I think we spend way too much. How can we save? DH won't do meatless meals. We try and eat healthy. I am really trying to lose weight so that means proteins and veggies. Which are all $$
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I buy 99% store brand, plus coupons, cartwheel and red card discounts. I buy fruit and cheese at BJs but it's almost 50% cheaper than the grocery store.
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DH is the same about meatless meals. So I try and use less meat. For example, saute up a bunch of veggies and only add one chicken breast that cubed up small or one sausage. You still have the meat but you can bulk it up with cheaper items
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Frozen veggies where possible. Cheaper and just as good. Store brand stuff. No individual packets of anything (yogurt, for example). Fruit has to be under a certain price. My mom would only buy fruit if it was below $1, for example (this was 20 years ago, price point would be different now). Make everything from scratch - no ready made stuff. Bake your own bread (again, something my mom did to save money). Go to the bulk food store when possible. Don't buy chips, soft drinks, candy, cookies, crackers.
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My problem is that I don't stick to my list. If I would only buy what I needed for meals I planned that month, I know we wouldn't spend so much.
I would love to live without a fully stocked pantry or freezer, just buy what you would consume in a week.
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Can you buy more inexpensive meats? DH always buys steak and ribs from Costco and it really adds up! I go for frozen chicken breasts
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Buy bulk meat then divide and freeze wont you don't need right away
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I saw on your other thread you shop at Costco. Do you buy all your meats and (most) veggies there? We do and it helps keep our costs down.
Another idea for you is to get the exec membership if you spend a lot at Costco and a good cashback card. Check out the Amex Bluecash Everyday or Preferred cards. Note that they don't consider Costco a grocery store though.
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We make a lot of meals that are big so that we can have leftovers for lunch. We'll make an entire box of spaghetti and have spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner then have enough leftover for us to each have a lunch during the week. Same thing with pulled pork sandwiches--I cook a 2-3lb pork shoulder or tenderloin in the crockpot and it's enough for at least 4 sandwiches. We also buy bagged salad instead of buying each veggie separately. And mostly frozen veggies, too.
ETA: We also don't have snack foods just sitting around (chips, cookies, soda, etc).
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Stick to a list, meal plan, use store rewards, buy store brand. We don't buy organic and that's a huge expense if we were to so that saves a ton. We still buy meat, veggies, fruit etc we just make sure we buy on sale. Basing meals off an ad helps too.
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I've kind of given up with shaving down our monthly cost. Even when we were really diligent about making a list, sticking to it, etc., we still spent around the same amount!
Meat is a big expense, especially since I prefer to buy it from our local farmers.
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@looch: I know that is part of my problem for sure.
@HLK208: @Mamaof2: @sunny: We have the Exec membership at Costco. We buy chicken there and sometimes pork tenderloins. I need to buy pork chops. I can't get the ground beef though cause they don't sell the lean. I wait till it is on sale at Publix and then buy a couple and freeze.
@Bao: We don't buy organic either.
@lawbee11: One problem is DH doesn't really like leftovers. He has been home this week and once eat the leftover pulled pork. -
The only thing you can really do is shop the sales. Buy meats on sale and freeze, use only veggies on sale. Bonus if it's been on the shelf on it's sell by date and has additional discount. I usually buy those up, then use one that night and freeze what I can't use. Stock up on non perishables when they are on sale, and double up when it's an occasional "super sale".
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Ah ok. Did you check out those credit cards? The preferred is 6% back on groceries (with annual fee of $75) and the everyday is a free card and 3% back on groceries. If you spend more than $2500 it will be worth it to pay the annual fee.
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Like other posters, I buy mostly store brands, shops sales (stock up on meat when it's good), I buy frozen chicken/fish/shrimp, I buy hamburger in bulk because it's cheaper. Coupons/Cartwheel/Red Card at Target.
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We like nice produce and meats, but we try to see what it on sale each week first and then plan meals around that.
Also, you may already do this, but can you cut back in other places instead of groceries? DH and I try to make good quality food a priority, but we are really cheap in other areas (household items, clothing, etc).
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The best way for me to save money at the grocery store is to give a list to DH and have him buy the groceries. If I'm there, I'm always adding extras because we are running low on something, or want to try a new product. DH buys only what is on the list and our bills stay low - although getting him to go to the grocery store is a completely different story.
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Do you have access to freezer packs? There's this great local butcher that offers good quality meat packs. I got $250 worth of meat (roasts, whole chicken, chicken thighs, sausages) which usually lasts us over 5 months. We'll buy other meats once in a while but we get a bulk of our protein from the packs.
I also agree about individual packets. Avoid those and go for bulk packages, or even bulk stores if you have them in your area. I never buy individual yogurt containers, and get the big tub and scoop it into a small container.
I also go to no-name brand stores because some of the brand name items are $1-2 cheaper.
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Meal planning was REALLY hard for me to get started on because I just liked going to the store and getting whatever I felt like. But once I got the CONVENIENCE of having everything planned, chopped up, and prepped to go every night without thinking about it, I was sold. But I took a really gradual approach so I wouldn't get overwhelmed.
At first, I meal planned around the groceries I had at home in the freezer and pantry and it was SO cheap that first month.
The next month, I just meal planned without looking at sales, just to get into the habit. I shoot for 2-3 kinds of meat, 2 veg, and 2 carbs and sorta mix and match. I also try to use just 1 cooking method a day (like 1 grilled meal, 1 crockpot meal, etc).
The next month, I DID look at the sale flyers and then made a plan. Add coupons or deals if you have the time.
Now its just second nature. I plan our meals so that there's enough for lunch, but alternate the days. For example, Monday's dinner will be lunch on Wednesday. Or I'll freeze individual portions for another week. My DH also doesn't like meatless meals, so I've found ways to use less meat in the meals by bulking up with beans and veg. He really likes chickpeas and kidney beans, so I will make curry with half the chicken and more chickpeas, or chili with lots of beans and veggies and corn. A little sausage stretches into a lot of red beans and rice. Mexican meals use very little meat because of all the toppings. A little meat and a lot of veggies for stir-fry. I throw all these things over salad instead of rice if I want to keep it lighter. DH will have whatever carb he wants with the meal.
You can also make regular 80/20 ground beef leaner by just cooking it up with some water and then rinsing it off in a colander.
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I stick to my meal plan and don't make impulse purchases at the store. We eat leftovers for lunch. I don't buy a lot of snacks or alcohol so that keeps costs down too.
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@Smurfette: We have just started shopping at Target for most of our groceries. For once we have actually stuck to our budget. They have coupons and cartwheel that help. Plus the 5% off for our redcard.
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I haven't done it only because I don't have a freezer - but my dad always buys half or a full cow, and has a huge extra freezer he keeps in the basement. The cow will last him almost an entire year. It's a big up-front cost, but the cost actually averages out to about $2 lb, including all the roasts and steak cuts!
He buys it local from the same farmer every year and that keeps costs down.
I also buy eggs locally too because they charge only about $2/dzn.
In the summer, I shop for produce almost exclusively at farmers markets - so fresh and much cheaper!
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Try to buy things that can get you through two meals. For example we'll roast a chicken one night and the next night we'll use the left over chicken on top of a salad or in pot pie. Or we'll do pork tenderloin one night and make stir fry with it the next night.
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