Revamp the way you shop
Source of Recipe
EMAIL
Recipe Introduction
As far as our grocery budget goes, we pay $120/month for a family of 3
(2
adults/1 child.) That includes food items only (but does include pop).
Because
grocery store prices vary by state and people have different
diets/eating styles
and some people are limited to where they can shop, don't think
anybody's
food budget will automatically work for anyone else's circumstances.
But there
are ways to save money without totally revamping the way you eat.
Instead,
revamp the way you shop.
List of Ingredients
I don't meal plan. None of us is on any type of "eating plan" or "diet"
so we
aren't restricted in any way of what we can/can't eat. I have a large
pantry
and freezer, and I keep a lot of food on hand...if we had to, we could
easily
eat a month without shopping, and there have been times we've gone up
to 3
months.
*Be flexible about your meal-planning & your recipes. I can pretty much
make
a meal out of anything that's in the house &I do a lot of
substitution...for
example...I'll make a "hamburger helper" using almost any type of
meat...I've
used ground beef, ground turkey, chicken, venison, tuna fish, breakfast
sausage, diced ham, steak cut into small pieces, sliced Polish sausage,
elk, etc. I
like to be creative in my cooking, and I'm more likely to use a recipe
as a
guideline instead of following many "exact" recipes. Another thing to
keep in
mind is "hamburger helper" doesn't have to be a pasta dish. I'll make
omelettes,
soups/stews, rice dishes, potato dishes, pasta dishes, stir fries,
salads,
burritos, etc. to "use the last" of what's left. We don't eat many
beans, but
it's another good thing you can make to stretch your meat or to use up
leftovers.
I very rarely pay full-price for anything. I stock-pile when things are
on
sale, and that's not just food items but almost anything I buy...soap,
toilet
paper, cleaning supplies, OTC meds, etc.
We are not particular about any one brand name of food, and I've found
that
most generic names are "as good" as most brand names...not only in
food, but
also in cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc. And nine times out of ten,
for me
anyway, the generic is still cheaper than brand name food "on sale
minus the
coupon"
We rarely buy "convience" foods...as most of them aren't a convience.
It
takes me five minutes longer to cut up and bread a chicken then it does
to bake a
box of frozen "breaded" chicken. Five minutes longer to cook a cake
from
scratch as opposed to a cake mix...and forget about boxed hamburger
helper/rice-a-roni, etc (even generic). I'm not going to pay "that much
per pound" for a
handful of rice/pasta and a few seasonings. Ack! The homemade stuff
takes just as
long to cook, and it tastes a lot better. Don't get me wrong...not
everything
we eat is "made from scratch" ... like canned soups or frozen pizza,
and once
in a while, we will buy generic "hamburger helper" if it's on a good
enough
sale price, but the more cooking you do do from scratch, the more you
tend to
save.
And if it's time your concerned about, become friends with your
microwave.
I've learned to cook almost everything in the microwave...I don't, but
I know
how to. Even things like scrambled eggs, macaroni &cheese, and
hamburgers can be
cooked in the microwave. Plus it uses a lot less electricity than the
stove
does. Another good time saver is to cook twice of whatever you're
making. Half
to eat tonight and half can go in the freezer for a later meal.
A big money-saver for me is most of my groceries I don't buy in a
normal
supermarket. Supermarkets (especially ones with cards) are out to gouge
your
pocketbook, and they know they can get away with it because too many
people like
"one-stop" shopping. I buy most of my meat/produce at a local "meat
market". I
get fresher cuts of meat for 25-75% less than supermarket prices. And I
don't
buy it cause it's fresher...as most will go in my freezer anyway.
Most of my canned/boxed goods *and even some of my frozen stuff) is
bought at
a grocery outlet store, a restaurant warehouse, or at a nearby auction
house.
Almost all my bread is bought at a bakery outlet store, (I don't care
that
it's not "as fresh"...it goes in my freezer anyway)...
I get my milk for $1.99 gallon at the corner gas station (as compared
to
$3.79+/gallon at supermarkets).
Recipe
When you're looking for something in the store, consider all the
possibilites. For example, fruits &veggies can be bought
fresh/frozen/dried/ or canned. A
lot of meats can be bought fresh or frozen or canned or dried. Even
rolls can
be bought fresh from the bakery, frozen, refridgerated (in a can) or
"dry"
(for example, a box of Bisquick). It really saves money to compare
prices "by the
ounce" or "by the serving" etc. The biggest box of anything isn't
always the
cheapest. Take a calculator to the store with you, and divide the price
by the
number of ounces or price per pound/etc. and it's really easy to
compare
prices that way. I understand a lot of people "have a preference" but
any can be
substituted for the other in almost any recipes. I tend to buy most of
my
fruits &veggies canned mainly because of the shelf life, but when I do
buy fresh, I
buy what's on sale or what's in season.
Almost the only thing I buy in supermarkets is "loss leaders." Those
are
things marked down so much that the grocery store takes a loss on them
in order to
draw you into their store. Which is one of the best reasons to have
some sort
of food storage. Let's say eggs are on sale this week. I will pretty
much
guarentee you that whatever goes with eggs (like bacon) are NOT on sale
in the
same store; in fact, they will probably even be marked up that week. Or
if
hamburger is on sale, the buns, cheese, ketchup isn't going to be...If
the loss
leader is something you can stock up on, stock up on it, even if it's
only 1
extra jar, whatever. This pretty much will guarentee that you will
never run out
of peanut butter &jelly at the same time, forcing you to pay the marked
up
price for the item that isn't on sale.
I do the majority of my grocery shopping once/month. This is because I
used
to live out in the country most of my life, and had to drive 40 miles
one-way
to get the majority of food savings. Now that I live in town, I still
shop that
way, but I do have the luxery of picking up on more of the loss
leaders. But
one thing you should really keep in mind (irregardless of how often you
shop)
is the price of transportation. It makes no sense to drive half-way
across
town to save $0.11/pound of ham. (I remember my mother doing that
once); most
cars you have to figure you are using $0.25-$0.40 in every mile you
drive. That
isn't in just gas...that's also maintainance, tires, depreciation, etc.
So
never grocery-shop just for the sake of grocery-shopping. Do it on a
day you go
into town to go to church/have a doctor appointment/getting your hair
done/etc.,
or with a trip to the post office, or on your way home from work, etc.
If you
live a long ways from Costco/Walmart/wherever your favorite place to
stock up
is...consider carpooling to get your groceries, or have your neighbor
pick up
something for you when they are in that area, etc.
*If you really don't care what you eat, stick to the famous frugal
meals like
peanut butter sandwiches, chili, spaghetti, potatoes, even top raman.
*If you're on a high-protein diet, remember that some meats are more
economical than other meats (poultry is usually a good example) and
that you can also
get protein from eggs, peanut butter, &beans (classic economical
foods.)
*If you're a diabetic or a low-carber, stay away from the food
"marketed" to
you. For example, "Low-carb" ice cream does not have much fewer carbs
than
regular ice cream...if you want ice-cream, buy regular ice-cream and
just eat
less of it. Don't buy "sugar-free cookies/cakes/etc." Get ahold of a
Splenda "or
whatever sugar substitute you prefer" recipe book, and make your own.
"Low-carb soda pop" is a joke...just buy diet...it's low-carb.
*If you're on a low-fat diet, again stay away from food "marketed" to
you.
Consider buying turkey-burger (half-turkey/half beef) instead of extra
lean
burger...it's got the same taste as beef, half the fat, and is a lot
cheaper since
turkey is so economical anyway. You can also buy turkey-sausage,
turkey-ham,
turkey franks, and even turkey bacon. Change the way you cook
things...for
example, broil or bake chicken instead of frying it, drain the grease
from your
ground meat, etc., and you can still eat the more economical foods.
*If you do buy processed meats (like hot dogs) the ones made from
chicken and
turkey tend to be cheaper (and healthier) than the ones made from beef
or
pork.
*Consider growing a garden if you have the room. Even a lot of herbs
and
spices can be home-grown in a few pots on your window-sill. Sprouts are
really
easy to grow in pots, and are fairly nutritious. You don't have to
learn how to
can to take advantage of a small garden...most vegetables freeze well
or can
be dried.
*For produce, find out where your area "pick-your-own" farms and farmer
markets are. These are a great source for really cheap produce. These
are usually
only around "in the summer time, but you can take advantage of the
prices by
stocking up at that time and then, just like a garden
canning/freezing/or drying
your extra produce will allow you to enjoy certain fruits all year long
whenever you have the yearning for it (without having to be gouged into
paying
out-of-season prices.)
*If you will only eat fresh produce, stick to whatever's in season at
the
time.
*If you'll only eat organic, try to find an organic farmer/dairy in
your area
to buy from. Buying the food/meat/milk direct from the organic farmer
is
usually a lot cheaper than the food you buy in the supermarket that's
"marketed"
to you.
*Another option is joining a co-op to get your produce/meat at a
cheaper
price than supermarkets.
*If you have the freezer space, consider buying half or a whole
cow/pig/whatever. My brother-in-law raises cattle, and will sell a cow
for $1.99/pound
hanging weight. No, that isn't the most awesome price for ground beef,
but when
you figure you're paying $2/pound...that includes $2/pound for steaks,
ribs,
roasts, and some prime cuts of beef, overall, you probably aren't doing
too
badly.
*Keep a price book...what you do is write down the price of everything
you
buy than fill in the price of it at every store you shop at. Pretty
soon, you
will know which store always has cheese at $1.79/pound, which one
always has a
50-pound bag of cat litter for $4.99 and which one always has pop for
$1.89/half-rack, etc. It also will give you a good idea of how the food
market
goes...and the cycle of sales at the stores you shop at. For example,
you'll start to
notice how often your favorite brand of shampoo goes on sale or how
often
baking goods or condiments go on sale, or how often your favorite brand
of soda
pop goes on sale, allowing you to stock up for a certain period of
time...
*Learn to preserve food. Canning, freezing, dehydrating...you don't
have to
do all of them, but if you learn atleast 1 way to preserve food, you
really
open up your options of taking advantage of sales and wasting less
food.
*Rethink the convience of the convience foods you buy. A package of
frozen
veggies with sauce &seasonings is always going to cost more than an
unseasoned
package. It takes the same amount of time to bake cake/brownies/cookies
from a
box as it does to bake them from scratch. Stuffing in a box/rice a
roni/pasta
roni, and hamburger helper takes just as long to cook as they do from
scratch.
Buying a precooked ham or precooked turkey and slicing it yourself is
usually
a lot cheaper than buying presliced sandwich meat. Who cares that it
isn't
deli-sliced? Blocks of cheese are normally cheaper than
individually-wrapped
slices OR already-shreded cheese. Seriously...how long does it take you
to cut
off a slice of cheese? When it comes to meats, buy the family-sized
"economy"
package or the 5-pound "chub" of ground meat then as soon as you get
home,
repackage it into smaller servings &freeze the extra. If a large roast
or rack of
meat is on sale at the store, ask the butcher to chop it up the way you
want...I think I pay $0.10/more per pound to have it chopped up, but
it's still
cheaper than the pre-sliced cuts of meat that aren't on sale. I don't
know what they
charge to grind it up. My coffee pot takes 10 minutes to brew a pot,
and
that's cheaper than the instant stuff. Buy plain ice-cream and add your
own
toppings as opposed to buying all those fancy gourmet flavors. Adding
fruit or nuts
or granola to plain yogurt is usually cheaper than those that already
have it
added. Be very wary of the price of "convience" packaging. What is so
convient about having more garbage to dispose of? For example, frozen
TV
dinners...why not make extra food of whatever you normally eat, then
just freeze your
left-overs in individual portions? It takes the same amount of time
(and maybe
even less time) to reheat frozen left-overs as it does to cook a frozen
TV
dinner. What about individual yogurt/pudding/jello cup things? Isn't it
cheaper to
buy a box of pudding/jello &make it or buy a large container of yogurt,
and put
it into little tupperware containers yourself if you need those things
for
school lunches? Or cheaper to buy a large package of
chips/pretzels/peanuts/etc.
and put them in ziplock baggies yourself? One of the most rediculous
things
I've ever seen is Lunchables (even generic knock-offs). Let's be
realistic
here...You're paying $1-$3+ for 4-6 crackers, an ounce of cheese, and 1
slice of
sandwich meat. Hey, I understand kids like building their own
food...but
wouldn't it be much cheaper for you to slice the things and put them in
packages?
Better yet, use reusable tupperware containers. You can buy ones that
have
seperate compartments. Instead of buying a really fancy frozen pizza,
buy the cheap
deli ones (you know, the ones that are 2/$5) and doctor them up
yourself...it
still takes the same amount of time to cook. And personally, I think it
makes
more sense to buy a large can/jug of juice (or even frozen concentrated
juice) and put it in thermoses as opposed to buying the boxed juice or
those juice
packages. Or if you insist on buying sugar water, kool-aid is much
cheaper
than those individual packages.
*Never ever grocery shop when you're hungry. You'll be more bound to
buy
something you wouldn't normally buy. And you'll be much too distracted
about
wanting to get home to eat that you probably won't take the time to
compare prices.
*You don't have to eat super-cheap every night. We certainly don't. But
by
having an economical night tonight, I can afford steak tomorrow night,
and not
feel like I compromised on the grocery budget.
*Some people think it's exspensive to eat healthily. But if you need
this
diet you're on, the money you spend on food today is a lot cheaper than
the money
you spend on medical bills taking care of health complications that
arise
from not following your doctor's advice. Personally to me, I think
healthy food
is a lot cheaper than junk food, but everyone's going to have a
different
definition of what they think healthy is.
However if you start making more things from scratch, you not only save
money, but you now have the option of what's going in your food...for
example, you
can control how much salt/sugar/fat goes into a recipe by making
substitutions
that work with your eating plan.
*Another thing that can really help is excluding some of the
disposables from
your budget. Use cloth napkins/towels instead of paper ones. Tupperware
containers instead of plastic baggies. Etc.
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