Cutting down my groceries expenses

[ashleyr409]

I didn't read everything, but do you have kids at home? Is it more snacks? Or more in food?

For me and DH we shop and stock up at Costco. It lasts a long time for certain things. I cut out buying boxed things. And cook with fresh. I have an area in the store for meat that is usually around 30-50 off meats. And I usually find a lot of meat. I find pork, chicken, steaks, sometimes roasts, ribs. So that saves a lot right there.

You can stock up on pastas and make things like ziti and make extra and freeze it at as well.

If your going through snacks you find a lot of recipe's for cheap on pinterest. I just love that site for so many things.

There are a few coupon trains for trading coupons. I only buy cereals for us once in a while as they can get expensive.

There is a a thread on the budget board that has a thread for eating at home. There are some good stuff on there as well. I bet you could get some great ideas from that as well.

I have three kids 12,10,4. It's about the same with food and snacks.

 

[flateacher]

I feel your pain. My husband lost his job and we had to drastically cut what we spent on everything. The food/grocery bill was the hardest. We weren't even aware how much we were spending. I finally took all of the receipts and added it up for one month We were so over budget - we had to cut the bill in half. But I was working full time so I didn't have time to coupon and my husband was doing the shopping (since he was home). So we:

• Switched to a different store. Publix here in Fl has some BOGO's but is still more expensive then say Save -a- lot (our new store).
• Switched to generic brands. They are cheaper and often times made by the same manufacturer. Again, even with coupons I find this route much cheaper (this is because I do not have the time to devote to clipping etc.)

These two things you can do with really no effort or change in time that you devote to shopping. After you adjust to that you can start with the other options.
As others have said - slowly is better so you are not overwhelmed. After we did this then we started:

• Crock-pot cooking (even my husband can follow a recipe and throw stuff in crockpot in the morning) and it is ready at night. You don't even need to meal plan with this. But it can cut down on convenience foods. But as one poster said - buying a frozen pizza at the store is still cheaper than having it delivered.
• Meal planning - this takes more time and effort than you might not have right now. But once you start the other small steps it might be helpful.

We don't do a lot of couponing. My husband is back to work and I am still teaching (I was also going to school and working full time so I also feel your pain there. There just isn't a lot of time...). I found that we just don't have the time to devote to it. Plus since we buy a lot of generic and now make a ton of stuff from scratch - there aren't coupons for what we buy.

Hopefully this helps. As you start the process feel free to ask more questions here. Everyone has great ideas. I lurk/ed a lot those years when we needed to cut back and read the boards almost everyday. Even though we no longer need to watch - we haven't gone back to the way we shopped before. I just can't bring myself to spend that much more on groceries.

 

[Arich01]

All of the PP have had some great suggestions~ not much for me to add to! We have a friend that moved in recently who is a big eater, like eats for 2 people, and I've really had to re-adjust the grocery budget. Here's a few meal ideas that we really like that were VERY cost effective:

Red beans and rice with sliced smoked sausage. I bought 2 boxes of "Louisiana Fish Fry" brand red beans and rice (walmart $1.50ea) We LOVE this brand, you should be able to find it since you're in Texas 2 pkgs smoked sausage 2 for $4 on sale. Added some chopped onions leftover in the fridge. I made some cornbread on the side- 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix about $1.10. Total for that meal: $8.10 for 4 people with tons of leftovers for another meal!

Tacos are another go to meal here. I can usually find tortilla shells, both soft and hard, on sale frequently $2. 2lbs of ground beef roughly $4, shredded cheese $2.50, sour cream $1, usually have salsa in the fridge, lettuce $2, tomato $1, a 3lb bag of onions is $2.50. Total for the meal with extra onions: $15

Chili and White Chicken Chili is really economical and I make it in the crock pot. Cook up a double batch of taco beef- use half for tacos that night and freeze the rest for regular chili. Same with any leftover chicken you have- just freeze and use for White Chicken Chili.

Another cheap but yummy meal, someone on the "Eat at Home" thread shared we tried last week! I get a pack of chicken breast from Sam's for $1.88/lb and portion off and freeze myself. I used about 2lbs chicken breast, cubed then sauteed in just a little oil in a skillet. Add a jar of Tikka Masala or Butter Chicken Sauce (about $2) and add a side of rice, and steamed broccoli. I think total I paid around: $10

If you search "Budget Meals" on Pinterest- you will find a ton of different ideas! The website BudgetBytes.com is a great site to check out too!

 

[mommajo143]

Two words : Meal Planning. I was able to cut my grocery bill in half & quit throwing out good food that went bad when I started meal planning.

 

[queenbetsey]

we have a chest freezer. when things are on sale we stock up. but you need to shop those sales. I used to have a "route" I would take when the kids were still at home. I would make a big loop and hit all the sales once a week. buy in bulk and repackage when you et home. freeze and store. it takes some work but the money saved is worth it. when boneless skinless chicken breasts are on sale I buy like 20 pounds, bring them home and set them on cookie sheets, freeze then put them in those huge ziplocks I can take out what I need for dinner. that way when the kids show up with the grandbabies I can grab more or just one if it is dh and I

 

[barkley]

I just can't keep my groceries bill down. It's seems to always be more than what I expect. Especially now that it is summer time and the kids are home more. I was hoping if I can get some advice on how to cut this back. I have a family of 5. I have cut down on everything that I needed too.(cell phone, cable, buying things just because). My mom always told me that i am the worst at shopping for food.

What are you spending currently per week (or pay period)?

$300.00 a week during summer. Maybe $225.00 week during school.

Yikes! That's a lot IMO

Holy moly!

I don't think you should feel bad for what you are spending, as someone else said:

Face it, it is getting more and more expensive to shop for groceries.

regarding your mother's opinion-does she currently shop for 5 people? I ask b/c my late mother's opinions on grocery prices were very off base when years had passed between when she routinely shopped for a full family vs. her/my dad and at best the last child at home.

granted you mention some items you buy weekly that are higher cost than other options (lunchables, pizza pockets and steak) but the usda reports that the average cost of groceries in the u.s. for a family of 5 (with the ages/genders of your kids) for just a "moderate" daily meal plan runs on average around $1200 per month.

depending on food costs in a given area and your ability to prepare foods vs having to rely on quick premade items it can make a big impact on your budget. same goes with couponing and stocking up during sales-if you don't have the time to put into searching out the best deals, or the money set aside to take advantage of sales you are at the mercy of prevailing prices.


it sounds like you are super busy-can you eek out some time to power cook at some point in the week or every other week? if so you could prepare some of the items you likely buy as a convenience at a fraction of the cost. when I worked/my kids were young I devoted a couple of hours every weekend to power cook some item. we would be eating a lasagna, enchiladas, chili or some other fairly expensive home cooked item that I could make a multi batches of to throw into the freezer and pull out over the next month. crock pots are wonderful-the least expensive and toughest cuts of meats tenderize into great meals.

if you can take advantage of Costco or other bulk stores consider buying ground beef and browning it to put up in gallon zip lock bags for freezing ahead of time. it only takes minutes to defrost and toss into a pan with taco seasoning to make tacos or burritos or add to jarred pasta sauce and some pasta.

as far as kids/snacks and such go-are you getting individual or bottled juices? if so consider frozen concentrate-much less expensive. what kind of snacks do they get during the school year? just because it's summer doesn't mean they have to be consuming more (unless school is free of charge providing snacks then you are able to buy less during the school year for snacks which may mean they are simply eating out of boredom). same with breakfast-are you spending more now than you do during the school year? ask why there has to be a difference in what they eat now vs. during school year.



as for other expenses-you look to what you need as a minimum and stick with it. just b/c 'it's only x dollars more' to just go ahead and get that next tier of the phone or cable plan doesn't mean you need it so forego it. just b/c you've always had cable doesn't mean you use it (seems like allot of families I know rarely watch anything on live tv anymore-it's all streaming or on video so the dump cable in favor of a cheap antenna to get local stations and never miss it).


look for the little ways to save money b/c it all adds up.

 

[barkley]

Leftover vegetables can go into a casserole or soup

as a child I honestly believed that 'minestrone soup' was the Italian translation for 'clean out the fridge soup''

a great use for little dibs and dabs of leftover veggies is to toss them into a container in the fridge and once a week do simple stir fry with top ramen or cup a noodles. I bought cup a noodles today for 20 cents each-figure if you're just adding soy sauce, existing veggies and maybe a leftover chicken breast you've already got in the fridge then you're looking at dinner for 5 for less than $2.

 

[scrhsa]

I buy mostly off brand(most times it is the exact same ingredients as name brand) or use coupons(from Swagbucks or MYpoints). I buy non-perishables at Walmart or Dollar General etc. Never at the grocery store. I will buy my meats etc at HEB. They have better quality and prices. I use the little yellow HEB coupons if I need what they are offering. I make--or have my dd make --cookies/ muffins etc. I've stopped buying the high cost/pre-packaged snacks. I always check the price per oz. sometimes it seems like you are getting a better deal when you are buying in bulk when you actually aren't.

I have recently gone to weekly buying and it has been hard for me. I feel like I am spending more money but I'm not. I definitely save money when I stick to the menu. And I do NOT bring anyone with me My husband has always been worse than my kids. And I don't send him to get stuff for me either. He has no idea how to shop around and get a cheaper product

 

[Soulsearching]

I just can't keep my groceries bill down. It's seems to always be more than what I expect. Especially now that it is summer time and the kids are home more. I was hoping if I can get some advice on how to cut this back. I have a family of 5. I have cut down on everything that I needed too.(cell phone, cable, buying things just because). My mom always told me that i am the worst at shopping for food.

Thanks in advance!!

Also any recipes will be a big help as well.

I find if you break down your meals for the week you can save money when you look at the flyer.

Dinners for the week:
Two Nights: meat meals, Whatever is on sale, frozen veg (never wasted or go bad) rice, potato (could even be hot dogs, or hamburgers that night)
Two Nights: Breakfast meals - eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc.
Two Nights: Pasta meals - Spaghetti, penne, mac and cheese (different sauces) add veg. or leftover meat or both
One Night: Make your own pizza night or you can pick up pre-made pizza from a store like Costco, Aldi's, on sale.

Lunch: (you can pre make and put in fridge in containers)
Peanut butter and jelly Sandwiches
Cheese Sandwiches
yogurt (large size broken down)
fruit cup (cut up what is on sale, like watermelon, apples, etc.)

Breakfast:
cereal
eggs
oatmeal
yogurt

Snacks:
Break down large bags of pretzels, etc. into snack sized zip lock bags (or save that money and use snack containers)
Drinks or water in personal thermoses instead of individual bottles.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Some friends of ours have a "clean out the pantry/freezer week" where they don't go to the grocery for anything but milk/juice--otherwise they're eating whatever they have on hand in the house. We're going to try that next week.

 

[ashleyr409]

I don't think you should feel bad for what you are spending, as someone else said:



regarding your mother's opinion-does she currently shop for 5 people? I ask b/c my late mother's opinions on grocery prices were very off base when years had passed between when she routinely shopped for a full family vs. her/my dad and at best the last child at home.

granted you mention some items you buy weekly that are higher cost than other options (lunchables, pizza pockets and steak) but the usda reports that the average cost of groceries in the u.s. for a family of 5 (with the ages/genders of your kids) for just a "moderate" daily meal plan runs on average around $1200 per month.

depending on food costs in a given area and your ability to prepare foods vs having to rely on quick premade items it can make a big impact on your budget. same goes with couponing and stocking up during sales-if you don't have the time to put into searching out the best deals, or the money set aside to take advantage of sales you are at the mercy of prevailing prices.


it sounds like you are super busy-can you eek out some time to power cook at some point in the week or every other week? if so you could prepare some of the items you likely buy as a convenience at a fraction of the cost. when I worked/my kids were young I devoted a couple of hours every weekend to power cook some item. we would be eating a lasagna, enchiladas, chili or some other fairly expensive home cooked item that I could make a multi batches of to throw into the freezer and pull out over the next month. crock pots are wonderful-the least expensive and toughest cuts of meats tenderize into great meals.

if you can take advantage of Costco or other bulk stores consider buying ground beef and browning it to put up in gallon zip lock bags for freezing ahead of time. it only takes minutes to defrost and toss into a pan with taco seasoning to make tacos or burritos or add to jarred pasta sauce and some pasta.

as far as kids/snacks and such go-are you getting individual or bottled juices? if so consider frozen concentrate-much less expensive. what kind of snacks do they get during the school year? just because it's summer doesn't mean they have to be consuming more (unless school is free of charge providing snacks then you are able to buy less during the school year for snacks which may mean they are simply eating out of boredom). same with breakfast-are you spending more now than you do during the school year? ask why there has to be a difference in what they eat now vs. during school year.



as for other expenses-you look to what you need as a minimum and stick with it. just b/c 'it's only x dollars more' to just go ahead and get that next tier of the phone or cable plan doesn't mean you need it so forego it. just b/c you've always had cable doesn't mean you use it (seems like allot of families I know rarely watch anything on live tv anymore-it's all streaming or on video so the dump cable in favor of a cheap antenna to get local stations and never miss it).


look for the little ways to save money b/c it all adds up.

Thank you so much for the advice. You are so right about the snack. Just because it is summer doesn't mean they have to get more.

 

[ashleyr409]

I find if you break down your meals for the week you can save money when you look at the flyer.

Dinners for the week:
Two Nights: meat meals, Whatever is on sale, frozen veg (never wasted or go bad) rice, potato (could even be hot dogs, or hamburgers that night)
Two Nights: Breakfast meals - eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc.
Two Nights: Pasta meals - Spaghetti, penne, mac and cheese (different sauces) add veg. or leftover meat or both
One Night: Make your own pizza night or you can pick up pre-made pizza from a store like Costco, Aldi's, on sale.

Lunch: (you can pre make and put in fridge in containers)
Peanut butter and jelly Sandwiches
Cheese Sandwiches
yogurt (large size broken down)
fruit cup (cut up what is on sale, like watermelon, apples, etc.)

Breakfast:
cereal
eggs
oatmeal
yogurt

Snacks:
Break down large bags of pretzels, etc. into snack sized zip lock bags (or save that money and use snack containers)
Drinks or water in personal thermoses instead of individual bottles.

It sounds so simple when I read it. I can do that. I just needed a starting point

 

[DISbot]

It sounds so simple when I read it. I can do that. I just needed a starting point

One thing I do is pick a meat that's on sale (or I have in my freezer), then I say, what's the main dish to make from this, and what can the leftovers be re-purposed into? This gives me 3-4 dinners for the week. I plan a pasta for 1-2 others, and pizza/salad/something for the last. Occasionally I do a leftover grab-bag when I have leftovers of a bunch of meals, but not enough of any one thing to feed everyone.

For example: Grocery Ad shows sale on Chicken Breasts

Day 1: Lemon Chicken
Day 2: Pasta w/ whatever sauce was on sale
Day 3: Chicken Noodle Soup (with most of the leftover chicken)
Day 4: Pasta w/ cheese (or some other sauce; or the same sauce and a salad)
Day 5: Chicken Salad (with the rest of the leftover chicken)
Day 6: Breakfast for Dinner - Eggs/Waffles and Bacon (Cook enough bacon for an extra 2 breakfasts so they're ready)
Day 7: Fridge Purge/Leftovers

Consistency helps to mitigate work and cut costs, as well as taking advantage of the prep and doing work for the future.

Some things I love to make in bulk are omlette muffins and meatloaf muffins. I'll take an afternoon (when eggs or ground meat are on sale) and mix everything up in a bowl, cook it, and freeze the individual muffins. They are easy to reheat and grab and go.

 

[aprilchem]

I wish I can spend $130 a week. I shop at HEB i live in Texas. I honestly don't know how to coupon. I also make a grocery list for the week. It takes me all day to make my list on Monday and I am still over budget. I try to budget for $150.00 a week and that doesn't work. Also this amount is just food not toiletries that's a different list and different budget amount and I am a little lost on that too. Saturday and Sunday counts a big meals cause the kids are home most of the day and they eat breakfast, lunch and supper. During the week its just breakfast and supper.

I buy the normal things I think...

Ground meat, chicken, sausage, steak, bread, snacks, juice, water, eggs, breakfast food, cereal, oatmeal, pizza, lunchable, hot pockets. everything on this list I buy once a week.

I'm sure somebody else has said this, but I'd cut out the following: Steak (maybe buy once a month), juice, bottled water, one of your breakfast foods (you have three options there - let everyone chose from two), pizza (SO cheap to make yourself), lunchables (sandwiches instead), hot pockets. That'll save you a ton of money there.

 

[Darcy03231]

I've found a lot depends on where you live are far as grocery prices go. We happen to live in a high COA area. As a family of 6 I regularly spent between $175-$225 a week on groceries (which included paper, laundry and cleaning products), and that was with buying on sale and stocking the freezer and pantry. Some weeks if we were out of a lot of stuff at once it could go over $300.

One thing that I found helped was meal planning. On Saturday I would sit down and figure out the meals for the week and then go through the pantry/refrigerator/freezer to see what I had on hand and what needed to be bought and made a list.

Another thing that helped was making a big meal stretch into 2 meals (or more). For instance I would cook a big turkey dinner. 2 nights later we would have turkey pot pie. I would also make soup that could be used for another meal with sandwiches.

Summers when the kids were home always seemed to be more expensive. I did keep to a budget on snacks. When they were gone that was it. We had plenty of fresh fruit for them to snack on and I also keep cut up veggies in the fridge.

Do you have a grocery delivery service near you, like Peapod from Stop & Shop? If you tend to pick up a lot of extras that you didn't intend to buy (impulse purchases) this could be a way to save. Make a list and stick to it and either pick it up or have it delivered. While you may pay a little extra in the items and/or delivery fee, you could save a lot if you're sticking to a list and not impulse buying.

 

[TwoMisfits]

It sounds so simple when I read it. I can do that. I just needed a starting point

Another starting point could be the following...
Monday - Italian night
Tuesday - Mexican night
Wednesday - Sandwich night (1st finish leftovers)
Thursday - Breakfast night
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - Clean out the fridge/Leftovers night
Sunday - Splurge Night (since you like steak)

Italian can be anything from baked ziti to spaghetti and meatballs to pesto ravioli to chicken (or vegetarian) fettucine alfredo to chicken/eggplant parm to Italian chopped salad to Loaded Pasta Salad, etc.
Mexican can be anything from tacos to enchiladas to fajitas to quesadillas to nachos to taco salads (and if you use the same protein both days, that's smart).
Sandwich can be BLTs, Chicken Clubs, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, BBQ, Chicken salad, Leftover proteins from the 2 days before, etc - it's a good time to finish the previous leftovers as sides or soup if you haven't
Breakfast can be omelettes, french toast, bacon/sausage/ham, biscuit sandwiches, pancakes, yogurt parfaits, smoothies, etc
Pizza can be any topping and spread on any crust (easy way to use up breakfast proteins) - if you have to cheat, buy your favorite frozen cheese one when it's one a big sale and store it - and then you can add things to make it "new"

I like putting in at least 2 nights where leftovers would fit 3 days apart b/c no one wants week old leftovers...

Feel free to sub in an Asian night (Protein with Indian sauces, Stir Fry, Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken, etc) and Soup and Salad Night (even if this one's just Chunky Soup kicked up with some leftovers and an on sale bagged salad) on alternating weeks for 2 of your nights...

 

[TwoMisfits]

I've found a lot depends on where you live are far as grocery prices go. We happen to live in a high COA area. As a family of 6 I regularly spent between $175-$225 a week on groceries (which included paper, laundry and cleaning products), and that was with buying on sale and stocking the freezer and pantry. Some weeks if we were out of a lot of stuff at once it could go over $300.

.

I wanted to 2nd this - same size family as above and I budget $225/week for everything (toiletries, cleaning, paper products, laundry, pet included). Sometimes I'm under and if I've been under a few weeks (or we are returning home from somewhere), I can be above this. But I eat the way you want to (we have steak once a month and fish twice a month for splurges) and I don't limit on sale produce purchases and I do buy some convenience items for me to live a more stress-free life. That being said, I avoid buying convenience for what I can make easily, so, as an example, while I might splurge on donuts for the family (since I don't have a fryer), I always scratch make muffins and cookies.

Thus, why I said see where 10% gets you - I think you could drop 20% and not make your life too miserable or your family miserable with choices - any more, and you all might be (as an example, mine would be miserable with only canned/frozen produce - we do not eat canned veg/fruit as a side ever - only "in" things like chili - and they also don't eat frozen produce, except for potatoes and fruit in smoothies, so I have to buy almost all fresh and stick to the season). I admit my own childhood of eating fruit cocktail/canned peaches/pears and canned corn/peas/green beans every night probably made me also look to avoid them and when I didn't cook with them and my kids had them elsewhere, they decided they disliked them as much as I did...this would be the last thing I'd ever change for budget and if I didn't have to, I never would and I'd just accept the extra few bucks each week it costs me. Thanks to Aldi's now being around, fresh produce wars have arrived, so I am thankful that I barely pay more for this now (although winters are always rougher)...

 

[DisneyMomx7]

OP- I'm right there with you. We are 5 at home and DH can't understand how I spend $250-$300 a week on groceries- and I do coupon!

 

[SunnieRN]

I just moved from California to Georgia. And, of course, I'm finding grocery prices (AT GROCERY STORES) more reasonable than California. In California I would only buy sale items at the grocery stores (Nob Hill and Safeway) and everything else mostly at Target and Walmart. It was a real price difference in California. However, Kroger and Publix here in Georgia are very competitive with Walmart and Target and most times Kroger's prices are better. I still try to stick to mostly sales items at grocery stores and I downloaded Krogers app which really helps. I decided to buy meat at Costco (like I did in California). Just not liking the meat departments in the local grocery stores here. Even my 11 year old daughter commented the meat tasted funny.

I miss living in CA due to the fruit stands, Winco, food 4 less. Here in TX I love Kroger, target, Wal-Mart I love HEB, but since I moved, there's not one in my area. But I agree, the meat does taste different. I'm used to it now, but at first it threw me.

Thank you so much for the advice. I am very overwhelmed. I am going to try and take it slow. I know has a lot to do with time. I am a full time student and I have a full time job and sometimes getting hot pockets, lunchable and pizza is easy cause I have a busy day. I will try my very best cause I really need to save money. Thank you again

Wow!! I don't know how you can do all that and raise 3 kids!!! You have 3 full time jobs. As Marionette mentioned, I also recently got an instant pot. I got it on sale on Amazon prime day, which was a great sale, but, since using it, I feel it is worth the regular price. You can use cheaper cuts of meat, cook them in 30-120 minutes, depending upon what you are making. You can also make entire meals in the pot at once.

It does have a bit of a learning curve, but once you use it a few times, it's easy and fast!!! There are tons of recipes on you tube, Facebook pages and other resources for ideas.

At the grocery store I but notions pizzas, vs hot pockets. They are much cheaper and don't take long to make. I've stopped buying soda most of the time and switched to tea or ' lol aid. I always buy meat that is either marked down or what is on sale. Now that I have my instant pot,I can do a fall off the bone whole chicken at 6 minutes a pond and an extra 2 minutes. Last time I added small red (new) potatoes and added two additional minutes. My grandmunchkins really liked it, so that was easy!!!!

I try to buy things like cereal, macaroni and cheese (my grandmunchkins won't eat homemade, only Kraft), soup, canned chicken, chips, when they are on sale. I buy extra to try to wait until the next sale. I also don't buy individual servings of snacks or foods.

You have your hands more than full!!! Your kids are old enough to make lunch, peanut butter, lunchmeat, chicken salad sandwiches, leftovers, easy meals like spaghetti. I admire you for all that you do!!!!

 

[barkley]

It sounds so simple when I read it. I can do that. I just needed a starting point

I think good starting point is to take a bit of time and make a quick inventory of what you already have on hand. list out what's in your freezer, fridge, cabinets or pantry-use this to determine what you've currently got the ingredients for. so many times we'll say 'there's nothing to eat' and end up overbuying or duplicate buying on a grocery trip when in reality we've got plenty of items that we've just lost track of. if you're much more adept at using computers and phones than I you can create a spreadsheet to refer to when you go to the grocery store-then it's right there with you and you wont spend money on an item you spaced on already having on hand.

as others have said-meal plan. plan around what you already have, plan around the best sales items. look to the TOTAL cost of a meal, all elements b/c some meals that initially seem cheap can be far more expensive than comparable options. an example (in my mind) would be burgers. I have friends who view this as a really cheap summer meal while I don't. with burgers I have to have (in addition to the meat for the patties)-buns, catsup, mayo, mustard, pickles, onions, tomatoes and lettuce (produce is stupidly expensive where I live so it realy drives the price up), then everyone expects fries at minimum and usually some type of salad. THAT ADDS UP. on the flip side I can take the same amount of ground beef and make a batch of homemade sloppy joes, use only half the buns (we pour it on top and eat them open faced) which omits allot of ingredients (and everyone is satisfied with one side item).

Another starting point could be the following...
Monday - Italian night
Tuesday - Mexican night
Wednesday - Sandwich night (1st finish leftovers)
Thursday - Breakfast night
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - Clean out the fridge/Leftovers night
Sunday - Splurge Night (since you like steak)

this is a great way to look at it-it helps you know in advance what you are making so you don't make panic purchasing choices (or have to rely on more expensive prepared stuff). we did this for years-here's a few more ideas on how we used it to stretch dollars:

Italian night-if I didn't have the time to make meatballs in large batches ahead of time I bought those big bags of premade ones at Costco or the grocery store and cooked extras in the sauce that I put aside for the next day. lunch the next day was meatball sandwiches with left over pasta (I made extra and also put it aside) but it could also be used for sandwich night (if I made pot roast or chicken parm it was used for sandwiches)

Mexican night-I use my crockpot to make shredded meat. I get whatever the cheapest cut of beef is (or if chicken is cheaper I use it) b/c it's going to get tender during the cooking process (and is often much cheaper than ground beef). left over meat (or the extra I always cook when I'm already going to be making it anyway) freezes well for future quick meals.

breakfast night-make waffles, make extras and put them in the freezer for breakfasts (much cheaper than eggos). take any dibs/dabs of leftover meats from previous meals (lone chicken breast or pork chop...) as well as veggies (bake an extra potato or two on a previous night) chop it up and make a breakfast scramble (less meat used but no one notices it in the form of a skillet meal of eggs, potatoes and meat).

pizza night-HONESTLY these days it's less expensive for me to buy than make. papa murphys has Tuesday night specials with any large at $10 (upgrade to a family size and it's $12). I make a side so everyone doesn't just power eat pizza (simple green salad or on sale fruit). if mr. murphy is not on sale then it's the walmart brand of premade crusts, a jar of premade sauce-and it's topped with whatever we have on hand (if I have a bell pepper it's that, always have onions on hand and canned olives, if there's left over seasoned ground beef it's added-we forage through the fridge to figure out the toppings and ds will remind me to cook extra bacon on breakfast night to keep on hand to crumble on top).

leftover night-we call it 'clean out the freezer night'. every leftover that couldn't make a full meal for the family/wasn't already repurposed is pulled out. it ends up being like going to a Chinese buffet. no one ends up with a full serving any anything BUT they end up with a full meal of the odds and ends.

splurge night-we didn't so much do this. splurges we did a couple times a month if the budget allowed. our 7th night was usually some type of meal that I could cook easily while I was running around doing whatever needed to be done (studying, cleaning, errands). something that takes little to no supervision in the oven (big turkey fan here-I get them on sale and put extras in the freezer) or in the crockpot. it was always something that was planned to generate leftovers for multiple lunches in particular (dh and I packed lunch so I would make up containers of stuff to freeze and pull out to defrost overnight in the fridge during the week). along the same lines-during the school year I make double and triple batches of hamburger helper (ds is addicted) but I half the amount of ground beef (he prefers it that way). it can be used for a couple of meals for a family AND before it's served the first night I make containers up to freeze for school lunches (god bless schools for putting microwaves in the cafeterias).


good luck op-don't get overwhelmed, just take it one step at a time and you will start to see the difference.