groceries

Corey · Guru

RE: groceries

dorian · Senior Member

Corey wrote:

dorian wrote:

Corey wrote:

i spend maybe $300/month...probably less.

i've been meaning to ask you which coupon blogs you read

i read one, but it's sometimes waaay too confusing

i'd adore any links you have to share

the ones i read are store specific to my grocery store, so idt they would help you much. i spend the majority of my time on the slickdeals forum for my store.

okay, i didn't realize slickdeals had store specific boards

i'll look around there

Thanks

happylib · Guru

I can't answer all of your questions, but I can tell you a little. First, teen age boys eat you out of house and home. When Rick was living at home (even though that included some college years), he was a bottomless pit. Now that he is gone, my grocery bill has dropped at least $300 a month. That being said, I have become less frugal since being married.

Some of the things I did to be frugal to help supplement Rick's never ending appetite:
Microwave popcorn (generic)
Cheap generic cereal
Peanut butter sandwiches
Do you have a bread maker? I can make a loaf for very little and he would eat it
Jiffy mix muffins are pretty cheap (add a can of corn to corn muffins)
Ramen noodles (yes I know they don't have great nutritional value)

Also, chili is pretty inexpensive to make.

I can give you an easy recipe for bean soup, but don't know if you would eat it.

Making your own meatless lasagna is pretty easy.

Soup and sandwich night is cheap and good.

Breakfast for supper is also pretty cheap. (Egg quiche like casserole is easy)

Tuna noodle casserole can be cheap

I will try to think on it some more. Please feel free to pick my brain on the teen boy bottomless pit issue or vegetarian recipes (I am one but not the rest of my family)

supergrover · Guru

Oh, and we buy turkeys on crazy thanksgiving sales for the next 6 months or more. We make one every other month month. Cheap and we make so many meals out of one turkey.

-- Edited by supergrover on Wednesday 4th of November 2009 10:19:04 AM

happylib · Guru

Oh one other thing I forgot to mention. The university here has a meat lab. I know that sounds icky, but it's part of the agricultural college. We get some very good quality meat there for a decent price. If you have a freezer you can buy a quarter or half side of beef for 2-2.50 a pound. That includes steaks! It even gets me excited, and I don't eat it.

kdrew · Guru

Starting a new recipe thread.

sbucking · Guru

happylib wrote:

Oh one other thing I forgot to mention. The university here has a meat lab. I know that sounds icky, but it's part of the agricultural college. We get some very good quality meat there for a decent price. If you have a freezer you can buy a quarter or half side of beef for 2-2.50 a pound. That includes steaks! It even gets me excited, and I don't eat it.

This is what we started doing last fall. We get a 1/4 of a cow and all the meat, including processing, is 2.49 a pound. We get enough hamburger, roasts, ribs, and steaks to last through the winter. Plus, the quality cannot be beat. Our next delivery should be next week!

Alison · Guru

I agree that meal planning is key.

I make 1-2 vegetarian dinners every week. I've been cooking with beans, which are nutritious and have lots of protein, so the dishes are filling and cheap.

We have 3 major grocery stores and 2 natural foods stores, so I look at the sales circulars every weekend to figure out where to do my shopping at for the week, and try to match coupons to store sales. I only do one shopping trip per week, but we have fewer people in our house than you do. :)

I don't have a big freezer, but if something like lean ground beef is really cheap one week, I'll buy a few pounds, divide it up and freeze each pound in a freezer bag. This way I only buy meat on sale, and then I have it on hand so I can space out my shopping trips a little longer.

John is doing Weight Watchers and I'm dairy- and soy-free, so I'm a little more limited on what I can buy and cook, but I've been able to make a lot of really yummy, inexpensive meals.

We don't eat pizza anymore :(, but when we did, it was so helpful to just have a couple of frozen pizzas on hand. It's way cheaper than ordering, and when something so easy is available, it cuts down on the temptation to do fast food.

These blogs are awesome:

http://www.bargainbriana.com

http://www.5dollardinners.com

http://www.ppgazette.com

I'll look and post some easy, cheap recipes today! I agree with Libby - chili is easy, filling, and cheap. Make some cornbread to go with it and it's a wonderful meal!

-- Edited by Alison on Wednesday 4th of November 2009 11:18:48 AM

sappy · Guru

3s_a_crowd wrote:

for waffles if you eat a ton (we do too) maybe it would benefit you to invest in a waffle maker and make them yourself.

Would the kids notice non name brand cereal/peanut butter.

WOuld you be able to make it to a walmart at least once a month or so. I know the meat at WM is much much cheaper than albertsons here. It can be frozen for several months if you want to just stock up.

you know what - we have a waffle maker. i think i will make a bunch & freeze them. then i could just toast them in the morning. great idea!

libby - we also have a bread machine & dan loves making bread so i think i'll have him bake bread on sundays.

sappy · Guru

Corey wrote:

why aren't you sticking at jewel for everything? start ordering coupons and hit the catalina deals hard. use your extra cats for non-cat items like milk, produce, and meat???

ok, so my jewel is running a spend $30 get $15 cat promotion starting thursday. i went through the ad and separated out the things i would buy into $30 groups. right now i have 4 groups of items each costing $30 according to their sale prices.

can you walk me through this?

so i can order coupons online from....where?

and then what's the best way to roll these cats so i can spend the least amount of money.

CoffeeQueen · Guru

I wish I could say I save money on this. I am not sure what we spend per month. That may be bad, but I just buy what I need.

I buy mostly fresh produce and that can be pricey for some. However, I find that if you have a Farmers market it really saves to buy produce there.

I buy my meat from a meat store.

Then the rest is Target for cereal, crackers, soup and then the rest is my local Kroger grocery store.

I do agree that meal planning is key and something I am getting better at.

I try to make a few meals to last more then once

Beef Stew w/ brown rice
Chili - White or Veggie or Reg
Soup - great to have a hearty soup w/ baggett for dinner
Quiche is very cheap and you can toss in any veggie

I get a whole chicken and cook and you can use it for multiple things or freeze some to use later.

I stink at coupons and all of that. I just cannot find the time to organize and half the time it is for things I never use or would never buy anyway.

Sara · Guru

Corey wrote:

dorian wrote:

Corey wrote:

i spend maybe $300/month...probably less.

i've been meaning to ask you which coupon blogs you read

i read one, but it's sometimes waaay too confusing

i'd adore any links you have to share

the ones i read are store specific to my grocery store, so idt they would help you much. i spend the majority of my time on the slickdeals forum for my store.

so jealous of the amount you are spending! did not even think to look at slick deals. of course none of those good stores are in my area. but i am going to keep checking that forum.

we do have an aldi's that opened about 9 months ago. that has saved us quite a bit. that and walmart is where i do my grocery shopping mainly.

as far as amount the average on my spreadsheet is about $650-$700. Of course that also groups in all shampoos, soaps, toilet paper, etc items like that.

sappy · Guru

Sara wrote:

Corey wrote:

dorian wrote:

Corey wrote:

i spend maybe $300/month...probably less.

i've been meaning to ask you which coupon blogs you read

i read one, but it's sometimes waaay too confusing

i'd adore any links you have to share

the ones i read are store specific to my grocery store, so idt they would help you much. i spend the majority of my time on the slickdeals forum for my store.

so jealous of the amount you are spending! did not even think to look at slick deals. of course none of those good stores are in my area. but i am going to keep checking that forum.

we do have an aldi's that opened about 9 months ago. that has saved us quite a bit. that and walmart is where i do my grocery shopping mainly.

as far as amount the average on my spreadsheet is about $650-$700. Of course that also groups in all shampoos, soaps, toilet paper, etc items like that.

yeah, my grocery spending does not include soaps, shampoos, diapers, toilet paper, etc...

:shame:

Supafly · Guru

You have already gotten a ton of great ideas here. ITA with making your own waffles and such, and meals that stretch are great.

IDK exactly how much we spend. Some months it will be more than others depending on if we are getting a pricier item at a reduced price, like meat or seafood. We have a freezer, and I find that essential for being able to reduce costs for those items.

Also, IDC if the girls don't like it. I do try and make things that are kid friendly, but like you said, there is always a complaint. If they are hungry, they will eat it, and if they are that against what I made, they will be more hungry, lol.

Some weeks I spend $50, some I spend $150. I spent like $150 this week because I was buying ingredients for food for Kate's birthday party-things I had to get regardless of sales. But on average, i would say I spend about $300-400 on food and such a month.

I do shop sales and use coupons when applicable, though like Melissa, there are a lot of coupons I don't use. But if things are on a really good sale and I have coupons to make them free or almost, I think I am going to start buying them anyway and donating them. There are so many people in need.

But anyway, I make freezer meals. It cuts down on costs because I can make things when the ingredients are on sale and freeze them. It also adds to convenience because I always have things in the freezer for those times I don't feel like cooking or something comes up.

But those are mostly casseroles and such, so I don't want nothing but casseroles. I meal plan every week (some do more than one week, but I find the produce just doesn't always last, so I do it weekly-plus IDK what we will want the following week). I either look into the freezer to see what meats or seafood we have and we go from there, or if we want something specific or don't have much in the freezer, I will see what is on a good sale and go from there. I also stock pile other ingredients (like a variety of canned tomatoes, beans, chiles, etc) so many times, I only need a few fresh ingredients for that week.

Bill takes his lunch everyday. I pack it for him every night. We don't eat out at restaurants but maybe once a month if that. I don't buy prepackaged foods-no frozen pizzas or frozen meals, unless I made them and froze them. (we also use a gallon of milk a week on a heavy week, so we don't have the milk issue!!)

You can actually pop regular popcorn in the microwave if you are a popcorn eater. A 1/4 popcorn and a teaspoon of oil in a brown paper bag (add salt if you want), fold the bag once and staple (it will not spark-just use two staples) and microwave until there are 3-5 seconds btwn pops. Season and done. So much cheaper and healthier.

CheleLyn · Senior Member

sappy wrote:

3s_a_crowd wrote:

for waffles if you eat a ton (we do too) maybe it would benefit you to invest in a waffle maker and make them yourself.

Would the kids notice non name brand cereal/peanut butter.

WOuld you be able to make it to a walmart at least once a month or so. I know the meat at WM is much much cheaper than albertsons here. It can be frozen for several months if you want to just stock up.

you know what - we have a waffle maker. i think i will make a bunch & freeze them. then i could just toast them in the morning. great idea!

libby - we also have a bread machine & dan loves making bread so i think i'll have him bake bread on sundays.

Every couple weeks, I buy a box of pancake mix---the just add water kind. I'll take a weekend morning and make up the whole box of pancake mix. To make them more filling I add a mashed banana to a batch. I also use cheap choco chips in a batch, and then some cut up frozen bluberries in a batch. After they cool, I put them in freezer bags and add to the freezer. The kids LOVE them and if they want pancakes several times a week, its already done and all they have to do is pull out a couple and nuke them, so I dont have to make pancakes several time.

Also, when the kids were taking lunch to school, I would make up their pbj sandwiches and put them in small freezer bags in the freezer as well...by the time lunch came around they were thawed and ready to eat.

I VERY RARELY buy ground beef...I get Jennie o ground turkey....the frozen 1 pound rolls. At my walmart, they are $1.35 per pound---A LOT cheaper than ground beef and can be used the same way as ground beef.

Our grocery store does "Meal Deals"...generally yu have to buy the main part but then they give you a BUNCH of stuff to go with it for free.

Also...those Stoufer lasagna are GREAT IMO...$12.00 plus add garlic bread and salad and I can feed our family of 7.

I have also noticed the the healthier and whole the food, the more filling it seems, so even though it's sometimes a little more expensive, in the long run it's cheaper, kwim?

Corey · Guru

sappy wrote:

Corey wrote:

why aren't you sticking at jewel for everything? start ordering coupons and hit the catalina deals hard. use your extra cats for non-cat items like milk, produce, and meat???

ok, so my jewel is running a spend $30 get $15 cat promotion starting thursday. i went through the ad and separated out the things i would buy into $30 groups. right now i have 4 groups of items each costing $30 according to their sale prices.

can you walk me through this?

so i can order coupons online from....where?

and then what's the best way to roll these cats so i can spend the least amount of money.

we have the same deal starting friday:)
i am cooking lunch now, but will get back to this in a bit...

Alison · Guru

Sara, would you want to post what you have in your pantry and fridge and maybe we could help with some ideas for meals?

Corey · Guru

Corey wrote:

sappy wrote:

Corey wrote:

why aren't you sticking at jewel for everything? start ordering coupons and hit the catalina deals hard. use your extra cats for non-cat items like milk, produce, and meat???

ok, so my jewel is running a spend $30 get $15 cat promotion starting thursday. i went through the ad and separated out the things i would buy into $30 groups. right now i have 4 groups of items each costing $30 according to their sale prices.

can you walk me through this?

so i can order coupons online from....where?

and then what's the best way to roll these cats so i can spend the least amount of money.

we have the same deal starting friday:)
i am cooking lunch now, but will get back to this in a bit...

okay, first of all. your ad says buy $30 at sale prices get $15, but guess what! the $30 is almost always met from shelf prices, not sale prices!! and coupons don't count against your total. hmmm, maybe doing a little example will help you--does your store double coupons?? if not, then disregard my doubling in my math below...

so, here is a scenario i am planning on for this deal:

breyers is $5.29 shelf price and 2.99 sale price. buying $30 (at shelf price, don't forget) gets me $15. i also have a bunch of .75/1 breyers coupons to use and my store doubles, so those are worth 1.50. are you following me?? :)

here is my math:

6 breyersX5.29=31.74 (so i have met that $30 mark)
6 breyers at sale price of 2.99= 17.94
now, don't forget i have 6 .75/1 q's to use doubled to 1.50 so...
6 q's X 1.50 each= 9.00

6 breyers 17.94- 9.00 in q's= 8.94 spent of MY money and get back 15.00

so, i just made $$ by buying those.

now, if i go back and do the EXACT same transaction i am now "rolling"--

my total will once again be 8.94, but instead of cash, i pay with cats and a new $15 worth of cats will print out.

i will group all of my deals into similar amount and pay with the cats all week long. now, my freezer is stocked with icecream (enough to last me until the next cat deal)

any questions??

i order from the couponsnthingsbydede site.

Corey · Guru

oh, and to get non'cat items like milk...

in my scenario above i paid for the 8.94 with 15 in cats...so i now have a 6.06 overage to fill up with milk, veggies, etc...

i hope this makes sense!!

Alicia · Senior Member

I spend 105/month on angel food(2 regular boxes, meat box and a fruit/vege box) and 50/week(probably less. I get 80/week for that, gas, non food stuff.) to supplement that. All our meat is from angel food. Bread is from the bread store. I do walmart for the other things. I cook 95% of everything. Usually don't buy prepared chips, cookies or any kind of dessert. Don't buy individual servings of anything either. Use appropriate serving sizes.