Any tips on buying cheap groceries less than $120 per week?
Posted by admin | Under Cheap Groceries Tuesday Sep 29, 2009Most weeks we don’t have enough food to last us for a week. I want to start doing a menu plan but don’t know any cheap recipes. We also got 1 dog which I feed her a roll and dog biscuits. 1 cat which I seem to spend more on him than us.
Clip coupons from the paper and buy generic whenever possible. Also, look for the "buy one, get one free" deals. That will save you in the long run. There are online coupons that you do and NEVER go grocery shopping hungry!
http://www.redplum.com/
http://coupons.smartsource.com//index.aspx?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO
I know it’s difficult! I have a budget of $90 a month. Not week, MONTH.
First of all use coupons and try to shop the stores that double the coupons. Sit down with your weekly grocery ad and plan your weeks meals around what is on sale. Never pay full price for meats. Look for good buy one get one free deals. When pastas and rices are on sale stock up on them. Same with canned vegetables or soups. If you have the freezer space buy the large family packs of meat and divide them up into several meals. Sometimes you might need to go to more than one grocery store.
Also I would quit spending more on the cat.
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How many people are you trying to feed? I don’t spend $120 a MONTH on food for myself.
Pasta is relative cheap. Rice and beans are cheap. Fresh meat is expensive, you could try eating less of that. Also, if you can, generic brands are cheaper than name brand stuff.
This site has some less expensive recipes: http://www.cheapcooking.com/recipes.htm
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Okay kiddo, here we go.
Sit down and clip those coupons, this is what I had to do for my neice and her husband one daughter of 10 yrs old.
1–clip the coupons
2–do you have a super Wal Mart or Super Target by you, you will save so much more if you stay out of the regular grocery stores, they are way too high now days and sell the same things these two stores do.
3–think of what you all like to eat, and figure out the menu for the week, day by day,,,,a meat, a veggie, salad if you want, and stick to it.
4–Your dog needs some dog food as well, so figure on it, but do not buy any store brands, they are horrible for a dog, go to Pets Mart and buy the dog some Blue Bufflalo dog food..it is good and won’t break you either…
5–stop spening so much on the cat, you need grocery money, you can feed the cat, but you have to eat as well…..and so does the dog,.
6–How many people are you cooking for each day…in otherwords how many in your family to buy for.
You have to budget and make you and your family is eating right, and you are feeding the dog and cat as well, and not just roles or dog biscuits, poor baby does need more.
120.00 [per week is alot to spend a week…but I dont know how many you have in your family.
cheap receipes would be, like Hamburger helper, tuna helper, spagetti, hamburgers, chicken dishes. you can buy those little books with tons of simple and cheap menus in them at most check outs at stores.
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Clip coupons from the paper and buy generic whenever possible. Also, look for the "buy one, get one free" deals. That will save you in the long run. There are online coupons that you do and NEVER go grocery shopping hungry!
http://www.redplum.com/
http://coupons.smartsource.com//index.aspx?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO
I know it’s difficult! I have a budget of $90 a month. Not week, MONTH.
References :
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I started doing this a year ago and my first time saved $100 on groceries..
#1-you will have to get a couple newspapers on Sunday for coupons
#2-now go online or if your ads are recvd ea/wk in the mail,combine your coupons with the sales in each store
#3-shop at least 4 stores.mine are Walmart,Target,Meijers,Butera..
#4-Start to sign-up for online coupon sites..I will give you some at the bottom.Print these out from your computor.You can also download pet food coupons
#5-Stock up with coupons on the Buy 1 get 1 Free
#6-Buy family pkgs of meats and poultry and divide up for smaller meals.Stock up on sales.Each monday is when meat is usually on sale.Find out when your grocer puts the meat on sale..
#7-Check online your store sales and put your coupons toward your goceries.Buy just what you are there for and nothing else.
#8-Meijers where I shop will accept competitors coupons,including Target,Walgreens and so on so I save a lot there when things are on sale and it;s a buy 1 get 1 free..
The coupon sites are
http://www.moneysavingmom.com
http://www.sisterlysaving.net
http://www.pggazette.com
wwwathomemoms.com
http://www.smartsource.com
http://www.couponbug.com
http://www.target.com
http://www.meijer.com-click at the bottom meals
http://www.thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com
http://www.startsaving.com/walmart
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Your dog and cat need to be on kibble made for them. i would discourage feeding grocery store brands (pedigree, iams, dog chow, friskies, meow mix, etc) because they are full of filler and nasty stuff that’s just not good for your pets, but if times are tight i understand. still w/120 per WEEK (hat’s a lot i usually spend 200-300 a month for a family of 6. I recommend you go to petco or petsmart and look for quality food such as Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold, Wellness, Taste of The Wild…etc. that food is great, and they make dog food and cat food.
The easiest way to save money right way is to buy generic. Look for the cheapest price in any item you are looking for. So if you usually get a brand name salad dressing, look for the store brand (which is usually the cheapest) or a generic brand that is even cheaper. Most times w/generic you can buy a bigger bottle, bag or box for the same price as the brand name stuff. getting more for your money.
Cheap meats, such as pork are a great way to save as well. Butterfly pork chops cut to a medium thickness are a great value. i usually cook those like i would fried chicken. i use an egg and milk batter w/spices salt and pepper, bread them w/cheap bread crumbs (or flour if you prefer it traditional) and fry in about an inch of generic brand cooking oil. they are actually a favorite of my kids. (i have a family of 6).
when it comes to ground beef and chicken look for rolls of ground beef (instead of the packaged stuff) it’s cheaper and w/the right spices…tastes just fine. buy the larger packages of chicken, divide the package up at home in freezer bags and freeze them for later use.
Other things would be casseroles. a casserole can last a couple days as a leftover meal. there are tons of recipes online! here is a site w/many recipes
http://caseroles.com/
and here is a site for recipes under $10 a meal
http://www.cabotcheese.com/pages/recipes/list-recipes.php?catID=124&gclid=CKiy2Jfmk5oCFSAhDQodQDv1NQ
When you are trying to save money…cooking a huge meal every day is not easy. what i normally do is cook every other day, we eat left overs or quick meals between that. I always have quick meal items..such as tortillas, re-fried beans and shredded cheese for burritos. Chili, shredded cheese and frito chips for frito pie, lunch meats and sandwhich things and sub bread for sub sandwhichs, corn dogs, hot dogs, froze pizzas….etc. and again buying generic you can save a ton of money.
frozen veggies are usually also cheaper than canned so look for deals in the frozen food isle, not to mention they taste fresher.
doing this, i have bought a months worth of groceries w/$200!
Also you could stock up on breakfast, such as canned cinamon rolls, eggs, baccon, bagles, fruit etc. and do "breakfast for dinner" sometimes. my kids love it.
i have a homemade waffle/pancake mix that is cheaper than store brand and is very good and makes quite a bit so it will last a couple days in the fridge. ill list it below.
I watch out for STORE coupons, on THEIR brands, not brand name coupons. bring a calculator and figure it up. most coupons for brand name things still don’t cost less than generic or store brand items. if you find store brand coupons (usually posted on the selves) use them if they will HELP. not because it’s a coupon. some ppl use the coupons just because it’s a coupon and not really saving much money.
watch out for those 2 for $5 or 3 for $8, sometimes they still aren’t saving you money, you’d have to add up the generic brands up per box, bottle, bag to see if you are actually saving money buying an extra item. many times you’d still be saving money buy 2 generics vs. 2 brandnames w/a 2 for $5 deal.
Try to resist impulse buys. it’s hard to "stick to a list" so i usually dont bring one, i think in my head what i need to make certain meals, then get the items for that meal, then move on to the next. it keeps me thinking and i avoid doing that impulse grab while browsing.
Do NOT go to the store on an empty stomach….i swear going to the store full right after a meal really helps w/those impulse buys.
pancake/waffle recipe-
3 cups milk
3 cups flour
1/2 cup vegtable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1tsp salt
3 eggs
3 tbs baking POWDER (not soda)
mix well, and serves 8 to 12!
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Mom of 4. 3 boys 1 girl