I simply cannot, no matter how hard I try, get my grocery bill............

[kydisneyfans]

Toiletries are free or next to it at CVS/Walgreens. Rolling extrabucks and register rewards usually costs about $5 a week in tax, if that.

We spend about $70 a week on groceries, now that we are eating healthier. Produce is what is on sale, this week is honeydew(1.68 Kroger), cantalope(1.68 Kroger), and blueberries(2.50/pt Kroger). Meijer had strawberries for 2.00/lb the past few weeks, we just finished those yesterday. We have eliminated most soda costs, and have lowered the amount of chips we buy. Meat is sale items only, bottom round roast is 1.99/lb this week, we bought several.

The key is coupons/sales/and stockups.

 

[SnowWhite607]

Brand specific.......usually not, or only on a very few items, bread being one of them. We use Bunny because the store brand gets stale so quickly and by the time I am making sandwiches for lunch if Thursdays, the store brand bread is hard. Bunny lasts us the week. Everything else is usually store brand or cheapest. I shop at Walmart.

What d we eat.....well this week its:

1. red beans and rice with sausage (1/2 pack)
2. Taco Tuesday with rice and black beans from a can
3. sloppy joes with sweet potato fries (I could have gotten frozen fries for cheaper but I am dieting and figured maybe baked sweet potato fries were better than tator tots out of a bag)
4. fried sausage (other 1/2 of package) with potatoes, can of green peas
5. frozen lasagne, salad and garlic bread
6. pasta with chopped up grilled chicken (I plan to use 1- 1 1/2 breasts and save the rest of the package) and broccoli in alfredo sauce with garlic toast

and we eat out one night a week after DD's dancing class. So you can see we dont eat extravagantly.

Why do I want to cut back? Well doesnt everyone?? I figure the more money saved at the grocery, the more money for something else (pay off our one remaining CC, Disney trip, I am in desperate need of a new car and need to fit payments into the budget......)

Yes, I would LOVE any budget recipes!!

 

[tinkmom2]

My budget is $100/week for a family of 4. That's including soda and cat food and litter.

I don't buy brand specific unless I have a coupon. I shop at a store that doesn't have a discount card because the prices are really low all ready but I do look at different store ads and get something if it's a good deal. There is one store in my area that has double coupon day.

Our main protein is chicken so I buy a 3lb bag of boneless chicken breasts each week. I use about $15.00-20.00 in coupons each week. Bread is freezable. I keep 2 in the freezer and one out to use.

There is a thread here on the budget board with others who are budgeting groceries every week. Originally it was for Christmastime but it has carried over.

I look at recipe web sites and plan my meals for the week. Oftentimes I can use ingredients in most of my meals for the week like veggies.

This is a sample of some of what we are eating this week

French Onion Soup with baguettes
Pot Roast with mushroom onion gravy (made from the left over soup) and parsnip mashed potatoes
Ribs in sour kraut
Pot roast sandwiches

There are certain things I buy in bulk like jasmine rice and that can last me for a month or two or toiletries. Also I shop the clearance sections. I have found cereal with only a dent in it for $.50. Also you can find discounts on meats on Mondays at most stores. They want to get rid of the meat from the weekend.

I went to a store this week that is not my normal store because they had a Buy one Get on Free sale. That's a good way to build up your pantry too.

 

[ceecee]

Ok...I have to ask, what fruits are you eating for $30/wk?

That's what I thought. In the winter (off season) Strawberries are $2.50 here, blueberries $2.00, pineapples $2.50, apples .99 lb, bananas .49 lb. Melons were $1.50 this week, honeydews $3.00, pears .88 lb. Grapefruit and oranges $3.99 a bag.

 

[SnowWhite607]

I have been operating under the assumption that Walmart is the cheapest place for groceries, but I suppose this is not always so. I do know they price match though.

Our Winn Dixie store does the meal deal......one week it was buy 2 frozen pizzas for $12 and get a box of cheese sticks, a box of bread sticks, a sara lee cheesecake and a 2 liter soda free. We divided it up and made 2 dinners out of it.

DH is a meat and potatoes guy so meat at every meal is pretty much almost a requirement for us.

We have a Save a Lot grocery here and their produce is good and cheap but the store is kind of dirty and nasty.

 

[MrsMcgaugh]

Try the grocerygame.com! its really helpful, it matches coupons with sale items to get u the best price, granted you may be going to one or two stores but if you live in a well populated area with many stores it sould be easy enough!

also, i recently found that Proctor and gamble (who make tide, dawn, febreeze) and many other household cleaners and toiletries have a coupon book that they will mail to you with over $35 dollars in savings!!

http://www.startsampling.com/sm/100880/quickQuestion.iphtml?item=100880&source=dawnhand&error=retry

 

[busyshrew]

I was having the exact same problem. Our grocery budget used to be approximately 70 to 80 per week as a couple, and it went up to 100 to 120 when DD was born.

But then, about two years ago, food prices EXPLODED, right around the same time that DD started taking her meals seriously. Talk about timing!

It really helps to break your weekly budget down into a per/day, per/meal cost. Here's how our budget is now:
Breakfasts : $2 per person, 7 days a week = $42.00
Lunches : $3 per person, 7 days a week = $63.00
Dinners : $3 per person, 7 days a week = $63.00
Total = $168.00 per week

That's food only. Not extras like cleaning supplies, diapers, toiletries, etc.

Now, if you bump up the budget by even a teeny amount:
Breakfasts : $2 per person, 7 days a week = $42.00
Lunches : $3 per person, 7 days a week = $63.00
Dinners : $4 per person, 7 days a week = $84.00
Total = $189.00 per week

Now, I'd be the first person to tell you that we don't scrimp on food, so take those numbers as you will.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Frozen berries are just as nutritious as fresh and cheaper during off-season. You stated your hubby puts it on cereal etc... while this will not make a huge difference, it should help some. Then you purchase the banana's etc fresh...

 

[disneymarie]

It's just DH and I and we're always over $100 without paper products, cat food, etc. I buy those things elsewhere and my grocery bill is still anywhere from $120-$160/week.

I think our main "problem" though is that we get a lot of healthier options now. When we were eating frozen food and junk, our bill was a lot lower. For example, about $30/week of that total is just fruit...that doesn't include vegetables - just fruit. There's also things like a $2.69 can of tuna with no salt added versus a .79 can of tuna that is loaded with sodium. We buy bread with more fiber and whole grains versus a regular loaf of white bread. Meats will include things like salmon, but never ground beef.

It's certainly easier to eat cheaper, but I guess it's just a matter of priorities and budgeting for where you do and don't spend money.

I have been finding Aldies recently had great fresh veg's and fruit. I saw there was a fruit veg box on Angel foods too. I did not compare price,. generally we are a banana, few oranges, berries....the celery, carrots, spinich buyers,

I have been making home cleaning items with vinegar, using micro fiber wipes from SAMS, and HSN instead of all the paper towels. I bought a huge gallon or white vinegar, and huge bag of baking soda for cleaning.

I turn off all uneeded lights and unplug, or through the power strip off on many things like toaster, tv, a night lite in the bathroom at night instead of turning on the room light. I have LED lights for holiday occasions, instead of my old ones...
Cleaned my white sneakers and washed the laces instead of buying a new pair,

I try to read all ideas on reducing cost every area not just food.

I read the local paper online, instead of buying one. I go to the library for free dvd rental as an entertainment. We play board games with popcorn, When I reach to buy something, I rethink, do I need it, can I wait, when on sale, buy 2,
I also look for coupons for the orders I will make that week or toothpaste I will buy.

Changed the lights to green ones in the home, SAMS had a good price on a package. I hang my shirts and tops, skirts on hangers to dry instead of using the dryer.

I mix the cat litter with a $3.99 scope from Aldie's to stretch out the regular one. I bought the tall cans of friskies or a box of 32 instead of seperate cans.
I bought Walmart brand.

Kmart Marks mart, if you are laid off and register for the card with a copy of you letter from UC there is a discount on the Faded glory and store brand buys of detergents, clothes, etc.
Register online for the program

AND DON"T you HATE that the sizes are always getting smaller on products! The toilet paper narrower, coffee smaller cans, the soups smaller, Things that were a poiund, are now 11 oz, if paper towels were 100 count they are now 80, We have Nardon's pizza, it was $2.99 then , $3.99 now it is $5.99
Take out pizza for a family of 5 you may as well buy strip steak and bake a potato, veggie meal.

 

[Amandaj0831]

First I do not think that is that high. I personally spend less but my friends call me the coupon queen. I dont usually spend much at all on toiletries becuase I stockpile when they are free or very cheap at Walgreens and CVS. The same with groceries. I always plan my meals by the items that are on the front and back pages and shop around as well. Buy only items that are on sale at 2 or 3 stores. They also have fresh fruit and veggies that are on sale as well every week. I never pay more than 1.00 for the 4 packs of brand name yogurt. I always buy the whole wheat breads. I always check the ingredients and find that expensive is not always healthiest. I was surprised how many name brand "whole wheat bread" first ingredient was bleached white flour. However 1.50 store brand wheat bread has whole wheat flour as the first ingredient. Try couponmom she matches sales with coupons

 

[neatokimmo]

My budget is $37ish a week for an adult and toddler (2K a year). I cook a lot and I'm trying so hard not to throw out leftovers. Use it up or freeze it is my new motto!

Like a lot of you, we only eat what is in season. This week bananas, grapefruit, apples & pears were on sale so that is what I bought. We only buy berries in season from a local farm. They are so good and nothing from the store in the winter comes close.

I buy meat, like boneless chicken on sale. It was $1.49 so I bought 10-15 pounds of it. I wrapped it in meal size portions before I froze it.

I always look for the markdowns. this week we had meatloaf stuffed in huge mushrooms for $2.68. We had salmon cakes, originally $5.99 for 2, marked down to 99 cents. We had salad several nights, organic arugula with organic red/yellow mini bell peppers. Each container was 99 cents. I bought big red bell peppers on the mark down isle for 50 cents each and got 12. I immediately cut half of them up with other veggies for stir fry and popped them in the freezer. I pureed half of them to make sauce for pasta.

I think planning for the upcoming week, with an idea of the next 2 weeks is the way to shop. (btw, I can't remember the last time I used a coupon for food. We mostly get processed food ones here and I don't buy a lot of that stuff. )

 

[littlele]

$100 a week for the three of you is not high, especially if you are eating healthy foods. I would guess our bill is somewhere around $125+

It has been said before, and I completely agree-it costs much more to feed your family healthy foods. We too, will go through $30 in fruits for the three of us each week.

And as much as I love the thought of coupons, I really only get to use them everywhere but the grocery store. I look at them every week, but pretty much never see a food item that we would eat. You can, however, use them to save on the 'drugstore stuff' that I would get at Target (detergent, tooth brushes, etc)

Good luck with trying to lower your costs, but honestly I don't think you are doing badly to begin with-food is expensive!

 

[locolala]

I think 100 a week is fabulous! We spend about 300 every other weekend, and it's just the two of us plus two cats. We're kind of brand picky, and the commisary doesn't have a generic brand. We eat a ton of meat, from chicken to pork chops, lamb (when it's on sale) and tons of beef. We also buy some convience meals like the Bertolli dinners for night I can't cook or eat, DH just eats the whole thing and I have cereal or something along those lines. We also buy bottled water, because the tap water here is gross and DH takes 2-3 bottles of water with him to work everyday and for at the gym.

 

[vickiemariko]

My family is small. It's just me, DH, and DD6. I spend about $50 per week on groceries. I buy all my paper products, bathroom products, etc at Walgreens and Rite Aid, like a lot of the other DISers. I really started watching our budget last year at this time because my husband quit his full time job in order to finish out his last few semesters of Pharmacy school. One of my favorite websites are pinchingyourpennies.com, which has state specific forums for finding grocery deals. I also love hip2save.com! The gal who does that site is ontop of every coupon, sale, online deal....it's amazing. I highly suggest checking it out. Those websites really helped me shave our budget down, and we are still eating healthy foods, it just takes a bit more planning. I have to admit that "stockpiling" was hard at first, but after a few months my pantry and freezer were looking good and it started becoming easier to make meals out of what I had and then buy items that were on sale that could be frozen or were shelf stable.
Good luck with your saving endeavors!

 

[deerhart]

First off, bunny loaves are soo tiny for their price. Have you looked at attempting to purchase bread based on tie color? Do you freeze your extra loaves or leave them out?

We use store bought giant loaf bread ($1.49). It's about twice as big as the Bunny loaves. I keep two out and put the rest in the freezer. Also make sure your bread is fresh by checking the tie color (see below) and the squeeze test.

when buying bread, look at the twist tie and it will tell you how old it is ... Each day has a different color, as follows: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red, Friday = White, Saturday = Yellow

Next, I know the frozen lasagna is easy, but it is (at least here) sooo expensive. You'd be better off with either making it from scratch or switching it to just spaghetti or something like spaghetti pie.

What type of sausage do you buy? Our store brand sausage goes on deeper sale then the name brand stuff.

My grocery list for this week

3lbs ground beef
1 box penne pasta
1 bag shredded mozerella cheese
1 package provolone cheese
1 package pepperoni
2 jars pasta sauce
2 bell peppers
2 cans kidney beans
2 can tomatoes
1 can beef broth (or I may just use my cubes)
fresh cilantro
ref. pizza dough
peanut butter
cheerios
waffles
sunny d
soda
milk
fruit snacks
whatever fruit is on sale.

I may add things that are on deep on sale and I have coupons for, but the above should run me about $65-$70

My kids eat lunch at school 5 days a week ($2.50 per kid), I have the majority of my lunches for next week already or leftovers. Dh does left overs or sandwiches.

Another good site for coupon matching is couponmom.com The site also has a list of all available coupons on there that you can search and use. It does price matching for a ton of stores (including local stores in many areas) and the major mass market retailers.

 

[Goofy'slady]

I know how you feel. We spend roughly 100-130 each week for our family of four +dog. A few times we may go under 100 but not often enough.

We shop Super WalMart, I use coupons and I have a tax exempt card; all in an effort to keep the bill down. I just got up extra early to sip my morning tea and clip coupons in peace before the kiddies wake up. Later on this afternoon we'll all go grocery shopping and I'm determined to keep the bill under 100. Our freezer has a few meats in it so I only plan to buy ground turkey (1.76 per lb), and a whole chicken (I have a coupon for Purdue chicken that expires soon) which I plan to cut up and use for at least two meals. We don't need any toiletries and only a few paper goods. I do have to buy dry dog food but not much else. No, wait I take that back- I promised my daughter I'd buy her the Justin Bieber CD today, hubby already looked up the price at WalMart and it's only 8 bucks no tax thanks to my tax exempt status.

Sometimes our bill reaches way over 100 bucks because I tend to pick up clothing items for our kids, dance items for our youngest who's in dance, ect. So those times I understand.

I menu plan from week to week and that helps. My hubby bought me a magnetic Goofy pad at the dollar store so when we run out of something or I know I need to pick up something I write it on the pad so I won't forget. Cuts down on me trying to put my 33yr old mind to work in the grocery trying to figure out if we have this or that at home, me buying it only to get home and find we had it all along and I could have saved money. I also find that I can get away with making quite a bit of meals using less meat. Take for instance last night's meal, I made a cheese and potato frittata, garden side salad and French bread. I knew my hubby and I would like it but was shocked when my 11yr old ate it without protest and the 4yr old asked for a second helping. Sunday dinners are a big deal in our home but instead of always feeling like I have to spend a ton of money to feed my brood I make hearty things that will fill them up and make sure to have a light dessert afterward. Last week I made a spinach and bacon quiche with a cheddar and broccoli soup, fresh bread and for dessert we had fruit with a dollop of cream on top. This Sunday I'm making split pea soup and white rice, I always serve fresh bread. I'm even gonna be adventurous and try my hand at making a blackberry tart.

T.

 

[momx2]

I think so much of it is regional. I guess I fall in the middle of the game. My groceries aren't extremely high, but nowhere near as low as some post on here.

I clip coupons and try to buy on sale, but have finally decided that eating truly healthy for my kids is the most important. I do buy mostly organic fruits and veggies, but not exclusively. I'm not going to pay double the price, but will pay a bit more for them. I also try to buy as much as possible without MSG or HFCS, once again this isn't 100% as I still buy the horrible for you maple syrup and I don't mean 100% maple syrup the stuff with all the HFCS, DD8 loves the stuff. But I do try to keep it out of our diet as much as possible.

Last night I went to just buy a few things to stretch out what I had for the week. I plan on doing a big grocery shop next week after I get paid. My little stop cost $70.67. It was 76.99 before coupons. I did buy 2 containers of ice cream at $4.99 each because my DD8 asked for some. I don't buy it as often in the winter and we had been out a while so I got some for her and my DD12. I also got a generic 2 liter for the weekend as a treat because I don't normally keep sodas in the house. So I spent $10 bucks on a few treats for my kids. It adds up quickly. I also had to buy furniture polish and toliet bowel cleaner (had coupons). So there was another $7.50.

I also picked up fresh produce such as organic romain lettuce hearts, cherry tomatoes, 3lbs. of organic granny smith apples, a cantaloupe, 15lb. bag of potatoes and some other stuff. It just adds up quickly and I'm trying not to worry about it as much as I once did.

 

[java]

We can usually keep it at $100 for 6 people. That's my goal and what I did all of last year. This year- I've slipped a bit. (Spent $180 last week! but I had not been shopping the week before)

First thing start thinking about meals based on what is on sale- for example this week pork was the meat of the week- so it was 40% cheaper. So we ate a lot of pork this week. (and I froze some) When it's chicken- I stock up on chicken-
Once you get on this cycle you will be able to have a more diverse menu based on what's in your freezer.

We also do at least one meal meatless or minimal meat (bacon is a great "filler" flavor so it works in a pasta sauce of tomatoes and bacon- to make it seem meatier to a meat lover)

Being a calculator with you the next time you shop. Make a list before you go- with the MUST HAVES on the top. Once you get to $100 you stop shopping. Bring cash only and don't use a credit card. You won't go over $100 if that's all you have. If you don't get everything you want be creative with your pantry.

That's how you jump start into $100 a week. When you are seeing that I can either buy this chicken cutlet or these 2 packs of prepacked goldfish- the goldfish get out of the cart.

Try store brands. Some are exactly the same(and some are way not!) but you won't know until you try it.

You can do it if you are really commited to it.

 

[SnowWhite607]

OP here....I have a question if someone can help......lunch meat is WAY expensive. Hubby brings a sandwich daily to work and DD does sometimes to school. If I happen to have lunch meat left over ( I shop Friday afternoons as it is my half day at work and I get off at noon), can I freeze it? I hate to throw it away if I have enough left for a few more sandwiches.

Will it have the same taste and texure when I thaw it? I figure if I freeze a little each week, maybe one week out of the month I wont have to buy any meat.

As for who asked the sausage question.....it was 2.50 a pound but that will make 2 meals. I'm not sure about the store brand but the other brand was 2.86 a pound.

 

[LilyWDW]

Now, I am not one to spend a ton of time looking at coupons or going from store to store. I also will not NOT have something just because it would be a bit pricier to make. My mother and I are also trying to eat healthier which has been a bit more expensive but not that much.

Usually I can spend $80 (or $90 if dog food is needed) a week for 2 people. Right now I have been spending more (about $120) but that always happens at the beginning of the year as I am starting to restock the freezer and pantry.

Next weeks trip should be pretty cheap as I already have everything for one meal and thus only need 2 more (I am only home every other night and mom won't cook the other nights usually). I have pork chops, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, steaks, salmon, tilapia, shrimp, and scallops all in the freezer and stored in servings so it is ready to go.

All I will have to buy next week will be fresh veggies and fruit, milk, bread, and whatever I need extra to serve with my meals. If there is stuff on sale that I KNOW we will use then I will also stock up. I wish my grocery store would release their ads early but I won't have that to work with until Sunday.... and I go shopping on Monday lol.