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Grocery Shopping
Hey ladies. How do you do your grocery shopping? Based on what's on sale? What's in season? Do you buy in bulk at all? Do you coupon? Do one big trip a month, or grab a few things every couple days?
I am trying to lower our grocery budget. It is just DH and myself. We spent roughly $500 per month on groceries and household items (tp, candles, cleaning supplies, etc.). I have tried the "two huge shopping trips per month" as well as the "buy whatever we need every few days" and they both seem to cost about the same. I have also tried couponing, but end up spending a ton of money on things we don't need "just becuase I have a coupon." We have a Costco card, so I buy a lot of things there. It usually adds up to about $110 per month- I get fruits/veggies, rice, bread, and ziploc baggies there.
I try to buy store brand items when I can, so that saves some money.
Since I am supposed to eat mostly red meat(due to health issues), we spend a lot of money on meat. I try freezing it, but it always tastes gross. We hate the texture of frozen meat and poultry! It always seems to be chewy or tough. We eat a lot of fruits and veggies, and they can get expensive, even if we buy in bulk. Or they will go bad before we can eat it all, since it's just the two of us...
Do you have any tips on how we can bring our grocery costs down? Let me know if you need any more information.
Thanks in advance!
Re: Grocery Shopping
I think eating healthy is just plain expensive. Subtract out your household items and I bet you're not spending an unreasonable amount.
Here, there are no coupons for fresh, healthy food, though I hear some parts of the country do have them. So the only way to save money here and eat healthy, whole foods is to meal plan according to what fruits and veggies are on sale in the weekly ad. The bonus is that what's on sale is what's in season, so it's at its peak for the most nutrition.
I don't have much going on this summer, so I'm actually going to try growing a couple of my own vegetables (zucchini, peppers). I have a green thumb, I'm just generally too lazy to fuss with all the maintenance veggies need compared to flowers :P
(As an aside, do you have to eat red meat for anemia? Has your doctor said if you can just take a supplement? I'm anemic but/because I eat red meat only a couple times a year because it's just not my thing, so I just take an iron supplement.)
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Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
So, $500 a month breaks down to about $125 per week. Without knowing what geographic area you live in, it's hard to say if that is a lot or not. It would be a lot for us and we are 3 people, my husband, daughter and myself.
I have found shopping once a week, with a list, to be the least expensive option. I prepare my list based on the aisles in the store and only buy what is on the list. I've actually prepared a spreadsheet with headers (ie fruit & veggies, bread, dairy) and under each of those is listed the possible items I might buy in that food group/aisle. Impulse shopping is the worst thing, seeing something you want but is not on the list.
For the best produce at the best price, eat seasonally if possible, and shop at farmer's markets or markets that specialize in produce.
Do you have an Aldi's near you? I love them and their prices are 30-50% less for many items, but their produce section is sparse. Yes it's a hassle to buy or bring bags with you to shop, but it's similar to Costco, which you say you use also. Costco can be deceiving by the way. I have a membership and only go there about 3-4 times a year. Their bulk items are often not less than you'd pay for some things in a grocery store. When I go to Costco I always walk out feeling like "I'm walking out with a bunch of things I didn't know I needed until I saw them". If I go, it's usually because they carry things I can't find elsewhere, like really yummy parmesan bagels.
Not sure what your pantry looks like, but I often go "shopping" in my pantry. My husband and I have a habit of buying things then putting them on shelves and forgetting about them. I really don't like grocery shopping, so some weeks I'll not go and "shop" in my pantry. I put together meals from things on there mostly out of desperation, but it also forces me to be creative and make meals that are tasty and have cost me nothing because I didn't specifically shop to make THAT meal. Last night I made a pasta with fettucini, a packet of Alfredo sauce you add milk to, some pico de gallo, and cut up peppers and broccoli. It was really yummy and I used items that I had purchased recently (veggies) and a while ago (the Alfredo sauce).
I can't address the red meat issue other than to say buy whatever cut is cheapest that week and use it before it spoils. I don't have the aversion you do to frozen meats as I never notice a difference.
Good luck.
Thanks!
I make a weekly meal plan and shop once a week. I simply don't gp back to the store if we forgot something. Unless it's for a party or we are going to someones house and bringing something. That I'll make the splurge and go back.
I shop our pantry and I also created a book of recipes and dinners so I pull out each week, paper clip my recipes and make lists. I also try to see what's on sale and what we have. Takes about 1.5 hours a week and saves us alot of money! My H and I also bring pur lunch from home every day, so we make extras for left overs. Our budget for food was about $500 but I have gotten it down to just under $300! and we eat all real food, organic meats and organic dairy.
It's doable, you just have to make the time.
and My other rule is not to spend more than 30 minutes shopping. anymore and you'll buy things you don't need!
good luck:)
Ditto some others,,,
I meal plan every week. I ask DH what he wants to eat (it is just DH and I). I make a plan of what we are going to eat every night, including any appetizers and side dishes. I look through the freezer and pantry, and I make a list of only the items I need for the meals for the week (plus regular household items of course). We try not to deviate from the list of meals. We may eat a meal on a different day than scheduled, but we pick from the list for the week.
If we don't have something, then we sub for something else to make the meal work. We do not go to the grocery store at any point during the week just for a few things. DH and I usually spend about $60/week when we meal plan vs anywhere from $100-150/week before we started meal planning. HTH!