One little secret I use for not eating out is this: Everytime I am going to be out of the house with the kids for more than a couple hours, I throw some home-made cheese sticks and apple slices in a little lunch cooler with a cool-pac. That way, when you start getting hungry, you can have a quick snack and keep shopping! I sometimes bring a bottle of pre-mixed sugar free drink or just water to drink instead of buying soda.

I don’t know if it’s in other areas of the country, but it’s worth looking into if you live near one.

Many of you say that processed is more expensive, but when you only buy on sale with coupons, a meal can come out to be very cheap. frozen meals lately are between .80 and 1.50. cereali dont pay more than $2 a box which end up with 7 meals and snacks. soups i can get for $1 a can (thats a full meal) and then i throw in some vegetables, and fruit on the side. I think this is what works for me because of a lack of time and motivation to cook.

Clipping coupons and reading circulars are your friends! I feel like now that I clip coupons you can find brand names for cheaper than store names because store names do not go on sale and they do not have coupons. brand names do both and when you use both together you are getting a much better deal.

I would love to start cooking, and prepare a meal on sunaday for the rest of the week, but i am not really…experienced or motivated to cook.

Secondly, some people are including non-food grocery store stuff like detergent and toiletries in their grocery budget, and some aren’t- it makes a big difference.

And I noticed you mentioned deli meats as something you buy. Well, we buy them because my husband insists on it- and they are the most expensive item in our cart, week after week.

Also, there’s the usual advice about buying produce in season, and locally- there’s times in Georgia where you’re just drowning in peaches, and I’ve got relatives in Florida who send out boxes of oranges every year because they’re just dirt cheap at certain times. January is not one of those times, unfortunately.

Then there’s the need to look at things that most of us take for granted- cereal, for instance, is fairly expensive. Oatmeal is more filling for less, and fried eggs, toast, and grits would also be a cheap, simple way to go.

Sarah’s advice about unpopular cuts of meat is excellent- beef heart is something that worked really well for my family.

And finally, there’s probably a culturally appropriate way to eat dirt cheap, one that would work for you. I was raised in the south, one of four kids in a household that couldn’t afford to spend a lot on groceries, so I know what works around here- beans (from bags of dried beans, not those nasty high sodium canned ones), rice, corn or spinach (store brand, frozen), and biscuits or bread (made from scratch). We got meat when it was on sale or (don’t laugh) when my brothers shot it or caught it.

Since you mentioned being fond of salmon, perhaps you could get it mailed to your house on a regular basis from some fishery? A regular subscription like that would probably help cut the price down.

Very true. My aunt thinks I’m crazy because I’m a big fan of shopping at Trader Joe’s on my student budget. “It’s so expensive!” she says. Correction: some things are expensive, other things are dirt cheap, while also being much healthier than the “regular” versions. TJ’s milk is about $0.75+ cheaper than the supermarket milk, and it tastes better. Peanut butter is also cheaper, and has no added chemicals or oils and much less salt. “Health-nut” staples like whey powder (great way to make a frozen-fruit shake filling) is also much cheaper. Just stay away from the “gourmet” or packaged/pre-cut/prepared foods. Keeping a notebook with price comparisions in it really help out here. Most regular supermarkets consider anything healthy to mean “gourmet” and mark it up substantially. Stores like TJ’s or Whole Foods don’t do this (they actually seem to have an idea about what “gourmet” is: i.e. real balsamic vinegar which has been wood-aged, nice stuff, but not necessary for life is you’re trying to save money).

Also, some “whole foods” cooking methods can go a long way. Buy whole chicken, clean them, roast them, eat the meat, then boil the carcass for broths/soups/gravies. Learn how to get beef bones (ask for dog bones, they’re cheaper and just as nutritious) and ham hocks, and use them. These are great ways to add protein, minerals, and essential fats to any meal for cheap. Look up “nose to tail cooking”, sounds gross, but if you learn you like an “unpopular” cut of meat (like liver, or heart) you can get these for close to nothing from a butcher.

Breakfast is typically bulk oatmeal (with soymilk and low-sugar jelly as sweetener for me, just fresh milk for my husband).

Lunch is salad greens (a mix of a head of romaine lettuce and raw turnip/collard/mustard greens) with blanched almonds. Sometimes we add cheese, raisins, or whatever we have on hand for a topping.
The dressing is a commercial dressing or a mix of olive oil and cider vinegar with herbs. The salad is accompanied by a piece of fresh fruit (banana, apple, or citrus) and a tortilla for the carbs.

For supper we rotate through boneless pork rib ends (indecently cheap here – $.99/lb on sale recently), chicken, free-range eggs, and beans (with ham hocks or in soup with veggies).
Sides include baked red potatoes, frozen vegetables, green salad if leftover from lunch supplies. For carbs, we rely on rice, pasta, and biscuits or muffins.

For snacks, we have fresh fruit or I make granola bars from the oatmeal, almonds, raisins or other dried fruit bought in bulk.

Beverages are milk, soymilk, fresh juice, and the occasional beer or coffee.

We used to buy at least the salad greens at the farmer’s market, but at $9-12/lb it was waaay too expensive. Plus, most farmer’s market booths say nothing about growing organic, anyway — you’re just buying local (which is not a bad thing).

We want to save up to buy half a cow and freeze the parts so we can get back to eating beef again (it’s just too pricey for the most part here, even the ground beef), but that won’t happen overnight.

I like the idea of canning and freezing the on-sale stuff for the winter months — may have to try that this year.

[...] time investment is crucial if you find yourself having to scrimp and save to come up with money to invest. Make sure the rewards from your labor and thrift stay with [...]

I appreciate all of the tips and ideas and agree that everyone must come to their own conclusion about what works for them. We find that when we cut back too much a rebellion starts and we slip into eating out and buying too much processed food. A balance needs to be kept between cost and satisfaction.

I have found that thinking of the budget on a monthly basis of $200/mn vs $50/wk does help in making the budget work better. I usually take the money out in cash and keep that for the purchases. When the rebellions come I resort to the bank card and no it’s not coming out of my wallet. I need it for expenses other than groceries.

The closest farmers market & Whole Foods store is over an hour away and seems very expensive. Occasionally I get there and take advantage of what I can.

[...] Tips and tricks to save on food [...]

Evidence that this is not a “recipe” for poor health:
My best 5K time is 16:34
Marathon 3:38 (26.2 miles in 3 hours 38 minutes)
Half-Ironman: 6:34 (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13 mile run in six hours thirty four minutes)

I’m not bragging just defending those who may think my approach is unhealthy.

When I try to save money by eating at home it always ends up being more expensive. To make two bean burritos at home I need beans, tortillas, cheese, picante sauce, onion and electricity to cook and wash. I can’t get that for less than $1.71. The cost of electricity to cook is not insignificant. My electric bill is $60 less per month when I don’t cook anything at home. I’m single and live by myself so the electric cost of cooking is not divided by 3 people or however many you may have in your home. I have found that I can eat for about $5-6 per day by eating fast food. And when I find coupons I can get it lower than that. Sometimes I splurge at the fast food or have a late night meal so my average food budget is $180 which is less than all of you when you factor in electricity.

[...] wish I could trim my food budget down to $15/day which JD at GetRichSlowly solicited from one of his readers. As fantastic as it would be set my budget for food at only $15/week it [...]

I’m in the Midwest, living with my husband and our 4-year-old grandchild. We spend $200 a month on groceries. That’s just food, no paper products, no cleaning products, no pet products, no alcohol unless it is strictly part of a recipe, and no meals out. All of those things come from other parts of our budget.

I actually believe we could reduce our budget a little, but we haven’t felt the “pinch” enough to actually try it. At $200 a month, we don’t feel deprived. We enjoy main dishes such as meatloaf, chili, roast beef, taco salads, a variety of chicken dishes, a variety of pork dishes, an occasional steak dinner and even more often, shrimp or seafood. Here’s what I’ve learned will save us the most money:

1. Plan menus. I don’t think that can be said too many times. Plan for a week, two weeks or like I do, a month at at time. It doesn’t matter, just make a plan and stick with it.

2. Don’t be brand loyal. Buy whatever is cheapest. Store brands don’t necessarily taste “worse” than brand names, just “different”. Add a few herbs or spices and you can’t tell the difference.

3. Shop where food is cheapest. Here we have Aldi stores, and they offer quality private label foods for much less than even the store brands at the “regular” grocery store. Aldi is our primary store for shopping, but we do buy loss-leaders from regular supermarkets, shop at freight salvage stores, farmer’s markets, Amish stores when we happen to be near one, Dollar General, Big Lots, etc. Spices are always cheapest at either the Amish stores or natural food stores such as Wild Oats.

4. Learn to cook. The more I cook, the less I enjoy going out to eat. I can’t help but think, as I sit in a restaurant, that I can make this dish, as good or better, for half the price.

5. Eat leftovers. No, more than that…plan for leftovers. I cook all meals in double (or larger) portions. We eat whatever is made for two nights (consecutive or not, it doesn’t matter) and then freeze the rest for another time.

6. Limit yourself drastically on processed foods and empty-calorie foods. We very rarely buy soda, opting for water or iced tea instead. We very rarely buy boxed, dry cereal, opting for oatmeal or Cream of Wheat instead. No “helper” type meals, no noodles or rice side dish mixes, no individually wrapped cakes or cookies.

7. Learn to bake your own bread.

8. Learn to cut up a whole chicken (which is cheaper per pound) or at the very least, buy bone-in chicken breasts and fillet them yourself, saving the meaty bones for something such as chicken and dumplings.

9. Try some meatless meals. We try for at least one each week.

10. Eat leftovers for lunch; pack a lunch for work instead of buying lunch out.

9. Splurge once in a while by making a nicer meal, such as a steak dinner or a shrimp dinner. Remember that a portion of steak is 4 ounces, not 8 or 12 or 16. As for shrimp, it’s not cheap in the Midwest, but occasionally it goes on sale for around $3.50 per pound. When it does, I buy a few pounds, as it freezes very well and is quick to prepare.

I could go on, but those are my basic methods. Yes, a lot depends on geography, but to those who believe some of us are lying about our food budgets, we aren’t. It really can be done.

For those who asked about health issues on a limited food budget, my husband’s cholesterol is 182. Mine is slightly high (213), but my doctor says is only that high because of thyroid medication I take. We both have low tryglicerides, above average HDL, and normal LDL counts. We both have below normal blood sugar counts. We are neither under- or overweight. Our granddaughter is at the 75th percentile for height and at the 60th percentile for weight.

Again, I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to budget for food. It’s all a matter of individual priorities.

Alas, I like many live in an apartment, so growing food is a good deal trickier for me. I have an outdoor patio but every plant I stick out there dies a quick death. Not to mention that not everybody has a lot of time to devote to gardening.

@June:
Close on the Safeway, but not quite! Mine is at Logan and Hampden, 5-10 miles south of yours. It’s ridiculously expensive and every time I go in there I get mad — prices skyrocketed after their unnecessary redecorating job to “compete” with super-Walmart (no, I’d rather starve than shop at one of those).

I do sometimes go to Wild Oats — I’d go more often but parking lot as the Cherry Creek one reminds me of a bumper car rink and I always forget about the one off I-25 and Logan (is it still open? I thought it was closing). I don’t trust the meats or dairy at Sunflower Market since I’ve bought some that was pretty smelly.