Author Topic: New Stay at home Mom needs advice on being Mustachian with Groceries  (Read 4368 times)

MamaStachin

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Hello, everyone!  I'm new here and would like to introduce myself.  I'm a new mom to an 11 month old beautiful baby girl. My husband actually started this account for me so that I could get tips and perhaps share some of my own if I learn something of value to share with you all.

So we just got married and are venturing in our new married life together.  How exciting!  But at the same time, I want to tackle being "mustachian" to the fullest.  My first goal is to meet our grocery budget of $250 per month.  This will be for my husband and I, as well as my daughter.  I make all of her food, I don't buy baby food and she nurses.  That saves us tons of money because we don't have to buy formula or any pre-made baby food.

A little bit on my background, I'm a classically trained chef, and I love to cook.  I understand that for the most part, I have to buy things in bulk, rice, beans, frozen veggies, etc.  We shop at Aldi's for most things and what we can't find there that we need, we get at Publix.  I'd like to get into couponing but don't know how to start.  If someone could just point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it!

I'm not looking for an easy way out, willing to put in the work and time because I know this will benefit my family in the long-run.

Thanks in advance!

Lil_Bit

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Re: New Stay at home Mom needs advice on being Mustachian with Groceries
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2013, 05:29:10 PM »
Hi and welcome!

I would be happy to offer some tips on couponing.  I believe there are quite a few others on here that coupon as well.  First and foremost, I just want to mention that it doesn't have to be overwhelming and you can save quite a bit of money.  Also, if you've ever watched the show extreme couponing -- forget it, it is not realistic and who really needs 40 bottles of ketchup. 

Here is a snip ~ I would be glad to PM you with more info.
I use coupon blogs and what most of these ladies (and a few men) do is they actually do all the work for you.  They match the current grocery store sale ad(s) with the available coupons, if you choose to use coupons.  Most people don't have the time, but at least you get a general idea of what is on sale and you can stock up.

Here is one website I currently use, she is out of South Carolina and she has a lot of good videos to give you a general idea on how to get started.  Once on the website, I would start with the tab 'Learn How to Coupon'.       http://www.southernsavers.com/


Here is another website (this lady is out of Minnesota) - http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/

For sales and coupon matchups on organic products:    http://growingupnatural.com/
« Last Edit: December 30, 2013, 05:36:06 PM by Lil_Bit »

TomTX

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Re: New Stay at home Mom needs advice on being Mustachian with Groceries
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2013, 06:19:54 PM »
Be careful. Yes, you can save money with advanced couponing, time invested and care.

However, most coupons are for overpriced, brand-name stuff that I wouldn't buy anyway. Sure, I can buy the Pampers with the $2 coupon - or for $3 less than the coupon price, buy the store brand.

You should keep track of the price range for your "usual" purchases, particularly the ones which can be stored longer term. You should know whether $4/lb is a good price for hamburger or not. What about cheddar cheese? Both freeze fine. Around here, there is usually a holiday special on (whole) sweet potatoes, as well as russet potatoes. Got my sweet potatoes for $0.47/lb. They store for months. Butternut squash is usually $1.37/lb here. I buy extra when it drops under $1/lb - again, it stores for months (and stores longer with a quick vinegar wipe.) I can get preseasoned chicken leg quarters for $1/lb all the time. I save the bones in a gallon bag in the freezer (with vegetable peelings) to make stock.

Generally your cheap staple vegetables are potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and cabbage. Cheap fruits are usually bananas, pears and apples - sometimes grapes. Bananas rarely vary in price, but apples, pears and grapes vary a LOT. Potatoes vary a lot - but it's common to see larger amounts (10 lb bag) go on sale for very cheap.

mrsggrowsveg

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Re: New Stay at home Mom needs advice on being Mustachian with Groceries
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2013, 08:00:18 AM »
Good job nursing and making your own baby food!  I have a 12 month old who is still nursing and we did baby led weaning with homemade food for him.  Our grocery budget as a family of three keeps going down and we spend around $150 per month right now.  We like to eat mostly organic.  Some things that save us money are:

-Buy produce in season and local (farmer's market) if possible

-Preserve by freezing or canning above excess produce

-Grow a garden and raise some chickens if you have room.  I have several friends who are urban chicken farmers and get plenty of fresh eggs for their family.

-If you have a Costco or Sams Club join it.  We buy big amounts of Kerrygold cheese and butter and freeze it.  You can buy a lot of staples at those places.  Aldis is one of our favorite stores also.

-If you eat meat, consider buying it in bulk from a farmer.  Craigslist farm/garden often has listings for this.  We buy a side of grass-fed beef and it lasts us about two years in our freezer.

-If you buy diapers or wipes at the grocery store, you could consider using cloth instead.  It is really easy and saves us a ton.

-Cleaners are also very expensive.  We clean everything with baking soda, borax and vinegar and make laundry detergent with Dr. Bronners, washing soda and borax.

I don't have much experience couponing, because there are rarely coupons for things I want.  We do buy a lot of things on managers special.  We often find smoked salmon or produce that is about to spoil really cheap.  Our grocery store also gives discounts for filling out the surveys on the back of receipt. 

CommonCents

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Re: New Stay at home Mom needs advice on being Mustachian with Groceries
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2013, 08:17:36 AM »
A while back, I committed to making a stickieable post regarding cutting groceries.  Here's the start to it (it's missing many links, sorry - I plan to finish after we move):

MMM wisdom on cutting the grocery bill:

Ideas:
  • Shop sales: Most sales are on a 12-week cycle.  Some holidays also offer the lowet price (e.g. lowest price for turkey is in Thanksgiving, although it’s also sold at Christmas). 
    • Create a price book to track sales and stockpile food that will keep when it’s at the lowest point.
    • Don’t buy food unless it’s on sale.  Plan a different meal instead.
  • Pair sales with coupons: There are numerous blogs that will match coupons with sales, or you can look it up yourself with the weekly flyer and searching a coupon database.  I use www.moneysavingmom.com, which often directs me to www.mavenofsavin.com for my area stores
  • For coupons, you can buy them online, subscribe to a newspaper, ask friends for their inserts or if you are particularly brave, dumpster dive for them.  Some newspapers may let you sign up to get some of the coupons without the newspapers.
  • Change what you eat:
    • Don’t buy prepared foods – make food from scratch.  You can buy a used breadmaker (or use your hands) and make your own bread and pizza dough.  www.Artisanbreadinfive.com
    • Eat in season foods
    • Cut back on expensive meat: Have meatless meals or use smaller amounts of meat in a meat, sub in cheaper cuts (use a crockpot to tenderize), buy cheaper meat (chicken or turkey instead of steak). 
    • Consider trying ethnic foods that focus on spicing up inexpensive foods.
    • If you eat organic, switch to eating organic for only the dirty dozen, or at least don’t buy organic for the clean fifteen. http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php
    • Look around for inexpensive recipes
  • Grow your own food.  Start with herbs if you’re in a small apartment or want more bang for your buck. 
  • Eat the food you buy.  Stop throwing away food.  Don’t buy food and bury it in the back of the fridge or freezer (date freezer foods).  Take leftovers in to work for lunch, have leftovers for dinner on busy nights, freeze it, or cook smaller meals.
  • Buy in bulk, but check the unit price to ensure it’s really a deal, and don’t buy so much that it goes to waste.  A bulk store discount may be worth it to you.
  • Some folks find value in buying a CSA membership or part of a cow.
  • Play the Drug Store Game for your toiletries.  Don’t buy them at the grocery store.
  • Consider:
For more resources:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/the-mmm-reading-list/

mamagoose

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Re: New Stay at home Mom needs advice on being Mustachian with Groceries
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2013, 11:45:03 AM »
Congrats on the little one :)

I second the generic diapers, we save a ton using Walmart brand disposables and I also have cloth diapers that I like to use sometimes. Nursing is a wonderful way to save $, good for you!

We shop at Publix with BOGO sales and my best tip is to not bring your husband shopping, mine doesn't understand the point of a shopping list and meal plan, each time he goes we wind up with about $30 of chips, hummus, other snacks that I didn't plan. Oatmeal is super cheap and great for your BM supply too, I eat it daily.

jdoolin

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Re: New Stay at home Mom needs advice on being Mustachian with Groceries
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2013, 12:30:06 PM »
For groceries, let NOTHING go to waste.  Eat every last scrap of worthwhile food as if there is a shortage.

We plan our meals a week at a time, based on the following priorities:

#0 - First priority is, of course, to consume all of the previous meal(s) as leftovers.

#1 - What do we currently have that needs used before expiration?  This includes vegetables, meats, dairy and other perishable items.  This is particularly true for meats, as they are usually the most expensive part of the grocery bill.  This is even true for herbs that we don't like to waste, like fresh basil.  But the closer it is to expiration, the higher the priority.

#2 - What do we currently have that *could* be used?  Dried beans, rice, oats, frozen or otherwise preserved foods.

#3 - What would be most cost effective/what is currently on sale at our grocery store/what is in season? We try to combine this with the ingredients available from Steps 1 and 2 to create meal plans.

#4 - What sort of preparation time do we have available?  There are a few days during the week that we have to be mindful of how long it takes to prepare a meal, so our meal plan has to account for it.  We have lots of go-to quick meals that we still make ourselves.

#5 - Re-purpose and/or transform anything and everything possible.  This includes making stock from poultry carcasses, using pan drippings from roasted or braised meats, turning stale bread into bread crumbs, using over-ripe bananas in smoothies, dicing up a few leftover pork chops for use in fried rice or soups and making VERY creative adaptations of quesadillas, tacos curries and beans and rice.  For example, just before writing this I had a broccoli quesadilla because we had one head of broccoli left that was just starting to turn color and needed used.

What this turns out to be is an extremely fun way to cook and prepare meals.  It allows and even encourages variety, creativity, learning new recipes and culinary skills and trying new ingredients.  I find it a lot more fun than simply following a recipe for a fancy pants dish like coq au vin, and it saves a ton of money.

As a classically trained chef, I think you'll have a lot of fun.  :-)