What are some prices you're paying for stuff?
I can't find a recent itemized receipt, but here are some of the prices I could find...
milk, quart: $1.99
18 eggs: $2.79
bacon: $4.99
spinach: $1.19/lb.
sweet potatoes: $0.69/lb.
onions: $0.89/lb.
pasta: $1.79 (I think for a lb.)
rice: $0.67/lb. (25lb. bag)
chicken: $1.29/lb.
grapefruit: $1/lb.
apples: $1.79/lb.
I am in the Triangle. There is no ALDI near us. We don't shop at Harris Teeter, we literally get culture shock every time we go in there. We try to stick to in season fruits and veggies. There is a latino grocery down the street, which we go to for some things every now and then, but I think our neighborhood grocery is cheaper. Most of the things above are from the neighborhood grocery. We don't eat beef often because it is pricier, but the 1/4 cow we're getting should be around $2.50-3/lb.
I would have thought that food prices here would be the same as anywhere else, or perhaps cheaper since we can grow so many things throughout the year, but my coworkers' comments made me wonder.
I haven't shopped sales or kept close track of prices of things in awhile...but like you all say maybe I'll try that for awhile to see if anything seems extra pricey. Like some of you have said, eating good food is important to us and we don't mind spending some money on it, but I have wondered how other couples on here get down to $250-300 a month. Maybe it's all beans and rice!
I think you are doing pretty good based on those prices. And please read Bob W's post on how to get better. And don't take "I can easily do better!!" too seriously because two things REALLY affect how well you do:
1. What you eat
2. Where you live
Carbs are cheap, meat is not, so there you are. Certain things just flat out cost more. I make a choice to eat fewer cheap carby foods, and more protein and fresh vegetables. They cost more. Even though I stick to cheaper veggies, they cost more. Carrots are cheap. Strangely? Cabbage is not. It's $1.00 a pound here, 2x the cost of carrots.
So my strategies for how to bring down your grocery bill involve some serious data crunching. Because, you know, engineer.
1.
Don't waste food. You buy it, you make it, you eat it. Don't care if you are tired of it, put it in the freezer then. (I have a great book on this. An Everlasting Meal. Things like saving all scraps for broths.
2.
Figure out how to get what you currently eat for less. That, my friend, is a price book. To make one is somewhat labor intensive. It means for a few months you check the price of all your staples at every freaking store you go to. And ones you don't. So I know, for example, that pinto beans dried are $1.00 a pound, but they go on sale every once in awhile for $6 for a 10 lb bag. I ONLY buy them at their cheapest. So, every thing you eat regularly, find the CHEAPEST price, and ONLY buy it then.
If you eat canned diced tomatoes, buy them in the #10 can at Costco. Portion out and freeze.
3.
Figure out how to MAKE what you currently eat, if you can. Buy yogurt in 32 oz tubs instead of 8 oz. Or better yet, make your own. Learn to bake bread if you eat bread. Make your own refried beans. Make your own hummus.
4.
Calculate the cost per meal of your regular meals, and increase the frequency of the cheaper meals. So, for a month, write down all that you eat, and guesstimate the portion sizes. Calculate how much you spend for each meal: beans and rice, versus chicken stir-fry. Bagels and cream cheese vs. oatmeal. Turkey sandwich vs egg sandwich vs bean burrito. Do you need to lose weight? This would be a time to figure out if you can decrease your portion size.
After this exercise, then you know that beans and rice are cheaper than chicken. Or whatever. Eat more of the cheaper stuff.
Do the same for fruits and veggies.
Do the same for snacks. Do you eat snacks? You know, a banana is cheaper than crackers.
5.
Finally, find cheaper alternatives to what you DO eat. There are probably recipes that you'd like that would be cheaper. The Prudent Homemaker, and Cook for Good, are two very good sites. A google search of "food stamp" challenges may be another way to find other recipes.
Also, with the paper products, figure out how to reduce these too. Napkins and paper towels? Probably can do without.
For example, here in Coastal So cal, with the type of food that I eat, I would *never* *ever* be able to hit $250 a month for two. Unless I learned to garden, or had a source of free food.