Groceries

Crystals422

I fell so upset with myself right now. Every since I have been eating healthy I have spent so much money on food. Every week I am spending about $120 when before 1$20 would last up atleast 2 weeks. I really can't afford to spend this much but I do. I like to try new recpies and not eat chicken and veggies every night. It is just me and my husband and our 2 year old. Last night I picked out a 4 new recpies I wanted to try and somehow I just spend $100. I don't feel ike I got anything for it. Just had to write this so I don't feel so bad about it. I know I don't eat out anymore so I am saving money. I see other post saying spend the money now instead of on your heatlh in the future but I still need to shop on a budget. I am going to work on this. Am I the only one that feels this way?

luv2ash

this is one of the reasons why and how I justify doing the program I am on. Yes, it costs me about $250.00 a month, but that "diet" food in the grocery store is expensive!!!!

gperry227

NO, I feel the same way too! I talked to my husband about our grocery bill and he comforted me by saying that eat are eating healthy and clean, which costs more. Sad, that you can buy a ton of crap for a little bit of money that causes so many health problems down the road, but have to spend an arm and a leg for the good stuff. I have had to make a lot of adjustments to the budget in order to eat healthy for a family of four!

Schula03

I tooo feel the groceries getting out of hand. DO you eat out as much as you use to though? Maybe you are saving more money than you think in that way. Also it seems like buying healthier or the healthier product is much more expensive. No advice here, but hope others have some great tips for you.

MadeToCraveHIM

No, you're not. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm not sure if you have an Aldi's near you, but I've managed to save tons of money stocking up there. I do cook quite a bit too and have found that I can usually go there and cook on the groceries I bought for about 2-3 weeks. I spend around $150-$200, so I'm spending around $200-$300 a month for groceries. I do buy a lot of frozen foods like chicken, vegetables, fruit, shrimp, salmon, ground turkey and am able to stock up on beans and other staples there too. Also, their milk there is only $1.49 per gallon too. I hope this helps!

TanyaH321

I'm in the same boat myself. We are a family of five here and it's hard to eat healthy on a budget. We don't make alot of money and it's getting harder and harder. I keep hearing that it's cheap to buy and cook fresh but, with my 3 picky kids, it's not. It's so frustrating.

TanyaH321

I love Aldi!

writtenINthestars

I actually don't find it to be much more expensive. HOWEVER, I do find that when we do go slightly over budget, it's because we've bought new things or needed new spices, oil etc....and sometimes we overdue it with the healthy foods....and we throw rotten veggies and fruits away *which rips my heart out!!!*

I'd suggest, if you don't do so already, is to plan all your major meals for the week and make a list of the items you need. Make sure to check that you don't already have some of the item first and only get extras you know you can't live without. I know this seems simple and maybe trivial advice, but I use to think it was the groceries that were super expensive...then I started using Kitchenmonki.com (you can plan your meals out and generate a shopping list) and I'd find that after I'd go through and cross out what I already had, I didn't need much at all! And in the past, I use to just keep buying things and then they just sit in the pantry..

alienblonde1

Yeah the groceries are more BUT I am eating out less so kinda makes the difference.

sweetheart03622

I feel the same way! I have to feed my hungry boyfriend and I on $250/month. Best advice anyone ever told me regarding this is to go vegetarian two or three nights a week! I made some awesome casseroles and stews using a lot of mexican-style ingredients such as black beans, rice, and corn. Throw in some button mushrooms, salsa, onions and you have a pretty satisfying meal. Eat it on some corn tortillas for tacos for about $5. Another thing that might help is to reduce your portion of meats (down to the recommended 4 oz) and increase your veggies. Buy veggies that are in season and shop farm stands if you can. Buy things when it's on sale and freeze ingredients to keep them from going bad. And if you have an Aldi near by go there! They have amazing produce for far cheaper than the larger grocery stores.

... if all else fails have a little brother with a vegetable garden :laugh:

gennybunny

I totally agree. My husband has celiac so that puts even more presure on the budget. Gluten free bread is double the price of the regular multi grain high priced bread. It may seem like it is more expensive, but if you break it down you are probably saving money.
It has been advised that if fruits and veggies are more expensive, shop local and buy frozen. I buy frozen fruit and add it to greek yogurt and let it sit over night and take it to work for my morning snack. I have even sent it to school with my daughter for lunch (with some granola to add). I try to do at least 3 nights a week meat free dinner. Lentils are great or I buy canned chili and have that and rice. Buying bulk really helps when you are trying to eat healthy and again buying local. I visit my local farmers market frequently to stock up. You can also freeze fresh produce that is in season. I have had to check for grocery store sales and i clip coupons. I find it helps. Good luck on this adventure and I hope this helps answer soem questions.

ciege77

It should be a crime the way it costs so much more to eat food that isn't total crap for you. My mom actually just helped me lower my grocery bills by going through all the fliers and finding the best deals, and taking them to Walmart since they will price-match everything except other store coupons. I'm a bachelor, so coupons and deals is actually a new concept to me.. lol... but I usually spend about $100-120 on my general grocery store runs, and she had me out of there for $57, give another $10 for some lunches I know I didn't have room for at home. Still, that would have saved me a minimum of $30. I don't buy all low-fat this and diet-meal that foods, I just track all the calories I eat and I stick to it. Personally, I think all the "diet" foods are an excuse to charge more anyway, because part of losing weight is simply consuming less calories than you take in. Point being, maybe just keep a good eye out for better deals, diet or not, and know and track your calorie goals and stick to them. It's worked for me so far.

etron

I dropped $60 on produce as Costco last weekend. It's difficult to spend money like this. I am a broke college student who happily lived off the dollar menus at fast-food joints for the past several years. The best thing I can do, I figure, is to shop in bulk and freeze what I don't think I'll use in the first week... keep it fresh that way so nothing is wasted.

StephieAmber

I think if you try and buy all the groceries and don't cut down on your eating out, then yes you'll see a dramatic upping in your budget. But if you switch from eating out to eating home cooked meals, all you're doing is transferring money in your budget from going out, to grocery shopping.

Some quick math off the top of my head:

Let's say you eat out every meal of the day at a VERY conservative estimate of $5/meal. Well in one month that's $450 FOR ONE PERSON!!

Groceries typically cost more when I have to buy non-grocery related items, like detergent, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc. Otherwise I can do anywhere from $30 - $50 for a weeks worth of perishables (i.e. lettuce, fresh veggies/fruit, milk, eggs, meats)

That's what I found when I started trying to buy more groceries. I've actually saved money b/c I rarely eat out now.

freerange

Make sure you’re not throwing it away. I find it very hard to cook a meal that is just big enough for two, we ALWAYS have left over, and sometimes even plan on it.

wilted6orchid

I do all our grocery shopping and it is annoying sometimes the crap that is so much cheaper and lasts so much longer. But, I don't want to feed all those chemicals and preservatives to my family. I shop at Costco, it's like Sam's Club. I buy things that take forever to go bad in bulk, like rice, and dry beans. Those things are relatively cheap anyway. Also I buy in bulk anything that we use daily (that is perishable) as it runs out super fast, milk, eggs...fruits and vegetables depending on what we will use. Anything that isn't used up nearing the time I go shopping I freeze for soup or I juice it, (lemonade for really ripe lemons is lovely).
I just got a pressure canner for Christmas so I am planning for make a big pot of chicken noodle soup and try out canning. I think that will also save some. You can preserve soups, stews, sauces, gravies, pickled food (I'm not a fan of pickling), sauerkraut...pretty much anything you can imagine.

cardbucfan

No, you're not. Eating better quality food is more expensive. I'm like you though, my grocery bill has gone up but when I look at my meal planning calendar I noticed that we only had takeout one time in the past week. That's a big change and a huge savings for us. I try really hard to plan my meals so I use what I have and only buy the stuff I need. I use coupons, sales and I shop at Sam's every week for fruit, bread, milk, eggs and egg whites. I compare their meat prices to the grocery store and almost always buy my meat in bulk at Sam's. It is hard but it really is worth it and teaching your 2 year old how to eat well now will make his life so much better (and yours easier when the teenage years hit!).

Crystals422

No I don't have an Aldi's here. I really wish we did. I am saving money by not eating out. I planned all my meals for the week and I spent $100. I spend more when I do it. Oh well I know I won't care when I am skinny,

Dtho5159

I do several things to save.

1. I use coupons.. Like, a lot lol. I can use coupons on non diet items (HBA and cleaning items) to make my grocery bill so I can afford to buy the healthy foods.

2. I stock up. When things go on sale, I buy in bulk and freeze the extras if I can.

3. We recently had an Aldi's open up the first week of Feb and went there for the first time last Saturday. WOW the deals!! I found lots of things from yogurt to 100cal pack cookies to fruits and veggies so much cheaper than the grocery stores.