Ask the Readers: Tips and Tricks to Save on Food?

Apart from the obvious, “Quit hogging!”?

Like Plonkee said, menu planning is important.

I shop at a bare-bones, bag-your-own groceries store. The prices overall are much less expensive than any other store in the area.

When I first moved here, I made a list of a bunch of things that I regularly buy, and I stopped by a bunch of stores to price the items. Then I picked the least expensive store to be my regular grocery shopping store.

I do stop by one or two other stores to pick up their loss leaders if I happen to be in the area, but I don’t make a ton of special trips to other stores.

I also plan menus weekly and try to keep a good supply of foods that can be used in many different dishes so we avoid too much repetition (such as rice, potatoes and all root veggies, pasta, cheap cuts of beef, chicken, powdered broths, spices, etc…these things I can prepare in so many different ways that we never get bored.)

I guess spending time cooking is the trade-off of getting it for cheap, more preparation is needed but here we keep our food budget down to about 300$/monthly for 2 persons and don’t feel really deprived. We always make space for treats like salmon or nice steaks when we feel like it. Through being frugal I have learned a lot of cooking and baking skills. I even make my own pizza from scratch now, for cheap

For groceries– lots of rice, pasta, beans, chickpeas, veggies, fruit. The dry stuff is dirt cheap and filling. Stock up with things are on sale. I have about ten jars of spaghetti sauce that I really like, and that I add spices to as well. I also have a bunch of pasta and about ten cans of different types of beans. This is just for one person.

One little tip I have, and maybe this isn’t as applicable for a family as it is for one person, but don’t shop with a cart. Grocery stores make carts available for you to dump stuff into wthout thinking about it. If you’re carrying your food, you’ll think twice before buying the “ten for $10″ Hungry Man dinners.

Splurge once in a while. If I don’t, I end up with a basketful of Little Debbies. Mmm.

Don’t waste food. This will drive up a budget like crazy. Label foods in the fridge with dates, learn when to toss things (hint: it’s not usually the sell by date). If fruits and veggies are getting mushy and no one wants to eat them but they’re still okay to eat, use them in salads and soups.

Go to the cheaper grocery stores. In most areas, there’s a fancy store (Safeway) and then there are the lower tiers from there. Setting up a price book is a good idea. I buy my canned food from Big Lots and Dollar General– just be sure to check the dates!

Wow, we are spending $200 a month on food for a family of 4 with no eating out budget. We simply buy only if it is on sale and stock up using grocery game.

If you want to save money on food simply don’t eat as much. Bellen above broke down what a spaghetti dinner would cost and I would cut half the food out of the same meal. Noodles and a jar of prego is all you need.

Plus NEVER buy a pop/water/juice. Total waste of money.

I think that setting a weekly limit works very well. Looking through the other posts, it seems like those who spent less seemed to work on a weekly grocery budget.

When I was single, I spent about $150/month on groceries, not including eating out.

Now that I’m married, and more concerned about money, my husband and I spend about $150/month on groceries AND eating out for two people. The thing that made the difference was starting to track our weekly budget.

I’m responsible for making sure we don’t go over $40 every week. What works really well is to start count down on Sunday. I always go shopping on Saturday, and I always go with a list. I buy strictly what is on the list, and if I don’t have enough money, I’ll buy less than what is on the list (I rarely have to do that). We can do this because over the past 8 months that we’ve been married, we’ve built up a food storage with the basic foods (this storage also comes out of our weekly budget).

We’re both students, so we know how to stretch a dollar. However, we still entertain about once per week, we still eat very well; it’s rare that we want to have a certain meal and don’t have enough money in the budget.

For those spending significantly more than this, all I can say is that grocery prices must differ quite a lot. We live in Utah, so I guess things are pretty cheap here.

I spent around $160 on food last month. My meals are pretty well balanced and portioned. I eat all types of meat and fresh veggies along with fruit (usually as snacks).

Including eating out, I spent $235 on food. I only dine out once a week though.

The only groceries you’ve mentioned are usually for dinner. What are you doing for Breakfast and Lunch? When we do our $56 dollar grocery month in February, I spend a lot of time baking muffins for breakfast. They’re cheap, filling, and (if I may say so) delicious.

For lunch I make a big ol’ pot of something on Sunday and we eat it for the rest of the week. Example: Lentil soup and garlic flat bread. Cheap, filling, delicious.

A lot of people don’t think about breakfast and lunch when they’re looking at their food budget. Try sorting out your expenses by meal, then see what you come up with.

We have the best luck using a local butcher for our meat purchases. While deli meat can cost $6-7 a pound at the grocery store, it costs us $2.50-$4 a pound at the butcher. Not to mention the fantastic prices on steaks, hamburger, pork, sausage, etc.
The other thing I do is shop sales at the grocery store. We go shopping frequently, and whenever we find sales on pantry items we stock up. That tends to last a long time, and then we just have to fill in the gaps with fresh fruits and veggies on a weekly basis. I try to buy those items in season, but I don’t like to skimp on good food during the winter if I don’t have to. I’m not sure what we spend per month, but I know that compared to what we used to spend, we are saving a lot and still eating a healthy well rounded diet.
I would recommend seeking out a local farmers/seafood market for your seafood purchases, and see if you can get better prices that way.

My husband and I spent too much on dining out. We know this, but we have weird work schedules, are often lazy and enjoy the times when we can feel less like roommates passing in the night and more like we’re, well, a couple on a date. That said, we did an experiment in July, NO DINING OUT at all. Cold Turkey. We made a calendar and crossed off days as we completed them. We went from dining out 3-5 a week to none, which was hard. The good news is we saved a ton of money and were able to recover from the previous month’s unexpected shortfalls and now we have pared down our eating out to about 1x a week. We just got out of the habit. It took some practice to make sure we had food on hand for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We pack a lunch each day to take to work, which we have always done. We do stock up in bulk and shop around for deals, but cutting out the restaurants made a huge difference.

I can’t imagine we could live on $200 a month in food without eating a lot of empty calories. We both struggle with weight issues and therefore try to avoid meals entirely made from pasta, potatoes, rice, breads. We eat lean meats and fish, fresh veggies and fruits. Sure, we could have spaghetti and garlic bread for $2 per person, but neither of us has the metabolism for that many carbohydrates.

Some savings has to be geographical. I live in the Chicago area and I know groceries here are more expensive than when I lived in Missouri and Colorado. A friend visiting from Kansas with her 2 kids and I were going to the museums for the day and went to the local grocery store to get stuff for sandwiches to take with us. We were in the bread aisle, and my friend exclaimed “$3.99 a loaf? I am not paying more than 50¢ for a loaf of bread.” and I told her, “Then you are probably not getting bread.” Even the discount generic bread was $1.99 a loaf on special. She told me she typically pays $0.25-$0.45 for a loaf of bread. Maybe that is available somewhere in this area, but even at the Wonder bread outlet, where they sell the past-prime bread, a loaf is more than $1.

WOW. Blaming grocery prices in Davis for your food expenses being high? The real problem: the eating out. I went to UC Davis and I’m half-Asian, so my eating habits are probably pretty similar to the poster. And I never spent as much as the poster on food.

Eating out in Davis gets expensive if you’re doing it twice a week, you’re going to dinner, or if you’re going to the “hip” places like Fuzio’s. Try going to someplace like Fuji’s for a Saturday lunch buffet or Guadalajara’s. Or the little pho place on 1st. There are constant coupons and discounts for students in the Aggie (the school paper.) There’s also a Student Discount card that when shown with a school ID, gets discounts at some stores and restaurants. Most colleges have this card available.

As for shopping in Davis, yes, there is Safeway, Nugget, Albertson’s, and Ralph’s. There is also the Farmer’s market twice a week. Spring and summer, this is an excellent place to hang out and spend a cheap Wednesday evening or Saturday morning – free music, fresh foods, lots of people hanging out and playing in the park. There’s also the Co-op, which is well worth the $15 to join, especially since you get the money back when you leave the Co-op. There’s also a Whole Foods, I think, right off campus. (I can’t remember which store it is, since it’s one of the fancy-shmancy ones that I avoid.) There’s also a little Asian market on 4th.

I know some people in Davis don’t have a car, but if you do or can get a ride with someone or borrow a car, there’s always Pedrick’s Produce about four miles outside of town. I know the preferred transportation is biking in Davis, and while you can bike to Pedrick’s, I don’t really recommend it. I remember buying a ten pound bag of oranges for $5 there – I wouldn’t have wanted to bike back to campus with that!

If you have a car, there’s always CostCo in Sacramento and Sam’s Club in Vacaville. Or even Wal-Mart in Dixon. And Oto’s and 99 Ranch in Sacramento if you want Asian food.

If you’re a student, you should consider working at the MU or at the Silo. You get free food and book, tuition, and parking reimbursements. Also, you could consider joining one of the housing co-ops on campus – most grow their own food and are typically vegetarian.

Looking at what some people are writing, I’m concerned that you’re sacrificing health for price, when you don’t have to. Spaghetti and sauce is not a full or healthy meal.

I’ve found that cutting out processed foods helped me cut my costs a lot. Beans, greenmarket produce, and brown rice make the foundation of at least one meal a day. (But that doesn’t mean there’s no variety!) Frozen produce is also fantastic – inexpensive and so good for you. And easy to cook with. Spinach into stir-fry or eggs, berries into oatmeal or cottage cheese – I buy a bag or box of something every week, for under a dollar if it’s vegetables, a little more for frozen berries, and it always lasts longer than a week, so my freezer is a bounty of variety. Canned fruits, too – pineapple chunks, apple sauce, even pumpkin puree. (That’s a vegetable! Mix it into breakfast yogurt or cottage cheese, add some cinnamon – pie for breakfast, and so healthy.)

Also, sussing out deals at “fancy” stores helps – Whole Foods peanut butter is HALF the price of what my “cheap” supermarket sells, and that’s *natural* pb, no chemicals or sugar. Mori-Nu tofu, $4 at my supermarket, is about $1.50 at Whole Foods. That’s three meals worth of protein right there. For all that it’s “Whole Paycheck” for produce and fancy foods, some staples are the cheapest there.

Looking to eat healthier, for me, means cooking more often and more carefully, and has gone beautifully hand-in-hand with spending less money on groceries.

LK – I was referring to spaghetti from a jar. The veggies help. But it still could use some protein. But once in a while, sure.

Cook things that you can use in more than one meal. For instance, at the start of the week I grill four chicken breasts or pork chops. ($6-$8). For the rest of the week, I eat them sliced on a romaine lettuce salad — I buy romaine hearts (3 for $3.29) and keep salad fixin’s (olives, tomatoes, cheese) in the fridge pre-cut. This is a great lunch and dinner that fits easily into my busy schedule. They’re also fast to reheat for more complex or filling dinners — a few ears of corn from the farm stand or $1 and some frozen peas and you’ve got a big three-course dinner.

I started shopping at a local farm stand for produce instead of the grocery store. This knocked my produce cost down by about $10/week. Grocery stores can be really expensive.

I also joined every grocery store club card program I could — and they all send me books of coupons. In the rural area I live in, which doesn’t get the manufacturers’ coupon opportunities a major urban area gets, this is invaluable. I have my mom send me her spare coupons too… I use some stuff she doesn’t, and she sometimes has leftovers that are close to expiring for stuff she doesn’t need to restock on yet that she can send me too.

Honestly, the most expensive part of my weekly diet is yogurt — there’s one brand of organic live-culture yogurt that I prefer above all others, and it’s a guilty pleasure at $1.19 a cup. But I limit my intake on that to the minimum that keeps my shakey digestive system ticking along.

My husband and I spend about $182 each per month on food. My budget:
$14 on dinners out each month
$20 on lunch each month
$20 on coffee and snacks each month
$120 on groceries.
$64 per week on farm-fresh produce.

My husband spends about the same, but buys fewer groceries and pays for more eating out.

How we do it?

1. I know how much food should cost.
I know how much food should cost, and I never spend more than pre-set figures in my mind. I never spend more than $2.50 for a box of cereal, and when it’s on sale for $2 or less I stock up. I never spend more than 50 cents on canned goods, and when they’re on sale for 30 cents I stock up. I never spend more than $1 per pound of pasta, and when it’s on sale for less I stock up.

2. I shop at the right store for the right stuff.
Safeway or Fred Meyer is much cheaper than Trader Joes or a frou-frou organic store for most every day shopping. When I have a big shop to do, say if I need to replace a bunch of diminished staples, it’s worth a long drive to the discount Winco grocery store. Some processed foods where flavor matters, like spaghetti sauce, are actually cheaper and better at Trader Joes. Trader Joes also has best prices on the soy milk and hormone-free ordinary milk I like to buy. I don’t usually go to more than one grocery store in a week, but I pick which store to go to based on my shopping needs.

3. I participate in a CSA every summer. CSA stands for community-supported agriculture. My husband and I write a check every spring to a local farmer, and in exchange we get a share of her harvest every week. This week we got tomatoes, corn, zucchini, cabbage, green beans, basil, cilantro, hot peppers, onions, a “salsa kit” and an eggplant. The total cost: $8 each ($16 total) per week. With all that produce, we just need to buy some carbs, proteins, cheeses and sauces to stay fed all week.

4. I limit myself to one lunch and one dinner out every week. Eating out is expensive, and cooking is healthier too.

I used to spend less — more like $120 to $150 per month. But as my income has gone up, I’ve allowed myself to splurge on stuff I really love, like good cheeses and breads from great bakeries. I figure that being generally cheap gives me the freedom to indulge in small things here and there.

I think there’s a lot to be said for eating until you’re not hungry, and not until you’re full. I’m a college student (in Boston, where grocery sources that don’t require an entire morning or afternoon are fairly expensive compared to Ohio, where I’m from) and our meal-plan-like thing is completely a la carte. Last year I figured out that if I were to eat an entire entree, I would be completely stuffed afterwards. So, first semester, I usually had about 2/3 or so, and was still pretty full. THEN I figured out that, hey, for most meals, if I ate HALF, then I would be slightly full, and I could have enough for the next day’s dinner, which would more or less halve the amount I had to spend on food (sort of. Our dining system is complicated).

I’ve started doing the same thing with fruits, etc. I just bought large nectarines, which I really can’t finish in one sitting, so I don’t. I also try not to go out to eat unless I know the plate is big enough for me to take some home afterwards. That makes my $8-10 check split among two meals, which isn’t as bad for eating out.

To keep to this system, I divide up my food BEFORE I eat. This way I’m not tempted into eating the rest.

While I don’t think this could work for everyone (I’m fairly small, at 5’2″ and 120-ish lb), it’s been a really effective way for me to cut down on spending on food, and I imagine that anyone, if they start not eating until they’re absolutely bursting, could save some just thinking about that.

The Boyfriend and I spend $50 or so per week on groceries, not counting my morning coffee habit or the semi-weekly dinners/lunches out. This is waaaay less than I used to blow on food, and yet, I think I’m eating much better. It took a few changes, though:

First, we shop almost exclusively from the supermarket circular. We buy loss leaders and sale items, which saves us an average of 21% per grocery bill, or about $750 per year.

Second, we’re bringing lunch from home. Like commentor Scarfish, we both work in NYC, where meal prices are freakin’ astronomical. Combined, we figure we’re banking about $2500/year this way.

Third, I learned how to cook. No kidding, it’s saved us a ton. I’m not scared of sharp knives or scalding myself to death anymore, so making meals is much more inviting.

Fourth, we’ve cut down significantly on processed food (with the exception of mac and cheese … I can’t help it). For reasons expressed by nearly every other commentor, it’s helped.

Man, there are so much more, but these are probably the big four. What a good topic.

I agree J.D., I don’t know how people do it. I ran a poll a while back and was amazed at the dollar amounts. We spend $400 for 2 of us, and it seemed high to a lot of the people.

I wish everyone here would list their cholesterol and BMI in addition to their food budget! I think there might be a correlation between a healthy weight and spending more money, but it’s just a hunch.

I would love to have a cheaper food budget, however, it’s very difficult when you have severe food allergies. I can’t eat pasta, bread, rice, eggs, dairy, and a bunch of other food. My food budget is always high because I simply can’t eat the cheap stuff. Any ideas or does anyone have experience of eating on a budget with allergies?

Wow, I can’t believe nobody has mentioned the meat-eating! Meat is very expensive. Even if you don’t want to eat an exclusively vegetarian diet, you could, for example, resolve to make 3 vegetarian dinners per week. Easier on your checkbook and your health (and your conscience!).

Oh, and I should mention: that $600/month is just me, I’m a single guy. Well, and also my girlfriend when we go out for lunch or dinner, but mostly just me.

And as far as vegetarian meals being, “Easier on your … conscience”, that’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?

Do you have a lot of leftovers or spoiled foods in the fridge? It could be that you’re planning, budgeting, only to buy too much. You can arrange your weekly menu such that if you buy broccoli on sale, use it in four different dishes.

Also, coming from a similar background (Asian, lived in Davis), can I ask about the snacks? You might think you’re being a fairly healthy eater but picking up things like rice crackers or goldfish. In moderation, that shouldn’t hurt the budget, but I’ve seen what some Asians consider staple snack foods and it is an entire cupboard. You might also be hitting up places like Jamba Juice or the Old Teahouse a little too much. Get a single large and split it with the gf.

A good way to figure out what you are and aren’t using is to post the receipt on the fridge and cross off the item as you use it. Two weeks later, see what you haven’t finished or if you’ve had to toss it. If they’re not staples, think about removing it from the menu or buying smaller quantities.

Lastly, do you buy alcohol? That can blow the budget through the roof. Get it on sale or at Costco/Trader Joe’s (if you have access to one). I believe you could also stock up at bevmo.com when they have sales?

A slightly contrarian view, somewhat akin to Tyler’s….

Don’t cut back on food spending just because you can, unless you have to or want to (in order to save money, etc.). If you can live happily and healthfully on $80-$150 expenses per month on food, and if you don’t feel deprived, that’s great. If you can afford to spend more without depriving yourself of debt-payoff or future retirement funds, then that’s great, too.

For me, food and wine are a passion, and serve as nourishment as well as entertainment. My typical monthly expenditure for food is maybe around $250-$300–just for me–because I like to cook challenging meals, I prefer real wine over Carlo Rossi, and I like an occasional restaurant meal. I realize I could slice my expenses here in half, but food is something of a hobby. Just keep track of your expenses and don’t go over the amount you’ve realistically budgeted, and you’ll be fine.

My wife and I budget $300/mo for groceries only, in DC. About half goes to the farmers market and half to the Giant grocery. We spend it all, because we can. Means that sometimes we can buy the organic peaches, and sometimes splurge on frozen veggie pizzas, and sometimes we eat just pasta with sauce and precious few veggies in it.
I feel like we could eat at many different price points, but this one makes us happy and we feel healthy.
One commenter suggested ‘just eat less’ – that’s silly; if people are at a healthy weight, they’re eating the right amount.