Grocery receipts for 1 month $1000 - frustrated

[Bren's Mom]

You can still grill, you just need to change your mindset a little. Instead of a chicken breast per person, grill chicken thighs that have been marinated. Or cook just a couple of marinated chicken breasts in a basket with lots of fresh, in season veggies like zuchini and squash. Serve with fresh pasta, butter and a little parm cheese. That sort of thing. You could likely easily cut your meat budget in half, or close to it, by (as someone said) making the meat an accessory not the 'main event'. Pasta primavera is EXCELLENT with almost any kind of grilled veggie!

 

[thebigkahuna]

Wow, I never knew we spent that much. We are a family of 5 with 3 girls ages 13, 10 and 7. I checked out the No Buy June thread, and how do people just spend $200 on food?

You may not be comparing apples to apples. $200.00 might be only 2 people, or someone who coupons to the extreme.

Don't feel bad or be to concerned with what others are doing! Do what is right for your family

Along those lines, I recently realized that it's been about 3 years since I have purchased a roll of paper towels - I use cloth towels - maybe a small savings, but somewhere I cut my grocery budget without even thinking about it. Maybe looking at things like that will help you to trim the grocery bill...
Good luck! And join the no buy thread! Not everyone there is doing the "no-buy" part, and I found it helped me keep track of my spending in a huge way.

 

[Nette]

Another way to get people to eat less meat is to cook less, but SLICE it BEFORE serving it. For some reason people take less that way and fill their plates w/ other things. We can easily get away with 1/2 lb meat for the three of us when we do this.

 

[sydneysmom]

I don't know if this will help, but it's just my 2 cents...... Our food bill wasn't nearly as high as yours, but like you, we were looking to cut where we can.
So, I do make up a "menu" for the month and base our food shopping lists on the menus. ( I try to food shop once every 2 weeks.....then go to the store if we need milk, fresh veggies)

But I really found that it helped me stay focused and not "impulse" buy. The other thing I learned how to do is to stock up when something IS on sale. For example, we have Kroger here...so every once in a blue moon they'll do a stock up sale. Well, Classico spaghetti sauce was $1.49 (ea) when you buy
8. well, that's the brand we use, so I actually bought 24. My DH thought I lost my mind. Normally though, they are $ 2.89 each, so I saved $33 on something we use anyway. BUT, I don't have to buy that for a REALLY good long while. Same w/ pasta .

We bought a 4 tier shelf unit from Lowe's and put it in the laundry room. Now when something goes on sale good, ( and we actually use that item) I'll buy it in bulk and put it in there. I've found that it saves us a tremendous amount of money. This goes for meat too. Hamburger will sometimes go on sale for $ 1.99 / lb. So I'll stock up....then plan meals around that... spaghetti and meatballs, taco night ( a huge hit in our house), hamburgers, etc. Or chicken....you can never have too much of that.

And, my food shopping budget has not gone up from $ 125 / week for me, DH and DD (4). I have learned to become a "smart shopper" instead of a food shopper. I used to buy "what we need" now I try to plan around "what we have". I used to be one of those people that shopped and cooked by "well, I feel like having this "..... now I keep a list of dinner ideas so when I make up the menu, I can switch it up and we have really good healthy options.

Also, if you have CVS, learn how to shop at CVS. There's a fantastic thread on the budget board for CVS on the current sales and extra care bucks, etc. I can't even tell you how much the ladies on that thread have saved me money. They're genuine professionals !! But really, once you start CVS'ing, it'll save you a ton on your beauty products.

Sorry this is SOOO long !!!!

 

[TnTWalter]

we do lots of organics though. And all 5 of us usally eat all meals at home so it's pretty good for that. We do eat lots of chicken and fresh fruits and veggies...

 

[HeatherC]

For us, the cost is not in the dinners. I can plan very affordable meals that are healthy. It's all the other food. 5 people eating breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If we eat just one orange a day each, that is 35 oranges a week! And I make sure they are all eating at least two servings of fruit a day along with fresh veggies. I do buy what's on sale, etc.. But you can see through this example the sheer number of fruit and veggies we go through.

Preparing lunches for 5 people. That's almost 3/4 of a loaf or bread each day! (Dh does take left overs most days.) Plus whatever gets put on the bread. Milk is almost a gallon a day. That is almost $20 a week just in milk!

This is the stuff that all adds up much more than a few dinners.

There is no way I could feed a family of five for much less than what I'm spending now. Just bread, milk and fruit is about $60!

So I don't think the OP is doing too bad!

 

[MissBritt]

On the "less meat" theme...

Meat can almost always be undercut for recipes without you noticing a taste difference. What calls for 1 pound can just as easily be made with .75-.9 pounds. If you eat ground beef or boneless chicken often, shaving off that little bit with each meal makes a BIG difference in how much you spend.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

I don't know if this will help, but it's just my 2 cents...... Our food bill wasn't nearly as high as yours, but like you, we were looking to cut where we can.
So, I do make up a "menu" for the month and base our food shopping lists on the menus. ( I try to food shop once every 2 weeks.....then go to the store if we need milk, fresh veggies)

But I really found that it helped me stay focused and not "impulse" buy. The other thing I learned how to do is to stock up when something IS on sale. For example, we have Kroger here...so every once in a blue moon they'll do a stock up sale. Well, Classico spaghetti sauce was $1.49 (ea) when you buy
8. well, that's the brand we use, so I actually bought 24. My DH thought I lost my mind. Normally though, they are $ 2.89 each, so I saved $33 on something we use anyway. BUT, I don't have to buy that for a REALLY good long while. Same w/ pasta .

We bought a 4 tier shelf unit from Lowe's and put it in the laundry room. Now when something goes on sale good, ( and we actually use that item) I'll buy it in bulk and put it in there. I've found that it saves us a tremendous amount of money. This goes for meat too. Hamburger will sometimes go on sale for $ 1.99 / lb. So I'll stock up....then plan meals around that... spaghetti and meatballs, taco night ( a huge hit in our house), hamburgers, etc. Or chicken....you can never have too much of that.

And, my food shopping budget has not gone up from $ 125 / week for me, DH and DD (4). I have learned to become a "smart shopper" instead of a food shopper. I used to buy "what we need" now I try to plan around "what we have". I used to be one of those people that shopped and cooked by "well, I feel like having this "..... now I keep a list of dinner ideas so when I make up the menu, I can switch it up and we have really good healthy options.

Also, if you have CVS, learn how to shop at CVS. There's a fantastic thread on the budget board for CVS on the current sales and extra care bucks, etc. I can't even tell you how much the ladies on that thread have saved me money. They're genuine professionals !! But really, once you start CVS'ing, it'll save you a ton on your beauty products.

Sorry this is SOOO long !!!!

Are you kidding? Don't be sorry it's long - I loved reading your tips. Good ones too. I will search for the CVS thread, thanks! We do have a shelf in our laundry room too. I don't stock pile like I should but I am going to start! And I know what you mean by planning on what you feel like eating because that's what I do. I need to look at the flyers FIRST and THEN plan the menus. So hard when I'm trained this other way!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

For us, the cost is not in the dinners. I can plan very affordable meals that are healthy. It's all the other food. 5 people eating breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If we eat just one orange a day each, that is 35 oranges a week! And I make sure they are all eating at least two servings of fruit a day along with fresh veggies. I do buy what's on sale, etc.. But you can see through this example the sheer number of fruit and veggies we go through.

Preparing lunches for 5 people. That's almost 3/4 of a loaf or bread each day! (Dh does take left overs most days.) Plus whatever gets put on the bread. Milk is almost a gallon a day. That is almost $20 a week just in milk!

This is the stuff that all adds up much more than a few dinners.

There is no way I could feed a family of five for much less than what I'm spending now. Just bread, milk and fruit is about $60!

So I don't think the OP is doing too bad!

Yes, it is crazy how much my kids eat! I do get mad when they bring their lunches home from school and only half is eaten, but that's my fault and something I could improve by not sending as much. I'm just always in the mindset that I want them to have enough! I've been a little better about checking the lunch boxes and making them eat the leftovers after school before they get their after-school snacks.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

we do lots of organics though. And all 5 of us usally eat all meals at home so it's pretty good for that. We do eat lots of chicken and fresh fruits and veggies...

We are probably buying 25% organic. My DH used to hunt and get an elk every year, which was great for organic meat and cheap, but now my kids aren't used to eating it anymore and my DH hasn't had time to go out to do it during hunting season. We were buying buffalo for awhile too, and wow, is that expensive!!

I'm not going to totally change what we eat, but I know there are ways to cut our budget. My DH teases me because I really like Charmin, but maybe I'll have to try some other brands.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Yes, it is crazy how much my kids eat! I do get mad when they bring their lunches home from school and only half is eaten, but that's my fault and something I could improve by not sending as much. I'm just always in the mindset that I want them to have enough! I've been a little better about checking the lunch boxes and making them eat the leftovers after school before they get their after-school snacks.

DD10 has made her lunch all year long. I have to double check on sweets(particularly around Halloween and Easter....), but she does a good job of getting it together (she loves hot stuff like soup, ravioli, etc.) herself. She never has leftovers.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

We spend about $600-700 a month. I do no buy but will not change some of my shopping habits even to save for Disney. (Shocking but true!)

We LOVE fruits and veggies. We go through so many of them and while I like to buy what is in season I won't exclusively if there is something we want. Our Farmer's Markets are more expensive then the grocery store here and I ahve not had any luck with produce at Aldi's so right there I spend a good $50 a week on produce. My kids will come home from school and eat a whle head of califlower and I am happy they will so even though they run $4 each, I buy several a week. I buy several bags of baby carrots. Red peppers, I can't even tell you how many we go through in a week. We go through a large bunch of bananas a day, if I buy a bag of grapes (at what $7) it will be gone in a day. I like to have a big bowl of fruit and a pile of cut of veggies for them to grab at all times when they get hungry.

As far as meat, DH is a meat guy and is not happy when there isn't meat, but I can strech it really nicey and he feels satisfied.

We don't have good compition around here either. I buy almost exclusively store brand so I don't use many coupons. I agree though to join No Buy, it is what yo umake it. I don't want toshoot for $200 a month in groceries so I don't try, but cutting back is good so I go with that goal.

Good luck. Our family is the same as ours, 3 DDs, DH and myself. I am sure we used to spend $1000 a month in groceries (though I never added it up to see, that would have been scary!) But now I am saving at least a few hundred a month so that to me is success!

 

[budbeerlady]

If you like Charmin by all means buy it, but really stock up when its on sale. (I am an angel soft girl, every 6 weeks its on sale at a local store for $1. I buy ALOT when its on sale, if its gone I get a raincheck.)

I found a few blogs that match up sales/ coupons for our local stores. Today it was Oscar Meyer hot dogs for $.46 a package and Aunt Millies buns were $.55. So I throw those in the freezer for some hot Saturday afternoon when Dd has friends over.

For us a way to save was to think outside the box. Dd drinks organic milk, always has. Its very expensive at our grocery store so I was going to the local healthfood store for just milk. Then I found out about a local organic farmer who sold milk shares. I bought half a share at $17.50 a month. For my $ I get 5 gallons of milk a month. We pick it up the same day every week and it has worked well for us. Usually I have a little extra but a gallon and a 1/4 works well for us to use in 1 week.

For eggs we have our own hen. She is so easy to keep and it gives Dd a responsibility.

When Dh is a sucessful hunter we get most of the meat ground into hamburger. Throw it in with pasta or make hamburger helper, sause hides alot!

And on Saturdays I hit the local farmers market for whatever isnt growing in our garden.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

If you like Charmin by all means buy it, but really stock up when its on sale. (I am an angel soft girl, every 6 weeks its on sale at a local store for $1. I buy ALOT when its on sale, if its gone I get a raincheck.)

I found a few blogs that match up sales/ coupons for our local stores. Today it was Oscar Meyer hot dogs for $.46 a package and Aunt Millies buns were $.55. So I throw those in the freezer for some hot Saturday afternoon when Dd has friends over.

For us a way to save was to think outside the box. Dd drinks organic milk, always has. Its very expensive at our grocery store so I was going to the local healthfood store for just milk. Then I found out about a local organic farmer who sold milk shares. I bought half a share at $17.50 a month. For my $ I get 5 gallons of milk a month. We pick it up the same day every week and it has worked well for us. Usually I have a little extra but a gallon and a 1/4 works well for us to use in 1 week.

For eggs we have our own hen. She is so easy to keep and it gives Dd a responsibility.

Wow, that is cheap for TP! I will try Angel Soft. lol
Good idea about the farmer. I live in Bozeman, MT and there is a dairy farm south of town. There are probably quite a few.
You are so lucky to have a hen!! I don't think we are allowed to have them here, and there are sooooooo many dogs in this town, that it wouldn't be safe in my yard.

 

[foreUT]

Fresh fruits and vegetables are budget killers for me. Even the local farmers' market seems exorbitant. I appreciate all the tips on the other items, so I can afford the more costly vegetables.

 

[MrsPete]

Several ideas:

1. Don't try to do EVERYTHING at once. If you try to change your entire way of shopping, you may well become so overwhelmed that you just throw in the towel and give it up. Instead, choose 1-2 things to work on this month, another 1-2 to work on next month, etc.

2. Forget coupons. Coupons tend to focus on what you "saved". Instead, you need to pay attention to what you SPEND and how much you get for it. You can do better with other methods. Examples: A can of Spaghettios or Mini-raviolis tends to be about $1 (a little less on sale), and a typical coupon would take .50 off when you purchase 3 cans. So those three cans of sale-priced spaghettios could feed a family of four one dinner for $2.50. Or you can buy a pound of store-brand spaghetti noodles for .50 and a can of Hunt's sauce for less than a dollar . . . and that makes a much larger quantity of food. For about $1.50 you can have dinner and left-overs for the next day's lunch. Not convinced yet? You can take .75 off a box of $3.99 cereal; a couple kids will devour that box in about two days, which means you had two breakfasts for about $3.24 . . . or you can get a can of plain, old-fashioned oatmeal for $1.50 and feed the kids breakfast for a whole week (okay, make it $2 because you're going to need a bit of milk and brown sugar).

3. Focus on your beverages. Most beverages offer little in the way of nutrition, yet they make up about 30% of the typical family's grocery bill. Bottled water, canned sodas, alcohol . . . these add up. Even juice isn't very nutritious. Tap water is healthy. Tea and lemonade are very cheap.

4. Make a price book. Check out -- I mean literally check out, as in from the library -- The Complete Tightwad Gazette. The author proposes an excellent method for keeping track of store prices and sales. It will take you some time to set this up, but once you've mastered it, you'll always be able to buy "on sale".

5. Search for non-grocery store outlets. The grocery store is convenient because you can get everything there, but you're also going to pay for that convenience. Look into salvage stores, butcher shops, farmer's markets, ethnic grocery stores, bread stores, etc. For example, I always purchase my spices at a health food store; overall, the store is outrageously expensive, but the spices are very high quality and are about 15% the cost of those tiny boxes in the grocery store. The bread outlet store sells 3 loaves of good bread for $1, and it takes me only a few minutes to stop in there on the way home from work. My best deals are at the salvage food store; we have two of them near me. They sell food that was bound for restaurants but was damaged in transit. The food is perfectly good, but the packages are damaged. I can always buy french fries for $1/10 pounds and meat $1-2/pound. The downside: It's often in large quantities. I don't know what non-grocery store options you have near you, but I bet you have something good.

6. Consider how you use meat. Serving each person a chicken breast or a steak with a couple sides is expensive. Slicing a few chicken breasts up into small pieces and using them to make a casserole is cheap. If you have 1/2 a steak left over, serve baked potatoes topped with lots of cheese, broccoli, and thinly sliced steak the next day.

7. Reconsider convenience foods. For example, look at the price difference between shredded cheese and block cheese. The difference between ready-made bread crumbs and the heel of bread you're probably going to throw away anyway.

8. Do not lie to yourself about your grocery bill. For example, don't congratulate yourself on lowering your bill to $500/month IF you're doing it by increasing your eating out. (Not that you're doing that, but some people do claim low, low grocery bills, but they neglect to mention that the whole family eats out/at school for lunch every day.)

9. Look at your snack bill. Snacks can really add up. I mean, my kids can polish off a $2 bag of chips in one sitting. They inhale pop tarts. A box of Little Debbie cookies can disappear in an evening. Consider instead the lower cost of homemade Rice Krispie treats, cupcakes (no icing) made from a .79 box mix, or homemade popsicles.

 

[QVCshopper]

Your best bet is to stop shopping at Costco and make fewer big order runs. Costco is often more than Wegmans, a fancy food store near here. I switched my big food order to every other week at the super cheap food store. Otherwise, I spend about $30-40 the other weeks on smaller orders. Shopping like this has saved me a lot. I also go to food stores for only their loss leaders. So, today, I got 5 12-pack cokes and a kielbasa sausage for $11 and Smores stuff for another $3.50. I have a garden and make dinners without a lot of meat. Sometimes, I skip making myself lunch and eat my kids leftovers, or I eat cereal. Lately, I spend $300/month at the food store and $100/month eating out for a family of 4. I never buy out of season fruit, will use frozen veggies, and only buy cereal on sale. I'm not very brand loyal at all. I'm loyal to the lowest price and that's all. Also, stop the stockpile. It's not great unless you can use it before it goes bad. Sales run in a cycle; it will be on sale again--unless I find a great thing my kids love for $1. Then I stockpile and it still gets used up in a month.

 

[sunshine1178]

Sam's Club has a great price on 3 packs of Laughing Cow.

 

[Sparx]

I went from grocery shopping at walmart to grocery shopping at Aldi's and I went from spending 100-120 a trip at walmart to 60-80 a trip at aldi. I also got way more at aldi!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Several ideas:

1. Don't try to do EVERYTHING at once. If you try to change your entire way of shopping, you may well become so overwhelmed that you just throw in the towel and give it up. Instead, choose 1-2 things to work on this month, another 1-2 to work on next month, etc.

2. Forget coupons. Coupons tend to focus on what you "saved". Instead, you need to pay attention to what you SPEND and how much you get for it. You can do better with other methods. Examples: A can of Spaghettios or Mini-raviolis tends to be about $1 (a little less on sale), and a typical coupon would take .50 off when you purchase 3 cans. So those three cans of sale-priced spaghettios could feed a family of four one dinner for $2.50. Or you can buy a pound of store-brand spaghetti noodles for .50 and a can of Hunt's sauce for less than a dollar . . . and that makes a much larger quantity of food. For about $1.50 you can have dinner and left-overs for the next day's lunch. Not convinced yet? You can take .75 off a box of $3.99 cereal; a couple kids will devour that box in about two days, which means you had two breakfasts for about $3.24 . . . or you can get a can of plain, old-fashioned oatmeal for $1.50 and feed the kids breakfast for a whole week (okay, make it $2 because you're going to need a bit of milk and brown sugar).

3. Focus on your beverages. Most beverages offer little in the way of nutrition, yet they make up about 30% of the typical family's grocery bill. Bottled water, canned sodas, alcohol . . . these add up. Even juice isn't very nutritious. Tap water is healthy. Tea and lemonade are very cheap.

4. Make a price book. Check out -- I mean literally check out, as in from the library -- The Complete Tightwad Gazette. The author proposes an excellent method for keeping track of store prices and sales. It will take you some time to set this up, but once you've mastered it, you'll always be able to buy "on sale".

5. Search for non-grocery store outlets. The grocery store is convenient because you can get everything there, but you're also going to pay for that convenience. Look into salvage stores, butcher shops, farmer's markets, ethnic grocery stores, bread stores, etc. For example, I always purchase my spices at a health food store; overall, the store is outrageously expensive, but the spices are very high quality and are about 15% the cost of those tiny boxes in the grocery store. The bread outlet store sells 3 loaves of good bread for $1, and it takes me only a few minutes to stop in there on the way home from work. My best deals are at the salvage food store; we have two of them near me. They sell food that was bound for restaurants but was damaged in transit. The food is perfectly good, but the packages are damaged. I can always buy french fries for $1/10 pounds and meat $1-2/pound. The downside: It's often in large quantities. I don't know what non-grocery store options you have near you, but I bet you have something good.

6. Consider how you use meat. Serving each person a chicken breast or a steak with a couple sides is expensive. Slicing a few chicken breasts up into small pieces and using them to make a casserole is cheap. If you have 1/2 a steak left over, serve baked potatoes topped with lots of cheese, broccoli, and thinly sliced steak the next day.

7. Reconsider convenience foods. For example, look at the price difference between shredded cheese and block cheese. The difference between ready-made bread crumbs and the heel of bread you're probably going to throw away anyway.

8. Do not lie to yourself about your grocery bill. For example, don't congratulate yourself on lowering your bill to $500/month IF you're doing it by increasing your eating out. (Not that you're doing that, but some people do claim low, low grocery bills, but they neglect to mention that the whole family eats out/at school for lunch every day.)

9. Look at your snack bill. Snacks can really add up. I mean, my kids can polish off a $2 bag of chips in one sitting. They inhale pop tarts. A box of Little Debbie cookies can disappear in an evening. Consider instead the lower cost of homemade Rice Krispie treats, cupcakes (no icing) made from a .79 box mix, or homemade popsicles.

Thank you so much. I really hadn't thought about the cost saving of homemade treats like that. Same with cereal. And we buy the Costco bag of shredded cheese - now I'm going to see how much I'm paying per pound. We do have a bread outlet - I've never been to it!!! I can't imagine getting bread for that cheap. We spend @ $2.50 per loaf. I've heard of that book and am going to stop at the library INSTEAD of buying it lol.
We do buy Hansen's 100% juice boxes for their lunches so 3 per day times 5 is 15 per week. I can't think of an alternative to that though and we get it from Costco for cheaper than the grocery stores, I do know that.

I especially like your "do not try to do everything at once". Whew, I have about a million lists going on! I did ask my DH tonight to try to stick with what's on the list at Costco, and he said, "sure, but I do want to try that already cooked rice I saw there the other day." Now THAT would be a waste. I used to think it was helpful that he went there, but now I'm going to try and start just going there myself. That will be hard because I think he really likes going there.

Thank you so much for spending all that time writing those ideas!!!!