Cincinnati Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
CLICKY POLL: Weekly Grocery Bill
The WC board had a similar poll going on and but cost can be so area dependant so I was curious to see how much people are spending in the Greater Cincy area.
To help equalize things even more, let's calculate based on a per week, per person basis. For example, I probably spend 40ish dollars per week for 2 people so I'll say we spend somewhere between $21 - $30.
[Poll]My Cooking Blog: Christine's Kitchen Chronicles
Latest Blog Update: Peanut Butter Cookie with Salted Peanut Caramel
Latest Blog Update: Peanut Butter Cookie with Salted Peanut Caramel
Re: CLICKY POLL: Weekly Grocery Bill
There are some variables to take into account.
How many times does each person usually eat out per week? Does the person pack a lunch? Presumably grocery bills per person would be lower if a person eats out more frequently or buys their lunch every day.
i pack my lunch, and my grocery bill often includes toiletries, wine, and some other assorted things like batteries or paper towels that we need for the home.
we have a budget of $100/week for groceries & home items.
I'm on the high side of this (usually more than $50/per person each week) but there are some reasons. First, we shop at Whole Foods. After seeing Food Inc and reading so much about how bad most food is I'd rather spend the extra money now, than on dr. bills later. To us organic, non-steroid, no-antibotic injected food is not luxury it's a necessity. We save $ in other ways. This was a New Year's resolution. With very few exceptions, if you can't pronounce the ingredients, it's not in our house.
We also buy groceries for the whole week's worth of dinners and breakfasts. DH packs his lunch. I usually eat out, but I'm in sales and expense most of those.
I don't buy the household stuff and tolietries at Whole Foods, so it's not included. But we drink a lot and LOVE really good wine. (Hey, we're DINK's) So my totals include our wino habit. :-)
Same here for most of this except that our totals do include toiletries. Our cost for high quality meat has skyrocketed as we've learned - I'm even looking more for kosher as well due to the butchering guidelines, in addition to the organic, steroid free...etc. I've noticed that Krogers in Hyde Park is actually starting to carry organic, free range chicken and pork too. I've gotten more adept at bean and tofu dishes to make up protein for eating less meat.
Not so picky on the wine, but we home brew - and sometimes that can get expensive. H seems to think it's cost efficient but I would have to argue that point with him. At least it's more green since we re-use the bottles.
I voted 41-50. That also includes any household items, laundry detergent, light bulbs, cleaning supplies, paper towels, ect.
Coupons! I get the Sunday paper and print coupons online. I also follow this blog:
http://mommysnacks.net/
and a few others so that I can double up sale items with coupons.
On average our weekly grocery budget is $25-$30 per person. Some weeks it's higher and some weeks it's lower. We shop sales and stock up when the items we eat are on sale and we also try to combine sales with coupons when applicable (we don't buy too many items that have coupons available).
One of the things that helps me the most is to write down the prices of the items we buy the most (pasta, meat, etc.). I also write down the sale prices and I keep track of the different sale prices because sometimes the stores will mark down the items a little and sometimes they mark them down a lot. When the prices are really low, I stock up. I have a good sized pantry for the dry goods and we purchased a chest freezer to store the meat and other perishable items.
I do buy a lot of produce every week but I try to buy the most of what's on sale. So if apples aren't on sale I look for other fruit that is on sale and that's what we eat for the week. It's also a nice way to not get stuck in a rut with eating the same foods.
This is good to know! Although that particular Kroger makes me a little nuts because it doesnt' follow normal grocery store order. (You know produce, bakery, deli, dairy, etc.) And the isles are ascew so you can't see from one end to the other. There is something about Whole Foods that makes me feel less like I'm grocery shopping and more like I'm having a culinary experience. The lights are dimmer, it's not all stark white. It's nicer somehow.
I didn't know you brewed your own beer. That is pretty cool. DH would be very jealous.
BTW...sorry for all those misspelled words. My journalism profs would go bananas if they saw that!
I don't personally promote shopping at Walmart (for groceries or anything else for that matter...I'm a loyal Kroger grocery and Target/Costco mass-merchandise girl myself) but I do remember seeing an article about how Walmart Grocery carries quite a bit of organic for cheaper and better quality in blind taste test than Whole Foods. At the very least, it was intriguing...
Read about it here.
Latest Blog Update: Peanut Butter Cookie with Salted Peanut Caramel
I'm loyal to Kroger and love their couponing program. Unlimited double coupons up to $1! One time I saved 90% off my grocery bill but it was a quick stop just to buy stuff that was on sale! When non-perishable foods are on sale, I will stock up on enough to last (hopefully) until the next sale (usually about 2-3 mths worth). I plan my weekly menu around what is on sale and make a list before I go so that I can stay focused and try not buy things on a whim. I use some coupons from the papers (get them leftover from my mom and MIL) as well as printable.
In general, don't buy your non-grocery items (OTC meds, toiletries, paper goods, etc.) from a grocery store because it'll be more expensive. They have a larger markup than your mass merchandisers like Target and Walmart. The least markup is for Club stores like Costco and Walmart.
Checkout fellow Nestie Marci's blog at www.cincinnaticoupons.net for money saving tips and links to make the most use out of your coupons!
Latest Blog Update: Peanut Butter Cookie with Salted Peanut Caramel
This is so weird. I was going to put up a poll later this week to see how much my readers spend!
I have put myself on a budget for our family of 3. I spend $25 per person a week on EVERYTHING. This includes laundry, toilet paper, food, beverages, cleaning supplies, health & beauty, cosmetics, etc. The past few weeks I haven't even been spending the whole $75!
I do have a stockpile and tend to give things away to friends and family when they need it. I just gave my brother 6 bags of food over the weekend and it didn't even put a dent into what I have. The best thing about stockpiling is I have most of everything. I've got
BUT, I also do A LOT of donating with that $25 a week too. I typically get anything that is on sale that week for FREE! That's why I have started a FREE item of the week post. It makes it helpful to give back to those in need.
Our family eats a ton of fruit and veggies. I love going to the Farmers Market in Anderson and getting these items. Which, they should be starting back up in the next few weeks. This helps to save a lot of money and I like supporting local growers.
I also will be have a small garden this year with tomatoes, basil, parsley, cilantro, banana peppers and a few other goodies (if I'm feeling like I have a green thumb!).
Always remember that there are coupons for EVERYTHING. Take a stroll down the wine and beer aisle in the grocery stores. You'll be surprised at how many tear pads there are that will help you save on meat and produce. Also check out ebay and email your favorite manufacture and tell them how much you love their products. The manufactures will send you coupons!