I have just declared GROCERY EXILE to my family.....

edk35

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 18, 2004
We SPEND WAY TOO MUCH at the grocery store each week and we EAT OUT TOO MUCH. My husband does not help because he likes to go with me and just today he spent a fortune on JUNK. He also thinks if there is a coupon IT'S A GOOD DEAL....and throws in unnecessary stuff that ONE DAY WE MIGHT EAT OR NEED. We leave for Disney in a little over 4 weeks and I AM NOT BUYING ANYTHING other than dairy and fresh produce. PERIOD. We could literally EAT OUT OF OUR FREEZER FOR WEEKS. I am embarrassed to say the amount of money we spend each month on food yet have plenty in our freeze and pantry. LOL


Anyone else do this?????
 
I can relate to how you feel. My coupon loving husband often buys food we will never eat or don't need because it's a good deal. He loves to shop and stops at the grocery store almost daily. So while I reign it in he lets loose.

It's a great idea to try to use what you've got though. :thumbsup2
 
LOL - I never take DH with me - spend way too much on junk if he goes. Also goes better without DD too - they always want something we don't need.
 
We SPEND WAY TOO MUCH at the grocery store each week and we EAT OUT TOO MUCH. My husband does not help because he likes to go with me and just today he spent a fortune on JUNK. He also thinks if there is a coupon IT'S A GOOD DEAL....and throws in unnecessary stuff that ONE DAY WE MIGHT EAT OR NEED. We leave for Disney in a little over 4 weeks and I AM NOT BUYING ANYTHING other than dairy and fresh produce. PERIOD. We could literally EAT OUT OF OUR FREEZER FOR WEEKS. I am embarrassed to say the amount of money we spend each month on food yet have plenty in our freeze and pantry. LOL


Anyone else do this?????
I so feel you. I'm trying to do the same thing, three people send I'm spending 600 bucks on food a month. we do eat out once a week usually a pizza. my nephew and one of my sons roommates will be home for Spring break. Oy Vey 4 young adult males for a whole week
 


I hear ya!! I too spend TOO much $$$ at the grocery store. I have been boycotting the grocery store lately and sending my husband for the random things I need throughout the week. He will only buy what I have written on the list and nothing more, where when I go for bananas and milk I come home with $100 worth of things that we don't necessarily need.

You are not alone, I spend more on groceries than any other category in my budget. :scared1:
 
OH MY... DH likes to come and he dawdles down each aisle! He'll take charge of the cart and we are LITERALLY that family where I pick up something, and absentmindedly put it into the cart, that my husband just PUSHED AWAY..."Oh, I saw a bird in the store, I'm gonna follow it", and takes off, cart and all :crazy2:.

He'll buy anything that says "10 for $10", even if it's tofu, which he will never and has never eaten!!!

I hear you though, we buy fresh food, good food, and end up with take-out, etc. It's awful!!! I told DH that I refuse to buy any more takeout, he took DD to basketball, they came home with takeout for lunch, FOR THE TWO OF THEM! "Oh, you said you didn't want take-out anymore"... I MEANT ALL OF US!!! :headache:
 


I do anything to keep family out of the grocery store with me. Will share an idea...we took a challenge as a family to not eat out for a month. With the money that we saved in 30 days we paid for a trip to Sea World and Aquatica and the Hilton Garden right there near property for a long weekend. Maybe if you could come up with something they really want, you can show them how much you spend and can save. Maybe pick something they want to do on their next trip that wasn't in the budget that could be.
 
I hear ya!! I too spend TOO much $$$ at the grocery store. I have been boycotting the grocery store lately and sending my husband for the random things I need throughout the week. He will only buy what I have written on the list and nothing more, where when I go for bananas and milk I come home with $100 worth of things that we don't necessarily need.

You are not alone, I spend more on groceries than any other category in my budget. :scared1:

WE DO TOO.....than any other category. UGH
 
I do anything to keep family out of the grocery store with me. Will share an idea...we took a challenge as a family to not eat out for a month. With the money that we saved in 30 days we paid for a trip to Sea World and Aquatica and the Hilton Garden right there near property for a long weekend. Maybe if you could come up with something they really want, you can show them how much you spend and can save. Maybe pick something they want to do on their next trip that wasn't in the budget that could be.

That is an AWESOME IDEA.
 
OH MY... DH likes to come and he dawdles down each aisle! He'll take charge of the cart and we are LITERALLY that family where I pick up something, and absentmindedly put it into the cart, that my husband just PUSHED AWAY..."Oh, I saw a bird in the store, I'm gonna follow it", and takes off, cart and all :crazy2:.

He'll buy anything that says "10 for $10", even if it's tofu, which he will never and has never eaten!!!

I hear you though, we buy fresh food, good food, and end up with take-out, etc. It's awful!!! I told DH that I refuse to buy any more takeout, he took DD to basketball, they came home with takeout for lunch, FOR THE TWO OF THEM! "Oh, you said you didn't want take-out anymore"... I MEANT ALL OF US!!! :headache:

Well we shop at the commissary at the local base. MY husband gets his OWN CART. YES his own cart. He swears he gets it for the BIG ITEMS, cases of water, paper towel, toilet paper. I literally LOSE HIM in there all the time. LOL He ABSOLUTELY LOVES GOING.
 
I think if we were trapped in our house for a year, we wouldn't put a dent in DW's stockpile. It's taking over the house :(
 
Every 6 months or so I go on a grocery strike and buy nothing but milk, veggies and bread so we are forced to use up a lot of our existing stock. Can't even tell you how many times I've heard the "there's nothing to eat" whine when in reality, you couldn't fit another item in our pantry. Also, I tend to cook in batches and to buy a lot of bogo sales for meats so we have a freezer full of sauce, meatballs and casseroles as well as roasts, chicken breasts etc.

We could save a ton by not eating out and not ordering take out but honestly, I enjoy the once or twice per week break from cooking and cleaning up, especially when it's been a particularly long day at work.
 
I do anything to keep family out of the grocery store with me. Will share an idea...we took a challenge as a family to not eat out for a month. With the money that we saved in 30 days we paid for a trip to Sea World and Aquatica and the Hilton Garden right there near property for a long weekend. Maybe if you could come up with something they really want, you can show them how much you spend and can save. Maybe pick something they want to do on their next trip that wasn't in the budget that could be.

We're doing this except for a year instead of a month! Our only exception is we eat out on our trips to Disney. Started the day after Christmas and have made it so far....
 
We spent $1400 per month last year on groceries for a family of 4. The prices here are outrageous.
 
Our grocery budget is $1100 a month for a family of 5.

Wait for it...

5 CELIACs!!! Yes. That means, no wheat containing products. No pre made anything. meatballs, pasta, etc.

I literally, actually, cried for 6 weeks after the diagnosis. I know we will all feel better, but it means WE CAN'T EAT OUT DAILY anymore. (not that we should have been, but....)
 
We spend about $75/week for a family of 4. We try to limit eating out to 1x a month on top of that, but lately, with our crazy work schedules, I have caving to going out more.
 
Another one who spends too much!

I'm email subscribed to a few couponing site and it amazes me when I read how some are able to spend $40 week on groceries...until I see their meals planned out for the week. If I tried that with my big teens, I think I'd be sent into exile...
 
we tallied up what we spent on eatin out last year. DH logged over $5k from his reciepts...that didn't include MY spending. We had to put an end to that. We now eat all of our meals from home unless we are traveling. I menu plan a week at a time and make sure to use what we already have in the house. I try to cook double batches to have a go-to in the freezer for the days when i don't feel like cooking. I also keep a couple of 'junk food' items in the freezer-philly cheesesteak calzone, pizza or flatbread, italian pot pies or potstickers...something I can just throw in a pot or oven.

For some people, (me included) having a sizable stockpile provides a sense of security. There IS, however, a point past which it is wasteful (money and space and food) and using should be the priority. I suggest sitting down with your spouses and showing them how much you spend on groceries and suggest a budget and a plan for cutting it down. Seeing that $5xxx on the budget line was a lot more powerful than letting $20 or $30 slip away each day to eating out.
 
One thing you have to do is menu plan. I cringe when I think of how much I wasted in past years when money flowed more freely. I would wander around the store and just buy whatever. I never go without a list now.
 

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