Tips for saving while grocery shopping? family of 3

_andreamarie

Thanks in advanced.

mangoos

Here' my list::happy:
1.Buy generics(brand names are always more expensive)
2.buy in bulk (specially household stuff)
3.plan your meals ahead 3-4 days in advance and make a list so you know what to buy.
4.Don't buy stuff JUST because it is on sale.If you don't use it,it's money down the drain(cents adds upto a dollar):happy:

chralph

Shop at Lidl!

coco3382458

Here' my list::happy:
1.Buy generics(brand names are always more expensive)
2.buy in bulk (specially household stuff)
3.plan your meals ahead 3-4 days in advance and make a list so you know what to buy.
4.Don't buy stuff JUST because it is on sale.If you don't use it,it's money down the drain(cents adds upto a dollar):happy:

I do all of the above and my grocery bill is STILL expensive. I think food is just expensive these days unfortunately

baja572

take a close look at what you have and use it! be creative! buy only what you need! Use less meat (3-4oz. / person) and more veggies!...good luck..and what was said so far.

klight1236

When buying produce buy in season stuff cause its cheaper when in season. And the local farmers market is cheaper than Walmart and such when buying produces and meat and give you bigger quantity for less. If u know how to cook one of the packaged products such as butter, bread,popcorn, or certain of your child's favorite food do that b/c it's generally less expensive but goes bad faster. Try buying frozen or canned goods if you don't want to buy in season they last longer and u can use them when ur ready. What I like to do is buy some cheap onions, peppers and garlic since I use them in so many recipes and chop them up that night put them in individual baggies and stick them in the freezer and grab them and throw them in when I cook .Eat less meat and make more soups for dinner they're filling and u can heat them up when u store extras. Drink less sodas and eat less packaged foods and buy things with coupons or when on sale

formersec

Coupons. Also, buy at discount markets such as Aldis, Bottom Dollar, Save-a-Lot. Even if you don't like the food they sell, buy those non-food expensive items there, such as laundry detergent, household cleaners and paper products. The money you save on those items you can spend for food.

thinklivebefree

Do you mean inexpensive now or inexpensive later on?

mosy04

Yep think that a great ideal cheaper two x

Capt_Apollo

don't shop at whole foods.

deanna418

We are a family of 4. We make menu's and buy mostly what is on the menu that we need. We also buy things on sale. When meat is on sale we stock up and freeze what we don't need, my boys like cheese it's so we stock up when they are on sale. We shop at Hyvee and do the Fuel Saver also. We usually spend between $150-$200.

ncbeachprincess

Like someone else, your local Farmers Market. Not only are the prices better, the quality is superb! Also, for baking and other ingredients that you only use a few times, shopping at a co-op is great too. I have one here that allows me to buy ounces or cups of wheat flour, and other stuff. This prevents me from buying a whole bag/container that will essentially will go to waste.

vjohn04

coupons. match them up with store sales, and weekly specials. get a coupon binder.

This is what I do!

socajam

don't shop at whole foods.

Why not.

maddymama

What does your typical grocery list look like?

You've gotten great advice above. I also buy dried beans and cook them up, super cheap and a bag makes a ton of beans to throw into other dishes all week long to bulk up other dishes. For me, a bag of dried beans costs less than a dollar, and a pound bag cooks up to make a ton of servings. I don't always make my own bread, but a basic homemade bread recipe costs about $1.50 to make, rather than the $3 for a loaf to buy.

ncbeachprincess

Because they are expensive and make claims that are bogus. Thoroughly research their products. Their organic isn't always organic, their all-natural isn't always all-natural. They makes these claims to people who DON'T read labels and jack up their prices. The normal family cannot afford to buy solely from Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc. I buy better foods from my local co-op and farmers markets. When I need something that isn't at the co-op or farmers markets, I go to Walmart or Kroger, their prices are better than anyone else around me.

This was sup to quote why NOT to shop at whole foods...

HeidiCooksSupper

Watch the weekly sales. For example, this week chicken leg quarters were $6.90 for a ten pound bag. I baked them all at once and removed the meat from the skin and bones getting 13 3-oz. servings of dark meat chicken to put in the freezer for later use in chicken salads, soups, pastas, etc. I also threw with bones, skin, etc. in a bag and threw it in the freezer for when I need to make more chicken broth. The frozen chicken leavings and tired vegetables boiled makes chicken broth. That's just $0.53 per serving plus broth makings as a free bonus.

Cabbage is very cheap and needn't be boiled into stinking defeat. Now that it's summer, coleslaw is a great salad and shredded cabbage can also be used to add to stir fries, pasta dishes, etc. to add bulk with healthy vitamins and fiber. Don't buy the preshredded cabbage in the bag. Get a head of cabbage to get many more meals out of it.

Beans are extremely healthy and extremely cheap when you buy them dry and boil them yourself.

When you are shopping, try to stay out of the middle aisles of the supermarket and buy most of your groceries in the produce section, the meats, and dairy. A dozen eggs is a good cheap and healthy source of protein.

Check out online sources like amazon and buy in "mini-bulk" for prices that are sometimes less than the grocery -- for example, I regularly multiple bags of the raisins I prefer and buy oil-cured olives 5 pounds at a time. Find a nearby grocery with an online shopping option to check their prices to comparison shop online. I used http://www.thepig.net/OnlineStores.asp which is the site for Piggly Wiggly grocery stores in South Carolina that let you shop online.

So, for example, at the Forest Drive Pig, Sunmaid Jumbo Mixed Raisins are $3.89/bag. On Amazon, I get the raisins 5 bags at a time on subscription for $15.30 or $3.06/bag. At the Divine Street store, Cento Oil-cured olives are $4.49 for a 7 oz. jar. I get 5 pounds of Roland oil-cured olives online for $20.20. That's $0.64/oz. versus $0.25/oz. and the olives are just as good and last forever in the fridge.

Now, you need to make sure to figure in shipping costs if any. We are Amazon Prime members which is $79/year and gets us free shipping on most stuff. $79 sounds like a lot but you can have up to four family members with different addresses all on the same membership so I "give" Prime membership to my mother and sister and we all use it for Kindle books, free movie streaming, etc. It is less than the three of us were spending on Netflix and we read mostly free Kindle books.

socajam

Because they are expensive and make claims that are bogus. Thoroughly research their products. Their organic isn't always organic, their all-natural isn't always all-natural. They makes these claims to people who DON'T read labels and jack up their prices. The normal family cannot afford to buy solely from Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc. I buy better foods from my local co-op and farmers markets. When I need something that isn't at the co-op or farmers markets, I go to Walmart or Kroger, their prices are better than anyone else around me.

Do you have evidence to back up what you are saying. I would much prefer to buy from Wholefoods than Walmart. Normally I shop at Costco, Wholefoods, Harris Teeter, Safeway, (Giants - when I can to it) and Trader Joes for my 100% cranberry juice.

I read the labels of everything before I buy and I only buy natural stuff. I would be more skeptical of Walmart selling me some that they claim to be natural than Wholefoods.

Synapze

We're a family of 4. 3 Adults, 1 Child. All big eaters and we don't allow the shopping bill to go over $200pw.

We buy whats on sale, brand name or not. Whatever the cheapest wins.

Fruit and veg in Season, and Meat only if its on sale.

The only thing we allow outside of the budget is Protein Powders ect. But that's around $100 every 2 months. (for 2 people)

I used to spend up to $350-$400pw, and the amount of wasted food was disgusting.

Now were bare bones. if it all gets eaten, bad luck. Shouldn't have been such a pig.

..and trust me, we've lived off nothing but weet-bix before.

thinklivebefree

Well theres a saying that goes.."The cheap always comes out expensive".. I say if you buy natural, non-gmo, organic, foods it 1 well be cheaper in the future simply because unlike the over-processed, refined sugar laced garbage on the shelves today natural, non-gmo, organic foods are not linked to cancer, etc....2ndly When I eat "natural, non-gmo, organic foods " i feel fuller for longer..Literally im stuffed to where I dont ever want to see if again....When I eat the junk 20 mins after I need a postmeal, meal..lol Ikid but im serious....With that being said you'd have to cook less and no to mention we're already over-eating not just me American as a whole....12oz steaks and 3 spoons of potatoes? things of that nature....If you wanna save plan your meals out ahead of time....Portioned so that everyone meets their daily nutritional goals and you should be good!

LorinaLynn

Check the circulars (in the paper or online) for the nearest 2-3 stores before you shop. Plan your weekly meals around what's on sale.

Stock up when they're having really good specials. Sometimes I see "buy 1, get 2 free" deals on stuff like breads or English muffins. Freeze what you won't use immediately. Bread freezes very well.

If it's not a good price, don't buy it. I know I can find chicken breasts for $1.99 a pound at one of the three closest grocery stores. So if it's $2.99 or $3.99 at another store, I won't buy it. I get at least 5 pounds at a time, so that's a $5 to $10 savings.

Bags of frozen veggies. Especially if you buy store brand, they're rarely more than 1.99 a pound. If fresh is cheaper than frozen, buy fresh, but otherwise, frozen is great.

The "day old" discount bin is good for produce if you're going to use it immediately. Or freeze it.