S/O Budgeting: Groceries

[Darcy Baldwin]

I'll have to try - I know there are lots further west from here, I'm just not sure around here, but I'll look into it!

[aggiefamily]

Originally Posted by Darcy Baldwin

I'll have to try - I know there are lots further west from here, I'm just not sure around here, but I'll look into it!

You come visit me in January and I can hook you up.

[Darcy Baldwin]

with venison? Can I shoot my own? LOL

[neenee]

We had been spending about $100 per week for a family of 4. That includes all toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.

Now that DD #1 is an adult tho and out of school....she doesn't eat at home as much so our bill is more like $80 per week the last 3 weeks.

I do use a grocery savings program online though for the last 3 years. When we first started it, it cut our bill down from $700 per month for a family of 5 to $450. It tells you what's on sale at your local store and combines coupons with that sale so you get your dollar to stretch further.

[Ainwena]

I am totally amazed too about all of your budgets! I do meal plan and shop according to the list, but we primarily eat seafood and fresh fruits and veggies, so I think that is why our bill is always higher. I have tried to move away from that, but then we end up eating out because nothing sounds good at home, so we actually save more money this way (and it is SOOO much more healthy).

I do recommend shopping online if you can. Safeway is great, and their system stores previous lists, so sometimes, I can get my shopping done in 20 minutes online-and I usually end up saving some money, because that frees up some time to buy the dry good stuff at Target or Walmart.

It is 2 adults and a toddler here, and we range from $120-160 a week (that includes everything-and pullups and sometimes a Starbucks coffee).

[lovely1m]

I buy fresh veggies and fruit, some frozen. I can't stand canned, it tastes mushy and its full of sodium. It might be cheap, but its not worth it. I do buy a lot of generic stuff. I have great luck for the most part with Wal-Mart's brand.

[scrap2day]

Don't know if this will help but my sister and I talk about this very subject A LOT!

We both like shopping at Target. She says that she saves a lot on the exact same products (maybe some of the packages are bigger). She used to have to wait for sales at the grocery for their waffles/chicken nuggets/etc. and Target has them for much less every day. She is thrilled they can have waffles whenever they want instead of waiting for months for a sale.

They also like lunch meat sandwiches but had cut them out of their budget because the meats were just too expensive at any of the groceries. (and her husband takes his lunch to work so I'm sure he would like to have a lunch meat sandwich). Well, just this week she told me that she found that going to a local deli that the meat was something like 75% cheaper. Seems unbelievable to me but again if you can find it...

Our house is a little different. Target for some items, grocery for others. I'm also trying to make more items from scratch but that has as much to do with being able to control the ingredients as saving $$$. (Here maybe I will use a mix but if we want waffles we make them with the waffle maker. But I totally understand that some people don't have the time to do this -- and we really don't have waffles that often).

[glumirk]

Originally Posted by scrap2day

Don't know if this will help but my sister and I talk about this very subject A LOT!

We both like shopping at Target. She says that she saves a lot on the exact same products (maybe some of the packages are bigger). She used to have to wait for sales at the grocery for their waffles/chicken nuggets/etc. and Target has them for much less every day. She is thrilled they can have waffles whenever they want instead of waiting for months for a sale.

They also like lunch meat sandwiches but had cut them out of their budget because the meats were just too expensive at any of the groceries. (and her husband takes his lunch to work so I'm sure he would like to have a lunch meat sandwich). Well, just this week she told me that she found that going to a local deli that the meat was something like 75% cheaper. Seems unbelievable to me but again if you can find it...

I definitely agree! One of my pregnancy cravings has been Kraft Mac & Cheese, and here it's like $1.25 at the grocery store, but going to Wal-mart it's only $0.50...regularly! I'll have to do more shopping and comparing...Target is way closer to our house than any grocery stores, and the prices here (we just moved) are a lot more expensive than I'm used to.

[4noisyboys]

Originally Posted by Darcy Baldwin

I'll have to try - I know there are lots further west from here, I'm just not sure around here, but I'll look into it!

Just to let you know Darcy, that Gail is a real budget shopper, and she tells me about the deals she gets on meat. I'm so jealous...it cost three times the amount for beef here than it does for you guys. I guess you have more cattle there in Texas!!