Tips for saving while grocery shopping? family of 3

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.

If you have access to an educational database, then yes, all of this can be verified. When I was in college, I had to do a research paper on marketing strategies and claims within the organic/natural food industries. Unfortunately, I am no longer at this university and don't have access to the database of info, but all of my information came from journal articles, all peer-reviewed and recognized.

All I am saying, is by reading the labels, you can get the same product at any other store, at a fraction of the price.

Just a scenario that shows that off-brand is really brand name in an uglier package...
Walmart sells Great Value Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon for around 2.18 here in NC. I was inputting my food for yesterday, scanned the barcode for MFP, and it showed up Jenni-O Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon, which sells for 4.88 at my local Walmart. Walmart is NOT the best place to find the healthiest foods but there are definitely cheaper options than Whole Foods. If the consumer can properly read a label, then this isn't a secret.

I dont get your arguement? Jennie-o is not natural or organic or non-gmo sorry to laugh but...lol

I didn't use the Jenni-O reference as a healthier reference, it was simply saying that just because something is cheaper, doesn't mean it's crap.

And when you live in a rural area, then you are stuck with Walmart being the closest store to you, and that's even 12 miles away. That is why in my original posting, I said farmers markets and co-ops, because that is easily accessible to me.

You said!! and I quote lol

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... "

Meaning the ORIGINAL ARGUMENT WAS Organic vs Non-Organic


And then compared Great value turkey (NON-ORGANIC ) Turkey, Mechanically Separated Turkey, Sugar, Salt, Water, Flavoring (Salt, Sugar, Maltodextrin, Natural Smoke Flavor, Spice), Sodium Phosphate, Smoke Flavoring, Sodium Erythorbate, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Sodium Nitrite TO Jennie (NON- ORGANIC) Mechanically Separated Turkey, White Turkey, Dark Turkey, Water, Salt, Contains 2% or Less of Potassium Lactate, Natural Smoke Flavoring, Sodium Flavoring, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW RBSHIPES!!!! IM LOST AS TO WHAT YOU ARGUMENT IS! AND PLEASE DONT SAY (CO-OP, FARMERS MARKETS ETC) because thouse arent always organic

1.coupon match up with store ad
2. buy generic
3. stock up whentheres a sale
4. shop at sav alot/ aldis. etc......
5. use store loyalty cards to earn free items
6. ground turkey instead of hamburger/turkey franks instead of hotdogs

the term all-natural is nearly non-regulated by the FDA, and almost any kind of food can qualify as "all natural."

this article is lengthy, but good. he goes off a little on the dangers of carbs, but other then that, informative.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/06/27/how-to-not-get-scammed-by-food-labels-plus-were-hiring/

I do monthly shopping every month, with a stop here and there for stuff that wont make it through the month like cottage cheese and fruits.

You need to SHOP around, it's called shopping for a reason. Make a list on what your family needs/consumes then spend a day or so price checking stores (within a 40 mile radius), if you live in a rural area, you will benefit far with this, but if you live in a city, you can pretty much so like a 5-10mile radius.

Document all your prices you found. You are looking for stuff that IS NOT on sale that way you can get a rough idea on what stores you will visit every month.

For example, when I first did this I had 6 stores to go to. Walmart, Town and Country, Richard Brothers Supermaket, Country Mart, and Aldi's. I made my list of things I needed, then visited each store, and next to the item, I marked the price.
I found out that Richard Brothers and Town and Country in my nearest town of 3,000 people were ripping me off on about 90% of the items I needed. I also found out that the quality was 100x as worse as the other stores. When I went to the Walmart in the 3,000 population town, I found out I just didn't like going there, it was just TOO small and crowded of people (it wasn't a Super Walmart). Next, I went to a town (city) 40miles from my home to check out prices, I found the prices in that city of 10,000 people were much better than the one of the smaller town. So the gas was worth it. The quality of the meats and produce was better too.

It is 3 years later, and now I only have 3 stops every month. Country Mart for my meat, cereal, lemon juice, and an occasional ting here and there. Aldi's for most of my boxed items and all of my produce/dairy products, and then Walmart for my toiletries and non food items.

So, invest a little time at it, and you will get the savings you need, then keep an eye out for the deals. I also suggest not to shop at the end of your stores restocking cycle (they restock here on Wednesdays, so the freshest food is Wednesday-Friday), and probably not at the beginning of the month because that is when most welfare people get their checks, and you should see a price difference than that of in the middle of the month. It's terrible... ripping off poor people like that.

I live in Missouri. I feed 2 people who are dieting on $145 a month (this includes the extra shopping I have to do for things that wont last through the month). We have a lot of fruits and Cottage Cheese (we use like 5-8 tubs of cottage Cheese a month, lol).

Edit: I don't use coupons... I don't have access to coupons, so I don't use them...

For one, definitely plan ahead what you'll be eating during the week. This is super easy if you always eat the same things week after week like we do with little change.

Next, check all the flyers of stores around you for stuff that you regularly buy and if you have a place that does price match, even better! Mostly I do it for stuff that I buy only once in a while, like shampoo, soap, laundry detergent because they're stuff that you'll have to buy at any cost if you run out before it comes on sale again and usually all those items tend to be fairly pricey. If you can find stuff you regularly buy on sale, then it's even better!

Third, coupons! If the place you normally shop at accepts coupons on top of sales or price match, some items can be way cheap! This is especially true for the items listed on my second point. But whatever you do, don't buy stuff you wouldn't normally buy just because you have a coupon, unless it's something you truly think you'll use!

As for other tips, like people have said, consider store brand products, plenty of things are actually the same, if not very similar that you wouldn't notice it's not your usual brand. Also, I don't know if you have the same as we go, but with all price tags we have the price per 100g or 100 mL, it helps to know whether the little or big package is a better deal! If it's something that doesn't easily go bad, consider the bigger package, usually it's a better deal and you won't have to buy it as often!

In the end, especially with MFP, I have to say that I've been surprised at how little one really has to eat that sometimes I wonder why I used to buy so much stuff before when sometimes I don't even have enough days in a week to eat all the stuff I've bought! Thus it makes the next week's bill a little cheaper

I think all stores have some things that are cheaper than at other stores, including Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
A tube of TJ tomato paste in a tube (now discontinued item, sigh) was 99 cents; at Kroger/Fred Meyer it was $4.39. So if all you've got is farmers markets and Walmart, compare the prices there.

In the Northwest, we have the opportunity to go directly to farmers and sign up for baskets of food to be delivered each week in the growing season. Getting a friend or your family to join in the membership spreads out the cost, which is very reasonable anyway.

1. Make your adult members join MFP. My budget has cut in two since I'm here. One could not belive how little basic food we really need not just to live, but to live healthy.
2. Pay attention to wasted food. Average househod throws away up to one quarter of food that is still edible! A lot of money!
3. Avoid junk and soda. Potato chip, salt sticks, snacks of all kind, all bottled drinks and Crap Co. What our body needs is water, tea, maybe coffee for treat without sugar.
4. Buy basic food. Uncooked beans are cheaper than canned, whole meat is cheaper than ground meat, milk is cheaper than yoghurt.
5. Use leftovers like old bread.
6. Bake your bread at home. I buy wholegrain like oats, wheat, buckwheat and ground them at home in ground mill to make my own flour. Bread tastes better and I know what is in it.
6. Make friends with local farmers. I go to the local market at the end of workday and pick up fruit and veggies they leave behind or cannot sell, because they are too ripe or simply too ugly and process it. There are literally tons of food and I feed my extended family on it!

Love that hat!

check out southernsavers.com...(it even does Whole Foods)has all the sale papers, what coupons you need and where to find them, and even shows you the items that you stock up due to they are at the lowest price. And It's free. Start saving your coupons but only buy what you need. Products are usually at the lowest price every 12 weeks. So for example if you like Prego and you have watched a 12 week cycle to know which week it will be offered at it's lowest price then stock enough to last you until it gets to the lowest price again. We feed a family of 8 on around 350 a month. I also hit the meat markets early in the morning stock on meat that is marked down and either cook it or freeze it. Also if you have a local produce stand and can hit it a couple of times a week you will never need to by produce at full price or at the grocery. They will have good mark downs as well.

Another idea when we were younger and did not have but 150 a month for groceries (few less people back then) I shopped for the month, I made my meal plan and there was no room for error. I only had cash to spend at the grocery so if I did not have enough I had to put something back.

We still use cash and the extra when I go shopping is a little extra for us else where.

Saving money on anything takes time, planning, and knowing your market. There are alot of great tips on here. So take what seems to work for you.

I am curious when you say groceries are expensive do you cook large meals, are there alot of leftovers when you cook?