Saving on groceries?

[goofytinkerbell]

1

 

[tasha99]

Yep. I get much better cuts of beef and chicken at Costco. The chicken has much less fat. And the steaks are much thicker. I also now ground leg of lamb instead of buying ground lamb at the grocery store. I had to buy a meat grinder, but I'll make up the difference within a couple of months.

But you have to be picky at Costco. Everything isn't cheaper. And there are some things, where I have to go to Sprouts, Fry's, or my local farmer's market for. For example, fruit is much better at Sprouts these days. I can get beef liver at my local farmer's market. And I can get most of my spices at Fry's.

I like it that Costco has air chilled chickens for a good price. It makes a difference over water chilled, which is what most cheap grocery store chicken is. I buy whole cuts of beef from Costco and cut them myself into steaks. It's expensive, but cheaper per pound, and we have a freezer. I don't like it that my Costco mechanically tenderizes a lot of their steaks (not sure if all do). It's not a huge deal, but from a food safety perspective, it's better not to introduce bacteria from the surface of the steak into the middle, which is what mechanical tenderizing does.

 

[robinb]

I like it that Costco has air chilled chickens for a good price. It makes a difference over water chilled, which is what most cheap grocery store chicken is. I buy whole cuts of beef from Costco and cut them myself into steaks. It's expensive, but cheaper per pound, and we have a freezer. I don't like it that my Costco mechanically tenderizes a lot of their steaks (not sure if all do). It's not a huge deal, but from a food safety perspective, it's better not to introduce bacteria from the surface of the steak into the middle, which is what mechanical tenderizing does.

How can you tell if a steak has been mechanically tenderized?

 

[tasha99]

How can you tell if a steak has been mechanically tenderized?

It says something like "blade tenderized" on the label.

 

[robinb]

It says something like "blade tenderized" on the label.

I'll have to look for that at my local Costco.

 

[RamblingMad]

I like it that Costco has air chilled chickens for a good price. It makes a difference over water chilled, which is what most cheap grocery store chicken is. I buy whole cuts of beef from Costco and cut them myself into steaks. It's expensive, but cheaper per pound, and we have a freezer. I don't like it that my Costco mechanically tenderizes a lot of their steaks (not sure if all do). It's not a huge deal, but from a food safety perspective, it's better not to introduce bacteria from the surface of the steak into the middle, which is what mechanical tenderizing does.

I find Costco has much better cuts of meat than my grocery store. I have to go to a butcher to get better cuts.

 

[LovesTimone]

First off take inventory of what you have on hand... go through your pantry, fridge and freezer, paper products, personal care products, baby needs... Make a list to refer back to when creating your grocery list... Old school paper and a pen...

Look ahead at the calendar take things into consideration such as birthdays, holidays, vacations, any event that you will need to provide a dish, look at once your kids get older, things like snacks for classroom or after school activities... If anyone takes their lunch to work.

On a side-note - I cook differently at different times of the year so you might want to think about that as well. Summer much lighter meals.

Spend sometime looking at the AD's before ever heading to the store, when I was working outside the home. I used my lunch breaks to check these out... look for BOGO, or 2'fers, or things like 5 for 5 / 10 for 10

A well stocked pantry is one of the most important things that you can do to help with the overall budget... Stock your pantry with how your family likes to eat...

Things like meal planning, freezer meal, cooking once for 2 meals...

Then make the list.. then shop by the list... for me pen and paper is a must so that I get everything and stay on task...

Every 2 months or so, I head to the Warehouse store - BJ's is the one we are using right now, You can use Manufacture coupons and their store coupons - on my list for here - Paper products, laundry supplies, drinks, Personal care items..I buy my bath-wash, DH's bar soap, razors for both of us, and deodorant. Some OTC items like ibuprofen, allergy med. Grocery items - Ribs and Porkchops, the ready made soup Panera and legal sourced.
I also shop for my parents while I am there, Gulcerna, Boost, soup, Atkins bars, vitamins, some personal care items...

Once a month trip to Walmart for certain grocery items, like salad dressing, certain can goods, rice in those plastic containers, drinks, coffee.

Every other week - Aldi - Produce, Chicken, Trout/Salmon, Hamburger, Pork Loin, cheese, butter and other dairy items, nuts, certain can good, I love the selection of item for a party, nice cheese's, pickles, olives... Pantry items, sugar, flour, brown sugar, seasonings, cooking oil, along with Chicken and beef stock... I also pick up items for my parents...

Finally Publix... which I will run in weekly to get things like eggs, or bread, I keep up with the BOGO's

Since its just DH and I now, we are empty nester's... I cook pretty much every night during the week.

I suggested meal planning, or knowing what your going to make before you get home and once your grocery are home and put away...

So with the meal planning for instance, I bought a large family package of chicken leg quarters,The family pack was on sale, I got almost double for only 2 dollars more and roasted them in the oven... part of them I marinated in a ginger sesame marinade, the other I just did a simple roast, basic garlic salt and pepper - I did them in 2 pans at the same time.. . So always check the family packs, look at the price per pound...

Meal 1 - I made marinaded chicken with wild rice ( already in the pantry), and steamed broccoli...
Meal 2 - I use 2 leg quarter just the meat, leftover wild rice and the left over broccoli, for like chicken fried rice, I added a couple shakes of soy sauce, some mushrooms, and onions...
Meal 3 - I used some the other 2 leg quarters for homemade chicken salad for my lunch this week...
So with one package of chicken I got 2 dinners and my lunch for 3 or 4 days...

Freezer meal or items
I will make a basic red sauce, use part and freeze the rest in different portion size... by keeping is more basic you can use it later on for whatever, by adding more to it.. When I make homemade meatballs I normally make around 100 or more at a time, my hands are already yucky so why not... again put them in different portion size freezer ziploc's. On a busy night take out a container of red sauce, throw in the meatballs, you can make meatball subs, or spaghetti and meatballs all you need is the pasta...

 

[DalGal]

The price of chicken is crazy right now with the bird flu outbreak and general inflation related increases. Last week, Sam's had only 2 packages of breasts and it was cheaper to buy 2 precooked rotisserie chickens than uncooked ones. I can get at least 4 meals from 2 whole chickens at $5 each. One of our local grocery stores runs decent meat deals and will sometimes let you buy a whole case (like chicken thighs and breasts) but you will have to portion them out at home and have the freezer space. We've also done 1/2 a cow but you have to be careful because if you don't know your prices, it can end up being higher than what you would pay at a store after they butcher it.

As far as produce, Aldi is a good option when we need it. We also get our produce from a local farm (who also does CSA boxes) or there are produce booths during spring through fall at our local flea market that are sometimes cheaper than the grocery store.

 

[Elephantay]

We've started using Misfits Market, and are very happy that we can get organic fruits and veggies less expensively. Also we dont get too much at one time so there's less waste for us. When we get our order we prep everything- chop the peppers, radishes, etc so it helps us eat healthier. There prices are much cheaper than our local stores.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

We joined Costco mostly for the GAS!!! but we shop there as well...and Aldi...

 

[LovesTimone]

First off take inventory of what you have on hand... go through your pantry, fridge and freezer, paper products, personal care products, baby needs... Make a list to refer back to when creating your grocery list... Old school paper and a pen...

Look ahead at the calendar take things into consideration such as birthdays, holidays, vacations, any event that you will need to provide a dish, look at once your kids get older, things like snacks for classroom or after school activities... If anyone takes their lunch to work.

On a side-note - I cook differently at different times of the year so you might want to think about that as well. Summer much lighter meals.

Spend sometime looking at the AD's before ever heading to the store, when I was working outside the home. I used my lunch breaks to check these out... look for BOGO, or 2'fers, or things like 5 for 5 / 10 for 10

A well stocked pantry is one of the most important things that you can do to help with the overall budget... Stock your pantry with how your family likes to eat...

Things like meal planning, freezer meal, cooking once for 2 meals...

Then make the list.. then shop by the list... for me pen and paper is a must so that I get everything and stay on task...

Every 2 months or so, I head to the Warehouse store - BJ's is the one we are using right now, You can use Manufacture coupons and their store coupons - on my list for here - Paper products, laundry supplies, drinks, Personal care items..I buy my bath-wash, DH's bar soap, razors for both of us, and deodorant. Some OTC items like ibuprofen, allergy med. Grocery items - Ribs and Porkchops, the ready made soup Panera and legal sourced.
I also shop for my parents while I am there, Gulcerna, Boost, soup, Atkins bars, vitamins, some personal care items...

Once a month trip to Walmart for certain grocery items, like salad dressing, certain can goods, rice in those plastic containers, drinks, coffee.

Every other week - Aldi - Produce, Chicken, Trout/Salmon, Hamburger, Pork Loin, cheese, butter and other dairy items, nuts, certain can good, I love the selection of item for a party, nice cheese's, pickles, olives... Pantry items, sugar, flour, brown sugar, seasonings, cooking oil, along with Chicken and beef stock... I also pick up items for my parents...

Finally Publix... which I will run in weekly to get things like eggs, or bread, I keep up with the BOGO's

Since its just DH and I now, we are empty nester's... I cook pretty much every night during the week.

I suggested meal planning, or knowing what your going to make before you get home and once your grocery are home and put away...

So with the meal planning for instance, I bought a large family package of chicken leg quarters,The family pack was on sale, I got almost double for only 2 dollars more and roasted them in the oven... part of them I marinated in a ginger sesame marinade, the other I just did a simple roast, basic garlic salt and pepper - I did them in 2 pans at the same time.. . So always check the family packs, look at the price per pound...

Meal 1 - I made marinaded chicken with wild rice ( already in the pantry), and steamed broccoli...
Meal 2 - I use 2 leg quarter just the meat, leftover wild rice and the left over broccoli, for like chicken fried rice, I added a couple shakes of soy sauce, some mushrooms, and onions...
Meal 3 - I used some the other 2 leg quarters for homemade chicken salad for my lunch this week...
So with one package of chicken I got 2 dinners and my lunch for 3 or 4 days...

Freezer meal or items
I will make a basic red sauce, use part and freeze the rest in different portion size... by keeping is more basic you can use it later on for whatever, by adding more to it.. When I make homemade meatballs I normally make around 100 or more at a time, my hands are already yucky so why not... again put them in different portion size freezer ziploc's. On a busy night take out a container of red sauce, throw in the meatballs, you can make meatball subs, or spaghetti and meatballs all you need is the pasta...

I posted this above... I thought of a few more things to add..

You can always use less meat, and add in other things to make it go farther, such as I make "Summer Chili" this is a concoction that I came up with and created for my family... Its a lighter version... So I start with onion and hamburger( 80/20 ground chuck) cooking together ( drain very well) , 1 can of flavored diced tomatoes( do not drain), a few teaspoons of sugar, you can use a package of whatever type chili mix you like, or season with cumin, paprika, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper ... Then I use one can of mild chili bean do not drain. Up next drain and rinse all the next ingredients - 2 cans of white beans, 1 can dark and 1 can light kidney beans, 2 cans of corn, I normally use white or the gold and white mix, I use white wine, along with some chicken or beef stock... and let simmer all day... I only use about a pound of hamburger and this makes a huge pot, and it freeze's well... You can add in bell pepper, celery, black beans, lima beans, garbanzo beans, or make it all with veggies.. serve with shredded cheese, diced onions/or green onions, and grilled cheese, or crackers..

My friend make's a mean chicken pot pie with a few chicken thighs, and canned veggies( drain), and store bought pastry sheets.... and this stuff is soooo Delicious! The tip here is she use's the liquid from poaching or roasting the Chicken thighs to warm the veggie up... I make this and changed it up for what DH and I like... The chicken thighs have the most flavor and I roast mine, I like to use skinless but with the bone, something about meat with the bone has more flavor, I use broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms, corn, and green peas...I like to use cream of asparagus soup as the base for my sauce... you can use whatever you want or have on hand... I cover with puff pastry.... I have another friend and she uses canned biscuits...

I can make both of the above dishes pretty much from what I have in my pantry... and most of the items are left overs... so by using up all your left overs you will save money...

Shop seasonal produce... this is one sure way to save money...

I love to check out the gourmet food aisle at Home Goods, TJ Maxx... I have gotten some really nice items, and our Home Goods always has a large clearance section of items, as such a great price... Olive oil, pasta, jams and jelly's, salsa, coffee, tea.... you just have to be willing to look.

 

[PHXscuba]

We joined Costco mostly for the GAS!!! but we shop there as well...and Aldi...

I don't shop much at Costco for food, but I keep the membership because they always have the cheapest rental car prices every time! No matter how many places/tricks I try.

PHXscuba

 

[barkley]

i'm dealing with MAJOR sticker shock!!! normally it's just me/dh/disabled adult son in the household. we pretty much eat the same stuff year round with some seasonal changes so i watch sales, stock up and manage as best as i can to stay within what i feel is a reasonable price point. NOW-my oldest had surgery a week ago and will be recovering with us for about 3 weeks total. there are some day to day food items we don't normally get that i've needed to add to the list, along with some ingredients for a few comfort foods that i know will be enjoyed during recovery. nothing luxurious-silly, simple stuff like juice (normally don't have it b/c none of us drink it) and some breakfast cereal, a couple of packages of chicken thighs along with a few odds and ends. THE STICKER SHOCK , good lord!!!! after looking at what my oldest uses on a regular basis (again-nothing extravagant) and knowing what savings can be gotten by stocking up IF and when those items are on sale vs. purchasing as needed i suggested that during recuperation we go through oldest's apartment freezer and pantry to do an inventory, post the inventory to prevent duplicate purchasing outside sales-AND allow me (with advance notice/permission) to take advantage of sales of the regularly used products which i can store in our larger pantries/freezers for repurchase at greater savings (i've done this in the past if i see something at costco but now we are in agreement to do this on a wider basis). we are set to embark on this project next week.

i can't imagine how much more larger households are spending on groceries month to month these days

 

[afan]

There's just two of us, so for thanksgiving we just get a turkey breast. Looking through this weeks ad and frozen turkey breasts were on sale for a good price and it'll stay frozen until November without issue. So we're ready and I don't have to worry about bird flu, lack of turkey's or potential price increases.

I've also noticed that some of the things I normally stock up on when they are on sale, like toilet paper and chicken broth, haven't been on sale for awhile or as often. I'm glad I stocked up on our preferred TP back in Jan/Feb when it was on sale because it hasn't been since. And some things are still going on sale but not for as good of a price as two months ago.

It's not affecting anything yet, there are some things I just won't buy if they aren't on sale because it's an extra and not worth it. But there's some things that I'm just going to have to suck it up and deal, especially for the stuff we don't want to switch brands on, like the TP.

 

[barkley]

so for thanksgiving we just get a turkey breast. Looking through this weeks ad and frozen turkey breasts were on sale for a good price and it'll stay frozen until November without issue. So we're ready and I don't have to worry about bird flu, lack of turkey's or potential price increases.

i did a walmart order a couple of days ago and it popped up my previous purchases. i noticed how much canned pumpkin has gone up already this year so i went ahead and ordered a couple of cans to throw on the shelf for next thanksgiving. it was hard enough finding it last november i don't want to be in the same position let alone having to pay double for it.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I was thinking the same thing with the turkey breasts. But when we went to the store, they didn't have them--the shipment never came in. I'm going to try again on Monday (our sales run Wed.-Tues.). I like having a turkey breast now and then--we're a family of 5, so 2-3 meals and it's done, versus even a small whole turkey that lasts for days.

 

[Tink3815]

Another way to save is to use rain checks when your store is out of an advertised item. I have been trying to stock up on the ad items I know I will use, especially for canned and freezer items. Our stores are giving rain checks when they are out of an advertised item again. I usually shop the first day of the ad and stop in again on last day to get rainchecks for items they may be out of for future use. My grocery store never checks the date on the rain checks and the limit is usually six items.

One thing you can count on, prices will not be going down in the future.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Last year, I finally got around to putting us on a budget. I sketched out all the categories, and spending limits, and then... the supply chain crashed. Groceries are now insane. We are spending $800+ a month for two adults and a toddler. That doesn't really even include diapers, but does include laundry detergent, etc. We used to have a Costco membership, but it resulted in us spending more because we'd buy more than we needed. We're looking at possibly shifting to Walmart and seeing if we do better there. Our 'usual' store is Kroger, and they've really cut back on the savings and coupons we used to get. We buy mostly store brand.

We do tend to spend a little more to get organic chicken/turkey, but we've cut back on our meat consumption and pretty much never eat red meat anymore (for other reasons).

What are people doing these days to save on the grocery budget? Unfortunately, I don't really have the attention span for something like extreme couponing.

I so feel you, food has gotten so expensive, but I live in an expensive place to live South Florida. I do half my shopping at Aldi the other at walmart.
I buy my TP, laundry soap , diapers from Costco using instacart because I dont need a membership and the constantly give deals if you have the app... $15 off $35 things like that. That eats up the extra charges.

 

[tvguy]

My wife about fell over today. Gain liquid laundry detergent DROPPED from $14 a bottle, to $7 a bottle. No idea why.

 

[afan]

My wife about fell over today. Gain liquid laundry detergent DROPPED from $14 a bottle, to $7 a bottle. No idea why.

That's another thing that hasn't had any good sales. I normally get arm & hammer detergent at fred Meyer (kroger) because every few months it'd be really cheap on sale. It's been months and I'm almost out. So I'll either have to suck it up or buy All since it has still been on good sales.

I know some of the sales is prob the manufacturer and some the store and all related to supply. Still hard to adjust when we all get used to the sale cycles and then stuff isn't on it any more.