Weekly grocery bill? Mine is INSANE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5. We spend $115 per week on average - some weeks $20 if all I need is fresh produce and others $250 if I am stocking the freezer. This does not include diapers or most paper products. I estimate that these add no more than $50 per month. Cleaning supplies and laundry probably add another $10 per month. Our grocery budget includes lunch as we brown bag it. The key for me is menu planning six plus weeks in advance and sticking to it and knowing where you can buy the things you need for the best prices.

I love this idea, but how do you do it, especially if you want to plan meals to take advantage of what's on sale?

[Anonymous]

If you like fresh fish, consider buying at the fish market on Maine Ave. We puchase a whole salmon for about $40 and have it deboned and descaled at the
Virgo fish shack for another $4.00. We usually get about 14 filets, which we freeze. It works out to about $3.00 per serving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me, Target always seems expensive for toilet paper, paper towels, detergents, etc. It seems way cheaper to buy them when they are on sale at the grocery store. Is it just me?

I love Target, and go there for many other things, but paper products and detergents are not on the list.

I find the same thing.

[Anonymous]

I spend about $400 for the month for a family of 3 and two cats (litter, food, etc) and my husband wants me to find ways to cut down the grocery bill. Maybe I should show him this thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what I spend. Never added it up. But I have made a conscious effort this year to spend much, much less. I decided only to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables, so I bought frozen fruit and veggies at Trader Joes, and occasionally at Whole Foods when the selection at TJ's was thin. I only buy organic, which costs more, but it's generally cheaper at Trader Joe's than at Whole Foods.

I also shop with a list, and never deviate from it unless I've forgotten something. I don't buy drinks (we drink water) and never any processed foods. I'm a SAHM, and I spend a lot of time cooking. We go out only about once a month. I buy meat and eggs from a CSA (not cheaper, but better quality) and I buy produce from the farmer's market when it's open.

Organic produce at WF in the winter is flown in from California, Florida, and other places, so it's expensive. Almost everything you buy at WF is $1 or $1.50 more expensive than at TJ's. Those dollars don't seem like much when you pick an item up off the shelf, but they add up. My bill is always larger than I expect when I check out at WF, and smaller than I expect when I check out at TJ's. I buy TP and other household supplies at Target, WalMart, Costco or supermarkets only when they are on sale, and I buy a six-month supply -- scour the ads. You can usually find whatever you need on sale somewhere.

Ah - you've been bit by the TJs brainwashing. They also fly in their produce. They keep it a tad cheaper - but the quality is inferior and it molds in a day or 2. I haev never purchased anything fresh from TJs that lasts longer than 2 days. EVER. They freeze it in the back so it appears fine and then it molds on you (the bananas have been the worst culprit). I once brought a supply of fruit to preschool for snack and it was all bad. I was so embarrased and felt so bad! Clementines all oozy and gross, bananas all mushy and black!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5. We spend $115 per week on average - some weeks $20 if all I need is fresh produce and others $250 if I am stocking the freezer. This does not include diapers or most paper products. I estimate that these add no more than $50 per month. Cleaning supplies and laundry probably add another $10 per month. Our grocery budget includes lunch as we brown bag it. The key for me is menu planning six plus weeks in advance and sticking to it and knowing where you can buy the things you need for the best prices.

I love this idea, but how do you do it, especially if you want to plan meals to take advantage of what's on sale?

Not the PP - but I'm signed up to get the weekly flyer from Giant e-mailed to me. You can also find them for other big chains in the Wed (I think) Washington Post, and probably online. I get the flyer on Wed or Thursday and shop on Saturday so it gives me some time to figure out what to cook.

[Anonymous]

Is frozen fish really as good as fresh? When you defrost it do you find it is tasty or rubbery???

[Anonymous]

I find Shoppers Food Warehouse has good prices.

I cut WAY down on my grocery bill but drastically reducing the amount of meat I buy. We eat pasta, fresh fruits and veggies, cheese. I'll do ground lean turkey for fajitas or spaghetti sauce, sliced ham for sandwiches.

The worst thing for me is diapers! Over $20 a box and we seem go through almost a box of 76 a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is frozen fish really as good as fresh? When you defrost it do you find it is tasty or rubbery???

I'm not the PP, but IMO NO! That said, fresh fish can be just as disgusting if it's not fresh which is pretty common where I shop.

[Anonymous]

$100-$125 a week for a family of 5. Safeway, SFW and Target.

[Anonymous]

I have dropped Target from one of my shopping stops, because I always walked out of the store spending way too much on useless items. (It helps that I don't live close to one.) Instead, I shop at CVS with their extra bucks program. I know this doesn't really help with food items, but it is pretty good on supplies. For example, if you spend $25 on (on sale) baby items this week, you get $10 extra bucks back. Combine this with a couple of coupons and you have saved a lot on diapers.

[Anonymous]

I'm tempted to try Peapod to see if it would help me stick with a budget and avoid impluse buys. Has anyone had luck with this or is it just overall much more expensive?

[Anonymous]

U mean peapod online, right? I tried shopping at peapod, and it wasn't good. U cannot make use of coupons and sales, and there is extra for delivery, and for fruits and vegetables I got bad quality stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what I spend. Never added it up. But I have made a conscious effort this year to spend much, much less. I decided only to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables, so I bought frozen fruit and veggies at Trader Joes, and occasionally at Whole Foods when the selection at TJ's was thin. I only buy organic, which costs more, but it's generally cheaper at Trader Joe's than at Whole Foods.

I also shop with a list, and never deviate from it unless I've forgotten something. I don't buy drinks (we drink water) and never any processed foods. I'm a SAHM, and I spend a lot of time cooking. We go out only about once a month. I buy meat and eggs from a CSA (not cheaper, but better quality) and I buy produce from the farmer's market when it's open.

Organic produce at WF in the winter is flown in from California, Florida, and other places, so it's expensive. Almost everything you buy at WF is $1 or $1.50 more expensive than at TJ's. Those dollars don't seem like much when you pick an item up off the shelf, but they add up. My bill is always larger than I expect when I check out at WF, and smaller than I expect when I check out at TJ's. I buy TP and other household supplies at Target, WalMart, Costco or supermarkets only when they are on sale, and I buy a six-month supply -- scour the ads. You can usually find whatever you need on sale somewhere.

Ah - you've been bit by the TJs brainwashing. They also fly in their produce. They keep it a tad cheaper - but the quality is inferior and it molds in a day or 2. I haev never purchased anything fresh from TJs that lasts longer than 2 days. EVER. They freeze it in the back so it appears fine and then it molds on you (the bananas have been the worst culprit). I once brought a supply of fruit to preschool for snack and it was all bad. I was so embarrased and felt so bad! Clementines all oozy and gross, bananas all mushy and black!

I've never had problems with any of the produce I buy at Trader Joes. It is always fresh and tastes good. Maybe I am lucky and have a good store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm tempted to try Peapod to see if it would help me stick with a budget and avoid impluse buys. Has anyone had luck with this or is it just overall much more expensive?

We Peapod and it does help with impulse buys. The prices are comparable to HT. The produce is fine and they take coupons. There is a delivery fee but you can often get coupons to apply to the order/delivery costs. Even if you have to pay for delivery, I think of it in terms of saving time at the store.