trimming down the grocery list, have you done it?

[DeltaBond]

My list of "I'm not buying this anymore" is almost as long as my normal grocery list now.  Have any of you cut things out of your regular shopping list due to inflation?

Simply Oranges - they started making the containers 52oz when they were 59oz before, same price.  I noticed because my coupon wouldn't work.

Hand soap - just cut this one out to trim down on the bill, I use the dish soap now.

K-cups - I changed to a melitta filter and the reusable filter for when I use the crummy Keurig we were given.  The original reusable cup broke, of course.

muffin cups - crisco and flour work just as good, trying to cut down on the bill, as I make oatmeal muffins very regularly.

frozen lunches - not only did I stop buying these, but I emailed every single company about their decreased, and now laughable, portion size, and charging the same price.  There is no point in buying these any more.

granola bars - as I mentioned, I make oatmeal muffins (no flour) now, and I wrote these companies, as well, because they decreased the size of the granola bars to barely more than a bite.  What is the point in buying those?

woolite for darks - I just stopped buying black clothes so I wouldn't need this anymore

dog treats - when I do buy these, I really spread them out now, so they aren't a regular shopping item

I know I'm forgetting some things, but even after all of this, I feel we're spending a lot on groceries still.  I also don't stop buying something without also letting the company know why.  That can help them understand that they aren't fooling people, and my hope it that it will stop the prices of things from increasing so frequently.

[DeltaBond]

OMG, there’s no way I could list what I don’t buy...um...most things??

Things I’ve stopped buying in the past year or so:

-Packets or jars of spices: 40c at Bulk Barn vs $4.50 for packets of spices at the grocery store??? Insane. The dollar store glass jar costs less than the bag of cumin.

Oh, yeah, that's what I meant, things you used to buy, but decided to stop... and is Bulk Barn a store, or website?  I need to switch! lol

[nereo]

OMG, there’s no way I could list what I don’t buy...um...most things??

Things I’ve stopped buying in the past year or so:

-Packets or jars of spices: 40c at Bulk Barn vs $4.50 for packets of spices at the grocery store??? Insane. The dollar store glass jar costs less than the bag of cumin.

Oh, yeah, that's what I meant, things you used to buy, but decided to stop... and is Bulk Barn a store, or website?  I need to switch! lol

In the US I use Penzey’s and World Spice Merchants. Both do most of their business as mail-order but also have brick-and-mortar stores in a handful of places. Buying spices at the grocery store is like buying your produce at 7-eleven; technically doable but you’ll typically pay through the nose for much lesser quality.  I can’t stress the increase in quality ordering from these places - the potency is such much greater for a lot of recipes I’ve been able to go back to the stated recipe quantity or in some cases actually reduce is by 1/3. Prices are often less than half what my grocery sells in 2oz jars.

I avoid all spice mixes (Yuuuuge markup) and skip the glass jars (which add weight and price

[Brother Esau]

Pre MMM the DW and I routinely spent over $200/week on groceries. Post MMM we average $80 - $90/ week. Not great but waaaay better. Stocking up when things are on sale, buying in bulk, buying store brands, etc.

[DeltaBond]

Nereo thank you, looks like I found a new place to get spices, lol, those are awesome.

I definitely buy a lot more store brands now, yes.

[Rubic]

Cooking a whole chicken in the pressure cooker.  Makes several
meals.

[flower_girl]

What really slashes our grocery bill is growing the majority of our own fruit, vegetables, nuts and berries and keeping our own free range laying hens for their lovely eggs.   Having a diet based around a lot of fresh vegetables in something I really enjoy anyway.

I also freeze, store correctly, dehydrate or can/bottle our surplus produce.

This has allowed us to cut our grocery bill by two thirds.

That said I believe health and fitness is more important than making/saving money so I splash out on fresh fish every week, including salmon, which is quite expensive.  I also pay good money for quality extra-virgin olive oil and don't use cheap/nasty/unhealthy oils.  I cut in a lot of other areas though.

-Limited amounts of red meat and milk products (milk, cheese etc).

-Very limited amounts of juice, soda etc (we drink water 90% of the time instead).

-Buying the home or house brands. I find I often prefer those anyway. Usually I buy a small amount to try it but they often become my preference anyway.

-Making my own muesli bars, muffins and similar instead of buying them.  I make much cheaper and healthier versions.

- Making my own sauces if we want them.  Sauces are actually really easy to make most of the time.

- I always dilute shampoos, detergents etc 50/50 with water.  They work better and go further.

-I find a squirt of basic detergent or disinfectant in a bucket of hot water cleans most things perfectly well so I don't buy a whole lot of fancy cleaning products.

-I keep a good pantry of supplies so that most times I am only buying things when they are on sale at discounted prices instead of having to pay full price because I need them.

[11ducks]

I would try to work in the other direction-instead of starting with a big list and trimming, start with a blank list.

Do a cupboard stocktake and plan meals around that, adding must-have ingredients to a shopping list. Rather than getting products 1-10 because you always do, critically evaluate them- is there a cheaper/healthier option? Are they actually needed for health/nutrition/calories, or are you just in the habit of purchasing them?

[OtherJen]

Not sure this exists everywhere, but in our area there is a mexican line of spices that the mainstream groceries carry that are much cheaper than the main spice section -- they are in the mexican foods section, and most packages are .99.  Still more than buying bulk, but good in a pinch when you are out of cumin, paprika, etc. that you need for tonight's dinner (I have a spouse who forgets to tell me when he uses up the stuff in the spice container.....)

Mi Costenita? Definitely a good option. Our local Mexican grocers carry a good range of their products and they’re reasonably priced.

I also second the recommendation of Penzey’s. We buy most of our bulk herbs/spices and extracts from them.

We also don’t buy canned beans (I cook up a pound of beans in the pressure cooker every week) or shredded cheese. Staples come from Aldi or Costco whenever possible.

[seattlecyclone]

I agree that bulk spices are totally the way to go. If your typical supermarket doesn't carry them, try your local food co-op. Even if most of the stuff in the store is the super expensive local organic free range fair trade cage free gluten free vegan food that you might never think of buying because of the price, the bulk spices will still be less than half the price of what you'll pay for one of the little jars at most stores.

[okits]

Gosh, I can't think of anything I've stopped buying due to shrinking package sizes (which, I agree, is sneaky).  I mean, some inflation is expected in all prices, isn't it?  I'd prefer they raise prices on the same size of package than reduce the size but keep the price the same, but price hikes seem normal to me.  At most I'll only buy certain things on sale if I think the regular price is unreasonable.

[Monkey Uncle]

My grocery bill is pretty frightening, so I probably don't have any business giving advice.  But here are a couple of quick thoughts.

-Sauces: no meat = no more marinade/bbq sauces. Good grief sauces are expensive!

Marinades and BBQ sauces are very easy and cheap to make yourself, and your homemade version will be way better than the sugar, preservative, and salt-laden crap that you get from the store.

-Salad greens: I simply dislike eating wet leaves and I’ve finally allowed myself to stop trying

Dry them off with a salad spinner and store them in a Ziploc bag with a paper towel.  Leave the bag zipper open a small crack.  Result: nice dry, fresh, non-wilted salad greens that will last in the fridge for at least a week.

-Salad dressing: no salad, no dressing, which is great since they’re also stupid expensive sauces

The Good Seasons packets are very inexpensive.  Add your own inexpensive oil, vinegar, and water.  Takes about one minute.

[Ebrat]

There are quite a few things we make from scratch now instead of buying prepared. Hummus, pizza, bread, salad dressing (we just do olive oil and vinegar), cocoa powder instead of hot chocolate packets, granola. All so much tastier and cheaper than prepared. Also stopped buying "diet" products and frozen meals (they taste gross anyway).

[nereo]

There are quite a few things we make from scratch now instead of buying prepared. Hummus, pizza, bread, salad dressing (we just do olive oil and vinegar), cocoa powder instead of hot chocolate packets, granola. All so much tastier and cheaper than prepared. Also stopped buying "diet" products and frozen meals (they taste gross anyway).

Shortly after finishing college I had a series of “Eurkea’ moments when I discovered that not only could I make all these things that most people just reflexively buy, but my homemade versions were cheaper, healthier and tastier.

I love making common food items that >90% of people never consider making themselves.

[ambimammular]

canned beans
canned tomatoes
jarred salsa
jarred jalapenos
premade humus
premade pesto
bread

I can my own tomatoes and salsa with 2nds from the farmers market. I freeze homemade pesto and jam.
Bread isn't so hard, and everyone likes it better fresh.

[DeltaBond]

Thank you, everyone, for responding.  This has been one of those years that we all hope never happens... the local economy in my area has changed rapidly, and all of the locals are having a really hard time regrouping and coming up with ways to make ends meet.... ends that used to just overlap each other, ha ha.  So returning to the grocery strategies has been helpful.

Sadly, we are having to look at the option of moving to a cheaper place to live... but it is good to practice frugal habits anyway.

[okits]

Sorry to hear times have gotten tough in your town.  I think this forum is a great, supportive place if you want to describe the situation and get suggestions for ways to increase your income and decrease your expenses.  Not everyone likes to lay out all the details of their situation but the community is very knowledgeable and helpful.

[ambimammular]

In the summer we might make popsicles with juice or a strong sweet mint tea (mint from our garden) instead of buying ice cream. Then you're just swapping out instead of giving something up.

Sorry to hear about the money tightening. It's great that you have some frugal skills to fall back on.

[ambimammular]

Ahh one more! Popcorn, not the microwaveable serving sized stuff, just the old fashioned do-it-yourself kind. So much cheaper than anything in the snack/air inflated bag aisle.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

There's a thread on things you make yourself that most people buy, but I can't find it at the moment. As for us:
-Hummus
-Dressing/sauces
-Muffins
-Granola bars
-Protein balls/bars
-Cookies/cakes/treats. Except for cupcakes twice a year from my favorite bakery :-)

I also have been trying to expand my cooking capabilities, and now make a great chicken curry, and a few other things that are better than takeout.

[Sorinth]

Frozen Lunches for me was a big one, I went from 4-5 times a week to once every few months. I basically started Intermittent Fasting and so just stopped eating lunch all together.

In fact I've cut out a lot of pre-packaged things like frozen chicken wings/strips, pizza, etc... that used to be a staple for dinners has been reduced if not to zero at least down by a lot. For the most part I'm using fresh ingredients and making it myself.

Still in work would be packaged salads, mostly because I'm not a big fan of doing the work of chopping up everything. And yes I realize that's a lame excuse.

I've started to switch to dry beans, and that seems like something I'll keep up fairly easily.

[Sorinth]

• Shop twice a week. I used to shop groceries more seldom. Then I used to buy too many vegetables. Now I just buy veggies for a few days ahead. But be aware that most people spend more in total if they shop more often. Because most of the time we buy more than is on our shopping list.
• Follow grocery list and don't buy all the other stuff.

I've started testing this out myself, still not sure how it'll work out since my list tends to be in my head and pretty vague to begin with.

[acroy]

Clicklist - order online & curb pickup. eliminates all spur of the moment purchases. Saves hours and hours and hours over the course of a year. Much easier to buy what we actually need.