Why Eating Healthy Isn't Expensive/Grocery Haul
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Oh goody, the cheery and optimistc vs. bitter and angry fight is about to break out into the open . . .7
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »MorganMoreaux wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »MorganMoreaux wrote: »I still have to disagree - junk food is more expensive. In my area, these are some of the prices:
Soda - Mountain Dew - 2 liter $2.19
Filtered spring water - $.38 / gal
Dorritos - 10oz bag - 4.29
Chips Ahoy Cookies - 12.4 oz - 4.29
Kellogs Raisan Bran - 23.5 oz - 4.79
Brewers Ice Cream - 48oz - 5.99
Kraft Shredded Mozzarella - 7oz - 3.99
Bob's Organic Steel Cut Oats - 24oz - 4.69
Arrowhead Mills Organic Green Lentils - 16oz - 3.99
HT organic dry chick peas - 16oz - 2.69
Lotus Foods Organic Jade Pwarl Rice - 15oz - 4.99
Frozen Veggies - 12oz - 1.50 or less
Organic bananas - ~ $.40 each
Organic fresh strawberries - 16 oz - 3.99
Kale Chard Mix - 16oz - 2.50
HT Organic Shredded Mozzarella - 6oz - 3.47
I used organic items in this example because those are usually the highest priced items when discussing healthy foods. Fact remains, junk food is even more expensive than many of the organic items. The organic oatmeal is 24oz dry - you actually use less than the Raisan Bran, so the organic oatmeal last longer and is significantly healthier as it doesn't have all the artificial ingredients and added sugar. Notice how there are no chips or cookies in the bottom list, those have been replaced by fresh fruit, again, significantly less expensive and last longer, and full of nutrients. You can purchase organic rice, beans, and pasta in bulk and they are a fraction of what their less healthy counterparts are. Plus most of the organic foods have coupons available, and you can combine them with apps (all the phone apps are available for the computer as well) for an additional savings. Look at how much money is spent on soda, which offers zero nutritional value. I buy water in bulk as I don't trust municipal water in 5 gallon containers and its .38 a gallon. One can't even use the argument of living in a rural location as you can buy these groceries online, the shipping is free, and you can still use the PC apps if you don't have a smartphone.
I think what it really comes down to is that some people don't really want to eat healthy or just aren't ready to make lifestyle changes. You can easily buy a 5 lb bad of rice, a 3 lb bag of beans, a 68oz bag of greens, five different types of frozen veggies, a bag of cheese and some fresh fruit for under $15 and best set for a weeks worth of meals. Some of it will outlast the week - the rice and beans will have left overs into the next couple of weeks. The only caveat is that the healthy stuff isn't hyper-palatable.
I haven't spent money in years on some items such as organic rice, beans, steel cut oats as I wait for sales and use coupons. Those items are so versitile. Fresh produce is also really versitile and inexpensive as something is always going on sale. The most expensive snack item I purchase are organic cashews, as they are never on sale and don't have coupons, so I spend 4.99 a pound and they are still less expensive than many options that Plantars put out at the same weight, except Plantars comes with the added sugar and salt.
where can you buy these groceries online and have them shipped free? and some of those apps dont work on pc's unless they are up to date with the latest OS,the ibotta Im pretty sure doesnt work with a pc its a phone app thing.as for organics we are also limited on that too. and organics are more expensive than regular. here bananas are like 59 cents a lb and organics are 69 cents, organic strawberries and other berries are $1-2 more than regular,a 1lb bag of beans here is anywhere from 1.69-over $2 a bag just for one lb. we dont have bulk nuts you have to buy packaged nuts.Im not joking either. none of the stores sell nuts by the lb and unpackaged. cheese if not on sale is say for sargento 3.99 for a bag of shredded cheese,on sale Im lucky to get it for 2.49. there is no way I could get what you stated for under $15,so yes you can use the argument of living in a rural area, try living where I live for 6 months and you will see that its not as easy as you think. I do buy fresh produce and other things every week and its not hard to spend a lot. apples are over $3 a lb as well.,oranges at walmart 3.88 a bag and thats a small bag, hell half the time ups wont deliver they will take things to the post office and make them deliver items.we dont have stores where you can buy in bulk. Ibotta you have to download the app on your device-Download the Ibotta app, available on iOS and Android. The app is required to submit a receipt. and you have to 4. Verify Your Purchases Scan your product barcodes, then submit a photo of your receipt. so yes you need a phone. how else are you going to scan bar codes? and yes while you can have it work with your loyalty card not all stores have loyalty cards.
You can submit receipts to Ibotta via email. I've done so in the past.
I used organic items simple as the example as they tend to be on the higher end of the price spectrum. Regular healthy items are less expensive. I did not intend to imply that ONLY organic items are healthy - it was to shove prices. One can eat healthy at a low cost, often less than what junk food costs - that was the point.
As for you're location, I don't know where you live but apparently it's possible for you to get mail, so I'm guessing you can order items off the internet. However, Walmart accepts coupons, and you can also use the Saving Star app from the computer - it only requires receipts which you can upload. You can also request that Walmart order items for you, and you can order groceries from their site.
As for the it's I cited in my example - it's not bulk. It's a prepackaged bag that I grab off the shelf. It's usually the only thing I pay full price for, and again, just part of an example.
Anyway, the point of my post was to show that eating healthy is not more expensive than eating junk food. Many people state that they can't afford healthy food, which is either an excuse or they don't understand what healthy food is. I've found many people confuse food marketed as "diet" food as healthy, which isn't necessarily the case, and yes, that stuff tends to be more expensive. However, most whole foods or minimally processed foods tend to not be anymore expensive than junk, and often times are less expensive.
yes walmart accepts coupons but there arent many coupons out there for healthy foods,I cant print anything off because my printer crapped the bed.I tried savings star and submitted a few receipts(they were scanned by my printer) and they told me that they could not be read.so they did not accept them so I lost out on any rebates I had coming.I dont buy diet foods I buy stuff like lean meats,frozen fish, cottage cheese,yogurt,nuts,seeds,fruits and veggies(frozen and fresh) eggs,salmon,butter,coconut oil. things along those lines.I do eat healthy but it does cost me more than buying the junk I used to eat,I even cut 99% of my chocolate out. Im not a big soda drinking so I dont buy any for myself most of the time.I bought some diet pepsi(6 pack) but that will probably last me a month or more.I just like to have something when I want a soda. I cut out orange juice and all other juices, I drink tea,coffee and water.I use my condiments sparingly.I dont even eat ice cream hardly ever. I still have half a pint sitting in the freezer going to waste. I get your points on everything but for some of us it is more expensive especially when the stores are limited to what they carry,as for walmart ordering items for me,I talked to them and I also talked to a friend who works at kroger,in order for them to order something they have to have a big enough demand for the item before they will order it.they wont order if only one person is wanting the item(s).trust me I have tried that route.half the time the things that the store shows being on sale arent even sold in our kroger.and our walmart varies on products. my local one(15 miles away) doesnt carry certain things,but the walmart 40 min away,carries things that our walmart doesnt or vice versa and I cant run a trip that is 40 min each way just to get certain things, but yeah. thats how it is for me.healthy eating is healthier for you but,junk food in my area seems to be cheaper than healthy foods, but then again this is WV
That's tough and frustrating. I'm sorry you're in that situation. WV is a beautiful state btw. When I started a lifestyle change to healthier eating I didn't have a lot of resources and the area had crummy grocery stores so I grew a lot of my own produce. I finally moved to a new location that has a lot of grocery store options, but I still grow as much as I can. This year I am going to try freezing some of the items from the garden to try to get me through the winter. I'm in eastern North Carolina, and the weather is pretty mild so the gardens continue to produce well into the fall.3 -
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I plan and cook approx 80% of my family meals.
My fortnightly grocery budget is $350 for 2 adults and 2 teenagers (including household items as well). As a price comparison, chicken breast is usually $12.00 per kg, eggs are roughly $4 a dozen etc. Sometimes I can get chicken breast on sale for $10 per kg. I have never in my life seen eggs for .90c a dozen! (Australia).
Even at $350 a fortnight, its cheaper for me to cook than eat out.4 -
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MorganMoreaux wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »MorganMoreaux wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »MorganMoreaux wrote: »I still have to disagree - junk food is more expensive. In my area, these are some of the prices:
Soda - Mountain Dew - 2 liter $2.19
Filtered spring water - $.38 / gal
Dorritos - 10oz bag - 4.29
Chips Ahoy Cookies - 12.4 oz - 4.29
Kellogs Raisan Bran - 23.5 oz - 4.79
Brewers Ice Cream - 48oz - 5.99
Kraft Shredded Mozzarella - 7oz - 3.99
Bob's Organic Steel Cut Oats - 24oz - 4.69
Arrowhead Mills Organic Green Lentils - 16oz - 3.99
HT organic dry chick peas - 16oz - 2.69
Lotus Foods Organic Jade Pwarl Rice - 15oz - 4.99
Frozen Veggies - 12oz - 1.50 or less
Organic bananas - ~ $.40 each
Organic fresh strawberries - 16 oz - 3.99
Kale Chard Mix - 16oz - 2.50
HT Organic Shredded Mozzarella - 6oz - 3.47
I used organic items in this example because those are usually the highest priced items when discussing healthy foods. Fact remains, junk food is even more expensive than many of the organic items. The organic oatmeal is 24oz dry - you actually use less than the Raisan Bran, so the organic oatmeal last longer and is significantly healthier as it doesn't have all the artificial ingredients and added sugar. Notice how there are no chips or cookies in the bottom list, those have been replaced by fresh fruit, again, significantly less expensive and last longer, and full of nutrients. You can purchase organic rice, beans, and pasta in bulk and they are a fraction of what their less healthy counterparts are. Plus most of the organic foods have coupons available, and you can combine them with apps (all the phone apps are available for the computer as well) for an additional savings. Look at how much money is spent on soda, which offers zero nutritional value. I buy water in bulk as I don't trust municipal water in 5 gallon containers and its .38 a gallon. One can't even use the argument of living in a rural location as you can buy these groceries online, the shipping is free, and you can still use the PC apps if you don't have a smartphone.
I think what it really comes down to is that some people don't really want to eat healthy or just aren't ready to make lifestyle changes. You can easily buy a 5 lb bad of rice, a 3 lb bag of beans, a 68oz bag of greens, five different types of frozen veggies, a bag of cheese and some fresh fruit for under $15 and best set for a weeks worth of meals. Some of it will outlast the week - the rice and beans will have left overs into the next couple of weeks. The only caveat is that the healthy stuff isn't hyper-palatable.
I haven't spent money in years on some items such as organic rice, beans, steel cut oats as I wait for sales and use coupons. Those items are so versitile. Fresh produce is also really versitile and inexpensive as something is always going on sale. The most expensive snack item I purchase are organic cashews, as they are never on sale and don't have coupons, so I spend 4.99 a pound and they are still less expensive than many options that Plantars put out at the same weight, except Plantars comes with the added sugar and salt.
where can you buy these groceries online and have them shipped free? and some of those apps dont work on pc's unless they are up to date with the latest OS,the ibotta Im pretty sure doesnt work with a pc its a phone app thing.as for organics we are also limited on that too. and organics are more expensive than regular. here bananas are like 59 cents a lb and organics are 69 cents, organic strawberries and other berries are $1-2 more than regular,a 1lb bag of beans here is anywhere from 1.69-over $2 a bag just for one lb. we dont have bulk nuts you have to buy packaged nuts.Im not joking either. none of the stores sell nuts by the lb and unpackaged. cheese if not on sale is say for sargento 3.99 for a bag of shredded cheese,on sale Im lucky to get it for 2.49. there is no way I could get what you stated for under $15,so yes you can use the argument of living in a rural area, try living where I live for 6 months and you will see that its not as easy as you think. I do buy fresh produce and other things every week and its not hard to spend a lot. apples are over $3 a lb as well.,oranges at walmart 3.88 a bag and thats a small bag, hell half the time ups wont deliver they will take things to the post office and make them deliver items.we dont have stores where you can buy in bulk. Ibotta you have to download the app on your device-Download the Ibotta app, available on iOS and Android. The app is required to submit a receipt. and you have to 4. Verify Your Purchases Scan your product barcodes, then submit a photo of your receipt. so yes you need a phone. how else are you going to scan bar codes? and yes while you can have it work with your loyalty card not all stores have loyalty cards.
You can submit receipts to Ibotta via email. I've done so in the past.
I used organic items simple as the example as they tend to be on the higher end of the price spectrum. Regular healthy items are less expensive. I did not intend to imply that ONLY organic items are healthy - it was to shove prices. One can eat healthy at a low cost, often less than what junk food costs - that was the point.
As for you're location, I don't know where you live but apparently it's possible for you to get mail, so I'm guessing you can order items off the internet. However, Walmart accepts coupons, and you can also use the Saving Star app from the computer - it only requires receipts which you can upload. You can also request that Walmart order items for you, and you can order groceries from their site.
As for the it's I cited in my example - it's not bulk. It's a prepackaged bag that I grab off the shelf. It's usually the only thing I pay full price for, and again, just part of an example.
Anyway, the point of my post was to show that eating healthy is not more expensive than eating junk food. Many people state that they can't afford healthy food, which is either an excuse or they don't understand what healthy food is. I've found many people confuse food marketed as "diet" food as healthy, which isn't necessarily the case, and yes, that stuff tends to be more expensive. However, most whole foods or minimally processed foods tend to not be anymore expensive than junk, and often times are less expensive.
yes walmart accepts coupons but there arent many coupons out there for healthy foods,I cant print anything off because my printer crapped the bed.I tried savings star and submitted a few receipts(they were scanned by my printer) and they told me that they could not be read.so they did not accept them so I lost out on any rebates I had coming.I dont buy diet foods I buy stuff like lean meats,frozen fish, cottage cheese,yogurt,nuts,seeds,fruits and veggies(frozen and fresh) eggs,salmon,butter,coconut oil. things along those lines.I do eat healthy but it does cost me more than buying the junk I used to eat,I even cut 99% of my chocolate out. Im not a big soda drinking so I dont buy any for myself most of the time.I bought some diet pepsi(6 pack) but that will probably last me a month or more.I just like to have something when I want a soda. I cut out orange juice and all other juices, I drink tea,coffee and water.I use my condiments sparingly.I dont even eat ice cream hardly ever. I still have half a pint sitting in the freezer going to waste. I get your points on everything but for some of us it is more expensive especially when the stores are limited to what they carry,as for walmart ordering items for me,I talked to them and I also talked to a friend who works at kroger,in order for them to order something they have to have a big enough demand for the item before they will order it.they wont order if only one person is wanting the item(s).trust me I have tried that route.half the time the things that the store shows being on sale arent even sold in our kroger.and our walmart varies on products. my local one(15 miles away) doesnt carry certain things,but the walmart 40 min away,carries things that our walmart doesnt or vice versa and I cant run a trip that is 40 min each way just to get certain things, but yeah. thats how it is for me.healthy eating is healthier for you but,junk food in my area seems to be cheaper than healthy foods, but then again this is WV
That's tough and frustrating. I'm sorry you're in that situation. WV is a beautiful state btw. When I started a lifestyle change to healthier eating I didn't have a lot of resources and the area had crummy grocery stores so I grew a lot of my own produce. I finally moved to a new location that has a lot of grocery store options, but I still grow as much as I can. This year I am going to try freezing some of the items from the garden to try to get me through the winter. I'm in eastern North Carolina, and the weather is pretty mild so the gardens continue to produce well into the fall.
yeah we grow veggies during the late spring to late summer. we are expected to get temps at night in the 30s again(for an evening or two) so hubby will wait to plant until that threat is over. dont need plants dying.we do freeze a lot of our veggies too and we swap veggies and share with the neighbors and vice versa.its not bad during the summer just winter and early spring.yeah it sucks not having good grocery stores,I guess they could be worse though,no wonder there is a lot of obesity here in the state.1 -
Listen - this might be a bit "mean", but there's always reasons why it's too hard. Or it's too expensive. I live in Canada and groceries are definitely more expensive than in the US (I also visit the US often and grocery shop so I know the prices). So some things are more expensive where you live than the OP. That's where u live. That shouldn't stop u from considering the core of OP's message. How about giving yourself the challenge to see if u can still eat healthy AND drop your grocery bill? Not necessarily get the same prices she did - but less than u are currently spending.
I got an eye opener when I started reviewing the flyers BEFORE planning my weekly menu. I started to plan meals around what was on sale and my expenses dropped. It's not much savings for each meal, but over a month it made a big difference.
Eg zucchini is usually $1.99 to $2.49 here. Sometimes it drops to $0.79. Time to make some zoodles!
Chicken breast is expensive here in Canada - typically $4.99-5.49. Every once in a long while, it drops to $2.99 and then it's time to stock up.
Since I started reading flyers, I have noticed that there is always some kind of meat on sale somewhere that week. This week, ground pork was $1.99/lb in one store (up to $3.49 in other stores). I aim to spend $1.99/lb or less on meat. Beef has been $$ though so we haven't had any beef in a few months. It's been mostly pork chops/roasts or chicken quarters.8 -
Listen - this might be a bit "mean", but there's always reasons why it's too hard. Or it's too expensive. I live in Canada and groceries are definitely more expensive than in the US (I also visit the US often and grocery shop so I know the prices). So some things are more expensive where you live than the OP. That's where u live. That shouldn't stop u from considering the core of OP's message. How about giving yourself the challenge to see if u can still eat healthy AND drop your grocery bill? Not necessarily get the same prices she did - but less than u are currently spending.
I got an eye opener when I started reviewing the flyers BEFORE planning my weekly menu. I started to plan meals around what was on sale and my expenses dropped. It's not much savings for each meal, but over a month it made a big difference.
Eg zucchini is usually $1.99 to $2.49 here. Sometimes it drops to $0.79. Time to make some zoodles!
Chicken breast is expensive here in Canada - typically $4.99-5.49. Every once in a long while, it drops to $2.99 and then it's time to stock up.
Since I started reading flyers, I have noticed that there is always some kind of meat on sale somewhere that week. This week, ground pork was $1.99/lb in one store (up to $3.49 in other stores). I aim to spend $1.99/lb or less on meat. Beef has been $$ though so we haven't had any beef in a few months. It's been mostly pork chops/roasts or chicken quarters.
I am also in Canada (see my first post about my envy of OP's prices on the first page) but I also visit the US.
While the cost of food here is higher, the cost of fast food is also higher. We just got back from Florida a couple of weeks ago where my brother in law (first time there) was in awe of the 2 for $5 Big Macs.3 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »Do you folks know and keep a budget on groceries? It's a sensitive topic in my family so I gave up even talking about it. I don't know how to respond to sayings like ... "well, we're not throwing away money. It's for the foods we eat. We're not wasting". Get this over that? "It's not the same".
Is it also "false economy" to save on foods, only to overeat then exercise hard to "waste" the calories? Someone pointed that out to me.
We keep a budget for everything in our house. We budget $1200/mo for food and all other household needs (cleaners, misc. clothing, non-food needs, etc). Our actual food budget runs about $1000 of that $1200 (per month). Someone told me one time that planning $50 per person per week for food is considered "average." I have no idea where they got that number and I wasn't doing anything with it so I didn't check it out. But when I look at my food budget, that's about what it comes out to.3 -
ReaderGirl3 wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »Do you folks know and keep a budget on groceries? It's a sensitive topic in my family so I gave up even talking about it. I don't know how to respond to sayings like ... "well, we're not throwing away money. It's for the foods we eat. We're not wasting". Get this over that? "It's not the same".
Is it also "false economy" to save on foods, only to overeat then exercise hard to "waste" the calories? Someone pointed that out to me.
Yep, we budget $90 a week for our family of 5. This also includes things like toilet paper, cleaning supplies and laundry detergent. It does NOT cover things like pet food and eating out, those we budget separately.
I shop mostly at Meijer, Aldi and then Family Fare (smaller, local chain that's higher priced but runs good specials here and there, and it's our closest option as well).
We live in an area that has an amazing growing season where I can get fresh produce cheap at a local farmers market (like a grocery bag overflowing for $10), but off season we eat a LOT of frozen veggies. Meijer will sometimes get as low as .79 a bag and I buy 20-30 bags then.
I buy 75% of our fruit frozen at Dollar Tree-bags of frozen blueberries, strawberries etc for $1. I bake with them, mix them in oats and yogurt etc. And then I buy fresh bananas and apples at Meijer. We also do U-Pick farms in the summer for cherries, strawberries and blueberries (I freeze 10lbs each of the strawberries and blueberries, to use in the fall). This brings the cost down to $2 or less a pound and it's a fun outing with the kids
Bread outlets are a great option as well-our local one has the 'fancy' whole grain options for under $1 loaf (organic is $1.39)
Aldi is where I get our snack stuff-chips, cookies and cookie/muffin mixes, box cereal, packed lunch snacks etc. I also get our shredded cheese and frozen fish there.
Coupons are something I need to get back into-I used to be one of those crazy coupon ladies (I was buying 10 Sunday papers at one time and would walk into the store with my 20lb coupon binder oiy!), but got burned out and stepped away from all of it. Getting the itch to get back into it, at least a little bit.
Great post OP and it's fun to see different people's shopping experiences, based on where they live!
That's awesome, ReaderGirl (and that one "Awesome" is from me). You're running a tight ship, very inspiring. 3 -
Some people are replying as if the OP said you could eat Organic Gwyneth Paltrow smoothies for every meal if you are homeless and unemployed.17
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Some people are replying as if the OP said you could eat Organic Gwyneth Paltrow smoothies for every meal if you are homeless and unemployed.
Yeah. It always amazes me that expensive food is expensive, and that getting a certain amount of calories from healthy food is more expensive than getting the same amount of calories from unhealthy food, when the main criterion of unhealthy food is that it's calorie dense.8 -
Also, coupons. COUPONS!!
Seriously, with all of the Sale/Coupon matchup blogs out there, it's seriously the easiest thing ever. All you have to do is cut the coupons out. You can even print alot of coupons these days. I shop weekly and buy mostly based on sale/coupon. I regularly save at least $30 in coupons because of that. So easy. Just google the store you shop at plus matchups, for example "Shoprite coupon matchups" or "Kroger coupon matchups". Even Target has matchup blogs and clearance finds.
I just made shopping even easier for you, you're welcome.
My wife does coupons and CVS and hannaford, Shaw's we save 100$s every month it takes her about 8 hours to clip and organization and we shop around can't believe the money we save3 -
Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »booksandchocolate12 wrote: »AmazonMayan wrote: »Eggs 89 or 99 cents per dozen around here unless you shop at expensive walmart or the likes - I swear I don't know why people still think it's cheap there nowadays. It's really not. I'd go broke shopping for groceries at Walmart.
I don't think I've ever heard "walmart" and "expensive" used in the same sentence before, LOL. That said, I never go to Walmart because the one near me is always mess. The first time I walked in there, I thought the store had just been robbed, LOL.
I live on Long Island. The prices that the OP quotes are things I can only dream of. She's correct when she says that the coasts are more expensive. But I agree that with a little research and ingenuity, you don't have to break the bank to eat healthy and lose weight.
I think Walmart is really expensive for fresh produce. It's a total rip off. I shop in Aldi and it's about half the price (a pack of 3 red bell peppers is $1.29 in Aldi. They cost that each in Walmart. Their bread is 89 cents a loaf compared to $1.49 for the Walmart own brand) It's totally false that Walmart is a cheap place to buy food.
My wife works in a vision center in Walmart there food is garbage got lot of horror stories about it and it's not cheap we shop around and coupons save big $$0 -
salembambi wrote: »oh look a thread of someone declaring its easy to eat healthy and totally cheap cause they can do it in their area , with their income, education & access to stores, congrats
You can eat healthy no matter what your budget is or were you live saying you can't is just an excuse not too12 -
Even as a student barely able to get by I was able to buy good fresh foods on the regular. And it doesn't get much lower income than that, in fact I'm getting more now that I'm unemployed than I did as a student, I live a minute of walking away from the town center so prices are higher here than in the outskirts, so there's my experience Re: some passive agressive comments last page.
My weekly grocery budget was something like 20-30 bucks, depending if I buy treats or had certain more complicated recipes I wanted to make. The most expensive single item I got on my last trip was a pack of ice cream for 3 Euros.
In contrast, 3 Euros could buy me 5 liters of milk, 2 pounds of cheese, 1 pound of ham, 30 free range eggs, a pack of fresh meat, 3 heads of fresh lettuce or broccoli, 2 loaves of my favorite ciabatta with peperoni baked in or way more if I just took a cheap one, 5 pounds of frozen fries or about as much other frozen vegetables, depending on the kind. Or 6 packs of instant Ramen, cause I like them and add my own veggies and meat to them.
The only "healthy food stuff" that is sorta expensive here is meat.5 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »ReaderGirl3 wrote: »endlessfall16 wrote: »Do you folks know and keep a budget on groceries? It's a sensitive topic in my family so I gave up even talking about it. I don't know how to respond to sayings like ... "well, we're not throwing away money. It's for the foods we eat. We're not wasting". Get this over that? "It's not the same".
Is it also "false economy" to save on foods, only to overeat then exercise hard to "waste" the calories? Someone pointed that out to me.
Yep, we budget $90 a week for our family of 5. This also includes things like toilet paper, cleaning supplies and laundry detergent. It does NOT cover things like pet food and eating out, those we budget separately.
I shop mostly at Meijer, Aldi and then Family Fare (smaller, local chain that's higher priced but runs good specials here and there, and it's our closest option as well).
We live in an area that has an amazing growing season where I can get fresh produce cheap at a local farmers market (like a grocery bag overflowing for $10), but off season we eat a LOT of frozen veggies. Meijer will sometimes get as low as .79 a bag and I buy 20-30 bags then.
I buy 75% of our fruit frozen at Dollar Tree-bags of frozen blueberries, strawberries etc for $1. I bake with them, mix them in oats and yogurt etc. And then I buy fresh bananas and apples at Meijer. We also do U-Pick farms in the summer for cherries, strawberries and blueberries (I freeze 10lbs each of the strawberries and blueberries, to use in the fall). This brings the cost down to $2 or less a pound and it's a fun outing with the kids
Bread outlets are a great option as well-our local one has the 'fancy' whole grain options for under $1 loaf (organic is $1.39)
Aldi is where I get our snack stuff-chips, cookies and cookie/muffin mixes, box cereal, packed lunch snacks etc. I also get our shredded cheese and frozen fish there.
Coupons are something I need to get back into-I used to be one of those crazy coupon ladies (I was buying 10 Sunday papers at one time and would walk into the store with my 20lb coupon binder oiy!), but got burned out and stepped away from all of it. Getting the itch to get back into it, at least a little bit.
Great post OP and it's fun to see different people's shopping experiences, based on where they live!
That's awesome, ReaderGirl (and that one "Awesome" is from me). You're running a tight ship, very inspiring.
Dave Ramsey followers here with a plan to be totally debt free, including mortgage, in around 7 years The first thing I'm doing when that's all taken care of is raising that darn grocery budget lol! 5 -
I think the idea is more like...I can feed a family of four for $4 if I feed them white pasta with canned no-name sauce and shaker fake parmesan. And I can come up with a LOT of options like that. It is absolutely cheaper.3
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eveandqsmom wrote: »I think the idea is more like...I can feed a family of four for $4 if I feed them white pasta with canned no-name sauce and shaker fake parmesan. And I can come up with a LOT of options like that. It is absolutely cheaper.
Or option B. whole grain pasta on sale for $1, with jar pasta sauce on sale for $1, frozen California blend veggies on sale for .79, and toasted whole grain garlic bread, around .60 cents (bread outlet .89 loaf/5 slices for my family for one meal, with a bit of margarine and garlic salt that I mix together myself).
Grand total for my family of 5... $3.39 for a nutritionally sound dinner that's filling (and I can make it work with my calorie parameters as well). Buying things when they're on sale is a biggie-when frozen veggies go on sale for .79 a bag I buy 20-30 bags. Same with the pasta/sauce (Meijer frequently runs a 11/$10 sale and both of these items are included). I always go through the ads when I put together my grocery list and menu plan.
Prices do vary between locations/countries, but there's always ways to make healthy eating work on a budget. You may just need to get a bit creative
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