Your monthly grocery bill and a celebration for me lol

[LaDonna]

we had this saturday http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Sausage-Soup/Detail.aspx

1 pound Italian sausage( I used probably 3/4lb, which cost about $2)
1 clove garlic, minced (used powdder-costminimal)
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth(used cubes instead-cost minimal)
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes(I used diced .50)
1 cup sliced carrots(.50)
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained(.65)
2 small zucchini, cubed($1)
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn(.99-great price last week at Aldi)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

total right under $6

 

[Marionnette]

I totally get where your saying

So I'll try and start showing what we eat and how much I can remember that we paid for it as in my above post......


another example:

kids had Frosted mini wheats which I never pay more than $1 a box for cereal
me and ds had oatmeal and added frozen blueberries, oatmeal was free after coupon and blueberries were organic frozen I purchased at Publix and if I remember correctly I paid around .65 cents for the bag, and of course we didn't use them all

for snacks today my ds had some fruity snacks(we actually very rarely purchase these) and a mini bag of smart pop jiffy popcorn) I had no snacks I just don't snack lol puts too much weight on my and negates my walking 3 miles every day)

Well right there I can see where we diverge in shopping and dining styles. My husband has his "morning cereal" that costs me $2 per box *on sale* and I almost never find a coupon for it. We go thru at least two boxes per week. Add in a cup of milk per bowl @$3.50/gal., 8 oz. of juice per day @$3.00/gal (on sale), two lbs of strawberries per week @$5.00 plus tea and honey and we're talking about spending $53 per month just for breakfast for one person!

 

[Marionnette]

When I go shopping this friday I would be more than happy to type up my menu and prices of what I bought. Really we cut our groceries out of necessity a few years ago when my husband was laid off for almost 6 months. After cutting stuff back when we had to it seemed odd to go back to what we were spending before.

Also I'm not sure if geography has anything to do with it, seems like people in the North and especially canadians pay more.

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to what you do to keep costs down.

 

[bjgrazi]

we had this saturday http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Sausage-Soup/Detail.aspx

1 pound Italian sausage( I used probably 3/4lb, which cost about $2)I have sausage in my freezer and it's $3.79 lb.
1 clove garlic, minced (used powdder-costminimal)
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth(used cubes instead-cost minimal)
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes(I used diced .50)Brought them on Thursday $1.89 can
1 cup sliced carrots(.50)
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained(.65)cheapest I've seen is $1.19 can
2 small zucchini, cubed($1) I didn't purchase these today they were $2.99 lb. I'll wait next week they should be on sale.
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn(.99-great price last week at Aldi) $2.99 on sale for a 9oz package
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

total right under $6

I guess it's just a regional thing, but it seems groceries are much more expensive where we live. Aldi's is over 45 minute drive and we went once it was gross, never will we go back.

 

[figment3258]

We spend about 450$ a month but I would love to see the price go down it's so hard my mil lives with us and she only likes certain brands and needs juke food like ice cream every night she helps out with the groceries but only about one quarter of what the bill is if that.

 

[LaDonna]

Well right there I can see where we diverge in shopping and dining styles. My husband has his "morning cereal" that costs me $2 per box *on sale* and I almost never find a coupon for it. We go thru at least two boxes per week. Add in a cup of milk per bowl @$3.50/gal., 8 oz. of juice per day @$3.00/gal (on sale), two lbs of strawberries per week @$5.00 plus tea and honey and we're talking about spending $53 per month just for breakfast for one person!

yeah my dh doesn't even eat breakfast, if he does it is maybe a few times a week not every day, and he has a bowl of cereal or the occasional egg w/toast, and he drinks tea at every meal, actually my 2 sons are the only ones that drink juice.......I don't think our milk has hit $3.50 a gallon yet, but I could be wrong, i stocked up on milk a couple of weeks ago(Smart Balance was free at Publix w/ coupon)
and strawberries here have been under $2 for a few weeks now
it definately depends on which region you live

 

[LaDonna]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LaDonna
we had this saturday http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian...up/Detail.aspx

1 pound Italian sausage( I used probably 3/4lb, which cost about $2)I have sausage in my freezer and it's $3.79 lb.
1 clove garlic, minced (used powdder-costminimal)
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth(used cubes instead-cost minimal)
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes(I used diced .50)Brought them on Thursday $1.89 can
1 cup sliced carrots(.50)
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained(.65)cheapest I've seen is $1.19 can
2 small zucchini, cubed($1) I didn't purchase these today they were $2.99 lb. I'll wait next week they should be on sale.
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn(.99-great price last week at Aldi) $2.99 on sale for a 9oz package
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

total right under $6

I guess it's just a regional thing, but it seems groceries are much more expensive where we live. Aldi's is over 45 minute drive and we went once it was gross, never will we go back.

oh wow that is quite a difference! all those prices I quoted were sale prices so they normally are higher, but I don't think the beans are ever that high, I usually actually cook and freeze my own beans much cheaper and tastier

 

[superme80]

We eat almost completely organic and local so our bill is around $600 a month, but I am trying to cut it down. I will only buy meat at the local butchers shop, so that bill runs me around $30 a month. We eat a lot of beans and I cook from scratch as much as I can. I recently started using coupons and have cut my bill by a little bit. I also live in Northern California, so I think all of our prices are way more than most of the country.

 

[DawnM]

How much meat do you buy for $30? That actually seems low to me for a family per month, although with very young kids maybe you don't need as much as I do.

Dawn

We eat almost completely organic and local so our bill is around $600 a month, but I am trying to cut it down. I will only buy meat at the local butchers shop, so that bill runs me around $30 a month. We eat a lot of beans and I cook from scratch as much as I can. I recently started using coupons and have cut my bill by a little bit. I also live in Northern California, so I think all of our prices are way more than most of the country.

 

[DawnM]

I just started couponing again. We will see how it goes. I did get $7 per bottle shampoo and conditioner for $1.50 with coupons and got 5 of them (2 shampoos and 3 conditioners) I have very thick, fly-away hair and I can't stand it, but I can't use the regular shampoos or conditioners.

My total retail was just over $400 and I paid just under $100 this week, including the shampoos and some cleaners. There were some processed foods, like Keebler cookies and tortilla chips, but I have decided I need some of that stuff on hand as we go to at least one potluck or scout event per month where we are asked to bring snacks or food. I was stopping before the event and spending $5-$10 instead of keeping some $1 with coupon items on hand. I also bought (with that $$) chicken thigh quarters that were on sale for .47/pound. They are not organic and I had no coupon for them, but I stocked up anyway as that is a good price (normally $2/pound).

Dawn

 

[DawnM]

Some of you asked what someone would eat who only spends $200/mo. on groceries.

There is an e-book from someone who does.

http://www.budget101.com/ebooklet/ebooklet_fam4.pdf

This is without couponing, but it is cooking most everything from scratch, which does take TIME!

I love some of her ideas though. We don't do the meat she does as we aren't really beef eaters, but we do glean some valuable ideas.

Dawn

 

[DawnM]

I would ask around about buying the cow. We have several here that I didn't know about until I asked. I am only 4 hours from you too!

We don't do it as we just aren't beef eaters. Some years we go completely without buying any beef and only eat it if we are at someone's house or occasionally out to eat. This year we have purchased it twice already, in small quantities, which has surprised me.

Dawn

Yeah this is my 500th post I love you all!

Anywho here lately I've been wondering exactly how much I have been spending on my monthly grocery bill(I included toiletries too)......I always thought it was around $200 but after keeping track last month I realized I was more at close to $275......and I coupon heavily. I'm hoping over the months it will average out to less, ya' know sometimes when you stockpile your bill may be higher that week. What do you spend monthly?
And unfortunately we didn't buy a quarter cow like we usually do(we drove out of state to get it and didn't justify the cost this year w/ gas prices being so high) So now I'm going crazy because GEE meat is higher than I'm used to paying, we were paying 3.50# for everything, even tbones/roast etc......So now I got to get my head around paying more. So any tips on meat buying?

 

[DeniseinNS]

I was just sitting here reading this and thinking the exact same thing. I'm also from Canada. There is no way we could feed our family of 5 on $300 a month and although I do buy some packaged food, there is a lot I cut out or only buy when it is on sale.

I am Canadian as well and I don't use many coupons. We've only been spending around $200-$225 a month on groceries for our family of 4 (me,dh, 2 kids age 9 and almost 6) this includes packed lunches for my hubby and the kids 5 days a week and my kids drink a TON of milk. A few money savers for us:

-we get all of our bread at Ben's bread outlet at a great price
-there is a meat market nearby where their meats are half the cost of what the grocery store sells for
-we also go to a fruit/veggie store which is super cheap as well (for $20 there we get a ton of stuff!)
-I stock up on stuff that we use alot of when it is on sale
-Some cereals have coupons for free yogurt, free ice cream, etc....

Our grocery bill was alot higher when I only shopped at the grocery store for everything.

 

[bjgrazi]

This thread and the e-book link has me inspired to cut our bill. I was talking to my husband about it, and we're both determined to see how much we can cut our bills for the next few months. Thanks Ladies, you've been a great inspiration.

 

[mrodgers]

Some of you asked what someone would eat who only spends $200/mo. on groceries.

There is an e-book from someone who does.

http://www.budget101.com/ebooklet/ebooklet_fam4.pdf

This is without couponing, but it is cooking most everything from scratch, which does take TIME!

It was completely lost on me right off the bat when it stated "Purchase your meat in bulk, you can get it as low as $0.29/lb."

Perhaps in 1924. Buying meat in bulk is around $2.30/lb. right now. We don't buy in bulk because they are our own cows in the family. I don't think you could even have it butchered for under $1/lb.

We eat a lot of beef, I don't pay a dime for the beef (father-in-law raises and has it butchered) and we still spend $200+/week.

 

[EvangelineG]

It was completely lost on me right off the bat when it stated "Purchase your meat in bulk, you can get it as low as $0.29/lb."

Perhaps in 1924. Buying meat in bulk is around $2.30/lb. right now. We don't buy in bulk because they are our own cows in the family. I don't think you could even have it butchered for under $1/lb.

We eat a lot of beef, I don't pay a dime for the beef (father-in-law raises and has it butchered) and we still spend $200+/week.

Yup, I recently priced this out in my area. Half or whole beef, butchered & wrapped= $3.50 per pound, $4.99 for lamb, $2.50-$3 for chicken or turkey and $3.99 for pork. This is for grass fed/free range. What farmer would be willing to part with good meat for $0.29/lb? Would that even cover his cost to raise the animal?

Still, I am really inspired to cut our grocery bills as much as I can.

 

[bjgrazi]

It was completely lost on me right off the bat when it stated "Purchase your meat in bulk, you can get it as low as $0.29/lb."

Perhaps in 1924. Buying meat in bulk is around $2.30/lb. right now. We don't buy in bulk because they are our own cows in the family. I don't think you could even have it butchered for under $1/lb.

We eat a lot of beef, I don't pay a dime for the beef (father-in-law raises and has it butchered) and we still spend $200+/week.

I started reading this also and I thought to myself wow, I really don't do things the right way. See up until 1999 we raised our own beef and pork. Even raising it ourselves, it was still more expensive than .29 lb. We use to raise a cow, keep half for us and sell half, same with pigs.

 

[superme80]

How much meat do you buy for $30? That actually seems low to me for a family per month, although with very young kids maybe you don't need as much as I do.

Dawn

It isn't a lot. I get 2 packages of boneless chicken breast. They are big enough to feed DH and me for 2 meals. I also get 2 pound and a half packages of ground beef. That takes care of us. I can usually cook it and freeze a half of pound for a casserole or something. DH is the only big meat eater in the house. DS is content to live on veggie soups and pb&j.

 

[bowne90]

I don't have a clue how much I spend each month on groceries. I've never kept track. I guess I should try it one month just to see. I'm sure I would be surprised (and probably not in a good way). I do use a lot of coupons and I buy things when they are on sale and stock up.

 

[marmalade]

Well LaDonna you probably just saved me a trip to the store that probably would have ended up costing me $50. I was thinking about what to make for dinner today and I suddenly began craving cheesy potatoes. Since I don't have the ingredients for said dish I was going to go to the store to get the stuff which would have led to I need one of these and one of those.

Well I stood there and thought to myself "Self, what would LaDonna do?" So I looked in my kitchen for what I already had and decided on macaroni salad, a garden salad and BBQ chicken.

So thanks LaDonna for saving me $50 today.