Tell me about your grocery / food budget - family of 4 edition
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Anonymous
This is key. I hate myself over how much food we end up wasting. |
Anonymous
I don't think you go into Whole Foods, so how do you know? Whole Foods will be more expensive as a whole, but it is not necessarily drastically more expensive for many items. The produce at Whole Foods can be very reasonable. Then factor in that you're paying extra for quality. What I find intriguing is that you are so bitterly resistant to people telling you something you don't want to hear. I consider myself a savvy and smart shopper. I know I'm paying more at Whole Foods but I'm also getting a better quality product too. I've been burnt by spending money trying to buy slightly cheaper produce at Lidl and Aldi only for them to go off too quickly or end up bland and tasteless. I fully agree for certain other types of products Lidl will be cheaper, which is why I get them at Lidl. And for some things Lidl is not cheaper. I go to both stores for different reasons for that is what a smart shopper does. If you only care about money and only shop for the cheapest final bill possible, Lidl will be cheaper. You will have to accept the tradeoffs but that clearly works for you. |
Anonymous
This is my goal. I'm not a big leftover fan but with the cost of food now, I have to be. |
Anonymous
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I just changed markets and it’s about a 20% savings over Whole Foods for better quality. Nothing is more expensive than Whole Foods. If you just, just buy your meat there but for the love of all that is holy nothing else.
You have to learn to cook economically. I swear somebody should come out with an update of a GenX cookbook. We grew up during stagflation and our parents really learned to stretch a dollar food wise. TLDR: -less red meat/seafood/cheese/prepackaged food/eliminate processed food -More poultry, eggs, legumes; soup, stews, chili, casseroles, fresh fruits & veggies, whole grains. -Use leftovers for lunch don’t buy lunch out. |
Anonymous
I’m not the one you’re responding to, but it isn’t slightly cheaper. |
Anonymous
I don’t understand this comment. But if you’re accusing me of mocking people who deliberately use poor quality ingredients while simultaneously claiming those people “cook well”… then I think you are deeply confused. |
Anonymous
NP I shop at both Whole Foods and Aldi several times per month. While pricing depends on specific items, Aldi is around 40% cheaper for me. |
Anonymous
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Anyone have any idea how MOM’s prices compared to Whole Foods’? I like the more familial feel of MOM’s (at least the one in Rockville) compared to Whole Foods, especially after they were bought out by Amazon and became more “corporate.”
However, with inflation having gone crazy over the last few years, I am starting to think that may be a luxury I can longer afford. Can anyone reassure me if I’m OK at MOM’s, or if I would save significant amounts if I started going to Whole Foods? |
Anonymous
| I haven't read the whole thread, but I saw a lot of posts about yogurt. My teenage DD eats so much that now I make it with a cold start in the instapot. It's a huge saving since now it is only the cost of a gallon (sometimes more) of milk/week. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^^ that’s because you dont shop the weekly sale. The bag of kale I got last week from Lidl was 1.99. The bag of (lemonade) apples were $1.09/pound. I buy berries on sale at Lidl or or Aldi only if they are on sale - otherwise, we live with: plums, peaches, grapes (various colors), mangoes, oranges, bananas, etc - whatever is on sale. If you shop this way, you save a ton of money. (Last week the regular price for bananas was $.32/lb (versus .69/lb at WF) and a pineapple was $1.49 (versus the $3.49 Prime member sale price at WF). If you’re not seeing a massive savings, you’re doing something wrong. Oh, and from your description of the produce at Lidl, you will never be happy there. That’s fine, too.
Some of This week’s prices at Aldi: cara cara oranges, 3 lbs $2.99, pineapples $1.49, pink lady apples $2.89 for 3 lbs, $1.29 for a package of baby portabello mushrooms So my family can happily have 3 lbs of orange, 3 lbs of apples, and 2 pineapples for less than $10. [/quote] I can tell you're not interested in food. You just want the cheapest possible deals. And look at your deals. You're saving pennies but it reminds me of the old saying penny wise pound foolish. You're happy with $10 at Lidl because the same basket is $15 at WF, but you get much better quality at WF (and WF has extremely cheap bananas and mangos too). I do care about freshness and quality and not ending up with bags of bruised apples with no flavor and fruit going moldy after a day or two. Which has been my experience shopping at Lidl. [b]Lidl is cheap for a reason. It is not quality at cheap prices.[/b] They get cheap prices by getting the cheapest and/or surplus. There are a few exceptions and some good buys in there that makes it worthwhile stopping in there. But as long as you are realistic about what you are getting and only care about saving money, Lidl will be fine for you. [/quote] Agreed. Lidl has so many processed frozen foods and junk foods. They do have a decent price for produce but it goes bad pretty quickly. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^^ that’s because you dont shop the weekly sale. The bag of kale I got last week from Lidl was 1.99. The bag of (lemonade) apples were $1.09/pound. I buy berries on sale at Lidl or or Aldi only if they are on sale - otherwise, we live with: plums, peaches, grapes (various colors), mangoes, oranges, bananas, etc - whatever is on sale. If you shop this way, you save a ton of money. (Last week the regular price for bananas was $.32/lb (versus .69/lb at WF) and a pineapple was $1.49 (versus the $3.49 Prime member sale price at WF). If you’re not seeing a massive savings, you’re doing something wrong. Oh, and from your description of the produce at Lidl, you will never be happy there. That’s fine, too.
Some of This week’s prices at Aldi: cara cara oranges, 3 lbs $2.99, pineapples $1.49, pink lady apples $2.89 for 3 lbs, $1.29 for a package of baby portabello mushrooms So my family can happily have 3 lbs of orange, 3 lbs of apples, and 2 pineapples for less than $10. [/quote] I can tell you're not interested in food. You just want the cheapest possible deals. And look at your deals. You're saving pennies but it reminds me of the old saying penny wise pound foolish. You're happy with $10 at Lidl because the same basket is $15 at WF, but you get much better quality at WF (and WF has extremely cheap bananas and mangos too). I do care about freshness and quality and not ending up with bags of bruised apples with no flavor and fruit going moldy after a day or two. Which has been my experience shopping at Lidl. [b]Lidl is cheap for a reason. It is not quality at cheap prices.[/b] They get cheap prices by getting the cheapest and/or surplus. There are a few exceptions and some good buys in there that makes it worthwhile stopping in there. But as long as you are realistic about what you are getting and only care about saving money, Lidl will be fine for you. [/quote] Agreed. Lidl has so many processed frozen foods and junk foods. They do have a decent price for produce but it goes bad pretty quickly.[/quote] You said agreed...yet I listed ZERO processed foods, zero frozen food (though frozen veggies are perfectly healthy), and zero junk food. The prior poster said she can tell I am not interested in food. I disagree. I make my own soups, stock, broth, applesauce, bread (sometimes), yogurt (first time today!), and sometimes cheese. I would definitely disagree that I'm not interested in food. I am...but am equally interested in saving money. |
Anonymous
What is this market that is 20% cheaper than Whole Foods and is also magically better quality. It's not Sprouts for sure and Mom's is more expensive. You are wrong that no market is more expensive than Whole Foods. There are more expensive supermarkets, believe it or not. Typically family owned upscale supermarkets like Grauls and Eddies in Baltimore, if you know the area. Whole Foods is comparable to Wegmans for similar items but Wegmans will have a bigger range. Both Wegmans and Whole Foods have excellent store brands that are pretty affordable unless you're someone who needs to count pennies. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^^ that’s because you dont shop the weekly sale. The bag of kale I got last week from Lidl was 1.99. The bag of (lemonade) apples were $1.09/pound. I buy berries on sale at Lidl or or Aldi only if they are on sale - otherwise, we live with: plums, peaches, grapes (various colors), mangoes, oranges, bananas, etc - whatever is on sale. If you shop this way, you save a ton of money. (Last week the regular price for bananas was $.32/lb (versus .69/lb at WF) and a pineapple was $1.49 (versus the $3.49 Prime member sale price at WF). If you’re not seeing a massive savings, you’re doing something wrong. Oh, and from your description of the produce at Lidl, you will never be happy there. That’s fine, too.
Some of This week’s prices at Aldi: cara cara oranges, 3 lbs $2.99, pineapples $1.49, pink lady apples $2.89 for 3 lbs, $1.29 for a package of baby portabello mushrooms So my family can happily have 3 lbs of orange, 3 lbs of apples, and 2 pineapples for less than $10. [/quote] I can tell you're not interested in food. You just want the cheapest possible deals. And look at your deals. You're saving pennies but it reminds me of the old saying penny wise pound foolish. You're happy with $10 at Lidl because the same basket is $15 at WF, but you get much better quality at WF (and WF has extremely cheap bananas and mangos too). I do care about freshness and quality and not ending up with bags of bruised apples with no flavor and fruit going moldy after a day or two. Which has been my experience shopping at Lidl. [b]Lidl is cheap for a reason. It is not quality at cheap prices.[/b] They get cheap prices by getting the cheapest and/or surplus. There are a few exceptions and some good buys in there that makes it worthwhile stopping in there. But as long as you are realistic about what you are getting and only care about saving money, Lidl will be fine for you. [/quote] Agreed. Lidl has so many processed frozen foods and junk foods. They do have a decent price for produce but it goes bad pretty quickly.[/quote] You said agreed...yet I listed ZERO processed foods, zero frozen food (though frozen veggies are perfectly healthy), and zero junk food. The prior poster said she can tell I am not interested in food. I disagree. I make my own soups, stock, broth, applesauce, bread (sometimes), yogurt (first time today!), and sometimes cheese. I would definitely disagree that I'm not interested in food. I am...but am equally interested in saving money. [/quote] Awesome. You're just not buying very high quality food. And that's fine. You can make a decent pot of soup with bruised vegetables and you're happy eating bruised fruit that isn't graded the highest grade by USDA. A lot of food at Lidl and Aldi are cheaply processed and/or frozen stuff, there's entire aisles of these food. The store yoghurt is filled with fillers. You get what you pay for. It's fine and you're not going to die eating it by any stretch of the imagination. Some is pretty decent, like the imported cookies. But you're not getting Whole Food quality at rock bottom prices. Which is the whole point. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^^ that’s because you dont shop the weekly sale. The bag of kale I got last week from Lidl was 1.99. The bag of (lemonade) apples were $1.09/pound. I buy berries on sale at Lidl or or Aldi only if they are on sale - otherwise, we live with: plums, peaches, grapes (various colors), mangoes, oranges, bananas, etc - whatever is on sale. If you shop this way, you save a ton of money. (Last week the regular price for bananas was $.32/lb (versus .69/lb at WF) and a pineapple was $1.49 (versus the $3.49 Prime member sale price at WF). If you’re not seeing a massive savings, you’re doing something wrong. Oh, and from your description of the produce at Lidl, you will never be happy there. That’s fine, too.
Some of This week’s prices at Aldi: cara cara oranges, 3 lbs $2.99, pineapples $1.49, pink lady apples $2.89 for 3 lbs, $1.29 for a package of baby portabello mushrooms So my family can happily have 3 lbs of orange, 3 lbs of apples, and 2 pineapples for less than $10. [/quote] I can tell you're not interested in food. You just want the cheapest possible deals. And look at your deals. You're saving pennies but it reminds me of the old saying penny wise pound foolish. You're happy with $10 at Lidl because the same basket is $15 at WF, but you get much better quality at WF (and WF has extremely cheap bananas and mangos too). I do care about freshness and quality and not ending up with bags of bruised apples with no flavor and fruit going moldy after a day or two. Which has been my experience shopping at Lidl. [b]Lidl is cheap for a reason. It is not quality at cheap prices.[/b] They get cheap prices by getting the cheapest and/or surplus. There are a few exceptions and some good buys in there that makes it worthwhile stopping in there. But as long as you are realistic about what you are getting and only care about saving money, Lidl will be fine for you. [/quote] Agreed. Lidl has so many processed frozen foods and junk foods. They do have a decent price for produce but it goes bad pretty quickly.[/quote] You said agreed...yet I listed ZERO processed foods, zero frozen food (though frozen veggies are perfectly healthy), and zero junk food. The prior poster said she can tell I am not interested in food. I disagree. I make my own soups, stock, broth, applesauce, bread (sometimes), yogurt (first time today!), and sometimes cheese. I would definitely disagree that I'm not interested in food. I am...but am equally interested in saving money. [/quote] Awesome. You're just not buying very high quality food. And that's fine. [b]You can make a decent pot of soup with bruised vegetables and you're happy eating bruised fruit [/b]that isn't graded the highest grade by USDA. A lot of food at Lidl and Aldi are cheaply processed and/or frozen stuff, there's entire aisles of these food. The store yoghurt is filled with fillers. You get what you pay for. It's fine and you're not going to die eating it by any stretch of the imagination. Some is pretty decent, like the imported cookies. But you're not getting Whole Food quality at rock bottom prices. Which is the whole point. [/quote] As I said upthread: some are snobs about WF and will always look down on a store like Lidl or Aldi. In her mind, it’s either WF or bruised veggies and fruit. |
Anonymous
| IMO only WF meat is worth the price, the 365 brand is mediocre and the produce is available elsewhere for less. |