Hi Bees! This thread is to motivate, inspire, and educate those of us who want to reduce our food spending in 2014. We can share our goals, tips, ideas, questions, and have a place to brag when we score a great deal! Happy new year and best of luck! 
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To you as well! This is one of my resolutions. Eat at home more and save while doing it.
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Less meat, more veggies.
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@Glitter: I agree! I also want to integrate in more beans and grains- something I avoided for so long and have now discovered that they can help with my hormone and magnesium levels. And they are cheap! Woohoo! Maybe it will help offset the cost of the grass-fed/pastured protein we purchase.
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My goal is to eat more balanced meals and less processed foods. My milk production skyrocketed at my inlaws house eating regular balanced meals.
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oooo, exciting! i want to do a big spending freeze for jan & feb (to get ready to blow too much money on a vacation in march, lol) so this will be great! i'm not always the best about using what we already have, so i think i can seriously cut back my grocery spending by using what's already in my freezer & cabinets.
does anyone have a weekly or monthly grocery spending budget decided for january? i'm thinking $200 for the month (plus using up stuff we have on hand), granted we are just a couple, but mr. bird alone eats for 3!
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@cmomma17: thanks for starting this thread!
I'm hoping to learn to use coupons better & keep being conscious about using foods we already have before buying more!
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@Glitter: @HolisticMama: @cmomma17: more vegetarian meals! That is what I am always telling people. The "paleo" diet is uncivilized unhealthy and untrue (there is an article titled that somewhere...) and also very expensive!
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Oh yay! I'm glad there is so much interest in this! I hope we can keep it going throughout the year and keep each other accountable.
I'll be back later to post my specific goals. I do have a set $ amount in mind. Currently trapped under a napping baby
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I am in. I lump our work lunches purchased at the company cafeteria into our grocery budget and they are frankly, out of control. My husband and I are eating two meals out per day.
My goal is to bring down those costs first, which I plan to do by bringing food most days. I know I can do it, I just need to plan ahead.
I am also going to clean out the pantry and freezer, thanks for that reminder.
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Oooh great idea! I am in, we are aiming to reign in our spending in January and February and food is a great place to start.
Menu planning is one thing that I know helps me. I have hesitated to plan breakfast and lunches but I think it would help us out so I am going to give it a try. It costs more but I also want to make sure we easy more fresh fish too so I will try and get some every other week.
I know a lot of people on here try to avoid processed foods, do any of you find it worthwhile to buy a Sunday paper for coupons? Any other coupon tips?
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@Cole: I buy more generic items than brand name, so the generic is often cheaper anyways. However, there are a few things we are brand loyal to! (baked beans, coffee creamer, toothpaste). I have learned to go to the company's website - you can print a coupon directly from them, and then sign up for emails (use a secondary email) to get more!
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Okay .... my goal for 2014 is $590/month or less on groceries.
This is for 2 adults (LO just eats a few tastes of solids at this point). We also include some paper and health/beauty products in this budget (paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, cleaning supplies, body wash, hand soap, etc.).$590 is the amount I am budgeting, but I'd be thrilled to actually keep it closer to $500!
To start I am going to focus on:
1. tracking prices in a price book (started on December 11th) so I can learn what a good deal is on our most frequently purchased items.
2. checking the weekly sales ad for my grocery store (and CVS where I get all my other health and beauty stuff - but that's a separate budget line). I'm going to do this on Sunday mornings.
3. work on my portion control and stress/over eating. Groceries would last longer if I didn't eat my feelings I'm already a vegetarian, pack all my lunches and cook at home. But those are excellent ideas for starting out!
ETA: my average monthly grocery spending in 2013 (August - November) was $637.35. Need to run to the store for a few things this evening, but December was definitely higher than average!
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@cmomma17: i would love to make a price book! did you have a template that you were working off of?
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@birdofafeather: I just made something simple up at work and printed a million copies. Another bee (I forget who at the moment) had the brilliant idea of using an address book from the dollar store! I'll probably transfer to something like that when I have a good idea of the prices (in a week or two)
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@cmomma17: oh! i think i remember that! so is the idea that you just keep writing down prices until you see an average price emerge?
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@birdofafeather: You are trying to find out the sales cycle. Everything goes on sale at some point (is the theory) and grocery stores do a 6-8 week cycle. So track the item, brand, size, store, price and date. Eventually you'll find a "stock up" price for each item.
Make sense? I'm a newbie to it all
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Glad this thread has started! I can't hellobee at work anymore but I'm going to renew my budgeting/tracking sensibilities and join to keep myself accountable and get tips from you smart ladies.
I took a look back at my previous years and had budgeted $2340/yr in 2012 ($195/mo). In the end I spent $2800 ($230/mo) but I expected it when I ended up pregnant that March! In 2013 I budgeted less at $150 but I think that is crazy town for us a year later with a 1-yr old who has a decent appetite and puts as much as she eats on the floor for fun these days. Add to that he fact that I no longer have the same access I had to printable coupons at my new workplace.
My new budget is $250. And I'll be focusing on healthier options, though we happily eat some processed/convenience foods. I'm already used to packing us both lunches but need to budget for how much more food and milk I send with LO to her home daycare. This also includes paper and toiletry products as those have always been looped together in my budgets and stays pretty steady year-to-year. -
Does anyone use the Ibotta app? I downloaded it the other day & wondered if anyone has any tips?
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Count me in! We won't be starting until after our mid-Jan move but my aim is to get our groceries down to $450 a month with less reliance on convenience foods. With me becoming a SAHM, it's kind of a necessity if we want to maintain our level of saving!
One of our plans is to put aside at least $10 a week into a "holiday savings" account so that we don't struggle with the financial impact of the holidays so much
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Ugh. We took a quick trip to the grocery store last night and now our total spending for December 2013 is $754!!!!!
Is it just me or is that insane?
DH says it's because I baked a lot. Last time I checked sugar and flour aren't that expensive. I think his chicken breasts and protein powder are to blame ....@lindsaykaye: thanks for joining in! Dang! I wish I could only spend $250!
@jhd: I have the Ibotta app but haven't ever used it!
@sweetmamam: we have a "Christmas fund" line in our budget! It's a great idea! -
@Cole: I have Sunday newspaper subscriptions for the coupons. We don't eat a lot of processed food so I end up giving those to my coworker. The coupons I clip are mostly on toiletry items and I save a lot by buying BOGO (buy one, get one) deals and stockpiling when I can.
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I'm in! I need to get back to not wasting food. I was so much better before LO. My goal is to make use of everything before it goes bad! DH is starting a new job, which means he'll be out to lunch more often (his old job provided sandwiches and fruit), so I need to be better at packing and freezing lunches.
We spent way too much this weekend on our "short" shopping trip - I'm scared to see how much once we actually track our expenses.
I'm using the app called Spending Tracker.
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@cmomma17: we have a lot of "Christmas Hamper" club type things here, where you basically pay off food and toys over the course of the year but the mark up on products is crazy! Seems like a much more sensible way to basically do the same thing.
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@cmomma17: That is a lot on food! Protein powder will definitely add up fast, I can see with baking that chocolate and butter can add up quickly too but not hundreds of dollars worth!
I am going to have to check out this Ibotta app, what do people like about it?
We do the bulk of our shopping at Trader Joe's but we also pick up some produce elsewhere, fish at the fish store and sometimes meat at the butcher's or Sam's club. All the various places make it feel like we are spending less but in reality it adds up to more. I need to pay attention to those little side trips.
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Last night I baked a double batch of chocolate chip cookies (most of which went in the freezer) and a cranberry orange bread. My goal was to use up ingredients I had purchased over the last couple weeks. Having the choc chip cookies in the freezer should save us money, because when DH and I crave sweets we end up buying candy bars at walgreens for around $3. The bread is for new year's day.
I will try to make another loaf of bread and more cookies this week, even though cooking is the last thing I want to do after a long day at work! But I already paid for the butter, eggs, milk, cranberries, etc. and I'd hate to see them go to waste! I'm also going to use up some fresh veggies for lunches this week and center most of my eating around cleaning out the pantry and freezer. Might make DH a quiche since I bought the biggest thing of eggs EVER in December
I was really good yesterday and stayed within my goal calorie range. Eat less = spend less on food right??
Will help to reach my weight loss goal as well.
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@cmomma17: You can freeze eggs, you know! Just take them out of the shells, portion in groups of 2, beat and freeze! In baked goods, you can not tell the difference.
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We are gonna do meal prep every Sunday to make some freezer dinners for the week, all of our lunches, and when the time comes, baby food for the week!
It'll help us save time and money by buying in bulk and eat much better since it's all prepared ahead of time.
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@looch: that's a great tip thanks! I bake so much, that's a good idea. I was actually just reading about freezing onions, since I bought a huge bag when I only needed one. So that's another project on my list this week!
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I'm in! This is an area we suck at.
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I have always wanted to meal plan, because our problem is a sparse pantry, then getting hungry and splurging on crap. Anyone have a good meal-planning app that they use? It would be awesome if it could generate a shopping list that is check-off-able.
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@Danizaur: good for you guys! I'm starting with checking the sales ads for the week on Sundays. I'd love to build up to food prepping too! What kinds of things do you make for lunches?
@grizz: welcome!
@espion: I have heard "food on the table" and "ziplist" recommended several times. -
@Espion: I am really liking Cozi. They have an online version as well as an app which I like a lot. It has several features like a calendar, address book and to do lists but the meal planning is my favorite.
There is recipe box section to put in your favorite meals, you can add the ingredients for each meal and then when you add it to your calendar through a drag and drop function if you put in the ingredients you are prompted to add the ingredients to your shopping list (I only put in the odd ones we aren't likely to have on hand, not basics like pasta). You can also just type in what you are going to have and type in items to your shopping lists. I often have my computer open in the kitchen so I like being able to add things on there and then access it at the store.
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I am extremely proud to say that I've cooked almost everything I bought this week. We had:
- Fried Rice
- Chili
- Fried Egg Sandwiches
- Cereal
- Lactation Cookies (all me)
- Black beans and rice
- Homemade PizzaI'm going back to the store sometime tomorrow to get lunch food and another thing of pizza dough for this week before doing my big shop on Saturday. Our goal is to eat healthier in the new year and get back in shape.
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@cmomma17: Normally we pack sandwiches and healthy snacks with fruit but when we start meal planning I'm going to include some chicken and steamed veggies, soups, small venison steaks, etc. Maybe some clean eating cookies or protein snacks as a treat! Also fruits and nuts for healthy snacks.
Stuff that is more nutrient dense and filling than sandwiches all the time. It'll be easier to just make a little extra when making dinner meals and stick them in a Tupperware container.I'm such a picky eater so I don't have many ideas. DH is the chef of the family so I'm going to have to rely on him for some ideas.
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I am doing my January meal plan, do we have a thread for those ideas???
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@looch: that would be a great thread!
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@cmomma17: alright, I'll start one up. I don't have it finished, I am searching around for ideas!
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Looking forward to following this thread.
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I'm in! Not only do I spend too much on food, but I have a hard time using everything up. I already meal plan, but I want to work on coordinating my meals so that they use same ingredients. For example, using the shredded cheese from my tacos to top my chili...etc
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