You know what? This eating at home thing really works!

[JamesMom]

Hello all. In August of this year we decided to start eat healthy and cheaply by having most of our meals at home. It was a learning process and now I can see the rewards of our efforts.
Pre-August we spent roughly $1400-$1500 a month on food - $800 on groceries, $200 on lunches (hubby eatting out & kids school lunch) and $400 eatting out (2-3 times fast food & 1 big dinner a week).
At first I wasn't seeing the numbers go down (see earlier posts), but now we got the hang of this. Now for this month we are spending an average of $150 a week on groceries (includes cleaning, paper & hygiene), eating out about 6x a month (only 2 big meals a month) and hubby brings his lunch now. Savings = $400 - $500 a month!! We are going to use our savings to increase Hubby's 401(k) % at work starting in January- how's that for being an adult, lol.
Other than doing more dishes we don't really miss it. For example, we grilled fajitas, made nachos, beans & rice to go with and ate at home Saturday night for ~$15 with left overs instead of spending $40 at On the Border. Same with burgers & fries that cost less than $6 instead of $12 at the McD drive through - and believe it or not - it was better tasting! And used the left over buns & fries for sloppy joes later that week.
Just wanted to let you know you have another convert here.
Now, I wonder what I could do if I clipped coupons...

 

[Justsyd2]

Congrats! We learned this about ten years ago. Now we take trips, and just bought a vacation home, so everyone thinks we're rich. We aren't, we're just frugal! We love to shop for groceries, and cook at home!

 

[Heidict]

My Dh and I were just dicussing last night how our grocery bill is so out of control. Plus, what we spend in eating out. We need get it under control and cut back so that we can put more in the savings towards a house.

I also need to start with the coupons. I have tons in my house, but do you think I would clip them and use them?

Anyone know of any good websites to help those that are just starting out?

OP, I hope in a couple months to be where you are!!! Good job. Any tips or advise?

 

[karajeboo]

My Dh and I were just dicussing last night how our grocery bill is so out of control. Plus, what we spend in eating out. We need get it under control and cut back so that we can put more in the savings towards a house.

I also need to start with the coupons. I have tons in my house, but do you think I would clip them and use them?

Anyone know of any good websites to help those that are just starting out?OP, I hope in a couple months to be where you are!!! Good job. Any tips or advise?

I used to play The Grocery Game www.grocerygame.com - she has been featured on the Today Show, etc.....

Basically, what she does is matches up the coupons with the stores own sales to maximize your savings. I would literally get staples like mustard and ketchup for $.10 each. She marks what you need to buy based on great savings, good savings, etc. I started taking advantage of Walgreens for incredible deals and rebates to the point that I would go shop there and never spend a dime, using Walgreens gift card every time.....

Now you do have to clip coupons each week and she charges I think $10 for your first store and $5 for each additional store - if you have stores that allwo double and triple coupons it is even better.

I did this for over a year before we moved and I found myself literally saving about $50-70/week by using this method...... And to only pay $20 (three stores) every two months for it was well worth it!!!!

 

[vegasnative]

Congrats! We learned this about ten years ago. Now we take trips, and just bought a vacation home, so everyone thinks we're rich. We aren't, we're just frugal! We love to shop for groceries, and cook at home!

I couldn't agree with this more. I have friends that eat out all the time, or they buy a coffee every day. I can't afford to do this, but guess what I can afford and they can't.....to go on nice vacations. I LOVE clipping coupons, planning my meals, cooking/eating at home for many reasons. I know who has prepared my food, I know what is in it, I know exactly how much it costs and for the most part it tastes better. We still like to "treat" ourselves occasionally, but it is just that, a treat, not something we do a lot of at all.

 

[karajeboo]

I just joined the Grocery Game again and I'm finding out why I loved it so much before. The only bad part is that you have to build up the coupons first. But here's an example.

At my local Bi-Lo store, they have Pillsbury brownie mix originally $2.05 and on sale buy one, get one free. The Grocery Game says to ONLY BUY ONE so now your price is basically 50% off, right? So it's $1.02 - and there is a coupon from the RedPlum flyer in the Sunday paper for $.40 off and BiLo doubles coupons so make this $.80 now, and you end up paying $.22 for the brownie mix!!! This is just one of soooo many like this!

 

[RN01]

I got the book... How to Cut Your Grocery Bills in Half. I followed it somewhat this month and I have spent $365 in grocerys and household supplies compaired to the 4700 I'm used to spending. The key they say is to only go to the grocery store once a month. It's a lot of planning ahead but it's worth it to me! I have also cut out eating out money from $500 a month to $250! I'm thinking a trip to Disney is in order for all of our money saved!

 

[mom2val]

I got the book... How to Cut Your Grocery Bills in Half. I followed it somewhat this month and I have spent $365 in grocerys and household supplies compaired to the 4700 I'm used to spending.

Almost had a heart attack them I realized you probable meant $700 not 4700!



We have cut our food budget way down also. We cut out eating out- saving at least $400 a month and I am shopping very carefully and planning out meals. Groceries are down to $400 a month which is less than half what I used to spend.

 

[usnuzuloose]

My Dh and I were just dicussing last night how our grocery bill is so out of control. Plus, what we spend in eating out. We need get it under control and cut back so that we can put more in the savings towards a house.

I also need to start with the coupons. I have tons in my house, but do you think I would clip them and use them?

Anyone know of any good websites to help those that are just starting out?

OP, I hope in a couple months to be where you are!!! Good job. Any tips or advise?

There are two coupon trains here on the budget board. You trade coupons, I love it I get all different kinds of coupons from my sender. One time we save 35.00 in coupons. My husband noticed the difference.

 

[ah1126]

I love www.southernsavers.com ! She lists the sales and coupons for several stores and it is free! She also lists other deals that are out there!

 

[dislvr74]

I used to use the grocery game too, but I got frustrated because she doesn't include internet coupons and it seems like a lot of the best deals include printable coupons these days. There are several really helpful blogs that match coupons to ads and make this quite easy. The key is that you have to realize that you won't save much money at first, but you will be buying significantly more food and household items for the same amount that you used to spend. Once you build a bit of a stockpile, you will start seeing a real savings. I only spend about $40/week to feed my family of four and we aren't eating processed food.

I use www.wholecouponinserts.com to purchase my coupons because my paper never has many coupons. I like to order two of each insert. You can order inserts from previous weeks and you may want to consider that in order to build up a good coupon supply quickly.

Some blogs that I use are:

www.couponingtodisney.com
www.mashupmom.com
www.savingmoneyinmissouri.com
www.mypricesavings.com
www.iheartcvs.com

 

[CoP Luv]

I use weusecoupons.com. There is a forum for many of the stores and it is so helpful (and free!!).

 

[JamesMom]

OP here,

I forgot to mention in my original post that before my I would take my kids through the drive thru at a fast food joint a couple of times a week and soon they got bored with the playground and the food. Now that we go so infrequently, they look forward to McD's Friday Night which happens only every 3 weeks or so. They eat and play for hours - so we get dinner AND a 'field trip' out of the deal. The kids don't even ask for fast food when we are out anymore, we eat beforehand or plan what we are eating when we get back. So this is how our folks did it before there was a McDs on every corner, lol.

 

[kinntj]

Congrats on the Savings! I'm getting there, but still need some work. I'm getting a ton of recipes and ideas for leftover turkey right now. All Thanksgiving weekend we'll be eating Turkey in different ways. It'll be a cheap eating weekend and no eating out.

I think just making a menu every week and making a list and sticking to it really reduces the grocery bill and food bill in general.

I've started to make a price book, so I have it with me when I shop at Kroger, Meijer and Sam's Club. My DH always wants to buy everything at SAm's, but he doesn't realize that some stuff is not a savings. It's just a lot.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

OP here,

I forgot to mention in my original post that before my I would take my kids through the drive thru at a fast food joint a couple of times a week and soon they got bored with the playground and the food. Now that we go so infrequently, they look forward to McD's Friday Night which happens only every 3 weeks or so. They eat and play for hours - so we get dinner AND a 'field trip' out of the deal. The kids don't even ask for fast food when we are out anymore, we eat beforehand or plan what we are eating when we get back. So this is how our folks did it before there was a McDs on every corner, lol.

We do that with Chick Fil A! It's a treat now, rather than a staple.

I have to say this-- I cooked all week last week and I lost 4 lbs!

 

[erinmomof2]

I recently decided to cut my families grocery budget. I cook at home more, and I love it. We're eating healthy (most of the time) and because of coupons I've got my grocery bill down to $40 a week. I love it, and it's so easy. I wish I had been more diligent about this in the past!

 

[disglitter]

I gave up a part time job this fall and felt it my duty to start cooking more and eating/taking out less. It's been a month and while I'm not sure how much money we've saved I have lost 5 pounds. I'm so grateful for all of the coupon information everyone is sharing! Now that I'm in the habit of cooking every night I'm going to try to start saving money at the grocery store!!

 

[CherylA]

Congrats on the Savings! I'm getting there, but still need some work. I'm getting a ton of recipes and ideas for leftover turkey right now. All Thanksgiving weekend we'll be eating Turkey in different ways. It'll be a cheap eating weekend and no eating out.

I think just making a menu every week and making a list and sticking to it really reduces the grocery bill and food bill in general.

I've started to make a price book, so I have it with me when I shop at Kroger, Meijer and Sam's Club. My DH always wants to buy everything at SAm's, but he doesn't realize that some stuff is not a savings. It's just a lot.

Oh I'm not the only one with a price book! I thought I was the only crazy one! Now I know when to buy huge quantities of something at the supermarket and when it's not that great a deal. Butter just went on sale at my grocery store for $2.00/lb. I bought 10 lbs for my freezer because I know that even at Costco and BJ's it's over 3.00/lb! For anyone who want to save $$ by cutting down on eatting out come join the Eat at home thread. We're all saving a lot of money!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2529344