Help reducing grocery bill?

[AnnaRaven]

Just wanted to update - I've managed to cut my grocery bill in half. A combination of keeping a price list (item, price per unit, location) stocking things that are on sale, aggressive couponing, and canning/making my own (stock, bread, pasta, butter). The couponing helps a lot just to keep me VERY aware of how much I'm spending and cut down on impulse purchases. In May, I spend 1/3 of my monthly "budget" that I had set. Woohoo!

Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement.

 

[moolie]

YAY Anna! That's awesome!

 

[pinkfox]

congrats, thats awesome news, me and mum just started realy getting into couponing and have saved a good 50% and more on many of our shopping trips.

couponing is wonderfull! combine that with sales and tada, winning recipie...
were certainlty not on the levels of the extreem couponers you see on the shows, but we have saved alot and were still "newbies"

i plan on continuing a combination of sales, couponing and growing alot of my own (plus canning/freezing) when i move out, hoping to turn part of the 3 car garge at my new house (hopefully) into a big pantry/freezer room.

 

[Leta]

Yay, Anna!

A couple years ago, I started keeping track of our grocery expenses and putting them in "food/nonfood" categories. I decided to determine which was which by looking at the receipt and seeing if it said "food stampable" or not, since I use some food items (coconut oil, castor oil, sweet almond oil, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, cornstarch, baking soda, vegetable shortening) to make cleaning and/or personal care items. "Food stampable" seemed the simplest way.

I came to realize that our food budget was low- very low. $25/week in the summer, $50/wk in the winter + $50 per month at the restaurant supply store + big bulk purchases ($70 per case of butter 2x/yr, $150 per 12 chickens 3x/yr, $300 per half steer 1x/yr, $300 per half pig 1x/yr, $60 at the strawberry Upick 1x/yr).

(We are me, DH, half time DSS 13, DD 5, DS 2.)

What was kicking our butts was non-food consumables. We use cloth for most everything and I make all our laundry, cleaning, and personal care items except for dental stuff, contact solution, razor blades, handwash dishsoap, and Magic Erasers. I still had to buy borax, washing soda, generic oxyclean, lye, essential oils, minerals for sunscreen, glycerine, first aid supplies, office supplies, canning and freezing supplies, hardware items, toilet paper (we use family cloth for pee, but you still need TP around), OTC meds, pet supplies... you get the idea.

I never thought about couponing since we don't eat fruit snacks and TV dinners, but it hit me over the head recently that I could coupon *just for non-food*, so I started this recently and IT IS WORKING. (Okay, okay, I bought some mustard with coupons, too.) I've spent $100 on non-food since Easter, which is close to normal, but I have gotten so much more. We have at least a year's supply of TP, toothpaste, toothbrushes, contact solution, first aid supplies, Magic Erasers, Ziploc bags, allergy meds and ibuprofin. I need to get razors, Qtips, trash bags and dental floss this week and then I won't need to go to the store until Thanksgiving, which makes me so happy because I hate to shop.

I also learned how to hack Brita filters, and we switched to wood heating pellets for cat litter. Oh, and we gave up mouthwash, we just use peroxide now.

Just thought I'd throw this out there...

 

[lorihadams]

My problem is that the one store here that doubles coupons is one of the most expensive grocery stores in town. The other stores are better priced but I can't for the life of me find coupons for stuff that end up being better priced with coupons than if I just bought them at Walmart or something (they only take one coupon per item per purchase so I can't stock up on something with multiple coupons). I need to really look at it more though. I just don't have the time to devote to looking for coupons for stuff we actually use.

I have a friend that just bought 30 bottles of barbeque sauce and like 20 bottles of mustard and 20 bottle of laundry detergent. But what do you do when you have allergies?

I also need to get back to planning our meals. I need more quick fix ideas for days that we just don't want to cook or get home later than normal and don't have time to cook stuff completely from scratch.

 

[moolie]

I don't bother with coupons because they are all for things I don't buy--packaged food, cleaners, toiletries etc.

I do watch the store flyers and take advantage of things like "10% Tuesdays" at Safeway or "Dollar Days" at Sobey's and warehouse sales at Co-op. But a lot of what we buy is from the Farmer's Market so we just ensure that we buy what's in season/what there seems to be lots of.

If you need any help with menu planning you can check my journal, I wrote a lot about how I do my once-a-month-cook. Last time I did it was April 11th and we've still got lots in the freezer due to the "leftover" effect, plus we've eaten out a few times, hit a few church potlucks, and lucked into a few bbqs with friends.

 

[AnnaRaven]

I don't bother with coupons because they are all for things I don't buy--packaged food, cleaners, toiletries etc.

I do watch the store flyers and take advantage of things like "10% Tuesdays" at Safeway or "Dollar Days" at Sobey's and warehouse sales at Co-op. But a lot of what we buy is from the Farmer's Market so we just ensure that we buy what's in season/what there seems to be lots of.

If you need any help with menu planning you can check my journal, I wrote a lot about how I do my once-a-month-cook. Last time I did it was April 11th and we've still got lots in the freezer due to the "leftover" effect, plus we've eaten out a few times, hit a few church potlucks, and lucked into a few bbqs with friends.

I thought that too. But I do actually use some of the things that are on coupons - things like shampoo, razor blades, seal-a-meal bags (for freezing stuff), toilet paper... So yeah - for non-food stuff, coupons are great. ESPECIALLY when I combine it with the stuff on special already at Safeway or other places. If you buy stuff on special at the retailers, chances are, it was also on manufacturer coupon, and you can save a lot more that way.

So - in spite of the fact that I cook every night and most weekend meals, using mostly ingredients rather than prepackaged foods, I still save money on coupons. But I know coupons aren't for everybody - not everyone wants to waste time finding the things that they can save money on. Just don't ever believe the myth that "nothing I buy is on coupon". (Unless you never buy toilet paper - in which case, you're so hardcore I wonder what you're doing on the internet.)

 

[Leta]

My list of coupons that I use is relatively short.

Razors, I'll get any if they are cheap enough (if you plan ahead and look around, you can get handles for free or $1)
QTips
Cotton Pads
Pet Food, any cans, because they are just around in case we run out of dry bagged food
Toothpaste, Floss, and Toothbrushes
OTC Meds
Fish Oil (for our dog)
First Aid Supplies
Ziploc bags
Trash bags (MUST have them per city rules, can't wait until we don't need 'em anymore!)
Toilet Paper
Office Supplies
Durable Goods (ie, scissors, yes, I have a scissors Q right now)
Services (right now I have a $20 off tire rotation Q)

I don't bother with the 20% off Kohl's or Bed Bath & Beyond Qs because they are still more expensive than the thrift store.

I also found and used really good citronella candle Qs earlier this month.

For food, I only use them for

Produce
Cheese
Fruit Juice
Coffee
Tea
Salt (yes, I have 2 Qs for this right now)
Sugar (ditto)
Chocolate
Pectin
and condiments that we don't make- mustard, tabasco, worchestershire sauce, and soy sauce
(we also buy sriracha and Bragg's, but I've never seen a Q for them)

I have had great luck at keeping a truncated coupon binder. I don't cut them if I won't use them. The truth is that I don't use most of what's out there, but that just means that it takes me less time to find, clip, and match to a sale because my list is short.

The primary way that we keep our grocery budget low is by bulk purchasing and making from scratch. However, I got non-food consumables down to about $100 to month, and I was stuck there for over a year. Roughly half of the non-food consumables that I was buying were ingredients, rather than finished goods, but the few paper/plastic goods I was buying and expensive stuff (like razors, dental floss, and fish oil) was driving the total way up.

 

[Leta]

Haha, Anna, we are that hardcore! We use family cloth, but you still need TP around. For guests and... other things...

I make my own soap and shampoo bars, along with moisturizers and conditioner, sunblock and lipbalm, deodorant and bug repellant, but I was unable to talk DH into using a straight razor. He accused me of upping his life insurance policy, LOL.

 

[AnnaRaven]

My list of coupons that I use is relatively short.

Razors, I'll get any if they are cheap enough (if you plan ahead and look around, you can get handles for free or $1)
QTips
Cotton Pads
Pet Food, any cans, because they are just around in case we run out of dry bagged food
Toothpaste, Floss, and Toothbrushes
OTC Meds
Fish Oil (for our dog)
First Aid Supplies
Ziploc bags
Trash bags (MUST have them per city rules, can't wait until we don't need 'em anymore!)
Toilet Paper
Office Supplies
Durable Goods (ie, scissors, yes, I have a scissors Q right now)
Services (right now I have a $20 off tire rotation Q)

I don't bother with the 20% off Kohl's or Bed Bath & Beyond Qs because they are still more expensive than the thrift store.

I also found and used really good citronella candle Qs earlier this month.

For food, I only use them for

Produce
Cheese
Fruit Juice
Coffee
Tea
Salt (yes, I have 2 Qs for this right now)
Sugar (ditto)
Chocolate
Pectin
and condiments that we don't make- mustard, tabasco, worchestershire sauce, and soy sauce
(we also buy sriracha and Bragg's, but I've never seen a Q for them)

I have had great luck at keeping a truncated coupon binder. I don't cut them if I won't use them. The truth is that I don't use most of what's out there, but that just means that it takes me less time to find, clip, and match to a sale because my list is short.

The primary way that we keep our grocery budget low is by bulk purchasing and making from scratch. However, I got non-food consumables down to about $100 to month, and I was stuck there for over a year. Roughly half of the non-food consumables that I was buying were ingredients, rather than finished goods, but the few paper/plastic goods I was buying and expensive stuff (like razors, dental floss, and fish oil) was driving the total way up.

Right. And if you cut those coupons and then watch for (usually a few weeks later) a sale at the local shops, you can combine a manufacturer coupon and the store coupon/sale, to get it for way cheaper than you would otherwise. So, for example, you can use two coupons on a buy one get one free special and end up with paying hardly anything in some cases. (It's two items, thus two coupons!)

Anyways - I also have found coupons for meats and produce, which is really nice when it happens. Not often but nice. I also watch for the markdowns on meats that are about to expire - throw em in the freezer and use em for stock or braises or whatever. Speaking of which, I'm off to pull out some heritage porkchops to thaw, and then combine with the mushrooms I bought on sale with coupons and canned, and some homemade stock that I canned, and have dinner. (LOVE being able to 'shop my pantry'.)