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Cooking suggestions to cut down on grocery bill...
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SagaLore
Elite Member
Only dine out twice a month. Don't get beverages with your meal - stick with water (maybe with lemon). You're there to taste the food after all, not to pay $2.50 for a soda you could have gotten a liter of at the store.
$900 for groceries seems a little high - my wife and I, and our dog and cat, consume about $300 to $500 in groceries. And we tend to buy quality / name brand and unusual stuff.
For starters, buy generic eggs and milk since they all taste the same.
When you buy other foods that spoil, like fruit and bread, buy only what you know you're going to eat before it goes bad.
If there is something you know you eat that is on sale or has a coupon, go ahead and get the 2 for $x.xx and just put away or free the other one.
Pack your lunch. If you pack a sandwich, use those cheap little plastic baggies, instead of the more expensive zip lock bags.
Reduce how often you eat "snacks". They don't last long and tend to be the most expensive when you add it all up. This includes chips, crackers, granola/breakfast bars, pop tarts, ice cream, candy bars, soda, etc.
Don't buy from vending machine. Instead of paying $1 for a small candy bar, for $3 you could have gotten a whole package of them you could hide in your desk. Same goes for soda.
Buy frozen vegetables instead of canned.
Oh and if you have pets - buy their food in larger bulk - and I just recently discovered that Walmart's generic brand of dog food is actually healthier for dogs than the more expensive Purina One.
$900 for groceries seems a little high - my wife and I, and our dog and cat, consume about $300 to $500 in groceries. And we tend to buy quality / name brand and unusual stuff.
For starters, buy generic eggs and milk since they all taste the same.
When you buy other foods that spoil, like fruit and bread, buy only what you know you're going to eat before it goes bad.
If there is something you know you eat that is on sale or has a coupon, go ahead and get the 2 for $x.xx and just put away or free the other one.
Pack your lunch. If you pack a sandwich, use those cheap little plastic baggies, instead of the more expensive zip lock bags.
Reduce how often you eat "snacks". They don't last long and tend to be the most expensive when you add it all up. This includes chips, crackers, granola/breakfast bars, pop tarts, ice cream, candy bars, soda, etc.
Don't buy from vending machine. Instead of paying $1 for a small candy bar, for $3 you could have gotten a whole package of them you could hide in your desk. Same goes for soda.
Buy frozen vegetables instead of canned.
Oh and if you have pets - buy their food in larger bulk - and I just recently discovered that Walmart's generic brand of dog food is actually healthier for dogs than the more expensive Purina One.
Electric Amish
Elite Member
Jesus!
My wife and I don't even go through $200 a month.
Low cost items that make many meals:
Waffles/Pancakes (I have these for dinner all the time)
Spaghetti
Rice+Hamburger+Cream of mushroom soup
Ham
My wife and I don't even go through $200 a month.
Low cost items that make many meals:
Waffles/Pancakes (I have these for dinner all the time)
Spaghetti
Rice+Hamburger+Cream of mushroom soup
Ham
where have you been for the last 4 months? grocery forum got shuted down the beginning of this year.
Dealagogo is the one for grocery now. ask the question again there, OP will get much better replies. some people are crazy in saving, I have seen someone can knock off $100 groceries to a few bucks.
That's exactly what motivated this question.
I've brought up a few of these points with the wife, but she is being stubborn, so it may take some time (like, say, pointing out some properties we COULD afford if she'd only change her eating habits).
She says she won't eat something two days in a row (she "gets bored eating the same thing over and over"), she won't eat non-organic foods, or foods with excessive preservatives in it (if it has a "shelf life" of over a week), she won't plan out her meals (she "doesn't know what she wants to eat until she's at the store looking at it"), etc.
On the other hand, there are some things in her diet I think I can work with. She likes salads. No, LOVES salads. She could eat salad every day for every meal (although she pours like a cup of vinegar on it - :shocked: )....in any case, I could certainly do with more salad in the diet. And a bunch of veggies with half a can of tuna tossed on them sounds acceptably tasty and is not that much.
Anyway, lot of good ideas, here. I think we can make enough work to put a serious dent in our food budget. We'll see how this month goes! (Currently only at $60 😉 )
without reading:
1. get the sunday paper. clip coupons. i clip what i need every month, and then some things that i would never get unless it was on sale, and with the coupon on top of it, it makes the deal even better.
2. my sunday paper always has an additional ad by the grocery stores for a few extra days, usually in combination with the coupons out that week.
3. buy in bulk (costco) or buy in bulk when on sale + coupons. i find if you buy on sale along with coupons on some items (like cereal) it can be cheaper than costco. the only things i buy consistently from costco is water.
4. stock up. you can buy 10 cans of soup at once and just keep them in the cupboard, they're not going to go bad.
5. if you aren't particular about the certain meats you eat that week, just buy the meat of the week on sale at the store. or the fish of the week.
6. organic food can be cheap only when it's on sale. i shop a lot at whole foods also - the natural junk food there is cheaper than at the regular supermarkets since they can purchase in bulk, unlike my local store which buys limited quantities. for example: soy ice cream sandwiches are 2 something a box at whole foods, but 4.99 at ralphs.
7. those frozen meals - PURCHASE ONLY WHEN ON SALE. we get a lot of frozen meals too, but we only get whatever brand is on sale that week, plus i clip coupons religiously for them.
8. i actually buy bread in bulk at costco - two loaves at a time. the one i'm not using i store in my freezer until i'm almost done with the other loaf, and then take it out and put it in the fridge. i don't care if my bread is cold, as i toast it most of the time.
9. read the weekly sales each week for your local stores. mine come in the mail on tuesdays or wednesday. or else the store will have the circular at the door when you walk in. i plan special meals around sales.
i think the two of us spend 350 a month on groceries, and maybe 100 something eating out, if even.
i have no loyalty to supermarkets. i go wherever the sale is.
also the tip of bringing your lunch by making double of your meal the night before is great. it doesn't necessarily take longer to make a double serving (depending on what it is) but you save time and money by not having to go out to eat.
1. get the sunday paper. clip coupons. i clip what i need every month, and then some things that i would never get unless it was on sale, and with the coupon on top of it, it makes the deal even better.
2. my sunday paper always has an additional ad by the grocery stores for a few extra days, usually in combination with the coupons out that week.
3. buy in bulk (costco) or buy in bulk when on sale + coupons. i find if you buy on sale along with coupons on some items (like cereal) it can be cheaper than costco. the only things i buy consistently from costco is water.
4. stock up. you can buy 10 cans of soup at once and just keep them in the cupboard, they're not going to go bad.
5. if you aren't particular about the certain meats you eat that week, just buy the meat of the week on sale at the store. or the fish of the week.
6. organic food can be cheap only when it's on sale. i shop a lot at whole foods also - the natural junk food there is cheaper than at the regular supermarkets since they can purchase in bulk, unlike my local store which buys limited quantities. for example: soy ice cream sandwiches are 2 something a box at whole foods, but 4.99 at ralphs.
7. those frozen meals - PURCHASE ONLY WHEN ON SALE. we get a lot of frozen meals too, but we only get whatever brand is on sale that week, plus i clip coupons religiously for them.
8. i actually buy bread in bulk at costco - two loaves at a time. the one i'm not using i store in my freezer until i'm almost done with the other loaf, and then take it out and put it in the fridge. i don't care if my bread is cold, as i toast it most of the time.
9. read the weekly sales each week for your local stores. mine come in the mail on tuesdays or wednesday. or else the store will have the circular at the door when you walk in. i plan special meals around sales.
i think the two of us spend 350 a month on groceries, and maybe 100 something eating out, if even.
i have no loyalty to supermarkets. i go wherever the sale is.
also the tip of bringing your lunch by making double of your meal the night before is great. it doesn't necessarily take longer to make a double serving (depending on what it is) but you save time and money by not having to go out to eat.
Go shopping without her. Tell her you're going to handle shopping all by yourself for one month, and show her how much less it costs to shop responsibly. Don't eat out for one month. Honestly, she sounds like she's a bit spoiled, immature, and irresponsible, at least where money is concerned. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with eating organic foods, but even eating all organic, there's no reason to spend that much money on food, not to mention how much you're spending on eating out.
truthfully, that's a sad excuse for not eathing something two days in a row. if you ever have kids, think of the day when they demand pbj for five days in a row.
if you store it in the fridge, food can last a few days. she can get away with the whole "not eating something two days in a row" by eating something monday and then again on wednesday.
if you want to be able to afford other things in life, she will need to change her habits because they are not fiscally responsible. you can save a ton of money with groceries if you plan ahead. like anything in life - plan ahead!
as for the excess preservatives... well... potatoes have a shelf life of over a week? i leave them in a dark place, and if they start sprouting i just cut those off. i won't eat them if they're green.
my bf is in love with tuna salad sandwiches. i'd get a bed of lettuce, slice up some tomatoes, dump the other half of the tuna salad on there, mix in some italian dressing, and that's lunch for me. it tastes great to me. a small side salad with each meal isn't bad - BUY DRESSING ON SALE. since she only pours vinegar on it, you're the one who'd need the dressing more. you can do so much with salads - adding tuna salad, adding in leftover chicken, add in cold beef, or add in other veggies like tomatoes, beans, tofu, mushrooms, boiled eggs, etc so that there's variety.
you'll spend more money trying to make 2 different dinners than you will if you find some recipes that you can add a bit of meat to once they're prepared. get yourself a rotisserie chicken at sams (we don't have costco here, I don't know if they have chickens but sams rotisserie chicken is a good value for pre-cooked convenient meat.. 4.88 for a 3lb chicken vs. 5.99 for a 1.5lb chicken at the grocery, if they're not on sale). bring it home and skin it and chop it up and freeze it in single portions.. say 2/3 cup portions. then you can pull some out and thaw it quick to add to a pasta dish or a rice dish or a salad whenever you need to do so.
the easiest cheapest thing I make to satisfy vegetarians and.. carnivores? at once is a rice thing.. you use a box of rice mix.. I usually use dirty rice mix because it's spicy enough by itself but you can use plain rice pilaf too, and add a teaspoon of cumin.. use the amount of liquid the box calls for, it can be just water, or a can of veggie broth and enough water to make the full measure, you can use the juice from the tomatoes as part of the liquid too.. I know, I didn't mention the tomatoes yet. 🙂 drain a can of corn, a can of black beans, and can of tomatoes and green chilis and add those to the rice mix and liquid in the pot, bring it to a boil, cook it for however long the box says, let it stand five minutes and it's food.. seperate out enough for the vegetarians and add some of that chopped up sams chicken to the rest and let it hot up in there for a minute, and you have good food for the rest of the people. 🙂 you can get dirty rice mix at walmart that has brown rice instead of white.
the easiest cheapest thing I make to satisfy vegetarians and.. carnivores? at once is a rice thing.. you use a box of rice mix.. I usually use dirty rice mix because it's spicy enough by itself but you can use plain rice pilaf too, and add a teaspoon of cumin.. use the amount of liquid the box calls for, it can be just water, or a can of veggie broth and enough water to make the full measure, you can use the juice from the tomatoes as part of the liquid too.. I know, I didn't mention the tomatoes yet. 🙂 drain a can of corn, a can of black beans, and can of tomatoes and green chilis and add those to the rice mix and liquid in the pot, bring it to a boil, cook it for however long the box says, let it stand five minutes and it's food.. seperate out enough for the vegetarians and add some of that chopped up sams chicken to the rest and let it hot up in there for a minute, and you have good food for the rest of the people. 🙂 you can get dirty rice mix at walmart that has brown rice instead of white.
Wow, I can't believe no one has metioned this yet. Make a shopping list and stick by it. If you don't make a list you start grabbing stuff off the shelves and it will cost you.
Look in your cookbooks for receipes and usually you have leftovers from the meals you make and the ingredients like spices, oil, flour, etc. will still be in abundance in your cabinets for future receipes.
Try to buy generic and not name brand.
And never go grocery shopping when you are hungry!!!!
Look in your cookbooks for receipes and usually you have leftovers from the meals you make and the ingredients like spices, oil, flour, etc. will still be in abundance in your cabinets for future receipes.
Try to buy generic and not name brand.
And never go grocery shopping when you are hungry!!!!
cHeeZeFacTory
Golden Member
do you eat like filet mignon, king crab, and lobster every night? $700?!?! I spent calculated mine last night and I spent $80 on groceries, $150 dining out. And I'm not eating ramen, frozen foods, or even cereal. I buy my regular chicken, beef, pork, pasta, rice, and fresh vegetables. I always bring food from home for lunch at work.
I also buy groceries on sale, like this week: $1.77lb for london broil at albertsons. It's great for stir fry.
I also buy groceries on sale, like this week: $1.77lb for london broil at albertsons. It's great for stir fry.
iwantanewcomputer
Diamond Member
rice beans potatoes corn bread pasta.
favorite cheap recipe: spaghetti sanwiches. make a ton of spaghetti, add sauce (nice is good, but the cheap giant tomato paste cans aren't bad) take a piece of bread and shovel the spaghetti with sauce onto it, wrap the bread around like a burrito, scarf. they are great and have amazing textures.
if you are spending a bunch on alcohol, i found a liter of 80 proof alcohol for 8 bucks. McCormick's vodka
favorite cheap recipe: spaghetti sanwiches. make a ton of spaghetti, add sauce (nice is good, but the cheap giant tomato paste cans aren't bad) take a piece of bread and shovel the spaghetti with sauce onto it, wrap the bread around like a burrito, scarf. they are great and have amazing textures.
if you are spending a bunch on alcohol, i found a liter of 80 proof alcohol for 8 bucks. McCormick's vodka
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