$3 Extra old cheddar from thrifties (2 times a month). Per week: $30 bags of frozen fish (1kg each) from wholesale club $10 each x3 or family pack of chicken thighs or other meat. It helps cut down on how many times I just order takeout because I couldn't be bothered to cook. I also have a couple frozen things in my freezer (like chicken nuggets and fries lol) that I can just throw into the oven for an easy meal if I'm just not feeling up to cooking one night. That way I'm not doing what I used to do, which was go into the produce aisle and go "idk, I guess I should get celery?" And then it goes bad because wtf was my plan to use celery? I also pick up a snack or two, but otherwise I stick to the list.
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Then I write my shopping list of items in the recipes I plan to make that week. Before I do that I check my fridge/cupboards for what I have and if anything is going off and try to find meals that incorporate that. This might be obvious, but like you my family didn't really teach me proper budgeting so when I realised I should do this it was like a light bulb moment and it has helped keep food costs down.Įssentially before I go shopping I sit down and decide what meals I'm going to make that week. This is fucked because our household income is like 4x what it was back when we were in our earliest 20s having to make meaningful decisions about what kind of groceries we could afford while still paying our bills. If I were single I'm not sure I could spend less than 400 dollars a month without starting to cut things that I really enjoyed out, like coffee beans. It should be noted that grocery chains are posting record profits in what we've always been told is a 'low margin' business model. smaller products with less viable content for more money that spoil faster.
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I think the cost of groceries has at least doubled in the last 10 years once you truly factor everything in. Yes, we could drive around town getting the best deals on everything and spend hours aquiring groceries, but we could just also work some extra hours at work and make way more with those hours than we'd be saving. We're being absolutely massacred not only in the price of goods, but also in their freshness, quality and actual usability.Īdmittedly we make our dog food out of real meat and vegetables, but we're lucky to spend just 600 dollars a month on groceries and we have very little waste. The 'broccoli crowns' are now 95% stalk by weight with a stalkk almost as big as the crown and half a foot long. My SO and I have been cutting down significantly on 'luxury items' like some kinds of fresh vegetables. Before we did it we were spending waaay too much on food. It's the meal planning that really makes the difference. If something I need for a particular meal isn't there or sold out, welp, I get whatever might be on sale or change the plan slightly. Often the international food aisles will have the same items as regular aisles, but cheaper. But everywhere else is too much) and if their produce section looks like garbage, we top up at Fairway or in Chinatown. We get basics and meat from Walmart (I know, kill me.
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Fresh veggies are nice, but not more nutritious than frozen. We make sure to have a few breakfast foods and snacks available for the teenager. Meal planning is always centered on what's for dinner, and with the goal of having enough leftovers for lunch the next day. You guys can't team up on meal planning and share basics?įor my family of 3, we spend between 100-150 on groceries per week. I buy pitas to make homemade pizzas (they also sell pizza kits that come with sauce and 3 large crusts for $10), bread (freeze the rest), soy/oat milk, and some produce like cut watermelon or pineapple, grapes, oranges, whatever I want for breakfast and lunch the next few weeks.Ĭostco only saves you money if you are buying things you would normally buy AND in amounts you will use up. I have an extra deep freeze so I buy frozen fruit to put into muffins/pancakes/baking and smoothies.įor lunches/snacks I pick up apple sauce, fruit cups, fig bars, Builder protein bars, MadeGood bars, maybe some individual trail mix or nut packages, seedweed packets.įor the pantry I stock up on pasta (I eat so much pasta), sushi rice and/or normal rice (Walmart can be cheaper if you watch sales and Wholesale Club is usually cheaper), baking ingredients like brown sugar and icing sugar, maple syrup, oatmeal, ketchup/condimentsįrom fresh I pick up English muffins and wraps to make batches of breakfast sandwiches/wraps for the freezer. I am not the person you asked but I would like to share what I buy to help cut costs.