I can't stay within my grocery budget :(

[Ann.without.an.e]

I try really hard but I can't.  We do have some special dietary needs.  Half of us can't eat gluten or dairy or both.  I don't eat grains at all and the only grain DS eats is rice.  DS doesn't do so well with commercial meat so we can't eat cheap brands of meat.  We use the cheapest cuts from the farmer or organic from the store (whole chickens, ground beef, etc.)   I am not buying organic fruits and veggies. We don't eat legumes.  

 

I price shop between the following sources...

Aldi

Trader Joe's

SAMs

Amazon S&S

Group co-op

and a local grocery

 

There are 6 of us.  2 adults, 2 teens, 1 almost teen.  

My budget is $1,000/month (just food, not other household items).  

We eat out very, very rarely.

 

We buy very little that comes out of a package.  Sunbutter, a few GF mixes, and condiments.  We eat mainly fruits, veggies, meats, nuts, etc.

 

Does anyone else think it is  ridiculous that I can't stay in my budget or is this expected with the number in my family and the special diet needs?

 

Any thoughts or tips?

 

 

[Mommyof4ks]

There are 7 of us, and I try to stick to real food, but I cannot say within a my budget either. We live in a LCoL area, and 2 of our family members are babies, but I still spend $700 on groceries, and that does not include household items or eating out. Good food is very expensive. :(

[happypamama]

I don't think that's ridiculous; I think that's probably about right for very limited grains and high protein/high fat, plus non-cheap meat.  Meat's just plain expensive.  We eat grains sometimes (oatmeal, whole wheat bread for sandwiches) and legumes sometimes, for budget reasons.  We eat a lot of bags of frozen vegetables, purchased when they are on sale.

[Annie G]

Post a day's worth of typical meals and snacks- sometimes that's an easy way to see where you can save. 

[Seasider]

It has gotten MUCH harder the last couple of years. Grocery prices have risen so much.

[AmandaVT]

You can't stick to your budget because prices keep going up. We budget $800/month for a family of 3. And I can't always stick to it. According to the USDA food budget averages, a family of 4 (with kids 6-11) eating at a moderate level, spends $1065/month. You have 6 people.

 

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2014/CostofFoodMay2014.pdf

[Catwoman]

This may sound stupid, but maybe you can't stay within your grocery budget because you need a larger grocery budget.

 

It doesn't sound like you're buying a lot of frills, so maybe you need to take a close look at your finances and see where you can skimp a little elsewhere so you'll have more cash for food.

[abba12]

Meat is expensive, especially good meat. Vegetables aren't cheap either, especially if you are on a restricted diet and, therefor, probably looking for more variety in your vegetables than potato, pumpkin, carrots, peas, tomatoes and lettuce.

 

My husband and I have chosen to make good food a priority for us, giving up certain other luxuries for it. I dislike the trend which says if your budget needs cutting the first place to look is groceries. Food is something we are constantly dealing with, we eat many times a day, we need good food to keep us healthy. A good diet may mean years more on our lives. surely it should be a higher priority financially than many other things which get factored in before it which are temporary and don't effect our lives the same way our diet does. 

 

So that budget isn't unreasonable to me at all. In fact it seems kind of low compared to some figures I've seen

[Critterfixer]

We are around 800 per month for a family of four, and I am GF.  And no teens yet.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Post a day's worth of typical meals and snacks- sometimes that's an easy way to see where you can save. 

 

 

Today:

 

B: 

DS1&DH - smoothie

Rest of us - scrambled eggs with fruit

 

 

L:

DS1- 2 GF ham and cheese sandwiches and a peach

DS2:  peanut butter and jelly and applesauce (not GF)

DD1: GF ham and cheese sandwich

DD2: whey protein shake

Me:  1 avocado, 1/2 tomato, 2 peaches

 

Snacks:

Me:  pre-workout protein shake

 

D:

Boneless chicken thighs, collard greens, and sweet potato fries

 

Snacks:

DS&DD (who can eat gluten) - graham crackers and almond milk

DS - 3 plain rice cakes with sunbutter and dark chocolate chips, almond milk

DH- bowl of sunbutter with chocolate chips

DD1-peach

Me - nothing

[BarbecueMom]

We're having the same problem. 3 adults, 3 kids, gluten-free household, one adult and one kid off dairy. One adult training for a triathlon. One adult that doesn't like veggies or beans. No dining out, ever, including work lunches. Spaghetti is a rare treat because it costs $10 for the pasta alone, and there's never leftovers. A pot roast is cheaper.

 

The stuff that is killing my budget is things like tahini, tamari, molasses, chili powder. When you cook every meal from scratch, you run out of stuff all the time! Every time!

 

I don't have a solution, unfortunately. My budget is higher and still goes over (although it includes household stuff too).

[Ann.without.an.e]

Thanks ya'll.  I have no idea what others spend.  I just know that ours keeps going up and I often wonder if I am spending ridiculously more than others. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

The stuff that is killing my budget is things like tahini, tamari, molasses, chili powder. When you cook every meal from scratch, you run out of stuff all the time! Every time!

 

 

 

 

Yes, it is all killing me too.  Stuff like sunbutter at $5-6 a jar :/  but when your diet is limited what else do you offer your kids.  We don't eat out either.

[Annie G]

You can spend an average of $33 a day to feed your family. Look at today's list- is $33 plenty to cover today's food? If so, is today typical or is it unusually frugal?  I can't tell because I don't know what kinds of things you buy- I don't know what gluten free bread costs, whether you're buying store brand jelly or some specialty type, for instance.  Fruit costs are wildly variable where I live. I spend a lot for good quality fruit but I buy frozen fruit for smoothies...so it's really hard to tell whether you could save money or not. But $33 a day for 6 people, three meals, doesn't seem like it leaves much room to cut.  

 

 

[Laurie]

Yes, it is all killing me too.  Stuff like sunbutter at $5-6 a jar :/  but when your diet is limited what else do you offer your kids.  We don't eat out either.

 

 

Special diets here, too.  I can't find many coupons in the regular Sunday paper for the brands we have to buy, but sometimes the specific company will have coupons that you can print...go to sunbutter.com and you'll find some.   I like to save $1 whenever I can. :)

 

Then there's my other "strategy".  It goes like this:  "This isn't an all-you-can-eat buffet."   (Portion control can help stretch your dollars but it won't exactly make you popular!)  

[mommymonster]

I honestly don't think your budget is generous enough for special diets plus teens, but... it is what it is.

 

Can you talk to a farmer and buy a 1/2 steer or hog at a time and freeze it? I haven't found it to be a super-cheap option, but it is way less expensive than Whole Foods. 

 

If you have a high-power blender, you can make your own almond butter, sun butter, and tahini. Almond milk is crazy-easy to make, as well. We also blend up cheap fruit and freeze it for popsicles as a treat, as well as for smoothies. 

 

For the protein shakes, I've found that our local store has buy one/get one free sales periodically (every 4 months or so). I buy *big* on those sales. 

 

 

[SeaConquest]

I can't stay on budget either, but that's because I am addicted to Whole Foods. If it makes you feel better, we spend almost $2,000 per month for two adults and two young children (and still manage to eat out fairly regularly). I think I need a support group.

[Mom-ninja.]

I feel your pain. I'm in the same boat.

[jaderbee]

I try really hard but I can't. We do have some special dietary needs. Half of us can't eat gluten or dairy or both. I don't eat grains at all and the only grain DS eats is rice. DS doesn't do so well with commercial meat so we can't eat cheap brands of meat. We use the cheapest cuts from the farmer or organic from the store (whole chickens, ground beef, etc.) I am not buying organic fruits and veggies. We don't eat legumes.

 

I price shop between the following sources...

Aldi

Trader Joe's

SAMs

Amazon S&S

Group co-op

and a local grocery

 

There are 6 of us. 2 adults, 2 teens, 1 almost teen.

My budget is $1,000/month (just food, not other household items).

We eat out very, very rarely.

 

We buy very little that comes out of a package. Sunbutter, a few GF mixes, and condiments. We eat mainly fruits, veggies, meats, nuts, etc.

 

Does anyone else think it is ridiculous that I can't stay in my budget or is this expected with the number in my family and the special diet needs?

 

Any thoughts or tips?

I don't think couponing or chasing bargains at a bunch of stores works. How many different kinds of meats are you eating a week? And are you sticking to fruits and veggies in season? Do you have a produce co-op you can join? I like looking at meal planning sites and most of them use 4-5 different meats a week and that is pricey. There's two that seem to keep costs down. One is an app based off the weekly local store flyer(s) of your choice. The other is a gal with a gf menu: http://thenourishinghome.com she even has a video on menu planning and sends out biweekly menus for free. I'll try to find the app if you'd like. I understand about struggling to stay within the grocery budget. The rising cost of food does not help.

[Joker]

We spend $1200/month and there are only four of us. We don't have any special diets but dh and both dds can eat a ridiculous amount of food and are all stick thin. Their bodies just burn through the food. We do go through a lot of fruits and veggies, though, which just gets crazy expensive. Since we do eat so much produce, I have a weekly delivery of local fruits and veggies. It's actually rather reasonable but I'm sure I could do it cheaper and conventional but I don't want to. For a while I had our budget at $1000/month and we could never stay within it so I had to tighten things elsewhere to make the food budget bigger.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Special diets here, too.  I can't find many coupons in the regular Sunday paper for the brands we have to buy, but sometimes the specific company will have coupons that you can print...go to sunbutter.com and you'll find some.   I like to save $1 whenever I can. :)

 

Then there's my other "strategy".  It goes like this:  "This isn't an all-you-can-eat buffet."   (Portion control can help stretch your dollars but it won't exactly make you popular!)  

 

 

I use that strategy all.the.time.  My 13 yo DS could eat 3-4 sandwiches at lunch but I limit him to 2.  

[Carrie12345]

I'll say I'm feeding 6, since dh and oldest ds aren't here so much.  They can count as one person. :tongue_smilie:

 

We don't really have any special diets.  My 7yo can't handle straight cow's milk and has trouble keeping weight on, so I do try to shove whatever I can into him.  I do buy some organics, but I'm guessing that price difference comes close to GF/DF items.

 

We're at about $1,000/mo now.  I've hit as much as $350 in a week when we've run out of multiple pricey items at once and/or found a good stock up deal on said pricey items.

[elegantlion]

My grocery budget is $100/person a month. That is a scrapping the bottom of the barrel budget and there is little accommodation for dietary restrictions (which i should be eating GF). Your budget is $200/person a month. No wonder it's a stretch with so many restrictions. We're in a low cost of living area and I could easily spend $200/person a month and still have to buy some food that wouldn't qualify for your diet. 

 

if cutting back doesn't work, increasing the budget would not be an extravagant move. 

[sassenach]

Today:

 

B: 

DS1&DH - smoothie

Rest of us - scrambled eggs with fruit

 

 

L:

DS1- 2 GF ham and cheese sandwiches and a peach

DS2:  peanut butter and jelly and applesauce (not GF)

DD1: GF ham and cheese sandwich

DD2: whey protein shake

Me:  1 avocado, 1/2 tomato, 2 peaches

 

Snacks:

Me:  pre-workout protein shake

 

D:

Boneless chicken thighs, collard greens, and sweet potato fries

 

Snacks:

DS&DD (who can eat gluten) - graham crackers and almond milk

DS - 3 plain rice cakes with sunbutter and dark chocolate chips, almond milk

DH- bowl of sunbutter with chocolate chips

DD1-peach

Me - nothing

That looks entirely reasonable to me.  I think food just costs more and more all the time.

[KungFuPanda]

It looks like you're spending as little as you can for what you're buying. You'd have to change something to spend less. Maybe pinpoint what your son is reacting to in commercial meat and find a way to avoid it while still buying meat at the grocery store? Or feeding the rest of the family grocery store meat if they don't share his allergy? Do you have a lot of beans in your diet? They're cheap and filling. Any potential for a garden? My yard is too shady for gardening, but I have the option of renting a section in a community garden and a friend who would let me garden at her house. (I've done neither :-/

[zoobie]

$1000/month for 6 people is only $166 per person. Teens sometimes eat MORE than adults. I'd agree with Catwoman that you need to increase your budget or not feel badly as long as you're not wasting food! :)

[elegantlion]

$1000/month for 6 people is only $166 per person. Teens sometimes eat MORE than adults. I'd agree with Catwoman that you need to increase your budget or not feel badly as long as you're not wasting food! :)

 

Duh, your math and reading skills are better than mine. I saw 5 people, completely skipping over the #6. Yes, that isn't a lot for the ages of your children. 

[zoobie]

Duh, your math and reading skills are better than mine. I saw 5 people, completely skipping over the #6. Yes, that isn't a lot for the ages of your children. 

 

I wasn't trying to correct you--I was typing at the same time you were I think. I'm sorry if it came across that way! :)

[KungFuPanda]

Duh, your math and reading skills are better than mine. I saw 5 people, completely skipping over the #6. Yes, that isn't a lot for the ages of your children.

 

I missed that they don't eat legumes :-/

[Χά�ων]

I save costs by buying meat at the small town butcher and working to buy a whole hog when possible. $2/lb. It is worth calling around to rural areas and making a trip out every few months.

[elegantlion]

I wasn't trying to correct you--I was typing at the same time you were I think. I'm sorry if it came across that way! :)

 

Oh no, it didn't come across that way. I read your post and had to go back to the OP because I was confused. my math skills are totally lacking today. 

 

Yes, $166/month for a teen is not much. 

[Tanaqui]

If most people spend less on their food then that's because most people eat grains and, if they're trying to budget, legumes, two things which are cheap and filling. If you can't eat those foods, and need to buy higher quality meats,your budget is going to have to be higher than most people's. There's just no way around it. Meat is pricey.

 

You might find organ meats such as liver or tongue are cheaper per pound than even the cheap cuts of meat you're already buying, and if you can do eggs it might be helpful to replace a few "meat" meals a week with "egg" meals instead, eggs usually being a bit cheaper than meat. And if you can buy in bulk, a whole cow or pig at a time as has been suggested, that can also come out to be cheaper per meal (but it will be a lot more upfront, and you need to have some place to store it). Otherwise, I just can't see where you can cut your grocery budget and still eat the foods your family does better with. *sighs* You might try gardening, but if you don't have skills there you might not save any money with the effort.

[Katy]

If I were you I'd look into cheap Paleo recipes and add back rice, beans, and potatoes to stretch things as you can.

 

The biggest money saver we've had is buying a 1/4 cow from a local butcher, rice in bulk from Sam's club, using a local grocery co-op for veggies (check http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ to see if they're in your area), and getting all staples from Aldi's.

 

Potatoes aren't a grain, are filling and nutritious, and are super cheap.  You can add them to every meal.  (Breakfast:  Frittattas or homemade hashbrowns and eggs, etc).

 

Walmart has added a store-brand gluten free line recently, including things like pasta and oreos.  Everything we've tried has been really good and as cheap as the regular kind.  Walmart and Sams club are also really great for frozen veggies.

 

Have you tried making your own coconut milk?  You use unsweetened dried coconut, blend it in a blender with water, and strain out the coconut to get the milk.  Some people use the leftover coconut as flour (too much work for me).

[Carol in Cal.]

Meat, dairy, and eggs have increased tremendously in price in the last year.

And CA is in a major drought that will almost certainly raise produce prices.

Plus gasoline is so high, which adds to trucking costs for everything.

This is a tough time for food prices.

[LucyStoner]

Budgets have to be based in reality, not wishful thinking or an arbitrary round number. An onmivore low carb, low to no dairy diet without conventional commercial meat for $5.55 cents per person per day? With lots of fruits and veggies and even just meat on the side? That's a stretch.

 

If you must stay under $1000 a month, you need to change your diet choices a bit. Maybe all vegetarian or adding in more legumes and grains for those without a serious medical need. But if you are spending more my advice would be to take all your receipts for a month and add them up and then try to cut a modest sum each month. I don't know how much over budget you are but you may need to just budget more. Your budget needs to be realistic and if you always go over and can't adjust your diet too significantly than you may need to adjust the budget instead.

 

With many dietary concerns it is hard to balance your household budget on the back of your grocery budget. It's also potentially penny wise and pound foolish.

[fraidycat]

$1000/month sounds too low by at least 1/3 for a whole foods/paleo diet for that many people.

I'd expect it to be in the $1300-$1500 range.

[fraidycat]

I can't stay on budget either, but that's because I am addicted to Whole Foods. If it makes you feel better, we spend almost $2,000 per month for two adults and two young children (and still manage to eat out fairly regularly). I think I need a support group.

Whole Paycheck.

 

I avoid that place so we can pay rent. ;)

 

To make OP and you feel better. We're a family of 4. I avoid WP as mentioned above and spend near the same amount as you on food and eating out.

[idnib]

Your budget sounds fine to me.

 

Four ideas:

 

- If you're not buying organic anyway, Asian markets often have much cheaper produce.

 

- For those who can eat dairy, cottage cheese is fairly inexpensive and high in protein. We sometimes eat 1/2 -3/4 of a cup and are full for 2-3 hours. Add a little fruit or veg and some seasoning for a fuller meal.

 

--Is there a Costco nearby? I noticed it's not on your list.

 

--Have you looked at Amazon Subscribe and Save? It's not fresh food, but you could free up some money by saving $ on the non-food items like toilet paper, soap, shampoo, lotion, animal food, etc.

 

 

 

[TammyS]

I haven't read most of the posts, so forgive me if this has been posted already:

 

1. Learn to eat legumes.  That is where your biggest savings is going to be.  If you just aren't used to them, or have texture issues, try adding them to recipes you are already eating (black beans, for example, mash very well into ground beef, so that it stretches your beef with no discernable flavor or texture - do add a bit more spice to keep it from dulling your recipe).  Experiment with lots of different recipes.  The entire world eats legumes, there must be something you will like.

 

2. Make sure you are getting everything you can from your meat.  You are spending good money on meat, which I respect, so make sure you get every single thing you can from it.  Firstly, make bone broths from all of your bones.  Bone broth are the most healthy thing you can eat, hands down.  They also happen to be super tasty and will make you look differently at soup for the rest of your life (that stuff at the store is just colored salt water, so don't judge a good broth by that).  Especially for poultry a bone broth is a $ saver, because after you cook the carcass down, you can pick through it for meat you missed the first time and use it for a meal.  Secondly, do not throw away fat!  You are paying for it, so use it.  Instead of pulling skin off of chicken and tossing it, or trimming "excess fat" off of meats, put them in gallon sized freezer bag.  When the bag is full, render them down on your stove.  That is good quality fat that you can put into a mason jar and use for your cooking.  Fat is one of the most expensive things you buy at the store and we all throw it away routinely.  That's nuts!

 

3.Make sure you aren't eating too much.  I'm not saying you are, but it can be easy to do.  So, check your snacking habits (very expensive) and when you have seconds ask your self if you need it or if you need so much.  That's a place to save, too.

 

4.Always, check your waste.  That's the quickest savings.  I like to a keep a white board on the fridge that lists the leftovers in the fridge.  Around here, the rule is leftovers must be eaten for lunch before anyone can make anything else.

 

Hope that helps.

[TammyS]

The stuff that is killing my budget is things like tahini, tamari, molasses, chili powder.

See if you can find an Amish discount market near you.  I get these things from one for waaaaayyyy cheaper than other grocery stores.  Spices, especially, are a good deal there.

[Χά�ων]

3.Make sure you aren't eating too much. I'm not saying you are, but it can be easy to do. So, check your snacking habits (very expensive) and when you have seconds ask your self if you need it or if you need so much. That's a place to save, too.

 

 

I have talked about this in the past and it is so important. There are many wonderful resources out there that provide portion size information. I highly suggest looking at portion sizes.

[TammyS]

If it's feasible, you might consider growing some of your own food as well.  Even a very small garden (square foot style) can yield a lot of produce.  A handful of hens can keep you in eggs (and then meat when they slow down egg production).  If you have a little more space, it only take 6-8 weeks to grow out a bunch of meat chickens to slaughter weight.  Dwarf fruit trees can be bearing in about 3 years.  If you want to get really adventurous, and have some space, grow your own pig.  It's kinda late in the summer to start, but you could do it next spring and have him ready for slaughter by fall.  It's a great way to utilize scraps of food that would go in the garbage (and your neighbor's garbage, too).  Just some things to consider.

[TammyS]

I have talked about this in the past and it is so important. There are many wonderful resources out there that provide portion size information. I highly suggest looking at portion sizes.

 

I think the easiest way to control this is to serve meals on plates from the kitchen, rather than bringing pots/bowls to the table.  Sometimes, if I def want the leftovers for another full meal, I'll serve out the plates and put away the leftovers before dinner. 

[Haiku]

I spend about $850 a month on four people. We don't eat meat or dairy. I'm not surprised you can't stick to $1000 for 6 people. I think that's low, especially with teens.

[Kerileanne99]

I can't stay on budget either, but that's because I am addicted to Whole Foods. If it makes you feel better, we spend almost $2,000 per month for two adults and two young children (and still manage to eat out fairly regularly). I think I need a support group.

I will join your support group😊

We only have two adults and 1 child, and I am sure our food totals are about there. We have no Whole Foods close...so end up driving 2 hours each way a couple of times a month to stock up.

I don't even have the excuse of buying meat! We are vegetarian. Although we do buy meat substitutes like Morningstar or Quorn, and those are pricey!

It really is all the extra ingredients that add up when you are eating healthy foods and trying creative ways of getting in all the nutrients. And all those types of things like sun butters, nuts, alternative foods, etc., never seem to go on sale.

[Annie G]

Yes, it is all killing me too.  Stuff like sunbutter at $5-6 a jar :/  but when your diet is limited what else do you offer your kids.  We don't eat out either.

 

 

I noticed that your dh ate a bowl of sunbutter with chocolate chips for a snack.  Was that really a bowl or was it more like a spoonful?   I had to train my kids to really think about snacks, how many calories they should contain, and such. Yeah, I know this was your dh and not your kid, so I'm not advocating that you monitor his snacking. 

 

Do your kids who eat gluten free eat sandwiches for lunch most days? My gluten free friends don't because the cost of the bread is so high. They've switched to having a stir fry for lunch- a bit of protein and a ton of veggies is fast to cook, and cheaper per serving than gluten free bread. 

 

I know nothing about protein shakes, except that some are quite costly.  Is that a large line item in your budget?

 

About twice a year we save a month's worth of food receipts and analyze where our money is going. Sometimes we find that we're spending an absurd amount on ice cream, cheese, beverages, or whatever. We have to do a month's worth because just one week isn't a good snapshot.   It's work, doing that analysis can be helpful even if it only shows you're not wasting much.

 

I find shopping too many stores is not good for my budget. I have a main grocery store and a meat market. When there are good sales at other stores, I usually just price match at Walmart- get all the sales at one place.  It's not where I do my main grocery shopping but since they price match I can do that price matching while I'm in there buying shampoo and cat litter. 

[Soror]

Well, our food budget has been high as of late here as well. I know how to do it lower and have in the past, much much lower but keeping food costs as low as possible isn't always the best healthwise. You know it used to be that food costs were about 30% of income and now we think that it should be a fraction of that.

 

Anyway, we are a family of 6 here, although the baby doesn't eat much. Dh and I are paleo, everyone is gluten free. Some of us are dairy free. Dh is pretty low carb right now. I do buy local meat in bulk and other things. Anyway, we are feeling better than when I tried to eat a cheaper diet for a stint when we paid off the house. Great for those that can eat whatever and feel great but not all of us are so lucky. 

 

 

[lynn]

I pretty much gave up my budget.  Food cost what it costs.  I still stock up on Publix bogo of items I know we use that I won't buy at regular price.   We buy what we buy and that's it.   When I do a weeks shopping  is going to be $200-$250.  If it's under that it means I forgot something or I did not need extras this week.   Right now there are no answers.  I am glad that it's summer and the fruit and vegetables we love are less expensive.

[BlsdMama]

Where you live is a HUGE factor.  I learned this from moving to the West coast from the Midwest and then back again. 

 

Do you have a Costco near you?

 

Whole Foods is a little something we like to call Whole Paycheck and I'm not sorry we don't have one here.  Trader Joe's is a little spendy but certainly better.  Our Costcos have an incredible amount of organic produce (though, granted, frozen, works great for smoothies), and grass fed beef though limited cuts, but it sounds like you're doing grass fed ground beef?

 

The problem with special diets (low or no dairy and GF) is that traditionally grains and dairy make you feel full.  It takes a lot more fruits and veggies to achieve that same feeling.

 

If you're not already, make sure you're getting a lot more nuts, seeds, almonds, etc.  Nut or seed butters mixed with dried fruit are great too to help feel full.

 

 

Must you reduce your budget?  If you must, then you must.  Your budget is high for us.  We spend more than that per month but not per person.  But again, we're in the Midwest and we have a Costco.  Ours is almost an hour away, I've checked my mileage and gas costs, even with a 15 passenger van, and it's STILL worth it to shop Costco.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I haven't read most of the posts, so forgive me if this has been posted already:

 

1. Learn to eat legumes.  That is where your biggest savings is going to be.  If you just aren't used to them, or have texture issues, try adding them to recipes you are already eating (black beans, for example, mash very well into ground beef, so that it stretches your beef with no discernable flavor or texture - do add a bit more spice to keep it from dulling your recipe).  Experiment with lots of different recipes.  The entire world eats legumes, there must be something you will like.

 

2. Make sure you are getting everything you can from your meat.  You are spending good money on meat, which I respect, so make sure you get every single thing you can from it.  Firstly, make bone broths from all of your bones.  Bone broth are the most healthy thing you can eat, hands down.  They also happen to be super tasty and will make you look differently at soup for the rest of your life (that stuff at the store is just colored salt water, so don't judge a good broth by that).  Especially for poultry a bone broth is a $ saver, because after you cook the carcass down, you can pick through it for meat you missed the first time and use it for a meal.  Secondly, do not throw away fat!  You are paying for it, so use it.  Instead of pulling skin off of chicken and tossing it, or trimming "excess fat" off of meats, put them in gallon sized freezer bag.  When the bag is full, render them down on your stove.  That is good quality fat that you can put into a mason jar and use for your cooking.  Fat is one of the most expensive things you buy at the store and we all throw it away routinely.  That's nuts!

 

3.Make sure you aren't eating too much.  I'm not saying you are, but it can be easy to do.  So, check your snacking habits (very expensive) and when you have seconds ask your self if you need it or if you need so much.  That's a place to save, too.

 

4.Always, check your waste.  That's the quickest savings.  I like to a keep a white board on the fridge that lists the leftovers in the fridge.  Around here, the rule is leftovers must be eaten for lunch before anyone can make anything else.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

We already do the above.  We used to eat tons of legumes.  We had to ditch them for health purposes.  They are quite inflammatory and 50% of us have auto immune problems.  DH (not auto immune) never could eat legumes, so that gives us only two that can/should eat legumes.