How much do you spend on groceries? And how do you save?

HonesttoGod

Sun, Nov 30 2014, 5:35 pm

We spend between $500-1000. Depends on the month. (We are a small family).

We recently made a budget of $600 a month. I found that one month Ill come in under and the next Ill come in way over. I find it depends sooo much on what I have to cook each month.
I work full time so I buy a huge amount of meat and chicken and vegetables at one time then bulk cook for 4-5 weeks.

I rarely buy meat and if I do it is for shabbs (we are not big meat fans and I did this even when I was badly anemic in pregnancy. I found other stuff to help my anemia that was cheaper).
I buy a lot of chicken and shnitzels (always the family packs) and chicken bones for the soup. I also get whatever is on special that week I shop.
I serve meaty twice a week and pareve/dairy twice.
Sunday is leftovers (or ocassionally fresh meaty that I cook for the freezer, we get to taste all the meals before I freeze them).
Monday is usually pitta falafel, fish sticks or lasagna (if I have it).
Tuesday Wednesday is meaty
Thursday is pasta and cheese or pitta pizza.

I find that I save a lot on fish because my H doesn't eat it so I only buy it if we have guests.
I also find that buying larger bulk packs saves me a couple dollars here and there and I bulk cook.
BUt I do spend a lot on take out, lunches etc because for me it is worth the extra dollars but if you are trying to save sandwiches homemade is the way. I used to do this every day for my H when I had the time. A bagel is $0.50 and cream cheese is $3. A container of cheese makes 10 sandwiches AT LEAST. Buying a cream cheese bagel costs $3.

SRS

Sun, Nov 30 2014, 5:43 pm

amother wrote:

There is afford and afford...bh I can pay the bills but not saving as much as we'd like. Also, we usually get whatever we want when we want...still covering bills bh but would like to be more careful and I'd like to be able to splurge on other things more often (night nurse when I'm falling apart from work schedule etc) and cutting corners here can definitely help in that department. I read here about spending previous months paycheck and that's something I'd like to work towards (hard because I only get paid once a month) and trying as much as possible to get this spending under control can only help towards that. I won't drive myself crazy but would love it if next month I can look at bill and see several hundred dollars saved (especially since chanuka presents are on that bill and I don't want it going even higher than usual).

Sounds like you are lacking an emergency fund and a slush fund or whatever people call it so you really can't 'afford' to spend like you are on groceries. My advice would be to seriously cut back for 2-3 months while you jump start an emergency fund. Put 25% of that into a fund that you can dip into and replenish for the stock up sales or other times when you need to go over to save in the future. Of course, you have to replenish, but you are borrowing against yourself. You will need to take time to figure out that stock up price and what you should be inventorying, cooking and freezing, and all that. It is hard to spend less on groceries if you don't have the money to front for the super deals on the non-perishables you use most. But really, what it sounds like you need most is a meeting of the minds with your husband. All of your efforts will be for nothing if he turns around and spends the savings on take out.

amother

Tue, Dec 02 2014, 3:06 am

I think the most relevant advice here is to plan ahead ur grocery list and menu so you don't over buy.
I can't imagine not serving fleshings ( for the men- we can have grill cheese yum Cheers

) when u are young, working hard with a baby, and bh cover ur bills)

Planning ahead can help u seriously cut ur costs without terrorizing urself and ur husband.

the random gum/meat/dip that u barely notice as u put in ur cart and sometimes never gets eaten, the day u walk out with enough vegetables for a month cuz u were hungry and on a health spree--- you'll be shocked how that all adds up.

you will also be able to stick in some cheaper meals, but there is no reason to have omelets twice a day, chill. Hungry ppl are no fun, and its no good for SB. Also, I think it might just lead ur hubs to equate homemade food = icky. better spend a drop more on groceries than crave takeout.

also I wouldn't harp on ur husband buying once in a while, you can't control him

but find a way to get him excited about saving---e.g. When our account reaches 10,000 dollars lets take a vacay for 1000 or buy the xyz we want. I know this works very well with my friends ( young marrieds) it gives u a tangible thing to save towards and makes it a thrill.

SRS

Tue, Dec 02 2014, 2:08 pm

amother wrote:

I can't imagine not serving fleshings ( for the men- we can have grill cheese yum Cheers

) when u are young, working hard with a baby, and bh cover ur bills)

Planning ahead can help u seriously cut ur costs without terrorizing urself and ur husband.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
you will also be able to stick in some cheaper meals, but there is no reason to have omelets twice a day, chill. Hungry ppl are no fun, and its no good for SB. Also, I think it might just lead ur hubs to equate homemade food = icky. better spend a drop more on groceries than crave takeout.

Terrorizing is a strong word. I agree that food should be enjoyed. But as the mother of children who is literally eating us out of house and home, I will say that many years of kids and marriage later the decision to "retrain" my husband's fleishig addicted palette and put the kids on a healthy, but inexpensive diet from the start, was one of the best decisions we've made. There is a point you get to in life where things just get r.e.a.l.l.y expensive. It almost seems like a never ending bombardment. It is the food--- didn't I buy a gallon of milk 3 days ago? Are you guys just pouring it down the sink?--- the utilities--why in the world am I paying triple on the water bill what we paid 3 years back?---the tuition-do not get me started-, the hobby and sports items--what do you mean you can't run track barefoot?.

We have hit that point of really expenses and if it wasn't for doing things like limiting the amount of fleishigs served around here many years back things would be a lot tougher now.

Just my advice on your advice.

amother

Tue, Dec 02 2014, 3:56 pm

SRS wrote:

Idk how to do this double quoting thing but I would like to highlight-- for the men--- nothing wrong with training ur kids to live frugily etc. but it can be harder with a newish husband, u can't force it on him and u don't want it to become this huge thing, if he's used to buying out expensive all the time, u can't jump to eating only at home and only very cheap. Start by eating at home regular and then work on ur side on making meals cheaper-- change habits slowly and make it a joint goal.

STovah

Tue, Dec 02 2014, 8:14 pm

amother wrote:

How on earth is that only $400??????

I'm not the one who posted that monthly shopping list, but $400 for that monthly delivery list looks quite right (maybe even on the highish side if you are used to shopping sales) to me. Note that the $400 list didn't include produce and perishables which are the bulk of my grocery costs.

amother

Tue, Dec 02 2014, 8:30 pm

STovah wrote:

Yup.
I'm the amother of that list post.
It is usually not more than $400-$450, but sometimes it will be more if I buy more products or stock up on more things.
My weekly produce/dairy/perishables are around $50 - $80/ a week.
(Eggs, cream cheese, milk, bread, shredded cheese, yogurt, whichever fruit is cheap and in season - apples, oranges, peaches, plums, etc., cucumbers & tomatoes, onions, potatoes, sometimes shredded lettuce or cabbage for Shabbos, chumus, and anything urgent that is needed for Shabbos... that's about it)
I also try to use as much frozen/canned "produce" as possible.
Try making a weekly list - it really works! I've suggested it to a few friends who have noticed the difference in their expenses.

lfab

Mon, Dec 15 2014, 1:42 pm

Pay for your groceries in cash. This is the best way I have found to cut your expenses. Figure out how much money you need for groceries that week (or you can do for the month) and take out that amount of money in cash and put in an envelope (for the first few weeks you may want to take a little extra just in case, but only a little and only for the first few weeks). When you go to the store leave the credit cards at home so you are not tempted to spend more. When you go out to eat/hubby buys lunch, etc money for that needs to come out of that envelope (if he uses a credit card find out the amount spent and remove that amount from the envelope). When the money is gone it's gone and you are done grocery shopping for the week. It takes a few weeks to get the hang of but after a little bit you learn to spread the amount out over the week (or month) so you have enough. This also helps curb impulse buys because it makes you think about whether you have enough cash on you to pay for the item.