Groceries/supplies - how much do you spend? (janobonano)

start here Candace!

http://www.frugalshopper.ca/links/article.php?n=2&c=14&page=1

DH and I spend about $350/month on groceries.  Pet food averages $50/mo I would say.  We were at one time trying to cut back on food expenses but realized that food is one of our splurges, so we just shifted some other things in the budget.

I'm going to say between $350-400 per month for the 3 of us, including my son who can eat his weight in food, and often does.  Sometimes a lot less.  I shop sales, stock up, use coupons (no doubles here either), pay particular attention to the cost per unit on the BOGO's.  About once a month I hit SaveALot and stock up there as well.  Napkins I'll go cheap on, but TP and paper towels you don't save anything IMHO.  I make my own laundry detergent, which is a combo of dry ingredients....I use under 2 tbsp per load so it lasts a good long while, and cleans my clothes better.  I too use vinegar and baking soda for my primary cleaning, although I do like Simple Green and buy that when I find a good price on it and dilute it as needed.  It's concentrated so pretty cheap.  This time of year I use a lot of fresh veggies that I mostly have to buy, and tons of fresh herbs from my own plants.

Believe it or not, when we were still in MI and having to feed our "landlady" my bill was easily doubled what it is now.  She could and did eat TWICE her weight in food.

Without knowing your eating habits or storage abilities here are some hints.

Buy meat in bulk, split and freeze.

Do not be brand loyal, buy the store brand, 95% of the time there is no difference, yes you might get a little less chicken in the chicken noodle soup, but is it worth the difference? When you buy name brand your just paying for the name.

Cook in bulk, this is better in the winter than summer, chili, stews and soups freeze well.

I buy frozen veggies in the winter, this way I can take what I need and not have alot of left overs.

Stop buying cleaners....most anyway.

http://www.blisstree.com/thriftymommy/vinegar-uses/

I probably spend about $125 a week at the grocery store here which is Stop and Shop.  They are popular but the pricres are on the high side.  Then since they put the Trader Joes in I'm there weekly too and spend another $50 or so there.  But, I get the meat toppings to add to Willow and the cats food.  And, Willow likes those cookies they have shaped like couches and cats, etc. 

Then separately the cats all get dry/canned and fresh meats.  Willow gets prescription canned and another canned and fresh meats.  We have two birds who eat a high quality diet as well.  Then there are the snacks and treats for everyone.  Willow's yogurt and babyfood. 

I can't even add up the pet food bill I would need to go lay down!    Luckily, I don't spend much anywhere else.  I'm not a huge clothes shopper or into eating out or that sort of thing.  DH works on weekends so it's easy for me to not spend on Friday/Saturday nights. 

 I really couldn't give you an average I'm afraid - there are the two of us and beastie

DH is a splurger - if he goes shopping things I would never buy get bought and our food bill goes UP!

I am a bargain hunter and like others I buy when the deals are good and have a stock pile.  I also use Costco for things that keep.  Costco, Walmart and Harris Teeter (food store) are the staples.  I also use Trader Joe's, hispanic markets, farmer's market, and other local grocery stores for 'deals'.  I know the prices of the things I use and know when it truly is a good deal.  I think that is key

Jano lots of people find great deals from Amazon for some food items and that might help as they ship for free

My big problem with shopping is that I hate to cook.  HATE, HATE HATE it - with a passion.  So - I'm going for convenience every time and that costs more. There's just  no way I'm going to spend hours in the kitchen chopping *stuff* that I can buy already chopped. I did however actually make chicken enchiladas Saturday night and they came out really good.

Joyce

We average about $225 to $250 a week for a family of four.  That includes groceries, paper products, cleaning supplies and most cosmetic and health type stuff.  We have two boys, one teenager and one tweenager.  It's like living with two black holes that suck all the food out of the house as soon as I bring it in . . . 

 Thanks everyone. I think the next few times I go to the store I'm bringing a notebook and writing down the costs of all the "regular" stuff we get. That way I can compare the two stores, plus Amazon (which I had not thought of). I'm also going to look into the cost of chest freezers. Maybe I can find a used one on craigslist. I wish I had a walk-in pantry so I could store more "staples."

janobonano

  I wish I had a walk-in pantry so I could store more "staples."

We converted the  closet in the entry to a pantry and it works great.  It was always kind of disfunctional as a closet (grocery bags, hangers and other assorted useless stuff) so a friend ran shelves across from one side to the other and narrower shelves across  the sides for smaller cans and things.  Because the shelves don't come all the way to the front, there's room there for a big plastic bin of dog food and there's room under the bottom shelves for all the small kitchen appliances that take up counter space.  I don't know what I'd do without it now.

Joyce

If you have room for a book case in your kitchen, convert it to a shelving unit for goods, I did that for the longest time. I just hooked a piece of nice decorative material to the front of it to mask it.

I got my freezer at best buy for under $200, its a 7.2, I think the 5.0 was about $150 ish.

We spend way too much on groceries for two people (well over $100/week).  I'm a bargain hunter and coupon user, and I save a lot on household goods and non-food items.  However, I really dislike cooking.  DH loves to cook  -- he's quite a gourmet chef, IMO.  He does more of the grocery shopping for the meals he plans, but he won't use coupons or do price comparisons.  Although it's usually cheaper to do more cooking instead of buying prepared foods, that's not the case with some of the weird ingredients he buys.  I could do more of the grocery shopping and save more money, but that would mean I'd have to do more of the cooking, and that would make us both unhappy! 

When DH is out of town, I return to my single life food habits . . . lots of pasta and tuna salad.  Those weeks the grocery budget is much lower, but they don't offset the rest of the year!

There is DH, Riley, and me plus Charlie.  Here is the break-down.

Meat (I go to a butcher and buy in bulk) - ~$50 a month on average.  This includes chicken breasts, steaks, pork and ground beef.  We pretty much eat some kind of meat every night.

Groceries (this includes veggies, canned stuff, etc.) - $50/week

Other (paper towels, diapers, shampoo, etc.) - $20/week

Charlie - $20/month (he's small)

So for a month, we spend about $350 on average.  I cook usually 5 nights a week.  The key is to not buy pre-package food.  The only frozen food I buy is a couple Lean Cuisine's for lunch and Riley's chicken nuggets.  I make a list of all the meals for the week and write down everything and then only buy off the list - that's it.  If DH goes with me, our bill will literally triple with crap.  It's usually crap that you can't even eat!!  He is a sauce junky, will buy a $4.50/bottle of something use it once and in the fridge it goes.  Junk food is expensive too and he will load up.  That's not saying we don't have sweets, etc. but I make brownies/cookies instead of buying. 

Spaghetti sauce is a good example on how to save.  A jar of decent sauce can cost $4 - $5 (we have some here that are $7 - $8).  To make a pot of your own that will last at least two meals and can be used for other stuff, only costs $2.50 (two jars of tomatoes, two onions, garlic and seasoning).  Right there you saved almost $10 on just sauce for two meals!  Yogurt is another thing.  Riely eats yogurt every morning, DH was buying the little individual containers, well we switched to the one large container and dish it out and that saves us $2 a week.  I know it sounds like nickel and diming, but it does add up (apple sauce too).  Also, with dinner, we eat a salad with every meal.  Not only does it help to get in more (less expensive) veggies, but it fills you up so you don't need as much of the meat. 

I buy less expensive no brand things like paper towels, detergent, napkins, etc.  My sister and I compared.  She buys name brand everything for that stuff and the different was $20 a week. 

Yeah, I think I spend $50/week for me, two cats, and the dog.  I don't buy pre-packaged anything.  Laundry soap is likely my biggest cleaning expense as I use baking soda and dish soap for cleaning everything else.  Since I live alone, the food I make can last forever.  I don't spend a lot of time going from store to store, I follow the ads and get what I absolutely need and skip items that aren't on sale til they are.  I know Walmart is not less expensive on many things and they seldom have sales.  I don't waste my time belonging to Sam's because I don't think I should pay a membership fee to buy in massive packs that I don't have the storage for anyway.  I use coupons for individual items when I can, but often the coupons are for "buy 3 packs to get $1.00 off", though I don't need 3 of everything.  Or coupons are always for things I don't eat, like hotdogs, pre-packaged cookies, hamburger helper, etc.  I don't like soup all that much, don't eat lunch meat, don't like chips except occasionally.  I also shop once a week, plan meals ahead, so I don't have to stop during the week and be tempted to splurge.

It's tough out there, groceries have gone up so much and we have to eat.  They've got us either way.

I would be willing to send out kid food/juice/needs coupons to you ladies. I can also tell you where you can buy coupons for the stuff you need if you want.

Yes I buy coupons, what ever I pay is usually given back to me in savings easily.

I usually order them on Monday and have them in hand by the end of the week, this way I can plan my deals out.

If your interested in doing some coupon trains I would be willing to start it. If interested let me know.