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Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Grocery Budget Help

Visit me at my new website - anniecrawford.com
Hubby and I are finally on the same page about spending and are trying to trim the budget. I have a real problem getting my groceries below (or even at) $100 a week. (ok, so really I am at $125 a week but I know I can cut our italian soda, doughnuts in the store and beer and wine.) Does anyone have any tips for me?? I can't stand feeding my family refined, processed food, so if you suggest bisquick or kraft or anything in a box, it might help someone else! :-)
posted by texashimalaya @ 7/20/2005 09:23:00 PM  

7 Comments:

  • At 7/20/2005 9:39 PM, Blogger Anita said…

    I hope you are not getting sick of my comments. :-) But doing anything from scratch will save money over buying it semi-prepared. I don't really have anything else to add to what you are probably already doing. I do like to buy whole chickens because they are a lot cheaper, roast them and then make chicken stock from the bones and soups and caseroles from the meat. I'm sure you would have better luck growing a garden than we would here in the PNW. It never gets warm enough and I REALLY miss fresh veggies out of the garden. I grew up on a farm and we would freeze loads of vegetables every year. And can some too. I tried canning tomatoes once, but just couldn't get enough to grow to make it worth while.

     

  • At 7/20/2005 9:48 PM, Blogger texashimalaya said…

    Anita - I love all your comments! I do make everything from scratch and I buy whole chickens too! Actually, we only eat meat 2-3 times a week. That is all why I am at such a loss how some people I know spend $50 a week! How? I do think it might be the produce, we like to eat alot of fresh fruit and veggies, so I will research Texas gardens. We have a big dirt square for a back yard, so there is definately room! All I have ever grown is herbs.

     

  • At 7/21/2005 12:12 AM, Blogger Hannah Im said…

    Another way to save money is to shop as much as possible at ethnic markets, especially Indian and Chinese and Southeast Asian ones. Sometimes the produce there is much cheaper. Same goes for farmer's markets. I used to buy produce from Costco too.

    My husband and I keep our grocery budget to a reasonable level, but we both joke that their is no upper limit for us. We LOVE to eat, and we love good food.

     

  • At 7/21/2005 7:25 AM, Blogger texashimalaya said…

    Hannah - Thank you for your ideas. (BTW - I visited your site and liked your Muslim post, but you don't do comments there right, or are they not working?) I will have to look for ethnic markets, I think they sound like fun!

    Tulip Girl - I just noticed the other day how much cheaper milk is at the pharmacy! Do they have organic though? I have this little theory that our girls are starting their periods years earlier because of all the growth hormones they consume through dairy...

    I will have to do some store/market searching. I think I also need to get into frozen veggies. I never buy them. I have an aversion to cooking side dishes (more work, isn't raw etc.) but my girls don't really eat the raw veggies too well anyway (hence why I put spinach in my smoothie!) So I gues I am going to have to give in and make veggie side dishes.

    Does anyone find cooking in bulk to really be cheaper? (like if I make enough for 2-3 meals all at once and then freeze).

    I was just talking to Tommy last night about how I don't buy things on sale because they "aren't on my list" and then end up paying twice as much for them in the long run.

     

  • At 7/21/2005 2:39 PM, Blogger Anita said…

    We don't really make ahead and freeze anything. But one thing that we have discovered is when we make a menu for the week, we do spend less because we are buying only what we need and then using it. There aren't green peppers or mushrooms going bad in the fridge. Another thing that I do is keep a recipe database. It's a bit rudimentary at the moment but ultimately I would like to use it to not only organize recipes but also keep inventory of what staple items we have in the pantry. For now I have printed out our most used recipes and have them in a binder in the kitchen. Then we can make a quick menu for the week and grocery shop for that week.

     

  • At 7/21/2005 11:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Healthy frugality: will someone please show me how?! I am NOT doing the canned soup and hamburger thing, even if it only costs $.50 .

    We are mostly vegetarian, so that helps save quite a bit...but the savings gets eaten up by the organic milk. I've just decided it is an investment in the future, until someone can show me how to save more and still eat healthfully.

    I like your blog a lot! (I'm an Oregon girl, myself)

     

  • At 7/22/2005 7:40 AM, Blogger texashimalaya said…

    Sparrow - Hi Oregon friend! I will let you know what tips I can develop for healthy frugality! I am finding bulk at Sam's Club to be helpful. Maple syrup is MUCH cheaper there. My next project is to search out the ethnic markets. I can't really get so spread out that I am making 5 stops a week! I also want to look into co-ops, but it is all pretty overwhelming. Like I said on another post, I get easily overwhelmed by options!

     

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