Saving money on grocery bills About This Page:

[lukeandbrookesmom]

I'm starting this thread since grocery shopping seems to be a huge problem area for us and I plan to conquer it first, right here in January!

I cut my budget by $50/week this past Saturday and managed to go over only $5.80 - I was thrilled....until I asked my best friend what her grocery budget is for the 4 of them and found out it is $75 a week less than my new budget!!!! How does she do it? I picked her brain for a bout and hour.

I realized a couple things before talking to her: I'm a 'brand snob" and I don't pay attention to portion sizes. I just read on my laundry detergent bottle that it's supposed to last around 32 loads. Well, why do I use a bottle every 10 days or so? I'm certainly not doing 32 loads in that time so I apparently use too much. Well that's gonna change today.

The brand snob thingy - I tried, I really did, to pick up some of the store brand items but certain things I just couldn't (like Skippy peanut butter is the only brand I'll buy). I did manage to get a few store brands and I'll taste test with the family this week.

Anyway, back to my friends amazingly grocery budget. She makes 4 lunches every day for her family at school and work just like I do so that wasn't the difference. She shops at Super Walmart and I shop at Stop & Shop which is a 'regular' grocery store. We pulled out our receipts from Saturday and started to compare: $2.69 vs. $3.99 for a gallon of milk was the first item that stuck out but it went on and on down the list. And one last thing - she refuses to buy store brands of anything!

Wow! I can't believe it can be so much cheaper in one store. The closest Super Walmart to me is about a 40 minute drive but I believe even with gas at the price it is now I'll still be way ahead by driving there.

I'll post next week to let everyone know how I do. What grocery budget cutting ideas does everyone else have?

[Lemap760]

I would love a super WalMart. We only have limited selection of groceries in ours. It's just not worth it for the driving distance.
I try to only buy items on sale or store brand. I can't really tell the difference in most items.

[stefffe]

i too shop at SuperW unless im feeling particularly "snotty" then i find our local super HEB ( a local grocery store here). its about as cheap as walmart...and has EVERYTHING....and i mean everything.

anyway...i digresss...

i want a budget for grocery shopping. there is only 3 of us....why are we going to the grocery store 3 times a week????? and not just for bread.....theres a 20-25$ purchase attached every time. well that has to GO!

im going to spend my days planning menus and making grocery lists today at work (since it wont be busy) and then i need to figure out what it all costs next. i cant shop without a list anymore ( i get all confused) so maybe armed with a list AND a limit for the entire week...i can figure out how to save us money.

[stefffe]

ohhhhh.... i forgot......

here is a great website i found.... with lots of grocery saving tips and coupon advice for those of us that are coupon-ly challenged

Hot Coupon World Hope it helps.

[Colexis Mom]

I cut my budget about $50/week after I stopped working Sometimes it's even less than that. We had a new Target open close to us, and I would usually do a bunch of food shopping in there (there was a big difference, although their prices have come up on some things so I think it was the initial..lure you into the store thing). I've got to 3 different stores sometimes to get the things I need if they are on sale, but I have the time to do it now so it doesn't bother me (they're all on my way somewhere anyway). I just had a big shopping bill yesterday, although I did stock up on a lot of meats and laundry detergent was on sale ($10 for 200 oz). I too was a brand snob, but do buy some things store brands (pasta, fruit, yogurt, milk, etc.)

[mom23k9s]

I hear you about being a "brand snob". Certain store brand stuff just doesn't taste as good. For example, our mac and cheese has to be Kraft (store brand yuk!).
However, if you have a Trader Joe's around, we've found their store brands to be excellent for everything. And their "oreos" actually taste Better to me than regular Oreos.
I've also had good luck finding name brand produce at Aldi's, if you have Aldi's in your area.

Can't offer much more help than that. There's only 2 of us and we both hate to cook so we're terrible about grocery shopping.

[Happymommy]

Unfortunately, I'm not supposed to go to walmart(my husband's union boycotts them)-- I wish I could (My mom and I snuck over once, and wow what savings, but I got in trouble by DH) but I do try and get all of our cleaning products at Target. I have a BJs membership that I don't use-- has anyone found that they save money shopping at a warehouse type store??

I was also going to suggest Trader Joe's--- I get ALOT of things there. Almost everything in the store is store brand, and it's EXCELLENT quality. The only thing I buy there that I could be buying alot cheaper is coffee--- their coffee is so good, but I could get folgers or maxwell house cheaper at BJs. Their coffee is still cheaper than our grocery store, but I know BJs' is cheaper.

[KathyL]

The only thing that I don't like about Walmart, is that you can't always assume that what you need will be in stock. They don't typically stock things to replenish in the back like a Stop and Shop would do. I am fortunate, because I pass a Walmart and a Stop and Shop on my way home so I can shop at Walmart and then stop in Stop and Shop if I have to. Stop and Shop has a home delivery service called Peapod. I am registered on the Peapod site, but don't usually use it, because the delivery charge is a bit high. However, what I do is prepare my list on the Peapod website

I love store brands. Yes, there a few things that I won't do store brands of (peanut butter and triscuits) but I do find that most taste just as good. The one thing that I plan on trying is store brand skim milk. It is about $1.00 less a gallon than the brand I purchase now.

[MickeyMAC]

If you have the Wal Mart Neighborhood Market their prices are better than the Wal Mart Supercenter. Much quicker to get into and not the lure of all the "other items" the Supercenter has. I hate the supercenter, always spend way to much but use the Neighborhood Market every week.

[lexiemom]

We shop at Super Wal-Mart for our groceries. We also are watching our budget after having our DD. One big budget cutter I found was in how I bought my meat. I buy our chicken and hamburger in the bigger bulk packs and freeze it in smaller serving sizes. When I need to use it I just pull it out of the freezer to defrost. The chicken breasts at our Wal-Mart is around $5 for 4 boneless, skinless. If I buy the bulk frozen bag of chicken breasts its $8 for about 12 of them. Also, by buying my meat in bulk it isn't on my grocery bill but once a month.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Originally Posted by Happymommy

has anyone found that they save money shopping at a warehouse type store?

I've tried BJs and Costco and didn't do so well. It seemed like everything we needed was more expensive and I felt like I really, really had to know prices of everything to know whether or not something was a good deal. I also found it to be wasteful for us because of the huge quanities.

We unfortunately do not have a Trader Joe's around here. Pretty much our options are Super Walmart, Target (which I found to be on the high side in our area), COSTCO, BJs, and the normal grocery stores.

[dejavu]

I shop almost exclusively at our SuperWalMart which is also the closest store to my house. I buy their store brand peanut butter and have had no complaints. I buy a lot of store brand things there and the prices are vastly different. Here the walmart skim milk is $2. 58 a gallon while the Dean's is $3.99.

[korki-rad]

This is a great thread! I am trying really hard to cut down on grocery costs! It's so hard, though! I can be something of a brand snob -- can only stomach Kraft mac & cheese, Wonder Bread (although I'm working on that one) and anything BUT store brand peanut butter!

My big downfall is really dumb, though, so my big New Year's resolution is to conquer it -- I LOVE the bottled Nestea! And it is SOOO expensive! I don't even like the flavored kinds, just the unsweetened plain ol' iced tea! I've tried making tea at home, but I don't like the taste of our water and I think it gives the tea a funny flavor. So this time, I bought a jug of distilled water for $.50 and I'm going to try to make tea with that. Beats the $7+ that it costs for 6 bottles of tea!

And yes, we also buy bottled water because none of us like the taste of the tap water. We've tried filters, but they don't take out the strange taste. I'm really looking into other options -- a Culligan system, for example -- because I think in the long run it *has* to be cheaper! Plus, I hate all the bottles!!!!

We used to shop at Super Walmart, but a new Fareway opened up just a few blocks from us and we actually find that they are usually as cheap as, if not cheaper than, Walmart, and their meat and produce is actually a little better quality. Plus, we don't have all the extra temptations that Super Walmart provides!

My other big money saving strategy is that I make the list, then give it to DH and he actually does the grocery shopping. DH will stick strictly to the list and is more likely to buy store brand products. When I go, I always see some new product that just looks soooooo interesting and I just HAVE to try it! I swear I have no impulse control at all. Plus, I have to take the two kiddos with me and DD's requests can add quite a wallop to our bill. (Thank goodness DS can't talk yet! LOL)

Costco opened here for the first time and I have not yet checked them out. I've wondered if it would be a good option. I thought maybe I could talk my sister in law into joining with me and we could split up some of the bigger packages of stuff. Does anyone do that? How does it work for you?

I tried to talk my sister and SIL into doing a dinner exchange where each week we would each made one meal with enough portions to feed all our families, then exchange, so we all had three meals in the freezer to use during the week, but they didn't go for it. Not sure it would have worked, but would have liked to try. I thought it would be cheaper to buy a few more ingredients for the same recipe than buying all new ingredients for something new. But it might have been a harebrained idea.

Stop and Shop has a home delivery service called Peapod. I am registered on the Peapod site, but don't usually use it, because the delivery charge is a bit high. However, what I do is prepare my list on the Peapod website

We had something like that here for a while -- you could order your groceries online and they would deliver to your door. It *was* a bit more expensive, but we found that, because we eliminated impulse purchases, it actually came out even or less than what we paid when we went into the store. Others must not have liked it, though, because it's not offered any more.

Anyway, thanks for starting this thread! I am really trying to live a little more frugally in order to have more $$$$ for WDW!!!

[mcc0313]

We don't have any Super Walmart's here and we do have a nice Target but it is just too much of a hassle to get there...so most of my shopping is either Stop & Shop or Pathmark....

I too am a bit of a brand snob and so are my kids...lol. For example my father once picked up the store brand waffles...my kids would not eat them...they claimed they were too gluey. However I have found that they will eat the Stop & Shop syrup....

I try to find certain products that they don't notice and will try that, I also try to shop only with a list....and I struggle to not go over what my list says but if it is an amazing sale I will only if I know I will use the product in the near future...

Another savings...I try to not use any boxed mashed potatoes or rice mixtures....I buy a 20 lb bag of rice and 10 lbs. of potatoes. Big savings there and I found that I can duplicate many of the "seasoned" packages...

[EeyoreNeedsLoveToo]

I agree that Fareway is often cheaper than WalMart/Target on a lot of things -- I'd never heard of a Fareway outside of Iowa (even if only barely ) can't beat the prices and/or service -- Meat is especially much nicer and less expensive than anyplace else I've found. when we moved to MN for a couple of years, I couldn't believe I paid so much more, AND had to bag my own groceries and take them out to my car myself! -- when we found out we were moving back "home" to Iowa -- we both said -- "we can shop at Fareway again!"

I try to only purchase meat on sale -- and get extra for the freezer -- esp. lean hamburger, chicken breasts, etc. I'll use frozen ground turkey in items like tacos, spaghetti sauce, chili - as it's much cheaper (and leaner). For lunchmeat, I'll buy the larger chunks on sale, take to the meat counter and ask them to slice it, and package into 2 - 3 packages so I can freeze the extras. (before you as, we only have the fridge over our freezer )
I use a lot of fresh produce -- and for fresh fruit -- won't pay over $1/pound unless it's for a special treat or occasion -- so this time of year, it's all about bananas, grapefruit, and oranges I use lots of veggies in casseroles, soups, tacos, sauces, etc. the extra $1 - $1.50 to get a colored pepper (to go along with the cheap "green" may seem like a "splurge" but it stretches the meat, is healthier and cheaper than more meat in the long run. If I'm making spaghetti or tacos, etc., there will be as much or more chopped veggies as there is meat -- they boys haven't complained yet.

I am VERY frugal -- but will buy name brands if it makes a difference -- some items I will not go cheap on....
peanut butter - (I think everyone has a favorite -- mine is Smuckers all natural)
paper towels -- gotta have bounty
coffee -- (we're caribou snobs....luckily dh works there a morning a week -- mostly for the coffee benefits and discounts )
I also will not purchase what I perceive as "less healthy" options (or sabotage our weight loss efforts) just to save a little bit of $$ -- for example -- I buy 2% milk cheese, I often can't get that in a store brand. I buy "hormone free" milk for the boys and I drink/use soymilk.

Also, keep track of prices at different places -- and purchase those items when you are there -- I buy frozen fish at wal-mart, there are a couple different kinds of cereal I get at Target, etc.


Wow, that turned into a long post! hope it didn't bore anyone!