Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd venture a guess that those who claim to be spending $150 per month on groceries are not including toiletries, etc. That means you're within $100 per month of them.
There are also people who will buy a "side of beef" and never include that in their monthly grocery budget.
I'd also bet that they weren't including the price of items used from the pantry. They didn't have to if they said they'd only spent $150 that particular month, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they can do that every month... unless they have a garden and preserve what they grow, maybe keep some small livestock, hunt, buy staples in bulk, etc.
Oh Lordy! I am one of those people who spends $150 per month for my groceries - which INCLUDES toiletries AND cleaning supplies. Sheesh, people it isn't rocket science either. We eat well and we eat healthy. We don't live on Ramen Noodles or Chef Boyardee. I prefer making food from scratch as I have done for nearly 50 years.
What I do is shop weekly only what's on sale and only if I have a coupon. When I find a good sale with coupon matchup, I stock up. I buy enough for 3-6 months usually and often for a year, depending on the sale and the amount of room in my freezer. I get a lot of coupons.
I get toothpaste when it's on sale with a coupon for pennies or free, same with deodorant and toothbrushes and shampoo.
It takes work and it takes planning. I devote time each week to figuring out the deals and shopping.
If you were paying attention when you checked out the sale circular, you'd know that Walgreen's this past week had a few items that gave a Register Rewards for the same dollar amount as the item - sounds like free to me since I can use that Register Rewards on something else, if not this week, then next week.
Buy a 25-50lb bag of flour and one of sugar. Buy about a gallon of vegetable oil, 25-50lb of rice, and have a well-stocked spice cabinet. Your initial investment here is about $60, tops. (I diversified with minute rice, jasmine rice, basmati, and bulk quinoa, and have a tub of shortening as well)
Now shop the sales. Meat only if it's less than $2/lb. If you stock up on loss leaders and freeze, this is easy. I only buy chicken at 99 cents per pound or less, split breasts because we eat a lot of white meat. I'll buy whole chickens when they get down to 59 cents a pound. The only time I've done more expensive than this is when shrimp or fish is at $3 a pound buying bulk (I just got three pounds of cleaned calamari for $6), or the $3 per pound bone in leg of lamb that we're just now finishing up. Buy bone in to make your own stocks and soups.
Get your produce at an ethnic market. Hispanic grocers are the best. We bought 6lb of cabbage, 10lb of potatos, 4lb of bananas, 2lb of dry pinto beans, a bunch of cilantro and a pound of roma tomatoes plus a 2 liter of soda and two loaves of bread this week for $9. Would have gotten onions too since they're on sale for 30 cents per pound, but we're well stocked on them for now.
Anything else you absolutely need, warehouse club. We buy 3lb of romaine lettuce per week for $3 because I love caesar salads. I buy cheese in bulk for just over a dollar a pound and freeze it. I bought pecans for baking for $4/lb at Costco this week. The gas savings more than pay for the membership, so it's really no cost to us. When we want a quick lunch date, we'll grab $1.50 polish sausages for each of us, and sit down and talk in the snack bar area.
Cooking from scratch and utilizing oven heat and scraps is key. I baked a batch of gingerbread today, so I made a double batch to freeze. (as if, it won't last with two guys in the house ) It's about time to make another batch of homemade biscuits, which are always a hit and so very cheap to make.
Today I also had a 3lb leg of lamb, so I ground up half to make burgers. The bone with meat attached is getting braised in beer and water, then the meat removed and braising liquid turned into gravy for shepherd's pie. I need mashed potatoes for the top, so I baked potatoes, let them cool, split in half and scooped out the insides. The skins will be frozen then loaded with bacon and cheese for appetizers next time we have guests or a lazy day.
I don't cook at home as often as I'd like because I rarely have the time. But if you buy and cook in bulk, your grocery bill can be seriously, seriously slashed.
Oh Lordy! I am one of those people who spends $150 per month for my groceries - which INCLUDES toiletries AND cleaning supplies. Sheesh, people it isn't rocket science either. We eat well and we eat healthy. We don't live on Ramen Noodles or Chef Boyardee. I prefer making food from scratch as I have done for nearly 50 years.
What I do is shop weekly only what's on sale and only if I have a coupon. When I find a good sale with coupon matchup, I stock up. I buy enough for 3-6 months usually and often for a year, depending on the sale and the amount of room in my freezer. I get a lot of coupons.
I get toothpaste when it's on sale with a coupon for pennies or free, same with deodorant and toothbrushes and shampoo.
It takes work and it takes planning. I devote time each week to figuring out the deals and shopping.
If you were paying attention when you checked out the sale circular, you'd know that Walgreen's this past week had a few items that gave a Register Rewards for the same dollar amount as the item - sounds like free to me since I can use that Register Rewards on something else, if not this week, then next week.
Agree that it just takes planning, and always buy in bulk.
I charge everything on a credit card. I use Quicken. Out of curiosity, I just ran a report for what I spent in the last 2 years. My average per month is $130.89.
My 'Groceries' category includes food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, alcohol (wine and hard liquor), cat food and kitty litter! In other words, everything - including specialty foods I buy on the internet. And I don't have beans or rice in the house.
It takes time to get your grocery bill down, it doesn't happen over night.
Let's say you have a $300 a month grocery budget, that is what you need to spend every month. If you only spent $250, go out and spend the other fifty on things that are on sale, and stock up on some basic items. In 6 months, drop the budget to $275, do the same thing, and keep going in that manner until you hit the goal of $150. Here's what happens, you end up with a stock of food, so you don't need to purchase tuna unless it's on sale. You saved enough in the basic items so you can get 40# of chicken breasts at the super price you can only get if you purchase 40#,(or as the other poster said half a cow) now you have chicken to last months and you can use your food budget for the things you used, and stocking on other sale items.
Other things that cut the budget is thinking out side of the box (supermarket) There are a number of stores that sell spices cheaper than the grocery store, so if you need a spice shop one of them. Healthfood stores are thought of as being more expensive, but for me, they are cheaper in spices, and beans than my regular store is. Try other brands, as example, we like birdseye vegs if it's being served as a side dish, but the other (cheaper) brands are good for soups and casseroles.
I, include toiletries and soaps with my food bill, I get them at the same stores I get my groceries, so I count them. I do the same thing I listed above. There are times when I can get VO5 shampoo (on sale for 69 cents, and I have 25 cent coupons = 44 cents a bottle) cheap, I get 6 to eight of them, for the price of some of the more expensive shampoos, and it does just fine for my hair. I used to make my own laundry soap, but the price of the ingredients went up, so I shopped around and found for just a few cents more, I can buy it premade, and chose to spend my time on other money saving activities, (or playing on the internet )
We get our pet food at the feed store, name brands, but cheaper than the supermarket.
It can be done, it just takes time, and you don't need to eat ramen noodles every meal, or at all if you don't want to. Chef boyrdee is out rageously priced, about the same price of two cans of that stuff you can get a box of pasta and a can of sauce, and have a whole lot more food.
It depends upon your buying to eat. Our grocery budget for two is $500. We are lucky to have a Kroger, Meijer, Aldi's, Sam's and Wal-Mart nearby. We can stop in quickly and just buy the sale items, use coupons when possible etc. Of course, this is more than just food, but if your food budget is $150 a month, either you are eating food that is not healthy or you are leaving the store from the back door.
Goodness, it is very easy to eat very well on $150. Try going back to a pre WWII diet that does not focus so much on meat, processed and boxed food and premade stuff. For example you can cook up a pot of pinto beans, serve it with a cut up onion and and a side of rice, and some steamed mustard greens with a dash of pepper vinegar, and you have covered all the stuff you need for a healthy meal. In fact it's much healthier than 90% of the current American diet. You won't spend $5 on it, and there is enough for several meals. This is the kind of stuff that you have to focus on.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) It's about time to make another batch of homemade biscuits, which are always a hit and so very cheap to make.
)
