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.

You have to be prepared to go to several stores (I try to rotate which stores I go to each week). No one store is the "cheapest". For some things, it's Trader Joes. For some things it's a conventional grocery store or Target. For some things, it's Whole Foods - mostly because they don't actually up charge you as much for some of the organic and specialty (eg gluten free) foods like the regular grocery stores.

I don't necessarily keep a fixed list, but I do go in with things like "fruit for 10 lunches" and see what's on sale. I try to use meat as an accent for many dishes. Just be flexible and don't go into Trader Joes hungry.

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4 here.. We spend about $60-$80/ week. Mostly that is produce, meats, dairy. We typically create our menu based on the produce & meats/seafood on sale.

The rest I buy on sale with coupons & stock up. Most coupons are on a 6 week roatation, and about every 3-4 months the sale matches the coupons. So stock up what you need for 3-4 months. I pay less than $1 for cleaning stuff, toiletries, paper products, pasta, etc. Our grocery store accepts competitor coupons which also helps.

OMG! PP where do you shop? I can barely feed a family of 4 for $150 a week. We do lots of produce, fruit, and organic when feasible.

Lentils, barley, beans and rice. Use lean ground turkey in small amounts to make dishes heartier. You can also use TVP in chili to cut the cost of meat. Buy frozen fruit on sale instead of fresh. Eat oatmeal or toast and PB instead of breakfast cereal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. $100 per month for groceries? Or $100 per week?

I have been feeling frustrated that our bill is hovering $500-$600/month. According to this website, though, that's just about right for the "thrifty plan" for kids our kids' ages: http://www.loweryourspending.com/average-grocery-bill-for-family-of-4.html

I'd still like to trim, though. Meal planning definitely helps.

Wow, according to this, at my $150/mo, I'm "thrifty". I don't feel thrifty, we eat a ton of vegetables, organic milk, eggs, meat (and a bunch of other stuff) and we are gluten free….so not a lot of processed junk.

I'm totally blown away when I hear a family can eat on $150/month and eat healthy. So you buy organic? What's your eating out budget?

That breaks down to roughly $10 per person per week. I just... can't fathom how that is possible. Please share your grocery list & recipes.

Once again, I'm pretty sure that pp meant $150 a week not a month. However, if you want super-super cheap meal plans go to the Money Saving Mom website and look through her archives (you'll be eating anything you can buy with a coupon) or the Hillbilly Housewife (you'll be eating lots of pancakes, biscuits, canned vegetables, and margarine). I do try to be frugal with my food budget, but I also want to buy things like olive oil, avocados, and good quality yougurt. I've come to accept that eating good food does cost money, and as a middle class family we do have that money. I do stuff like make my own hummus from dried chickpeas, eat oatmeal instead of cold cereal, and eat collards instead of spinach, but there's a certain point at which it's not worth it to go cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. $100 per month for groceries? Or $100 per week?

I have been feeling frustrated that our bill is hovering $500-$600/month. According to this website, though, that's just about right for the "thrifty plan" for kids our kids' ages: http://www.loweryourspending.com/average-grocery-bill-for-family-of-4.html

I'd still like to trim, though. Meal planning definitely helps.

Wow, according to this, at my $150/mo, I'm "thrifty". I don't feel thrifty, we eat a ton of vegetables, organic milk, eggs, meat (and a bunch of other stuff) and we are gluten free….so not a lot of processed junk.

I'm totally blown away when I hear a family can eat on $150/month and eat healthy. So you buy organic? What's your eating out budget?

That breaks down to roughly $10 per person per week. I just... can't fathom how that is possible. Please share your grocery list & recipes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. $100 per month for groceries? Or $100 per week?

I have been feeling frustrated that our bill is hovering $500-$600/month. According to this website, though, that's just about right for the "thrifty plan" for kids our kids' ages: http://www.loweryourspending.com/average-grocery-bill-for-family-of-4.html

I'd still like to trim, though. Meal planning definitely helps.

Wow, according to this, at my $150/mo, I'm "thrifty". I don't feel thrifty, we eat a ton of vegetables, organic milk, eggs, meat (and a bunch of other stuff) and we are gluten free….so not a lot of processed junk.

I'm totally blown away when I hear a family can eat on $150/month and eat healthy. So you buy organic? What's your eating out budget?

Ours has gone up from $125/week to $160/week in the last 6+ months. Yet we are buying the same things. Prices have gone up.

And we eat very cheap. We eat a lot of beans and rice and pasta. Chicken 3x/week.

We shop at the Dollar Tree once per month for Tylenol, toothbrushes, containers, band aids, hair clips, and other stuff that is very expensive at the grocery store and we know we will need eventually.

We also buy diapers, paper towels, diswasher pacs, and wipes on Amazon's Subscribe and Save.

We make our own laundry detergent. Just fine grate 1/2 bar of Zote or a whole bar of Fels Naptha, and mix in a container with 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup borax. voila. use 1 tablespoon right on the clothes.

Meal plan and only buy what is on the list. Sometimes I give myself $5 for impulse buys. We rarely throw food away and have exactly what we need for the week. Meal planning reduced our bill by more than half. Also, I stopped buying a lot of juice for the kids and started making them drink water.

I spend about 100 per week for a family of 4. I have two girls, so that may make a difference. I plan 4 meals for the week, and write down my shopping list. I only buy what I will need and what is on my list for the week. I rarely have food left over at the end of the week. I take my lunch (usually left overs) , and so do my dd's. We don't eat a lot, so I don't end up buying too much, or else it will go to waste. I buy mostly vegetables, chicken, turkey, eggs, and yogurt. A big bag of rice will last us while, and I might buy a lb of pasta depending on the recipe. I never buy red meat because we don't eat it.

We easily spend $200-250/week. I go for convenience (pre-cut fruit and veggies) and quality (organic) over cost.

Aldi. I don't buy everything there, but many things. Crackers/ pretzels / popcorn are half the price if any other grocery and same ingredients ( I've compared). Flour / sugar/ salt / spices are half the price. Their milk, while not organic, has a disclaimer about "no hormones". Blocks of cheese are 1.50. Tortillas are 1.00. Canned beans are .49 and dried beans even less. Their sandwich bread is soft mooshy type with no HFCs sometimes. Etc etc... They also rotate organic produce and fruits. Their coffee in the red can is better than folgers/ maxwell house ( truly!) and is 5.00.
So, I start at aldi and then finish at giant or wegmans. Shoot- their maxi pads are half the price!

Anonymous wrote:Wow. $100 per month for groceries? Or $100 per week?

I have been feeling frustrated that our bill is hovering $500-$600/month. According to this website, though, that's just about right for the "thrifty plan" for kids our kids' ages: http://www.loweryourspending.com/average-grocery-bill-for-family-of-4.html

I'd still like to trim, though. Meal planning definitely helps.

Wow, according to this, at my $150/mo, I'm "thrifty". I don't feel thrifty, we eat a ton of vegetables, organic milk, eggs, meat (and a bunch of other stuff) and we are gluten free….so not a lot of processed junk.

Anonymous wrote:Oh my, OP here, yes that's a typo, I mean $200 a week, would like to trim to $100 a week. Also, I spent some time online today comparing Wegmans "regular" prices (they don't seem to do a weekly flyer) to Giant's regular and sale prices. (I usually shop at Giant.) For all my regular weekly items (organic milk, Fage, Sabra hummus, wheat thins, etc.) Wegmans was cheaper every single time. And a quick check on meat prices, even against Giant's sale prices, Wegmans was still cheaper. It's about a 25 minute drive, but perhaps it's worth it, at least 2 times a month to stock up. Thanks for all the idea!

I reduced my grocery bill significantly since I drove the 10 extra minutes past Giant to get to Wegmans. You can't beat their prices.

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