The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: MoneyCat on August 09, 2013, 09:03:39 PM
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Typically, I spend about $50/week on groceries, but ever since I started reading MMM I've been making more of an effort to cut costs. For the past two weeks, I have averaged $25.56/week on groceries. I could probably cut that number down even further if I could cut out more processed foods too. Baby steps.
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That's great. How did you do it?
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I cut down on the amount of meat that I eat and I bought more high-calorie, low-cost bulk items at the wholesale club. I also cut back on buying soda. It's amazing how much money you can save with just a few changes to your buying habits.
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We've been vegetarians for over four years. It seems like it has lowered our groceries expenses.
last two full years* as omnivores - $13k
first three full years as vegetarians - $9k
I'm not sure, though, that other factors didn't contribute, such as a renewed interest in economy.
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* That's as far back as our detailed break-down goes
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Cutting the meat buying down has done wonders to my budget as well. Beans and rice ain't that bad! With some veggies and other things, love it.
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Good job! I need help in this area as well. What kind of high calorie low cost bulk items have you been eating?
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Luckily, I don't have a nut allergy, so I've added a lot of nuts to my diet, which has reduced my protein costs quite a bit. I also switched from red meat to lean chicken and I've purchased that in bulk and then eaten it sparingly. Instead of fresh vegetables, I've bought frozen veggies in bulk and those should last me a really long time.
One thing that makes me facepalm is that I didn't even realize that most fruits could be stored for weeks safely if kept in the fridge. I've been throwing away so much fresh fruit up until now. Oh, well. Better late than never, I suppose.