Andrew and I have talked lately about how we are making so much more money that even just 2 years ago, and how we should see that somewhere, but because of expenses going up, and inflation, there is no more "extra" money than there was before. It seems like there ought to be something that can be done about that. While we can't cut our car payments, or utilities, we thought maybe we could do something about our grocery budget. I was hunting for ideas on saving on groceries, and discovered that we already spent way less than the "average" family of 4.
I've taken classes on couponing, which I consider to be a hobby, almost a sport. I have seen it work wonders for some people. But it's not for us. I don't want to run to town all the time, I try to only go into town once a week. I don't want to pay to get 5 copies of the sunday paper. We are not flexible on a lot of personal care/cleaning items, and I already go cheap-o on as many as possible. We rarely use a lot of the items that there are coupons for. Yeah, you can get free candy/gum/spaghetti sauce if you watch. But then again, we can also live without. But if you do it, and think you can help me find a way to work for us, I am willing to listen and learn!
So with extreme couponing out of the question, how do you save on groceries? I sometimes use a few coupons, mixed with a sale if it is convenient. I shop at Wal-Mart. A lot of people suggest WinCo. We used to only shop at WinCo, but their cleaning/personal care stuff is more expensive and they have a pretty small selection, so I'll have to go to Walmart anyway. Somethings are more money at one, but other stuff is less, so it seems to balance out. Plus, I fill two carts and have two kids with me, and it is a lot of work to bag my own groceries. Toss in a impatient person in line behind you, and trust me, it is a recipe for tears.
We buy store brands when reasonable. Some things are fine, others not so much. We make a meal list for a months worth of meals, and shop for the whole month, buying enough of everything for the month except produce and milk, eggs, and sour cream. I freeze bread, and anything else I can, and a lot of stuff I am surprised to read on the label can be stuck in the back of the fridge for months (cheese, lunch meat, hot dogs, etc). I was surprised years ago to find how much I save by knowing what meals I am going to make. Some of those savings are simply that we don't say "I don't know what to make, lets go out" nearly as often.
I also read, and have experienced that I save money buy not paying someone else to prepare or package my food. Unless it REALLY saves me time... I try not to buy spaghetti sauce, hamburger helpers, or "individually packaged" things.
So last month I went shopping, found great sales at Smiths and went crazy. And spent more than we have been, instead of less. Those big sales made me buy more than I would have, so yes, I stocked up more, but did NOT spend less, which was the main goal. So for this month I started thinking hard about where the money goes. How much does each meal cost? What could be cut? After a Relief Society lesson on the Word of Wisdom, I decided to try to cut meat just a bit.
I started by making a list of meals. I have kept every monthly menu/meal list since I started making them 5 years ago, so I went through all of them. 124 meals later I had a list. Then I did some math. I was shocked.
Chicken Enchiladas:
Chicken 1 can or 1 lb: $2.50
Cream of Chicken soup: $1
Sour Cream - 1/2 a lg carton: $1
Tortillas: 1/2 a large pkg: $1.50
Green Chilies: $0.60
Cheese: $1.90
Bag of Salad: $1
Total: $9.50
Steak
Steaks (sale $3/lb): $5
Potatoes: $0.50
Salad: $1.00
Total: $6.50
Um, Hello? Steak dinner is cheaper? How about our early-married-days go-to meal of Hawaiian haystacks? El CheapO, right?
Chicken: $2.50
Cream of Chicken: $1
Rice: $0.50
Peas: $0.50
Mushrooms (can): $0.50
Cheese: $1
Pineapple: $0.75
Total $6.70 - but that is just cheese and pineapple, not anything else. Steak is still cheaper, Grilled chicken would be even more so...
So I looked at the meal list again. As I made my menu I looked for cheaper stuff, and ways to cut meat portions just a little. Not in half, just by a little. Use 2/3lb burger instead of a full pound. Or like in burritos (which we eat all the time) I can cook the whole pound, add 2 servings of cooked minute rice, and a can of tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Then freeze half of it for another meal. We got more healthy stuff, and only added about $0.50 to make a second meal. Later I can reheat, heat a can of refried beans and we are set to jet.
Other cheap spring/summer meals:
Bratwurst/salad/chips: $5
Ham/Potatoes/Broccoli: $4
Grilled Chicken/Steak/Chops with Potato/past/rice and a veggie $4-7
Breakfast casserole/fruit: $5
Chipped Beef on Toast/Peas: $4
Red Beans and Rice/Salad: $4
BurgerMac/Salad: $4.50
Burgers/fries/salad: $5-6
Burritos: $5
Spaghetti (double batch of sauce=2 meals)/salad: $5
So what did I learn? What can you try too?
-Shop as few times as possible
-Shop somewhere that saves you money
-Stock up if you find a killer deal - but only if you need it
-Don't pay someone to prepare or package your food more than you have to
-Evaluate the costs of your meals, I guarantee you'll be shocked
-Buy store brands when possible
-ALWAYS check unit price. Again, you'll be shocked
Do you have anything else that works for you? Do you have a point to argue with me? I could be wrong!! Do you know how to make couponing work for me? Have you tried any of these things, and had success? Let me know! GOOD LUCK!!!
I've taken classes on couponing, which I consider to be a hobby, almost a sport. I have seen it work wonders for some people. But it's not for us. I don't want to run to town all the time, I try to only go into town once a week. I don't want to pay to get 5 copies of the sunday paper. We are not flexible on a lot of personal care/cleaning items, and I already go cheap-o on as many as possible. We rarely use a lot of the items that there are coupons for. Yeah, you can get free candy/gum/spaghetti sauce if you watch. But then again, we can also live without. But if you do it, and think you can help me find a way to work for us, I am willing to listen and learn!
So with extreme couponing out of the question, how do you save on groceries? I sometimes use a few coupons, mixed with a sale if it is convenient. I shop at Wal-Mart. A lot of people suggest WinCo. We used to only shop at WinCo, but their cleaning/personal care stuff is more expensive and they have a pretty small selection, so I'll have to go to Walmart anyway. Somethings are more money at one, but other stuff is less, so it seems to balance out. Plus, I fill two carts and have two kids with me, and it is a lot of work to bag my own groceries. Toss in a impatient person in line behind you, and trust me, it is a recipe for tears.
We buy store brands when reasonable. Some things are fine, others not so much. We make a meal list for a months worth of meals, and shop for the whole month, buying enough of everything for the month except produce and milk, eggs, and sour cream. I freeze bread, and anything else I can, and a lot of stuff I am surprised to read on the label can be stuck in the back of the fridge for months (cheese, lunch meat, hot dogs, etc). I was surprised years ago to find how much I save by knowing what meals I am going to make. Some of those savings are simply that we don't say "I don't know what to make, lets go out" nearly as often.
I also read, and have experienced that I save money buy not paying someone else to prepare or package my food. Unless it REALLY saves me time... I try not to buy spaghetti sauce, hamburger helpers, or "individually packaged" things.
So last month I went shopping, found great sales at Smiths and went crazy. And spent more than we have been, instead of less. Those big sales made me buy more than I would have, so yes, I stocked up more, but did NOT spend less, which was the main goal. So for this month I started thinking hard about where the money goes. How much does each meal cost? What could be cut? After a Relief Society lesson on the Word of Wisdom, I decided to try to cut meat just a bit.
I started by making a list of meals. I have kept every monthly menu/meal list since I started making them 5 years ago, so I went through all of them. 124 meals later I had a list. Then I did some math. I was shocked.
Chicken Enchiladas:
Chicken 1 can or 1 lb: $2.50
Cream of Chicken soup: $1
Sour Cream - 1/2 a lg carton: $1
Tortillas: 1/2 a large pkg: $1.50
Green Chilies: $0.60
Cheese: $1.90
Bag of Salad: $1
Total: $9.50
Steak
Steaks (sale $3/lb): $5
Potatoes: $0.50
Salad: $1.00
Total: $6.50
Um, Hello? Steak dinner is cheaper? How about our early-married-days go-to meal of Hawaiian haystacks? El CheapO, right?
Chicken: $2.50
Cream of Chicken: $1
Rice: $0.50
Peas: $0.50
Mushrooms (can): $0.50
Cheese: $1
Pineapple: $0.75
Total $6.70 - but that is just cheese and pineapple, not anything else. Steak is still cheaper, Grilled chicken would be even more so...
So I looked at the meal list again. As I made my menu I looked for cheaper stuff, and ways to cut meat portions just a little. Not in half, just by a little. Use 2/3lb burger instead of a full pound. Or like in burritos (which we eat all the time) I can cook the whole pound, add 2 servings of cooked minute rice, and a can of tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Then freeze half of it for another meal. We got more healthy stuff, and only added about $0.50 to make a second meal. Later I can reheat, heat a can of refried beans and we are set to jet.
Other cheap spring/summer meals:
Bratwurst/salad/chips: $5
Ham/Potatoes/Broccoli: $4
Grilled Chicken/Steak/Chops with Potato/past/rice and a veggie $4-7
Breakfast casserole/fruit: $5
Chipped Beef on Toast/Peas: $4
Red Beans and Rice/Salad: $4
BurgerMac/Salad: $4.50
Burgers/fries/salad: $5-6
Burritos: $5
Spaghetti (double batch of sauce=2 meals)/salad: $5
So what did I learn? What can you try too?
-Shop as few times as possible
-Shop somewhere that saves you money
-Stock up if you find a killer deal - but only if you need it
-Don't pay someone to prepare or package your food more than you have to
-Evaluate the costs of your meals, I guarantee you'll be shocked
-Buy store brands when possible
-ALWAYS check unit price. Again, you'll be shocked
Do you have anything else that works for you? Do you have a point to argue with me? I could be wrong!! Do you know how to make couponing work for me? Have you tried any of these things, and had success? Let me know! GOOD LUCK!!!
Comments
I also do the "less-than-a-pound-of meat" thing. Just cutting the amount of meat down a little seems to stretch it a lot.
I can't wait to go through my go-to recipes and price them--great idea!
Have you been to grocerysmarts.com? At first I only thought "crazy couponers" used this site, but it's helped me a lot. After I've planned my menu or sometimes during my planning, I visit the site and just check to see what 5-star deals are available at my favorite stores. If there's a great deal on pork, say, then I'll plan to go to that store and plan meals with pork (and of course, throw half in the freezer and keep the pork recipes on my menu for next month).
However, if that 5-star price on pork requires 50 copies of a coupon you can only get by having 6 copies of the Sunday paper, I just don't worry about it. Too much hassle. :) grocerysmarts tells you whether it's the store price or if you have to use coupons and what kind to use.
I keep an eye out for sales on "pantry items"--ketchup, BBQ sauce, pasta, rice, taco seasoning, Alfredo sauce mix, etc. Things I know that my family uses all the time--BUT I have a set amount of money I can spend on those pantry items, so that I don't go over budget. It can help to have a rolling budget for these stock-up items: i.e. put aside $20 every month. If you find a sale on a pantry item, spend the $20. If not, keep it until next month and roll the 2 $20 together so you have even more for the occasional sale.