Saving money on food

One question I'd like to add is whether buying in bulk at clubs like Sam's or Costco is really a significant savings, if anyone's done comparisons? I occasionally try to buy things there I know we use a lot of quickly (who wants to store all that for too long?) but I ALWAYS end up buying things there I don't need (a ginormous jar of mints seemed like a good idea at the time, but quickly lost its appeal).

I do tend to do a bit more store-hopping than I used to do to pick up sale items, but it boggles my mind to keep track of what really is a good price on everything.

I had a really good experience in Minnesota with Super Target - maybe not the widest selection, but had most of what I needed at reasonable prices. Is the experience here the same? (I don't have one nearby).

GopherGirl

Clip coupons!! I shop at Fry's, where they double coupons up to .50. But, if the item is not on sale, I stick the coupon back in my purse and save it for a different day. I also try to buy generic whenever possible - for example, cereal tastes just fine if you buy the generic brand. I also like the frozen bagged meals for a treat (i.e., Contessa and Bertolli's). The Republic will often have $1.00 off coupons in the paper. If you see these on sale for $4.99 and have the $1 off coupon, that's a decent deal.

Between the VIP savings and coupons, I typically will save anywhere between $40 and $70 per week on groceries. Last Thursday, I saved $92 at Fry's (but I did have a lot of groceries because of Easter).

I do buy all of my meat at Costco and freeze it. I'll buy the hamburger and split it up into 1 lb. ziploc baggies - I don't think it's all that much cheaper than the grocery store, but I like the quality of the meat. I also LOVE the big bag of Tyson frozen chicken at Costco - the pieces are individually wrapped, and (in my opinion) is just as good as the fresh chicken and considerably less expensive.

http://www.phxgrocerydeals.com

I've created a list of some things I often buy - although I do have a decent memory. A lot of store tags have the price per unit or ounce, and I compare the big and small packages.

Sometimes warehouse stores have the better deal and sometimes grocery stores do. For example, usually granola bars are a deal at Sam's Club, but at times the grocery store has a super deal and you combine with a coupon and you pay much less.

I like wine, but that's an expense I can cut. Usually I buy at Sam's Club or Costco, but sometimes Fry's or Safeway will have for less. This is where a list comes in handy.

One way to save money, too, is getting take out instead of going to the restaurant. You save on the tip, drinks (especially overpriced beer and wine) and you can split the meal in two or three. We'll typically pick up two dishes and split.

I have realized that in the last month by shopping at Wal-mart I'm saving about $50 each time on groceries. I'll be honest though, thier meat (mostly beef) and produce is not always the greatest but, if you are buying the rest of the stuff there and just ground beef, chicken and pork you are saving a ton. We buy a lot of hot dogs, mac -n- cheese, chicken nuggets for the kids, not to mention the ever so important snack food (crackers, applesauce, cheese, apples) then we have the regulars of (2) beef, (2) chicken (2) pork, milk, juice, cereal, pop tarts, bread, lunch meat and lunch items and the side dishes. Our grocery bill (and I'm sure I'm missing or leaving out items) was about $175 which will last about a week and 1/2 for our family of 4 - 7 people during this time frame. I'm ok with that.

There are flip sides to this, I HATE shopping there (the crowds, I can never find things) but with a new baby that we are saving up for, the ease of an all in one shop, and the saved money (shopping at Fry's my bill is well over the $200 mark with the items above) I'll take the bad with the good. I don't have time to clip coupons or look for the deals either. I usually shop the 2nd day of the milk being out lol...

"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."

Hi All,

I like you try to find the best deal I can possibly find. I get my pampers diapers at Toys R Us there's one on Power Rd. & the 60. I get a huge quantity of diapers for about $35... I find it's better than Target. I don't like Huggies otherwise I'd probably get my diapers at Costco. I buy bulk cheese at costco way cheaper, and I usually shop at the Neighborhood Walmart stores for everything else. I also get the Tyson Chicken from Costco in the frozen section, and I buy the milk there. I buy my daughters soy milk at Costco and it has extra Omega 3 added too it, however just recently I found that Walmart is stocking generic soy so it's like paying the same price at Costco. Also Walmart just launched a new Meat section in their store. The meat is looking 10 times better than it was, and honestly I wasn't buying meat there either, but it just looks delicious and so do the prices. Check it out. Also for other Costco fans don't shop on Sunday's, and try to go during the week at night time and you can avoid most of the crowds since there aren't samples :-)

Lisa - Mom to her spunky little Scarlette

We eat very well on around $200 a month for two adults. We almost always have a dessert on hand, and have meat, chicken or fish 1-2 times a day. We're also both shameless diet soda addicts. My last market trip yielded $120 worth of meat and produce from Sunflower for $60, and $180 worth of groceries from Fry's for $90. I just love handing the Fry's checker my card, and watching the total ratchet down.

It helps that we were raised before microwaves and crockpots, and before you could could buy things like premade meatballs, etc. at the store. We're geared to buying ingredients, rather than meals. For example, instead of saying, "I am going to make lasagna rollups on Wednesday", then making a list of the ingredients you have to buy, and then going to the store to get them; you look at what's in the freezer, fridge and pantry, and decide what you can make with what you have on hand.

Of course, I do take some shortcuts. By the time I can put together a pasta sauce from scratch (both time and money), Ragu makes more sense. We'll usually have a half dozen Marie Callendar's, Michelena's or similar meals in the freezer for when we're not motivated to put together a lunch to eat at work the next day. I also use cake mixes, bread machine mixes, and (store brand) stuffing and shake-and-bake. My homemade pie crusts are a mess, and they don't taste that great, so I use the refrigerated ones.

You'll probably need to make an initial investment. First, you need to have a dedicated pantry, a good freezer, and a hall or bathroom closet to store things like shampoo, soap, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Second, you need all the right tools. I'm thinking that I'll register at Target.com so that you all can see the list. You'll also have to make an investment in staples. I'll put together a list of the things that you'll want to always have in your pantry (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, Bisquick, bread crumbs, etc.). Once you have the tools and the staples, you'll only rarely buy anything that's not on sale.

For example, I know that I'll use Ragu, so that's a staple in my pantry. When it's on sale for 10 for $10, I might buy 10 or even 20 jars. Ten jars on sale saves me about $15. I'm going to use all that pasta sauce, so I may as well spend 1/3 of full price and stock up on it.

Next to finally (for at least this diatribe), think like a prep cook. What's the point of using a chopper or food processor to cut up one onion or green/red/yellow/orange pepper, when you can chop up a couple of red, yellow, and sweet onions, and several peppers, and store them in the veggie compartment in your fridge for at least 2-3 weeks? If you know that you're going to brown a pound of ground beef for each of three meals (sloppy joes, cabbage pockets, and tacos), brown 3 lbs with some chopped onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then split it up. Building up a killer lasagna in one pan or three pans (even if you're using aluminum pans) takes the same amount of time, and you can freeze the unbaked pans to heat up.

Finally, food you prepare and serve is your grocery budget. Eating out -- even on the dollar menus at fast food places, is entertainment, and there's a huge markup. $10 at El Pollo Loco for a family of four seems like a bargain, but it's not. You can prepare twice the number of servings in less than an hour at home. At home, you can prepare a double or triple recipe, and freeze the taco/burrito meat for another 2-3 additional meals.

So, lemme know if the tools and staples lists would be useful. If so, I'll shop the sales, and post shopping lists and recipes each Wednesday.

Any takers?

At a loss.

I'm a married mom of a 2 yr. old, and a new baby coming in 5 weeks. Groceries is the one thing that we spend the most money on and it seems I've tried everything to save money. I shop mainly at Fry's, Target, and Trader Joe's. I'm constantly price checking and I clip coupons, most of which I end up not using, because we don't buy the brand or I forget to.
Now we don't eat out (or haven't in a really long time anyway), we don't eat fast food, we don't drink soda, we don't go to coffee shops or convenience stores, my husband packs a lunch either from leftovers or a can of soup and crackers, we don't even really ever have dessert in our house, and we don't drink regular milk and rarely have soy stocked either.
I'm totally at a loss and don't know what else I can do to save money. I even started meal planning.
Normally we eat very healthy and I try to buy as much organic as I can, but since being pregnant I've certainly used it as an excuse to eat whatever (and paying for it physically) and it seems to be breaking us. Now I know that will change after the baby, I'm just that way and I do have will power.
But now, I've got a fussy 2 year old, a husband with lactose issues, and me (the healthy snob) who hates leftovers. We do eat together, but most of the time it's not the same thing, which I really don't mind doing. I always pawn the leftovers on the kid and hubby so it doesn't all go to waste.

But it just seems like we are spending so much and if I buy everything for a week, a lot ends up going bad. And I've tried not to do that either, but then I find myself needing to go at least once or twice more during the week anyway, for a forgotten ingredient or replacing our staple items, like bananas or creamer.

I don't know, I'm just venting.. I'm writing this at 4am when I should be sleeping, but I can't for some reason. I'm just a little stressed right now too cause my husband just lost his job and we're in limbo and I'm trying to figure out how to save somewhere.

Maybe I should be writing on another forum like, "completely stressed 7.5 month pregnant mom with two yr old screaming to be held, who can't stop eating, and hubby with no job." lol.

I appreciate anyone who reads this and just has a simple sigh of relief that they can relate even a little.

I should put myself to bed now.