Grocery Budget

[GatorMama]

This weeks paper had coupons for Chiquita apple slices, bagged salad and tomatoes

 

[newmouse2008]

I too need to budget and plan our meals. With the kids home all summer, they are eating me out of house and home. I am spending an average of $175-200 per week. I can't keep the pantry stocked.!!!! They are snacking all the time. food I thought would and should last for a week is lasting a few days. I hate to do it, but I am thinking of rationing it out. I feel like I am harping all of the time for them to get out of the kitchen. ANy ideas on how to control this without locking up the food? And it's everything from cereal to fruit to canned tuna. and everything in between.

T.

 

[GoofyFairie]

The weekly coupons are different for every region. I have never seen coupons for fresh fruit or vegetables where I live either. I am lucky to save 3-5 bucks a week on my shopping.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I'm in Canada, where we get very few coupons anyway. Here are some of my suggestions:

1. When things are on a good sale, if they keep well, buy extra. I have about a dozen tubes of toothpaste in my bottom dresser drawer at the moment. We use these, they last a long time, and it's worth stocking up.

2. Consider more vegan meals! Meat and dairy are expensive ways to get protein and similar nutrients (both for your budget and for the environment). Dried beans and lentils are cheap and easy to prepare in a variety of ways for healthy meals. (Yes, I'm vegan, and while I don't eat this way for financial reasons it does help the budget.)

3. Consider other sources for food. We pay $25 a month for a "Good Food Box" that gives us a large container of locally-grown produce each month; we go to the local farmer's markets (if you go near closing time, they are often willing to give you a discount as they don't want to take stuff back with them - we've gotten some very good deals that way); we check out roadside stands. We've done the CSA and grown some food ourselves in the past.

Teresa

 

[neatokimmo]

Go to a farmer market and buy some veggies by the case. Read up on what you have to do to get those veggies in the freezer properly. Like I can get squashes for 30 cents a pound from the FM because they are not by weight like the grocer. Tomatoes are by the bushel, and usually come out to 25-30 cents a pound.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I noticed cans of Coke in store were 5bucks a 12 pack. Who in their right mind would pay that?

I have no idea!!! My husband I don't drink coffee, but we do drink a lot of diet coke when we need a caffeine fix so I have rule that I don't buy 12 packs unless they go for less than $2.50 per 12 pack...stores around me put them on sale for 4 for 11 or sometimes even 5 for 11, and that's when I stock up. I think having a "stock up" price for items you buy a lot of is a great way to save on groceries.

 

[KKB]

That is what we have averaged for years.
I do use coupons, but honestly rarely (no doubling here).
I shop sales--if it isn't on sale, I generally don't buy it (tho there are some things we really like & buy each week no matter what). Non-perishable staples are stocked up on when on sale. But if we are having a lean month, I don't stock up at all.
We nearly only eat ground beef/turkey or chicken (breasts or whole). I don't buy a lot of processed foods, but I am feeding 3 teens so snacks are necessary. We stick w/ store brand tortilla chips, pretzels & graham crackers. Lots of fresh fruit & veggies--this week I almost grabbed grapes at $2/lb, but caught myself...we had plenty w/ what was on sale. (apples/bananas are bought all year round).
One key is to have a well-stocked pantry/freezer/fridge. I can make dinner any time with what I have on hand. Our children are very busy, so evening meals are often on the fly--they have many items that they can create meals from--nachos, sandwiches, frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hot dogs, canned soup, pasta-roni. (tried to eliminate these processed foods, but they are essential to our schedule) I can always thaw burger & make sloppy joes, spaghetti, etc.
The well-stocked pantry minimizes the grabbing take out because there is nothing to eat. I HATE spending $ on fast food for my family--an unsatisfying meal that is 3x more than I would spend at home. Now, sometimes our schedule dictates, but again--we minimize. We do usually eat out at a sit down restaurant once every week or 2...more pleasant than fast food.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I don't do this as much now that there are just two of us at home full-time, but when I had four teens at home, I found the "freezer cooking" approach very helpful. Set aside a weekend day once a month or so, and prepare a bunch of meals and snacks from scratch. You'll save money and have food made with healthier ingredients and fewer preservatives. I'd run my bread machine all day long that day making batches of whole wheat pizza dough, then I'd freeze enough for a family-sized pizza in a zip-lock bag. Easy to thaw and heat up later. Make your own burger patties - not hard to do - and freeze them. Rather than canned pasta, make a big batch of lasagna, cut it into individual servings and package them up for the freezer. Make meatballs (or lentil-based fake meatballs, as I do) and freeze those; make tomato sauce and freeze that too. Then you can serve the meatballs and sauce in buns or over pasta or over brown rice. Oven-baked chicken fingers (or fake chicken fingers made with seitan) are healthier for you than batter-coated fried nuggets, and you can bake a cookie-sheet full and freeze them, too. I'd also make large batches of muffins (with whole grains and fruits and vegetables so they were nutritious) and freeze them, also fruit pies, fruit crisps, and, yes, some cookies too.

It feels great to have a freezer full of nutritious food you can pull out for your family and it really does save you money.

Teresa

 

[hsmamato2]

Do you eat any prepared foods? Cereal? Condiments? Yogurt? Juice or Soda? Coffee? Jam?

I ask because although people think coupons are only for junk, they aren't. The items I listed above I can always find coupons for. Also, there are more coupons for toiletries (toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo, etc....) than food, so if you are spending a lot there, coupons will help you save in that area.

Dawn

Yes....what she says coupons are great for milk,o.j., sandwich fixings,cereal,and of course toiletries and paper goods...... we eat a lot of home cooked foods,but still use a lot of coupons- (last week cake mix was on sale for 1.00,frosting for 1.99,I had a buy one of each,save 1.00 coupon,so 2.00 for a cake and topping,which I used to make mini cupcakes for a party yesterday,rather than going out special to bring something,I could do it b/c I had already used the coupon and special to stock my shelf)
So we do eat some 'easy prepare' items too..... things like an easy cake when the kids want to bake are great to stock up on

 

[neatokimmo]

I thought of something else. Once you stop buying prepackaged stuff and buy ingredients, everything will be cheaper. Like it is cheaper, and tastes better, to make chocolate milk with sugar and cocoa powder. You can then use the cocoa for brownies and the sugar for tea. Once you buy the flour for brownies, you'll have pancakes, dumplings...etc. I think it is easier to cook once you have it all broken down into single ingredients.

 

[maleficentmom]

Go to a farmer market and buy some veggies by the case. Read up on what you have to do to get those veggies in the freezer properly. Like I can get squashes for 30 cents a pound from the FM because they are not by weight like the grocer. Tomatoes are by the bushel, and usually come out to 25-30 cents a pound.

hey neatokimmo....do you know which FM in our area is cheapest?best selection...I know they do one at Fairgrounds and in JC,but i haven't been...we have been to one in Asheville that is good

 

[amberdburke]

We spend about $60 a week for 2 adults, our DD, and my daycare kids. We eat a ton of fruits/veggies (fresh in the summer and frozen/canned in the winter). We do not eat a ton of processed food, but we do have hamburger helper (or tuna or chicken) and pizza once a week.

We buy split chicken breasts because they are so much cheaper and are very easy to de-bone.

We also make ham steak frequently, because it's very inexpensive and can be made several different ways.

We do dinners of rice and beans frequently too.

We also have "breakfast" for dinner once a week (or as a brunch on Sunday). We very rarely eat out, but we do go to a local ice cream place once a week in the summer ($5-10)

 

[neatokimmo]

We buy split chicken breasts because they are so much cheaper and are very easy to de-bone.

One time, when I had too much time on my hands, I did a comparison of bone in and boneless chicken. I can get bone in breast for 88 cent pp about every 3 months. Deboned, it came out to $1.31 pp. And I was able to make 2+ gallons of stock from the scraps. So I agree, you can save a bundle if you prep your own chicken.

 

[sweetsusannah]

Ahhh, I just refound this thread.
For the past month I have been working at my new budget of $75 a week.

We have not stopped buying our local grass fed milk as that is a priority in the house so that's $10 off the top right away. We also get a CSA basket each week, that $25.

I tried some coupons and a few worked for me but I find that it's cheaper to look at the ads and plan a weekly menu. I signed up on Facebook and websites for the items I regularly use. Then I go to the store armed with a specific grocery list. We have focused more on vegetarian options since we have never been big meat eaters, when we do eat it we try for organic local meats. I have a natural food store that has a special customer coupon once a week and has offered free chicken breasts and steaks with a minimum $15 purchase twice now. I started making my own bread and baked goods again. I found that it does take more work but we have been pretty successful. My husband has to buy his beer out of his "hot pocket" money! He's drinking less of that these days, LOL.