Tightwad Tuesday: Talking Grocery Budgets

we live in an apartment building and don't have the space (or money to purchase) a deep freeze. Our fridge is apartment sized, which is a eupheism for "tiny" so we can't fit a lot of anything in the freezer. Any suggestions?

Our three main money saving tips for groceries are: 1 - buy all produce at the local farmer's market or produce stand (buy extra in spring/summer to freeze for winter meals)-- 2, buy all meat at the local butcher -- 3, plan the rest of the menu around the grocery store wtih the best weekly sales

Great reading everyones thoughts on how you all save ! One thing that wasn't mentioned was those of us who live in a small community. My choices here are... Safeway (most expensive), Walmart (least well used to be) and Fiesta Foods (both) we do have a Big Lots but have not bought food from there yet. My budget is anywhere between 350-400 for 3 adults, one dog and 3 cats.... I coupon only when its food/products I usually purchase.
Also, SO looking forward to Summer to take advantage of my vegetable garden. I haven't come across to much on here about how much you can save having your own garden! I hardly buy anything from the store in the summer time. Plus I am able to freeze and can from the garden that will stretch all the way into January. This year I am going to be planting more as my goal is to be eating our gardening food thru next spring!

I want to say the deep freezer is saving the most money. We just bought one a few months ago and have noticed it saving money every week. Less food is going to waste and we are able to stock up on our favorites.
I was recently was able to take our budget down to $110 from $150 by buying some meats in bulk. I am still up there, I am only buying for 3 adults and 2 kids. I was awful for years, I bought what we wanted and had a huge budget with it. I knew how to budget, I just didn't want to, lol.

I just got the biggest kick from this article. Only because, I seem to have these things ingrained in my DNA, from years of grocery shopping with my mom. I never took Home-Ec but everything you wrote could have come out of my mouth, while explaining to people how to grocery shop. Kudos! This is a great site, I am very happy to have stumbled upon it.

My budget is $140 a week for 10 people Nice article

These are the things that need to be taught in school these days. Most people have no idea about budgeting for food yet it's a weekly expense that can be budgeted very effectively!

I am glad to hear that some of you do not use coupons because the things you buy do not have them, but did you know that most of your generic items are just the name brand item with either the store name on it. or the same company has a different label to sell the same item at a cheaper rate but still make a sale. Lets say you do not like so and so company for some reason so you buy a product with out their name on it, but that product is put out by the same company under a sister name or TJ wants their name on it. Same product, cheaper price, no coupon and company still making sale. Different stores are owned by the same company but geared to different income levels. Also if you are traveling you might what to look at the local stores to see what products they have on sale to bring home with you. Different states have different products in their stores due to demand and also local availability.

My budget is $140 a week for 10 people (but I'm coming in at $115 a week average). I've been posting receipts, menus, and tips on my website under "Food Stamp Challenge" - fed up with the MSM media crying about elected officials trying to live on their food stamp allotment for a week when my normal grocery bill was less!

I also shop at many stores - I'm fortunate that I have 4 groceries within a quarter mile of my house (and all in a row on the same street); if I travel a mile or so further down the road, I'll hit another Mexican market, 99 cent store (bread! Veggies!), Big Lots, and my favorite grocery store.

I use coupons occasionally, but not usually. I returned my Sam's membership for a refund because the prices are a lot higher than what I get shopping the loss leaders!
My food stamp challenge:
http://milehimama.blogspot.com/search/label/Food%2...

My #1 tip - plan.
#2 tip - don't be a brand slave. Generic white rice tastes exactly the same as Uncle Ben's! I promise!
#3 tip - start small - make one or two changes each trip or week and soon you'll be amazed at how much you're saving! But if you try to slash your grocery bill in half overnight, you'll be frustrated and overwhelmed.

I should note - my family of 10 consists of a construction worker, myself following a diabetic diet, 5 elementary school age children including one on a special Feingold diet, 2 toddlers, and a baby still cookin' until June.

I love Trader Joe's but it doesn't help my budget much, since we like to try new wines when we go there! LOL

That being said, I am a coupon/sale shopper. Rarely do I buy an item that isn't on sale, or I at least have a coupon for. I try to keep a stocked freezer and pantry and that helps a lot. I use my food saver for the meat I stock up on. I spend more money if I go to many stores, then one store. So I basically shop at one great grocery store, and then Sam's club or Costco for some other stuff.

We spend about $100-$120 per week for a family of three--one being a toddler. I feel sure we could reduce, and I have tried to become wiser in my choices and spending. We rarely eat out, we make lunches for work every day, and I try to include at least one or more vegetables or fruits with each meal. The difficult issue for me is that I really believe in eating organic as much as possible, so that costs more. However, I've also researched a bit to figure out which items can be safely eaten non-organic, and which should usually be organic. Still, it can be pricey, especially when it comes to meat. However, I have become a big believer in shopping at Trader Joe's. People seem to have the idea that they are generally more expensive, but I've not found that to be true. Most of their products are comparable or less expensive than grocery store prices. We live in southern California, and find that you can sometimes get cheaper food at places like Stater Bros., Big Lots, and Dollar Tree. Also, I agree with buying at farmer's markets or roadside stands (I sometimes do the latter). Even our local gas stations sometimes sell a bit of produce by the bag for low prices--mainly oranges and avocados.

I really agree with the fact that unused foods are very wasteful, and I've been working on using everything. Often our cupboards look a bit thin because I'm trying to do that. Recently I went on a spree of only cooking things that cause us to use up things we've had a long time. It made for some "interesting" (read: not that good) food, but it was only for a few weeks, and I did manage to clean out the stuff that was just sitting there.

I budget and plan meals much the same way you do. For a family of three, our budget is $60 a week. That's just for food...no pet food, no health & beauty items or paper products, no meals out, no cleaning supplies...just food.

I also don't use coupons. At least not in a big way. If I see a coupon for something I know we will use, I will clip it and take it with me. Whether or not I use it depends on the price of the item and the prices of other items that will work just as well. I buy whatever is cheapest. I also don't search for coupons, but if they come to me (via mail or the sales papers) then I'll look through them.

My primary source of groceries is Aldi, followed by sales at the "regular" grocery stores. I also shop at Big Lots, other salvage/liquidation stores, farmers markets and swap meets. Wherever food is inexpensive, I'm likely to buy it.

I am so glad to read your comments about using coupons. Couponing is such a big deal to most frugallites, but I don't do it much either. We just don't buy many things for which coupons are offered.

Thanks for your articles. I really enjoy reading them.

My budget is about $150 a week, and that includes food for three people, three 60-lb. dogs, a cat and two birds. Because I live outside of a city, I have to choose between spending on gas (and spending an hour driving) or saving on groceries, so buying locally usually wins. The nearby Big Lots don't stock much food, and I have sensitivities to wheat, MSG, and a number of other food adulterations, so I have to make food from scratch as much as possible. We don't snack much, either, and when we do, it's usually inexpensive store-brand frito corn chips from Target (read the label - real food!) or home-popped popcorn (a 99 cent bag makes a dozen batches).

I also buy meat on sale and freeze it, but I rarely use coupons because they typically are not offered on the products I buy. Instead, I buy a LOT of house brands and generics. I also extend my meals by serving things over rice or rice noodles, and with multiple veggie sides or salads. It takes very little time to slice up a few tomatoes and sprinkle the slices with salt, pepper, grated cheese, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar...and when my tomatoes bear, it will be almost free.

The last couple of years, I've made fig preserves from the fruit on my fig tree, and I'm looking around for blackberry or raspberry vines to plant (no luck finding any so far...out of fashion, I guess?). When I had a peach tree at a previous residence, I also put up huge quantities of pickled peaches and preserves; I may put in a peach tree here if I can find a good place for it on my small lot.

I love that you budget for 2 vegetables with meals; that's a failing I see on many frugal meal plans.

Like you, I'm also a Big Lots food shopper. Lots of unique products there for less!

My husband and I budget for food in our monthly budget and make weekly meal plans based on what's seasonal and on sale.

We also have a spreadsheet of most of the items we use so we know to buy black beans, organic eggs, and orange juice at Costco, garbanzos at Trader Joes, what to buy at Whole Foods, what to buy in bulk from Amazon Grocery. We can walk to WF and TJ's from our apartment, saving fuel. We also buy cases of our favorite non-perishable items (when they go on sale) to save 10%. This spreadsheet includes the per unit price of items so it's easy to compare.

We buy very few packaged items (and almost always wait for it to go on sale), but eat real food (that's kosher and gluten-free) for snacks: yogurt, leftovers, fruit and nut butter, crudites, dried fruit and nuts, dairy-free smoothies, etc. I make a lot of my own food: chicken soup, grain-free granola (nut-based), applesauce, etc.

I freeze leftovers in glass mason jars; soups and chilis make great lunches and cook themselves in the crockpot (which uses next to no energy). We also have meatless meals regularly for both cost, environmental, and health reasons. Breakfast for dinner is also a hit. When we do make something meat based, I try to have lots of sides to stretch it out (kosher organic meat is pricey and almost never goes on sale) and then use the leftover bones to make stock.

I keep an updated list of what are the most and least contaminated produce so I buy the organic ones when the conventional ones would be dirty but not for the clean ones.

We also use the Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or Kirkland (Costco) brand items a lot and find them to be very good quality.

Another thing to keep in mind is that organic does not equal healthy, especially for packaged items; crackers are still crackers, fruit snacks are still fruit snacks.

We try to remember to bring our own bags which not only saves the grocery store money, but also saves me 10 cents/bag at Whole Foods and helps the environment!

Just like with any other habit changing plan....it is all about sel-control and "end result" focus. Don't think about the food you WANT (but don't NEED), think about the healthier bank balance at the end of the shopping trip.

This site is a great one for strategizing budget effectiveness, Jag. Good luck to you, you can do it!!

OMG, I don't know how you do it. With my husband just laid off and a baby on the way, I have GOT to learn to budget our groceries. I've forgiven myself during the pregnancy, because there's only so much I want to eat, so I'll buy strawberries off season if I want them and avoid laying awake at night dreaming about them.

I need to check the archives and read up on your previous budgeting posts. The thought of having to shop around for different items sends me into a panic attack. It will help that there's a new Aldi by our house, and a Dollar General right next to it (all across the street from our local Kroger). I usually just buy what I want when I want it instead of planning ahead, but that's going to have to stop. I want the kid to eat better than I have in the past, and I need to figure out a way to do that frugally. Expect to see my IP address pop up on your visitors logs plenty in the coming months. :)