How do I spend less on groceries?

[granolalight]

We kept track of every dollar spent in March and I was amazed by the month's total: almost $700! My *goal* was $500. I'd like to spend $125 a week, which I don't think should be too hard. We have two adults, a 7 yo dd and a toddler.

In the beginning of the month, I began meal-planning. Mid-month, everyone got the flu and we literally went several days when no one ate hardly anything. Because of that, I thought the month's total would have been even lower than normal.

Here are some culprits, and these are things not likely to change:

We drink a lot of (organic)milk

We buy meat, not always organic, and mostly chicken and ground beef

We do go through a lot of cereal and Diet Coke (probably 6-8 12 packs a month)

We go through a lot of (organic) bread, which is kind of expensive


Other than those things, we just shop for normal items, some organic, some store brand and very cheap. What can I do to make my $ go further in the grocery store? Here are some things I already do:

I found a lady in my town who sells all-natural organic eggs for $1.50 a dozen, so I've been buying from her.

Look for and shop according to sales

Buy bags of apples instead of singles

Make my own french toast and freeze it rather than buy waffles

Shop alone


Any suggestions?

[Mama2Bug]

We've had to give up on organics, for the time being, because of the increase in grocery prices. The only thing we still always buy organic is milk. To keep costs down, we've instituted a "milk is only for cooking, coffee and cereal" policy. DD drinks soy milk, so that isn't an issue, fortunately.

I've begun only buying boxed cereal if it's very on sale. Otherwise we eat oatmeal, toast, corn mush etc. Even store-brand bagels are cheaper sometimes.

We never drink soda. It has zero nutritional value, so the money we'd spend on it is basically like buying candy. I do buy juice occasionally. We also drink a lot of home-brewed iced tea.

DD and I are vegetarians, so that saves us quite a bit. DH still eats meat, but only occasionally (maybe once or twice a week). If you eat meatless meals a few times a week, it would probably cut your costs. You can eat lots of "normal" meals without meat: bean burritos, spaghetti with marinara, vegetable soup with homemade bread, grilled cheese and tomato soup, french toast, loaded baked potatoes....

NEVER shop even the slightest bit hungry.

Sign up for the store's "loyalty club"- you know, with the little key chains.

Don't buy household/health/beauty supplies at the grocery store. Most of the time they are more expensive there. Buy them someplace else, like a big-box store (unless you are boycotting all of them) or a discount club.

Buy in-season fruits and veggies. Apples are more expensive in June just like nectarines cost more in January.

Use coupons! In fact, join the MDC Coupon Club!

[MaddieMay]

Pop is a money sucker. We buy it once in awhile for mixed drinks, but that's it. If you spend $4 on a 12 pack and buy 8 each month, that's over $30 right there. With meat, you can cut down on the amount you use. When I do chili, I cut back on the meat (mainly because I don't like mine with too much) and add in more veggies. Bread is really, really easy to make so if you could start doing that it would also help out.

[nigellas]

Do you have time to make your own bread?

[LianneM]

Less meat in meals for sure - we use like 1/3 lb of ground beef in a meal that we used to use a whole pound. That saves a lot!

Incorporate more meatless meals as a pp said. We don't put any meat in spaghetti, on pizza, etc. and have added lots of veg meals.

I have a hard time eating sandwiches with homemade bread, but I make it for anything else we'd like bread with - garlic toast or toast for breakfast, rolls, pizza dough, etc. It's SO CHEAP to make! I use a bread machine to mix/knead/rise and then bake myself in my oven, but if you have a mixer you can use that easily. Of course you can make it by hand too.

Cereal is so expensive, I would definitely try to cut down on that somehow.

[kalisis]

Stop drinking soda and have something else for breakfast. Those are money suckers right there. They're also health suckers, b/c they have litttle nutritional value - you want the most bang for your buck.

We do buy organic milk, I'm careful how much anyone gets in a cup. I give half a cup first, then, if they want more, they can have it. Usually, that half a cup is enough.

We don't buy organic bread. I can't find it around here and it wouldn't be worth the cost if I could. So, I buy a brand that is whole wheat and has no HFCS in it. I make my own some weekends, if I have time and that's a HUGE money saver. The kids like to help too - the measuring and the kneading. They think it's great.

What I see is that you're going to have to make a couple of lifestyle changes if you want to save more money. Good luck mama.

[TattooedMama]

Costco has good whole wheat organic bread with no HFCS. It comes in a 2 loaf pack and lasts us a long time.
Shop for your groceries with a list and CASH. I can't "go over budget" unless I want to be embarassed at the check out line because I physically do.not.have.that.much.money.

[shayinme]

Well in the past month, I have started using the sales papers and buying what's on sale and using that as the basis for meals. Example a few weeks ago the store had 10 jars or a decent pasta sauce for $10, so I got 10 jars. Also like someone else said don't get your papergoods at the grocery store I have been doing the sales at Rite-Aid, just got 24 rolls of quilted northern for $5.99.

Definitely do not shop hungry, especially with prices higher, now the few extra items really do add up.

I am also cutting back on some of my organics though I still only buy local milk but we are not huge milk drinkers,also buying local meats while costlier actually cuts down on my meat consumption. I am planning more long pot meals, stuff that you can eat 2-3 days (chicken & barley soup, split pea, etc)

Definitely less snack food, though dh likes his snacks but we only get what's on sale.

Biggest thing I would say is plan in advance, as far as coordinating meals with what's on sale, that seems to be the only way I can keep costs down with costs rising.

Shay

[gurumama]

6-8 12-packs of soda, even on extreme sale, is $12-16 per month (more like $15-20/month). That's a lot of money to spend on aspartame-flavored water. Could you cut back?

I agree that making your own bread could help cut expenses. Can you make pancakes and eat those as a substitute for bread if the idea of making bread seems overwhelming?

[CarrieMF]

Definitly make your own waffles/pancakes/french toast & freeze.

Make your own bread & buns

Are you buying meat in bulk or in individual servings? Can you find a farmer that you can buy meat from. You'll need a freezer since you'll have to buy anywhere from 1/4 - 1/2 - a whole but it's alot cheaper. You can often find chickens too.

If you buy from a farmer you can get away with it not being organic as most of them do not inject thier cows with needless vaccines(takes away their profit to pay for them), they don't give them hormones, they're grass fed during the summer months(and possibly longer depending where you live), hay fed & sometimes grain fed during the winter months. Free-range when out to pasture.

We get our beef from my parents, they don't charge us for it. We turn around & sell it for $2/lb-$3/lb(depending on how fresh) to people here. It turns ground beef into being more expensive, but steaks & roasts a fraction of what you pay in the store so you do end up paying less overall.

Do you have room for a garden? If not can you do square foot gardening?

I have found buying groceries based on meal planning increases my grocery bill alot because I have to buy things I may not normally have on hand.

Shop the flyers, even if it means going to more than 1 store. I go to 3 stores, they're all within 10 minutes of each other.

Anything you can buy in bulk do it, as long as you'll eat everything in there. If you end up throwing away the food because it's gone bad before you eat it all then don't as you're throwing away any savings.

[Natsuki]

In all seriousness - getting your grocery budget under $500 without changing the things you listed isn't likely to happen.

The 'culprits not likely to change' are at least $100/month of your grocery bill (at least in prices around here by me), if not more (depending on how much milk, bread, meat, pop, and cereal you're eating).

Cutting down on the cereal - doing oatmeal, pancakes, eggs, toast for breakfast instead is much cheaper. The pop has got to go - just from a health standpoint not even from a budget standpoint (though it's bad there too) - you could ration it so it's a treat on the weekend instead of an every day beverage. You would also need to switch to cheaper bread.

[catballou24]

buying organic has become so expensive...we've also had to cut alot out which i'm not really happy with. i make our bread 75% of the time and am working on 100%. we buy whole chickens instead of cuts of chicken - that saves alot right there for us with meat. we cut out most red meat, much to my hubby's chagrin . we dont' buy soda - empty calories right there and expensive. we do alot of meal planning and are refining that even more. i find that if i shop for 2 weeks and know my menus, i spend ALOT less than when i'm weekly shopping. we dont' buy any canned goods anymore and opt for frozen or fresh in season. we grow alot of our vegies now too, so in season that really helps out alot! i'm also getting back into coupons, although i find alot of them are for things we just don't eat...whole food shopping is so much healthier and really less expensive in the long run..

[bc1995]

If you feel like there is no way you can give up the soda, how about switching to 2 liters instead of cans. It is much cheaper that way.

Meal planning is great, but do you meal plan according to what meats are on sale. That is how I do it.

Stock up on cereal when it is on sale for a super good price. I do this, and then only have to buy it every few months.

We are on a budget of $125/week for a family of 5. My dh also drinks sodas, we buy organic milk and eggs. My boys love their cereal in the morning. I think it is a doable budget!

[lmonter]

First off, do you have a freezer? That you can use? If so, then only buy meat when it's on sale and freeze it. I only buy whole chickens and chicken breasts and pork tenderloins and hams and ground turkey and blah blah blah when it's on sale. Then I cook or portion things out into meal-sized things and freeze most of it. So then I can literally go a month or three (or 5 I suppose, but then I'd run out) without buying meat at full price or whatnot. Organic meats would be dandy, but we don't have that kind of money. Only way we're going to end up with organic stuff is if we can grow our own chickens or buy 1/4 a cow or something.

Second, cereal. Are you buying it on sale or regular price? We don't do cereal all that often, but when we do it's straight from the pantry when I've gotten boxes for $1-$1.50/each (Kix, Honey Bunches of Oats, Rice Krispies, Corn Pops, etc. - not organic). If a cereal's over $3/box, it had better be a huge box, or I'm only buying it for a *serious* pregnancy craving.

Third, the Diet Coke. I'm not a fan of Diet Coke anymore - mostly the aspartame thing. Hubby still drinks Coke, but only when we find 2-liter bottles for $.88-$1, or a 12-pack for $2 or 24-pack for $4. Otherwise he's out of luck.

Fourth, you can also make your own waffles and freeze. Our family favorite is chocolate waffles. I can make a big batch on a weekend day and we can be set for a month. Pancakes are easier for me to just whip up in the morning, but I'm a sahm so we don't have to be anyplace by like 8am or anything.

Fifth, how much in-season stuff are you buying vs. out-of-season? I.e. are you focusing more on buying stuff when it's in season and there tends to be more of a glut in the market (so lower prices)? If you're in the US, like asparagus in spring/early summer, strawberries at the same time, raspberries in July/August, lots of apples in the fall, etc. A zucchini in December costs a bit more than one in July when people are giving them away, you know?

And my last thought... if you found the right recipe, maybe make your own bread. I'm still working on this one myself... I figure I'll find a good sandwich bread recipe in the next few years by the time the boys start trying to eat us out of the house. Until then, it's just easier on me and my pregnancy brain to just snag a loaf at the store as needed.

[greenluv]

I just finished a post on my blog about this. I spent a total of $107.66 this week on groceries. My calculations came out to approximately $17.94 for each of the 6 of us.

What I'm really curious about is what a good goal number is per person??

I buy tons of produce, we can't eat processed food because of the ingredients used due to food allergies. I was just keeping track to see if I was spending a huge amount unnecessarily on food. You know, could I do this any cheaper??


I started questioning food prices when I noticed that Wal-mart was charging $2.39 for one red bell pepper. I started looking around to see what alternatives were available to me and found I could buy at Aldi's for cheaper than walmart even. That was an eye opener for me because I'd never stepped into an Aldi's before last week.

[greenluv]

If anyone is interested, I'll post a link to the pancake recipe we use. It's a vegan recipe, but these taste so good I doubt anyone will care.


The World's Best Vegan Pancakes


This is a very forgiving recipe. If you don't have custard mix, you can use vanilla pudding. No pudding? No problem! Toss in some vanilla extract and forget about it. We quadruple this recipe and make a huge batch. What we don't eat we chuck in the freezer. These freeze very well.

[KatWrangler]

If you have to have soda, can you go generic? Or even 2-liter bottles?

[granolalight]

OP here.

Originally Posted by nigellas

Do you have time to make your own bread?

I wouldn't be opposed to it. I don't know how, though. I don't have a bread machine. I made breadsticks twice in the past few weeks (from hillbilly housewife website) and they pretty much sucked. Where might I find a good recipe?

Originally Posted by gurumama

6-8 12-packs of soda, even on extreme sale, is $12-16 per month (more like $15-20/month). That's a lot of money to spend on aspartame-flavored water. Could you cut back?

I must admit dh and I are extremely addicted to Diet Coke, with Splenda. I have 1-2 per day, he has 2-3. If I stopped buying it, I know I would just buy it when I'm out and about and that would be even more expensive. I've thought about quitting, but then I have panic attacks.

Originally Posted by bc1995

We are on a budget of $125/week for a family of 5. My dh also drinks sodas, we buy organic milk and eggs. My boys love their cereal in the morning. I think it is a doable budget!

I really WANT to spend $125 a week. I believe it should be possible but I just can't seem to make it happen.

I do make big batches of pancakes and french toast and freeze. I also make big pots of oatmeal, save it in the fridge, and serve it to the baby. DD wouldn't go for that. My family just LOVES cereal. And it seems the kinds we like aren't on sale (Peanut Butter Bumpers, etc.)

Where does everyone get coupons? I don't get the paper, and even when I do, I usually find that the coupons are for things I don't buy.

I think that finding what's on sale at different stores and running around town would drive me bonkers.

I'm not trying to discount all your wonderful suggestions. Just contemplating them, I guess, and trying to figure out what would work for us. Please keep 'em coming.

[granolalight]

Originally Posted by KatWrangler

If you have to have soda, can you go generic? Or even 2-liter bottles?

Are you kidding? I can't even go with Diet Pepsi.

DH thinks that if we have 2-liters that he drinks more.

[llamalluv]

That's a good price on eggs. I pay $1.89 for conventional eggs!

My husband and I just went cold turkey on the soda - we drink mostly water now. Sometimes we drink Aldi's version of Crystal Light. Rarely we drink milk as a beverage (usually we only use milk in cereal and cooking).

Bagged produce is not always cheaper, so don't just assume that. DH and I went shopping yesterday and had a choice between loose oranges at $0.39/pound and bagged oranges 3#/$2.50. The bagged oranges work out ot $0.83/# - more than twice the loose oranges.

We buy meat in bulk when it is super cheap. For me, that is under $1/# for chicken breasts and pork, under $0.80/# for chicken thigh ($0.49 is the best price I've seen recently), and under $2/# for beef. Last night I scored chicken breast for $0.89, pork ribs for $0.99, and O roasts (beef) for $1.49. I bought enough to last us two months (it's just the two of us).