Related pages on the MOMYS webite:
[Menu Planning] [MOMYS Cookbook] [Bulk Cooking]
Valupage!! http://www.valupage.com. You can go there and enter your zip code. It will give you the names of the grocery stores in your area, pick the store or stores and print out your Valupage, which is a list of item that you can buy and get money back for.
1---buy large quantities when prices are at the lowest. ie: Campbell's soup went on sale 3/99 so I bought 5 cases. I spend $200 during our store
brand sale, but have stocked up tomatoes, chili mix, stuffing, etc to last a year. Roast was 99/lb (a once in 5 years price around here) I bought 20
lbs to cut into stewmeat,... To do this you need to recognize a rock bottom price when you see it. My main weekly expenses are for produce and dairy,
and sometimes meat.
2-------Be creative. Day old bread stores for WW/11grain bread. We have a Bulk food store that sells spices for pennies on the dollar In February I
always buy a year's supply of each spice I use and then dump what little is left of the old.
Look in the yellow pages under 'Produce-wholesale' and make some calls. I can get cheap fruits and veggies in 20-50 lb lots, if I'm willing to pick
them up myself. I take as a challenge finding cheap food. I show up at 4:00PM on the last day of our local farmers market each fall. I come home
with pears by the bushel--$3,etc. It never hurts to ask. Approach a pumpkin stand on
Nov 1 and you can usually have all you can carry--free. I RARELY buy something not on sale.
This is taken from a post to MOMYS Digest and is really wonderful advice.
The $77 does include all grocery purchases, including laundry soap, dog/cat food, paper goods, etc. It does not include gifts or clothing or entertainment. Dh gives me a portion of money each week. I divide the cash up into categories: 30 meals-$50, groceries-$20, and co-op-$10. I also have other categories, such as gifts and savings
I save the 30 meal portion each week until after 8 weeks I have $400. I usually spend an actual $325-350. I then use this money to buy everything I need that keeps for 2 months. This includes all non-food items needed. I use cloth napkins, and seldom use paper towels, so this is minimal. (I bought my cloth napkins at thrift stores. each time I found blue print ones, I bought them until I had about 100 total, which is enough for 1 weeks worth of napkins 3x per day--it is not even one load of laundry per week) I do buy some paper plates, but use them sparingly.
I shop at 2-3 stores this day, mostly Price Club, Henry's (a produce store) and Vons (a reg grocery store, picking up everything not carried by PC or Henry's), with 2-3 times a year stopping at Smart and Final(another warehouse store)
I use the grocery money($20/week) to purchase fresh produce and milk for the week. I need to up this category by about $5, as we are buying milk now. We drink fresh milk, and I use powdered milk in my baked goods to boost our milk consumption as I buy minimal fresh milk. I usually only need about $12-15 for produce. I save the rest for occasional bulk purchases, such as K-Mart's salad dressing which goes on sale for $1 a bottle. I buy 20 bottles at a time. I watch the ads, and if there is a great sale (not just good) I will make an extra trip to pick up a lot of the product. I only go about 2 times per month for extra purchases. Some times of the year are better than others, such as before Thanksgiving, the baking items are the cheapest of the year, and so go more often, whereas other times I might not go at all in a months time. By saving $5 a week from this category, I have $20 a month for bulk purchases.
I use the $10 per week co-op money for a once per year co-op. This adds up to $500 a year, but I only spend about $200, so I have some leeway money here also. I buy wheat, gluten, yeast, milk powder, baking powder,sprouting seeds and some beans here. Price Club has the cheapest pinto bean and brown rice prices, though, so I buy them there.
Okay, here is how I got started with my "method". I started to write down every purchase I made, and tallied how much of each item I used in a month's time. I also used a price book ala the (infamous) Tightwad Gazette. I saw many things with my records. They allowed me to see what meals and ingredients cost the most and the least. I could "tweak" my menus to include more of the cheaper stuff and less of the expensive, usually without any taste differences. Some of our favorite meals were the cheapest, anyway, so it was easy on everyone to include more of them! My family loves beans! I then began buying every month, with the intention of not shopping in between. If I ran out of an item, I did without it until the next shopping trip. This forced me to be honest with the amounts I needed, and disciplined me to ration the more deluxe items. There is no savings if i buy choc chips by the case and then use them all up at a faster rate than normal! After I gained confidence I began purchasing once every 2 months. I wish I could purchase 1 time per year, but that is out for now!
I am convinced my costs are so cheap because I do not shop more often, usually. I also do not buy any convenience foods, such as boxed cereal, frozen dinners, sauces, etc. As you will see, I spend little time shopping, and I do not run around to all the sales. I simply buy in bulk as much as I can and I stay out of the store!
I do buy quality ingredients. My husband is a butcher/fishman and cannot tolerate poor quality meats from cheap stores, so when I buy meats, I buy good quality ones and use them "efficiently". I don't buy expensive meats, though! I also buy the best produce I can, and the best grains, etc. I seldom use canned foods, as they are poor quality taste wise and health wise. I do have canned corn, and beans as a back up, as my dh can show up for dinner without notice.
Our meals are as follows: Workday breakfasts: cooked cereals, such as oatmeal (plain, with raisins, peanut butter and applessauce) or millet or brown rice, or farina. I vary the "additives" to add a variety of vitamins as well as taste. I also serve whole grain toast, either with jam, or honey. or just better butter, or as cinnamon toast (I make cinnamon bread and toast and butter it). I will also serve fruit.
Dad's days off breakfasts: The works! whole grain Pancakes, fried potatoes, eggs. We will eat a large breakfast, and dinner only. Little ones, or growing teens may help themselves to sandwiches (tuna, egg, peanut butter, veggie) any time they wish.
Workday Dinners--we eat this at lunch time with dh-- Always fresh veggies, either salads, or simply sliced, plus a soup/stew of plenty of veggies or a pot of beans of some sort, and fresh ww or corn bread. I also try to serve fresh greens like spinach or chard or collards. (They really taste great!) It may also be pizza or spaghetti. Until this year it was often a 30 meals meal from my freezer, and will be again, Lord willing! (I'll explain later). also we have a lot of baked potatoes and baked sweet potatoes. We serve them with just butter and salt and pepper, or with sour cream (seldom) or with a bean or lentil topping. Oh, and burritos, too!
Dad's day off dinners: Maybe more of the same, only served with more panache plus a dessert of pie or fruit or something special. I like to serve a more traditional meal (read: rich American diet) I reserve the big cuts of meat for these meals. My theory that I practice is to serve inexpensive, but not boring, healthy meals for the normal workdays, and the richer, splurge, party foods for special times. If we eat plain all of the time we might feel deprived, and if we eat rich all of the time we will be sick, plus we won't enjoy them as much. These meals might be chicken and dumplings, or meat loaf or ribs or lasagna. I always include a salad and veggies. My family's favorite meal is beef tacos with Mexican rice and homemade refried beans. We have this about one time per week.
suppers, or lunches--sandwiches or leftovers. We like tuna, egg salad, chicken salad and non-hydrogenated peanut butter for sandwiches. I started buying lunch meat for the first time in our lives a few years ago when my older children needed to take sandwiches with them. I would like to purchase and process meats just for sandwiches on a regular basis, but haven't done that yet! Any helps, ladies? I make the egg, chicken and tuna with grated carrots and celery to stretch both the cost and nutrition. It really tastes better, too! I also like veggie sandwiches with tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms. Sometimes we make grilled cheese for a special treat. Or burritos.
snacks: veggies, fruit, ww bread, popcorn. Occasional cookies or baked goods desserts: fruit, popcorn, caramel corn, ice cream,pies, cobblers. I make a bread or rice pudding for sunday nights after church. Once in a while I make a more deluxe dessert, like pie, to keep things from gettiing boring. We seldom have dessert, usually only once or twice a week.
Company dinners: We serve the same dinners that we usually eat at least most of the time. Most of our company is drop in anyway, so they get what they get! I like to always serve each meal with a nice table setting, candles (even for our noon dinners!) and in nice serving containers. We actually serve each item in two containers: one at each end of the table! We try to have a pleasant time with each other--its the company, not the food that makes it special! Momys: don't be discouraged if you have just young children at your table: I struggled for years with why I was bothering to go to all the trouble of nice table--it will pay off when they get older! BTW, by nice table I don't mean expensive or even matching stuff. We still use the large dinette table that we bought used when we were married, the chairs have been whatever we can find, including wheat buckets! I use $2 Wal Mart vinyl tablecloths (with nicer ones for sundays). It really is the atmosphere we bring to our table, not the furnishings! We used to give our courting kids the buckets to sit on--they have great memories now!!! In fact, now we have matching although used, chairs, and the married kids feel our current courters are missing out by not getting the buckets!
Drinks: I seldom serve juice. It is reserved for special dinners about once a month. I serve either milk, or water, even for company. I have some nice looking pitchers that I fill with lemon slices, ice and water and set on the table. For our pizza nights (we make our pizzas several meals a week, but pizza night is a weekend night) we have soda, or sparkling cider. On our "honeymoon" trip, dh told me he would like to only have sparkling juices instead of sodas for these nights. (This from a soda junkie!--I have never liked soda) I do sometimes make my own with half juice and half 7-Up. Straight sparkling juices will add up to $12-15 for just one meal--as pizza night always attracts company!
In summary: we eat basic whole foods most of the week, with the emphasis on veggies. Veggies are very cheap if you stick with the sale items. I get about 5 full grocery bags of veggies for $15. I try to stick with sale veggies, and not buy the expensive out-of-season ones. its supposed to be better for you to eat seasonally anyway, plus it keeps the produce exciting! We also grow most of our salad greens and tomatoes year round, as well as some of our broccoli, cabbage, peas, green beans,corn etc seasonally. We eat splurge, rich foods on Dad's days off which make the meals more special, as well as less costly to nutrition. Our "rich" foods have gotten less rich through the years, though as our tastes are much simpler now.
Coupons: I seldom use coupons. I found when I used them that my bill was higher than when I didn't. I do use non-food coupons for deodorant, shampoos, toothpaste, as we have double coupons, and thus these items are basically free with coupons. Occasionally there will be coupons that I will use and save money with, but it is the exception, not the rule!
Sales: I mentioned earlier that I do buy some items when they are on sale. I do not run around to all the stores each week. I look at only the few stores I can drop in easily when I am doing my weekly produce shopping, and then most of the time the sales aren't that good anyway. I try to buy enough of the item to last until the next cheapest sale. For chicken this is every 2 months where I live. For chocolate chips this is once a year. Many items I buy just 2 times a year when they are at their cheapest. I used my price book (alaTG) to keep track and learn these dates.
There is a store that has great deals on canned and frozen fruits that I use for jellos in the summer (I make fruit jellos from juices--no store jello-- for each Sunday dinner). I go there just once before summer, know I will need about 15 weeks worth of fruits and buy them. It is the only time I will spend the gas to go there. If I were to "chicken" out I would end up buying the ingredients at a much higher price elsewhere (If I paid $1 per item more over the course of the summer it would add up to $30), or spend a lot of time and gas going back there as it is not in my circle of normal errands.
30 meals: I shop for my $400 worth of groceries and then I come home and process them ala 30 meals style. I do make at least 30 meals the day after shopping, plus I set up my freezer with items ready to cook. For instance, we eat a lot of pizza, so I grate all of the cheeses, mix them, put them in pizza sized freezer bags and freeze them. Dh likes sausage or pepperoni, so I cook, and slice and bag the meats. I don't even thaw the items I put on the pizzas, just sprinkle them out on the fresh dough and bake. I also make and bag and freeze the sauces. These I thaw enough to spread on the dough. Veggies are processed at the time of baking. Sometimes I buy the large canned sauce, and bag this into pizza sized portions.
When I first started 30 meals it took me about 12 hours to cook the meals. i persevered and soon it took me only about 8 hours. Now it only takes me about 5-6 hours. 30 meals is what gave me the confidence to try shopping only once a month in the first place. It helped me organize my money as well as time. I can attribute lots of positive changes to my 30 meals. My dh took a large cut in pay this year, so i have not had even $77 a week to spend, so I have not done my 30 meals this year, after having done it for 12 years straight. I do not do the meals every 30 days, but every 60 days. My dh is now able to give me the money again, so I will be doing it again soon. It is so nice to have home prepared dinners in the freezer for those hectic days! I can't say enough good things about 30 meals. It is what revolutionized me as a homemaker!
Meats: I will go out of my way to purchase meats for cheap. We will eat them basically only on Dad's days off, especially only on Sundays, so I know I will need 8 cuts for 8 weeks. so when roast goes on sale for $1 a lb I will buy 4 of them, and freeze them, using them every other Sunday (the remains go into beans on Monday!). When round steak goes on sale, I buy 4 of them, process them into swiss steak and use them every other Sunday. Same with ribs. Sunday is our only day we eat a bigger portion of meat--the rest of the days if we have it, it is as a condiment.
I am not sure if this is very clear, but I need to stop now! I took at least a year to fully develop and hone my shopping skills, so don't be discouraged, but be encouraged! I admit I would like to have more money to spend, but I do not. I am very happy to be able to provide delicious, wholesome foods for my family, and not having any more money keeps me honest! I know my $77 average can be honed even lower, as I have actually had to do it for a while, but my grocery list is honed as low as I want it to go! One time we had just $90 for the whole month. We had our own dairy goats for milk, and hens for eggs and wheat for bread, so I made lots of milk/egg/bread dishes, supplemented with greens from our garden. It was very boring, but we ate!
One last thing (confession!): I buy one package of cheap ($.99) cookies each week. This is used for in the car after AWANA on wed nights along with apples.
Shanna writes: I was just curious what the average grocery bill was for some of you momy's with similar sized families. I realize this could vary depending on where you live, bulk buying, and gardening-but I would just like to get a general idea. Thanks!
Mary writes: We don't generally buy any convenience foods to speak of, and we try to buy at Sam's when it is cheaper. We don't keep exact records on what we spend, but I would say it's about $300/month for just the food part. I only buy meat on sale, and only then when it gets down to my "buy" price ($1/pound for roasts and burger, and for chicken with the skin and bones still on; $2/lb for skinless boneless chicken breasts or for chicken-frying steak ("cubed steak"); 30 cents a pound for chicken leg quarters; 60 cents a pound for whole chickens (we roast them, although technically they're a little skimpy for that purpose). We don't eat pork products, and get beef hot dogs or only rarely (maybe twelve packs in a year?). We buy turkey bacon even more rarely than we buy hot dogs, and not as a food but as a seasoning. We do use real butter, not margarine, although the margarine would no doubt be a huge savings. We eat a LOT of rice and a fair amount of bread. We never buy "cold cereal," cold cuts, boxed potatoes, cake mix, or most other convenience foods -- but we do buy taco shells and tortillas. :-) I have more to share on this subject but will let the rest of you attack this topic now.
Regarding grocery bills: We spend about $500 a month on groceries (with two
in diapers). We do as much shopping as we can at Sam's. We do buy SOME convenience food, but usually generic only. Also, if you have a Wal-Mart Super-Center in your area, they match the price of any other stores (even sales and store generics), so I look at the grocery ads in Wednesday's paper, find out what we need that is on sale at other stores, then do all of my shopping at Wal-Mart -- this is a big time-saver.
Mary Ann writes: We live in a large metropolitan area, and spend about $75 to $125 a week, which we feel is a lot for our family of eight, soon to be nine. We're not being as careful as we used to be... when we had four children and a garden in the yard, we spent $35 to $50 a week. When we gardened, we built our menu around whatever the garden would yeild, and *supplemented* with groceries, rather than structuring our menu around our personal preferences.