Why Eating Healthy Isn't Expensive/Grocery Haul
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AndrewMartin3 wrote: »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 $$
I certainly agree a lot of the food is garbage. Doesn't your wife get an employee discount? And it's still cheaper to shop elsewhere even with that?0 -
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.
Now you've challenged us frugalistas LOL! This is just with this week's Meijer ad.
or Option C: I can feed my family of 4 for $4 with:
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ($0.89/lb): $1.78
- 1 lb broccoli ($0.99/lb): $0.99
- 1 lb potato ($3.49/8lbs *more than I would normally pay): $0.43
and dessert
- 1 lb apples ($1.19/lb): $1.19
Total: $4.39
That's with not shopping around and going to one single average grocery store and working with what's available in the flyer. All real, whole foods and a lot of meat (which is typically the expensive part). Budgetbytes.com is a great website for low cost, healthy meals.7 -
AndrewMartin3 wrote: »
You can eat healthy no matter what your budget is or were you live saying you can't is just an excuse not toosalembambi 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
Perhaps if they ate better they wouldn't be so negative lol. I agree, excuses - much easier than implementing a lifestyle change.3 -
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.
Now you've challenged us frugalistas LOL! This is just with this week's Meijer ad.
or Option C: I can feed my family of 4 for $4 with:
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ($0.89/lb): $1.78
- 1 lb broccoli ($0.99/lb): $0.99
- 1 lb potato ($3.49/8lbs *more than I would normally pay): $0.43
and dessert
- 1 lb apples ($1.19/lb): $1.19
Total: $4.39
That's with not shopping around and going to one single average grocery store and working with what's available in the flyer. All real, whole foods and a lot of meat (which is typically the expensive part). Budgetbytes.com is a great website for low cost, healthy meals.
Well done!2 -
I am on disability and make less than $700 a month and live in Canada so groceries are more expensive and am still able to eat "healthy" on a strict budget.8
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Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »AndrewMartin3 wrote: »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 $$
I certainly agree a lot of the food is garbage. Doesn't your wife get an employee discount? And it's still cheaper to shop elsewhere even with that?
I'm not who you were asking, but when I worked there the discount only applied to general merchandise. Grocery was not discounted.0 -
In Canada the employee discount was 10% when I worked at Walmart. It isn't even equivalent to the tax!0
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singingflutelady wrote: »In Canada the employee discount was 10% when I worked at Walmart. It isn't even equivalent to the tax!
Do you have tax on food? I'm in Michigan and we only pay sales tax on prepared foods, like the deli hot case.1 -
vinegar_husbands wrote: »
Walmart is more expensive here than most grocery stores (like King Soopers). I'm not even sure why.
That's their model. Build a store, sell everything super-cheap, run smaller stores out of town. Then raise the prices.
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I read the ads from 4 different stores every week. Most of the time when I go to a grocery store the only things I buy are sale items and like OP I will stock up. I also bought a small cube freezer to be able to store more. Most stores, even community stores have online coupons and member clubs that you can join for additional savings.2
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knelson095 wrote: »Heartisalonelyhunter wrote: »AndrewMartin3 wrote: »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 $$
I certainly agree a lot of the food is garbage. Doesn't your wife get an employee discount? And it's still cheaper to shop elsewhere even with that?
I'm not who you were asking, but when I worked there the discount only applied to general merchandise. Grocery was not discounted.
It's only 10% and the quality is not good0 -
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.
Yes, we have a grocery budget.
I don't overeat and then exercise hard to "waste" the calories. I train hard and eat to support my training and thus my fitness and overall health and well being.4 -
I know this isn't an option for everyone, but my chest freezer was probably the best investment I ever made when it comes to saving money on food. I buy the markdown meat and freeze it.
I also meal plan so I'm using up all the produce in one week instead of having a little here and a little there left over to spoil. I bought these things called blue apples from Amazon that suck up the ethylene gas that causes produce to overripen and spoil for the more finicky produce like avocados and berries, they seem to be working really well.
I buy maybe half my produce at Aldi. However, some of their produce is in large packages that's way more than my boyfriend and I will eat so I go to Target to get the small/individual packages. I also buy what dry goods I can at Aldi. No meat, dairy or frozen since Aldi is near my work but still 45 min from home. Target is where I get the rest of my groceries, and Publix if they're having good BOGO specials. Publix is also good for hard-to-find items.
I use coupon apps, I've saved $275 with Ibotta alone and $650 using Target Cartwheel and that's not even all the apps I have!3 -
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.
Now you've challenged us frugalistas LOL! This is just with this week's Meijer ad.
or Option C: I can feed my family of 4 for $4 with:
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ($0.89/lb): $1.78
- 1 lb broccoli ($0.99/lb): $0.99
- 1 lb potato ($3.49/8lbs *more than I would normally pay): $0.43
and dessert
- 1 lb apples ($1.19/lb): $1.19
Total: $4.39
That's with not shopping around and going to one single average grocery store and working with what's available in the flyer. All real, whole foods and a lot of meat (which is typically the expensive part). Budgetbytes.com is a great website for low cost, healthy meals.
Yeah, planning your meal around sales is the way to go. And stocking up on frozen/non perishables when they are on sale too.
And check supermarkets if you're in the area anyway. I just drove by the one next to my gym yesterday and scored chicken breasts at $1 a pound (!!!) and a bag of russet potatoes at 89c. And I was driving by anyway so all I had to do is stop in the parking lot.2 -
I live by myself and in the past two years of not eating healthy or working out I found that I was eating out or ordering in a lot. Even though I like to cook I just found that I didn't want to cook just for myself so I got into this habit. I came on this app to lose about 20 plus pounds and get back on my normal eating healthy kick. The problem I always seem to run into is grocery shopping and finding good deals, and also not wasting food because it goes bad in refrigerator. I don't get any newspapers or mailings for sales, so for someone in my situation does anyone have any advice for me on how to shop smarter and get good deals, too??
Also, I'm brand new to this app, especially the community forums, so any advice or direction on how to maneuver through or make the most of my experience here. Thank you very much for any help!!
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And please add me. I'm not quite sure how to do that from in here?0
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jwagner1204 wrote: »I live by myself and in the past two years of not eating healthy or working out I found that I was eating out or ordering in a lot. Even though I like to cook I just found that I didn't want to cook just for myself so I got into this habit. I came on this app to lose about 20 plus pounds and get back on my normal eating healthy kick. The problem I always seem to run into is grocery shopping and finding good deals, and also not wasting food because it goes bad in refrigerator. I don't get any newspapers or mailings for sales, so for someone in my situation does anyone have any advice for me on how to shop smarter and get good deals, too??
Also, I'm brand new to this app, especially the community forums, so any advice or direction on how to maneuver through or make the most of my experience here. Thank you very much for any help!!
Most stores post their sales ads online. You can check out your local stores and see if they do. If not, some stores have the ad available for you to grab as you walk in the door.1 -
cwolfman13 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.
Yes, we have a grocery budget.
I don't overeat and then exercise hard to "waste" the calories. I train hard and eat to support my training and thus my fitness and overall health and well being.
Good thinking. I'm coming around to it as well.
It's just sometimes I couldn't help thinking it's a waste with "entertainment" foods. I know entertainment is a value that you get, but it's not always straight forward and you can't tell. Kinda like paying $10 for a 2 minute wheel ride at a fair!
Thanks for making me think.0 -
One thing about bulk meat, even if the bulk prepackages are too expensive/too much meat (I have trouble going through 5 lb packages of meat with just myself), check your grocery store's meat counter. At least at Kroger and Meijer, the bulk packaging price will apply and you can ask for a specific/smaller amount. For example, I wasn't about to buy the $10/5 lb packages of chicken breasts this week, but I went to the meat counter and asked for 2 lbs and got it for the same price per pound. Saved me some $ on my weekly shopping trip and saved that chicken from getting freezer burnt.3
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ronjsteele1 wrote: »One of my best friends has 12 kids. She shops what's on sale and then builds her menu around that. While I don't do that personally, it's actually a very wise thing to do when you're trying to save money. Person for person, they feed their family with about the same amount of money as I feed my family of 5.
I don't have kids and I do this. If you live in the Southeast IHeartPublix.com releases the publix flyer 3 days early (monday instead of thursday). Every monday morning i log on, take stock of everything that is super cheap/on sale/bogo and add it to my list. I menu plan my entire week around that list and my macros, and then go to the grocery the following Sunday. So I effectively have a whole week to menu plan, which was really helpful with coupon releases. I kept a whole coupon folder on top of shopping the flyer
We started doing this back in 2009 when I couldn't find work and we were living paycheck to paycheck and filling the gap with credit card debt. Our household income has quadrupled since those dark days, our grocery bill hasn't budged because I can't bring myself to stop shopping like this. Now I know why my grandmother (raised in the great depression) saved cottage cheese containers her whole life.3
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