If so, this post is for you. Now that I'm not working at all, our budget is considerably smaller. We intentionally tried to reduce our debt so I would have the option to stay at home. But even then we knew that living off of one teacher's salary would be a bit tight. And due to a few unexpected changes in our budget (and one mistake on my part), it's going to be really tight. I know that God will make a way for all of our bills to be paid because He always has but I need to get my grocery budget down to help with that.Right now, I budget $450 a month for groceries for three people. I know some of you with larger families are thinking I'm nuts because you do it for much less and feed lots more people than I do. Well, $450 is my starting point. It was what I estimated our need might be with diapers. It's economizing to some degree but still purchasing more expensive items like certain spices that I could do without or produce that isn't in season. So I know I can do better. I clip coupons already both online and from the local paper. I do price matching with grocery store ads if possible. I plan my menus each week and generally just buy what I need for that week sometime the weekend before the week starts. (And often my monthly grocery budget includes other small household purchases like printer paper, tolietries, etc. so that amount isn't just for groceries.)
But I'm not sure what else I can do to save money. I live in a small town and usually shop for groceries in a town with a Walmart, a Dollar General, and two other small grocery stores. None of these stores offer saver cards or double coupon days or anything like that. (Walmart will match ad prices but that' it.) I live 45 minutes from a larger town with many grocery stores, a Sam's Club, CVS, etc.. I'm wondering if it's worth my effort to try to take advantage of the sales/saver cards that might be offered in the larger town. (ie would my gas money and time be worth the trip) So many of the blogs I've seen on frugality don't seem to have viable options for me. (I don't have the time/energy to drive my 2 year old 45 minutes one way each week and go to multiple stores to try to get their best deals. I have some doubts about the blogs that encourage you to purchase items you don't need so that you can get back money on a saver card. With our small family, it takes us a long time to get through certain products and buying a product when I don't really need it usually means that I forget I have it by the time I'm out of it. Plus, if I'm just buying something because it's cheap that is still spending money I wasn't intending to spend.)
So my question is, those of you who are really good at being thrifty with groceries, what is my best bet for crimping my budget? Options I have considered are:
buying my non perishables in the larger town either at Sam's Club or when specific stores have these items on sale and then only using Walmart for refrigerated and last minute type purchases?
doing all my grocery shopping at Sam's Club?
doing all my grocery shopping in the larger city and trying to hit multiple stores and their promotions, maybe once a month?
Chime in if you've got some ideas.
6 comments:
I try to buy off brands unless there is a big difference. I'm not very good about coupons. I buy whatever fresh fruits or vegetables are cheapest!
Here are some possible resources for you plus this lady has a blog.
http://www.elliekay.com/resource-links.php
One thought-- I have found Sam's Club to have a few really well priced items, but overall as expensive or more so than other places I shop. Good luck!
It sounds like you're off to a good start! The Lord will be faithful to meet your needs.
We've lived on one income for most of the nearly 14 years of our marriage. I'm not an expert, but here are some ideas.
For a while we qualified for WIC (Women, Infants, Children); that really helped with the basics. See if there is a Food Net in your area (free "day-old", yet still edible, food from local grocery stores).
We also used Angel Food Ministries (I think that's what it was called). You place an order one month in advance and get a box-full of food at a discounted price (including meats and produce).
Shopping with a little one can be challenging! Maybe you can shop in the evenings after your husband is home... or see if a friend can babysit.
I like to buy bread from a bakery outlet. You can buy extra and freeze it.
I have found that not many items are really better deals at Sams Club. Plus, usually you'll end up with way more than you can use. But, maybe you could split it with a friend (divide up the spices, peanut butter, toilet paper).
I often buy Walgreen's free with rebate items-- but like you said, I try to stick to the things I know I will use (toothbrushes, medicine). And you have to remember to (e)mail the rebate!
I always scan the clearance aisle (usually tucked away in a back corner of a grocery store or on an end cap).
A GREAT book is "Dinner's in the Freezer" by Jill Bond. She gives tips on mega-shopping, freezing meals and frugal recipes. There are also reproducible forms for shopping lists, pricing charts and menu planning.
Hi Kayla,
I have about 30 cloth diapers, the all-in-one kind that were given to me. I would be happy to give them to you if you think you could handle the Haitian poop in them. I did use them for Jude, but by the time I made the transition he was pooping regularly on the toilet.
I echo the Sam's thing. I never shop there. Before I started shopping at Aldi's I bought everything at Wal-Mart. Aldi's is cheaper, but it is close to where we live. I wouldn't drive a long distance to go to one. I think Wal-Mart is an inexpensive way to shop.
I don't buy the Angel Food because there are so many of us, but someone recently gave us a box and I created some recipes and got about four dinners for all of us.
The way I save money is mostly in the following ways:
I never buy snacks. I buy one giant box of Goldfish and that's all. I make popcorn on the stove the old fashioned way and that is our usual snack.
We rarely eat all meat dinners. Everything is stretched. If it calls for 2 lbs. of chicken breasts, I usually cook two breasts and then shred them. Most meat is stretched with beans. We have used WIC at various times, and that helps greatly with milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, juice, and PB.
I recently drug my bread machine out of the attic and have been making fresh bread several days a week. I have a great bread recipe I can send you, and it's cheaper and tastier than store bought bread.
I would also be happy to share some of my recipes with you, if you think that would help.
Oh, and Rice-a-Roni. We eat that all the time for lunch, and spaghetti noodles with butter and Parmesan.
Hi Kayla! We had a membership to Sam's and it just seemed like I spent more when I shopped there. Honestly, most of the time Grocery Kart's prices are comparable to anything Walmart has, esp. if you figure driving. Being in the food coop has been good, I get spices in bulk, oatmeal & rice in bulk, cocoa powder, etc. I basically don't buy any processed items (other than dry cereal, which SOME of us still like too much). I have a FAB condensed can of soup recipe that works so slick & is much cheaper than that 98c can from the store. Bake your bread. I have a bread machine which, Lazy ME, I use to knead the dough and then I pull it out & form it into loaves and bake it in the oven. I tweaked a recipe so that I get 2 loaves out of it. I spend about $300 every 8 wks on food coop items and maybe $250/month on reg. groc. I do spend a little more on some items and use organic when the price isn't too different. I have ordered some items from Amazon on their Subscribe & Save program. They have a discount & free shipping for those items. There are some Kashi cereals we like & an olive oil that I use. Just some random thoughts. Give Kenson a sloppy kiss for me!
Hi Kayla, first I want to say I love this blog! I am so happy that Kenson is safely tucked into your arms and home, and I am enjoying learning more about your process.
Cutting money on groceries is something I am working really hard on right now but I don't have much to add to your strategy. Most websites/articles aren't that helpful for our situation, either.
For diapers, though, I love www.diapers.com. I haven't recalculated the prices lately but when I first started shopping around they were 4-7 cents (per diaper) cheaper than Target or Sam's. And you can't beat free, next-day delivery!
Good luck- I'm going to check back for more tips!
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