Groc shopping on cheap budget

Hi, some of the time I shop on Sunday, even thou thats the day the new sale starts. I find lots of stuff with store coupons. Meat that needs to be cooked within two days or frozen and even salad bags. I just started eating more salads and bought some bags for .99 I eat a whole one for lunch. Simple and easy. Also I get meat this way and cook for a few meals. Hope this helped.

ground turkey, whole wheat pasta, steamfresh bags of veggies, eggs, oatmeal, lowfat milk, and then whatever fresh produce is on sale. If you are used to cooking then it's easy to get groceries without breaking the bank. I think it's harder for people who are used to frozen meals and eating out b/c they don't have the basic ingredients in their pantry or fridge. good luck!

do u like veggie soup. cheap n easy. bag of generic frozen veggies, generic v8, season. simmer done. i add ground round browned n rinsed to mine. buy meat n bulk and portion out and freeze. peanut butter (check out, some are real oily) kix cereal is a good snack, not real sure what your taste are. make a list, plan your meals in advance. I use to think u had to eat junk to eat cheap, actually it was me being lazy. boxes r easier. buy bulk frozen veggies and bulk meat. check around for the best deals.

We are a single income family of 5 so I know what you're saying!! I plan my meals...my husband gets paid biweekly so I sit down and plan my breakfast, lunch & dinner for everyday for the two weeks (obviously due to freshness I can't get it all - but at least I know what I need - and I save money back for that). Sometimes it works out that we have extra because of unexpected meals provided for us (being invited out to eat or to someone's house). I don't necessarily stick to what I chose for each day, depends on what sounds good when that day arrives but I know if I planned the meal than I have the stuff in the house to prepare it. I look at the store ads and plan my meals according to what's on sale. Also buy meat ahead, when it's on sale buy more than you need. We have a "bent & dent" store. Things are cheaper if it's dented or the box is slightly messed up, I always start my shopping trip there just to see what I can get. Hope this helps!!! Remember it's the small steps, the little changes you make that makes the difference, so don't get overwhelmed trying to get it all at once.

I am not sure if you have farmer markets in your area, but I buy my veggies and fruit from there and I save alot of money. Some do offer meats but I don't eat meat so I would not be any help in that area but it may be a good start if you are able to locate one in your area.

Getting ideas

The more unprocessed that you go the cheaper it will be. Recently we needed to cut back so I made a commitment to use up what is in our freezer and pantry, to not throw anything away (meaning use it up before it spoils), and only purchase what I absolutely need.

I was able to go for three weeks without buying anything but milk and flour and now in the last 6 weeks since I have spent less than $200.00 and we are a family of 6 including 4 adults!

I buy frozen veggies as they are the cheapest.

I buy meat in bulk, prepare it then freeze it and use less of it in recipes.

I use more beans and seeds.

I have become very creative with what might have been thrown out, for example I did pumpkin seeds this year from our pumpkins, canned lots of tomatoes, even made salsa from the green tomatoes. wrapped to store the other green tomatoes, picked the grapes that grow wild near our house and am in the process of squeezing them to make grape jelly. Look around for free items. (farmers that have harvested already but still have fruit and such hanging on the trees and vines.)

Apples are really cheap right now so I am making sauce and carefully storing apples for the winter. (The cost of these apples were not included in the $200.00)


I create extra meals and put them in the freezer so that on busy days when I might be tempted to get take out, I can simply re-heat.

I thought the kids would hate this but actually they are enjoying the lovingly prepared meals.

Also, if times are really tight you can look into the Angelfood network.

D

We are a family of 7 and buy our groceries anywhere from $60 - 100 a week (and that's including toilet paper, paper towels & everything else we need to buy at the store on a weekly basis)

We also have a "bent & dent" store and can buy food CHEAP there! Example: Canned beans .10/can, Name brand Instant oatmeal with all the goodies in it .75/box. Salad dressings .50/bottle. Name brand cereals .75/box. Olive oil 1.00/Quart bottle. etc....

Also, I don't know if you know this, but at WALMART (in the states anyway), you can take in a competitors ad to show to the cashier, and you can buy the same item there for the same price as listed in the ad. And if it's a store-brand from another store, you can get the same item in Walmart's brand (great value) for the same price in the ad. That way, you don't have to do so much running around to other stores. It just may be a little more time consuming at the cash register, buy hey, you're saving money!

If you buy your beans & rice dry, they are a LOT cheaper than the "instant" versions. Potatoes are cheap and can be used in TONS of ways. Frozen ground turkey (in the 1 lb rolls) are usually cheaper than ground beef. I look for sales on the 10 lb bag of chicken thighs, and usually stock up on 3 or 4 bags at a time (usual sale is .39 or .49/pound.) Pasta is cheap. If you cook it al dente, it's actually not all that bad for you. The carbs aren't broken down completely. Spahgetti sauce is cheap, just look for the lower sodium kinds. I can usually find the tubes of refrigerated biscuit dough (the kind with 10 smaller biscuits in them) for just .39/roll. Those can be used in a variety of ways; as biscuits, or flatten them out before baking them and add garlic powder to make garlic bread, or flatten them out and add a little spaghetti sauce, pizza veggies, and cheese to make little pizzas, or roll flat and add a little cinnamon and sugar to make little cinnamon rolls, or cut into small pieces and add into boiling soup broth to cook as little dumplings.... the ideas are endless. Tortilla shells are cheap... we use those to wrap up beans, flavored brown rice, & cheese, or we make quesadilla's with them, or for crispy crust pizza's. Sometimes canned veggies go on sale, and that's the time to stock up on them. Just keep your eyes open for sales! That's a great time to stock up and freeze what you're not going to use now, for later.

Good luck, you can do it!

I've recently been on a roasted vege kick - My recent fav is roasted zucchini.

Preheat oven to 450, place cut veg skin side down, spray with non-stick cooking spray (I use the olive oil kind), brush with minced garlic and you're pretty much done! They only take about 10 min and are sooo yummy with just a little bit of salt.

Oh and chopped up butternut squash is another fav.

I made the Taco soup (sounded so good) and loved it!!!! As posted, it does not cost much to make. I did use the ranch seasoning in it. The only part I was concerned with when I put it into my recipes to get other nutrition information was the sodium. It is a wonderful treat, but if you are watching your sodium intake (like I am) due to HBP then you will want to plan your other meals to make sure you stay on goal for that day. I will be trying to adjust and lower that with the next batch I make. I am too hooked not to make it again!!!
Thanks for the new idea!!!