|
|
|
|
|
Users viewing this topic:
none
|
|
Login  | |
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/4/2009 9:37:02 PM
|
|
|
Krislynx
Posts: 669
Status: offline
|
Will he eat retooled leftovers for lunch? Or make a batch of pasta and give him that instead of the chef B? My son is 2 and I never buy any of those items. Of course I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home with him and I know that makes a difference - no packing lunches or having to make sure he has something he will eat for someone else. And may I ask why you mix juice with koolaid?
Kris
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/4/2009 9:52:02 PM
|
|
|
3cappuccinosmom
Posts: 3580
Joined: 4/12/2005
Status: offline
|
quote:
Ok what is the non-specialty alternatives?
For instance, with the lunchables, they're cheese, crackers, and deli meat in various combinations, right? You can buy each of those things seperately at lower price per unit (but you do need to watch where you shop so you make sure you are getting a better price). Or, you can just do sandwiches.
If your son likes pasta meals, you can get some neat dry noodles (alphabets, stars, etc), cook them up, mix them with sauce (.99c/jar at Aldis) and freeze them in small individual containers for lunches.
Pizza--frozen pizza isn't bad once in a while, but it is expensive. We love to make our own, but if you're not up to that, cheap Bagels or english muffins (close to $1 at our Aldis) with a little sauce and cheese are yummy too.
Yogurt--there isn't anything special about yogurt marked as "kids yogurt". You can either check the prices and get cheaper and just as healthy individual servings (maybe healthier, if they don't include certain dyes), or you can buy a non-brand tub of yogurt and add honey and pureed fruit to it in whatever flavor you kid likes.
At some point (like with juice) you may have to make a decision whether the convenience is really worth it, or if you need to sacrifice a little convenience for savings. Juice boxes are handy, but filling and packing a small drink bottle is not that much extra work. For juice, too, because it is soooo much sugar, I dilute it about 1/2 and 1/2. Goes farther and fills them up on sugar less.
You should probably check these out with a calculator once to see for sure the difference in price per unit, but usually, brand name things that involve a lot of packaging are more pricey than non-brandname things that you buy in individual ingredients and put together yourself.
I'll give you an example on the pizza thing. I'm not sure what you'd pay for an individual frozen pizza. Guessing more than $1.  If you bought the ingredients for "bagel pizza" at Aldis, you'd end up paying about $5.16 (bag o bagels, 8 oz block of mozarella, jar of sauce, bag of pepperoni). That would be .86/serving, as you get six bagels in a bag, plus you would certainly have pepperoni and sauce that you could freeze and thus not have to buy for your next round of pizza making. If you planned ahead to freeze pizzas and bought two bags of bagels and two blocks of cheese to go with the sauce and pepperoni, you price per serving would be down to .61c.
It looks complicated but it's not really that much. It becomes habit after a while.
< Message edited by 3cappuccinosmom -- 10/4/2009 10:13:27 PM >
_____________________________
 Moo
The Ballad of Bad Biruk
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/4/2009 9:53:04 PM
|
|
|
GregandJenny
Posts: 665
Joined: 2/16/2006
From: Near Seattle Washington
Status: offline
|
quote:
I also think I will go back to weekly or monthly shopping, because a lot of times I will go to the store daily for the in season fresh veggies.
I think that this is the key!. We went from spending about 20 bucks per day at 5 times a week ( i work late 2x) to spending 225 a month for the two of us. (I have never went over and sometimes I do way less if i need money for something else)
G
_____________________________
It does not have to be well with my circumstance to be well with my soul!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/4/2009 10:13:19 PM
|
|
|
CMT8808
Posts: 246
Joined: 9/4/2009
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: 3cappuccinosmom
For instance, with the lunchables, they're cheese, crackers, and deli meat in various combinations, right? You can buy each of those things seperately at lower price per unit (but you do need to watch where you shop so you make sure you are getting a better price). Or, you can just do sandwiches.
So make my own lunchables? Because I can make more in a bulk than buying the pkg. Right?!
quote:
If your son likes pasta meals, you can get some neat dry noodles (alphabets, stars, etc), cook them up, mix them with sauce (.99c/jar at Aldis) and freeze them in small individual containers for lunches.
So again make my own, but instead of spongebob or dinosaurs use ABC or something else that is appealing. I think maybe tomato soup would be closer to the sauce, Hmmmm! I can do this. You must be close to the Mid-West we do not have an aldi's here, but my younger sister lives in IA and she has one. I think we have a Save-Rite and will check them out.
quote:
Pizza--frozen pizza isn't bad once in a while, but it is expensive. We love to make our own, but if you're not up to that, cheap Bagels or english muffins (close to $1 at our Aldis) with a little sauce and cheese are yummy too.
Yes I do make my own including the dough. I actually use MRS Dash tomato, and basil in my crust, but I forgot about the english muffin pizzas, wow didn't realize people still made em 
quote:
At some point (like with juice) you may have to make a decision whether the convenience is really worth it, or if you need to sacrifice a little convenience for savings. Juice boxes are handy, but filling and packing a small drink bottle is not that much extra work. For juice, too, because it is soooo much sugar, I dilute it about 1/2 and 1/2. Goes farther and fills them up on sugar less.
Yes the juice box is really laziness on my part. I do the kool-aid, AJ and mix the water in. I do 1/2 quart AJ, 1 cup kool-aid and the rest water and it makes 4 quarts.
quote:
You should probably check these out with a calculator once to see for sure the difference in price per unit, but usually, brand name things that involve a lot of packaging are more pricey than non-brandname things that you buy in individual ingredients and put together yourself.
I agree, because I make my own steak sauce, marinade, shake n bake, cocktail sauce, pizza dough etc...
Maybe I learn to bake, hmmm
_____________________________
formerly Delete 123
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/4/2009 10:50:41 PM
|
|
|
CMT8808
Posts: 246
Joined: 9/4/2009
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: GregandJenny
I think that this is the key!. We went from spending about 20 bucks per day at 5 times a week ( i work late 2x) to spending 225 a month for the two of us. (I have never went over and sometimes I do way less if i need money for something else)G
Yes I agree, because looking at my checkbook, I realize that some days I spend anywhere from $70-80 at the supermarket.
When I do monthly shopping then I always have an abundant supply of the staples and essentials in which I do not need to go to the supermarket every day for.
When I use to go to BJ's I would spend about $225-250 per month and only used the supermarket as a convenient store.
Thanx
CMT
_____________________________
formerly Delete 123
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/4/2009 11:09:07 PM
|
|
|
CMT8808
Posts: 246
Joined: 9/4/2009
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Krislynx
Will he eat retooled leftovers for lunch? Or make a batch of pasta and give him that instead of the chef B? My son is 2 and I never buy any of those items. Of course I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home with him and I know that makes a difference - no packing lunches or having to make sure he has something he will eat for someone else. And may I ask why you mix juice with koolaid?
Kris
Hi Kris~
Yes I am a Sahm also, so I do not pack lunches either, unless we go on a picnic.
I have a 4 quart container and use 1/2 quart of AJ and 1 quart amount of kool-aid, it makes 4 quarts. It actually cuts the sugar contents down, yet still has a good taste.
I generally do this as it is convenient as I do other things like cleaning, finances and activities with my son.(He's 3 1/2 y/o)
10am we do our studies, teaching him to ride his bicycle, play time, swimming.
We have our down time where he watches television and I am on line. He doesn't nap and hasn't for over a year.
I am an older mom (48) plus have medical issues (Hypothyroidism and ptsd).
So I have times where I am really tired or have to deal with the depression that is related to the thyroid (it causes the depression and fatigue).
So I feel blessed that I can even fit in reading 1 paragraph a day of the bible.
May God Bless you with your child dear sister
CMT
_____________________________
formerly Delete 123
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/5/2009 12:45:44 AM
|
|
|
Mollymouser
Posts: 3919
Joined: 4/18/2005
From: california, land of the happy cows
Status: online
|
CMT8888 ... I think you've figured it out. It really can be a lot cheaper to just buy a box of cracker, some cheese, and some ham or turkey and make your own "lunchables" ... you're really just paying for packaging and for someone else to cut the food into circles and squares.
In the same way, you've probably seen that they sell celery and carrot sticks in the produce department.... and that they are a LOT more expensive than whole celery and carrots. Or even broccoli florets. Just buy the whole things, cut them yourself, and package them for your use ... and that will be a lot cheaper.
Another idea is to watch for sales ... and to buy produce in season, when possible. Clip coupons, watch the ads, and comparison shop for prices ... some stores really are cheaper than others.
Oh, and I love English Muffin pizzas!
_____________________________
  MARRIED TO A MILITARY PILOT ~ PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR TROOPS!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/5/2009 12:59:20 AM
|
|
|
CMT8808
Posts: 246
Joined: 9/4/2009
Status: offline
|
Harvie~
Yeah I was thinking, I bought my son one of those playdoh factory things and they had like cookie cutter animal shapes.
I thought maybe I can get another or just plain buy some cookie cutters and use these shapes to make his lunchable, sandwiches, etc...
So I really need to curb this spending and never realzied until today, what we have been spending on groceries.
I am so glad I stumbled across this post, it gave me a reality check and that I thank ya all for
Blessings,
CMT
_____________________________
formerly Delete 123
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/5/2009 2:01:15 AM
|
|
|
GregandJenny
Posts: 665
Joined: 2/16/2006
From: Near Seattle Washington
Status: offline
|
quote:
Oh, and I love English Muffin pizzas!
Me too! That's on our list of things to eat sometime in this rotation! Dinner is always a surprise to me because I don't cook it!
_____________________________
It does not have to be well with my circumstance to be well with my soul!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/5/2009 3:24:34 PM
|
|
|
CMT8808
Posts: 246
Joined: 9/4/2009
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: 3cappuccinosmom
One thing I was thinking I should have mentioned is that planning ahead makes all the difference. If I'm not relentless about planning, my grocery spending starts creeping upwards very quickly.
#Caps~
You are not kidding! If I do not write out a list of needs, only God knows how off track I can get! Plus I never shop if I am hungry, another budget deal breaker for me!
CMT
_____________________________
formerly Delete 123
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/5/2009 6:27:52 PM
|
|
|
Krislynx
Posts: 669
Status: offline
|
Hi CMT, I am sorry if I came across as snarky. It was certainly not my intention. And I do get convenience, that is the primary use of TV around here! Something that helps me if I want to have my little guy eat leftovers - I put some of them away portioned just for him. Then I can just grab and nuke. Lists and not shopping hungry, also very important around here!
Kris
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/5/2009 11:21:36 PM
|
|
|
CMT8808
Posts: 246
Joined: 9/4/2009
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Krislynx
Hi CMT, I am sorry if I came across as snarky. It was certainly not my intention. And I do get convenience, that is the primary use of TV around here! Something that helps me if I want to have my little guy eat leftovers - I put some of them away portioned just for him. Then I can just grab and nuke. Lists and not shopping hungry, also very important around here!
Kris
Geez Kris,
maybe you had a bad day and I am sorry if that is true, however I did not perceive your post as snarky.
Trust me folks around here will cerntainly have no problem telling you if you are, lol!
I certainly know about tv, I do that sometimes when I need space, because it can certainly be overwhelming. Especially if you are not use to being home all the time.
So hey Kris welcome aboard the sahm train and some of us are dinosaurs and some are just hatchlings. Either way you are welcome to climb aboard and join us for the ride
So please do not apologize, if I believed or felt offended I would have said so, so you are in there girlfriend! 
Wishing you best
CMT
_____________________________
formerly Delete 123
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/7/2009 6:09:55 PM
|
|
|
mrlucky8ball
Posts: 31
Joined: 9/30/2009
Status: offline
|
I probably spend around $250 but it's just me.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 10:51:18 AM
|
|
|
mamajennleigh
Posts: 978
Joined: 12/6/2007
From: Fuquay-Varina, NC
Status: offline
|
We probably spend about $75 a week for a family of 6 - 2 adults, 1 teenage boy, 2 pre-teen boys, and a young toddler. My husband gets enough food to feed us for nearly a month with $150 every 2 weeks, and the rest goes towards milk (I babysit during the week) and fresh fruit (bananas and apples). He is relentless with coupons and sales and combining them all, so what he does with our food budget is amazing. We could probably get by on even less, but I like having extra in case we have a tight week (which happens often, with only one real income).
That figure only sometimes includes toiletries and household stuff. We usually buy it in bulk somewhere, or stock up when it is on super sale!
_____________________________
We may not have arrived, but Praise the Lord we've set sail!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 2:56:35 PM
|
|
|
Tinkerbell_
Posts: 8033
Joined: 1/25/2008
From: NeverNeverLand
Status: offline
|
Wow! How do you do it!?
I spend about $300 a month for just 3 of us! And my mother makes their lunches so I don't pay for those, and I buy lunch at work.
We try to eat whole foods but I must be doing something wrong because I can buy food for a couple of days and walk out with a $100 grocery bill.
Grocery shopping is not a fun time for me.
_____________________________
When I've shown you that I just don't care
When I'm throwing punches in the air
When I'm broken down and I can't stand
Will you be strong enough to be my man?
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 3:18:02 PM
|
|
|
MamaAng
Posts: 128
Joined: 4/20/2009
Status: online
|
Tinkerbell, I don't do so well on grocery shopping either. I spend $600 on 4 of us - 2 adults, a 10 year and an 11mo old. I am trying to squeeze and use coupons/sales. I can't seem to get as low as you are even.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 3:29:18 PM
|
|
|
writerchick
Posts: 368
Joined: 10/3/2008
Status: online
|
Yay!! Glad to see some coupon clippers representing here!
It's probably not the greatest thing that I have no idea what my grocery budget is at the moment. I think I've I spent maybe $40 over the last three weeks on food for me. My refrigerator is pretty stocked and I've run out of room in my cabinets.
As for toiletries and other household supplies, I try to get those for as close to free as possible. I went to CVS last Sunday to purchase some nail polish and bars of soap. The polish was on sale for $3.99 each. I bought 6 bottles with 6 $1 off coupons. Paid about $19 out of pocket and got $18 back.
I used that $18 dollars to buy 4 of the 6-bar packs of Dove soap. Combined with 4 $1.25 off coupons, I only had to pay $4.99. I got $10 back.
I used that $10 on an impulse buy of Coppertone Sunblock because I'd just gotten a buy one get one free coupon from their scanner. Plus one of the bottles had a $1.50 off coupon on it. I only paid $2 in tax for both of those bottles.
All total I paid $26 for $91.42 worth of merchandise!! I love shopping with coupons!
_____________________________
Secret Bodyguard - Available Now from Amira Press!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 4:13:35 PM
|
|
|
writerchick
Posts: 368
Joined: 10/3/2008
Status: online
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: CMT8808
quote:
ORIGINAL: 3cappuccinosmom
quote:
You should probably check these out with a calculator once to see for sure the difference in price per unit, but usually, brand name things that involve a lot of packaging are more pricey than non-brandname things that you buy in individual ingredients and put together yourself.
I agree, because I make my own steak sauce, marinade, shake n bake, cocktail sauce, pizza dough etc...
Maybe I learn to bake, hmmm
If I may, you've gotten some really good cost saving methods so far, but I'd like to throw in my two cents.
If you need the convenience, there are ways to buy the lunchables and whatnot for free or very close to it. Recently, I got a box of Capri Sun for free from Pavilions (Safeway). I don't eat yogurt, but if I did, I would've been able to get a pretty massive stockpile of the stuff for free over the last couple of months. All summer, I've seen free Oscar Meyer hot dogs and lots of good deals on lunchables.
On the surface, the store brands may seem like they are cheaper, but if you combine sales and coupons you can get the brand names for free or close to it. Earlier this year, I stocked up on Kraft Salad dressing for $.17 a bottle. I got Wishbone dressing for free. I almost got 10lbs of potatoes for $.09 on Sunday, but caught the cashier's mistake. Still, I only owed the store $1.10. This week, Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato soups are free at Walgreens.
Getting your grocery bill down while still having the convenience is doable. You just need a little more know how.
If you don't already clip coupons, you might want to consider it.
Start with browsing the forums at Hot Coupon World or A Full Cup. They are broken up by store so you can see what people are buying for free or cheap this week at the stores in your area.
You can also check out Grocery Smarts if you're in California, Arizona, Washington or Idaho. This site posts printable grocery lists for local stores based on the weekly sales ad. The most helpful thing on it, for me anyway, are the stars to the left indicating the stock up scale. It helps you know if the advertised price is a good one or not. More stars = better price. It's helpful because if you're new to couponing, you might think that $1 for a tube of toothpaste is a good stock up price. In reality, you shouldn't pay more than $.24 for a tube of toothpaste barring special needs.
If you don't normally get a Sunday paper and wonder if it's worth buying one this week for the coupons, go to Taylortown Preview. They've already posted the list of coupons that will be coming out this Sunday. If you see something good that you can combine with a good sale, you might consider buying multiple copies of the paper. I buy 4 each week and 3 or 4 other people give me their coupons as well. It makes a huge difference. Keep in mind that the lists can vary by region, but not significantly.
These are just a few tips to get you started if you're interested. I highly recommend the forums, though. The shoppers there are simply amazing at putting together shopping scenarios. If you feel up to it, check out the sections for Walgreens and CVS to learn how to play the drug store game. Once you get good at it, you'll always have free toiletries and cleaning supplies which will help loosen up your budget to make other purchases.
Sorry, this got so long winded....
_____________________________
Secret Bodyguard - Available Now from Amira Press!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 4:24:38 PM
|
|
|
mamajennleigh
Posts: 978
Joined: 12/6/2007
From: Fuquay-Varina, NC
Status: offline
|
Well, we don't buy any convenience items, really. Whatever seems convenient, I just do my own version at home. My hubby is a wiz at combining coupons and sales and then stocking up on things. We each have a monthly prescription that has to be filled. Over the past 6 months, we've gotten gift cards for a total of $50 a month (that's $25 per prescription) each time we have the prescriptions filled simply for transferring the prescription. The drugstores have great deals on certain things (just as writerchick said) so we use our coupons and sales, and then we use the giftcards to buy them. We end up getting all that stuff for free and then some.
_____________________________
We may not have arrived, but Praise the Lord we've set sail!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 6:55:06 PM
|
|
|
boolee
Posts: 76
Joined: 8/17/2009
From: smyrna, Ga
Status: offline
|
I just found this section and thought I would put my 2cents worth in. I just got home from the grocery store, I had coupons and also coupons downloaded onto my Kroger card. I saved $33.77 and ended up spending $130 for the month and there is 4 of us. I will have to go back every week or so for milk and bread. That is only for food though I do the monthly shopping for toiletries and spend $155 a month for toilet tissue, toothpaste and over the counter items. I think it is really interesting how other people save on items at the store.
You can download coupons on you savings card then have coupons for that same item that are printed off of the internet and they will allow you to use both. I didn't realize that until today.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/8/2009 7:11:36 PM
|
|
|
thethinker
Posts: 40
Joined: 10/6/2009
Status: offline
|
I buy the basics, unless my daughter comes shopping with me, in which case I end up buying her a few treats . I buy mostly own-brand stuff from the supermarket, to save money. I bought lots of cereal for breakfast recently, but have discovered that it doesn't have the flavour of the branded one I bought on special offer recently! 
I get food almost always in its raw state as it's cheaper, healthier & more economical like that. I buy some 'value ' goods, but not meat, as I think the quality is important for this.
I don't have a budget as such, I just try to buy fruit & veg under a certain price, per weight.
My money goes 'round each month 'cause I'm not frivolous with it.
It seems in bad taste as well, when the other side of the globe people are starving & don't even have clean water... 
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Food Expenses - Monthly - 10/9/2009 11:46:03 AM
|
|
|
Tinkerbell_
Posts: 8033
Joined: 1/25/2008
From: NeverNeverLand
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: MamaAng
Tinkerbell, I don't do so well on grocery shopping either. I spend $600 on 4 of us - 2 adults, a 10 year and an 11mo old. I am trying to squeeze and use coupons/sales. I can't seem to get as low as you are even.
You might do better than me because I usually only cook on the weekends. During the week we eat cereal or at my parents house. So for about 8 days I spend $300+ a month. It's crazy.
_____________________________
When I've shown you that I just don't care
When I'm throwing punches in the air
When I'm broken down and I can't stand
Will you be strong enough to be my man?
|
|
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
 Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Tools
Printable Version
