Author Topic: Rein in the grocery spend 2017  (Read 109900 times)

westtoeast

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #100 on: February 08, 2017, 04:28:06 AM »
why buy the GF stuff at all why not focus on recipes and ingredients that dont involve any of that at all.  GF is a fad so it is getting cheaper to find stuff like GF pasta but why not skip pasta and bagels all together.  they arent necessary IMO.  you also have no quanities next to anything here. 

make your meal plans around what is on sale not based on what you want to eat. 3 weeks ago 3lbs of sweet potatoes at aldi were 99c ... a month ago 5lbs of red potatoes were 99c.  ground chicken for 4 dollars i'm guess for a lb is crazy high ... buy chicken for 1.49 a lb and dice or grind yourself.  aldi goat cheese is 1.99, i'm hoping that onion isnt one onion.  aldi regularly has 3lbs of onions for 99c. etc. i'm sure you see where all this is going.


Thank you! The reason for the GF bagels are I was planning to make veggie burgers, which are a little depressing without a bun. They are not an "every week" type purchase. I do totally agree with you thought... they are expensive and unhealthy. The GF pasta is made of quinoa and brown rice, and is 2.99 per pack. I think that is very cheap, but I have probably lost perspective on cheap pasta since my diagnosis. I will definitely try your meal planning tip... I've downloaded the apps for the stores I frequent so I can see the sales in advance. And haha, I definitely forgot to put amounts! Oops!

I'm in Canada, so things may be different, but I shop at Walmart, buying what's on sale and price match price match price match!  So, for example, couple of weeks ago I got a 10 pound bag of onions for something like $1.28 (Cdn - even less in U.S. dollars!)  Sweet potatoes the same week were on sale somewhere for 38 cents a pound.  And a 900 gram bag of lentils, according to the Walmart Canada website, costs $2.57 or something like that (I closed the browser window already, or I'd double-check). 

Thank you-- I don't really price match right now. I was able to type some excuse about not having a vehicle so I just go where is nearby... but that is complainypants because I bet many of you walk or ride your bikes to various grocery stores! Seems like the problem lies not in the types of meals I cook, but in my grocery store strategy. Price matching and sales watching here I come! Thanks again for the advice :)

Also my apologies for the formatting, I tried and failed to quote both folks in the same post.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 04:32:55 AM by westtoeast »

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #101 on: February 08, 2017, 10:07:15 AM »
why buy the GF stuff at all why not focus on recipes and ingredients that dont involve any of that at all.  GF is a fad so it is getting cheaper to find stuff like GF pasta but why not skip pasta and bagels all together.  they arent necessary IMO.  you also have no quanities next to anything here. 

make your meal plans around what is on sale not based on what you want to eat. 3 weeks ago 3lbs of sweet potatoes at aldi were 99c ... a month ago 5lbs of red potatoes were 99c.  ground chicken for 4 dollars i'm guess for a lb is crazy high ... buy chicken for 1.49 a lb and dice or grind yourself.  aldi goat cheese is 1.99, i'm hoping that onion isnt one onion.  aldi regularly has 3lbs of onions for 99c. etc. i'm sure you see where all this is going.


Thank you! The reason for the GF bagels are I was planning to make veggie burgers, which are a little depressing without a bun. They are not an "every week" type purchase. I do totally agree with you thought... they are expensive and unhealthy. The GF pasta is made of quinoa and brown rice, and is 2.99 per pack. I think that is very cheap, but I have probably lost perspective on cheap pasta since my diagnosis. I will definitely try your meal planning tip... I've downloaded the apps for the stores I frequent so I can see the sales in advance. And haha, I definitely forgot to put amounts! Oops!

I'm in Canada, so things may be different, but I shop at Walmart, buying what's on sale and price match price match price match!  So, for example, couple of weeks ago I got a 10 pound bag of onions for something like $1.28 (Cdn - even less in U.S. dollars!)  Sweet potatoes the same week were on sale somewhere for 38 cents a pound.  And a 900 gram bag of lentils, according to the Walmart Canada website, costs $2.57 or something like that (I closed the browser window already, or I'd double-check). 

Thank you-- I don't really price match right now. I was able to type some excuse about not having a vehicle so I just go where is nearby... but that is complainypants because I bet many of you walk or ride your bikes to various grocery stores! Seems like the problem lies not in the types of meals I cook, but in my grocery store strategy. Price matching and sales watching here I come! Thanks again for the advice :)

Also my apologies for the formatting, I tried and failed to quote both folks in the same post.

To quote, instead of hitting reply, just hit the quote button on the post you want to quote.  That will create a new reply for you.  Then, just make sure you're outside of the quote brackets to type what you want to say. 

To add another quote in the same reply, first make sure the cursor is in the place you want to put the quote in your reply.  Then scroll to the post you want to quote, and hit the place where it says "insert quote."

But no worries, we could follow you...

Just wanted to say that the beauty of price matching, if you have a store that offers it as an option, is that you don't have to truck around to different locations.  You just show them the ad(s) from the other stores, and they ring the item up at that price.  I price match almost everything when I shop, because I basically won't buy it if it's not on sale.  You just have to figure out which if any of the stores in reasonable travel distance to you offer price matching.

(And shhh!  Don't tell anyone, but I absolutely do not ride my bike to the grocery store!  I do at least drive past it on my way home.  Though that could get me in trouble around here because I'm not supposed to be driving on a commute as short as mine!  But I work some crazy hours and am in and out, sometimes in a hurry.)

DTaggart

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #102 on: February 08, 2017, 12:53:53 PM »
My total for January was $150.32!

Wow, that is extraordinary! I doubt we'll ever get down to a level of $75/mo per person! I'm really impressed. :)

Well that was only for January because we were doing a pantry challenge, I would be hard-pressed to keep that up long term. Going forward I'll be aiming for $250 per month.

Last weekend's shopping (I'm a little late posting my weekly update) was just under $100. I was expecting it to be on the high side since I was restocking some things that we were low on after the pantry challenge month, and there were also a couple of splurges just because I hadn't been buying any treats for a whole month. Overall I'm fairly comfortable with that number, but will be trying to keep it down to around $50 per week for the rest of the month to stay on target.

But I stocked up on chicken breast while it was super low (1.49/lb) - I put a bunch in the crockpot and made 7 tubs of shredded chicken to have on hand for quick and easy meals, and repackaged/froze the rest. I also stocked up on broccoli (my favorite veggie) - on sale for .89/lb - bought several pounds, then blanched and froze it. Then I got this weeks' grocery ads and see its on sale for .79/lb. Annoying. This week ground turkey is on sale for 1.97/lb so I know what I'll be doing this weekend :)

afuera

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #103 on: February 08, 2017, 01:09:27 PM »
How much chicken is too much chicken?  The Foodarama Fiesta on my street has chicken breast on sale for $0.97/lb and our Aldi has chicken thighs for $0.69/lb.  Do I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer?
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 01:43:57 PM by afuera »

boarder42

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #104 on: February 08, 2017, 01:12:06 PM »
How much chicken is too much chicken?  The Foodarama on my street has chicken breast on sale for $0.97/lb and our Aldi has chicken thighs for $0.69/lb.  Do I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer?

aldi is bone in chicken thighs 69c is not a stock up price. they get as low as 29c

afuera

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #105 on: February 08, 2017, 01:17:15 PM »
How much chicken is too much chicken?  The Foodarama on my street has chicken breast on sale for $0.97/lb and our Aldi has chicken thighs for $0.69/lb.  Do I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer?

aldi is bone in chicken thighs 69c is not a stock up price. they get as low as 29c
Good to know, thanks!  I guess I'll just get the breasts.

boarder42

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #106 on: February 08, 2017, 01:22:43 PM »
How much chicken is too much chicken?  The Foodarama on my street has chicken breast on sale for $0.97/lb and our Aldi has chicken thighs for $0.69/lb.  Do I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer?

aldi is bone in chicken thighs 69c is not a stock up price. they get as low as 29c
Good to know, thanks!  I guess I'll just get the breasts.

69c is a good deal to eat today for fresh.  just not a stock up level.  97c for breasts is stock up level. 

DTaggart

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #107 on: February 08, 2017, 02:10:20 PM »
How much chicken is too much chicken?  The Foodarama Fiesta on my street has chicken breast on sale for $0.97/lb and our Aldi has chicken thighs for $0.69/lb.  Do I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer?

Are these prices for boneless or bone-in meat? In my area, those would be amazing prices for boneless, but for bone-in those are pretty common sale prices which repeat every 6 - 8 weeks or so. So, if bone-in I'd buy myself enough to last a month or two knowing I'd see that price again before long. If boneless I'd buy as much as physically possible. This is where making a grocery price book can be very useful.

aldi is bone in chicken thighs 69c is not a stock up price. they get as low as 29c
Holy crap I want to live near your Aldi :)

afuera

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #108 on: February 08, 2017, 02:30:10 PM »
How much chicken is too much chicken?  The Foodarama Fiesta on my street has chicken breast on sale for $0.97/lb and our Aldi has chicken thighs for $0.69/lb.  Do I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer?

Are these prices for boneless or bone-in meat? In my area, those would be amazing prices for boneless, but for bone-in those are pretty common sale prices which repeat every 6 - 8 weeks or so. So, if bone-in I'd buy myself enough to last a month or two knowing I'd see that price again before long. If boneless I'd buy as much as physically possible. This is where making a grocery price book can be very useful.

Boneless :)  Funny thing is I wouldn't have even recognized it as a good price a few weeks ago...

DTaggart

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #109 on: February 08, 2017, 03:05:27 PM »
Boneless :)  Funny thing is I wouldn't have even recognized it as a good price a few weeks ago...

Wow, I vote fill the freezer!

westtoeast

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #110 on: February 08, 2017, 04:45:17 PM »
why buy the GF stuff at all why not focus on recipes and ingredients that dont involve any of that at all.  GF is a fad so it is getting cheaper to find stuff like GF pasta but why not skip pasta and bagels all together.  they arent necessary IMO.  you also have no quanities next to anything here. 

make your meal plans around what is on sale not based on what you want to eat. 3 weeks ago 3lbs of sweet potatoes at aldi were 99c ... a month ago 5lbs of red potatoes were 99c.  ground chicken for 4 dollars i'm guess for a lb is crazy high ... buy chicken for 1.49 a lb and dice or grind yourself.  aldi goat cheese is 1.99, i'm hoping that onion isnt one onion.  aldi regularly has 3lbs of onions for 99c. etc. i'm sure you see where all this is going.


Thank you! The reason for the GF bagels are I was planning to make veggie burgers, which are a little depressing without a bun. They are not an "every week" type purchase. I do totally agree with you thought... they are expensive and unhealthy. The GF pasta is made of quinoa and brown rice, and is 2.99 per pack. I think that is very cheap, but I have probably lost perspective on cheap pasta since my diagnosis. I will definitely try your meal planning tip... I've downloaded the apps for the stores I frequent so I can see the sales in advance. And haha, I definitely forgot to put amounts! Oops!

I'm in Canada, so things may be different, but I shop at Walmart, buying what's on sale and price match price match price match!  So, for example, couple of weeks ago I got a 10 pound bag of onions for something like $1.28 (Cdn - even less in U.S. dollars!)  Sweet potatoes the same week were on sale somewhere for 38 cents a pound.  And a 900 gram bag of lentils, according to the Walmart Canada website, costs $2.57 or something like that (I closed the browser window already, or I'd double-check). 

Thank you-- I don't really price match right now. I was able to type some excuse about not having a vehicle so I just go where is nearby... but that is complainypants because I bet many of you walk or ride your bikes to various grocery stores! Seems like the problem lies not in the types of meals I cook, but in my grocery store strategy. Price matching and sales watching here I come! Thanks again for the advice :)

Also my apologies for the formatting, I tried and failed to quote both folks in the same post.

To quote, instead of hitting reply, just hit the quote button on the post you want to quote.  That will create a new reply for you.  Then, just make sure you're outside of the quote brackets to type what you want to say. 

To add another quote in the same reply, first make sure the cursor is in the place you want to put the quote in your reply.  Then scroll to the post you want to quote, and hit the place where it says "insert quote."

But no worries, we could follow you...

Just wanted to say that the beauty of price matching, if you have a store that offers it as an option, is that you don't have to truck around to different locations.  You just show them the ad(s) from the other stores, and they ring the item up at that price.  I price match almost everything when I shop, because I basically won't buy it if it's not on sale.  You just have to figure out which if any of the stores in reasonable travel distance to you offer price matching.

(And shhh!  Don't tell anyone, but I absolutely do not ride my bike to the grocery store!  I do at least drive past it on my way home.  Though that could get me in trouble around here because I'm not supposed to be driving on a commute as short as mine!  But I work some crazy hours and am in and out, sometimes in a hurry.)

Glad to hear we share the same grocery secret! Also I totally misunderstood price matching. I thought it was when you figure out how much everything costs at each store and GO to all of those stores. Now I understand, and the real deal is much easier. Thanks for clarifying!

recklesslysober

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #111 on: February 08, 2017, 05:12:54 PM »
Total this month was $173.46 which included a few treats but not as many as usual. Very happy with that! My average last year was almost $350/month!

I'm already at $149.47 this month.. some of that was meat (we went through the freezer last month), and snacks for my birthday party. Much less expensive than us going out to eat though! I think everyone appreciated that.

I did stock up on vegetables and fruit at Costco too so I shouldn't need much this week.

I think I can keep my average for the year under $200.

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #112 on: February 08, 2017, 07:10:15 PM »
why buy the GF stuff at all why not focus on recipes and ingredients that dont involve any of that at all.  GF is a fad so it is getting cheaper to find stuff like GF pasta but why not skip pasta and bagels all together.  they arent necessary IMO.  you also have no quanities next to anything here. 

make your meal plans around what is on sale not based on what you want to eat. 3 weeks ago 3lbs of sweet potatoes at aldi were 99c ... a month ago 5lbs of red potatoes were 99c.  ground chicken for 4 dollars i'm guess for a lb is crazy high ... buy chicken for 1.49 a lb and dice or grind yourself.  aldi goat cheese is 1.99, i'm hoping that onion isnt one onion.  aldi regularly has 3lbs of onions for 99c. etc. i'm sure you see where all this is going.


Thank you! The reason for the GF bagels are I was planning to make veggie burgers, which are a little depressing without a bun. They are not an "every week" type purchase. I do totally agree with you thought... they are expensive and unhealthy. The GF pasta is made of quinoa and brown rice, and is 2.99 per pack. I think that is very cheap, but I have probably lost perspective on cheap pasta since my diagnosis. I will definitely try your meal planning tip... I've downloaded the apps for the stores I frequent so I can see the sales in advance. And haha, I definitely forgot to put amounts! Oops!

I'm in Canada, so things may be different, but I shop at Walmart, buying what's on sale and price match price match price match!  So, for example, couple of weeks ago I got a 10 pound bag of onions for something like $1.28 (Cdn - even less in U.S. dollars!)  Sweet potatoes the same week were on sale somewhere for 38 cents a pound.  And a 900 gram bag of lentils, according to the Walmart Canada website, costs $2.57 or something like that (I closed the browser window already, or I'd double-check). 

Thank you-- I don't really price match right now. I was able to type some excuse about not having a vehicle so I just go where is nearby... but that is complainypants because I bet many of you walk or ride your bikes to various grocery stores! Seems like the problem lies not in the types of meals I cook, but in my grocery store strategy. Price matching and sales watching here I come! Thanks again for the advice :)

Also my apologies for the formatting, I tried and failed to quote both folks in the same post.

To quote, instead of hitting reply, just hit the quote button on the post you want to quote.  That will create a new reply for you.  Then, just make sure you're outside of the quote brackets to type what you want to say. 

To add another quote in the same reply, first make sure the cursor is in the place you want to put the quote in your reply.  Then scroll to the post you want to quote, and hit the place where it says "insert quote."

But no worries, we could follow you...

Just wanted to say that the beauty of price matching, if you have a store that offers it as an option, is that you don't have to truck around to different locations.  You just show them the ad(s) from the other stores, and they ring the item up at that price.  I price match almost everything when I shop, because I basically won't buy it if it's not on sale.  You just have to figure out which if any of the stores in reasonable travel distance to you offer price matching.

(And shhh!  Don't tell anyone, but I absolutely do not ride my bike to the grocery store!  I do at least drive past it on my way home.  Though that could get me in trouble around here because I'm not supposed to be driving on a commute as short as mine!  But I work some crazy hours and am in and out, sometimes in a hurry.)

Glad to hear we share the same grocery secret! Also I totally misunderstood price matching. I thought it was when you figure out how much everything costs at each store and GO to all of those stores. Now I understand, and the real deal is much easier. Thanks for clarifying!

Yay!  You got the quoting figured out! 

And I thought you *might* have misunderstood price matching, but I wasn't sure.  Yeah, it is a whole lot easier than driving around, though there are times that the store you shop at doesn't carry a particular brand or size of item, but if you keep your shopping list a little bit flexible to account for those times, then you can still save a lot of money and get most of what you want.

Anatidae V

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #113 on: February 08, 2017, 08:01:47 PM »
I'm a month late, as I started my groceries journey on the Frugal January thread, but I'm posting to follow! My first goal is $200/m eating out and $700/m groceries, but by the end of the year I'd like it to be $600/m groceries and $150/m eating out, including any additional items we add to our grocery list due to our first baby due in April/May.

I'll update with our starting numbers once I have a computer :)
OK so our starting numbers are:
January
Eating out: $275
Groceries:  $890 (5 grocery weekends)
Total:       $1165

Goal #1:  $900/m total

The first strategies we're trying are to have almost the same lunch every day plus small variations, and to pick 2 simple-to-cook meals for during the week. I've signed up for PlanToEat, but I haven't made time to really play with what it can do, so we're meal planning with pen and paper for now.

As it's summer, the menu is salad + a protein for lunch, snacks are chopped fruit and a baked item (muffin, hot cross bun with cream cheese, etc), and a dairy item (yogurt or cream cheese).
I think we're going to get through this week without a mid-week shop. I pulled some lasagne out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge over the day, and I'll check tonight for something for tomorrow night's dinner.

We didn't buy enough snack food (yoghurts and fresh fruit), so I made cake. Yum!

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #114 on: February 08, 2017, 08:11:13 PM »
I think we're going to get through this week without a mid-week shop. I pulled some lasagne out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge over the day, and I'll check tonight for something for tomorrow night's dinner.

We didn't buy enough snack food (yoghurts and fresh fruit), so I made cake. Yum!

I usually do my main shop in the middle of the week, and as I posted in another thread, I sat down tonight and did all my flyer review, figuring out what I was going to buy - then decided that I really didn't need to leave the house to go and grocery shop, as I still have plenty of food for at least the next few days.  I may need to pop into the store briefly on the week to pick up a couple of fruits and veg (less than $5 worth, really, just a couple of things to tide me over).  But otherwise should be just fine until this time next week.

Ebrat

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #115 on: February 09, 2017, 07:44:09 AM »
Our total for the first week of Feb was $74. I think I've addressed a few issues that bumped that number up (primarily snacks and work food). Really working on just buying what we need, but I'll probably hit Costco sometime next week for a few things.

Any ideas for non-grain foods to bulk up a meal? We don't like to eat pasta and bread a lot, but our meals always seem to need *something* else. Rice doesn't fill us up. I've been experimenting with beans more, and sometimes we do potatoes. Any other ideas?

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #116 on: February 09, 2017, 08:28:24 AM »
How about couscous or falafel? And how about cooking your rice Mexican-style, in broth, mixing in bits of bell pepper, cilantro, and onion? Or Indian style with sliced almonds and peas?


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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #117 on: February 09, 2017, 03:51:21 PM »
Hi guys -- joining late, but this is my primary focus for the year, so this seems like a good place.  I don't even know and don't want to know what our last year's food spend was, but I'm guessing $1000-$1200/mo. on groceries alone, and probably half that again on general takeout and meaningless crap.  The big kicker was when I ordered Chinese delivery one Friday night when I didn't want to cook, and suddenly realized I was paying $70 for a completely meaningless meal, most of which was unhealthy to boot. [FWIW, I did eat the leftovers myself for lunch the entire next week, but still, if I'm going to spend $70, I want it to be delicious and memorable].

My goal for this year is $600/mo. for groceries and weeknight takeout for the four of us (2 adults, teenage girl, preteen boy).  I am recommitting to the menu planning, I have replaced Wegman's with Aldi's, and I am cutting back on the treats (e.g., we're still going to have good cheese or salami, but one at a time is more than sufficient).  This figure includes toiletries that I get at the supermarket but not monthly Amazon Subscribe & Save (I am also taking a hard look at that).  It also includes weekly dairy delivery that I am not about to give up because it is pure deliciousness, but I am being more selective about what/how much I order. 

I began this in mid-January, and I did very well -- $70 at Aldi's each week and no takeout (though I hadn't thought about the dairy yet).  Wheels came off the cart first week in February -- a literally last-minute trip cancellation + surprise Superbowl company left me running to the store Sunday morning with no plan, and I ended up dropping $100 at Aldi's and then (stupidly) let DH pick up the few things I couldn't find at Wegman's, where he promptly dropped another $100 [I really do know better than to send that man unsupervised to the store -- sent him once for milk and bread and he dropped $64.  He has many fine qualities, but frugality is not one of them.  Nor is sticking to the list.].  So for February so far, 9 days in and 1/3 of the budget gone.  But we will be back on the horse this week.  And I canceled dairy this week too, because we had enough milk/butter and Aldi's eggs are way cheaper. :-)

I also have to caveat, though it makes me feel ridiculously whiny, that I am only accounting for the stuff that I do.  When I travel for work, DH just gets takeout -- in years past, I have spent all Sunday cooking things that he liked and left them labeled in the fridge, along with notes of what I had planned for his and the kids' meals, and come home to discover they had eaten McDonald's and pizza every night.  He has gotten a little better; if I leave simple things like bratwurst and hot dogs and deli, he will eat that once or twice instead of ordering out.  But it's just not worth me fretting about or trying to control; he's a grown man, and he's going to do what he's going to do.  So I'm going to keep putting some reasonable food in the fridge, but I refuse to take the fall here for whatever he puts on the credit card while I'm gone. :-)

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #118 on: February 09, 2017, 04:17:07 PM »
Our total for the first week of Feb was $74. I think I've addressed a few issues that bumped that number up (primarily snacks and work food). Really working on just buying what we need, but I'll probably hit Costco sometime next week for a few things.

Any ideas for non-grain foods to bulk up a meal? We don't like to eat pasta and bread a lot, but our meals always seem to need *something* else. Rice doesn't fill us up. I've been experimenting with beans more, and sometimes we do potatoes. Any other ideas?

I just googled for "Foods that fill you up" and got these hits:

http://dailyburn.com/life/health/low-calorie-foods-feel-full/

http://www.womenfitness.net/top10/fight-hunger/

http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2012/01/11/top-10-foods-that-fill-you-up/

I know you didn't ask about low-cal options, and these all seem to be pointed toward that, but the overall theme seems to be fibre, protein, and (healthy) fat.

Ebrat

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #119 on: February 09, 2017, 04:37:20 PM »
How about couscous or falafel? And how about cooking your rice Mexican-style, in broth, mixing in bits of bell pepper, cilantro, and onion? Or Indian style with sliced almonds and peas?

Great ideas! I'm not a big couscous person, but that reminds me that I was thinking of trying some intact grains (I used to really like bulgur). I think I've only ever had falafel once or twice, so not really sure if I like it...Only one way to find out!

I just googled for "Foods that fill you up" and got these hits:

http://dailyburn.com/life/health/low-calorie-foods-feel-full/

http://www.womenfitness.net/top10/fight-hunger/

http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2012/01/11/top-10-foods-that-fill-you-up/

I know you didn't ask about low-cal options, and these all seem to be pointed toward that, but the overall theme seems to be fibre, protein, and (healthy) fat.

Thanks! We usually have a few servings of veggies with dinner, so adding more fat to them might help.

Benny3

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #120 on: February 09, 2017, 04:37:48 PM »
Hi - long time lurker and a first time poster, who would like to join the 2017 grocery challenge.  I feel like the new kid at school!

My goal for 2017 is to keep groceries under $250 a month and eating out under $100. This includes all household supplies as well but does not include pet food or eating out.  We are a family of 5, two adults and 3 kids all under 8.  I've always been a "sale shopper" and buying what ever is on sale and my husband is the family chef.  I'm lucky that he can make something tasty out of whatever sale items I find that week (whereas I have been known to burn water).  We almost always pack everyone's lunches and we do family style dinners at least 5 times a week with the remaining nights being leftovers or the occasional take out pizza..

That all being said, January was NOT a frugal month for us.  I spent $601.40 on groceries and $75.37 on eating out. However that also included our semi-annual bulk shopping "stock up" trip to Costco.  I am working towards under $200 for February to offset what I spent in January and lots of pantry cooking this month. 

Thank you all for the inspiration to join a challenge and hopefully having to check in will help keep me accountable.

swick

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #121 on: February 09, 2017, 04:45:02 PM »
Hi - long time lurker and a first time poster, who would like to join the 2017 grocery challenge.  I feel like the new kid at school!

WELCOME!! Glad you came out of lurkerdom :) For a family of 5 it sounds like you are doing great! Hope you'll share some tips as well :)

Benny3

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #122 on: February 10, 2017, 09:24:04 AM »
Thank you Swick!! I am usually a very shy individual so this is a big step for me :)

We are in the SoCal area so we do a lot of chicken, carnitas, rice, beans, basically anything you can throw on both the grill and tortillas.  If I follow the sales I can get boneless chicken breast for $1.30/lb, pork for carnitas for $0.94/lb., rice for $0.26/lb and dried pintos for the same. We eat tons of fresh veggies and berries too.   As long as the produce is in season here its insanely cheap as in 5 lbs onions for $1 or zuchinni or roma tomatoes 3 lbs for a $1.  We mostly make our own guacamole, salsas and dips.  Like I said before my husband can make anything taste good which is probably what helps us out the most when it comes to our food budget. 


FireHiker

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #123 on: February 10, 2017, 09:37:59 AM »
Welcome, Benny3! I'm in San Diego so your general neck of the woods here, and 3 kids also but one is 16 so he eats more than the rest of us combined. We do a LOT of Mexican food too; my husband has mastered homemade enchilada sauce and salsa, which makes it much more reasonable than store-bought. I'm lucky like you are in that my husband is the primary cook and can make pretty good stuff these days.

Anatidae V

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #124 on: February 10, 2017, 03:32:46 PM »
I'm a month late, as I started my groceries journey on the Frugal January thread, but I'm posting to follow! My first goal is $200/m eating out and $700/m groceries, but by the end of the year I'd like it to be $600/m groceries and $150/m eating out, including any additional items we add to our grocery list due to our first baby due in April/May.

I'll update with our starting numbers once I have a computer :)
OK so our starting numbers are:
January
Eating out: $275
Groceries:  $890 (5 grocery weekends)
Total:       $1165

Goal #1:  $900/m total

The first strategies we're trying are to have almost the same lunch every day plus small variations, and to pick 2 simple-to-cook meals for during the week. I've signed up for PlanToEat, but I haven't made time to really play with what it can do, so we're meal planning with pen and paper for now.

As it's summer, the menu is salad + a protein for lunch, snacks are chopped fruit and a baked item (muffin, hot cross bun with cream cheese, etc), and a dairy item (yogurt or cream cheese).
I think we're going to get through this week without a mid-week shop. I pulled some lasagne out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge over the day, and I'll check tonight for something for tomorrow night's dinner.

We didn't buy enough snack food (yoghurts and fresh fruit), so I made cake. Yum!
We made it through the week with out an extra trip! We might spend just a bit more this week, if we can find something pre-made DH would like to take for lunches.

I think we're going to get through this week without a mid-week shop. I pulled some lasagne out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge over the day, and I'll check tonight for something for tomorrow night's dinner.

We didn't buy enough snack food (yoghurts and fresh fruit), so I made cake. Yum!

I usually do my main shop in the middle of the week, and as I posted in another thread, I sat down tonight and did all my flyer review, figuring out what I was going to buy - then decided that I really didn't need to leave the house to go and grocery shop, as I still have plenty of food for at least the next few days.  I may need to pop into the store briefly on the week to pick up a couple of fruits and veg (less than $5 worth, really, just a couple of things to tide me over).  But otherwise should be just fine until this time next week.
Ooh, awesome PJ!

tortoiseshell

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #125 on: February 11, 2017, 07:20:44 AM »
January total food spending: $259.40

This is WELL under my goal of $350 (which I had never achieved before, somehow?) and under my stretch goal of $300 as well. The most amazing thing is that this includes a $61.00 anniversary dinner, so I'm going to try to aim for $200 every month going forward!

It's February 11 and I'm already up to 177.13, so $200.00 won't happen this month. I will still shoot for $250.00.

Laura33

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #126 on: February 12, 2017, 07:57:39 PM »
So far so good on the "food" end; still figuring out the extras.  This week was $82 in groceries.  Wins include *not* just "grabbing a bite" while out and about the last two days (something we totally would have done last year), and getting invited out for dinner Sat. night and having them come over and cooking instead (required a last-minute $12 London broil, but still way better).  The total even included $10 for DD to have pho, which she has been begging for for a few weeks (I still can't believe I walked in, starving, at lunchtime, and walked out with only one order for her!).

The other stuff I still haven't figured out how to account for is the combo of DH and non-grocery.  E.g., in addition to the $82 in groceries, I picked up @2 months of glucosamine for DH for $30 (note to self: check online prices); then he went out again later for deodorant and came home with a bunch of Valentine's Day stuff for the kids (for I don't even know how much - will need to see next CC bill).

Honestly, I was a little bummed, because even though I said my target was $600/mo, I really wanted to come in at around $400.  But I guess if I keep the actual food part (grocery/takeout) to about $100/week, that still gives me another $150-200/mo. for all the other stuff while staying within the $600 total.

Anatidae V

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #127 on: February 12, 2017, 09:39:00 PM »
I'm a month late, as I started my groceries journey on the Frugal January thread, but I'm posting to follow! My first goal is $200/m eating out and $700/m groceries, but by the end of the year I'd like it to be $600/m groceries and $150/m eating out, including any additional items we add to our grocery list due to our first baby due in April/May.

I'll update with our starting numbers once I have a computer :)
OK so our starting numbers are:
January
Eating out: $275
Groceries:  $890 (5 grocery weekends)
Total:       $1165

Goal #1:  $900/m total

The first strategies we're trying are to have almost the same lunch every day plus small variations, and to pick 2 simple-to-cook meals for during the week. I've signed up for PlanToEat, but I haven't made time to really play with what it can do, so we're meal planning with pen and paper for now.

As it's summer, the menu is salad + a protein for lunch, snacks are chopped fruit and a baked item (muffin, hot cross bun with cream cheese, etc), and a dairy item (yogurt or cream cheese).
I think we're going to get through this week without a mid-week shop. I pulled some lasagne out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge over the day, and I'll check tonight for something for tomorrow night's dinner.

We didn't buy enough snack food (yoghurts and fresh fruit), so I made cake. Yum!
We made it through the week with out an extra trip! We might spend just a bit more this week, if we can find something pre-made DH would like to take for lunches.
We spent $200 on groceries on the weekend. We had to make the list while sitting in the shopping centre, and I stocked up on a few rarer items (frozen pastry, ..?) Plus some extras to make muffins for a sick friend. Our only eating out is a couple of lunches and an ice cream I bought yesterday, so for our overall spending that is just fine.

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #128 on: February 12, 2017, 11:17:23 PM »
Coffee at home this morning, and a granola bar for breakfast from the stash I keep at work.
Lunch was a small bowl of lentil/veggie soup (sent home with me after the seniors lunch at the church on Thursday) and some plantain fritters sent home today from coffee hour.
Supper, I finally got to making one of my expired-last-year packages of rice and grains, the kind you can microwave in the bag.  Seeds of Change southwest flavour, with quinoa and rice.  Nice flavour, satisfying chewy-ness to it.  On top, some of the split pea/veg stew I made the other day.  Put several more servings of that in the freezer, and pulled out one of last week's pasta containers for some variety.

I succumbed to a quick stop at Walmart on the way home from church.  I needed meds for the cat, but also grabbed a package of tofu.  I think I have to be careful about working in some variety from all the rice with beans/split peas/lentils that I have to eat, because I'm already a little bit bored (with the texture, mostly).  Though, I'll probably eat the tofu with rice too!  Or at least, some of it.

(I also bought a cheap 6 pack of glazed donuts for $1, but I've already confessed that in another thread, so we don't need to talk about it here, right?)

afuera

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #129 on: February 13, 2017, 08:23:12 AM »
How much chicken is too much chicken?  The Foodarama Fiesta on my street has chicken breast on sale for $0.97/lb and our Aldi has chicken thighs for $0.69/lb.  Do I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer?

Are these prices for boneless or bone-in meat? In my area, those would be amazing prices for boneless, but for bone-in those are pretty common sale prices which repeat every 6 - 8 weeks or so. So, if bone-in I'd buy myself enough to last a month or two knowing I'd see that price again before long. If boneless I'd buy as much as physically possible. This is where making a grocery price book can be very useful.

Boneless :)  Funny thing is I wouldn't have even recognized it as a good price a few weeks ago...

$33 later we now have 33lbs of chicken.  2 lbs in the slow cooker for some shredded chicken we can keep in the fridge and quickly add to salads and other dishes, 2 lbs in the fridge for a few chicken meals we will make this week, and the rest in the freezer.  We most likely won't need to buy chicken again until April or May!

Poundwise

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #130 on: February 13, 2017, 09:21:15 AM »
GREAT deal on the chicken, afuera!!

I spent only $39.30 on groceries last week, mostly milk and fruit, but $12.50 went for 13 bagels.  Husband loves bagels so, but I should go on Tuesdays when it's buy 12, get 6 free.  Just happened to be in front of the bakery on a Saturday.

A little worried about this week, since our fridge keeps conking out and the things in the freezer have been thawing. I need to move  all the frozen food to the chest freezer in the garage, and order a new thermostat ASAP! Or else all the dinners I precooked last week will go bad!

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #131 on: February 13, 2017, 11:20:30 AM »
A little worried about this week, since our fridge keeps conking out and the things in the freezer have been thawing. I need to move  all the frozen food to the chest freezer in the garage, and order a new thermostat ASAP! Or else all the dinners I precooked last week will go bad!

Oh no!  That sounds so frustrating.  Get that stuff moved, Poundwise! 

DTaggart

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #132 on: February 13, 2017, 12:22:11 PM »
$33 later we now have 33lbs of chicken.  2 lbs in the slow cooker for some shredded chicken we can keep in the fridge and quickly add to salads and other dishes, 2 lbs in the fridge for a few chicken meals we will make this week, and the rest in the freezer.  We most likely won't need to buy chicken again until April or May!

So beautiful! *wipes tear from eye* :)

OK I am well on track after this weekend's shopping, I only spent about $42. I got 6 lbs of ground turkey at 1.97/lb - turned that into 3 meat loaves and 12 turkey burger patties in the freezer for easy meals, 4 whole chickens - .77/lb, plus I had an e-coupon for $5/$15 of meat so that was roughly $10 on the chicken, then produce, a gallon of milk, lunch meat, crackers (on sale and had an e-coupon), and a can of soup and a candy bar both free after e-coupons. The freezer's feeling quite full again, I need to reorganize a little which will open up a bit of space though.

Ebrat

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #133 on: February 15, 2017, 07:25:33 AM »
We spent $185 the first half of the month. Not bad! Much lower than last month. And I managed to only spend $38 at Costco yesterday. I still feel like we have a decent amount of food in the house, so hopefully the second half of the month will also be relatively low-spend and YNAB will stop getting mad at me :)

Today's task is to not buy a ton of snacks at work.

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #134 on: February 15, 2017, 11:17:39 AM »
Spent only about $18 at the grocery store yesterday, kept to only replenishing dairy (milk, cream) and produce.  Only thing is they didn't have some produce that I wanted stocked up.  Trying to decide whether to pop back by again today (last day for these sale flyers) hoping to pick those things up, or just go with what I have and try to hold out until next week for more produce. 

*sniff*

I really wanted some berries and a bag of avocados!

boarder42

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #135 on: February 15, 2017, 02:28:36 PM »
we're rocking 82 bucks half way thru the month.  with quite a bit of food sitting around the house.  but you need to add the half cow to that at 60 a month.  plus ground turkey is on sale and i just ran out last week so that will be a large stock the freezer purchase this week. really hoping we can sit under 250 this month but we will see.

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #136 on: February 16, 2017, 12:29:18 AM »
Today one of the grocery stores gives 17% discount on all fruit and vegetables and 3% on all other goods for customers with customer card, which I have. In addition, my credit card gives 3% discount on all groceries. Therefore: shopping today. Plus eating homemade lunch, as usual.

Yesterday we had as good as no vegetables in the fridge at dinner time. So I looked in the freezer for alternatives and found a box of meat/vegetable sauce leftover from last weeks cooking. We eat that with tortillas that we past the best before date, but also put in the freezer. And I made tzaziki from a rest of yoghurt and half a cucumber that was beyond it's best condition.

boarder42

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #137 on: February 16, 2017, 04:55:21 AM »
Most Everyone here should likely have the amex blue cash preferred. ESP those spending over 275 per month. It's worth 6% cash back on groceries. 

If someone wants a referral on this card let me know i get 50 dollars. PM me.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2017, 07:03:01 AM by boarder42 »

PJ

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #138 on: February 16, 2017, 06:09:52 AM »
Today one of the grocery stores gives 17% discount on all fruit and vegetables and 3% on all other goods for customers with customer card, which I have. In addition, my credit card gives 3% discount on all groceries. Therefore: shopping today. Plus eating homemade lunch, as usual.

Yesterday we had as good as no vegetables in the fridge at dinner time. So I looked in the freezer for alternatives and found a box of meat/vegetable sauce leftover from last weeks cooking. We eat that with tortillas that we past the best before date, but also put in the freezer. And I made tzaziki from a rest of yoghurt and half a cucumber that was beyond it's best condition.

Hooray for discounts on things you should actually be buying/eating, rather than the sales on the usual over-processed crap (yeah, ok, some of which I buy, especially when it's on sale!)

And your dinner sounds not only resourceful, but quite delicious!  I love tzatziki!   

Laura33

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #139 on: February 16, 2017, 07:10:17 AM »
Sigh.  Now in a fail/downer moment.  Yesterday I caved to kids' request for Subway for the usual reasons (trying to fit dinner into 30 mins between dentist and school event, kids pleading, etc.) + we were out of my quick kid fallbacks (e.g., Michelina's mac and cheese for 99c) because Aldi doesn't carry them.  $17 down the tubes.  Then had to toss the grapes I just got last weekend that went bad.  This morning I discovered we are out of OJ, and I hadn't ordered any from the dairy because it's freaking $6/quart and I thought we still had cheaper stuff.  And I have basically no veggies in the house because I didn't plan well last weekend. 

I guess this is a good reminder of why I am doing this -- too many years of sloth and laziness = fallen into bad habits, with too many easy-but-expensive quick fixes.

FireHiker

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #140 on: February 16, 2017, 12:21:33 PM »
Doing pretty well so far this month. We did get lunch out yesterday, but we split a huge sandwich at a delicious new place near us and drank free water, so with a tip it was $10 for both of us. We are on track to be under $1100 for the month, but we are gone skiing all of next week. We'll cook most meals at our airbnb, but the drive is 8 hours each way, so we'll probably get one meal on the road each way. Trying to plan ahead to make the trip as inexpensive as possible.

recklesslysober

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #141 on: February 16, 2017, 01:03:28 PM »
This month ($392.85 so far) has been kind of a 180 for me from last month ($173.46 total).

In January we went through a lot of the pantry/freezer/fridge as part of that challenge so there was some restocking (meat, spices, vanilla, etc.). It was my birthday so I probably spent $35 on snacks when we had a bunch of friends over. We've also been sick so lots of canned soup (on sale but still..), crackers, popsicles, juice, tea, etc.

The average is still lower than my average from last year though, and I'm hoping to spend minimally for the rest of the month and into March. Once I start cooking at home more again I should be able to get back on track easily!

tightwaddy

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #142 on: February 17, 2017, 05:51:53 AM »
Most Everyone here should likely have the amex blue cash preferred. ESP those spending over 275 per month. It's worth 6% cash back on groceries. 

The blue cash preferred is perfect for me since we spend over $500 per month generally. For the past two years I've combined it with the December Whole Foods gift card bonus (I think most of them do something, many more generous than mine).  It seems like WF would be very anti-mustacian, but I live in an area of limited options and have found them to be very affordable for many things.

To enhance this, as I mentioned, in December if you buy $500 gift card, they give you an extra 10%.  I buy a years' worth of gift cards then, and with the Amex end up getting just over 15% off the top of all purchases (extra 10% works out to be about 9% off).

Then, I pre-order cases of things whenever possible (10% off).  I also combine with WF coupons and sales. 
« Last Edit: February 17, 2017, 02:23:25 PM by tightwaddy »

Laura33

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #143 on: February 19, 2017, 11:59:29 AM »
Well, ok today, not awesome.  It was a stock-up week for a few things, so both Wegman's and Aldi's for a total of $188.  But $42 of that was for DD's charity "cook for homeless shelter" event this week, so it doesn't really count as "groceries," and $20 was toiletries.  So the real food was $127 -- and $20 of that was stocking up on boneless skinless chicken breasts at $1.88 lb, which are now happily packaged in my freezer.  I also kept the dairy to $18, so even with my Subway cave, the weekly total was $162.

May also be the first Wegman's trip ever under $100, so that's a total win, at least.  :-). Looks like grocery/takeout total is $460, so a reasonable week next week should get us on the larger budget, even with my Superbowl screwup and DH's candy excursion.

This has really brought home how much we spend on non-grocery or non-nutritive items (e.g. OTC meds, Gatorade).  Have to think about that.

Guava

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #144 on: February 19, 2017, 07:45:43 PM »
We have way over spent this month because we have both been sick over a week now (over 2 for me). Between OTC meds and more convenience type foods so we don't have to cook, I am really feeling the budget crunch.  This was supposed to be the week I batch cook after work but things are not looking good.

boarder42

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #145 on: February 20, 2017, 05:49:44 AM »
killing it so far this month.  sitting at 151 plus 60 for the cow.  but a huge sale at the store today will have us spending another 50 dollars give or take 98c pork butts.  our favorite pizzas at their bottom price.  this includes 2 6-packs of beer as well.

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #146 on: February 20, 2017, 06:33:10 AM »
We have already spent $200 more than in January. Most of this was spent spoiling the youngest daughter while she was in hospital, but some of it is plain bad planning, and stockpiling detergent. I've only found two brands I can use to wash my clothes without breaking out in hives, and Saturday there was a 35% sale on one of those. The last time I found a similar sale was 10 years ago, so we bought enough to last us for a very long time. DD is not really well yet, so we still have a bit of spoiling to do. But we should be back to normal within the end of this week. I'm really just surprised the result is not worse. Even with all the eating out, no limits on icecream and candy, and stockpiling, we are still below the average grocery spending in 2016.

Mezzie

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #147 on: February 20, 2017, 07:52:40 AM »
Right now I'm at $123.75 for the month and I have no more grocery trips planned for February, but the number is deceptive because I've eaten out three times, including twice when I treated, bringing my total food purchases up to $220, well above my $200 self-imposed max and $160 goal. I'm also planning to eat out at least a couple times this week while I'm in downtown food heaven for jury duty.

Next month will be better!

Anatidae V

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #148 on: February 20, 2017, 05:44:37 PM »
We've spent $480 this month and I expect to spend an absolute maximum of $200 on the last trip of the month - fitting in nicely under our $700 goal for groceries! I'll only be able to spend that much if we stock up on meat, which I think I might do.

We're actually on track with eating out as well, though DH has bought lunches more than we'd like, and we have a birthday brunch to attend on Sunday.

Ebrat

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Re: Rein in the grocery spend 2017
« Reply #149 on: February 21, 2017, 07:53:50 AM »
I need to buy some dried beans today, after which I should be at about $280 for food this month. My goal for the month is $460 ($115 a week), so we should be well under that. Though I'll probably spend a chunk of money at Costco in the next week.

I've been trying to incorporate more beans into meals, and eating more potatoes. My new breakfast, which does a great job of keeping me full until lunch, is a couple eggs with roasted potatoes. I'm also working on learning to make bread. My latest attempt, on Sunday, didn't rise properly. Husband is a good sport and ate it anyway :)