Share Your Grocery Expense Tips

[brett]

We don't buy individual steaks any more.

We buy a big piece of tenderloin and cut it into steaks. Much less expensive. Priced more per pound but we are not paying for bone or fat. We are eating less meat these days but much better cuts.

We do exactly the same with pork loins. Buy a big piece, cut it down to small loin roasts, chops, and very thin for schnitzels-breaded or lemon.

We only buy skinless chicken breasts or bbq chicken from Costco. Save up the bones, etc and make chicken soup.

Our idea of fast food is buying a bbq chicken at Costco and making a fresh salad to go with it. Other than that, we never bother with fast food or fast food joints.

We buy a lot of the basics at Costco...paper products, OTC and vitamins, personal items, grocery items etc. Always find a place to store them.

We do not eat out at home very much since we often travel months or more during the year. When we do it is typically food that we do not prepare at home such as Vietnamese.

Blueberries are coming in season here. We eat lots. We will buy in bulk and freeze anywhere from 10-15 lbs and have them for the next six months or so.

Prior to leaving on a two month trip we typically eat 'out of our fridge and freezer' the month prior to departure. Empty it out a little so that nothing is frozen for more than six months.

 

[steady saver]

I raise a big vegetable garden, that provides a significant portion of my veggies for about 6-7 months of the year (and saves $$ also). For the food that I do buy, I don't skimp on quality, so I don't mind paying a fair price for things like grass-fed beef and lamb, farm eggs, and fresh veggies (usually from farmers markets) that I don't grow in my garden. The biggest thing most people can do to save on food bills is to cut food waste. If DW and I cook extra food on any given night, we save (or freeze) the leftovers for a future meal. I buy or harvest only the fresh veggies we will need to eat over the next few days, so we rarely have to toss out spoiled produce. I always make sure I know what foods are in our freezer, so that I can make plans to use them before they are there too long. Most people waste a whole LOT of food........if you can develop a system to reduce your food waste, you will do more to save yourself $$ on groceries than looking for bargain foods at the store, IMO.

+1 on eliminating waste

 

[T-Minus]

I walk to my local Safeway and ride my bike to the nearest Wal*Mart at least once a week. Typically, Wal*Mart is cheaper (unless there is a sale at Safeway), but doesn’t always stock what I want. Once a month or when I’m in the area, I stop by Costco and pick up larger stapes that are cheaper in volume (I verify this) and buy a tankful of cheap gas. I am also an Amazon Prime member and mentally compare prices and buy from the cheapest. Our single largest grocery expense is fresh organic fruit, but only purchase those items in season or on sale. We got costs down by comparison shopping, buying (in large quantities) items on sale, and by shifting our consumption patterns. True, it takes more time but, since I’m retired, I have more time to spend.

I also make a point of eating any/all leftovers within 24 hours in order to reduce waste. Sometimes, half a hamburger can be a good snack.

 

[gwraigty]

Let me add a couple of small specifics to the excellent ideas above. I buy enough turkeys when they're on sale near Thanksgiving to last throughout the year. (A small chest freezer is required for this.) I switched to bone-in ham vs. boneless. Much cheaper per lb. I warm it through in a large slower cooker and save the bone and broth for making soup.

 

[steady saver]

In the mid to late 90's, before our boys hit their teen years, I spent between $175-$200 a month on groceries. I did it by: planning my menu ahead of time, using the sale flyers I got in the mail to plan my week's menu. I bought in bulk and divided things up, freezing what I didn't need. I didn't waste ANYTHING. Mealy apples? I'd find a cookie recipe I could use them in. Milk going bad? I made more biscuits or pancakes that week. I baked our own bread and everything else. I had 3 stores that I would hit every Saturday morning while my DH stayed home with the kids. I loved it.

Because of health reasons, I buy mostly organic now and I've had to give up gluten so that increases the cost of groceries for me.

That said, I LOVE to grocery shop and these days I love to grocery shop at a really nice store in my area and at Trader Joe's. I know it's weird but grocery shopping is a joy to me. I rarely go to discount stores anymore, not that that is a good or bad thing, it's just that now I shop for pleasure more than savings. I love to cook, I love to see new products from small and/or local companies.

In answer to the OP's request, the biggest ways I save money are STILL 1)to plan ahead and shop by my list but also be willing to switch gears if I find a great in-store deal, and 2) to not waste food. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, apparently 1/3 of all food produced in the world goes to waste. That's a lot of food.

Because I love to try new stores, though, this thread is prompting me to plan a trip to an Aldis. I've never been and there one "near" me isn't super close but I think I'll try it for fun.

 

[steady saver]

One tip: When I buy a rotisserie chicken (Costco), we eat it once, then I cut the rest of the meat off the bones. I then put the carcass in crockpot, fill it with water and cook it on low for 24 hours. Best bone broth! I either drink it, warmed, in the mornings when it is cold, or I freeze it in 2-4 cup portions.

 

[W2R]

It's easy to save money on groceries! Just do the exact opposite of what I do. Seriously, I do not try very hard to save money on groceries, and I have everything delivered to my home. Last year my groceries averaged $203/month, for one person, and this didn't include lunches which I eat at a restaurant almost every day. I eat a lot more meat (and less carbs) than I used to eat, which has been healthy for me.

Instead of saving money on groceries, I get my jollies and save money by not paying money to watch TV. I don't have any cable TV reception, or other expenses related to television, not even streaming video bills. Actually I hardly ever watch TV and when I do, it's OTA using a homemade antenna. Also I pay $0.00 for a landline since I don't have one and just use a cell phone.

 

[Katsmeow]

ALDI - I second ( and third ) the Motion !



It is a "no brainer" and you will save approx. 35-40% on your total bill as opposed to whatever local chain you are shopping at now. ( Kroger,Winn-Dixie, etc. )

It saves you that much. It doesn't mean it saves me that much. I read all the hype about Aldi's so when one finally opened fairly close to me I was excited. I went to it and was never so disappointed in my life. I went down the aisles and bought everything that was similar to what I bought at the regular grocery store (yes, in many cases, you could tell it was made by the exact same company). The problem was that there was hardly anything like that. I do buy produce but usually organic. Their selection of produce (which was not even organic) was very limited. I don't buy a lot of boxed foods. I do buy some frozen foods but there was nothing remotely similar at Aldi's. I struggled to spend $50 at Aldi's since I just don't eat those foods.

Get Amex Blue cash preferred. It does have a $95 annual fee but you get 6% back for purchases up to $6K annually in most grocery stores. 1% is for grocery purchases above $6K. They also have a no annual fee variant that returns 3% on up to $6K in annual grocery purchases. These don't work for grocery purchases in wholesale clubs and superstores.

I do these. The exception is that Whole Foods I use the Amazon Prime Visa card (through Chase).

 

[braumeister]

I read all the hype about Aldi's so when one finally opened fairly close to me I was excited. I went to it and was never so disappointed in my life.

Same here. The only Aldi's near me is small, dimly lit, and depressing. However I still go there now and then because when they have baby back ribs in stock they are not only better (meatier) than anywhere else but also cheaper. Beyond that one item I've never found anything worth the visit compared to the more convenient Kroger store. There is another Aldi store about a 20 minute drive away and that one is even smaller. So I'm always intrigued by how many people here seem to love the place.

 

[COcheesehead]

Use Ibotta for instant, cash back rebates.
Shop at Costco.

 

[audreyh1]

I don’t try to reduce grocery expenses. I try to figure out where to get the best quality for my money.

We don’t have a chest freezer anymore. I’ve worked hard to wean myself from hoarding food on sale as it just seemed to pile up and ultimately not a lot actually get used.

 

[jebmke]

We hardly ever throw anything out. Most of our food is purchased fresh. If there is any left over, it usually ends up in a soup pot, an omelette or on top of of a pizza.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

It is a "no brainer" and you will save approx. 35-40% on your total bill as opposed to whatever local chain you are shopping at now. ( Kroger,Winn-Dixie, etc. )

We don't have Aldi's but Grocery Outlet has the savings over retail prices on the receipt, and usually I spend about 1/3 the price of Safeway for identical kinds of items. At 99 Cents Only, I can do even better, sometimes 25% of retail. I think we save around $6K a year over what we used to spend for groceries, even though we eat healthier now. Over a 40 year retirement that is $240K extra to spend on fun or give to our kids. I wish I'd done the math on the grocery expenses years ago. It would have been even more savings starting earlier, especially when we had teenagers and their friends really racking up the grocery bill.

When I'm busy or sick and DH does the shopping, he goes to Grocery Outlet and doesn't look at prices but still saves about half over Safeway prices.

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful suggestions so far.

 

[jollystomper]

We are trying to be more efficient with our grocery shopping process:
- Understanding what we really need.I believe the "statistic" is that most American homes have about 40 days worth of food in their refrigerators and pantries. This summer we started going through our Fridge, freezer, and pantries - taking everything out and figuring out what we had. It was interesting at how much stuff we found we had, or multiples of things we had because we could not see a bottle/can and went out and bought the item again.

- Understanding what we use. This is the nerd in me - for some items we buy I marked the date of purchase and the date we start using it, to figure out how often we really need to buy these items. That helps us figure out if a bulk/sale purchase is worth it or not.


- Avoiding waste. Since we are transitioning from a house full of kids to an empty nest, this has been a challenge to get out of the "cook mass quantities" mindset. I HATE throwing out food because it has spoiled due to being around too long, so we try more to cook quantities and portions for just what we need. We avoid buying perishables in bulk, no matter how good the deal, unless we know we are going to immediately use them. We use clear storage containers and I label leftovers as to what they are and what date they made, and before a meal we will check to see if anything is approaching a spoilage date, and be sure to use them as a priority.

 

[PandaBear]

I try to do a modied version of OAMC (Once a Month Cooking). Buy chicken breasts at Costco and repackage into small servings, with marinade or BBQ sauce.
Or make taco meat and my own refried beans and package with some tortillas as well as grated cheese. Then i have almost everything ready for a meal.
There are many great websites about OAMC.

 

[aja8888]

You all had me thinking today since a new Aldi opened up a few months back near my daughter. They opened across the street from a fairly new Super Walmart in Spring, Texas.

So DD and I went there today around 1:00 PM (Aldi). There were 4 customers in the store and about 100 cars at nearby WM.

At Aldi's, produce selection was very limited and things like a head of lettuce was about the same price as at WM. Things like green peppers were packaged in "threes" so you cannot buy one? A head of cabbage was $1.89 vs. $1.71 at WM and a head of lettuce was $1.15 vs. $1.28 at WM.

DD shops at WM every week so she knows the prices of goods. Generally, she thought there were no "bargains" at Aldi and much of the goods were "no name" packagers.

Soft drinks (name brands ) were the same price or a few cents less. - there was only Coke on display.

Yesterday, I bought "Choice" grade ribeye steaks at Costco for $7.99/lb, fresh cut and packaged with 4 about 3/4 pound each on size. Same Choice grade ribeye at Aldi's were $8.99/lb. These were packaged individually at a supplier in O2 sealed plastic for long term shelf life.

All in all, DD and I were not impressed with Aldi's.

 

[Rustic23]

aja8888, That has been my impression also. However, Aldi does have cheap wine! $2.89 a bottle! That is their store brand. I have no idea if it is any good. Taste OK to dw and I, but I wouldn't know good wine if it bit me!

Yesterday Cantaloupe was $.67 each, and at HEB, the same price. They have a lot of off brand merchandise, which makes it hard to compare. Chips and nuts seem about the same as Sam's, Beef Jerky was more expensive.

 

[T-Minus]

Another thought: I was just in my local Wal*Mart picking up a few items I knew were loss leaders. I wandered around for a bit and found they were having a price rollback on the motor oil I use in my wife's truck - and bought (2) five quart containers. If you've got the storage space, snap up deals when you find them. I also use camelcamelcamel.com to figure out when what I want typically goes on sale at Amazon (hint: black friday deals can be excellent).

 

[daylatedollarshort]

If you've got the storage space, snap up deals when you find them. I also use camelcamelcamel.com to figure out when what I want typically goes on sale at Amazon (hint: black friday deals can be excellent).

This is a good time of year for clearance prices on patio and camping items. I bought 2 low back beach chairs for concerts and 4 fold up camping chairs at Big 5, with coupons, which made the prices much cheaper than anything I could find online.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

+2 on the garden!

I started with limited space, so I concentrated this year on things that would cost $$ at the store and I know we use. Thus I grow cilantro, rosemary, parsley, basil, sage, thyme as well as vegetables and fruit. I plan on many more strawberry plants, and blueberry bushes, perhaps other berries, also asparagus, as these are expensive. I use frozen berries daily throughout the year at breakfast - high in nutrients and very low in calories and delicious!

Adding a couple of bean dishes to one's repertoire, and making eggs in some form for dinner is a huge money saver for meat eaters. And add those fresh herbs. . . mmm.

I'm also raising hens for the eggs. This is not a money saver, at least in the beginning, but a fun retirement project for me with bonus food. I might get brave and raise meat birds, too, but that will be for next year.

 

[pb4uski]

We hardly ever throw anything out. Most of our food is purchased fresh. If there is any left over, it usually ends up in a soup pot, an omelette or on top of of a pizza.

+1 I know some people who throw out leftovers after a meal.... whereas we love leftovers... for another meal or snack. And then there is always "refrigerator soup" to be made.

 

[pb4uski]

One tip: When I buy a rotisserie chicken (Costco), we eat it once, then I cut the rest of the meat off the bones. I then put the carcass in crockpot, fill it with water and cook it on low for 24 hours. Best bone broth! I either drink it, warmed, in the mornings when it is cold, or I freeze it in 2-4 cup portions.

+1 When we are through with a whole chicken, there isn't much left other than bone and cartilage.

 

[Midpack]

Like others, we buy from in order:

• Costco
• Target
• Local/regional chains (e.g. Publix, Kroger)
• Splurge (Whole Foods, Earth Fare, local specialty fine foods)

I may need to try Aldi again. I’ve been a few times and it was so hit and miss with so many off brands and very limited produce, I didn’t go back. It seemed you couldn’t predict availability and you’d have to augment shopping elsewhere.

There are also Lidl stores where we are now, may have to try them too.

 

[athena53]

I may need to try Aldi again. I’ve been a few times and it was so hit and miss with so many off brands and very limited produce, I didn’t go back. It seemed you couldn’t predict availability and you’d have to augment shopping elsewhere.

That's what I found on my one trip to Aldi although it was years ago. I suppose you could then plan your menu around what you buy but I'm a creature of habit. Like you, I start with Costco, buy nearly everything else at one grocery store that has a wide range of products, and fill in if needed at the chain next to my gym, which does OK on the basics. I get weekly circulars in the mail but pay little attention to them since most of the deals are on processed foods that I don't buy.

 

[ivinsfan]

You all had me thinking today since a new Aldi opened up a few months back near my daughter. They opened across the street from a fairly new Super Walmart in Spring, Texas.

So DD and I went there today around 1:00 PM (Aldi). There were 4 customers in the store and about 100 cars at nearby WM.

At Aldi's, produce selection was very limited and things like a head of lettuce was about the same price as at WM. Things like green peppers were packaged in "threes" so you cannot buy one? A head of cabbage was $1.89 vs. $1.71 at WM and a head of lettuce was $1.15 vs. $1.28 at WM.

DD shops at WM every week so she knows the prices of goods. Generally, she thought there were no "bargains" at Aldi and much of the goods were "no name" packagers.

Soft drinks (name brands ) were the same price or a few cents less. - there was only Coke on display.

Yesterday, I bought "Choice" grade ribeye steaks at Costco for $7.99/lb, fresh cut and packaged with 4 about 3/4 pound each on size. Same Choice grade ribeye at Aldi's were $8.99/lb. These were packaged individually at a supplier in O2 sealed plastic for long term shelf life.

All in all, DD and I were not impressed with Aldi's.

I call this the Aldi's affect, our Aldi's is kitty corner from the Super Walmart and after a little while I noticed that Walmart matched prices on eggs, milk and a few other basic items. If I need these things and something only available at Wal.mart I can buy them at Walmart and pay the same.

Aldi's is not good on name brands, but the no name is not generic it is the Aldi's in house brands and in more then a few cases, superior to name brand.

Also the key to saving at meat and produce is to buy the specials. The specials are always a great value. Berries in season, and stuff like that.

I like Aldi's because it has a small footprint easy and quick to get in and out. Stocks many, many basics eliminating having to shop specials and just buying when you need something. Checkout experience a million times better then WalMart.

You couldn't pay me to shop for food at a Super Target...