Where do I begin to figure out grocery budget?

[KenLynn]

Hi,

We are only 2 adults in our family. We used to have a food budget for $600 a month, with some left overs for the next month. Now we are down to $400, and according to some posts that is still to high. I have tried different angles to this. My last angle is buying for 2 weeks at once.. then saving some money aside for fresh produce, especially fruit the next week. I cook about 80% from scratch. Maybe its a calculating error. In the one week I bought $100 of groceries, but some of it is left over for the 2nd week. Am I calculating right? We currently don't need to be living on beans and soup every night. But prefer more than just sauce on you spagetti noodles. Is it really a choice of preference? I could not tell you if prices here are high our not. In Alberta they are about 20-50 cents more than my old home town in Ontario. All I can give you is examples. A roast is $20 ++, super pack of ground beef is $9-12 lean ( which I know is cheap) Kecthup no name would be $2 for a 1 litre. Bagles at the IGA is $5 or Walmart $3.50. We only have 2 grocery store. A preseidents choice ( I refuse to buy meat there its always green.. and people have been sick on it) and a walmart. Coupons here a rarety. Can somebody take me under there wing? I felt pretty confident at $400 but now I am not so sure. Our small pantry is full of basics and our freezer is full also. Thanks,

Lynn

[monkeywrangler71]

Hi,

We are only 2 adults in our family. We used to have a food budget for $600 a month, with some left overs for the next month. Now we are down to $400, and according to some posts that is still to high.

Most of the people posting are in the US, where food costs are considerably less and where there are rebate programs and coupon doubling. Many of the amounts posted are not feasible outside of the US. $400 a month is not overly excessive in Canada. My budget is $400, I'm in Ontario where food is relatively cheap, but that includes some luxuries.

I have tried different angles to this. My last angle is buying for 2 weeks at once.. then saving some money aside for fresh produce, especially fruit the next week. I cook about 80% from scratch. Maybe its a calculating error. In the one week I bought $100 of groceries, but some of it is left over for the 2nd week. Am I calculating right?

In the second week did you also spend $100? Or did you spend less because you had leftovers from the week before? Try averaging it out over the month.

We currently don't need to be living on beans and soup every night. But prefer more than just sauce on you spagetti noodles. Is it really a choice of preference? I could not tell you if prices here are high our not. In Alberta they are about 20-50 cents more than my old home town in Ontario. All I can give you is examples. A roast is $20 ++, super pack of ground beef is $9-12 lean ( which I know is cheap) Kecthup no name would be $2 for a 1 litre. Bagles at the IGA is $5 or Walmart $3.50. We only have 2 grocery store. A preseidents choice ( I refuse to buy meat there its always green.. and people have been sick on it) and a walmart. Coupons here a rarety. Can somebody take me under there wing? I felt pretty confident at $400 but now I am not so sure. Our small pantry is full of basics and our freezer is full also. Thanks,

Lynn

Are your pantry and freezer full of stuff that you are actually using, or do you continue to buy while food sits unused? Do you plan your meals ahead of time (either loosely or strictly) and shop with a list? Or do you buy willy nilly and then look into a full fridge and think there is nothing to eat?

Planning ahead is the single best way to reduce the grocery expenses. Watch the sales, and join a forum that will let you know what coupons are available in your area. Try www.frugalshopper.ca/phpbb2/index.php , it's an all Canadian site that posts all the best deals and coupons.

And skip the bagels, that's really expensive.

[Dancing Lotus]

Are you in Canada? If so that may be the different.

[Jessi4805]

I've personally never used this site but have heard about it for coupons in Canada. save.ca

I would watch for sales on non-perishables and stock up when you can. If you're willing, sometimes canned or frozen fruits and veggies can be cheaper then fresh.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I do my vast majority of shopping at Superstore now. All of the meat that I've gotten from there, even the 50% off stuff, has been of good quality.

This is how I do my budget, since we live in the same province.

I have four people in my family. I look at who will be home on each day and what I can make for those meals that's the cheapest and healthiest for us. I do a meat, a side dish and a vegetable (and if possible, an alternative to the veggie since DS #1 hates vegetables). I make out the menu and I look at what I have on hand that I can use in that menu, then I put on the menu what I need to buy to complete it. I either buy double on purpose and make enough for leftovers, or I will buy enough for one meal for the four of us. I look at what's on sale as far as meat goes, make my meals around that and try to use what is in the stockpile.

I went from spending $800/mo at Safeway to $400/mo at Superstore for the four of us. That goes up and down, based on the time of year and whether I feel like making leftovers that week or not.

I'd simply look at the meats you eat the most each week and make the menu, coming up with the most budget friendly items you can get that you both enjoy. If I know that a certain meal won't be in budget for those two weeks, I'll make something else that's cheap but we all still love.

[elphie]

The best way to stretch a food budget is to be sure you have a variety of foods, including homemade bread at each meal. We used to think of spaghetti as a meal in itself because it contains all the food groups we would normally eat at supper. Now we eat homemade garlic rolls, baked or fried potatoes, and vegetable such as salad or green beans with it so we need fewer noodles, meat, and sauce. Frozen and fresh vegetables are really cheap as are poatatoes, and we keep potato bread dough in the fridge all the time that we can use in a variety of ways including breadsticks, rolls, loaves, pizza crust, and cinnamon rolls. I don't know how low you can get your budget, as I'm in the states, but I know these simple tools can help.

[ladykemma2]

i have gotten a lot better but not as good as some of the ninjas on here.

i find that if i look over what is already in pantry, and plan meals around that, shop with a list, and use a calculator as i shop i stay under budget.

i try not to get a "complex" about what some people say they spend, because grocery rates are different in different areas. i also include HBAs and pet supplies in the weekly food budget.

recently tried shopping every two weeks, which is working for me. saved thirty bucks.

coupons are worthless to me. i work 12 hours days so do not have time to bake bread or shop loss leaders. a trip to walmart, that's it!

[HappyMama]

The best way to stretch a food budget is to be sure you have a variety of foods, including homemade bread at each meal. We used to think of spaghetti as a meal in itself because it contains all the food groups we would normally eat at supper. Now we eat homemade garlic rolls, baked or fried potatoes, and vegetable such as salad or green beans with it so we need fewer noodles, meat, and sauce. Frozen and fresh vegetables are really cheap as are poatatoes, and we keep potato bread dough in the fridge all the time that we can use in a variety of ways including breadsticks, rolls, loaves, pizza crust, and cinnamon rolls. I don't know how low you can get your budget, as I'm in the states, but I know these simple tools can help.

We do the same type of things.

Hope would you mind sharing your potato dough recipe. It sounds wonderful.

Thanks

[elphie]

We do the same type of things.

Hope would you mind sharing your potato dough recipe. It sounds wonderful.

Thanks

No problem! I'm gonna put it in a new thread though as some have pm'ed me and I'm not sure all who would enjoy this will look in this thread.

ETA: I posted the recipe in the food forum under the bread sub-forum. HTH!

[KenLynn]

Thanks everybody that replied. I read everything and muled it over. I finally for the first time made a menu based on my pantry. I saved about $100. My goals was to go down to $175 and I did it. Even with a few house necessities and haba stuff. I did a mini stock pile also. WOW I can't believe it. I know part of my success was for meat all I bought was ground beef. I am learing that empty cupboards are not the end of the world, 2 days before grocery day. And yes I have always been the type to have a full fridge, freezer and pantry and call it empty.

Thanks guys!!

[Ceashels]

Great job meeting your goal. Keep up the good work as it does pay off.

[misscas]

You must be in a high cost of living area. Here you can get 1lb of chicken or steak for $4 at Walmart. Fish is about the same price. Serve with a rice dish and veggie. You will have leftovers for lunch the next day if it's just two of you.

I am single and spend $150 a month for groceries.