Posted on 10/15/2008 8:22:08 AM PDT by HungarianGypsy
While reading another thread I noticed someone speaking of how they were able to spend $400 per month to feed their small family very well. So, I had an idea of asking how everyone budgets for groceries,
Recently, I split my grocery bill between the sale and 50% items at Fresh N Easy and the $15 per laundry sized basket local produce co-op.
This is the time to pull out old cookbooks and family recipes that are simple. Talk about basic menus. Just little things that help economically. Let's see if we can get a thread going.
COUPONS and SALES and PLANNING.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index1.htm
Hillbilly Housewife has 2 emergency menus.
$45.00 a week can feed a family of four.
Lots of recipes and links for frugal living.
Shepherd’s Pie is a favorite of ours - a layer of ground beef (browned and fat drained off) with a little onion, then a layer of creamed corn, topped with mashed potatoes.
Ping for later read and post.
Use the Dave Ramsey method of putting your grocery budget in cash in a monthly or weekly envelope- and when it is gone, live off what’s in the pantry!
I find it hard to budget when I shop with the check book
One tip- my kids “LOVE” having “breakfast for dinner” one night a week- omelets, pancakes or french toast. We mak a big batch of pancakes for Sunday breakfast, then freeze the leftover pancakes for dinner on Thursday night
Fresh & Easy is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I head there 2-3x week for the 50% off meat, and freeze it. Chuck roast is 1.99/lb there right now!!
And I’m going in with a friend for the $15 co-op fruits and veggies - we’re splitting them since neither of us can eat all of it. (we both have husbands and toddlers, no big kids)
I didn’t realize you were here in AZ!!
**Freeper Kitchen Ping**
Take that exact same recipe for shepherd’s pie, drop the creamed corn (ewwww, yuck!) and substitute one tin of condensed Cream of Mushroom soup. Add fresh ground black pepper. Beautiful!
I like to bake a lot so that takes care of cookies and bread. Produce stores are usually cheaper and I like Aldis for meat and canned goods.
I take out a certain amount of money every 2 weeks and try to keep within that amount for my those 2 weeks. If I have extra saved I save it for something I want to buy. For example I’m saving for a color laser printer right now. When I have the money saved I can buy it.
My four dependents eat up the bulk of my grocery money - 2 dogs and 2 cats!
It’s hard to find anything as good and as cheap as the old standby; pinto beans and cornbread. And when you’re feeling a little crazy fry some potatoes to go with it. HMMMMMMMMMMM
If you ever want to split the meat order they do every once in a while a few ways, let me know and I'll go in on it with you.
2) Avoid 'convenience' foods. A carton of chicken broth costs $2 on sale. Buy a whole chicken, boil it for 45 minutes to cook it, and you have both broth and chicken that way.
3) Figure out which store brands are good, and when they are on sale, stock up, those will be your best deal.
4) As someone else noted, pay attention to sales and coupons - buy your meats and plan you menu by what is the best sale that week.
5) Check out produce stores if you have a large family - some have dirt-cheap prices for large purchases, but shop carefully for quality.
6) Be wary of sales that are not really good sales - for example, Redner's runs a 5-for-$20 promotion - 5 packs of a range of meat products for $4 each. However, often times, for a given item, that is NOT the best sale price you will see over the course of two months - a whole chicken might be $4, but will be a cheaper price per pound when on sale separately.
7) Create dishes where meat is a seasoning, and not the main course, such as ham-and-bean soup or chili. Beans are an excellent food source for protein and nutrients. Beans and cheese and rice are a complete protein source without meat.
8) When shopping for bread, make sure you are not paying for air - compare weights and not just loaf price.
Bump for later reading.
I think I have a recipe somewhere for Italian Shepherd’s Pie somewhere. But, it’s funny you mention it, since my husband was wanting some last night.
I dropped my grocery bill with canning.
I had to invest $300 in supplies, which paid for itself in one month.
My favorite things (so far) are:
beef stew
chicken stew (very cheap!)
split pea soup (vegetarian)
chili
Next year we’ll have a garden, that that will go down more. I’m hoping for a good tomato crop for sauces.
A freezer is also a great investment. You can buy things on sale and stock up.
Finally, DON’T WASTE LEFTOVERS! :-) Keep your bits!
About once a week we end up having a leftover night where one person gets spaghetti, another gets chicken and potato salad and someone else has to live with MORE SOUP! lol!
(I love this topic!)
:-D
Topped with rigatoni instead of potatoes?
GARDEN and GUN, and CANNING.
I buy things in bulk. Oatmeal, gluten, flour, rice, beans, etc. I prepare food ahead. I’ll buy all of the ingredients for meatballs, and either precook them, flash freeze and package or will flash freeze some on a cookie sheet and then bag. Same for meatloaf, stuffed bell peppers, etc. I also precook ground hamburger and freeze in quart bags, so they are ready for anything that uses crumbled ground beef, for example, spaghetti.
Make our own yogurt, will buy occasionally, and breakfast is usually egg or oatmeal based. I will cook up eggs and side meat,or grits and gravy, biscuits , oatmeal, granola and yogurt, muffins, bagels, pancakes. Very rarely is it cold cereal.
For snacks I have celery and carrots in a Tupperware container all ready for easy munching, and will boil small eggs to keep in a bowl. I always have fruit available, whatever is on sale.
Making things from scratch is the most cost effective for us.
LOL... at my house we call those nights "Mom's Mystery Meals!"
Let's try to stay on topic. Sorry. :)
Brown 4-6 pork chops (with the bone in, if possible), put ‘em in a slow cooker with a few sliced onions, a can of cream of mushroom soup & a can of cream of chicken soup ( both undiluted ). Cook on low for 12 hrs. or on high 8 hrs.& serve over rice. Cheap, easy and tasty!
bump
I am not sure they have one in my area, ut if they do....
I have friend who’s famly has been buying the meat packs from the local food bank. I thought of it, then realized the distance from my house wouldn’t save much (re: fuel) in the end. I have actually been impressed by the amount that I have gotten at Fresh N Easy (as I mentioned the half priced items). Now I just need to buy a cow. :)
I want your chuck roast. Gosh, that’s a good price. It’s $2.57 here.
i buy staples (tuna, PB&J, wheat bread, rice milk, eggs) and then whatever i feel like but i keep it underwraps for the most part.
it is impossible for me to buy bulk. and i dont cook much other than breakfast food.
any cookbooks that cater to a guy like me?
I think it was tomato soup instead of mushroom. :)
You’re probably not gonna like it, but since I went vegan, my grocery bills have decreased considerably. Aside from the cost of meat, cheese costs a ton as well.
Being vegan also reduces the amount of snack foods I buy (tho there are plenty of vegan-friendly snacks out there), so I’ve reduced my spending there. On the whole, there is a lot less spending on impulse foods and general garbage. I have also started baking my own snack cakes/cupcakes, tho I don’t know if the cost is less than a store bought item on sale. I think cooking your own food, as opposed to prepared items, is also a good way to reduce the cost.
My son lives with me and mostly eats what I make, tho sometimes I will make him a bunch of chicken breasts that he can add to the veggies/noodles/rice/potatoes with his dinner.
I’m not saying you need to go veg, but you might want to eat plant-centered meals a few times each week. And as others have said, sales and coupons.
I hope to see a leftover some day.
I eat almost nothing myself, but I’m having a heck of a time feeding a teenage football player. This kid eats anything that can’t outrun him. He absolutely gorges six times a day and still complains of hunger. He doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him and his pediatrician says to keep on feeding him, he obviously needs it. He wants to eat real food as well as pizza and chicken nuggets, and I don’t know how “planning” can lower the cost of pieces of beef.
Last year a friend gave us a deer, and that helped enormously with the grocery budget. This year I may have to go get a couple of deer myself, which I’ve never done.
You can also put in some garlic, taters, and a dash of oregano. Even yummier. :)
They feed 7 people on $350/mo. Pretty impressive.
There is a book called “Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen” that has some economical meals made with less.
My husband and I both pack our lunches. I take leftovers and he takes lunch meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables. If we went out every day, that would be at least 30 per week for each of us = 60.
Holy cow I need to read this thread! I waste more money at the grocery store -
Marie, we do the same thing. I save up the leftovers, and on one day a week they can choose off the menu. Some items are highly desired, so they have to come to mom and claim it first.
We can too. Nothing like seeing a row of jars full and waiting for the rest of the year. Love the sound of the seals popping.
Ditto on the freezer, we have the chest and then the refrigerators. One freezer I have dedicated to bread and rolls, and the chest is mostly meat, the other is mostly vegetables.
I use LDS sites for menu planning and food storage. No use reinventing the wheel, they have it down pat.
I make a Shepherd’s Pie with home canned sausage.
Peel, slice, and cook potatoes. Open a can of sausage and heat it in a cast iron skillet. Drain the grease and add a chopped onion. When potatoes are cooked, drain the water and add potatoes to skillet with sausage. Scramble about 10 eggs with a little milk and salt and pour over the potatoes. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake until eggs are set.
Come to think of it, that may be supper.
How do you keep your potatoes? I have the hardest time keeping them from going bad, I’m talking a few days max.
Allot depends on your location and what is available.
In my area, Save-a-lot has good prices, limited selection. A couple of other stores, IGA types, are somewhat to significantly higher. I find the local Walmart Supercenter is the highest on many products.
Stores, such as Fred’s, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, etc., have an interesting variety of food items. They each seem to have some items not available at the other stores. Their prices are competitive.
Several of the grocery stores have special sections which are quantity products — canned products in gallon containers, etc. Bulk usually costs less, comparatively, if you have storage available.
In large skillet, 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (undiluted), one tin salmon, one cup frozen peas. Mix together and heat over medium-low until warmed thru. Serve over hot buttered toast with plenty of fresh ground black pepper.
(My hockey-Mom used to make that for my brother and me...)
They're gone within two weeks, so I generally don't have that problem (I'm part Scots-Irish, I can eat spuds for dessert). The main thing is to make sure they are in a cool, dry and ventilated place that is very dark and that they are not just dumped in a drawer.
I do lots of things, some of them already repeated.
1. If you work, make lunch for the week on Sunday. Try and do something that is six servings and freeze one. That way, you won’t have to make a pot once every few weeks. I make spaghetti sauce or what I fondly call C.I.C. (crap in a crockpot)
2. Buy the whole chicken. I cut out the breasts and break off the legs and thights and save seperately. I use everything else to make a broth. I can usually pick off a good extra cup or two of meat from the carcass. I use that for a soup or stew (see line one)
3. Revisist the leafy greens and other vegetables. I eat alot of Kale, Carrots, Cabbage, Swiss Chard, and fully grown spinach (not the bagged baby stuff). These are CHEAP. I paid .75 for a bunch of Kale two weeks ago and got about 7 servings. Please note that these have all been labeled “superfoods” at one time. I like to steam it in a little chicken broth with some paprika.
4. Don’t be afraid of store brands. Normally I buy one of something, epecially if it is on sale to see if I like it. If I do, I switch exclusively to the store brand and stock up when it is on sale. I got 20 cans of a decent quality tuna for $9.00 last month. I won’t buy tuna again for several months.
5. Experiment with beans, lentils and rice. I have had great successes mixing beans, rices, small amounts of meat, veggies and cheese. One of my favorites is mixing navy beans, chicken broth, onion, spinach, lemon and parmesan cheese. I have added a little leftover chicken and tuna to this too.
6. If you like sourdough, learn how to make it. This is least expensive way to make bread. Once you get a start going, you only need flour, water and salt to make great bread.
I almost NEVER eat out - it’s a budget killer. If I’ve been out and around for awhile and I’m hungry, I’ll get a couple of Wendy’s dollar burgers. I can’t remember the last time I ate in a restaurant - I can feed myself for two days for what a mundane restaurant meal costs.
Check your local growers and producers. We get our chicken, whole, from a Mennonite congregation. These are free-range, no chemicals. Huge birds, lots of meat, very well priced. Also, we have a non-USDA meat market, unbelievable cuts.
I travel a lot for work so when I am not traveling, I’d rather have my husband’s grilled pork. Service and taste are not as good as it used to be anyway.
My brother in law works for Redners. I shop at Wegmans sometimes and he does not like that much. But, I get good vegetables there at good prices; big heads of cauliflower for $5 for 2. You do have to be careful there. I like Karn’s for meat.
Beans and rice, rice and beans.
now that we have an Aldi here, I shop there. That helps tremendously in keeping the grocery bill down. I also go to Winn Dixie or Food Lion but ONLY buy the stuff that’s on sale...I think the Winn Dixie a couple towns over has salted peanuts 10 bags for $10...I use the discount card that they require but neither is connected to my phone number and address...:)
Occasionally go to Walmart but now that Aldi opened a couple weeks ago, the trips there will be fewer because Aldi just smacks them on most prices...
bachelor, btw...
Redners has pretty good prices. But their best meat sales are not the 5-for$20. I've often gotten bones thighs for $1.39 there - dirt cheap for pure meat. I figure that if I can get the meat boneless for $2/lb or less, I'm doing OK - in other words, if bone-in pork chops are $1.70 and boneless are $1.99, the boneless are a better deal.
Hamburger any more is a waste of money - it can be more expensive than London Broil or roast on sale.
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