How do I spend less on groceries? - Page 3

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Breyers comes in 1.5 qts apparently. I'd never looked that closely before.

Yeah. First they changed the container shape, then the size. They've decreased the quantity twice now, not counting the "Double Churned" stuff that they just pump air into for a fuller container with less actual product.

Also? Look at the ingredients label. When Unilever acquired "All Natural" Breyers, they ceased making the tasty "milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean" product and started added all kinds of weird stuff, like tara gum and carageenan and artificially flavored chocolate chips.

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I know the soda thing is tough, I've been working on my DH with this for years now. The first step is being willing to make the change, and it sounds like you're not. What I did is start brewing iced tea for him, while still keeping the soda in the house. The soda does not go in the fridge, the tea does. So when it gets hot, he wants something cold, and started reaching for the tea instead of the soda. I have him to the point that during the summer, he drinks very little soda and at least a gallon of iced tea a week (I make him two carafes, one caffeinated (black, green or white), one not (usually red or herbal)). That isn't to say he doesn't drink any soda at all, but his previously 6 cans/day habit is down to maybe 1/day more or less. I buy teas in bulk to save money, brew them loose and strain them into his glass. It's cheaper than buying bags. I've even gotten him to the point that he will, on occasion, drink a glass of water... when I first met him he wouldn't touch it.

You're so sneaky!

[cjr]

My family loves cereal too. Especially dh. Unfortunately cereal is a filler and does not sustain any of them for more than an hour before they are hungry again. I took the plundge and just stopped buying it. Even if I bought one box it would be gone in two days because dh would resort to that for the kids in the morning, as well as himself. Cereal servings are almost never real serving sizes as well, they usually pour 2-3 serving size bowls.

Anyway, I just stopped buying it. Every once in awhile I will buy a box, but that's maybe once every three months. Once they are off it, it's pretty easy to get good healthy cheap breakfasts in them.

I also make my own granola and we eat that instead of cereal. The whole family loves it and there are so many varieties that it doesn't get borring or old. Dh admits that he now prefers my granola to the box of cereal. Here's a tip with the granola. When you put it in your pan to bake, pat it down. Don't stir it and when you take it out leave it alone to cool totally in the pan. Use parchment paper for ease of getting it out of the pan. When it's cool you will have those great clumps of granola that's like store bought granola. I take the big clumps and give them to the kids for snacks, the smaller clumps in a bowl with some milk.

I also by organic milk, but because we don't eat cereal we go through way less of it. It's amazing how much milk you go through when eating a lot of cereal.

Soda just has to go. The fact that you can't give it up should tell you something. That's just not good. Make some pitchers of fruit ice teas and always have one in the fridge nice and cold. Celestial has zinger teas that are awsome cold. Carry a water bottle full of tea with you everywhere and just stop with the soda. I used to drink tons of it as well so I know how hard that habit it to break. Every once in awhile I will have one because I just crave that fizzy, but again I'm in a place where one every month or so it good.

Cereal and soda, at least $50 right there each month.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by llamalluv

You're so sneaky!

I do what I have to do. At the time it was about health AND money both... now it's just about health. If I could only convince him his soda habit is the reason for his dental problems.

[RoadWorkAhead]

Just an FYI: Todays smart saver had a 1$ off Stoneyfield Farms milk coupon, and I know our Sam's carries Stoneyfield farms 2% for 2.87/half gallon. It actually comes out cheaper than a gallon of non-organic milk that way.

[Aura_Kitten]

Oh I also second the idea of going to "real" soda, generic brands... (as in non-diet) ... I think Dr. Mercola has a website with info on the evils of fake sugar... OR if you can't live without it just make it a special treat.

For awhile, I was buying at least 2 sodas a day... my excuse was, I'd burn off all the extra calories (I was working at an outdoors, physically demanding job) and I needed the hydration... but the cost, I just couldn't justify.

The ONLY time I treat myself to a soda now is about... once every 2 or 3 months, when my bf comes to visit ( ), IF we're doing to go out and pick up dinner rather than cooking, I pick up a small bottle (12-something oz) of Vanilla Coke. That's it, that's my splurge.

I swear it tastes better when you only drink it so rarely.

Like Taco Bell. ~ I went for years without eating Taco Bell ... and when I finally treated myself to a 7 layer burrito, it was heaven.

[straighthaircurly]

I have instituted the following changes in the past 6 months and have significantly lowered our overall food bill.

In general I am trying to move away from processed food step by step...so far I have started to:

bake bread
make our own crackers
make our own granola bars and energy bars
make our own yogurt
make own soup stocks
make meals from scratch (I do a ton of crockpot cooking)
meal plan and more carefully manage leftovers
we eat vegetarian at least 3 times a week and serve smaller meat portions on the other days.

We buy organic milk and buy organic eggs from DS school but otherwise I am buying less organics unless on sale.

In the next 6 months I plan to plant a large garden plot in a community garden and do a lot of canning. Also wean us from store ought cereal by making our own granola. All of these things take time but our grocery bills are shrinking and my DS compliments me on the food more often (DH too).

[newcastlemama]

We have gotten off cereal and soda

..so I know it can be done!

I weaned my dh of soda. I weaned myself off cereal. We have not had them in the house for years....They just have to be repaced with something else. Could you do brewed tea with splenda? There are lots of herbal and balck flavors to have. Or he could have a "soda budget" (this is what we do with dh's beer) so he conserves and really enjoyes it when he has it.

For cereal..maybe to start you could have it on Fridays only as a treat if they eat the other breakfast choices the whole week. If the kids like PB cereal maybe make some porridge with some pb stirred in..or cocoa powder or both. My 3yo likes it when I cook oatmeal with frozen strawberries, butter, vanilla and maple syryp. Or you can do frozen peaches, vanilla, butter, and cinnimon. There are lots of good mix in ideas! My family loves granola too. It is really easy to make at home.

I found a lot of success to moving to whole foods with my family is finding really good recipes to replace what they like.

Like cristeen said..you are in charge! Ds always wants boxed cereal when we shop but instead it is something that he gets as a treat when he sleeps at grandma's house. He also helps cook his breakfast so I think that makes him more excited about eating it too

Jen

[Flor]

I just wanted to mention the 99 cent store. I don't do my main shopping there, but I do swing by. Yesterday I got quarts of organic milk, Earthbound Farms organic lettuce, organic Lipton tea, Barbara's Organic Wild Puff cereal. There were organic canned goods, balance bars, etc. Lots of junk, too! And, I don't live in a crunchy town.

Also, if you do try the grocerygame, I just wanted to mention that it did take a couple of weeks to start saving. The first few weeks you don't have all the coupons and you are "stocking," though we got a lot more food, our bills were the same at first.

The weird part is that we are buying much more meat and spending a lot less money since we wait till its on sale then stock up.

[MtBikeLover]

Originally Posted by A&A

Unfortunately, it's not, for a family of four. We'd be doing well to only spend that much.

I was going to say the same thing. We also track everything we spend and our food bill every month runs $1,100 for a family of 4. That includes anything spent on food (not just groceries) like snacks at the gas station, eating out, etc.

We eat lots of fruits and meats, which makes our bill add up. And I shop at a super cheap grocery store plus the clubs. Finding anything cheaper than those options is impossible.

[Evenstar]

I haven't read any responses yet, so sorry if there are repeats.

I think the easiest change to make would be nixing the cereal. Learn to love oatmeal. It's cheap and very filling.

Add beans (dried) and rice (not boxed) to your meals. It helps meat go further.

Eventually, you can start making your own bread (I'm not exactly practicing what I preach in that area)

baby crying, gtg

[granolalight]

OP here again.

Originally Posted by MtBikeLover

I was going to say the same thing. We also track everything we spend and our food bill every month runs $1,100 for a family of 4. That includes anything spent on food (not just groceries) like snacks at the gas station, eating out, etc.

We eat lots of fruits and meats, which makes our bill add up. And I shop at a super cheap grocery store plus the clubs. Finding anything cheaper than those options is impossible.

That makes me feel better. Already I've cut out lots of organics and such. I used to shop at Whole Foods. Now there's not even one in the town where I live. In this same month where our spending for groceries was $700, we also spent $118 eating out here and there.

I have signed up at www.grocerygame.com. It sounds like a lot of people have had success there. I hope I do too. I just hope it doesn't become to big of a hassle. I know myself, and if it's too consuming I will get lazy and go back to my old ways.

[Flor]

Originally Posted by granolalight

OP here again.




That makes me feel better. Already I've cut out lots of organics and such. I used to shop at Whole Foods. Now there's not even one in the town where I live. In this same month where our spending for groceries was $700, we also spent $118 eating out here and there.

I have signed up at www.grocerygame.com. It sounds like a lot of people have had success there. I hope I do too. I just hope it doesn't become to big of a hassle. I know myself, and if it's too consuming I will get lazy and go back to my old ways.

Just don't start reading the boards over there. There are some bargain obssessed ladies over there! I was intimidated by those who spend 20 dollars a week (but go to a ton of stores, over and over, and purchase items in certain order/combinations). I'm sure they save more than me, but I really only go to one store, once a week.

[staceychev]

I just noticed that you're in Texas--things should be pretty warm there by now, right? (My friends in Austin already planted their tomatoes...) Anyway, do you have a farmers' market or CSA that still has open shares? That way you can get your organics but get them at better than Whole Foods prices. I consider myself really lucky that I have organic options other than "Whole Paycheck" in my area--now it's a treat to shop there, but only once a month or so.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

That is just... so much money!! I mean, not judging but, I only bring in $680 a month, total, for everything. Plus $230 in food stamps. That $230 is supposed to last the entire month, and last month was the first month it didn't. I just cannot imagine spending $700!! I bet you're not going hungry

and

Originally Posted by Aura_Kitten

I have two kids and a bf who visits frequently now, plus I have friends over several times a month... and I still manage to not spend anywhere close to that amount. I think it has more to do with your priorities plus your ability to spend than what's really possible here

I don't think it's that much - it really depends on how many poeple you are feeding, and the appetites of those people. And, like you said, the priorities. I have a family of 6, all are males except me and they eat a ton - everyone of them except the 18 mo old eat more than I do, easily. And we're not talking junk - I don't buy junk. We're talking fresh produce, homemade bread, lots of whole grains, organic dairy, and limited meat. It just costs a lot to feed this many mouths, LOL! And my priority is on organics as much as I can, because I feel strongly that what we put in our bodies is so important to overall health. The lowest I've been able to get our grocery budget is around $700!

OP - like so many others have said, you have got to nix the soda! It's killing your budget, and probably your teeth and stomach, too. Never mind the cancer all that fake sugar is giving you

[annmartina]

Bulk food sections are usually really cheap places to get beans, lentils, and often the EXACT same cereal sold for $7 a pound in a box is less than $2 a pound in the bulk section. (A word of caution: bulk goods don't seem to go on sale very often where I shop -- you might be able to beat the bin price if a bag of dried beans goes on sale).

Not sure what to do with all those lentils, beans and whatnot? When we were trying to cut down our grocery bill by reducing meat, I found that new and slightly exotic dishes that weren't supposed to have meat kept us from feeling deprived. (For example, we always had meat with spaghetti, so suddenly having no meat with spaghetti felt really incomplete, like we hadn't really eaten dinner!) Try some new ethnic recipes, like dalh (Indian curry made with lentils), the most supremely delicious chickpea curry known to humankind found at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chickpea-Curry/Detail.aspx and nachos made with homemade refried beans.

At least once a week, I make dishes that use shreds of veggies left in my fridge, like fried rice, quiche (crustless in my case to save time), burritos and egg flower soup. For the soup, stir two or three well-beaten eggs into a slowly swirling pot of veggie broth and add your choice of veggies (thinly sliced onion, peppers, carrots, anything really). We like a little miso paste as well for an authentic Asian flavor. This can actually be a huge budget-stretching move if you make this soup once a week and don't have to purchase any produce or meat specifically for it. Serve with rice (sushi, fried or plain) because otherwise it doesn't offer much by way of carbs.

Also consider trying new beverages. Make a pitcher of iced tea from tea purchased in the bulk section or yerba mate, which has a kind of caffeine that gets you going and relaxes you at the same time -- you will feel way better than when you drink diet soft drinks! I'm not suggesting you give up your addiction, just replace it with something cheaper and healthier.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by MtBikeLover

We eat lots of fruits and meats, which makes our bill add up. And I shop at a super cheap grocery store plus the clubs. Finding anything cheaper than those options is impossible.

Have you considered buying a quarter of beef or a 1/2 or whole hog?

While I'm not sure of the price of meat in club stores (we only have Sam's here and we don't do Wal-Mart) I bet the price of a 1/4 of beef would be pretty comparible to meat at a club store (and could be sourced from a local farmer and be grassfeed to boot).

[IntuitiveJamie]

I have finally figured out to give up or change certain things I buy/don't buy in order to buy things I really want like organic food. So I make my own cleaning supplies which cost pennies, I bake my own bread (again, pennies), I am going to start doing family cloth but I already do CD's and mama pads. I am also about to give up paper towels. Shifting these things opened up my budget to buy things that were more important to me. Like organic food.
I think $125 is totally doable, but I live in MS which is the most affordable state in the country so I'm not too sure it is elsewhere. Good luck!

[Amys1st]

I belong to a local CSA and I also purchased a quarter of beef- next year a side for sure. It comes up to $4 a pound for beef which for ground is more but for all the others, is awesome. I have organic fruit and veggies plus our dairy delivered. I shop for dry goods at the grocery as well as deli items. I also do a frontier coop. Not going to the store and using what comes in the delivery box makes the meals a bit different and creative each week and saves time going to the grocery store plus impulse buys.

But my biggest money saver- menu planning. Write out on a calendar what the plans are for dinner etc for the week. Include in working late or going out etc so you know that ahead of time.