Comments on: Question of the Weekend – Groceries

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:07:40 +0000

During the warmer months, I buy all of our meat, vegetables, and fruit from the local farmers’ markets. They are way cheaper than the grocery store (meat is comparable)–and most of the stuff sold is organic. As an example, I bought a HUGE cabbage last year for $1 (total), when it was $2.99/lb. at the store. I freeze a lot of the produce for use later in the year.

http://www.localharvest.com provides a searchable list of markets so you can find one near you.

By: spendingsmart.net

spendingsmart.net — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:10:08 +0000

The key is matching sales with coupons at the supermarket. You can buy all the brand names you want and can shop at a regular supermarket.

I like the Couponmom.com’s process of simply setting aside the Sunday circulars full of coupons, then using the database on its site to help match sales and coupons. It tells you which date the coupon was published and you retrieve it from your pile of circulars.

A no-brainer way is to simply stockpile items when they are on sale. You’ll have to keep a list of price to know when something is truly on sale. More savings comes from the sale than the coupon, anyway.

By: nooney

nooney — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:54:54 +0000

I price-match all of my local grocery ads at Wal-Mart Supercenter, and I also use coupons from the Sunday paper. A lot of Wal-Mart’s regular prices are cheaper than other grocery store’s sales prices too.

I managed to cut my food budget in half last year by reducing processed foods and eating more fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. It’s cheaper to be healthy! he he

By: Lord

Lord — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:54:22 +0000

My costs have risen almost 9% last year. Stocking the pantry may be the best investment this year, but usually the perishables have risen the most.

By: sam

sam — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:31:07 +0000

I do most of the grocery shopping, and have not found any large increases in what we are spending. We are buying pretty much the same things at the same places, but other than fresh produce, nothing seems too much more expensive. I assumed that the produce cost more because it’s winter time, so I have been substituting canned or frozen veggies instead.

By: EA

EA — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:41:31 +0000

My grocery bills have been going up, but also what I’ve been purchasing has changed so I can’t really compare. I’ve been trying to move away from high fructose corn syrup and eat more veggies and fiber. I’m a bit picky, so my bill has gone up since asparagus in winter is more expensive than pasta. But I hope to recoup the savings down the line in reduced health care costs.

I tend to shop with a list but it’s a flexible list. In other words it says “5 lbs of meat for crockpot BBQ”, and I buy chicken, turkey or pork depending on price (haven’t tried beef BBQ yet…). This is similar to what Jeremy said above.

By: Phyllis

Phyllis — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:54:09 +0000

I do all the grocery shopping and costs have skyrocketd in the past 6 months in the Chicago area. There are only 2 of us.We eat primarily organic products, mostly fresh, and mostly cooked at home. When I went to Trader Joe’s a year ago, I could buy a significant amount of items at $50, and pretty much buy the same items every 2-3 weeks. It is now $90. We won’t go back to eating less quality, & we are not big meat eaters. We have addressed these increases with 1. not eating out or doing take out at all 2. my husband, an attorney now packs a lunch every day 3. no ice cream, cookies, etc. We froze a lot of fresh produce and free range chickens and beef from our Farmers Market 4. we are using up soaps in the closet that we may not like as much,same with toothpaste, hand lotion etc 5. buying smaller amounts of items, like 8 rolls of tp instead of 12 unless we go to Costco. The increase in gas prices, food, and utilites is beating us up. 6. no clothes buying this year 7.decrease significantly Christmas presents. 8. can’t do much about our fixed costs but address anything not necessary-if we don’t need it or can do without it-we won’t get it. We were going to get our first flat screened TV at Christmas and decided not to, don’t watch much TV, using our old tv’s are fine for now.

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:10:59 +0000

I tend to buy most paper products and cleaning supplies at the Dollar Stores. I then make my trip to the local Walgreens for some basic grocery items: cereal, poptarts, granola bars, etc. Then, I’m on my way to the actual grocery store. I tend to use at least $20-$30 of coupons each week! I even had a gentleman ask me where I got all of my coupons. I use the internet (manufacturer websites), the newspaper, and the Walgreens ads. This works for me since all 3 stores are within 1 mile of my home…multiple stops may not be convenient, or cost effective, if you have to drive across town.

By: CanadianSaver

CanadianSaver — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:45:05 +0000

I have been spending less the last 2 months (way under my budget of $350/month) since I’m eating from my stockpile. We got a lot of ground beef, boneless chicken, even seafood in the freezer, so I tend to plan my menus around what I already have at home and only go out to purchase the stuff to complement.

The less trips to the store, the more that stays in my pockets.

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:03:18 +0000

All of the Sunday circulars are available for free at sundaysaver.com