Author Topic: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge  (Read 118378 times)

savedough

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #150 on: February 02, 2015, 10:22:27 AM »
So my numbers stuck - $383.83/$400.   I'm pleased.   We were over budget overall for the month by $180.66 but that's because we bought tires for the car and couch.   I could have waited on the couch, could not have waited on the tires, but after shopping for months and finally finding what I wanted on a great sale, I was ready to pull the trigger.  We will just adjust our Feb numbers. 

My food goal for Feb is the same - $400 - $325 groceries and $75 eating out rough split.  I think I'll be doing four shopping trips in Feb.   I've already spent more than 25% of the $325 with a big shop yesterday but I should also be getting Ibotta and SavingsStar rebates back this month and I'll just subtract that from the total once the money is in the account. 

My goals this month are to reinventory the freezer and use 20% of what we have.  We've used a lot up and I think my inventory list is not entirely accurate, plus my two-year old used it as a coloring page so I can hardly read what is on there.  20% may not seem like a very lofty goal, but we have so much cabbage and so many leeks.  I can only eat so many cabbage dishes in a row. If I can cross off 20% of the food items on the new inventory, I'll be thrilled. 

NinetyFour

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #151 on: February 02, 2015, 10:35:18 AM »
I ended up buying some snacks for 8 hours of driving that I did Saturday and Sunday.  So my January grocery spending was $89.  And I have already spent $25 in February.  I would be thrilled if I could keep the grocery spending to $100 in February.  It is a short month, and I still have oatmeal, dry beans, and kamut on hand.  I definitely need soy milk, lots of veggies, more oatmeal, and some tea to get through the month.  I should be able to get plenty of those items for $75!

happyfeet

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #152 on: February 02, 2015, 11:07:21 AM »
So in on this challenge.  Before MMM we were spending $800 plus a month for just groceries(2 peeps facepunch) - no beer/wine/eating out.  This past year we are anywhere from $300 to $600 (more when we have company/entertain/college age son home).  I really want to get it to $300 for the two of us.  We eat a lot of meat.  The DH loves his big ole meals. Several things I have found that help. 

I am the "grocery buyer/planner".  Shopping with DH - ugh. He is a budget buster. Even tho he is frugal in so many ways - not groceries.
I started a "staples" list - so I am not buying something I already have and will look at list before my weekly shopping trip.
Plan meals around the sales.  I really have been shopping sales and filling in with Aldi. No coupons needed.  Most coupons are for crap food.  Good for drugstore stuff.
Don't waste. 

asauer

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #153 on: February 02, 2015, 11:12:15 AM »
I'm still in on this one.  Kept to our $300 budget.  Budgeting a bit more in Feb due to my hosting b-day parties for my kids.

BarkyardBQ

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #154 on: February 02, 2015, 11:13:38 AM »
$276 of 300!

First month (in 6 of marriage) we have made our budgeting plan work for us. We splurged a little last week and bought 2 rib eyes. Bought some polish and kielbasa sausage so we could make that fantastic Rustic Potato soup in the other thread. Also made vindaloo, those 2 meals lasted us all weekend and we still have some for lunch and dinner the next 2 days.

We also spent $210 of $325 for gasoline with an additional part time job to drive to on the weekends. We did this using the 'wait one more day' method, buying Costco gas twice, and reducing random errands, getting groceries on the way home from work.

We went $84 over our 200 restaurant budget, but we had a work thing, split the check with my parents for my dad's birthday, and had a day of no prepared lunch... on top of our typical weekly outings.
« Last Edit: February 02, 2015, 11:15:29 AM by zdravé »

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #155 on: February 02, 2015, 02:51:04 PM »
This is my biggest category to reign in! And pretty embarrassing.

Family size: 2 adults, one dog (one adult is a body builder, that does not help)
Avg food spend in 2014: $850/month
Target food spend 2015: $600/month
Yearly savings in 2015: ~$3,000


I know my target goal isn't that low, but it will be a big change for us. Included in the cost above is wine, dog food, and household goods, since they all come from the same stores. Not included is dining out (a whole other thing to be tackled). We do host friends pretty often, and I sometimes batch cook and give freezer meals to my disabled brother. And we eat exclusively primal. So those are my excuses for the crazy high costs =P

Strategies to lower costs:
-Drink less wine. Already implemented by moving to a weekend only drinks policy. No more glass of wine in the evening.
-Less expensive veggies, more cheap veggies. Less asparagus/brussel sprouts, more cabbage.
-Move. This is already on the docket, but not until later in the year. We live downtown right now, and walk everywhere. Our main grocery store is a fancy place that is half a mile away. Moving will put us closer to a store with generally lower prices.
-Start mixing my own sausage- I can get the ground pork and spices for much less than pre-spiced bulk sausage.
-More batch cooking
-Convince the fiance to stop weight training (just kidding. But seriously, he eats a ton). At the very least, I'm going to be better about having "safe starch" dishes on his workout days (rice and potatoes).

Wish me luck!

projekt

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #156 on: February 02, 2015, 03:21:42 PM »
This is Mrs. projekt. My goal is $180/month on groceries, but most of January went by BEFORE we started the challenge! I will report it anyways:

Groceries: $342
Restaurants: $45

February should be highlighted by buying mostly produce and otherwise eating from our large supply of dry goods and frozen items.

The Good News: Mr. projekt did make bread yesterday. It is way better than grocery store bread and so much cheaper. Also, we stayed well within our restaurant budget for January.  :)

wildflowersarefree

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #157 on: February 02, 2015, 05:24:26 PM »
We did "pretty good" on our spending fast last month! Our usual $ for groceries/eating out/fast food/lunches was $800, last month we spent $241. We still spent money, but it was definitely a savings. And our entertainment budget was $0 and our "other" category was $200 instead of $800, so I am pleased.

This month I want to stay under $500. Already did the big grocery haul for the month, now to curb it in on meals out/fast food.

greenshade

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #158 on: February 03, 2015, 09:39:02 AM »
Update for January:
I started getting serious about this about halfway through the month, so I am hoping that next month will be better.  Our grocery spending includes all toiletries, alcohol, cleaning products, etc.

Our total grocery spending for January was $439 (2 adults, including 1 pregnant woman (me)).  We would like our spending to be <$400 per month and I think we will reach that for February.  For the past 4 weeks I have attempted only grocery shopping once every 2 weeks with some mixed results.  I found that planning for 2 weeks did help with not eating out on the weekend as much, but I feel like I spent too much time thinking/planning everything out.  I am also having a hard time being on my feet for too long and doing one big grocery trip was a strain on my body at this point in the pregnancy.  I also ended up going weekly anyway  because I needed fresh vegetables and milk.  My strategy moving forward is to go back to the weekly trips and make sure that I plan a fun meal for the weekend to limit eating out (lasagna, chili, steak, things my husband loves).

Another area that I finally took a hard look at was our spending on eating out.  I have tracked out expenses for several years and I always had the data available, but I had let myself lump this spending in with our “Miscellaneous” expenses.  Well, I have now broken that expense out and am going to be tracking it monthly.  We averaged $250 a month on eating out in 2014!  We have agreed on a goal of $100 per month for the remainder of the year. 

January food spending:
Grocery:  $439
Eating out:  $155

tracylayton

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #159 on: February 03, 2015, 09:48:49 AM »
My Goal for groceries was $300 for the month...came in at $292. However, I did 10 mystery shops (eating out) which saved on groceries.

gluskap

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #160 on: February 04, 2015, 12:43:04 AM »
I need to start tracking this.

Family size: 3 (really 2.5 since baby doesn't eat much)
Avg food spend in 2014: $500/month (probably more since I didn't track the times we ate out and paid in cash)
Target food spend 2015: $350/month ($250-300 groceries/$50-$100 eating out)
Yearly savings in 2015: ~$1800

So far for January didn't do so good. Spent $522 but this was before really getting into MMM and included a lot of eating out. The last 2 weeks of the month we haven't gone out to eat at all so February should be a lot better.

Malaysia41

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #161 on: February 04, 2015, 01:13:32 PM »
Our goal was $700.
We came in at $698.

The last week took focus and effort, but it was worth it because we met the goal.

wearfannypacks

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #162 on: February 04, 2015, 02:31:01 PM »
I need to start tracking this.

Family size: 3 (really 2.5 since baby doesn't eat much)
Avg food spend in 2014: $500/month (probably more since I didn't track the times we ate out and paid in cash)
Target food spend 2015: $350/month ($250-300 groceries/$50-$100 eating out)
Yearly savings in 2015: ~$1800

So far for January didn't do so good. Spent $522 but this was before really getting into MMM and included a lot of eating out. The last 2 weeks of the month we haven't gone out to eat at all so February should be a lot better.

Looks like we came from a similiar situation in 2014. Also 2.5 eaters and about 500 month. Welcome to the challenge!

Our goal was 320 a month. In January we made it to 238! Secret sauce for us was more diligent meal planning and ONLY buying what we were planning to make.  You can do it!

asauer

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #163 on: February 05, 2015, 01:16:26 PM »
Wow.  Glad January is over.  Sticking to the $350 budget was tough but we came in at $347.  Whew.  Feb will be even tougher b/c I'm throwing a birthday party for both of my children this month.  Wish me luck!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #164 on: February 05, 2015, 01:20:06 PM »
This is my biggest category to reign in! And pretty embarrassing.

Family size: 2 adults, one dog (one adult is a body builder, that does not help)
Avg food spend in 2014: $850/month
Target food spend 2015: $600/month
Yearly savings in 2015: ~$3,000


I know my target goal isn't that low, but it will be a big change for us. Included in the cost above is wine, dog food, and household goods, since they all come from the same stores. Not included is dining out (a whole other thing to be tackled). We do host friends pretty often, and I sometimes batch cook and give freezer meals to my disabled brother. And we eat exclusively primal. So those are my excuses for the crazy high costs =P

Strategies to lower costs:
-Drink less wine. Already implemented by moving to a weekend only drinks policy. No more glass of wine in the evening.
-Less expensive veggies, more cheap veggies. Less asparagus/brussel sprouts, more cabbage.
-Move. This is already on the docket, but not until later in the year. We live downtown right now, and walk everywhere. Our main grocery store is a fancy place that is half a mile away. Moving will put us closer to a store with generally lower prices.
-Start mixing my own sausage- I can get the ground pork and spices for much less than pre-spiced bulk sausage.
-More batch cooking
-Convince the fiance to stop weight training (just kidding. But seriously, he eats a ton). At the very least, I'm going to be better about having "safe starch" dishes on his workout days (rice and potatoes).

Wish me luck!

Ran the numbers for January, and we came in at $750 on groceries. Not to my goal of $600, but not too bad since we've pretty much ENTIRELY eliminated our restaurant budget. And it can be tough in winter to get prices down, especially since we eat pretty locally. (Excuses, I know). And on the bright side, the $750 was with a TON of freezer cooking. Hopefully it'll pay off in the coming months.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #165 on: February 05, 2015, 01:40:13 PM »
A growing appreciation for dried beans, chickpeas, and lentils has our 2015 grocery budget comfortably under $300 for the two of us - trust me, this is AMAZING for us. Until I took over the vast majority of the cooking (being a kept man and all) I didn't really give these versatile items a second look.

I probably cook a meal with at least ONE of these ingredients 4 days a week...so cheap too!!!

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #166 on: February 05, 2015, 02:51:16 PM »
A growing appreciation for dried beans, chickpeas, and lentils has our 2015 grocery budget comfortably under $300 for the two of us - trust me, this is AMAZING for us. Until I took over the vast majority of the cooking (being a kept man and all) I didn't really give these versatile items a second look.

I probably cook a meal with at least ONE of these ingredients 4 days a week...so cheap too!!!

I would love to try meatless Monday around here.....any good sources for bean recipes you have found?

Jon_Snow

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #167 on: February 05, 2015, 03:04:01 PM »
Check out BudgetBytes.com.

Lots of bean, lentil, chickpea recipes. And as bonus, they taste GREAT.

dad_of_four

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #168 on: February 05, 2015, 04:33:42 PM »
I'm in too.

I don't know about the year, but last month we had a ludicrous $700 in groceries, baby items like diapers and formula,  and eating out.
Family size of 3 flucuating to 6 alternating weekends with my kids from a previous weekend are with us.

Went out to eat WAY too much.  And there's a convenience store close to my office, so I ate a disgusting amount of salt and sugar from there.

NEW GOAL: $400/ month. So far in February, ate out once and $100 for a week's groceries.

netskyblue

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #169 on: February 05, 2015, 04:52:37 PM »
I'll join.

2015 Goal
$132 / month
Not including toiletries or household goods (so, food only).

I don't have good numbers from last year, because I didn't separate food from all the other stuff bought at grocery stores/Target/Walmart, etc.  But the number I do have is $160/mo.  Should be less than that, without all the other stuff.

Beat my goal in January - only $104.73.

This is kind of for 1.5 people.  I buy most of the groceries for dinners for my husband and I, and I buy breakfasts for myself, and lunches for myself (those that don't end up being leftovers of dinners, anyway).  My husband buys his own lunch materials and generally doesn't eat breakfasts.  We don't have combined finances.

FIreDrill

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #170 on: February 05, 2015, 05:18:28 PM »
Alright, this challenge will be great for us.  We had a hard time sticking to our grocery/household items budget last year.

2015 goal.

Groceries/Household Items = 400.00 a month.


Hopefully this thread keeps me accountable and motivated to see this through!


SS

wintersun

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #171 on: February 05, 2015, 05:20:38 PM »
Yikes.  We spent way more than I thought we would.  I had no idea what we were spending and was quite careful in January, plus we were eating down the pantry…and we spent the equivalent of US $1000/$800 on food alone.  I do not live in the US and our prices are super high but I know I can get this under $800.  The total does not include alcohol or junk food other than regular popcorn, some almonds and some ice-cream for dinner guests.

We have certain self imposed limits: very little cow dairy (we eat goat cheese), gluten free, lots of leafy greens and salads (usually organic), avoid buying much canned food. 

Looking back there were certain wallet popping moments such as  my DH shopping for a dinner party for four and spending $110.

I have been looking at prices more and finding out which cuts of meat are cheaper.  Ribs are a good choice.  I also need to pull out that old trick of starting with soup and then having a short break before we eat dinner so we are full before the expensive meat appears.  We have eaten almost all the meat and canned food that I had stockpiled so I think it will be areal challenge this month to stick to $800.  I am eating less meat for health reasons so that will help.

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #172 on: February 05, 2015, 07:32:00 PM »
Yikes.  We spent way more than I thought we would.  I had no idea what we were spending and was quite careful in January, plus we were eating down the pantry…and we spent the equivalent of US $1000/$800 on food alone.  I do not live in the US and our prices are super high but I know I can get this under $800.  The total does not include alcohol or junk food other than regular popcorn, some almonds and some ice-cream for dinner guests.

We have certain self imposed limits: very little cow dairy (we eat goat cheese), gluten free, lots of leafy greens and salads (usually organic), avoid buying much canned food. 

Looking back there were certain wallet popping moments such as  my DH shopping for a dinner party for four and spending $110.

I have been looking at prices more and finding out which cuts of meat are cheaper.  Ribs are a good choice.  I also need to pull out that old trick of starting with soup and then having a short break before we eat dinner so we are full before the expensive meat appears.  We have eaten almost all the meat and canned food that I had stockpiled so I think it will be areal challenge this month to stick to $800.  I am eating less meat for health reasons so that will help.

I have been doing this with fruit. I don't think my family is getting enough servings of fruit and veggies so I've been putting out a dish of fruit or veggies to munch on 1/2 hour before dinner.   I have two teenagers and it has helped with portion sizes of meat for sure, they're also getting more fruit and veggies and I don't even have to nag. Score!

Ready2Go

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #173 on: February 06, 2015, 08:48:16 AM »
My budget is $400 for the month, or $100/week.  This week I had a wild idea that we could just eat all the food that's accumulated in the freezer/pantry and I could skip shopping and save both money and time without effort.  Ha.  We made several trips to store to get 1-2 items and it all tallied up to almost $200.   Once again proving that meal planning and limited trips to the grocery are the way to go. 

benjenn

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #174 on: February 08, 2015, 07:13:28 AM »
We came in at more than $100 under budget for January.  Did my first grocery trip yesterday for February and spent the most I've spent in awhile at $122.  College son is home with us the next couple of weeks while he's waiting to leave for a year of studying abroad in New Zealand and it is true about boys eating you out of house and home.  I think the $122 spent this week will last about 10-12 days at least.  Even if I spent that much two more times this month (which would surely get us through the rest of the month), we'd still be under budget.  I just don't think it will end up being that much.

I'm just amazed what a difference meal planning and shopping carefully has made.

4alpacas

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #175 on: February 08, 2015, 10:47:35 AM »
The rest of this month is going to be tight!  I brought my DH with me to Trader Joe's.  I needed to pick up some olive oil.  We spent $130!  This is in addition to the $65 we spent on our weekly grocery shop. 

We bought a lot of prepackaged food that drove our bill up.  We also picked up some beer and liquor. 

It's so frustrating that a single grocery trip can derail our food budget so quickly.

Pooperman

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #176 on: February 08, 2015, 10:56:27 AM »
This months: $395.15/$300 (ouch). Extra shopping trip because of how the weeks fell in the month (5 weekends). This weeks was particularly bad ($109), but that's without counting the mega Catalinas I was getting ($33.50 worth!). If you take off the Catalina value from what was spent, you get a much more reasonable $76, which happens to include a few stock up items and a cupcake pan! The target for every week is $69 so all things considered, fairly close. February should be considerably under thanks to the Catalinas from this month ($15.50 next week and $6 the other 3 weeks of February). One of the Catalina deals actually net me about $10 in addition to the food I bought to get it ($24 spread over 4 weeks for $30 in pre-sale valued food that was on sale and coupons were used thus giving all the food for free +$9 extra).

For the first shopping trip of the month, we spent $47.88. Thanks to the large amount of Catalinas picked up before the Super Bowl (and killing January). Picked up healthier things than we're used to (lots of fruits and vegetables). Still cost is about the same.

Total for 2015 thus far: $443.03. Projected spending for 2015 based on what has been spend thus far: $3593.50 which is below the $3600 target.

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #177 on: February 09, 2015, 06:20:10 AM »
Wow.  Glad January is over.  Sticking to the $350 budget was tough but we came in at $347.  Whew.  Feb will be even tougher b/c I'm throwing a birthday party for both of my children this month.  Wish me luck!

Good luck!

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #178 on: February 09, 2015, 06:21:11 AM »
The rest of this month is going to be tight!  I brought my DH with me to Trader Joe's.  I needed to pick up some olive oil.  We spent $130!  This is in addition to the $65 we spent on our weekly grocery shop. 

We bought a lot of prepackaged food that drove our bill up.  We also picked up some beer and liquor. 

It's so frustrating that a single grocery trip can derail our food budget so quickly.

Taking family members is a huge budget buster for me!

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #179 on: February 09, 2015, 06:25:25 AM »
So it's been a tough few weeks for me.  Apparently I have torn a chest muscle which means I can't lift anything at this point. I am counting on DH and my teenagers to assist with the cooking and the shopping.

I was worried this would throw us over budget in eating out for January but we stuck to it, the food budget in January was even better as we ate down the freezer.

Now here we are in February and we did big shopping over the weekend. Everyone came with me because I can't even lift a milk jug.  The result is we spent more that we should. I think we can still come in at budget for this month, it's just going to take some creativity.

We are $566.46 of $900. But we did stock up on some sale things for the month. I am absolutely determined to make it.  We had planned to buy some "extras" for valentines day and cook at home, we're just going to have to get creative now.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #180 on: February 09, 2015, 06:34:38 AM »
So it's been a tough few weeks for me.  Apparently I have torn a chest muscle which means I can't lift anything at this point. I am counting on DH and my teenagers to assist with the cooking and the shopping.

I was worried this would throw us over budget in eating out for January but we stuck to it, the food budget in January was even better as we ate down the freezer.

Now here we are in February and we did big shopping over the weekend. Everyone came with me because I can't even lift a milk jug.  The result is we spent more that we should. I think we can still come in at budget for this month, it's just going to take some creativity.

We are $566.46 of $900. But we did stock up on some sale things for the month. I am absolutely determined to make it.  We had planned to buy some "extras" for valentines day and cook at home, we're just going to have to get creative now.

That's a tough place to be in! Wishing you the best with your recovery. As someone pointed out above, taking family members can be a budget killer. Any chance you have a friend or neighbor who would go with you and help without spiking the bill so much?

happypup

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #181 on: February 09, 2015, 07:15:20 AM »
Late to the party, but this is a great challenge! I'm joining in. Two adults here eating a mostly vegetarian diet with some fish.

Last year, we spent on average $408 / month. Roughly $50 / month of that was for three seasons of CSA subscriptions. We liked the CSA a lot but it's really too much to justify so I dropped it this year.

This year's goal is $350 / month. Our grocery budget includes toiletries, household stuff like tissues, and medications, but not dog food or alcohol. Costco's opening here at some point so ideally I'll be able to start getting stuff in bulk for a bit cheaper.

In general, we shop every two weeks, so most of the time that's 2 trips per month, with a few 3-trip months. Part of my cutting-back strategy is to keep those 3-trip months below the $350 mark. I'm hoping that will help set us up for cutting back a little bit more next year (or at least absorbing any price increases that may be coming without increasing the budget).

So far so good, with January coming in at $347!

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #182 on: February 09, 2015, 07:42:34 AM »
So it's been a tough few weeks for me.  Apparently I have torn a chest muscle which means I can't lift anything at this point. I am counting on DH and my teenagers to assist with the cooking and the shopping.

I was worried this would throw us over budget in eating out for January but we stuck to it, the food budget in January was even better as we ate down the freezer.

Now here we are in February and we did big shopping over the weekend. Everyone came with me because I can't even lift a milk jug.  The result is we spent more that we should. I think we can still come in at budget for this month, it's just going to take some creativity.

We are $566.46 of $900. But we did stock up on some sale things for the month. I am absolutely determined to make it.  We had planned to buy some "extras" for valentines day and cook at home, we're just going to have to get creative now.

That's a tough place to be in! Wishing you the best with your recovery. As someone pointed out above, taking family members can be a budget killer. Any chance you have a friend or neighbor who would go with you and help without spiking the bill so much?

Thanks, we have a grocery store that I can shop online and they shop and deliver the groceries to your trunk for a fee of $4.95. I did it once for a huge shopping for Thanksgiving. I may have to resort to it now and it will still end up being cheaper than taking the crew.

Although I am first going to try sending DH just with a list. We shouldn't need much now for the month.

Unfortunately I have been told 3-4 month full recovery time which is crazy!

4alpacas

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #183 on: February 09, 2015, 09:47:43 AM »
So it's been a tough few weeks for me.  Apparently I have torn a chest muscle which means I can't lift anything at this point. I am counting on DH and my teenagers to assist with the cooking and the shopping.

I was worried this would throw us over budget in eating out for January but we stuck to it, the food budget in January was even better as we ate down the freezer.

Now here we are in February and we did big shopping over the weekend. Everyone came with me because I can't even lift a milk jug.  The result is we spent more that we should. I think we can still come in at budget for this month, it's just going to take some creativity.

We are $566.46 of $900. But we did stock up on some sale things for the month. I am absolutely determined to make it.  We had planned to buy some "extras" for valentines day and cook at home, we're just going to have to get creative now.

That's a tough place to be in! Wishing you the best with your recovery. As someone pointed out above, taking family members can be a budget killer. Any chance you have a friend or neighbor who would go with you and help without spiking the bill so much?

Thanks, we have a grocery store that I can shop online and they shop and deliver the groceries to your trunk for a fee of $4.95. I did it once for a huge shopping for Thanksgiving. I may have to resort to it now and it will still end up being cheaper than taking the crew.

Although I am first going to try sending DH just with a list. We shouldn't need much now for the month.

Unfortunately I have been told 3-4 month full recovery time which is crazy!
I pay $5 for delivery (to the house).  I started to think that I was spending unnecessarily until we went to TJ's.  $130 spent in 30 minutes.  Over half of our monthly budget spent on snacks and prepared foods. 

I hope you're not in too much pain.  Feel better!

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #184 on: February 09, 2015, 10:59:44 AM »
$102/ $200 Groceries
$32/$100 Restaurant
$25/$25 Alcohol for Hosting/ Entertaining.


The groceries included $20 worth of special ingredients for homemade sushi for company on the 7th and $6 of special ingredients for an Adkins diet approved dinner for my other guests on the 8th. I've spent $9 so far on special ingredients for the 14th for our new set of guests and we'll have company on the 16th but I haven't planned the menu yet.
I will be going grocery shopping tonight, but mostly for essentials/staples.

The Asian supermarket has such cheap, fresh produce - I am in love!

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #185 on: February 10, 2015, 07:17:16 PM »
I've been so busy studying for my CFP classes my fiance wound up doing our grocery shopping today since I couldn't go yesterday! He did a great job sticking to a list and only got 2 items that weren't on the list I texted him.

$158/$200 groceries
$40/$100 restaurant
$25/$25 alcohol
I will need more produce Saturday so back to the Asian supermarket. It is literally like 1/4 or 1/2 off the other stores prices.

pancakes

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #186 on: February 12, 2015, 04:02:04 AM »
How do you all approach sale items and stocking the pantry?

My approach up until now has been to shop exclusively to a list which is created off of a meal plan and to ignore sales. I'll buy a 2 for 1 long life item if I've got one on my list anyway but besides that I only buy what I need at the time.

I'm starting to think that I might be missing out on an opportunity to lower my grocery bill over the year by not buying bulk staple items when they are on 50% or better sales. Or perhaps I should look at the grocery store sale catalogs and meal plan around those?

The only items I currently keep stocked in the pantry are flour, salt, sugar and rice (and of course spices which I accumulate as needed). Also eggs and yeast in the fridge. 

Pooperman

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #187 on: February 12, 2015, 04:20:16 AM »
How do you all approach sale items and stocking the pantry?

My approach up until now has been to shop exclusively to a list which is created off of a meal plan and to ignore sales. I'll buy a 2 for 1 long life item if I've got one on my list anyway but besides that I only buy what I need at the time.

I'm starting to think that I might be missing out on an opportunity to lower my grocery bill over the year by not buying bulk staple items when they are on 50% or better sales. Or perhaps I should look at the grocery store sale catalogs and meal plan around those?

The only items I currently keep stocked in the pantry are flour, salt, sugar and rice (and of course spices which I accumulate as needed). Also eggs and yeast in the fridge.

Personally:

Sale meats under $2/lb (this means hams at $0.99/lb occasionally, or some fish at $2/lb). When broccoli is $0.99/lb, I'll buy enough to last 2 weeks (same with most vegetables/fruit we eat). Buy beans on sale (usually at $0.99/lb dried). Rice we buy in huge quantities, so that's once every 3-4 months. Eggs can be bought on sale as they last up to 6 months. Finally, I will take part in cash positive purchases (like buy $10 of pre-sale priced stuff, get $5 off your next trip, then add coupons and sales, and you get a couple of dollars out of it in addition to free shit).

kathrynd

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #188 on: February 12, 2015, 04:55:55 AM »
We don't  bother shopping for groceries, as such.

We look for sales, discounts, manager in-store specials and stock up.
I do take along the list of 'points' for certain products,  that our local stores offer as incentives, and that reduces our groceries even further.

Our meals are planned around what we find, instead of making the menu plan first.
On average, my husband and I spend $50 week, which includes everything.

I think you will find your grocery bill will either be cheaper, or will be able to buy more food.
It is also important to not waste the food you already have in your fridge. Use it up or freeze it.
Find creative ways to use leftovers you are getting tired of, or fruits/vegs that are getting past their prime.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #189 on: February 12, 2015, 08:34:28 AM »
How do you all approach sale items and stocking the pantry?

My approach up until now has been to shop exclusively to a list which is created off of a meal plan and to ignore sales. I'll buy a 2 for 1 long life item if I've got one on my list anyway but besides that I only buy what I need at the time.

I'm starting to think that I might be missing out on an opportunity to lower my grocery bill over the year by not buying bulk staple items when they are on 50% or better sales. Or perhaps I should look at the grocery store sale catalogs and meal plan around those?

The only items I currently keep stocked in the pantry are flour, salt, sugar and rice (and of course spices which I accumulate as needed). Also eggs and yeast in the fridge.

I think this depends on how repetitive your meals are. Basically, the more that you eat the same things over and over, the easier it is to cut price, because you know what you can stock up on. For example, I know we love corned beef, so when it's on sale around St Pat's, we fill our freezer like we're expecting the apocalypse. If you're still in the stage of developing your meal planning, though, proceed with caution. Don't buy a bunch of cans of artichoke hearts, even if they're on a great sale, if you've only had artichoke dip once in your life. For staple items though (meat, dry beans, canned pumpkin, whatever it is you KNOW you will use), having a price book is a great idea.

I know for us, we don't stock up nearly as much as we could. First, we have a very small place and minimal storage space. Second, we vary the menu if we start getting bored. Every time I've tried to make the at-home menu more consistent, we've gone out to eat a lot more. YMMV.

asauer

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #190 on: February 12, 2015, 10:18:33 AM »
It's going to be really close this month.  We have $50 left for the month as of today.  hmmm.  I better get really creative.  We had some unexpected house guests and I swear it looked like a tornado hit the kitchen.  Lots of beans and rice for 2 weeks.  Except for valentines.  I hid the grass-fed, organic bratwurst I was saving for the occasion so as to escape the tornado.  Heehee.

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #191 on: February 12, 2015, 10:30:59 AM »
It's going to be really close this month.  We have $50 left for the month as of today.  hmmm.  I better get really creative.  We had some unexpected house guests and I swear it looked like a tornado hit the kitchen.  Lots of beans and rice for 2 weeks.  Except for valentines.  I hid the grass-fed, organic bratwurst I was saving for the occasion so as to escape the tornado.  Heehee.

You do what ya gotta do. More bratwurst for you. :)

netskyblue

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #192 on: February 12, 2015, 01:10:55 PM »
How do you all approach sale items and stocking the pantry?

My approach up until now has been to shop exclusively to a list which is created off of a meal plan and to ignore sales. I'll buy a 2 for 1 long life item if I've got one on my list anyway but besides that I only buy what I need at the time.

I'm starting to think that I might be missing out on an opportunity to lower my grocery bill over the year by not buying bulk staple items when they are on 50% or better sales. Or perhaps I should look at the grocery store sale catalogs and meal plan around those?

I mostly just look at the sale flyers and buy what's on sale, making meals around that stuff (deciding what I can use that I already have, or buying as little as possible in addition to sale items).

For example, last week zucchini was on sale for $0.99/lb, carrots for $0.79/lb, and tomatoes $0.99/lb.  Store-brand taco shells were a box of 12 for $1.

I can use all those vegetables, together with some cube steaks in my freezer and some canned mushrooms in my pantry, plus some rice & an egg that I already have, to make a stir-fry over fried rice, all I need is stir-fry sauce.  So I buy the cheap bottle of stir-fry sauce.

I have ground beef in the freezer, sour cream & cheddar cheese in the fridge, so the taco shells & some of the tomatoes will go towards tacos.  (Bought an extra box of shells since we like tacos often.)  If I didn't already have cheese & sour cream, I'd still have bought the shells, but just kept them until I could get the cheese & sour cream on sale.  They won't go bad.

Some of the zucchini went toward zucchini parmigiana, since I already had breadcrumbs, an egg, flour, and tomato sauce.

We also eat zucchini "pasta" by spiral-cutting it with a tool we have, so that will be one meal, too.

Some of the carrots went into a roast (we had 3 lonely potatoes that needed used up, and a roast in the freezer).  The rest were eaten as carrot sticks as a side dish to something else.

That's 5 meals based off of what was on sale + what we had.  Only had to buy one thing extra (the stir fry sauce).

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #193 on: February 13, 2015, 12:07:01 AM »
Starting late, but I'll join.

I'd like to get groceries (food, personal care, vitamins, OTC medications, etc.) under $150 for myself and two teenagers (they are with me 65% of the time). It shouldn't be as difficult as it sounds, because we live with my parents and they provide most dinners, plus nearly all the household cleaning products. There seems to be a semi-steady supply of leftovers for when we are at home for lunch, and they also buy snacks and junk food for the kids (whether I want them to or not...grandparents' prerogative, apparently).

I am at $83.65 so far, twelve days in. Not terrible. Probably a full $10 of that is for $1 sodas at McDonald's. That IS terrible.

Juslookin

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #194 on: February 13, 2015, 04:47:03 AM »
Welcome Bookworm!

I saved so much money last month off of my food budget that at the beginning of this month. I had to do some stocking up. We were out of everything including shampoo and toothpaste.  We have been using up all the little bits and bobs under the sink. Samples, half empty bottles etc. 

Unfortunately all of the early month stocking up has put us at $617.99/$900. And a lot of month to go.  Determined to make it, and will. Lots of creative ideas up my sleeve.

So I have been reading everyone else's posts and I think my food budget is just too high. Two teenagers 16 and 14,  DH and myself. We have one gluten free eater, that adds a bit too. Can't I get it lower? Maybe, but do I want to? We enjoy food and by making meals that we enjoy at home we have been able to curb an out of control eating out habit (out of control in my opinion).  Have to mull this over.  May try to reduce the food budget gradually, or see how low I can keep it while still allowing the mental game of having $900. Even if I don't spend it.

Something to consider.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2015, 04:50:15 AM by Juslookin »

NinetyFour

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #195 on: February 13, 2015, 06:12:58 AM »
I ended up buying some snacks for 8 hours of driving that I did Saturday and Sunday.  So my January grocery spending was $89.  And I have already spent $25 in February.  I would be thrilled if I could keep the grocery spending to $100 in February.  It is a short month, and I still have oatmeal, dry beans, and kamut on hand.  I definitely need soy milk, lots of veggies, more oatmeal, and some tea to get through the month.  I should be able to get plenty of those items for $75!

I bought 4 boxes of tea (on sale) and some molasses (on sale) yesterday.  I am at $79.73 for February.  The only other things I might need these next 16 days are more veggies and some tofu.  I should be able to stay under $100 easily.  Yay.

I will also have 4 work-related (and paid for by work) meals in the next two weeks.  That will help.

If I keep grocery spending at $90 this month, then my average for Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb will be $145.  For me, that is really good!

Pooperman

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #196 on: February 13, 2015, 03:56:53 PM »
I'm mad at myself for forgetting to use a $6 coupon! I may try Shoprite from home to use it and get a couple things (including use their special).

$105.65/$300 with two trips to go. Projected is $220 for the month, $620 for the year so far.

pancakes

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #197 on: February 13, 2015, 11:57:40 PM »
I know for us, we don't stock up nearly as much as we could. First, we have a very small place and minimal storage space. Second, we vary the menu if we start getting bored. Every time I've tried to make the at-home menu more consistent, we've gone out to eat a lot more. YMMV.
This does sound a lot like us, I get bored if I eat the same thing too often.

I usually go to three supermarkets + the vegetable markets to do my groceries because not all stock the items I'll be looking for (it sounds crazy but they are all the path I walk to get to the markets anyway) so I could definitely at a minimum look up the weekly specials to see where has the better prices that week.

The coupon system in America fascinates me. We don't have anything quite like that in Australia. The best we can get usually is 50% off but usually the items that go on major sales like that are luxury goods or overly processed foods (soda, crisps, ice creams, etc) and not things I would be buying anyway.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #198 on: February 14, 2015, 09:12:23 AM »
I know for us, we don't stock up nearly as much as we could. First, we have a very small place and minimal storage space. Second, we vary the menu if we start getting bored. Every time I've tried to make the at-home menu more consistent, we've gone out to eat a lot more. YMMV.
This does sound a lot like us, I get bored if I eat the same thing too often.

I usually go to three supermarkets + the vegetable markets to do my groceries because not all stock the items I'll be looking for (it sounds crazy but they are all the path I walk to get to the markets anyway) so I could definitely at a minimum look up the weekly specials to see where has the better prices that week.

The coupon system in America fascinates me. We don't have anything quite like that in Australia. The best we can get usually is 50% off but usually the items that go on major sales like that are luxury goods or overly processed foods (soda, crisps, ice creams, etc) and not things I would be buying anyway.

This is sometimes true, although supermarkets that have loyalty programs or catalinas sometimes print them for things you buy a lot like milk or bulk veggies. I shop mainly at Trader Joe's and a local Co-op though, so no coupons for me either. We just opt to check sales and use a rewards CC to buy things. Cash back in kind of like a coupon =P

Out of curiosity, how do you go from one store to the other? Or do you drive and keep stuff in your car?

pancakes

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Re: Stick to a grocery budget in 2015 Challenge
« Reply #199 on: February 14, 2015, 07:36:32 PM »
Out of curiosity, how do you go from one store to the other? Or do you drive and keep stuff in your car?
We walk. There are two of us and we take backpacks and our own bags. The last leg home after the final store is occasionally a struggle if we've done a large shop but by that stage we are only 3 minutes from home. If we had kids to buy for as well we might need to drive.

It turns out that we buy fewer impulse items when we do our grocery shop completely on foot and have to carry it all home.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!