In these parts (Wash State) the grocery deals just aren't what they used to be. The "sale" price is the old regular price. The boxes and packages are shrinking. A smoking deal on apples is $1.00 per pound. Last week the only items I bought at Fred Meyer were 2 whole pineapples ($2.00 each), 12 cans of soup (.34 each), 4 boxes stuffing (.29 each) and 2 cans of cranberry sauce (.99 each), and some bulk popcorn.
I just browsed the Fred Meyer ad for this week and my list is:
* chocolate chips $1.88 each plus I have a coupon for .50 off 2
* apples .98 per pound
Albertsons (I have 6 doubler coupons)
* 5 cans chicken noodle soup (DD is sick and requested)
* 3 12 packs Dr. Pepper (.67 each after coupon/doubler/catalina)
* 5 boxes chex cereal
So, I am pondering ideas to make the grocery budget stretch. Right now I am cooking up some hard boiled eggs. I have been freezing leftovers to take for work lunches later. Cooking at home as much as I can including snacks. Packing lunches.
Well, if money was tight I would skip the chocolate chips and the Dr. Pepper. I could make sugar cookies or snickerdoodles, and we would drink generic Kool-aid lemonade or iced tea, or even plain water.
But yeah, the price of everything has gone up. I rarely buy anything that's not on sale. And we don't have double coupons here, which makes it harder to get really good deals.
I grind my own beef. I was laid off in 2009 and was buying top round roast on sale for $1.69. Now it's $2.69 on sale. Chuck Roast last week tho was $4.99!! In 2009 I could get tons of coupons - now not so much. The only thing I'm excited about this week is turkeys are .59/lb limit of 2.
The Dr. Pepper was a great deal. Combo of sale ($3.67) plus I had three $1 off coupons and used 3 doublers plus I got a catalina back for $2.50. Can't beat it.
Didn't see the shredded cheese. I have a couple blocks of cheddar from when they were on for $3.99.
.59 sounds like a great price on turkey. Haven't seen any ads for turkey's yet. Hoping to buy a couple extra for the freezer this year.
Oh boy do I get it. I am constantly looking for a way to stretch the grocery dollar as sales and couponing ease has gone way down here. I've actually found lately that it's things like changing up what I buy/use has been more helpful and much less time consuming than digging deeper into the "find more" coupon deals. I still use them but I don't have the time to invest 10 or 20 hours a week into them.
Lately:
~ (Find the foods that have stayed more stable in price and use them more.)We've eaten a lot more carrots. The price on these hasn't fluctuated much. They are healthy and pretty inexpensive. We've always eaten carrots, they've just become a much more frequent ingredient or veggie side than they were.
~ (Try out new foods that you haven't tried before to replace some of your more expensive useuals.)I've started experimenting with different greens when they're on sale. Kale has stayed pretty cheap here. We never had it before. Lots of spinach and rapini (broccoli rabe) but not kale. Now kale shows up on the table as I experiment with new foods in an effort to get the most bang while still eating healthy.
~ (Find the seasonal items that are still getting decent prices.)Since it's in season pumpkin has been a good budget stretcher as well. If you get one of the huge pumpkins and cook it down it goes a LLLLLLOOOOONNNNGGGG way.
I totally get it as well. Rising prices, shrinking packages and not so great deals. Seems as though I've been changing things up all year.
At first it started off with Meatless Monday. Then a few months later I added Meatless Thursday. Recently I started adding an egg based dish as well. Things like quiches, casseroles, breakfast for dinner, etc. Specialty items are off the list for now so I'm constantly looking for new recipes and creative ways to use familiar ingredients because we like variety.
A few months ago we purchased a larger deep freeze so we could stock heavier. Meat sales are fewer and farther between these days but when they do come I stock heavily. I already had about 20 pounds of ground chuck but a couple months ago I found it on sale for $2.49 pound (haven't seen that price in years) and went and got another 20 pounds.
Aldi has shredded cheddar and mozzarella on sale 2 pounds for $5.98. That's .48 cheaper per pound than the big box store. Since both are something we eat on a consistent basis I decided to stock up heavily and got 24 pounds of cheddar and 16 pounds of mozzarella, hoping that would last us close to a year and if the sale comes again next year I can restock. It was a calculated move because I had to pull out about 30 pounds of boneless/skinless chicken breast from the deep freeze to make room for it all then spent the weekend pressure canning all the chicken. Which, in reality, works better for us since we aren't huge fans of fresh cooked breasts anyway.
Last Christmas I got two cases each of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom and Chicken soups for .60 per can and long expiration dates. I've used close to one case of the chicken and a few cans of the mushroom so if the sale comes around again this year I'll replace what I've used to keep my stock level up. If not, I still have enough for at least another year.
We have a small garden and tomatoes and some peppers are starting to come in but it will be a while before anything else does and I'm not sure what kind of yields we'll get. We're still in the early phase of the learning curve.
I've also been using the dehydrator a lot more in recent weeks. Potatoes and sweet potatoes come out really well so when I find them dirt cheap I load up. I've got 20 pounds right now waiting to go in.
Not sure what else I can do other than switch over to a full menu of rice and beans.
I have noticed this as well, so I was surprised to run into a couple of what is now good sales this weekend, Our King Soopers (Kroger) has Green Giant canned vegetables for .49 a can if you buy 10, and pasta for .69 a lb if you buy 10. This is where I'm noticing a lot of changes in the sales, where you have to buy a minimum amount to get the sale price. I saw an ad for Safeway for turkeys for $10.99 for a 16-20 lb turkey. I thought great, I'll go get one, when I get there, in fine print is "with a minimum purchase of $25".
Can someone tell me why these stores require a purchase of 10 items to get a good sale price?
I'm happy for those of you that can use 10 cans of whatever, but those of us that are single have a hard time with that. That's about a years supply not to even mention the space challenge of storing so many multiples.
I used to buy 10 of an item to get the 11th item free. Then, I discovered these items in the same add are interchangeable. I would get coupons spit out at me if i did buy a particular item in bulk though. These were "Save $2 dollars on your next shopping trip." So, I would let the kids quick pick out a gum or candy. For the soda, it was a little different. If a brand was on sale, like Pepsi, i could interchange other Pepsi products to meet my quota for the sale price. This helped keep everybody happy. i.e. Diet vs. Regular
I've tried making the suggestion to other singles and it hasn't been well received. With a Sam's Club next door, I think we could all save money. I would love to see a local co-op type of thing.
In part, I think it may be the result of most singles in this area do very little home cooking. Millions of restaurants and fast food places and that's where you find them. Eating at home is a sandwich for many. It's not a hugely important thing. I've learned to "luv" green beans.
Suebee when I was single my friend and I would split sales.. I did not need 5 lbs of ground chuck.. or 10 things or buy 1 get 1. also we split 10 bags of potatoes, oranges, onions..it helped because we shopped the same way..
amen to what everybody said..if it is not on sale we don't eat it....fresh veggies are what is on sale for week , no what beautiful asparagus, artichokes, and portabellas...
Suebee when I was single my friend and I would split sales.. I did not need 5 lbs of ground chuck.. or 10 things or buy 1 get 1. also we split 10 bags of potatoes, oranges, onions..it helped because we shopped the same way..
I've tried suggesting that to friends. No go. Maybe I need new friends. You are so right, tho'. A 10 lb bag of potatoes is so much cheaper but not if you throw half away.
I shop sales, too. No coupons because things I buy don't usually have coupons. I also shop store brands almost always with just a few exceptions. That saves.
The other way I save is by using lots of casseroles and things that can stretch the major items like meat. Soups, stews, chili. I don't often eat just plain meat as in a steak. Even roast...I might have one meal and the rest goes to my variety of "hash" or soup.
Larabelle had previously mentioned a fruit and vegetable co-op with significant savings from what I could gather. Here's a link:
Definately eat produce in season. Check to see if any produce is on managers special. I can usually find some produce each week that I shop. Today there were plantains on sale for 17 cents each. They were the really big ones also. So picked up three and they should last the next two weeks. I have only recently started cooking with them. They are a cheap alternative for me since I can't eat potatoes. So maybe you can try something you never tried before. Now I am big on kale, collard greens, brocolli rabe, etc., especially when they are on sale or in season. Didn't grown up eating these or even trying them. But am happy that I have a larger idea on what produce to buy. One of these days I will try the celery root.
Also try to keep the amount of processed food I purchase to a minimum. My biggest vise is the chocolate chips that I purchase which are gluten, soy, dairy free, or plantain chips. With the soda maybe you can look into making your own if your family is a large soda drinking family or cutting down the amount used.
I have containers that I use to make sure I use up 99% of what I bring home. Having that bag or container in the freezer for little bits and pieces of produce really does help to flavor a broth. When I was young didn't think twice about throwing out a quarter of an onion. Now that gets put in a plastic container and used up the rest of the week.
For me the biggest way to get more bang for your buck is to purchase whole foods and staying away from as much processed foods as possible. Shopping the perimeter of the store really does help. For me the less processed food I eat the less I actually eat.
Last week Fred Meyer had the satsumas on for sale but they didn't actually have any :lol: We are still working thru a huge box of apples I bought for $8 (great deal), pineapples that were on for $2 last week, and some frozen blueberries.
~It is getting harder and harder to find the economical foods and what's more, making them tasty.
October was the 4th month in a row that I spent 25-35% over my food budget. Overall fro the year we are now 10% over budget. This has never happened before in the 12 years I've been budgeting groceries.
We do not eat a bunch of extras or gourmet items. Besides the astronomical inflation, the items that were frugal in NJ aren't as frugal here. I'm still trying to figure out what ingredients are the most stable at lower prices. Honestly, I spend a lot of time scouring the ads and the stores when I go out and I'm beginning to think there are only a handful out here. Cereal and milk tend to be fairly cheap fairly often but we rarely eat cereal and I limit milk for the kids due to the chemicals, additives and hormones, etc.
I started my meal cost challenge project thread for precisely this reason. I need to carefully re-examine the way I make my recipes and make new ones with a clear price per meal attached. I really think I'll start seeing our spending go down this way.
For last night's dinner, I made a huge splurge, lasagna. Half had a bit of cooked burger and half had spinach. I also made 2 loaves of french bread to go with it. Combined with a half stick of butter, this meal serves my family dinner twice. Cost per meal is $4.50. The only reason I got it this low was buying everything as a loss leader and swapping out ricotta for cottage cheese. In NJ I could get my ricotta for $1(and mozzarella for $1.50-$2lb!). I had to pay nearly $2 for cottage and the ricotta was nearly $4. And I shopped for a decent sale for months before I realized my recipe would need to be the thing that changed.
So new soup and bean recipes are in my plan as well as more calculations for my recipes and a list of possible substitutions. It is frustrating as a cook to be so restricted in what I make by the prices.
I really, really, really can't understand how anyone out here eats decent beef. A good roast is never less than $5lb. To feed an average family would be be a $15 meal with sides. A steak meal will run you closer to $25. Sure it's cheaper than eating out but for a median wage earner in the US, you're working an hour a day(net) just for dinner.
We just have to keep brainstorming, learning, changing the way we do and make things to keep the runaway prices more in step with our budgets. I'm looking forward to the first of the year when I adopt the new budget and I can raise our food budget to $350 month. My DS now eats more than I do and my older dd as much as I do. They've doubled their appetites in the last year. It's incredible to see how they are growing by leaps and bounds. But I really feel it in the food budget. :/ ~
I use whatever coupons I can find and use the product. I especially look at the red coupon machine that hangs on the shelf in front of the food. Today Publix had Red Gold tomatoes on sale 10 for $10 and they had $1 off two in the red coupon machine. So I got 8 cans for 50 cents each. I still watch for the BOGO's and stock up on those. Florida doesn't double coupons so that's out.
I mostly work the meals around whatever I have gotten on sales like everyone else. I've come to the conclusion that it is what it is and all we can do is do the best we can. Like someone else said, unless we all go to entirely beans and rice. Not ready for that unless it's a have to. Although we HAVE had chicken beans and yellow rice a bit lately. Luckily we like it.
Last week I picked up Libbys canned veggies for 50 cents a can. Cheapest I have seen yet this fall. I only got 18 cans, as I had already bought some canned veggies at Aldis when I thought it was the cheapest I could find a few weeks back.
Today I was in Sav A Lot and got 8 cans of broth at 50 cents each to add to the stockpile. I figured we better try a few before I bought a larger amount. Works good in soups and stews.
I did buy a unplanned purchase of a smoked ham with bone in. It was already cooked. At 99 cents a pound, I figured with waste it was still a good deal. It weighed about 7.5 pounds. After I got it off the bone after supper, the waste was 2.5 pounds and what was meat was close to 5 pounds. So 5 pounds into $ 7.50. Not too bad. So it came to approximately $ 1.50 a pound for meat. More than a few meals to be sure. I also put the fat into the frig and maybe will grind it tomorrow for the chickens. I was going to give the puppy the bone, but too much fat still on it. I thought about throwing it into a pot with some beans, but the thought of all that fat just doesn't sit well with me. Maybe I can put it into the pressure cooker and turn it into mush. Thinking chicken food again. Can't waste food
I was pricing beef suet the other day and saw it was 1.69 a pound. We like to have some on hand for the wild birds. Good thing we still have some left in the freezer from last year.
Just not seeing bargains on food. This time of year, there should be some, but they are few and far between.
I picked 11 lbs of ground chuck and made 2 lasagnas,1 bag of spaghetti sauce, 2 bags of meat ball, and 2 taco pasta.
for 26
2 cottage cheese on sale 4
2 provolone used 1 and opened the other to get 2 pieces out ( the dog stole the rest) 6
4 cans of spaghetti sauce 4
1 bag of mozzerella 8
2 cream cheese 2. on sale
green onion 1
2 jars of salsa
2 cans of Mexican tomatoes
1 pk of cheddar 8
67 dollars not including what I already had.7 large meals with leftovers. for 9.55 a meal not including what I already had so 10 bucks a meal..not great but tasty
10 lbs of chicken leg quarters cooked and de boned 7.48 made 5 bags at 1.4444 a bag
5 lbs of of chicken breast boneless cooked on the George Forman for 10 3 bags for 3.33
so it is not easy 15 meals for around 95 bucks not bad.....could have been better but groceries just keep going up.
u have to stradegize to get your best bargain..I am sure some u could have done better than I did..
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Frugal Village Forums
1.8M posts
47.4K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to the frugal lifestyle and the enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about simple and green living, cost effective tips, life hacks, debt reduction, recycling, gardening, other homesteading techniques, and more!