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With the price of gas going up, the ripple effect is traveling far and wide. One of the most noticeable effects is the cost increase of groceries and staple foods.
No so much that the cost has gone up SO much, but that budgets are having to be tightened because more money is going out to fuel costs. Still, there’s numerous articles and interviews talking about how hard it’s getting to keep families going like they used to with increasing costs.
One interesting set of interviews on NPR talked to a mother of three, making less than $800/month, and how she’s having to economized on EVERYTHING (lot less meat, much more staples like beans, rice, etc).
Another interview with a ‘middle-class’ retiree talks about living with increasing prices while surviving on a fixed income. Her solution was more bulk-food purchases, along with planning trips more carefully to save in fuel costs.
The final interview was with an ‘upper-middle-class’ homemaker ($250k/year income, two homes, a business, and some VERY nice cars). Her solution was to shop in different locations. She’s shifted from a mainly Whole Foods shopping routine, with it’s fresh everything selection, along with the accompanying premium prices, to a more pre-packaged, less-expensive routine.
The pinch is being felt up and down the income spectrum. So this question could help many people with that make-or-break of getting through this tough time.
What is your best/most creative cost cutting measure when getting groceries?
I admit, I fall into the bulk-buying arena. We buy most everything in bulk, and store a lot of it downstairs on our shelves. This is good for things/foods that don’t spoil, so we only have to think about what to do for fresh veggies and meat. I’m considering getting a large freezer and looking around for meat in bulk too if things continue to go like they are now.
Let us know your best tip by leaving us a comment!! Help out our fellow readers with your ideas!
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June 6th, 2008 at 11:30 am
The best advice that I can offer is to play the Pantry Game. I buy what’s on deeply discounted sales (usually with coupons) and because I’m really the only one at home, I don’t bother with a menu plan. This means that when I’m ready to eat something at home, I do a quick inventory of what I have, and get to come up with a random recipe that incorporates the various ingredients present. I’ll tell you, it makes me a little more creative in the kitchen!!
Amphritrites last blog post..There is NOTHING in the House this Week
June 6th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
“Frozen Assets Lite and Easy: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month” by Deborah Taylor-Hough. If I’ve already mentioned this, I don’t apologize for the redundancy. My husband and I do cooking days once a month, sometimes once every 2 months. The coin we put down on those days is steep, but then we don’t spend money on food groceries for that long too (except for some cereal and perishables like milk). And really, dinner is where we spend far too much: we get home after work and neither of us want to cook, so we order in. That gets pricey. We’re also picky about where we shop: A box of Kix at Save-a-lot costs far less than the same box of Kix at Publix. Produce, on the other hand, while more expensive at Publix is probably better quality. And always buy GENERIC when you can.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:03 am
1. Watch the ads weekly. Buy ONLY the deeply discounted coupon stuff!!! As we only have Freddies and Safeway here, and as they are both within 2 miles, there’s not much gas involved there for me.
2. Bulk foods about 4 times a year from Costco, when I am going to visit my grandkids anyway - it’s in the same town. Split and store.
3. Always cook extra, and freeze or portion off to take for work lunches. Do the Cook once, Eat for a month method when I have cheap chicken/turkey or meat. Saves money, but really saves my precious TIME also!!!
4. The freezer was a $369 investment - 12 cubic ft - more than enough for my needs. It’s paid for itself in 1.5 yrs, I am sure
ALWAYS buy an extra turkey or two when they go on sale for the Holidays. At $4 or $5 for a 20lb turkey, that meat goes a long long way.
5. Always pressure cook the meat bones or turkey/chicken carcass for soup later on - strip the bones and freeze it. Freeze the broth also.
6. Plant edible Landscaping…AND a garden. Even on my little 50×100 city lot, I can grow almost all the veggies I need. Think containers and Vertical! I dry the excess for soup and stew in the winter.
7. Accept gladly any garden surplus or fish/game from others, and share my surplus willingly also
8. Plan my menu from what is IN the house - not from what is at the store. If it’s NOT in the house, I do without it til the next grocery trip.
9. Use the discount grocery store once a month if out of town - The Grocery Outlet is my favorite but it’s 50 miles away now. When I lived 3 blocks from one along time ago, I bought 90% of my groceries there. A friend once said she couldn’t buy there much because they didn’t HAVE what she NEEDed…. I said the secret to lower grocery costs is to NEED what they HAVE there at the discount stores!
10. It’s a matter of Attitude!
Good luck!
June 7th, 2008 at 10:29 am
We live in a pretty expensive part of the US (Orange County, Southern California) and prices have been going through the roof! My suggestion would be to seek out ethnic markets. About 2 miles from my house, there’s a Middle Eastern market that sells produce for almost 75% off the regular supermarket price. The market is small but I wouldn’t go anywhere else if I’m looking for bell peppers, potatoes and fruits. The produce are not “Whole Foods” quality and I have to take time to wash them really well, but it’s worth the money I save (is washed vegetables worth the $2.00 difference between Whole Foods celery and ethnic market celery? $2 adds up fast!)
Also, we have several Asian markets near my work place. They have great meats! (99 cents per pound for ground beef, or $2.99/lb rib eye steaks) I would really encourage people to seek out ethnic markets and not to be intimidated by the foreign ingredients. I don’t read Chinese or Korean but I love the produce at their markets and some packaged items have English on them.
By shopping this way, I’ve kept under my grocery budget of $225 per month. I also do the Grocery Game ($10 for 8 weeks worth of sale notices), if they have notices for your particular area, I would really join! The Grocery Game has allowed me to purchase my non-food items for so cheap (often times, free) that I was able to free up the leftover money on more vegetables and fruits. After starting the grocery game and joining that with ethnic market shopping, the fridge is always stocked with fruits and veggies
Chiaras last blog post..Geek Squad…
June 9th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Meal plan! Seriously, you don’t buy extras of things you already need or make extra runs back to the store for things you forgot. When you know what’s for dinner there is no last minute take-out or delivery because nothing is ready to eat.
Bulk buying can be great, IF the item is truly cheaper. Watch out for “value” items that come in bigger sizes but actually cost more per ounce.
I stock up when things are on sale and use coupons with them too.
June 15th, 2008 at 8:43 am
personally I love the whole freegan movement. Some people have a problem about going through dumpsters looking for free food, until you realise that most grocery stores dumpsters are not the same as household ones. You can regularly find huge quantities of food that is simply placed in a dumpster because it is past it’s display by date, but it’s use by date is at least another 2-3 days away. It’s also so much fun being part of the freegan movement and a good use of resources. I’ve found hundreds of batches of bread still in it’s wrapper, packets of biscuits, tinned items, salads you name it it’s there. The grocery stores love it because they often have to pay money to have trash removed, but by clearing out their dumpster they can fit more in it. Seriously you should all try it at least once!