Weekly grocery bill? Mine is INSANE

[Anonymous]

I used to spend A LOT per week - I shopped at Giant, Safeway or Harris Teeter in McLean. Then I got sick of paying so much and decided to drive 20 minutes away to a different store, and found that my grocery bill decreased by more than $50 each week.

[Anonymous]

We've been spending a lot of time over the past few weeks to bring our grocery bills down. First, I will say if you are not a planner and very frugal it is a PIA. I love Whole Foods but is extremely pricey. I've found that Harris Teeter is the most expensive followed by Safeway with Giant being the cheapest. Shoppers Food Warehouse is cheaper than Giant. We try to only buy something that is not on sale if we really need it. It makes a big difference sometimes 30% of the bill. We do organic stuff only for the kids and only for a few items.

I think people who can get there grocery bills way,way down either eat a lot of unhealthy food or cook from scratch and really plan their meals in advance.

1. Cut out convenience prepared foods and snack foods. Prepared foods are almost always more expensive.
2. Make more dishes with rice and pasta (dried not fresh). Buy pasta and rice in bulk at Costco or pasta on sale and when there is a coupon.
3. Use coupons for cereal and only when cereal is on sale. Use coupons for toothpaste with CVS sales.
4. Grow your own herbs (a package of fresh whatever is always around $3-$4).
5. Buy diapers and paper products on sale and stock up or get it at Costco, Sam's or Walmart on sale. Use dishclothes instead of paper towels for wiping up.
6. Buy big bags of frozen chicken breasts and scallops at Costco and steak at Costco
7. Buy seasonal vegetables and fruits (less fun in the winter). WF is its on sale, SFW actually has better produce than Giant in our area. Buy small amounts that you will eat.
8. Buy frozen staple vegetables on sale and with a coupon.
9 (haven't done this yet but it sounded like a good idea..organize recipes into 3 categories a. quick and cheap (spaghetti) b. big and more expensive (roast beef) and c left overs. Try to plan 4-5 cheap night,s 1 big night and 1-2 left over nights (see #10)
10. Buy larger quantities and plan leftover meals. If whole chicken's are on sale buy two and cook both serving one for dinner one night and cutting up the second one to put into something else the next night. Make roast beef one night and then do sandwiches the next day etc.