Comments on: Help! My grocery bills are ridiculous!

By: Robbie @ Going Green Mama

Robbie @ Going Green Mama — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:35:21 +0000

I agree that bulk purchases do help, as long as they’re smart ones that will get used.

We have relied heavily this summer on our farmers market and a CSA (community supported agriculture) program and plan our meals around produce. It’s a different way of thinking, but it is also cheaper than thinking, steak, chicken or port tonight?

We’re also experimenting with other grains, lentils and beans, which can be an alternative protein source.

By: Grocery round-up a day late & Menu Plan Monday a day early « Living Well on Less

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:51:49 +0000

[...] you may recall from last week, we’ve been working hard to make some serious cuts to our $90/week grocery bills. After reading the great advice of the people who left comments, I took an honest look at our [...]

By: Rebekah

Rebekah — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:37:17 +0000

Hey again – I’ve been thinking about your dilemma a little more today & this may not work for ya’ll – but I had another suggestion. I think you mentioned somewhere that you typically cook for 4, then take leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s a great way to do it – and I personally love leftovers for lunch – but you could try to eat the meal two nights in a row for dinner. Then you could pack lighter lunches for yourself & your husband. Something like pasta salad or a sandwich would probably cost less than your leftovers. We ended up eating our leftovers tonight for dinner instead of sticking to our original meal plan – this will help us stretch our meals out longer. Anyway, just a quick thought!

By: Rebekah

Rebekah — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:16:59 +0000

Hi Karen,

After reading through your about me – I’m pretty much in the same position as you – I just got married this past May, too! We’re also trying to menu plan to watch our budget and really, just planning it out has been a huge help to us. We’re spending about $40-$50 a week on our groceries, but I don’t think we eat quite as much meat as ya’ll do. Also, I LOVE to shop at Aldi – it saves us tons of money on our groceries. Definitely check to see if you have one nearby. Even if it’s a little out of the way, it would be worth going there when you have a lot of basics to stock up on.

Oh, and as far as the meat goes – my husband was at first really hesitant of cutting down on meat, but we’ve found some really good recipes that keep him from missing it. So, don’t give up, you’ll get there!

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:41:34 +0000

Thanks, Steph! Wow … those meat prices are much lower than what I’ve been paying! We pay $2.99/lb. for pork tenderloin, $2.99/lb. for chicken breasts (bought in bulk at Costco), and usually about $2.99/lb. for ground beef. Yikes!

I just started tracking prices in a price book, so hopefully I’ll be able to track the trends and take advantage of the lowest possible prices in the future. I’ve already been buying in bulk and freezing, but unfortunately I think I’ve been paying too much even for my bulk purchases. :(

I’m beginning to think that my problem might be a combination of unnecessary purchases and higher prices than I should be paying. This has been so helpful!

By: Steph @ Problem Solvin Mom

Steph @ Problem Solvin Mom — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:20:00 +0000

I’m probably repeating what you already know…but we buy meat in bulk and freeze what we can’t use when there is a great sale…in our area that means I can buy a pork loin or two for $1.79/lb and have it cut for me at the meat counter into 2-3 pieces…allowing me to freeze enough for several future meals. I have found our Cub Foods sells ground turkey (93% lean) for $1.69/lb so that has replaced much of the ground beef in my cooking-sometimes I mix beef into the turkey depending on what I’m making. Similarly, we buy chicken on sale in bulk @ $1.99/lb and freeze for the future. Clever packaging can increase the amount you can fit in the freezer if space is tight, pre-cooking and storing in ziploc freezer bags, for example.

Your menu looks delicious! Keep us posted as to how your doing with your budget – I love hearing how others are cutting spending, especially these days!

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:22:04 +0000

Like you I am trying to get my grocery bills down again. One thing that I noticed with my family is they like meat and they associate one chicken breast as their meat portion. How do I save a bit? When I buy chicken breasts in the bulk pacs I cut the breasts so they are about the 4-5 oz portion (if I make them too small dh just eats everything else in the house trying to get enough food). The chunks that I cut off of the breasts go into meals that use chunks or diced chicken. For meals like that I make the pieces pretty small so you get a LOT of ‘bites’ without busting the meat budget.

Keep trying and I’m sure it will come down some.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:16:16 +0000

I agree on breakfast-for-dinner and sandwiches. We used to spend an obscene amount of money on groceries (because we could), but a move and a new job later, we’re trying to be budget conscious too. It sounds like you home-make a lot of stuff, which I have found helps us. Good luck to you!

By: Kacie

Kacie — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:46:59 +0000

Instead of transcribing them (if you want to in the future) just take a photo and voila!

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:07:29 +0000

I don’t have the receipt anymore … I toss them once I’ve entered the totals into my price book. I could go back through and figure out exactly what I bought this week, but that would be even more time consuming than transcribing the receipts!

I’m going to rework some things for next week, make sure I’m not buying extra things without being mindful of it, and try to cut down on meat. Hopefully I’ll have better results next week!