me over the edge!

My dd enters K next year, I guess I'll go do some checking on whether or not this is a problem where I live.

[Buttercup26]

About a year ago I started using the book & website Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. http://savingdinner.com/ It plans out a week's worth of dinners with a shopping list. I cut my grocery bill in half using this. I bought the book, but print the shopping lists off the website so that I don't have to take my Saving Dinner book to the grocery store.

You can also subscribe to Menu Mailer and they will email you a weeks worth of meals, recipes, shopping lists each week.

The food is great, very healthy, almost no processed food which due to allergies my family needs to avoid. We love it. She just published a low carb version too.

I highly recommend it, it's so much less expensive I was truly amazed at the money I saved. I started using it for convenience and health reasons, but have really appreciated all the money I save.

[mrsbornkuntry]

Your school can dictate the kinds of snacks you are allowed to send in your childrens lunches? WHAT!?! Admittedly, I don't have a school age child but is this something that is common? I think I would be livid if someone tried to dictate what I can and can't send to school in my childs lunch. Not that I would send a bunch of junk, but the thought of someone telling me what I can and can't feed my child would just put me over the edge!

My dd enters K next year, I guess I'll go do some checking on whether or not this is a problem where I live.

My dd came home one day and told me that her teacher told her she couldn't bring in the kind of snack I had sent her anymore because it "looked" like candy! I was angry, if I want to give my daughter candy for a snack I will! That said, it was an oatmeal-raisin granola bar. The only actual regulation my kids' schools have ever had was no soda in cans because of recycling issues or something like that, they didn't allow it for the teachers, either. That's something else that makes me angry, the teachers drink soda in cans in the classrooms, but tell the kids not to bring junk food for snacks :rolleyes: .
Anyway, as far as sending drinks, I usually don't, but when the kids ask me to I reuse water bottles or use a sports bottle from the dollar tree that is no-spill (better than a playtex sippy cup!) to send in ice water or juice instead of buying individual drinks.

[HM]

Interesting. And yes, I think with some planning the bill could come down.

And I have to ask........How much is milk in the south?? My sister lives in Atlanta but I've never asked her about this. Here in upstate NY, I just bought whole milk for $1.99 at superwalmart on Sunday. 2% is usually $1.89.

Milk is currently around $3.89 a gallon here in NC.

[MUFFYCAT]

We spend about the same amount for our family of four - 2 DD 11 &
14. plus the cat. :D

[LauraR]

And I have to ask........How much is milk in the south?? My sister lives in Atlanta but I've never asked her about this. Here in upstate NY, I just bought whole milk for $1.99 at superwalmart on Sunday. 2% is usually $1.89.[/QUOTE]

Wow, that is good! A gallon of 1% usually costs $3.59 at Giant here in Maryland. Although I can find it for $2.58 at BJ's, so I usually get extra and freeze it. I'm jealous.

[cbusby]

And I have to ask........How much is milk in the south?? My sister lives in Atlanta but I've never asked her about this. Here in upstate NY, I just bought whole milk for $1.99 at superwalmart on Sunday. 2% is usually $1.89.

Wow, that is good! A gallon of 1% usually costs $3.59 at Giant here in Maryland. Although I can find it for $2.58 at BJ's, so I usually get extra and freeze it. I'm jealous.[/QUOTE]

OMG you must have alot of cows in your area I pay approx 3.20 a gallon in
virginia.....

[robsmom]

This has thinking about several conversations I have had in the last month or two about how much the price of food has gone up in our area (NJ). In December I paid $5 per pound for tomatos because of the hurricans in FL. In general, i think there has been significant inflation lately. I have noticed it in milk, vegetables, and fruits the most. I have made a concerted effort to reduce my freezer and pantry in the last 3 months, using up stuff that I have, but still end up with about the same bill I used to have because the fresh stuff is so high.

[westjones]

In Indiana I pay (on sale, which is quite often) $2 for a gallon of milk. Without the sale it would cost about $2.59.

Bananas are $.49 a pound (on sale $.29 a pound).

Bread I try to get for $1 a loaf (but have paid up to $1.59).

Just some examples here.
DJ

[mjbaby]

In December I paid $5 per pound for tomatos because of the hurricans in FL.

Another way I save money on groceries is to eat in season. There's not a force on this earth that would prompt me to buy December tomatoes! In the winter we eat citrus, all kinds of greens, hard squashes, cabbages, etc. All affordable this time of year, but expensive in the summer which is when we switch to delicious in season tomatoes, summer squashes, green beans and all the great seasonal fruits.

[wide awake]

This is a great thread. I planned a budget last month, and put aside $600 for groceries, cleaning supplies, paper products, and pet food and bedding (guinea pig). I just totaled my receipts...$522...but I did the mid-month shopping yesterday so am good to go for awhile. We are a family of 3, DS is 14, and is on a gluten/casein free diet. Because of the special diet lots of the food I buy is more expensive than normal...pasta is $3.69 a bag instead of .69, bread is $5/loaf...I shop at the commissary, usually plan my meals, buy lots of sale items...but we drink lots of soda, I drink wine...included in the food budget...Am going to get as close to $600 as possible this month, and then try to go under next month. We don't go out at all, and my grocery total includes lunches for DH and DS. I really want to go under budget, the extra goes in my vacation fund. Am toying with the idea of cutting back on my soda...all of us drink about 6 a day...I know, very bad, but that habit is sort of balanced by my cooking from scratch and lots of fresh fruits and veggies. My DH is a big meat eater too...always eats two steaks if that is what we're having for dinner...and DS and DH always finish off a pound of bacon at breakfast on weekends. I would be happy with soups, beans, rice, vegetable curries, and corn tortillas, but neither DH or DS will eat those.

[summerrluvv]

It's only DS and I (and my sister eats here on occassion), but I spend about $200 a month total which includes toiletries, etc. Although, I probably have a years worth of toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo so I don't have to buy those things on a regular basis. DS is only allowed a "healthy" snack (meaning no junk food or sugar) at school which is usually an apple or crackers, pudding or raisins and I always buy 100% juice. This past week Target had the 12 packs for 1.74 and there are coupons floating around for $1.00 off two, so I stocked up.

We don't always eat the healthiest meals, but we aren't overweight nor do we have health problems and I'm convinced as long as kids get enough exercise and outdoor time, their food choices won't make them overweight. Growing up we lived on pot pies, fish sticks, mac n cheese and a bunch of other crap food and none of us grew up to be overweight or have health problems (thus far).

[grlpwrd]

I think in NY it can be more expensive, but like in any place you can still find deals.

Ethnic grocery stores sell some items much cheaper compared to traditional grocery stores.

You can cook more vegetarian and (as mentioned) ethnic meals. I know change is hard sometimes, but you can start a new tradition.

I know there are some stores on Long Island that double coupons. I don't know about particular Brooklyn and Queens stores, but I heard there are some of them that double coupons.

You can always check coupons sites like the boards at mycoupons.com for coupon help or see stretcher.com for general frugality help. The best resource of all, though, is the book entitled The Complete Tightwad Gazette. Also, don't forget there are lots of coupon sites online and there are some places where you can buy multiples of coupons.

Yes, try to make your own meals and snacks. OAMC may be difficult and strenuous, but you can do a mini version and just cook or bake an extra batch or two and freeze. I do this all the time.

I also use our crockpot a lot. You can buy much cheaper cuts of meat to tenderize them and you can save $$$ overall and it's so convenient to use.

Rebate as much as you can for toiletries and stuff from Walgreens, Eckerds, and Rite Aid.

GL!

[luv2nascar]

you should be able to cut that budget way down
we spend $400-$500 month for family of 4 (one is in diapers/wipes) we also have a cat and a dog. That includes food, cleaning, house & beauty, & eating out. we don't eat out or have take out that often. I have a rule for not doing that during the week. So usually only 1 meal out per week. Some weeks not at all some weeks twice a week out.

Planning the meals and having it all on hand is what you have to do.
my budget went way down when I started to stock pile. If its really cheap or free with coupons I buy all I can if it won't expire. We always have plenty of back ups on hand. I shop many different stores not just one. Check your stores for the best coupon policies. I have one store that doubles up to $.99 coupons. so a $.75 coupon is $1.50 off. They also have unlimited triples occassionaly up to 4 like coupons per order. I clean up during triples.

I use mycoupons.com for great info on coupons and sales at stores. I recommend it highly. Thing I regulary stockpike for free or for pennies with coupons rice, pasta, soup, cheese, toothbrushes, toothpaste and I'm working on other things. I'll never forget the first time I got something free with a coupon it was Carolina rice and it was such a rush. match the ads with the coupons and buy extra coupons online or at the store.

another tip when I'm getting low on budget money for the week or money breakfast for supper night works great. I make homemade mickey waffles and sausage. Pancakes or omelets go over well too.
good luck cutting the budge. Oh by the way I never buy generics any more. We have better quality and quantity of food since I coupon. :flower1:

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

For December our food bill including lunches and other meals ordered in or out amounted to about $600 for a family of three and a large dog. I could have easily added anohter $100 at the beginning of the month, but I need to work on how the money flows through the month so I'm not left so short at the beginning when I have rent to pay. Otherwise, I try to budget about $100 a week for actual grocery shopping (including pet food, household cleaners, health & beauty items), sometimes I come in $20 under, other weeks I'm $20 over. I rarely make additional trips, other than the occasional stop at the convenience store for milk or iced tea.

I buy a lot of store brands, Giant is coming out with lots of new choices in their label and they are considerably cheaper. And, unless it's a *must have* item, it needs to have the green "bonus buy" tag to go in the cart, it's a plus if I have a coupon as well.

This year I'm trying to take advantage of the special deals, like last week Eckerd had a rebate for Unilever products in their circular. There were also coupons for all of those items in the newspaper that added to the savings. So far I'll get $7.50 back and I have until March to buy a few more things. If I buy all ten there is a bonus $10 for a $20 total rebate.

[macfamily]

I have noticed in the past that if I go to the store with an eye to nutrition, I'll spend substantially more. If I go looking for "cheap and easy" ;) It amounts to less; however I am willing to sacrifice a few extra bucks to buy the stuff that's actually good for my DF :) Except the Doritoes; sheesh, I've never seen anyone go thru a bag of Doritoes like my DH and DD9! :earseek: Luckily they're on sale a lot, heh heh.

~ Rachel

[Cindy B]

To help with the Produce/fruit issues, there are Produce Junction stores near me.

For example you would get 4 lbs of bananas for $1
3 lbs of green pepper for $2, stuff like that.

The only cons to this is sometimes all the bananas don't get eaten or the last pepper gets nasty in my fridge. Produce Junction is cash only, so that is good when it comes to budgeting and understanding what you have is Cash on Hand.

I buy produce/vegetable mostly fresh at Produce Junction. Since the Produce Junction near me are Latino businesses, there are some amazing things in there, that I can't buy at other stores, like amazing kinds of peppers!

[Bear Necessities]

[QUOTE=Renysmom]
Buy generic whenever you can, almost always the quality is the same.. My kids were like yours with cereals, cheese, sandwich meats, cookies, etc so what I did was make sure they saw me put their favorite brands into tupperware and bags to store it in instead of the boxes. I would do this as part of putting the groceries away. Just tell them it keeps it fresher, lets you see what you have left easier and keeps bugs out. After a few times doing this I switched to generic, since they never saw the boxes and cans they never knew. They never caught on for years and now they buy generic most often when I send them to the store because they know there is no difference, one DS complained this summer when on vacation I had to buy real capt crunch cause it wasn't as good as what we have at home :D


We do this too! kids dont even know the difference. We also do it with bread. LOL You know the bread containers, I cant see spending a 1.99 on one loaf of bread when I can get 3or 4 of the store brand, they dont know the difference when I put it in the container. Also we do use the Wonder bread store which sells bread and other Wonder prouducts that is almost out of date, but not yet, we can get even better buys and then freeze them till we need them.

Hope this helps!!

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

Our family of 5 + one dog averages about 800.00 per month. Granted the kids a are still little. I usually do not use coupons, and only buy organic milk and yogurt which can be pretty expensive. I am not loyal to any one chain, I will shop wherever the best prices for my needs of the week are. Also, there is an Aldi cloese by which always have low prices on select produce, i.e. bananas, lettuce, peppers etc. SO I hit there once a week. I only buy cereal that is 1/2 price sale and will stock up on Frosted FLakes etc. I do go BJs for bulk, but have found that unless you really know your prices, bulk isn't always best.

[elgerber]

There are 5 of us and we spend about $500/month-$600 if you include hot lunches at school and the occassional pizza delivery. We would eat out more but we live in a smaller town and the choices are limited. Oh, and our milk is $3.65/gallon. I live in Minnesota, there are dairy farms everywhere. Milk is less expensive in other states because Minnesota has price controls on milk. We can NEVER get milk on sale.

I live in Minnesota and I pay $2.99 for skim milk at Super Target, but at Holiday gas it's only $2.49 and at our Wal-Mart it's $2.29-$2.39.

[tar heel]

Here's another tip . . .

I live in an area with a rapidly growing Latino population, so every grocery store has a pretty big section of real Mexican products (as opposed to Taco Bell, etc.). I've found that spices in this section are much less expensive than those in the regular spice section. I always head there to buy powdered garlic, cumin, chili powder, etc. Generally, they are 99 cents and would be $3-$4 in the other section.

I also can get a bigger bottle and far superior quality curry powder in the international foods section than in the spice section. Most of the foods in that section are very expensive, however.

As someone els said, ethnic grocery stores also tend to be cheaper.

[disneysteve]

We buy in bulk whenever practical. We'll stock up on canned goods, paper products, trash bags, bottled juice, OJ (we freeze that), etc. However, don't assume that the bulk purchase is always the best deal. Sometimes stores will put a small package on sale and make the unit price lower than the big package. For example, we always buy 100 trash bags. One time the box of 10 was on sale really cheap, so we bought 10 boxes of 10 and save a few dollars.

I also agree with the advice to eat more vegetarian meals. No matter where you buy it, meat is usually more expensive than whole grains and most vegetables. It seems that a lot of the people who complain about how much they spend on food, go on to list meat-containing meals 7 times a week as what they are cooking. Cut out the meat and you cut out a lot of fat so your diet gets healthier and cheaper.

And I'm a big store brand fan too. Sometimes we find something that's just awful, but most of the time they taste just fine. There are even some store brands I like better than the brand version.

[Mic]

We are a family of 6(Me,DH,daughters 10,14,16, and son 12), and I spend well over $900 a month for groceries, not including the 2-3 times a week we eat out. I used to coupon when the kids were younger, but I just don't have the time anymore. At least one night during the week we have to eat out for convenience before or after a ball game, cheerleading practice, etc. Right now Monday nights are the worst, because everyone has somewhere to be. My 2 oldest are fond of eating out with their friends before a ball game, too, and I'm handing them extra money each week for that. The one item that saves me the most money on groceries is my crock pot. When I have the time to look up new recipes and try them out, I save money on eating out during the week. We always have 1 or 2 nice meals out on the weekend as part of our family time, so I'm really not wanting to cut those out, even if we would save $100-200 a week. My biggest budget-killers are milk(at $3.72-3.99 a gallon) and convenience foods. We use a gallon of milk per day, and frozen biscuits, waffles, etc. to save time. I also have a child care business, and I spend another $500-600 per month for food and formula that I keep separate receipts for. I use a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit for my family and daycare children: we have steamed vegetables twice a week, raw vegetables with ranch dressing for snack often, and fruit at every meal. Yes, it is expensive, but we are all relatively healthy(some of us more so than others :wave2: )and that is truly the most important thing. There's plenty of room for improvement in our budget, and I'm sure we are going to have to learn to cut corners in a year or so when oldest daughter leaves for college, a month after we add a SECOND inexperienced teen driver to our insurance policy!

[estherhead]

For a family of 4 with a cat. We eat all our meals at home except my husband eats at least 2-3 lunches at fast food (I've tried to break him of it, but he refuses :rolleyes: ) It is very tricky to do and it doesn't take me long to get that grocery bill to $150.00 each week instead of $100.00 as we entertain A LOT!

I shop at 4 stores every week: Aldi's, Big Lots (they have a great food section!), Super Wal-Mart, and Krogers. I also go about once a month to Sam's Club and Trader Joe's. We eat very healthy which generally costs more but I shop around like a crazy woman and only buy on sale. Aldi's, for example, has amazingly cheap produce. and Kroger's has at least one kind of meat very cheap each week. I always buy enough for this week and a bit for the next so it isn't all pork one week, all chicken the next, etc. We have a freezer in the basement, as well as a keg of beer in the fridge. That way I only have to spend $80.00 on alcohol about every 4-6 months, yet we can offer it every time we have guests (at least once a week.)

My theory is if I can buy it cheaper and it tastes the same, I buy it cheaper. Some things, like Heinz ketchup, that do NOT taste the same no-name-brand, we buy in bulk.

Also, I sometimes shop between 9pm-10pm so I can be by myself without the kids. I always spend more when the family comes along. Plus the stores mark down that day's meat late at night.

My two cents.
Also, I lived in New York for awhile (no kids then) and we REALLY had to economize then. I still was able to do it cheaper than my friends but it took work. I ended up falling in love with Price Chopper.

Esther

[MEM]

Here in Greater Boston, my family of four spends about $300-$400 a month on food. If we "eat out" its usually Domino's 5-5-5- pizza deal with enough leftovers for lunch (or breakfast). Even though housing prices are obscene, we are fortunate to have a lot of grocery stores competing for our business. I pay less for food than my mother who lives in a small town in Western PA -- there the supermarkets are all owned by the same family!

I am alittle surprised that people can even afford to spend $900 a month on groceries with so many other fixed expenses to worry about. I make a respectable salary for this part of the country but there is no way my budget could allow much more than I spend.

We have a least one meatless meal a week -- usually pasta and sauce, with the pasta on sale for 4 boxes for $1 and the sauce $1.99. Filling and low-fat. We also do a pancake and sausage dinner once a week. We cut way back on our consumption of meat, not hard to do since the Atkins diet has
forced prices into the stratosphere. Meat is now more like a side dish. Milk is a big budget item for us -- DH can easily drink a half gallon every day but he restrains himself. We watch for sales on milk, even buying it at Target or CVS. My DS10 and DD8 eat both breakfast and lunch at school for $3 a day, each. The trend in Greater Boston schools is to offer healthy food in the cafeteria and remove the vending machines. DD is encouraged to bring healthy snacks but its not strictly enforced. What IS enforced is the "no birthday party" rule -- no more cupcakes brought in to celebrate with classmates.

I don't recall if anyone mentioned keeping a price book -- this is one of the Tightwad Gazette's best ideas -- after a while, you see a trend regarding when items go on sale and where and which stores have the lowest everyday prices on certain items. We always stock up on loss leader items but avoid processed foods. We only buy fruit in season and in the winter, at least one store will have oranges, tangerines or bananas on sale. I have gotten back to using my crockpot and recently purchased the cookbook "Fix it and Forget it, Lightly" which has low-fat, low-calorie crockpot recipes.

We have pretty much eliminated most junk food from our shopping list, only buying it for special occasions. Pretzels and popcorn we do still buy every week.

[Gillian]

NJ: whole milk today was $3.99 at Shoprite, a reasonably priced grocery store.

The best things we did were to get a freezer & to make space for stockpiling. We plan meals around what's on sale and what we have in the house. We always have staples like canned beans, tomatoes, broth, mushrooms. None of us like canned veggies.

Because stores around here double coupons (face value up to 99c will double) I get better deals at the grocery store than at Target or Sam's/BJs, especially on cleaning stuff. We don't have super walmarts here. Double coupons combined with sales saves us a LOT!

My kids love plain frozen veggies. I use a steamer or microwave them and the texture is almost as good as fresh.

I usually spend ~$80/week for food and paper products/cleaning supplies (& diapers!). 2 adults & 2 toddlers. We get takeout 1-2 times a week and often eat Sunday dinner at grandmas.

[tar heel]

Mic -- I don't know where you live in NC, but you might want to look around for a better milk price. Within three miles of my house, I can get milk prices from $2.32 to $4.19. The $2.32 is at BJs, but there also is a Walgreen's and a convenience store that has it under $3. I never buy milk at the grocery store any more.

[MrsPete]

I think $900 is high for a family of four. Suggestions:

Get the book The Tightwad Gazzette (get the "Complete" version that's three previous books combined into one). Pay particular attention to the section on the Price Book. She gives instructions on making a book to track prices and sales in your local grocery stores. This will take some effort, but will pay off big-time in the end.

Plan your meals and buy just what you need for those meals. I find that a week is a bit too long for me; I get tired of my plan or decide that I want something else, and I go back to the store. So I tend to plan four days at a time. If I see a good sale or meat reduced for quick sale, I pick it up. Then I make sure that my next four day plan includes those items.

Before you use a coupon, compare the price of the store-brand or the from-scratch equivalent. When you're talking about food, the coupon is usually not the best deal. Health/beauty items or cleaning items are a different story.

Look for non-grocery store places to buy food. I shop at a salvage store that sells restaurant food in damaged packages. Meat runs $1/pound. French fries are $1/10 pounds. You never know what you'll find, and it's in huge quantities, but the savings are phenominal. I like to shop with a friend so we can split the large cases. Similarly, look for Farmers' Markets in the spring/summer; the prices are lower and the food is fresher.

Calcluate how much you're spending on beverages. This is where my budget can really skyrocket. Sodas, juice, coffee, etc. -- none of it is really nutritional, and it probably accounts for over 20% of your food budget! I drink lots of water, but I fill up my own bottle from the tap.

Don't "cheat on your budget" by eating out. I know a woman who claims she feeds her family for only $50/week. What she doesn't mention is that the kids buy lunch at school and the whole family eats dinner out (or does drive-through or take-out) 4-5 times per week. If she were to calculate her real food cost, it'd be considerably higher.

[mrsbornkuntry]

Mic -- I don't know where you live in NC, but you might want to look around for a better milk price. Within three miles of my house, I can get milk prices from $2.32 to $4.19. The $2.32 is at BJs, but there also is a Walgreen's and a convenience store that has it under $3. I never buy milk at the grocery store any more.

I agree, I live close to Raleigh and rarely pay over $3 for milk, but I shop around.

[disneysteve]

Before you use a coupon, compare the price of the store-brand or the from-scratch equivalent.
Thank you!! So many people use coupons incorrectly. They think if they are getting $.50 off a $4 box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, that's a good deal. They ignore the fact that the store brand frosted flakes are only $2.50 every day without a coupon.

[crisi]

Cleaning supplies should be bought one of two places - a janitorial supply place where you will get heavy duty cleaning supplies in bulk for pennies, or a dollar store, where you'll buy cheap stuff - doesn't clean really well, but the window cleaner is fine for spritzing down the bathroom mirror.

I use liquid soap laundry because I'm spoiled. But my sister is the manufacturers rep for a few expensive sportswear lines and has been trying to get me to switch to powder. Better for your clothes. And cheaper.

I'm frugal with things like dishsoap, shampoo, dryer sheets. Half a dryer sheet works as well for me as a whole one. One squirt of shampoo as good as two.

[Jamesbyr]

We live in Manhattan, 2 teenage kids, and spend about $640 a month for groceries, including one night a week of takeout. It works for us. I can see how you can spend a LOT more especially in NYC, but it is not inevitable.

[drumflower]

One saving tip for the laundry is use cold water whenever you can. Also dilute some liquid fabic softner with water and put in a spray container. Use a wet, clean rag or wash cloth and squirt it once or twice with the spray. Then put it in the dryer with your clothes. It works just as well and one bottle last a very long time. Just wash the washcloth on the next load! :flower1:

[mrsmiller]

Thank you all for all the great ideas!!!

But I have to confess that even with the amount we spend monthly we still eat out at least 2 times a week!!!But I am working with a new food budget for the next 4 weeks, I am clipping coupons like a mad woman :jumping4: and my goal is to try to only spend 500.00(wish me luck) this month,but like disneysteve point it out sometimes the store brand will be cheaper...my problem is that my boy DO KNOW the difference in TASTE with certains brand for example:Wonder bread, Hellmann's mayo, I tried the switching containers trick, and believe me when I tell you that he knew it was not the same brand!!!! Another good point is buying by the bulk, but living in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn it is really hard, but not imposible(I still have some space left under my bed :earboy2: )Also the "eating healthy" also will take a big part of our budget.I went to the supermarket today and paid 1.99 for a lettuce head,almost 4.00 for 3tomatoes, cucumbers 3 for 1.99, 3lb oranges for 4.99,so you get the idea.
I get all the cleaning supplies, paper towels,toothpaste, soap, etc at Target
my only problem is that I do not have will power, I always go to the clearance section, then the 1.00 section by the time that I am done instead of 1 shopping bag I have 6; but I am working on this too!!!
Linnette

[capthooksmom]

I get all the cleaning supplies, paper towels,toothpaste, soap, etc at Target
my only problem is that I do not have will power, I always go to the clearance section, then the 1.00 section by the time that I am done instead of 1 shopping bag I have 6; but I am working on this too!!!
Linnette
LOL-me too.
After reading the responses I'm afraid to say what we spend on groceries. I'm going to use some of these tips, though.

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

The store brands are not always as good tasting as the name brands. Some are quite good while others are mediocreat best. I would explain to your family that the grocery bill is out of control and drastic measures must be taken - even if that means switching some of their favorite brands. Maybe you can compromise. Have them try a few other things in order to keep the Wonder bread and Hellmans. When price the of the store brand is significantly lower it's worth a try. They might be surprised.

Believe it or not, I like Giant's brand of Crunchy Raisin Bran more than the Kellogg's (Giant's has more raisins ans tastes great:)), but don't ask me to buy their version of Miracle Whip again.;)

[Renysmom]

This is a great thread but I do have a question.... Many posters have said their kids won't eat generic or this food or that food.. Now I can understand if these children are in their teens because at that point they are "food spoiled" but the younger kids, why are so many parents letting their kids control what they eat and the family budget?

For a few years, when I was going through a rough time I let my kids do the same thing but when I realized that they were controlling things such as meals (they were about 10 and 8), I stopped it.. I put food on the table and they were expected to eat it, just as I was growing up, it was a struggle for about a week or so and both sat at the table till they ate it or it was bedtime, if they hadn't eaten it by then they went to bed hungry.. It wasn't easy for me to do this but it worked and it saved me arguments, they ate healthier, and I saved money. Yes they did miss a few meals but it didn't hurt them in the long run. One is 21, a sophomore in college 6'2, the other a SR in HS is 6'". They are 100% healthy. They eat everything, even the stuff they hated as a kid, well everything but liver and even I won't serve that LOL

Just wondering

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I can't feed my kids generic b/c they don't offer generic for what we buy. When they offer generic for the types of things I buy, I'll give it a try. By choice we get our snacks and such at Wild Oats (Natural Food Store type place), we buy cage free eggs, organic milk, and organic yogurt as well as real maple syrup ($$$$). For a while we were brand specific...now Wild Oats is carrying store brand organic milk that is cheaper than what we have been buying as well as some other things.

Grocery bills were $800...we redid the budget and I put in $150 per week in the budget and my hubby thought I was crazy to budget $600+ on groceries and he thought I made a mistake.

It's new and I'm going to try it, we'll see if it works.

I got an idea from somewhere to make a list of you family's favorite meals (get input from them ;)). We came up with 14 meals--so I have a mix and match menu that I can put together 2 weeks worth of menus (accounting for leftovers, we won't use all choices). I'll have to let you know how it goes b/c we had the flu this week and had to abandon the menu with some chicken soup. But we are going to get back to it.

I was able to get my 2 weeks meals plus 1 week of fruits and snacks and such. This week was a restock on milk, eggs, fruit and some lunch meat. Trying to include toiletries and stuff in this amount, we will have to see how it goes.

We did hit a buy 1 get 1 free sale on ground Turkey b/c they were about to reach their use or freeze date. Hopefully I will luck out on deals later :)

[grlpwrd]

Thank you all for all the great ideas!!!

But I have to confess that even with the amount we spend monthly we still eat out at least 2 times a week!!!But I am working with a new food budget for the next 4 weeks, I am clipping coupons like a mad woman :jumping4: and my goal is to try to only spend 500.00(wish me luck) this month,but like disneysteve point it out sometimes the store brand will be cheaper...my problem is that my boy DO KNOW the difference in TASTE with certains brand for example:Wonder bread, Hellmann's mayo, I tried the switching containers trick, and believe me when I tell you that he knew it was not the same brand!!!! Another good point is buying by the bulk, but living in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn it is really hard, but not imposible(I still have some space left under my bed :earboy2: )Also the "eating healthy" also will take a big part of our budget.I went to the supermarket today and paid 1.99 for a lettuce head,almost 4.00 for 3tomatoes, cucumbers 3 for 1.99, 3lb oranges for 4.99,so you get the idea.
I get all the cleaning supplies, paper towels,toothpaste, soap, etc at Target
my only problem is that I do not have will power, I always go to the clearance section, then the 1.00 section by the time that I am done instead of 1 shopping bag I have 6; but I am working on this too!!!
Linnette


You know you could always try getting the kids to mix cereals - like it's a great new thing to do. Well, actually, there's restaurants that specialize in selling cereals and cereal mixes which are targeted to adults. That way at least your cereal budget is lowered if you mix generic with the pricier stuff. Then again you could just cook more kid friendly foods which would generally be a lot cheaper and healthier, like waffles, breakfast burritos, muffins, quick breads, French toast sticks, and pancakes.

I do agree that maybe it's just better to get your kids to accept change and not to always cater to their wants. It's worth a shot. It may also require a change in your approach to saving $$$/having self control/etc, too, so it will take your whole family to make it work, so to speak.

My dh lives in Bethpage and he bought tomatoes at Costco for about .99 a lb. Milk, fruit, and other staples are cheaper, too. I know there's one in Queens, Brooklyn, Westbury, Staten Island, and Bridgewater (I don't know where that location is, though). I heard there are BJ's Wholesale Clubs in or around your area, too. I think I saw one in Hicksville. I'm not sure about Sam's Club, though. You really should try the club route if you aren't already. I forgot to add: If you will shop at these places you will really need to try to stick to your list because there is a tendency to overspend and compare prices.

There's also National Wholesale Liquidators in Brooklyn and I thought some of the prices were pretty good for some of their things. I do agree, though, that the dollar stores are better and cheaper for lots of things like cleaning supplies and food. Or cheaper and healthier is to make your own household cleansers, like use vinegar for cleaning windows and alcohol for mirrors.

I haven't ever seen a Super Walmart in your area, though. I think you all just have regular WalMarts, right? That makes a HUGE difference because they sell food a lot cheaper at the Super Walmarts than many stores.

HTH

[Livin'a Dream]

I think you are doing good for $900. We usually spend $1200 a month for 4(my mom 74. me,DS23,DS15, 4 dogs and 1 cat) That also includes paper products, cleaning supplies, health&beauty aides and burgers out 3 times a week. I only use coupons for something I would buy any way. Milk here costs $2.89 a gallon at Walmart and we use at least 4-6 gallons a week. I try to make one meatless meal a week and plan a weekly menu. Plus we pay 9.5 % tax on food in TN. That is what kills me. $90=food $10=Tax $300 a week $30 of it is tax :sad2:

[C.Ann]

Tha's about what we spend. I agree with the poster who said that people spending less might not be getting good nutrition, although I'm certain many have a great budget and eat very well.

Anne
--------------------------
Over $900 per month for two adults and two small children is extrememly high.. My next-door neighbor (who used to live here in NY, but now splits her time between here and Florida) never, ever spent that kind of money.. Raised two children on a very strict nutritious diet and didn't even come close to that amount.. Now it's just her and her DH - still on the same nutritious diet - and including entertaining people at their home quite frequently, spend between $350 and $400 a month..

It can be done - and it can be done well - without eating junk and non-nutritious foods.. Just takes a lot of careful planning.. :flower:

[cotomom]

Don't know if this has been mentioned or not yet. Check out a free website called cutouthunger.org

They pair up the local Pathmark sales with your local newspaper coupons, showing you when to buy things at the cheapest prices. If you save your coupons in entire insert form, you only need to clip what you're going to buy, when you're going to buy it. You can search the site for location, date, and value of the coupon in need as well. A great tool to save time and from having your hand cramp for all that useless clipping!

Has saved me 1,000's since I have followed her site. Good luck!

[mommi97]

Okay I think you are definitely spending way too much a month. I have a family of 5, my DH, I, 7 yr, 4yr, and 2 yr. I spend typically about 200-300 a month on food. I coupon shop all the time. I have also taught my friend to shop this way. I usually will buy 3 or 4 papers, that way I have 3 or 4 coupons for everything. I typically won't buy anything unless I have a coupon, unless it's my basic like fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, bread. I first cut out all my coupons, then I collect the 3 adds from my local stores. I go through the circulars and see what's on sale and what I have a coupon for. I usually stock pile alot because I have LOTS of coupons. After I go through the ads I them comparethe ads store to store and see if another store has something that I am going to buy cheaper. I also ask my friends and my mom for the coupons they don't use, you would be amazed at what they don't use that you do. It takes a lot of time and patience to do this but it really does work and believe me people can't believe how much food I have in my house. The people at work joke that they are calling Oprah on me cause I show them my receipts one for example where I saved 200 in coupouns and my bill was something like 23.00 one time. Now don't get me wrong though we have a day here and there in the month where we also eat out fast food, no restaurants, and of course with coupons.

[gradtchr]

I opened the post not thinking that you amount was that bad. My fiance and I are on a super strict diet right not and we spend about 500 a month on groceries for the two of us. We eat 6 meals a day and our per meal cost only comes out to about 2.50 per meal, not bad at all considering we were spending a ton more eating out and we're eating a lot healthier now. We comparison shop between two stores and are about to add a third into the mix (sam's which should help us a lot on our shakes and chicken) fresh veggies will soon be coming from our garden, and farmers markets will soon be open for other fresh veggies at cheaper prices. We've looked at cutting back and are working on it but getting to a healthy weight is our first priority.

I'm a member of all sorts of coupon websites, and coolsavings which have helped keep costs down. Finding our bars on BOGO deals also helps. Word of mouth for great deals has also helped me.

[Clancycat]

Two of the best places to learn about saving on groceries are:

the grocerygame. com

Mary


The grocery game has been extremely helpful to me too. It helps you match up sales in your area with coupons, which allows you to save big bucks. As a result of matching coupons & sales, I am able to get many items very inexpensively if not for free.

Though my family does eat the occaissonal box of mac & cheese or a frozen pizza, for the most part we don't eat much junk food. We eat a lot of seasonal fruits & veggies. My kids drink water and milk every day but juice is something that we rarely have (even the 100% stuff has a lot of sugar that they don't need isn't as nutritious as eating a piece of fruit). So you can feed your family healthy foods and use coupons to save money. When I find a great sale, I stock up (whether it's shampoo, cat litter, steak or chicken) then I don't have to pay full price later.

[eaturpasta1]

just subscribing to the thread...keep the tips coming!

[Reyasmom]

I think the biggest issue is cost of living. I live just north of Dallas, Tx and when I was a single mom it cost me about $50-$60 a week to grocery shop. That was just DD and I. When we went to NYC (Manhattan) I found that the exact same groceries I'd buy here cost twice as much! :earseek: It was cheaper to just eat out every night for a week than to actually cook.
Amanda

[Kimkimba]

We spend about $1000 a month for a family of 5 and I do cut coupons and look for sales. My family is a little spoiled, but we are not meat eaters, and never eat seafood (unless you count processed fish and tuna) or steak.

It must depend on where you live - we live in the Philly area and I can just drop into the market for a few things and drop a $100.

[twojo21]

wow $900 for a family of four, we are a family of 5 plus 2 dogs & 1 ferret and we spend roughly $600 a month & eat well. first we always shop sales & stock up when we can on nonperishables, use coupons, sometimes off brands & never shop when hungary.

[tor]

milk on long island is over $3 a gallon at grocery stores and cheap only $2.59 at costco and BJ's and the like

[ckoncurat]

I have a family of 7, and we spend $600-700. I do think $900 in really a lot for 4 people. I don't do the coupon thing, but I save by stocking up on sale items, and especially by buying GENERIC items whenever possible. Shop around, find a store brand you like, them buy mostly that brand- many store brands are identical to name brands.

Let me say, for the record, that grocery shopping for a big family is a TOTAL PAIN!!! I hate it. But the extra planning is worth it to me because I save up to $50 a week. I chhose to eat well on a budget so we can have great vacations.

[eaturpasta1]

Let me say, for the record, that grocery shopping for a big family is a TOTAL PAIN!!! I hate it. But the extra planning is worth it to me because I save up to $50 a week. I chhose to eat well on a budget so we can have great vacations.

I totally agree...We have a grocery store that I can order my items online...it costs me $6.00 but...I feel like I save $50 by not impulse shopping. This way I can stick to my menu and my list and not go "oooooh look at that ice cream...that would be good tonight...maybe with some sauteed bananas and some whipped cream and some ...etc" And I DO NOT shop hungry! LOL And milk is usually close to $4.19 unless I go to Sams or Costco and its $2.79 there. Never have I seen a gallon of milk for $1.99! Can you ship me some? ;) :earboy2:

[Fizban257]

We're a family of five (me, DW, DS-14, DS-3 & DD-7mos) with 3 cats. We spend $200 per month on groceries, with another $90 per month for baby food, diapers & wipes. The cat food and litter we buy in bulk every-other-month and isn't inlcuded in the grocery budget. We do all of our grocery shopping once a month. We only go back for milk and bread as it runs out. This way, we can easily keep track of our budget and make the hard choices about what's currently on sale. We do however, split the shopping into two days. Our grocery store's sales run from Sunday to Saturday. We keep one week's sales flyer and when we get the next, we plan what to buy on Saturday and what to buy on Sunday based on the two sales. Though we only go once a month, we take advantage of two separate sales, which helps keep down our costs. Before we used to do this, we'd blow the budget every month. It was the mutliple trips that killed us -- too hard to keep track of the budget across 6-8 trips over 4-5 weeks.

[Laurajean1014]

We spend on average $397 to $505 a month for 3 people and two dogs.

[MickeyMacks]

If you are spending that much, a lot of it must be non-food items (toiletries, paper products, etc.) Many of these non-grocery items can be found cheaper at dollar stores and discount stores, even cheaper at some drugstores. Your food alone should not cost more than $100 per week for 4 people.

Also, buying a lot of meat and prepared foods will really hike your grocery bill. Eat more non-meat or meat-sauce types of foods such as pasta and chili. Get no-name pizza dough mix, no-name spaghetti sauce and no-name cheese and you can have two pizzas for less than half the cost of one frozen one. Packaged cookies, individual yogurts and desserts, they all add up.

For fruit, veggies and bread, I always cruise the section of marked down stuff that has a bag with one or two overripe fruit in it or the day-old bread section. Wrap day-old bread in a damp tea-towel and set in a warm (200 degree) oven for a few minutes and it's good as new. Stale bread makes great French toast or grilled cheese sandwiches too. I buy frozen juice mix, rarely buy pop or chips at all (we're a popcorn and sugarless drink mix household!)

Some of the best grocery shopping advice I've heard is: plan a weekly menu (although I've rarely done this myself), always take a list, never go when you're hungry, go alone if you can (no kids) and do your shopping around the outside walls first where the healthy, necessary stuff is (fruit, veggies, milk, eggs, cheese). Avoid "window-shopping" the frozen food section, buy hamburger, pork chops etc. in bulk when on sale and freeze family size-portions in freezer bags, and when looking at a non-nutritional item such as a bag of cookies, etc. - ask yourself what you could buy at Disney for that money!!

Another one - don't buy family-size snack items to "keep around the house" such as chips, pretzels, soda and store-bought cookies. Only buy the big bags if it's for a specific occasion (going to a family bbq, etc.) The rest of the time, pick one or two healthy family snacks to have on hand (for us it's popcorn in the hot-air popper or good old Premium crackers) and if the kids/hubby really want their chips, soda or cheesies, they can buy individual-size bags with their OWN MONEY. I wish I could get my mom to follow this one - she always buys "for the family" but eats most of the junk herself - very bad habit for a diabetic! She also buys too much bread/meat/fruit and throws at least $30 worth of spoiled food away every week. :scared1:

Anyway, this is very long so to sum up I'd say check into what you're paying for non-food and non-essential treats and packaged/convenience items and consider options to eliminate or reduce these expenses. Also, nutrition and value should come before variety in food priorities. We North Americans are rather spoiled for variety, but our grandparents made out just fine on a few healthy basics!

[OKWAnneMarie]

For the past four weeks I have been saving all the groceries receipts. I just came from the supermarket and the total for 4 weeks was 965.56!!! It is only my husband, my two boys(7 and 8ys), my dog (medium size mutt) and me. I could not believe how much me spend. I do not buy lots of junk food but do buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and 100% juices. My boys drink almost a gallon of milk daily other than that I do not see how we spent so much. I am not a brand name kind of person but certain items like cereal and bread I have to buy brand name because my boys will know the difference and they will refuse to eat it(Kelloggs and Wonderbread only!!)I always go to the same supermarket(pathmark) and watch out for the sales. I just saw in the tv a family with quintuplets and their average monthly groceries was 300.0 :earseek: I do not know how can they do it then again I know that NY is more expensive and maybe that have something to do. But I still believe that we are spending too much.... :guilty:
How do you save money when you go grocery shopping?
Linnette


WOW, this is a great thread! I am also a Brooklyn girl and we spend ALOT on food. It is more expensive to buy food in the New York area, so I think you are doing fine, but, of course, there is room for improvement for all of us.

I have 4 adults in my family (me, hubby, 2 kids - 21 & 18 years old). And, about once per week I feed my son's girlfriend and my parents.

I shop almost exclusively at COSTCO. I spend about $1200 per month, but that includes everything.....food, paper goods, toiletries, etc. I don't think shopping in COSTCO saves money, I just feel I am getting quality meats and fresh foods from there.

I also spend about $200 per month in a local grocery store and the occasional take-out.

I think I am spending alot, but I do try to look at prices. But to be honest, for example, I would like to spend a little more and get quality apples, than to buy cheap ones and end up throwing them away because they don't taste very well.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your ideas. I am going to start saving my receipts and see where I can start saving.

[disneysteve]

I try to make one meatless meal a week
This is an area that can definitely be improved on both from a cost and a health standpoint. We make a meat containing meal only about twice a week. Veggies and pasta or rice are cheaper than meat. If you plan your meals around the veggies and whole grains, you won't spend nearly as much as if you plan your meals around meat.

[sln88]

wow- I am surprised that you guys say that veggies are cheaper than meat?
I can get ground beef for about 1.50/#, chicken for .50/#, but veggies and fruit are expensive. berries on sale for $2 for 6 oz, pineapple 2.25, tomatoes 1.50/pint, cantaloupe $2. I guess I am not on the vegetarian bandwagon. Seems like meat 'goes farther' too. When I eat fruit, I am hungry again right away, but meat sticks with me longer.

I don't spend anywhere near $900 a month on groceries. My bills are usually less than $5 when I go(unless I have to buy something expensive like soda or beer). I go about 4 times a week, so I would say $200(high estimate) a month for 5 people and a cat. I am lucky and have double coupons and a store that takes expireds and I have the time to match coupons and sales but not everyone can(or wants) do that.

I can usually get milk for 1.99 a gallon, but I am shocked that some of you go thru a gallon a day. Yikes. That would double my bill. My boys like milk, but not that much. I guess they drink water more than milk.

I have been very lucky lately- there is a lady on freecycle that gets leftover fruit and veggies free from a local fair and shares because she gets so much. Last night I got a bag full of asparagus and a bag of peppers. That would have cost me a fortune at the store. Of course, we will be eating those ALOT this week(yum)

I got all my coupon tips from mycoupons, and I also use cutouthunger

[disneysteve]

chicken for .50/
That is really cheap. I'm guessing that is for chicken with the skin and bones and maybe dark meat. If so, the true cost is somewhat higher once you remove the stuff that isn't edible. I got peppers yesterday for $.99/lb, zucchini for $.49/lb. Last week we went strawberry picking - much cheaper than buying them at the supermarket (and fresher). If you buy local produce in season, prices can be reasonable compared to meat.

[Nicolepa]

My pediatrians have all told me too much milk isn't good for you. Anything more than 2 glasses a day can interfere with iron absorbtion. Not only that, it has lots of calories. (My kids were drinking milk like cows, 6-8 glasses a day each).

So for those of you with kids drinking 1/2-gallon of milk a day. I think you could cut that way down. Not only will it help with the budget, it might actually be better for them!

[ckoncurat]

My kids are younger, but $900 a month for a family of 4 seems really high. We are a family of 7, DH and I, and 5 kids, 8,7,5,3, and 9months. I have 2 in diapers and we buy all of our toiletries and household stuff with my grocery budget and we spend about $800.00 a month. This also includes cigarettes for DH (usually 2 cartons a month) and add another $20 for DH and I's terrible Mountain Dew addiction (my New Year's Resolution is for me to lose that, but we'll see!).

My system is this: DH gets paid on the first and the 15th of the month so on those two days I sit down and make a list of 15 or so dinners (all of the ingredients I will need) and whatever else I need and I shop for those 15 days and that's it. We usually plan at least 3 meatless meals, like pasta. The only time I go back to the store is if they are having a really good sale or if I run out of something (which doesn't happen often). We have a deep freeze so I stock up on sale items that we use alot and I use coupons religiously, usually saving $20 or more with them.

I go to Aldi's first and get what I can there, then I go to Superwalmart. They're prices are the lowest around here, but I hate their bagging. If you're military the commmissary really is the cheapest place to shop, we don't live near a base anymore and I miss it dearly!

I also try not to take ANY kids to the store with me. Besides asking for stuff, they distract me from paying attention to prices and I'm usually in a bigger hurry with them. My 3 oldest kids buy lunches at school, but what it costs in money it saves me in headaches so I think it's worth it! DH packs his lunch, usually leftovers.

To my knowledge my meals are healthy and the snacks I'm buying are healthy as well. My kids also drink 100% fruit juice (the last thing I need are 4 kids on sugar highs, LOL) and milk around here is $2.89 at it's lowest, but I have seen it as high as $3.49. All of them are at a healthy weight and are generally healthy. I think what saves us the most is probably cooking from scratch instead of buying prepared foods. There is a cookbook I bought a few months ago called "Saving Dinner" by Leann Ely and I absolutely love it. I don't follow the grocery lists, but the recipes save alot of money because they reuse alot of spices instead of things like shake n bake.

Off Topic, but you sound just like me! My kids are 8, 6, 4, 3 and 1!!! And just like you, I go to aldi first. This saves me a TON on milk and kid stuff like cereal and snacks! My budget is about $6-700, but no cigarettes. We also cook mostly from scratch. And definitely NO KIDS when I go to the store. The big shop is enough of a pain without kids along!

[sln88]

That is really cheap. I'm guessing that is for chicken with the skin and bones and maybe dark meat. If so, the true cost is somewhat higher once you remove the stuff that isn't edible. I got peppers yesterday for $.99/lb, zucchini for $.49/lb. Last week we went strawberry picking - much cheaper than buying them at the supermarket (and fresher). If you buy local produce in season, prices can be reasonable compared to meat.

actually, the dark meat with bones goes on sale for .29/#. Last time I bought boneless/skinless it was $1/#. I can get boneless pork for under $1/#(Last week I bought pork tenderloin for about .65/#). I guess the difference is that I can stock up and freeze on a good meat sale, but you can't do that too often with veggies or fruit. It seems like with produce, you are paying for alot of water(by weight). I know they are good for you, but I am not one that believes that meat is bad for you, either. I love strawberries, but we bought some on Fri, and by Sat they were starting to mold already!

[mrsbornkuntry]

Off Topic, but you sound just like me! My kids are 8, 6, 4, 3 and 1!!! And just like you, I go to aldi first. This saves me a TON on milk and kid stuff like cereal and snacks! My budget is about $6-700, but no cigarettes. We also cook mostly from scratch. And definitely NO KIDS when I go to the store. The big shop is enough of a pain without kids along!

Tell me about it, just pushing the cart is a workout in itself, who needs another 60 plus pounds in kids added to it! :earseek:

[mrsbornkuntry]

My pediatrians have all told me too much milk isn't good for you. Anything more than 2 glasses a day can interfere with iron absorbtion. Not only that, it has lots of calories. (My kids were drinking milk like cows, 6-8 glasses a day each).

So for those of you with kids drinking 1/2-gallon of milk a day. I think you could cut that way down. Not only will it help with the budget, it might actually be better for them!

That depends on the number of kids in your house and the kind of milk they are drinking, too. With 5 kids in my house we will easily go through a half gallon of milk a day with each of the kids only drinking 16 ounces each, not to mention what I use when I cook.

[MEM]

actually, the dark meat with bones goes on sale for .29/#. Last time I bought boneless/skinless it was $1/#. I can get boneless pork for under $1/#(Last week I bought pork tenderloin for about .65/#). I guess the difference is that I can stock up and freeze on a good meat sale, but you can't do that too often with veggies or fruit. It seems like with produce, you are paying for alot of water(by weight). I know they are good for you, but I am not one that believes that meat is bad for you, either. I love strawberries, but we bought some on Fri, and by Sat they were starting to mold already!

Wow! we never see prices like that in the Greater Boston area. I am thrilled to see family packs of boneless, skinless breasts for $1.99 a pound. I do agree with disneysteve about taking into consideration all the unusable portions of the meat. There was an article the other day on http://www.stretcher.com about this and a formula to use when comparing meat prices. I never even thought about the ice inside a frozen chicken or turkey that you pay for! For my family, at least, boneless and skinless poultry and lean meat on sale is the way to go.

[disneysteve]

I guess the difference is that I can stock up and freeze on a good meat sale, but you can't do that too often with veggies or fruit
That is partially true. I can't freeze fresh produce but I can cook up a big batch of soup or a casserole or some other cooked meal and freeze that. After I got the zucchini for $.49/lb yesterday I went home and baked a double batch of zucchini nut bread muffins. We'll eat some now and freeze a bunch for later (I make them fat-free BTW). Got mushrooms on sale cheap recently and made a big pot of mushroom soup and got that into the freezer. As for fruit, we freeze that and use it to make smoothies. We always have a stock of bananas, berries, pineapple, oranges, etc. in our freezer year round. So there are ways to take advantage of produce bargains too.

Sounds like chicken prices are really low in Wisconsin, though.

[crisi]

I freeze a lot of fresh produce. Squash freezes. Strawberries freeze. Beans. Peas. Blanched spinch I dice up peppers if they are on sale and freeze them small for use in omlettes.

A good deal on white meat boneless chicken around here is well over $1 a pound.

[tar heel]

We never get boneless chicken breast for $1 a pound either, but one of my grocery stores has bone-in breasts for 97 cents this week and the other has legs for 18 cents!

[Nicolepa]

That depends on the number of kids in your house and the kind of milk they are drinking, too. With 5 kids in my house we will easily go through a half gallon of milk a day with each of the kids only drinking 16 ounces each, not to mention what I use when I cook.

That is true, but a couple of the posters said their two boys drank a gallon a day. That poster could save a lot of money if they only drank 2 glasses each. That would be less than 2 gallons a week vs 7. at $3.50 a gallon that is $70 a month.

[clkelley]

When my kids first started school, I tried packing their lunches to save money, but I couldn't do it for $1.25 that the school was charging for lunch.

The main reason was everything had to be prepackaged. No making stuff and packaging myself. It was insane. They said it was a safety issue.

Carol

[Cindy B]

That depends on the number of kids in your house and the kind of milk they are drinking, too. With 5 kids in my house we will easily go through a half gallon of milk a day with each of the kids only drinking 16 ounces each, not to mention what I use when I cook.

Did you realize that you can use powdered milk for cooking? That is all I use! No one yet in 6 years can tell the difference.

[disneysteve]

When my kids first started school, I tried packing their lunches to save money, but I couldn't do it for $1.25 that the school was charging for lunch.

The main reason was everything had to be prepackaged. No making stuff and packaging myself. It was insane. They said it was a safety issue.

Carol
That is outrageous! You couldn't make your kid a sandwich? I can't imagine that policy would last very long. How long ago was that? What was the penalty for sending in a lunch they didn't approve of?

[Nini]

Unless I make the effort to shop at our discount grocery store "Price Rite". I can get a gal. of milk for $1.99 there as opposed to $4.25+ at regular grocery store. I also get eggs for .99 a doz. I buy fruit which is normally .99 per pound there & cut the bruises off for my dd3. Salad bags (Dole) can be had for $1.99 there ($2.99 in store). ALL snack .99 are from there (HUGE Bags!) as well as ice cream & juice boxes. I do buy amer. cheese & hot dogs there BUT prefer to get meats from grocery store (but that is just me!). We eat at least two pasta dishes per week which is MUCH better than even 2 yrs ago when dh and I ate it ALL the time because money was soooooo short!!!!

I don't even hit $300 some months when I am dilligent with my spending. We have 3 of us in our family!

I would have a heart attack if I spent $1000 per month :earseek: . I can't imagine all the food! I don't think I have ever spent that much on food. I am not trying to put you on the spot, but are you buying many EXTRAS!?! I sometimes don't buy those extras if it is a tight month.

Good Luck! :flower:

[imsayin]

The main reason was everything had to be prepackaged. No making stuff and packaging myself. It was insane. They said it was a safety issue.

We have a school near us that requires all items be packaging free. It is environmentally friendly. No paper napkins, no lunchables, no prepackaged juice boxes, no wrapped goods at all. This seems a bit healthier and logical than no packaging your own.

[ceecee]

I was thinking that was about right. Do you eat out and is that included? We eat out most weekends (3 or 4 times) I only spend about $300.00 a month at the grocery. I buy no paper products or toiletries just food. We could probably save a ton on eating out if we needed to. DD & DH like to eat our and so do I.

[disneysteve]

We have a school near us that requires all items be packaging free. It is environmentally friendly. No paper napkins, no lunchables, no prepackaged juice boxes, no wrapped goods at all. This seems a bit healthier and logical than no packaging your own.
How the heck do they enforce a policy like that? Or the one posted earlier. The school should have no say in what I pack my child for lunch. I know this is OT but I find it very interesting.

[hockey mom]

My kids are not allowed to bring in any food items that contain Peanuts or have been made in the vicinity of. I have a son who only eats Peanut butter sandwiches so I am constantly running out to get him a bagel or fresh bun of some kind. We can't even send home made cookies or muffins.

A friend in another area cannot send sugary items at all. Teacher said it makes the kids to hyper.

We are a family of 5 and I spend about $800/month and we eat out at least once a week.

[disneysteve]

A friend in another area cannot send sugary items at all. Teacher said it makes the kids to hyper.
Incredible that they get away with this. First of all, it isn't true. Suger doesn't make kids hyper, but that's beside the point. I don't see where the school has the right to make rules like this.

So as not to derail this thread, I started a new thread over on the community board on this topic. Come on over if you are interested.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=832130

ETA: Studies have shown that a very small number of kids, perhaps 1%, are affected by sugar or other additives in food, but the vast majority of kids are not.

[Hermosa11]

I spend about $500 a month
This would include Wal Mart "stuff" (detergent,etc.)
Does your dollar figure include toiletries, etc.?
I am family of four...........soon to be family of 3 (dd19 just got married and leaving the nest next week)

[hsmamato2]

I find this topic very interesting- we live in the northeast- and I was spending almost 800 for groceries every month- then I got disgusted- it shouldn't cost so much!
I got it down to a max of 500 per month- we're a family of 4 -one kid has severe food allergies to wheat- so special food there...
I shop 4 circulars each week- I usually go to at least 2 different stores- after comparing for a while I have gotten to know what's cheapest where- the one thing I won't compromise on is quality meat- I only buy free range-healthy raised animal products- It's my thing about health risks- I realize not everyone feels the need to do this- ;)
I didn't get to read all posts yet- but one mentioned "perhaps if you live on a cheaper budget, you won't get the proper nutrition..."
Well, just my 2 cents, but wonder bread,fruit snacks and juice (even 100%) is not the healthiest diet- so I tell myself that when the kids ask for these things, but my budget has been maxed for the month-that water is best, I buy organic milk(goes along with my animal products thing)- so I sometimes limit milk drinking to breakfast and/or dinner meals, and we eat cheese and yogurt for snacks or other mealtimes... buy whole wheat bread from bakery outlet every few weeks, at 80cents each- when I need to get special food for allergic kid- I buy through a food cooperative every few months-
I find other folks ideas here very interesting- I've gotten some great tips on saving even more money, and incentive to keep working at it- because the more money I save all year, the more we have to spend in WDW!

[DISUNC]

For the past four weeks I have been saving all the groceries receipts. I just came from the supermarket and the total for 4 weeks was 965.56!!! It is only my husband, my two boys(7 and 8ys), my dog (medium size mutt) and me. I could not believe how much me spend. I do not buy lots of junk food but do buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and 100% juices. My boys drink almost a gallon of milk daily other than that I do not see how we spent so much. I am not a brand name kind of person but certain items like cereal and bread I have to buy brand name because my boys will know the difference and they will refuse to eat it(Kelloggs and Wonderbread only!!)I always go to the same supermarket(pathmark) and watch out for the sales. I just saw in the tv a family with quintuplets and their average monthly groceries was 300.0 :earseek: I do not know how can they do it then again I know that NY is more expensive and maybe that have something to do. But I still believe that we are spending too much.... :guilty:
How do you save money when you go grocery shopping?
Linnette

MOVE!

I Lived in Brooklyn all my life until I moved to the Poconos. Even though food prices have risen here rather sharply over the past year....it is still much cheaper than in Brooklyn. I have relatives still in Brooklyn and when they come for a visit, they spend half a day food shopping due to the huge difference in prices. For example, a regular box of name brand cereal can be purchased here on sale for $1.50...the same box of ceral in Brooklyn is $5.00. Loaf of name brand bread 1.25, gallon of milk 2.00 (this was just inceased too!)This goes across the board with all foods and paper products. There is usually over a 50% difference. And I am not even talking about sundries, cigarettes & drug store type of items.....50-75% cheaper than Brooklyn.
Also, beware of the generic brands, especially in regards to paper & plastic products. I recently started to do the shopping for my elderly parents. They were so tuned to purchasing generic brands, that they didn't notice NOT ALL GENERICS are cheaper...I noticed that many named brand products (garbage bags, paper towels, napkins) are acctually less expensive than the generic counterparts. So dont be fooled that "generic" is always cheaper!
Good luck

[luv2nascar]

we have a family of 4 including 2 kids one who is still in diapes and a cat & dog. We only average around $400 per month and we are big eaters (well DH & I are). Coupons coupons coupons.

I have regular stock pile of items we use that are free or cheap with coupons. I must have 30 free colgate toothbrushes and toothpastes. Any time we need one we shop here for free instead of running out and spending more because it is never on sale when you need it. I haven't paid for rice in 2 years. I have been using free paste for 1 1/2 now. We only eat ceral I can get for under $1.50 per box. It starts out slow but builds up savings as you go. It really takes a full year to get the stockpile going with coupons and watching sales. It is frustrating at first but well worth it. www.mycoupons.com
good luck.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I find this topic very interesting- we live in the northeast- and I was spending almost 800 for groceries every month- then I got disgusted- it shouldn't cost so much!
I got it down to a max of 500 per month- we're a family of 4 -one kid has severe food allergies to wheat- so special food there...
I shop 4 circulars each week- I usually go to at least 2 different stores- after comparing for a while I have gotten to know what's cheapest where- the one thing I won't compromise on is quality meat- I only buy free range-healthy raised animal products- It's my thing about health risks- I realize not everyone feels the need to do this- ;)
I didn't get to read all posts yet- but one mentioned "perhaps if you live on a cheaper budget, you won't get the proper nutrition..."
Well, just my 2 cents, but wonder bread,fruit snacks and juice (even 100%) is not the healthiest diet- so I tell myself that when the kids ask for these things, but my budget has been maxed for the month-that water is best, I buy organic milk(goes along with my animal products thing)- so I sometimes limit milk drinking to breakfast and/or dinner meals, and we eat cheese and yogurt for snacks or other mealtimes... buy whole wheat bread from bakery outlet every few weeks, at 80cents each- when I need to get special food for allergic kid- I buy through a food cooperative every few months-
I find other folks ideas here very interesting- I've gotten some great tips on saving even more money, and incentive to keep working at it- because the more money I save all year, the more we have to spend in WDW!

Does your $500 include toilietries and cleaning products.

I do the free range meat and eggs and the organic milk as well. If your # includes the above...I am most inspired...if it isn't--I am in the same boat as you and my hubby thinks even that is too much!

We budget $800 in total...I try to hover the weekly purchases around $100...and then the frequent trips back are what gets me.

[crisi]

MOVE!


My sister does this too, but instead of living in the big city, she shops in Minneapolis when she visists us and lives in "Middle of Nowhere" North Dakota.

[mrsmiller]

DISUNG:
It is funny, but recently my husband and I were talking about our budget and one of the things he said was that he would like to move to the poconos area , we are looking into buying a house, Is there any website that will give me information like schools performance , crime rate, and what areas will be the best, ect...

I will have to said that I was doing fine for a month or two and for some reason now we are spending a little more!!! :confused3 I tried printing coupons from the websites and few supermarkets will not take computer print coupons due to "false" coupons in the internet at least that is what Pathmark and Keyfood told me. My light bill this month is 304.00 and we live in a 3 bedroom apartment, my husband works till late and I spend my day in the school with my boys (learning leader and PTA member) I usually do not get home until 4 or 5:00 so I do not see how can we use that much light. It is getting harder and harder to stick to a monthly budget and my vacation budget is being affected (a lot of fights with my husband also)the more I think about it the more I am convince that it is time for us to decide and move. I love New York ; but at the same time I have to think of what is best for my family...
Linnette :earsgirl:

[disneysteve]

I have relatives still in Brooklyn and when they come for a visit, they spend half a day food shopping due to the huge difference in prices.
Even with the cost of gasoline, I wonder if it wouldn't be worth it for a family in NYC to take a ride once a month to an area with lower prices and stock up on all the non-perishable or freezable items that are more costly in the city. Of course, that assumes they own a car which many NYC dwellers do not. Within 60 miles of NYC, I'm sure there are areas with much more reasonable prices. Spend $15 on gas but save a couple hundred on food. Sounds like a good deal to me. Does anyone here do anything like that?

[hsmamato2]

Lisalovespooh- I include paper goods and all meats also- when I am in the store, and the meats I buy go on sale- I buy all I can- unfortunately, they don't keep the free range meats well stocked, and the price per pound will be more than the other meat- but this helps, then just divide, freeze,and use as sparingly as possible- if I run out meat, and there's none in stock, soup is the best-or-my family loves rice and beans night also :goodvibes
I sometimes also purchase through a food cooperative,United Buying Clubs- I just have to be so-o-o careful there- it's way too easy to overspend on all the natural foods, and with a bit of thinking, I can usually create much the same menu items- but b/c of allergy kid, have to get some expensive items like rice milk, non wheat pasta, an d non wheat bread...I've been saving on sweet stuff by baking him cookies, then put them in freezer and he micros them one at a time,mmmm,just like fresh baked! :rotfl:
I am really inspired from reading all of this to keep on doing this-sometimes it's a temptation to just run to the store every day or so- but that ends up killing my budget, no matter how good my intentions are- so I'm learning to make do with food on hand, and trying to stay out of trouble! :cool1:

[mrsbornkuntry]

Even with the cost of gasoline, I wonder if it wouldn't be worth it for a family in NYC to take a ride once a month to an area with lower prices and stock up on all the non-perishable or freezable items that are more costly in the city. Of course, that assumes they own a car which many NYC dwellers do not. Within 60 miles of NYC, I'm sure there are areas with much more reasonable prices. Spend $15 on gas but save a couple hundred on food. Sounds like a good deal to me. Does anyone here do anything like that?

I used to do something along those lines. We're a military family, but we used to live about 45 miles from the nearest base in Raleigh, NC. Shopping at the commissary saves an average of 30% plus extra coupon savings as there are more in-store coupons so we would drive to Ft. Bragg about once a month or every two months and stock up on some of the things we could get cheaper there such as meat and diapers. Buying a deep freeze was one of the smartest things we've done :teacher: , too bad it was DH's idea instead of mine, lol :teeth:

[threeboysmom]

we have a family of 4 including 2 kids one who is still in diapes and a cat & dog. We only average around $400 per month and we are big eaters (well DH & I are). Coupons coupons coupons.

I have regular stock pile of items we use that are free or cheap with coupons. I must have 30 free colgate toothbrushes and toothpastes. Any time we need one we shop here for free instead of running out and spending more because it is never on sale when you need it. I haven't paid for rice in 2 years. I have been using free paste for 1 1/2 now. We only eat ceral I can get for under $1.50 per box. It starts out slow but builds up savings as you go. It really takes a full year to get the stockpile going with coupons and watching sales. It is frustrating at first but well worth it. www.mycoupons.com
good luck.

Wow! Whenever I read of someone who uses coupons, it always fascinates me! We are a family of 5 (2 of the boys are teens) and we spend about $500-600/month not including all the eating out money (additional $200/month?) I KNOW I can do a lot better if I could learn the "art" of couponing. And I think the key is multiple coupons matched with sale prices, right? But I only have 1 coupon per item. I've thought about buying coupons off ebay (someone mentioned that). But by the time I get my sales flyer, check ebay for the right coupons, bid on and win, wait for them to be mailed, wouldn't the sale now be over and I don't need those particular coupons anymore.....

Help!???

[Nicolepa]

Wow! Whenever I read of someone who uses coupons, it always fascinates me! We are a family of 5 (2 of the boys are teens) and we spend about $500-600/month not including all the eating out money (additional $200/month?) I KNOW I can do a lot better if I could learn the "art" of couponing. And I think the key is multiple coupons matched with sale prices, right? But I only have 1 coupon per item. I've thought about buying coupons off ebay (someone mentioned that). But by the time I get my sales flyer, check ebay for the right coupons, bid on and win, wait for them to be mailed, wouldn't the sale now be over and I don't need those particular coupons anymore.....

Help!???

When I want extra inserts I go to aparment complexes. Around here the newspapers all go into a seperate can. So I go thru and grab inserts. You can usually get a lot from that week or the week before. I just learned what days the trash came and went the day before that. I could easily get 10-15 inserts at one complex. It's especially nice if they only have one drop off spot. I don't do this much anymore simply because we don't have apartments near us. It takes a few minutes and you have tons of coupons!

[disneycrazed139]

The store you go to probably has a lot to do with it. If I shop at Acme, the bill is nearly 1/3 more for the same items. If I go to Wegmans, I can get their generic brand for many things and they have good quality generics.

If you eat a lot of fruits and veggies, consider a local farmer's market instead of the grocery store. Produce is ridiculous at the grocery store.

We also have a Halo Farm near us. This is the best. You can get milk, juice, other dairy items like cheeses and yogurt, sour cream, etc., eggs, and some snack foods. And, of course, their famous ice cream.

1/2 gallon milk at the grocery store: 2.49
1/2 gallon at the convenience store: 3.49
1/2 gallon at Halo Farm: 1.11

I spent about 7 today at Halo Farm on stuff that probably would have added up to 15-20 at the grocery store. I don't know if they are a national chain or not, but I am sure there are other local markets to go to. There is no way I could afford even $450/month. I try to keep it at $250 or under (but then there are only 2 of us)

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just chiming in that I am proud of myself---sargento cheese was on sale for $1.10 off....so it was around $2 (I think). Expires in November--so I bought several packs of mozzarella. Regular price it is only 10 to 20 cents more than generic, so it was a steal :).

This was at Publix. It was the smaller bags---but with the sale it was much cheaper per ounce than the bulk package.

[disneysteve]

It was the smaller bags---but with the sale it was much cheaper per ounce than the bulk package.
This is an important point. Most people just assume that the bigger package is always the better deal. But many times a store will put the small package on sale so that the unit price beats the bulk price. In fact, I've seen times where the regular unit price on the bulk package was higher than on the smaller package. I think the stores do it intentionally knowing customers will assume bigger is cheaper and not bother to check.

[chasbos]

Wow - I just found this thread and I do not know how people get there groceries for so little.

I just did a little calculating while reading some of the posts (especially the milk issue!).

I live in Canada so I do not know how our prices compare. Anyway we pay about $4.50 for 4 litres of milk (I think that is a gallon).

Well, my family of 6 drinks 24 litres of milk in 1 week! That is $115 for milk only. And then we also drink real Orange Juice at $5.99 a jug and we drink 4 of those a month - another $24. And then of course our Diet Coke addiction, a case of DC is $7.99 and we drink about 6 cases a month - another $48.

So, I am already at $187 and we have only had beverages - this does not even include the kids drinking boxes for school lunches!

I have never sat down and looked at what I spend on groceries in a month - maybe I do not want to - the amount we drink in a month floored me already!

How do these prices for beverages compare to all of yours?

[Mac and Us]

It's interesting how they price grocerys. The prices are all over the place and it doesn't make any sense to me how they arrived at that price.

A good example is: Stoneyfield Dairy is in Londonderry, NH. They produce organic milk, yogart, etc. The price for a 1/2 gal of 2% milk in my area is $3.39. Londonderry is approx. 90 miles from my house.

I can get the same 1/2 gal in Kissimmee, FL at the super Walmart for $2.59! It wasn't on sale either. It just doesn't make sense to me because they have to truck that milk 1300+ miles to Florida where they sell it for less.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This is an important point. Most people just assume that the bigger package is always the better deal. But many times a store will put the small package on sale so that the unit price beats the bulk price. In fact, I've seen times where the regular unit price on the bulk package was higher than on the smaller package. I think the stores do it intentionally knowing customers will assume bigger is cheaper and not bother to check.


My step-mother taught me unit pricing years ago. I was annoyed and thought it was the lamest thing. Have used it my entire marriage :rotfl: .

We were at K-Mart today as I needed some supplies and hadn't ordered from our source for homeschool yet. The glitter was $4.99 for 4 iddy biddy bottles. I looked all over for the unit price and then looked at the package for weight. It seems my obsession with unit pricing (thanks to that step-mom for that crazy lame idea when I was 12)--has spilled over into my glitter purchase. Ho Hum!

Mac & Us--$3.59...YIKES! I'm wondering if they are teasing the locals b/c you think it is "close" that it will be cheaper. We pay $3.29 at our publix...if I can get to Wild Oats, I can get their brand of organic milke for $2.69 or so and $2.50 when it is on sale.

[TNKBELL]

My step-mother taught me unit pricing years ago. I was annoyed and thought it was the lamest thing. Have used it my entire marriage :rotfl: .

We were at K-Mart today as I needed some supplies and hadn't ordered from our source for homeschool yet. The glitter was $4.99 for 4 iddy biddy bottles. I looked all over for the unit price and then looked at the package for weight. It seems my obsession with unit pricing (thanks to that step-mom for that crazy lame idea when I was 12)--has spilled over into my glitter purchase. Ho Hum!

Mac & Us--$3.59...YIKES! I'm wondering if they are teasing the locals b/c you think it is "close" that it will be cheaper. We pay $3.29 at our publix...if I can get to Wild Oats, I can get their brand of organic milke for $2.69 or so and $2.50 when it is on sale.
Hi Lisa , totally off the subject, I didn't realize you homeschooled!! Just had to say we have a lot in common!! :cheer2:

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hi Lisa , totally off the subject, I didn't realize you homeschooled!! Just had to say we have a lot in common!! :cheer2:

We will be anway :). DD4.99999 will be in Kindergarten. Compulsary age isn't until 6...but hubby is an engineer and he wishes to have the prototype tested officially before we legally hit the road with this homeschool thing. :rotfl: .

Anywho--I don't mention it much ever since I've gotten blasted a time or two for homeschooling my 2yo. :rolleyes: (a joke from the offending poster). It seems that I automatically became ill qualified to discuss it b/c I wasn't technically doing it.

OK--shame on me for saying that...but alas that is why I do not mention it much. But next year by golly....

But yes--I was unit pricing glitter to make sure that what I could order in the catalogue was indeed cheaper. :teeth: .

[OceanAnnie]

Hi all! I'm glad I stumbled across this thread!

I just started reading but a few things came to mind.

I discovered Target (of all places) to be really cheap for name brand and generic shredded cheese. It's the same amount per package as in the grocery stores! Two cups. Significant price difference most of the time. (The cost in the grocery stores can sometimes be cheaper when there is a sale, but not often.)

The shredded cheese runs about $2.50 a package (grocery store) when it isn't on sale. Depending on the store and brand occasionally I can get it for $1.50. I was surprised that Target has it at $1.87 (and cheaper for non-name brands) all the time. So I grab a few shredded cheeses when I'm there.

Does anyone use a food dehydrator? I'm thinking about buying one. We love fruits and veggies and it may be a way to cut down on waste. If you do have one can you recommend a brand? I've been researching some and haven't found one that strikes me yet. (I guess I should head over to the consumer reports website.) Thanks in advance. :)

Now, I need to go back and read some more of this thread.

Great thread, BTW!

P.S.- Lisa Loves Pooh, I'll be doing a test run on homeschooling with my 3 2/3rd year old this year! Just as you describe. :)

[TinkerBellz33]

Ocean Annie~Thank you for bringing up the food dehydrator question...I'm thinking about getting one, but don't know which kind to get...Also, I'm thinking about getting a deep freeze. Does it really save you that much money??? Any answers to these questions would be really helpful. :flower:

[mickilovesmickey]

About 2 months ago, I decided to analyze our grocery bill also. Well since then I have cut ours in half. We are a family of 5 with 3 dogs and we now spend about $500 a month. Some of it has to do with the prices in Ohio, I am sure. But we have 3 grocery stores that compete, Walmart and Target. Every week, I look at the ads and plan meals. I also make a list of what we are going to buy at each store. I don't make special trips to these stores. (that would negate some of my savings). So when I am going to be by the store for another reason, I shop there. By planning what I am going to buy, it also allows me to get my coupons sorted etc. I am coming home with way more groceries for a lot less money. We buy a lot of store brands. But I do still want certain things name brand. When meat is on sale, I stock up. Our grocery store runs BYGOF chicken. I will usually buy several weeks worth at this time.

[hsmamato2]

Actually,Tnkbell - part of the reason I'm glued to this whole thread is b/c you're also a homeschooler- I guess it's interesting to have that in common, then get "tips" for budgets and stuff also! :teeth:
I've been so inspired by this thread- I'd been slacking off on my policy of stocking up when items are cheap/have coupons, and had been spending too much- went to store today, spent money, used a LOT of coupons with the sales, and have stocked shelves to "shop" from now for a couple of months! Thanks for the inspiration! And we're having steak for dinner! Also a good point in previous post, an extra freezer is the best investment for us also. :cool1:

[malibuconlee]

Are Aldi stores nationwide? I don't remember ever seeing any when we've lived other places.

I did go there the other day and buy a few things. Most times I forget to go there first and just buy everything at the grocery store.

I know the stoplight peppers are $1.39 or close to that. Hy-Vee wants $3.99 for the same thing.

I also try store brands and know which ones are OK. For instance, I like the Wal-Mart and Hy-Vee store brand blueberry waffles, but dont' like the Aldi's brand.

[Alicnwondrln]

we pay almost 800
us to the boys
who eat like pigs
and we NEVER eat out

[Lisa loves Pooh]

P.S.- Lisa Loves Pooh, I'll be doing a test run on homeschooling with my 3 2/3rd year old this year! Just as you describe. :)

That was to be us last year---then we got hit by 2 hurricanes. So much for the plan.

Back to the regularly scheduled thread :teeth: .

[hsmamato2]

Hey guys, don't say you aren't homeschoolers just because your kids are younger, we're all homeschoolers until we decide to send our kids to school, what makes us different from "schoolers" is instead of sending them to school at a prescribed age, we just continue with what we were doing from birth to 5! Not insulting anyones choices,(the majority of my friends aren't homeschoolers) just letting these moms know, we're all "homeschoolers" the minute our kids are born, life is all about learning and growing, it just takes on different forms at different stages of life. I guess getting through hurricanes is the ultimate learning as a family experience... :rolleyes: kind of why I liked this topic- budgeting your way through a grocery store, with the kids, now that's math! :rotfl:
And like another poster said- Disney world is a great educational family experience,schooled or homeschooled! :earsboy:

[TNKBELL]

Hey guys, don't say you aren't homeschoolers just because your kids are younger, we're all homeschoolers until we decide to send our kids to school, what makes us different from "schoolers" is instead of sending them to school at a prescribed age, we just continue with what we were doing from birth to 5! Not insulting anyones choices,(the majority of my friends aren't homeschoolers) just letting these moms know, we're all "homeschoolers" the minute our kids are born, life is all about learning and growing, it just takes on different forms at different stages of life. I guess getting through hurricanes is the ultimate learning as a family experience... :rolleyes: kind of why I liked this topic- budgeting your way through a grocery store, with the kids, now that's math! :rotfl:
And like another poster said- Disney world is a great educational family experience,schooled or homeschooled! :earsboy:
So true!! :cheer2: Nice to be around like-minded Disers! :grouphug:

[mrsbornkuntry]

Wow! Whenever I read of someone who uses coupons, it always fascinates me! We are a family of 5 (2 of the boys are teens) and we spend about $500-600/month not including all the eating out money (additional $200/month?) I KNOW I can do a lot better if I could learn the "art" of couponing. And I think the key is multiple coupons matched with sale prices, right? But I only have 1 coupon per item. I've thought about buying coupons off ebay (someone mentioned that). But by the time I get my sales flyer, check ebay for the right coupons, bid on and win, wait for them to be mailed, wouldn't the sale now be over and I don't need those particular coupons anymore.....

Help!???

I just started looking around on ebay for coupons and I did buy some. Alot of sellers are selling coupons for specific items so I looked for things that I use alot of. For me 20 Huggies coupons wouldn't be reasonable because I wouldn't buy that many packages before they expire (not even to stock up, that's just too much $$ at one time to spend for me), on the other hand, the Gerber Graduates coupons are something that I use and will stock up on so I bought those. I just looked at the expiration date, made sure I was saving more than I would spend for the coupons (including shipping), and for me it worked out better than buying a newspaper because I could choose my savings and I didn't spend more than $1.50 per auction.

I don't shop more than one store because of the distance to get to them and because the commissary is the cheapest place around here so I don't compare ads. All I do is clip coupons from the Sunday paper and collect coupon flyers from the store, manufacturer coupons. I don't do as well as alot of other couponers on this site because of that, but I'm still saving $80-$90 a month in coupons. I only use them for the things that I would buy anyway. We have a family of 7 and I have our groceries down to $650 a month. I buy healthy foods and cook from scratch, but not organic which I think is more expensive (?).

[Wish Upon A Star]

I remember those days . . .We are also a family of 4. When I used to go grocery shopping I was up and over $200/week.

I use Peapod now and I can see what I spend as I put things in my cart. I keep my purchases as close to $160/week as much as possible.

Therefore, my total for the month is $640. Not too shabby, huh.

[sln88]

[QUOTE=mrsbornkuntry]I just started looking around on ebay for coupons and I did buy some. Alot of sellers are selling coupons for specific items so I looked for things that I use alot of. For me 20 Huggies coupons wouldn't be reasonable because I wouldn't buy that many packages before they expire (not even to stock up, that's just too much $$ at one time to spend for me), on the other hand, the Gerber Graduates coupons are something that I use and will stock up on so I bought those. I just looked at the expiration date, made sure I was saving more than I would spend for the coupons (including shipping), and for me it worked out better than buying a newspaper because I could choose my savings and I didn't spend more than $1.50 per auction.

You guys may want to try to find a coupon clipping service vs using ebay. I think they charge more reasonable fees. I mainly trade for coupons I get when I need multiples, but not everyone has the time to mess around with that.

[canwegosoon]

Hi all! I'm glad I stumbled across this thread!

Does anyone use a food dehydrator? I'm thinking about buying one. We love fruits and veggies and it may be a way to cut down on waste. If you do have one can you recommend a brand? I've been researching some and haven't found one that strikes me yet. (I guess I should head over to the consumer reports website.) Thanks in advance. :)

:)
I have one , and barely use it any more...It is a Ronco I believe, it works good, but when I found out how much more sugar you end up consuming due to drying the fruit...because you seem to eat more dried fruit, I pretty much stopped. I still use it for drying home grown herbs usually Basil.

I generally spend $250 a month on grocery, and another $160 on eating out a month. My pantry is stocked(I could probably not buy food for a month)!!!

Since we are finally getting nice weather I will be starting my garden. I love to grow lettuce, grape tomatoes (one plant), cucumbers, green beans and green peppers. This can be done with very little space or 4 Large garden planters. The other advice I would have is always buy fruits in season and freeze instead of drying. In the fall we do apple picking, and try to keep the fruit in a cool dry place( I miss my old root cellar)!! I generally get my Toothpaste and bandaids for free (sale+coupons). Love checking Target for clearance items like glad wrap...got a bargin there! I get free tooth brushes from the dentists (you can also get many free samples there too). We also have a peach tree, and if this years crop comes in I will also be canning and freezing peaches.
Always looking for ways to save, but not be loaded down with bad foods.

[OceanAnnie]

I have one , and barely use it any more...It is a Ronco I believe, it works good, but when I found out how much more sugar you end up consuming due to drying the fruit...because you seem to eat more dried fruit, I pretty much stopped. I still use it for drying home grown herbs usually Basil.

I generally spend $250 a month on grocery, and another $160 on eating out a month. My pantry is stocked(I could probably not buy food for a month)!!!

Since we are finally getting nice weather I will be starting my garden. I love to grow lettuce, grape tomatoes (one plant), cucumbers, green beans and green peppers. This can be done with very little space or 4 Large garden planters. The other advice I would have is always buy fruits in season and freeze instead of drying. In the fall we do apple picking, and try to keep the fruit in a cool dry place( I miss my old root cellar)!! I generally get my Toothpaste and bandaids for free (sale+coupons). Love checking Target for clearance items like glad wrap...got a bargin there! I get free tooth brushes from the dentists (you can also get many free samples there too). We also have a peach tree, and if this years crop comes in I will also be canning and freezing peaches.
Always looking for ways to save, but not be loaded down with bad foods.

Thanks, Canwegosoon. Are you referring to the drying process when you said you eat more sugar? Do you add sugar when you dry the fruits? Oh, I see where you said because you eat more dried fruit. I buy dried fruit for the kids, as it is more portable when we are out and about. The fresh fruit we use often, but there is a significant amount that doesn't get used from time to time. And it would be nice if I could use that and cut out on buying already dried stuff. As a side note, I can't tell you how many frozen bananas I have in the freezer for fruit smoothies. I think they are multiplying in there!

Anyway, I'm still new to this idea of drying fruit (as I'm sure you can tell!). But I like it! :crazy: I did try drying some bananas in the oven on the lowest temp. Well, let me tell you it was a big ugly mess! The lowest temp was still too high (275) and it was a burned goo. Yuck.

We have a convection oven/microwave. I need to read the manual on them. I may be able to use that setting and achieve the same results as the food dehydrator. That idea came to mind today.

Has anyone used the cookbook, "More-With-Less"? I love it! It has some great recipes from around the world. It has helped me to try to find ways to eat healthy & cut down on waste. I think that is where a lot of my grocery money goes --- wasted. It's amazing how much I end up throwing away. (Even with the help of this book.) That's the area I'm trying to work on for now.

[canwegosoon]

I have dried banannas they are very good, but not exactally the same as the ones you can buy in markets....mine never got that crunchy (like a chip), they did get very crisp. I also loved the apple, and watermellon. I don't think I could ever get the pineapple right. I think if you can find one on ebay or a a garage sale you should try it.

[Bev J]

Ouch!!
i spend about $150 a week for a family of 4 plus 8 daycare children. Beleive me we are eating good. The daycare kids eat breakfast, 2 snacks and a hot lunch most days.
My family mostly eats breakfast and dinner (lunch's at school/work)
I watch for sales, buy in bulk at Sams clubs and plan menus carefully.

Bev

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Ouch!!
i spend about $150 a week for a family of 4 plus 8 daycare children. Beleive me we are eating good. The daycare kids eat breakfast, 2 snacks and a hot lunch most days.
My family mostly eats breakfast and dinner (lunch's at school/work)
I watch for sales, buy in bulk at Sams clubs and plan menus carefully.

Bev

Curiosity is killing me--what kinds of ites are you purchasing for 12 to eat well for $150 a week?

Thanks.

[mrsbornkuntry]

Ouch!!
i spend about $150 a week for a family of 4 plus 8 daycare children. Beleive me we are eating good. The daycare kids eat breakfast, 2 snacks and a hot lunch most days.
My family mostly eats breakfast and dinner (lunch's at school/work)
I watch for sales, buy in bulk at Sams clubs and plan menus carefully.

Bev

Are you including the money you spend at Sams club in that budget?

[disneymom2one]

Interesting thread.

I'm really trying to keep our food budget down. We are a family of three with two large dogs (retrievers). I do our budget weekly and my goals (weekly) are $120 for groceries, another $50 at Target for other things, and about $80 eating out. Since we're homeschoolers that's all three meals at home every day for three people (I fix something for my dh to take to work).

I could go cheaper but we live in a tourist town and the idea of going to Wal-Mart for groceries gives me a headache. Instead I shop at a wonderful Publix that has gourmet items, unloads my cart, bags my groceries (in paper bags), and then loads them into my car. I do sales and coupons and have lowered the bill a lot but $120 is about as low as we can go. For me it's worth the extra $$$ to shop at Publix. My sanity is worth the $20 extra I know it costs. I also rarely buy store brands and we try to eat relatively healthy.

The eating out is just something we like to do. Eventually we may cut it some but we're fortunate that those same tourists mean we have wonderful places to go.

So that puts right at $1000 for everything food/dog related for most months.

I'm keeping a detailed budget book this summer but in general I'm happy with that.

[mrsbornkuntry]

Interesting thread.
I could go cheaper but we live in a tourist town and the idea of going to Wal-Mart for groceries gives me a headache. Instead I shop at a wonderful Publix that has gourmet items, unloads my cart, bags my groceries (in paper bags), and then loads them into my car. I do sales and coupons and have lowered the bill a lot but $120 is about as low as we can go. For me it's worth the extra $$$ to shop at Publix. My sanity is worth the $20 extra I know it costs. I also rarely buy store brands and we try to eat relatively healthy.


I know what you mean, grocery shopping at Walmart wears me out!! :headache:

I had another idea to save $ today. The kids were asking for popsicles and we don't have any so I used a tupperware popsicle maker and just poured 100% fruit juice in it. I'll get more popsicles out of the juice, it's healthier and cheaper than a box of popsicles.

[Rootskate]

Wow, I've been reading through this thread and I think I must be spending way too much money a week! It is just the two of us and I spend about $100.00 a week! Does this sound insane or about right?

[Took]

I know what you mean, grocery shopping at Walmart wears me out!! :headache:

I had another idea to save $ today. The kids were asking for popsicles and we don't have any so I used a tupperware popsicle maker and just poured 100% fruit juice in it. I'll get more popsicles out of the juice, it's healthier and cheaper than a box of popsicles.


I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only "anti-Walmart" shopper. I can't stand to go into that place--a real zoo where I live.

For the OP, we do what many others here have suggested (coupons, sales, store brands, use deep freeze and can lots in summer). Our budget for 3 plus a dog is about $600+/mo but we don't eat out much and we entertain friends a fair amount. We eat a lot of fresh veggies and fruits and lean meats and splurge on a few items like eggs that are high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in cholesterol. The point is whatever you find really splurge-worthy, go ahead but be careful about lots of splurges.

And about the cereal: my DD used to be picky about cereal and DH went out and bought plastic tupperware cereal holders. Then, when she wasn't around, he replaced the brand-name cereal she had been getting with store-brand. Not knowing, she ate it and did NOT recognize the difference. It's worth a try anyway...

took

[EthansMom]

Wow, I've been reading through this thread and I think I must be spending way too much money a week! It is just the two of us and I spend about $100.00 a week! Does this sound insane or about right?

That's not terrible but might be a little high for two people. We live in CT too. Where do you shop? Big Y is generally much more expensive than Stop and Shop, which tends to be more expensive than Shoprite. Also, we buy many high use items (cheese, bread, chicken, milk, eggs) at Costco because we save money doing so.

Also, we make most stuff more or less from scratch and don't purchase a lot of convenience packaging. Not only is it cheaper, but much more healthy.

For our family of two adults, one preschooler and one toddler, we run $450-$550 per month for groceries and toiletries.

[Rootskate]

EthansMom, I go to Stop N Shop. I think if I were to make a list of what I need for the week instead of just going in and grabbing stuff I would be much better off. Already spent the $100.00 for this week... :rolleyes: Next week I will go in with a plan and see if that helps! :)

[Ellester]

EthansMom, I go to Stop N Shop. I think if I were to make a list of what I need for the week instead of just going in and grabbing stuff I would be much better off. Already spent the $100.00 for this week... :rolleyes: Next week I will go in with a plan and see if that helps! :)

A plan/list definitely is key to saving money. I use the weekly circular and what I have on hand to make a menu and make the list off of that. I take out what coupons I'm planning to use but bring the box with me incase there are any unadvertised specials I can use them on. Right now our budget is $500 for just food (groceries and eating out). We are a family of five (me, dh, dd6, dd3, and ds1) with one dog. I also budget $240 a month for "supplies" including diapers, stuff at Wal-mart, Home Depot, etc. Don't always make the budget, but I'm trying. This month we've gone to paying cash with the envelope method to insure we don't go over. We have been using our Visa to get the 5% cash back, but we've maxed out our awards for the year and it's just too easy to overspend that way. We do pay it off monthly, never carry a balance.

[EthansMom]

We keep a dry wipe board on the refrigerator and write our grocery list on it. It's our list of things we've run out of or are running out of. Also, I make a list of sale items from the circulars and grocery store internet sites -- if it's something that we use often but don't need immediately, then I'll buy a couple of the item and keep it in the pantry until we need it. I also tend to buy meats, fish & chicken in bulk, split them up into smaller portions in freezer bags and freeze the meat until needed. And I try to sit down once a week and plan 5-6 dinners for the coming week. With my dinner list, I try to make use of some of the main ingredients I already have on hand.

So my grocery list is made up of the list from our refrigerator, grocery store sale items, and my dinner list. Mostly, I'm trying to buy the sale items to stock up my pantry and freezer and then we eat out of the pantry, freezer and fresh items in the refrigerator.

Also, I don't let my husband go shopping with me because he tends to pick up specialty items with no regard to their price. For instance, I needed to run into the grocery store to pick up 2-3 items recently on a weekend. DH had promised DS that we could pick up some ice cream. I went off to get regular ice cream while DH and DS went to get soy ice cream. I managed to pick up two half gallons of ice cream on sale for $2/half gallon. DH and DS picked out one pint of soy ice cream for $2.99 and one quart of soy ice cream for $4.99 and one bag of organic chips for $4. DH's excuse was that DS wanted a different flavor than he wanted. Now, DS is 3.5 years old -- he'll eat whatever ice cream you give him. So, if it had been me shopping, I would have picked up one quart of soy ice cream for $4.99 (or less, if another brand was on sale) and would have looked for a less expensive chip choice.

I definitely think that a good grocery list is the way to shop!

[BATBkindagirl]

For the past four weeks I have been saving all the groceries receipts. I just came from the supermarket and the total for 4 weeks was 965.56!!! It is only my husband, my two boys(7 and 8ys), my dog (medium size mutt) and me. I could not believe how much me spend. I do not buy lots of junk food but do buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and 100% juices. My boys drink almost a gallon of milk daily other than that I do not see how we spent so much. I am not a brand name kind of person but certain items like cereal and bread I have to buy brand name because my boys will know the difference and they will refuse to eat it(Kelloggs and Wonderbread only!!)I always go to the same supermarket(pathmark) and watch out for the sales. I just saw in the tv a family with quintuplets and their average monthly groceries was 300.0 :earseek: I do not know how can they do it then again I know that NY is more expensive and maybe that have something to do. But I still believe that we are spending too much.... :guilty:
How do you save money when you go grocery shopping?
Linnette

That isn't that much actually.. I know we spend more than $1000 for myself, my mom, and my sister. Weird, huh?
And we live in FL where the food is actually more expensive than in NY (we used to live in NY for more than 10 years).

Just keep a lookout for coupons of course or do some comparison shopping. If you have a super walmart the prices there are usually always the best

[pdchris]

Honestly, you aren't spending an unusual amount. We spend over $1,000 each month for me, DH, and two DSs. People who spend a lot less may not be having complete nutrition. People also forget to mention how frequently they eat out, too, when they talk about their grocery bill.

We almost never eat out.
$250 per week per person? What is your definition of complete nutrition? That seems extremely high to me. However, I do live in a small town so perhaps my grocery bills reflect that. But, for the life of me, I just can't see how you can spend that much per person. Is that all groceries or does it also include HBA?

[disneysteve]

$250 per week per person? What is your definition of complete nutrition? That seems extremely high to me.
Sounds very high to me too. In fact, that's more than we spend on food during a week at Disney. I know we eat healthier at home AND spend less money doing it.

[malibuconlee]

Maybe they buy thier other goods at the grocery store as well. (laundry det, garbage bags, shampoo, that sort of thing??)

[OKWAnneMarie]

$250 per week per person? What is your definition of complete nutrition? That seems extremely high to me. However, I do live in a small town so perhaps my grocery bills reflect that. But, for the life of me, I just can't see how you can spend that much per person. Is that all groceries or does it also include HBA?



I don't believe it was $250 per week, I believe it comes out to $250 per month per person. I don't think that's very high, maybe because I live in New York City. I really think it has to do with which part of the country you live in and if you are BIG eaters (which we definitely are!)

[disneysteve]

I don't believe it was $250 per week, I believe it comes out to $250 per month per person.
Oops! I misread that too. Sorry about that. I still think its a lot to spend $1000/month on groceries for 4 people but not nearly as bad as what I thought the previous message said.

[disneymom2one]

Oops! I misread that too. Sorry about that. I still think its a lot to spend $1000/month on groceries for 4 people but not nearly as bad as what I thought the previous message said.

>>>>>>>
I'm not at all convinced it is. That's about what we spend when you add in eating out. Do I think you can do better than that? Sure. But I don't consider it outrageous by any means. I live in a very high cost of living town (a beach town) and everything is expensive. I also think the only way to truly know exactly how much you're spending is to save receipts and write it all down.

--- MB

[disneysteve]

>>>>>>>
I'm not at all convinced it is. That's about what we spend when you add in eating out. Do I think you can do better than that? Sure. But I don't consider it outrageous by any means.
Nope. I don't consider it outrageous either. I just think its on the high end relative to what I think folks spend in this area. Certainly if you live in an area where prices are higher, that will affect things. How much you eat out also affects spending a great deal.

We do a lot of cooking/baking from scratch. We also only eat out about once a week, maybe twice. And DW and I both pack our lunches to work. That all keeps our spending down. If we ate out more or used more convenience foods, our spending would definitely be higher. So there are lots of factors to look at.

[cruisnfamily]

On one website I visit people have mentioned that they were surprised at how much they saved by having a planned menu and sticking to it. I think you make less last minute trips and also throw away less. I'm working on it and I do think it saves money and is also less stressful to have a plan. There are a few web sites that do menus with grocery lists.Haven't read the whole thread yet(I'm on page 2 or 3) but I wanted to ask about this. Can you direct me to websites that do menus with grocery lists? This sounds interesting.

By the way, our milk here(FL) is between $3 and $3.50 per gallon for the store brand.

Well, I just pulled up Quicken to give you guys an accurate report.
We are a family of 4 (DH, Me, DD12, & DS9)

Over the last year we have spent an average of
$143 per month on gas
$633 per month on groceries(this includes all paper products and cleaning supplies and dog and cat food, but not eating out){this also includes cigarettes, DH and I are both smokers so probably $150 of this is cigarettes}
$231 per month on all meals not eaten at home(this includes DH buying lunch and the kids buying lunch at school occassionally, as well as pizza once a week and any meals we might eat out in restaurants)

Obviously some months would have been more and some months would have been less but this is the monthly average over the last 12 months. I think these numbers are pretty good and I don't really think I could bring any of them down except maybe the pizza once a week thing which probably adds $100 a month or the cigarettes. Anybody that spends less than this, I want to know their secret. I clip coupons and shop the sales. I shop at Winn Dixie on Mondays for 5% off my bill and I work the flyer for B1G1or2 offers. We don't eat big but we don't do without either.

[wdw_dine_junkie]

I shop at Winn Dixie on Mondays for 5% off my bill and I work the flyer for B1G1or2 offers.

Ooh, why is Winn Dixie 5% off on Mondays? Do tell!

[hsmamato2]

I do exactly what a previous poster said- save ALL receipts in my notebook w/ folder pages for the whole month- and keep running tally of what's spent and where. My challenge is to separate out the HBA stuff from the food bills, or sometimes food and other stuff bought at Walmart on same trip... this way, I know ahead of time how much I will spend for the month, and if I'm getting too close before my new "month" starts"- I'll curtail any trips to the store - for instance, if we run out of milk, but I don't want to enter the store for another 3 days... I'll do without the milk. To make up the calcium, I make sure family has intake of it in other foods that we usually always have on hand. Instead of cold cereal those days, we do toast or eggs with cheese- If I go into a store, it's gonna get expensive(a great marketing ploy). I always keep well stocked with my basics, and rarely ever run out of cheese or yogurt,b/c these things can be bought in large quantities, and don't go bad quickly. kind of the same principle with fresh veggies, they tend to get eaten quickly,(or go bad) so then we eat a variety of frozen veggies, like in soups, pasta salads,or frozen fruit in smoothies... :wizard:
My goal is 500 or less per month for family of 4,and 12 yr old ds is allergy kid, so have to get creative there... :goodvibes If we didn't have allergies, I'm sure we could keep it at 350 or less- On my best months it's been 375 or so-Love the ideas!

[cruisnfamily]

Ooh, why is Winn Dixie 5% off on Mondays? Do tell!
If you have a AAA membership, you register it on your rewards card and you get 5% off on Mondays if you spend $25 or more. Here's a link: http://www.winndixie.com/clubs/aaa/aaa_club_intro.asp



We have to all keep in mind, when comparing numbers, what is it that we are each calling "groceries"? I include dog/cat supplies, paper products, cleaners, and often, cigarettes. If I took all those things out, my numbers would be less but I would still be spending the money on these things, they'd just be in different categories and for ease of accounting(and shopping) I prefer to categorize them all as "groceries". I do keep a seperate account which I call "dining" which covers all meals not eaten at home(DH's lunch, pizza once a week, kids occassional school lunch, family dinners out, etc).

[cruisnfamily]

>>>>>>>
I also think the only way to truly know exactly how much you're spending is to save receipts and write it all down. --- MBThis is why I started using Quicken. It's absolutely mind boggling when you see the numbers on how much you've spent on things over the course of a year.....you'd be surprised at things like "car maintenance", "auto fuel", "haircuts", "clothing", "vacations", "pizza", even TV like satelite or cable subscriptions. It's really helped me to budget better and see where I need to cut back.

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Thanks so much for the Winn Dixie AAA link, I had no idea! I just registered my card. I usually only shop Winn Dixie for their weekly sale items. Last week they had great prices on steaks so I stocked up, that 5% would have come in handy. Thanks again!

[cruisnfamily]

Thanks so much for the Winn Dixie AAA link, I had no idea! I just registered my card. I usually only shop Winn Dixie for their weekly sale items. Last week they had great prices on steaks so I stocked up, that 5% would have come in handy. Thanks again!
You're welcome! :flower:

If you spend $100 it's $5. Better in my pocket than theirs!

[Leader of the Club]

Hey All:

I was looking at the Kroger ad on-oline and noticed that they have on-line coupons. You have to register your plus card and then you "download" coupons to your card. When you scan your card at the store, it automatically takes off the coupons for those items that you purchased--NO CLIPPING!

I am fairly certain that they do this for their entire family of stores. Check it out.


PS- I homeschool too! Maybe we should request our own board?! :banana:

[TNKBELL]

Hey All:

I was looking at the Kroger ad on-oline and noticed that they have on-line coupons. You have to register your plus card and then you "download" coupons to your card. When you scan your card at the store, it automatically takes off the coupons for those items that you purchased--NO CLIPPING!

I am fairly certain that they do this for their entire family of stores. Check it out.


PS- I homeschool too! Maybe we should request our own board?! :banana:
Cool Beans!!! I second the homeschool board? Do we have a third?? :wave2:

[threeboysmom]

I third it!! Another homeschooling family here! :wave: