I would love to join in on the grocery challenge. But I have no idea how to start. I have a family of 6,dh and I and a 15dd,13ds,7ds and 2.5 dd. I would love to just spend a $100. a week but I spend about $150. or so. This doesnt include dishsoap,laundry soap,paper products. Can anyone give me their tips or maybe there is a post about this someone can direct me to,on how to spend less. Thank you :0)

For me, it's about having a good stockpile, watching for good loss leaders and growing a large garden.

I'm always adding to my stockpile. When I see a good loss leader, I purchase has much has I can. For instance, tp was on sale for $5.98 (12 double rolls) so I bought 3 packages and I'm going to purchase another 3. That may not sound like a good sale for you, however I live in Canada. Prices are much higher. Loss leaders are the front page of your local flyer.

I don't use many coupons because we don't get many coupons in Canada and those we do get aren't normally for things I buy.

I also have 2 large gardens. I freeze and can as much as I can during the growing season. I don't have to purchase many veggies until early spring. My potatoes lasted until Jan. this year and would have lasted longer except we had a very mild winter and my partial basement didn't stay cool enough. I make all my own jams/jellies.

I also cook from scratch. I purchase grain in 50 lb. bags and grind it myself. I buy in bulk when the price is cheaper. Sometimes it isn't, however I get 20% off the price of my grain when I purchase 50 lbs. or more. All organic.

We are a family of 5 with 3 teens in the house. I don't include pet foods in my grocery amounts.

This is my biggest challenge by far, each month. I am trying to get a stockpile in place, that should help. I usually average $500/mo, including paper products,pet food, personal care, etc.. I am using more coupons, shop at Aldi when I can (a bit of a drive away)...
I do cook from scratch, but not to the degree of scratch as some others - I don't use boxed and processed but I also don't make homemade pasta, etc. I do try to use a lot of fruits and veggies, which can be pricey. I like to buy some organic stuff when on sale.
Good luck, this is a mission for me to get the bill down.

For me, it's about having a good stockpile, watching for good loss leaders and growing a large garden.

Most of this holds true for me too, except the garden. We didn't have one this year. I do watch for loss leaders. If they have something we use or need I stock up as much as I can afford. I believe in a good stockpile. This will also get you through when there is a shortage on money.

Cook from your pantry to use the foods you have on hand. I also cook from scratch as much as possible.

Use up your leftovers. We sometimes have a leftover night to clean out the fridge. This keeps us from tossing good food out the door. You can also freeze the leftovers into tv dinners. When someone wants a quick lunch/meal, just take it out of the freezer and pop it into the microwave.

I do use coupons when I can. I haven't used them as much as I used to lately because there really hasn't been any good ones or ones we use. To make your trip even better, combine coupons with loss leaders and you can get items for free or next to free.

I am sure others will have even more ideas for you to use. Good luck on your new adventure.

Stockpiling is the way to go. Match those coupons and sales and stock up!

It's hard when you see the prices people pay in less expensive areas or a different country.

Your area will be different from all the rest of our areas. All of us have good areas to save in, but the totals will be different even when we are each getting the maximum possible savings for our area and our family size (and things like teenagers really bump up the volume of the food you need to buy).

So don't feel bad if you've been comparing.

Like the others above:
Shop the sales
to fill the pantry and freezer with the stuff you use all the time. Obviously the biggest savings will come by buying sales on the stuff you use the most of. Which leads to my next point:

Making a price book.
As above, the biggest savings come from spotting good sales on your top used items. So only track the top 20 or 30 items. KEEP IT SMALL OR YOU WON"T DO THIS!!! (voice of experiance) For example milk in my area rarely goes on sale so I don't bother tracking it. I track meat for the freezer, bread ditto, and pantry items. Produce varies seasonally and I just buy according to season and the best sales but pretty much at the lowest price store. Which is my next point:

Find your lowest price overall store and make it your base of operations. You do your big shop there, and only go to the other stores if they are on your way, and if they have a super deal on canned soup or fresh strawberries. That is called cherry picking and it means you only go to the more expensive stores for one or two items.

Find outlets such as day old bread stores and buy there, stocking your freezer with day olds.

Stock your freezer with meat, but get it on the super low discounted sale prices, and not by the quarter. Usually there is more waste on a quarter, and you pay more per lb for cuts you don't use much of. I prefer to get my steaks and ground beef and chops etc on the super lowest prices I can. I can buy what we actually need rather than be stuck with a bunch of cuts we don't use.

Go vegetarian even a couple of nights a week. Beans in a crockpot are easy to cook from dry, and much cheaper than canned. Tofu goes on sale and is rather nice if frozen in a marinade, in "steaks" or cubes, then stir fried or bbqd.

Use your crockpot. Not only does it save energy dollars but it saves time and tenderizes the cheapest cuts of meat into meltingly delicious meals that you can cut with a fork, let alone a knife.

Shop less: That may mean once a week, or once a payday. Dh is paid every two weeks, so that is my big shop. At my cheap store, which I learnt to find by using a price book listing my top stuff that I buy. Now that is easier to manage if you do one or two more things:

Menu planning: This isn't a set in stone plan, this is a general list of meals you could make from stuff you have on hand, to last the pay period.

It shows you if you need more cream of mushroom soup than you currently have in the pantry, or more curry powder or onions.

It is simply to stop you from having to keep going back to the store.

Use a list of your own recipes, and only try one or two new ones if you are in the mood.

Otherwise keep it simple and stick to your own tried and true (TNT). You can always change your mind. Tape the list up and as you pick one for tonight, cross it off the list. Tomorrow choose from what's left.

Have a sort of permanent produce list:
Mine goes like this, on payday we have spinach salad, then green salad and as the days go by, I move into the carrots and cucumbers that last a bit better.

Use your perishable stuff first, and your hardier fruits and veggies last. So by payday, the day or two before, you are down to coleslaws, clean out the fridge soups etc.

Yes.. another good tip is the crockpot. The cheapest, strangest cuts of meat that I would have no idea how to make will turn out fabulously in the crockpot!

Thank you I got some really good tips.:)

The other ladies have all given great advice. I strongly agree about building a stockpile. It saves us so much money.

I think my biggest $$$ saver is couponing and only buying food that are on sale....goes along with the stockpiling idea. Of course there are somethings that i just cant always get on sale (like cat food, but i buy the cheapest generic and that seems to suit us fine) 99% of the time, if there isnt a sale on something we need, i buy the generic...saves a ton of $$

Oh, paper products are almost always more expensive at the grocery store...i try to get ours at Sams' Club (although it is a bit of a drive and i have to plan my trip accordingly

I love coupons....i usually match up the coupons to the sale prices...i go through the ad and see if i have a coupon...doubles the savings :)