how to get started

[Lisac]

Hello all. Groceries have always been my downfall. I find that if I try to cut back on cost, dh ends up going out and buying more food to fill in (he'll get hungry and run out for a snack type of thing) How do you decided how much your grocery bill will be? I am spending $150-200 every week for 4 people, (2 adults, 8 year old, 2 year old) I feel so lost. I know I could do better but I am overwhelmed (not just in this area which is why I signed up to FV )

Any suggestions on getting started would be helpful

TIA

Lisa

[Ashley01]

I need to start meal planning to looking forward to this thread!

[sunshine]

I started by figuring out EXACTLY how much I was spending on only food for a pay period (for me , it's 2 weeks). . . then I tracked exactly what that money bought (meats, eating out, produce, bakery goods, beverages, snacks, etc.) Then I figured out how to cut back in each area, without my family feeling deprived. (yes, it can be done!).

I searched on line, and in library cookbook sections for frugal recipes, depression era cooking, recipes from tthe 50's etc. and incorporated some of those recipes into our meal plans.

And we planned our meals so we didn't resort to take-out, or stopping at the store for pricey steaks, when I had good hamburger, etc. at home.

[sunshine]

And if eating out is a big thing for your family - search online for coupons for your favorite places,etc.

[Dancing Lotus]

My budget was 100 a week for a family like yours plus a large dog. Her food counts. My goal is to get it to 60 by shopping loss leaders matching with coupons.

Start today.
Survey your kitchen, what can you make with what you have on hand? Maybe you only need to buy a few things to complete meals. If your like me pay day is this friday so I need dinner for tonight and tomorrow, so the real fun begins on friday.

If you dont' have todays paper go out and get it. The new adds for publix and winndixie are in todays paper. There is a 5 dollars off 30 in the publix add. Now look at those adds and see what you can find on sale. If something is half off or more and it's an item your family will eat STOCK up on it. Look for online coupons to match to it. There are many sights to help you with this.
These are the items you will use to plan next weeks meals. This my new friend is where you start

My kids have all the snacks they could want because every week I buy all the buy one get one snack items that I have coupons for and I buy 4.

[krbshappy71]

I picked a number that sounded reasonable and made myself stick to it. If we easily stayed under that number I bumped the number down just a bit the next month by removing a couple more items that weren't necessities.

Things that we found easy to cut out without feeling deprived:

Tacos used to be: Salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, hard and soft options, guacamole, chicken or beef, chopped lettuce, chopped tomatoes, black olives, etc.

Tacos are now: hard OR soft, not both, no sour cream (extra fattening anyhow) no olives (high-sodium anyhow) homemade salsa or none, no guacamole unless avocados are on a super-sale and its homemade, one meat not both offered, and instead of chopped lettuce/tomatoes we may have a side-salad offered which is more filling than throwing some shredded lettuce in taco that just falls out.

Basically get creative with yourself. We still love tacos, they are just scaled down to meet the budget. If we want to go all out for tacos one time its all that more special and we scale down a different meal to make up the difference.

Best wishes!! Oh, and spank hubby for not following the plan, this is a team effort.

[Lisac]

Oh, and spank hubby for not following the plan, this is a team effort

I gave up on this years ago.... he was raised in a frugal home so he rebels big time!!!! I keep working on him though, sometimes it's more successful than others.

Thank you so much for the suggestions. Dh's next paycheck is next week so my plan is to menu plan out meals from what I have and then work on budgeting out an amount from there for the next pay period. I used to menu plan and it worked out great, but like a lot of things, I've let them slide. Trying to just in general get home self together.

Thanks again,
Lisa

[Russ]

Casseroles! I think they are your best bet for a filling cheap meal.

[oheoh's momma]

You may have hard work ahead of my hubby and his children hate the words thrifty and frugal. Try a loose meal plan for example Sunday grill Mon leftovers, Tuesday Pasta ,Wed Veggie, Thurs Ground chuck, Fri Junk hot dogs fries, pizza ect And Sat Chicken
Work with what you have plan breakfasts, lunches and snacks Work with sales papers and menu plan. For example chicken leg quarters 49 alb make grilled chicken Sunday the next Sat chicken casserole. good luck.

[OOwl]

That was exactly the same reason I came to FV, because of my too-high grocery bill. Being an avid cook, I was also spending up to $200 a week for four people (and up to 8 on weekends when family always comes over), feeding three Paul-Bunyan-type appetites, as well. It just seemed too high. The hints here and recipes have really helped. Now I spend $120 a week (often less), stock up when prices are low, and cook to what fresh ingredients are on sale that week. That also includes all my cleaning, paper, laundry, and OTC healthcare items, as well. I imagine it could go lower, but one of the reasons I became debt free was to be able to bless my family, so I cook and send home "to-go" boxes to my adult children and for friends that have less, so I have no plans to pare down the budget any more than it already is. I wish you well on your quest to lower your grocery budget. There are some fantastic resources here to help you do just that.

[sunshine]

You may have hard work ahead of my hubby and his children hate the words thrifty and frugal.

Maybe they'd prefer "cheap"?

[Lisac]

It's not that my dh is adverse exactly. I've been on and off frugally minded since we got married, he just likes to eat and so he feels deprived if a meal isn't a good one in his eyes. Maybe I am not explaining it accurately. He loves Dave Ramsey and he agrees with the concepts but has trouble applying them, but then again so do I at times!!

He would love for us to spend less on groceries but he has a huge appetite!!!

I am going to start with menu planning, that has worked in the past for me. The other thing, as I analyze my situation is that I need to try to go shopping less often so I am not buying extras, worse yet, when dh ends up runnning out to the store he buys things I wouldn't etc.

A good place to start, I will definitely keep my progress posted because I feel more accountable putting it out there instead of just making notes in my notebook!!

[pollypurebred39]

Lisac, I think my Dh and yours must be related. *grins* One of the things I started doing was having pasta salad, potato salad, quick breads, muffins and such in the fridge. Pancakes & waffles in the freezer. Anytime he's hungry and wants a snack it's in there. On the healthier side I have cut up vegetables & dip, cut up fruit, homemade bean burritos, and salad fixings like hard boiled eggs, cubed cheese, tomato wedges, sliced cucumbers, croutons and several homemade dressings.

When I was growing up my Grandmother always had a pot of soup, a full cookie jar and a pie or cake in the fridge. That way no matter which one of her kids, grandkids, neighbors or repair men even, dropped by there was always something to munch on, and she always had a full house.

As far as home baking, buy flours and sugar in bulk. Far cheaper. Look for a food thrift store and stock up on pasta & canned goods. Having a DEEP pantry will keep your food budget down, and will keep really good meals hitting your table.

[oheoh's momma]

He does not like that word either lol

[sunshine]

He does not like that word either lol

I didn'nt think so!

Seriously, just use words like retro, ethnic, comfort foods, etc. instead. Just use recipes that don't break the budget.