Reply to $100 grocery bill? How do you do it?

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Reply to "$100 grocery bill? How do you do it?"

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[quote=Anonymous]1. coupons.  we use the safeway just for you app, plus clip coupons from the newspaper.  This works best if you
a) don't buy things just because you have a coupon for them, unless it replaces something else you would have bought
b) still check to make sure that the brand name is cheaper with coupons than the store brand is without coupons
c) save coupons and use them when the item is already on sale
d) go to a store that doubles the value of coupons (Safeway does for those under a dollar; Harris Teeter sometimes does it for those under $2).
e) check to make sure they're really rung up properly at the register.

2. Make a list (using up items in your house first, then what's on sale) and stick to it. Agree with the PP who said leave room for flexibility though.  We'll usually put "lunch fruit" on our shopping list and buy whatever looks good and is on sale (apples & clementines this time of year, mostly).  Or "vegetables for burritos."

3. Less prepared food.  Make popcorn as a snack instead of buying crackers.  Buy a block of cheese and cut it into sticks.  Instead of hummus, use plain yogurt and seasoning.  Dry beans are cheaper than canned.  Swap greek yogurt for the thinner kind (it's better in smoothies too!). Oatmeal or grits instead of cold cereal.

4. Store brands!  Safeway organic milk is about 1/3 cheaper than Horizon.

5. A lot less meat.  We are vegetarian and typical meals for us for the week would include:
Breakfast: oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins or bananas and walnuts or applesauce; toast or waffles with peanut butter and banana, grits with cheese and salsa, home-made muffins or quick breads and a fruit.

Lunch: always a fruit or veggie; a snack like yogurt, pudding, jello, popcorn, rice cakes, snap pea crips, or cheese (sometimes pre-packaged and sometimes cooked and portioned out at home); and a main dish.  The main dish is usually the same thing we had for dinner the night before, or a sandwich.

Dinner: casseroles, pasta/noodles, quiche, burritos, veggie burgers (usually homemade), pancakes, soup or chili, stir-fry, curries, stuffed peppers or mushrooms.  We like doing "bars"--taco/burrito bar, omelet bar, personal pizza, yogurt parfait/smoothie, baked sweet or white potato bar, design your own pancakes, etc.  A great way to use up leftovers!  My wife can't eat soy, so we skip a lot of the pre-made meat alternatives.

It takes more planning to get protein and iron without meat, but it's really doable and a lot cheaper. Eating eggs and dairy also makes it easier than if we were vegan.[/quote]

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