cost of groceries?

[monarch64]

This has really been an informative thread! It''s so interesting to see what people spend on groceries per month. We have a very rough budget of ~$400...although I usually go to a store or two every 10 days or so and spend $150+, and we kind of fill in every few days from there.

My predicament is this: it''s just DH and I and our dog, and DH travels frequently and sometimes doesn''t even plan trips until a day or two ahead of time. It''s super tough for me to plan around his schedule, so I usually end up spending more on frozen things (like veggies, juices, pizzas, etc) rather than buying as much fresh produce as I would like to keep on hand because most of it usually ends up going to waste.

Also, DH is a meat-eater and I am a vegetarian, so we have to plan meals around that little obstacle as well. Even when I try to plan out meals before I go to the store, things end up going to waste because inevitable I''ll have a recipe I want to try, go shopping for those things, and Dh will get home from his office and feel like going out to eat instead!

Aside from those little predicaments, I stick to our either Safeway or Albertson''s (Dominick''s or Jewel--Chicago) for things that are on sale, TJ''s for interesting things to try, and Wild Oats for healthy stuff for me that he''s not into. Oh, and of course the ever popular Sam''s Club for household items.

Oh, and one little other thing I know keeps me from maybe saving more money--I HATE going to the store every few days! My MIL and my mother are both the types who go to the store like, every other day. I, on the other hand, am not. Although there are several stores close to us, we also live in freight train/commuter train alley, and any way I go, I get stopped by a train! So I like to pack all the shopping I can into about 4 trips monthly, just to avoid the whole train hassle, LOL!

 

[Christa]

Monarch, we have a schedule that can be really hard to plan in advance, too, and I hear you on not wanting to go to the store every other day! I'm totally a "pantry shopper", meaning that I don't normally plan meals out and then buy specific ingredients for them. Instead I shop to replenish the pantry--at any given time I have the things I need to make any of my usual meals on hand, and I replace them as I use them up. I get fresh stuff once a week or so, but since I have frozen veggies and fruits all the time I don't panic if there's no fresh produce in the house for a couple of days. The advantage for me to shopping that way is that whenever I come across a sale on something that belongs in my pantry I stock up and rarely have to pay full price. I have a couple of shelves in my garage dedicated to all the $1.50-a-box cereal and things like that.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Well, this is painful to admit, with four to feed, we spend at least $1200 a month for groceries. This doesn't include anything other than food and beer (!)

No eating out, etc., as we only do this about once a month.

I was just thinking yesterday that I've GOT TO find a way to cut back costs as my kids are getting bigger and eating so much more. With their rate of food consumption, it's going to cost us $2K per month. I buy primarily organic, which explains part of this high cost, plus I'm really picky where I shop. The cheaper stores are never clean and they just turn me off, so I tend to shop at stores, like Whole Foods and other more pricey locally-owned chains which add, according to a local article in the Seattle times, a whopping $4,000 MORE to a family's annual grocery bill.

 

[eks6426]

Date: 9/20/2006 7:16:58 PM
Author: Christa
Go Lindsey and Island Dreams! You guys kind of covered it, but I was going to point out that if you are interested in saving some gocery bucks, you'd be amazed how much of a difference it can make to look at your store's weekly ad and then plan your meals for part or all of the week based on what's on sale, as opposed to deciding what you want to eat and buying it no matter what it costs. It's a do-able change even for those who are committed to organic foods or a certain store.

Christa---Yes, yes, yes. That is definitely another part of the secret. I most definitely plan my weekly menus around what is on sale at the store. I also stock up on stuff that is a really good deal that won't spoil (dry pasta, canned goods etc.). I don't have a lot of room for really big quantities but even a couple extra boxes of pasta on sale for $.99 instead of $1.99 add up. Also, by watching ads every week you get to know the patterns...for example I never buy pop unless it is close to a major holiday...it always goes on sale then so that's when I buy it for parties etc. I also eat seasonally on produce---so I only buy asparagus during "asparagus season in the spring." Frozen produce is a definite help. I love the Market Day veggies...very fresh tasting...much better than the store. My 9 yr old son eats their baby peas for snacks...frozen!

Monarch--What you could do is make meals and freeze them in individual portion sizes. Those Glad containers work really well for this. You can also freeze in quart/gallon baggies and fit more into your freezer...fill and lay flat so they will stack when frozen. You could make a meal for your meat eating hubby and one for you vegetarian style then portion them out into containers and freeze. Then when hubby is home you can just pop stuff out of the freezer. I do this a lot because it helps those "I don't feel like cooking nights" tremendously. We used to eat out about 3-4 times per week and this cut that down to just once on the weekend. I'd rather spend my eat-out budget going some place I really like and enjoy it instead of just "oh, my gosh, we need to eat tonight where should we go?"

 

[littlelysser]

My Fi and I usually spend around 500-600 a month on groceries. Of course, this includes buying things that we absolutely do not need, like fresh flowers every week and a vosages chocolate bar.

I LOVE WF, but they are just soooo expensive. I cannot get out of that place for under $100...even when I''m really trying to be budget conscious. Luckily, our local supermarket is trying to compete with WF, so they''ve opened a number of higher end "Market Districts" which are cheaper than WF, still have some great organic stuff...and also have the normal grocery store necessities.

We are finally getting a trader joe''s...and I''ve heard they are fantastic.

Speaking of cheese - has anyone ever had the Epoisse from WF? It is like $16 for a small wheel of it. Soft cheese. Super stinky. It is the best stuff. Love it.

 

[fire&ice]

There are lots of ways to save on groceries. Mostly, it takes planning. Clip coupons, shop the sales that the grocery stores have (often as loss leaders). Don''t buy prepared foods, soft drinks (good ole water does it for me), & focus on one snack item at a time.

Make a list of toiletries, groceries, incidentals & stuff you use on a regular basis that doesn''t spoil. Go to the place to buy the whatever that is the cheapest. For example, Costco has very good & relatively cheap cheeses - especially if you are a big cheese eater. I buy their big bag of basmati rice. For the same price in the grocery store, I get POUNDS more. And, it''s something that lasts. Though, they did change brands recently & it''s a problem. They''ve pulled it off the shelf (Deer brand) & said they are trying to get the other brand (Royale) back in.

The key is figure out what you want & the best place to get it fresh & cheap. Bundle your trips to save gas. I doubt whether the grocery store is far from the target!

 

[monarch64]

Christa: yes, I really need to work on the planning portion of grocery shopping, especially paying attention to sales and coupons. I recently visited the website couponmom.com and they have printable coupons for lots of things...we stopped our subscription to the paper about a year ago (it was going to waste also, ha ha), so I don''t get Sunday coupons unless we grab a paper that day. My problem with keeping the pantry stocked is actually that we don''t have a formal "pantry" and very little storage space in our little house! I need to get more creative on ways to find space for dry goods, I think. The top of the fridge can only hold so many boxes of cereal, ya know?

IslandDreams: I just got a new, smaller (3 qt.) crock pot in addition to our 6 qt. one, and I am planning on making some yummy veg. meals in the smaller one and using the larger one for DH''s meat meals this fall/winter so I can freeze things for us. It is ok to slow-cook and then freeze meals, right?

I''ve never tried that before, so I''m not entirely sure. DH is not a big fan of eating anything left over, and he also has some sort of aversion to eating meat that has been frozen, but I think I will try freezing some stew or something and just not tell him that it''s left over and see if he notices, hee hee.

 

[Christa]

Date: 9/21/2006 11:50:02 AM
Author: monarch64
Christa: yes, I really need to work on the planning portion of grocery shopping, especially paying attention to sales and coupons. I recently visited the website couponmom.com and they have printable coupons for lots of things...we stopped our subscription to the paper about a year ago (it was going to waste also, ha ha), so I don''t get Sunday coupons unless we grab a paper that day. My problem with keeping the pantry stocked is actually that we don''t have a formal ''pantry'' and very little storage space in our little house! I need to get more creative on ways to find space for dry goods, I think. The top of the fridge can only hold so many boxes of cereal, ya know?

IslandDreams: I just got a new, smaller (3 qt.) crock pot in addition to our 6 qt. one, and I am planning on making some yummy veg. meals in the smaller one and using the larger one for DH''s meat meals this fall/winter so I can freeze things for us. It is ok to slow-cook and then freeze meals, right?

I''ve never tried that before, so I''m not entirely sure. DH is not a big fan of eating anything left over, and he also has some sort of aversion to eating meat that has been frozen, but I think I will try freezing some stew or something and just not tell him that it''s left over and see if he notices, hee hee.

Yeah, absolutely! I never make just enough stew/chili/spaghetti sauce for one meal. I always double or triple it and for very little extra work it gives me a couple of no-work dinners for later. The only thing about freezing stew is that if you have potatoes in it they will be a different texture when you thaw it out, so if you''re trying the stealth freeze you might want to leave them out. The flavor will probably be better than when it was new, though!

I use Glad containers, too, though if you''re short of freezer space you can use freezer bags like IslandDreams said. Just make sure there are no holes before you start thawing! Oh, and to thaw quickly--put whatever you''re thawing in a large bowl of hot water with another smaller bowl of hot water on top of your freezer bag or Glad container (to keep it from floating). Change the water when it gets cold and your dinner will be thawed in less than an hour. Woo hoo!

 

[curlygirl]

Date: 9/20/2006 8:13:42 PM
Author: Mara
i checked my receipt for TJ''s and was pretty surprised. each thing of hummus is $1.99! and the pita bread was $0.89 ! and the crackers were like $1.50. its all so cheap!

i know those same crackers at WF would be at least $2.50 if not more. and hummus at WF is not $1.99 for sure.

i am definitely going to check out TJ next time i go for other stuff. pita for under a dollar for like 6 of them? sheesh!

Oh Mara, you should definitely do some comparison shopping at Trader Joe''s. We get sooo much stuff there that is priced better than Whole Foods. The hummus is definitely a deal and my husband can eat a whole container of it in one sitting so we always have to get a couple of those! You should also check out their cereals--healthy and cheap! We also get our soy milk and Rice Dream for much lower than in other stores. They also sell our favorite Greek yogurt and they''re only something like $1.69 each. I also buy tons of Luna bars, Clif bars, Balance bars, etc. and they''re 99cents each!!! I love Trader Joe''s! There is only one in NYC and it''s always packed so we always go super early on Sunday mornings--I wait all week to go there, pretty pathetic! They also have a wine store next door and I will say that we''ve had some amazing wines for like $5 or $6 a bottle. Seriously nice wines, no headaches or hangovers!!

That being said, we spend about $400-500 per month on groceries and eating out for the 2 of us. Whatever I don''t get from TJ, I order from Fresh Direct which is the lazy New Yorkers'' online supermarket! They also have great prices and they deliver which is a huge bonus for us city dwellers who don''t have cars!

 

[ljmorgan]

For whoever asked, the site i use is grocerygame.com

I really do like it. it lists the sales in my stores each week (both advertised and not) and tells me when I should stock up on things because they''re cheap, plus which coupons I should use. I also think that their message boards are soooo helpful.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I''d say my average is around $225 Can. per week for two adults and one kid. Not including wine or eating out. I like organic products and purchase those as much as is available (meat, veggies and fruit, some juices and oils). I like to use coupons and do where possible, but do not shop around to several stores in one day for products on grocery day. Safeway has a 10% off day, first Tuesday every month and I like to shop then to get that discount--really adds up.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Ann]

Date: 9/21/2006 4:20:00 PM
Author: *Lindsey*
For whoever asked, the site i use is grocerygame.com

I really do like it. it lists the sales in my stores each week (both advertised and not) and tells me when I should stock up on things because they''re cheap, plus which coupons I should use. I also think that their message boards are soooo helpful.

Lindsey,

I looked at the site, it looks interesting, but does it take much time? Do you do 1 or 2 stores? $15.00 for 2 stores every 8 weeks is not bad for the service. I''m not a very organized person, does it require filing coupons and stuff like that?

 

[piccolascimmia]

Lindsey - if you are comfortable providing your email address, I can add you as my grocerygame referral (and you'd get some kind of kickback)...I'm going to try this out!

And back on topic...I am fascinated by learning about how others view/handle this kind of mundane financial matter. I feel like we spend so much on groceries, and now realize that me and my FH are on the low end of everyone's grocery budgets. We spend ~$350 a month between the two of us.

I follow much of the same reasoning as others on this board...try not to purchase prepackaged food, buy nonperishables stuff when its on sale (we have extra storage for this and costco purchases) and freeze meat when it comes up on sale. I also tend to do the same thing that someone mentioned and use cookinglight.com when I have ingredients but no idea what to make of them.

Also, I participate in a local vegetable coop where this guy buys local mostly organic veggies and delivers them to members' houses every Saturday (to learn more, google community supported agriculture or click here for more info). That forces me to try new veggies I normally wouldn't buy, and makes me feel better for supporting local agriculture. I'm not sure that the $60 a month I pay for the CSA service is cost effective, but I believe its doing the right thing for my health, conscience and local farmers.

I'm loving all the advice folks have!

 

[Christa]

Date: 9/28/2006 2:48:37 PM
Author: piccolascimmia
Lindsey - if you are comfortable providing your email address, I can add you as my grocerygame referral (and you''d get some kind of kickback)...I''m going to try this out!

And back on topic...I am fascinated by learning about how others view/handle this kind of mundane financial matter. I feel like we spend so much on groceries, and now realize that me and my FH are on the low end of everyone''s grocery budgets. We spend ~$350 a month between the two of us.

I follow much of the same reasoning as others on this board...try not to purchase prepackaged food, buy nonperishables stuff when its on sale (we have extra storage for this and costco purchases) and freeze meat when it comes up on sale. I also tend to do the same thing that someone mentioned and use cookinglight.com when I have ingredients but no idea what to make of them.

Also, I participate in a local vegetable coop where this guy buys local mostly organic veggies and delivers them to members'' houses every Saturday (to learn more, google community supported agriculture or click here for more info). That forces me to try new veggies I normally wouldn''t buy, and makes me feel better for supporting local agriculture. I''m not sure that the $60 a month I pay for the CSA service is cost effective, but I believe its doing the right thing for my health, conscience and local farmers.

I''m loving all the advice folks have!

I''m not Lindsey, but giving out email addresses and other personal info isn''t allowed, I''m afraid.

 

[ellaila]

I never thought about what we spend per month on groceries -- bad me!

With this thread in mind, when I went to Whole Foods last night, I was really trying to be aware of prices. I always knew they were more expensive, but when you really start looking at it closely -- YIKES! But since I didn't feel like going to two different markets to get what I needed, I bought everything there anyway. The two things that jumped out at me were the price of a rotiserrie chicken was $9.99 -- Stop & Shop is, I believe, $6.99. When you look at it as "$3 more on just one item," that's not that big a deal, right? I mean, $3 isn't going to break the bank. But when you look at it percentage-wise, it's pretty big! And if you figure that WF is that same percentage or higher on all products -- well, it definitely adds up!

And I wanted some peaches, so I put two in the bag, and weighed them and ... it was going to cost me over $5 for two peaches!! I'm sure they're delicious, but come on, that's ridiculous. So no peaches for me.

I'm not a cheap person, but I'm trying to be more frugal (a house won't pay for itself), and I cannot justify spending that much money on a piece of fruit.

I wound up spending $35 on not a whole lot of stuff: the chicken, some cheese, an onion, a jalapeno, a head of garlic, one apple (I was starving!), some walnuts, cilantro, butter, chicken broth, sour cream, and tortilla chips. With the exception of the chicken and the cheese, nothing was really a big-ticket item there!

That said, the chicken was so good, and the queso blanco (we just came back from our honeymoon in Mexico and wanted to recreate our favorite dish!) was delish!

Have any of you tried Stop & Shop's (or is it Shaws?) new organic line Nature's Promise? I wonder if it's any good ...

 

[Mara]

I gotta say that WF''s rotisserie chickens are YUMMY so totally worth the $10 for me...esp since that is a whole meal when paired with a $5 salad or whatever. Not bad! And that is not that bad, it''s more the $15 chicken or $25 ahi tuna that gets me for one dinner! argh!

I''ve been trying to go to TJ''s more since they have some of the same stuff and it''s cheaper. Esp lunch items.

WF''s produce IS super expensive! A bag of 5 white nectarines costs me about $9. But at least I eat them because they are yummy! I tend to let Safeway mediocre produce go to waste and not eat it all.

 

[eks6426]

Gosh, I should feel lucky. My local "nice" grocery store has rotisserie chickens on sale this week for $4.99.

Hey Mara-- you might be able to use your sales & marketing skills as a swap with a growers co-op. You could do a trade...your marketing help for free produce. It could be a win-win for everyone.

 

[ellaila]

Well, I have to assume too that where you live is a factor. I mean, Mara lives in N. Cal, and I''m in Boston, which are two of the most expensive places to live in the country! And it''s not just housing that''s expensive, it''s everything -- the whole cost of living, including groceries. Bummer (sigh). But I guess that''s one of the tradeoffs for living here/there!