Grocery bill is way higher than I'd like

bmqbonnie

Spent about $400 this month on two people last moth. Not sure of exact amount since I went by my debit deductions to Walmart and Target and some of that includes toiletries and stuff, but it's in that ballpark.

I cook from scratch a LOT. Pretty much all the ready to go items I buy is bread, pasta, and the occasional ice cream. I make my own sauces, protein bars, pancake mixes, etc. I've cut back a bit on fresh produce; pretty much stick to potatoes, onions, garlic, and occasionally buying celery and carrots and a few other things for my monthly big cooking day. I buy store brands.We've cut back on things like orange juice and soda and are trying to drink water. I try to buy meat on sale. I don't really coupon since it usually for name brand or for stuff I don't want anyway, but maybe I should start. I rotate out recipes that use a lot of the same ingredients, so I'm not buying weird stuff that goes bad by the time it gets used.

Whattheheck else can I reasonably do? I may start making my own bread and stuff but I don't know if I'll realistically keep up with it. The only solace is that we almost never eat out, so maybe that has something to do with it. I get frustrated when people say they spend a crazy low amount of money on groceries for a whole family and here I am with two people spending nearly double.

There's no Costco or Cash N Carry here, walmart is pretty much it for cheap stuff.

lamilli09

Try eating vegetarian for 3-4 days a week. My boyfriend and I recently started eating vegetarian about 5 days a week... it's remarkable how much we've saved on groceries!!

Also, I know it's a lot of time and effort, but do you make meal plans for the week? We started making meal plans back in September/October. It's been really helpful at preventing us from wasting food and/or money..

tigerlily8045

I don't think that it seems that high to me. We spend about $150/week for 2 adults and a 5 yr old. I try to watch and buy canned goods on sale but prices of groceries have really gone up in the past year or so. What I could get for $100 is now costing me $150. Unless you starting eating nothing but Ramen noodles that are $2 for a 12 pack, I think you are stuck. Unless you have a grocery store that doubles coupons that is about the only thing that is worth changing. I have a hard time using coupons myself as i buy mostly store brand.

Gallowmere1984

Doesn't seem bad at all. For my wife and I, it typically runs $250 per week on average, including everything we put in our mouths.

That being said, we eat about 75% meat, and the rest is protein bars, shakes, and supps to cover the micros.

JustANumber85

We were paying out of pocket and we were spending $300 every 2wks for a family of 5. Now we are back on Food Stamps and boy does it feel good to not have to worry! Seriously i can now go to the store and not decide between celery or meat. Last night I spent $150 for 2wk. I think the difference is i was able to get different things i couldnt before to make it stretch. I shopped at Kroger.

Bread is pretty easy- Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day. WONDERFUL site and book. Easy to do.

Confuzzled4ever

Wal-mart and Target are not really the cheapest around here.. not sure about where you are.. check the sale ads..
check out local farm co-ops or farmers markets.. lots of times those are cheaper..
plant a garden
Go in with some friends and purchase half a cow.. it's a lot all at once.. but it's way cheaper then getting some every week
If you have your own place raise chickens (free range means little to no feed has to be purchased for them)
Plan your meals ahead of time
If you can buy it on sale and freeze it for later do so
buy in bulk (but check the unit price 1st.. not always cheaper)
drink only water.. that's free from the tap..


honestly 400 a month isn't that bad.. i'm probalby around 300 most months and then a few times a year I spend an extra 100 for all the spices and baking stuff and etc.. that's without paper products and cleaning supplies.

MrsMeisner

I think a lot of the people who claim to spend very little on their grocery bills are also the ones that are buying A LOT of processed foods. I think a lot of times processed foods are less expensive than the healthy ones. It seems to me like you are doing a great job. If you can afford the $400 a month and are making most of your meals, I'd say stick with it!

imthejenjen

Wal-mart and Target are not really the cheapest around here.. not sure about where you are.. check the sale ads..
check out local farm co-ops or farmers markets.. lots of times those are cheaper..
plant a garden
Go in with some friends and purchase half a cow.. it's a lot all at once.. but it's way cheaper then getting some every week
If you have your own place raise chickens (free range means little to no feed has to be purchased for them)
Plan your meals ahead of time
If you can buy it on sale and freeze it for later do so
buy in bulk (but check the unit price 1st.. not always cheaper)
drink only water.. that's free from the tap..


honestly 400 a month isn't that bad.. i'm probalby around 300 most months and then a few times a year I spend an extra 100 for all the spices and baking stuff and etc.. that's without paper products and cleaning supplies.

Good ideas!! Only suggestion would be to buy a filter of some sort for water. There is way too much fluoride in tap water. NOT good for you.

whatjesseats

Seconding the suggestion to add some vegetarian meals to your rotation. Meat can get quite expensive.

Dried beans and lentils are super cheap (about $1/pound in some cases) and can be a great way to add bulk and nutrition to a meal.

Soups are usually an economical option, especially when you make it yourself.

As for produce, do you have any Asian or Latin grocers nearby? Produce at these places is often pretty cheap.

lilac67

There are some good ideas at

www.grocerybudget101.com

and

www.budget101.com

Confuzzled4ever

Wal-mart and Target are not really the cheapest around here.. not sure about where you are.. check the sale ads..
check out local farm co-ops or farmers markets.. lots of times those are cheaper..
plant a garden
Go in with some friends and purchase half a cow.. it's a lot all at once.. but it's way cheaper then getting some every week
If you have your own place raise chickens (free range means little to no feed has to be purchased for them)
Plan your meals ahead of time
If you can buy it on sale and freeze it for later do so
buy in bulk (but check the unit price 1st.. not always cheaper)
drink only water.. that's free from the tap..


honestly 400 a month isn't that bad.. i'm probalby around 300 most months and then a few times a year I spend an extra 100 for all the spices and baking stuff and etc.. that's without paper products and cleaning supplies.

Good ideas!! Only suggestion would be to buy a filter of some sort for water. There is way too much fluoride in tap water. NOT good for you.

Water is not flouridated where I live.. it's not mandated byt the fed only suggested and it's decided by city.. so check on that. but yea a filter is probably a good idea anyway cause they add a lot of crap to water anymore.

ihavehope2013

YES, coupons would help! You actually have 2 options.
You can either go to the brands website and see if they
have coupons, or you can send them an email to request
coupons. Good luck!

WBB55

if you have the time, you might want to start a grocery diary of the prices of things. What this does is teach you what's a "sale" and what's REALLY a sale. I find the things that make me go over my budget aren't the "whole food" items like vegetables and meat. It's the sauces and fancy ingredients like spices that do me in. When money is tight, I try to make my own sauces and salad dressings, but save money by substituting cheaper ingredients. Like if something calls for all balsamic vinegar, I might do half balsamic and half white vinegar. That kind of thing.

justlistening

Usually chicken breast meat is the most expensive chicken part. I buy chicken breast with rib meat when it is on sale (usually $1/lb). It is about the third of the cost of boneless/skinless chicken breasts. It is really easy to take the skin off before cooking and the meat off after you have cooking.

amnsetie

I don't live in the USA so my best advice is to buy seasonally. Only buy food in season.
Also cheaper cuts of meat do quite well when slow cooked. They have more fat, you can skim some off from time to time or budget your day for it.
casseroles soups and stews don't require as much meat but still have the wonderful taste. load them up with vegies, pasta or legumes for a very filling meal

Kristinemomof3

If you shop Walmart, take ads from other stores to pricematch sale prices. Stock up when things are really cheap.

kbitzonefour

400? Lol i wish. Husband and I spend $1000-1200 monthly.

damiannikodem

we are in australia, our grocery bill is about $300 (AUD which is similar to USD) which is for 6 kids and 2 adults (me and my wife eat seperate meals to the kids.) which averages to $42 per day, or approximately $7 per person per day. This includes nappies for 3 kids.

We dont really buy 'budget' meats at all (steak is usually eye fillet), but we do abuse 'bulk discounts' due to the size of our family.
and get a lot of pre-made / convinence meals (e.g. pre made meatballs, or sliced/shredded cheese for the kids.)

We found that shopping online for some items can give huge savings in exchange for waiting 2-3 weeks for shipping ( special K desert bars cost us about $5 for a 16x "display box" while we pay $5 for 6 from the local shops, from that online store we get free shipping for orders over $50... And protein supplement bars which cost $3.50 each from the supermarket cost us $20 for a 12 pack online (+ $6 shipping) )

I should also point out that here in australia 'couponing' doesn't really exist (you can get coupons, but its usually for take out or things like movies. On the rare occasion that you get them for the store its usually in exchange for doing a survey and you get a massive $5 off a single visit where you spend more than $50 and always say limit of one per customer, not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.)

naomi8888

Wal-mart and Target are not really the cheapest around here.. not sure about where you are.. check the sale ads..
check out local farm co-ops or farmers markets.. lots of times those are cheaper..
plant a garden
Go in with some friends and purchase half a cow.. it's a lot all at once.. but it's way cheaper then getting some every week
If you have your own place raise chickens (free range means little to no feed has to be purchased for them)
Plan your meals ahead of time
If you can buy it on sale and freeze it for later do so
buy in bulk (but check the unit price 1st.. not always cheaper)
drink only water.. that's free from the tap..


honestly 400 a month isn't that bad.. i'm probalby around 300 most months and then a few times a year I spend an extra 100 for all the spices and baking stuff and etc.. that's without paper products and cleaning supplies.

Good ideas!! Only suggestion would be to buy a filter of some sort for water. There is way too much fluoride in tap water. NOT good for you.

Water is not flouridated where I live.. it's not mandated byt the fed only suggested and it's decided by city.. so check on that. but yea a filter is probably a good idea anyway cause they add a lot of crap to water anymore.

I don't think fluoride is removed by most filters but then I wouldn't want it to be - I think it's a great thing for healthy teeth....anyway that's a whole new topic!

Re the groceries, I think that's pretty cheap (I'm in Australia and we all spend WAY more on groceries) and if you're already sacrificing fresh fuit and veggies then you probably don't want to cut it down any further.

CharityGC

I spend right around $400/month for my husband and myself. I shop the sales papers and with coupons when I can. We eat one to two vegetarian meals a week, usually quinoa based, and I always meal plan. I got a little excited today when I only spent $91 instead of my regular $100 until I remembered that we had planned on getting pizza this weekend. There goes my $9!

tndejong

$400 a week really is not that bad. we have an aldi and save a lot that do help us a lot. it is just me and my fiance. i usually start with a cheap produce store for fruits and veggies. our valley produce will wrap up and sell some veggies for $1.50 a bundle for things. then i make my way to the cheap store for meats and such. i will make a couple more expensive meals with chicken and turkey tenderloins and such. then i will do a few cheap cheap meals. turkey hot dogs that you can get for a buck. boxes of turkey burgers you can have several dinners from. even cheese to make grilled cheese and tomato soup. in addition to our dinners, we also can afford protein bars for after work outs. and we also buy pop and water for under the 100. shop sales! some stores will do buy 25 dollars and get items free. canned veggies always go on sale. fresh stuff you can freeze. some stores will discount meat even. if you freeze it by the sold dates, it is still good. budget shopping can be done. and keep in mind that walmart will price match any store if you dont want to drive around to several places. and look for staples at dollar stores too.