Groceries

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!!!!

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.

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.

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..

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:

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.

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.

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.