How to save money on food?

[Sand 5]

let me say something about Costco, i dont like one thing of Costco, that u cant buy anything if u done have costco card, and for sure u going to pay 50 bux to get that card and not one time but every year lool well what can i do i like to go to stores, so i have to have it

[Nancy2015 2]

Just cook traditional Russian meals. Lots of bread and potatoes. Those things are pretty cheap no matter where you buy them. The more you cook from scratch the more you will save. Avoid buying food that is out of season. Stick to chicken and rice over expensive seafood and fine cuts of meat and you'll do just fine.

We spend under $400 a month on food for the two of us. We buy cheap stuff - mostly chicken, rice, yogurts, frozen food, noodles and tuna, sometimes (not too often) fruits and veggies. We live in an area where everything costs a lot, so it doesn't matter how hard we try to save. At one time (when I was in school and he was making little money), we lived off hamburger helper and MacCheese. Those days are gone now, but now that I look back at it, it wasn't too bad after all

[Kotenochek 0]

thanks guys:)good info:))

Its harder for Us since are all into healthy lifestyle,doing bunch of gym and eating healthy.My man needs fish meat and fresh veggies..

I also do not eat much chocolates.more fruits..so its more expensive..

I guess I have to start making plan for a week what we cook in advance:)

[Buck and Natalia 0]

I am still a bachelor living alone so I scavange a lot. Whatever is in the refrigerator......... animals found on the road (point of impact is the most tender spot)............ tree bark....... My monthly food budget is small but I find myself spending a lot on antacids and other stomach medicines. My finacee promises that I will eat better after she arrives.

[Jasman0717 9]

We do waste a lot of food I have tried to encourage Claudeth to be a little less wasteful but so far it has done no good. We spend almost $1000 at the grocery store last month for just the two of us

My wife just read that and said "Wow they eat a lot"

We try to spend less than $400.00 per month for the three of us. We buy some fruit, look for meat on sale, pasta, juice, soda, chips and the required cookies. Occasionally we have to get toilet paper, cleaners, coffee etc. We are very proud of ourselves when we spend less than $75 in week and we treat ourselves by going to dinner out or something fun like that. If you keep it simple and get some recipes (betty crocker and ones like that) you can get inexpensive meals that are good.

Its not that we eat a lot, Claudeth just cooks a lot I am trying to teach her but it is tough going

[one...two...tree 2,762]

We try to budget about $600 for groceries per month for 4 of us, but when we add how much we spend eating out on top of that, probably close to $1,000 a month.

I like the meat at Costco - we can get ground turkey in packets of 4 for about $2/lb. For awhile they had pork loin (very lean) for $1.99/lb. The cut, quality and price of the meat at Costco is hard to beat.

We shop at Trader Joe's for things like eggs, cheese and produce - they have some really good frozen veggies that are also organic and they're cheap.

The rest of things we buy at Stater Bros., Ralph's and Von's - usually just hit their ad items (for example, Von's had Hormel chili on sale for $1/can ...about half off normal price) to save the most.

It means going to several places to buy all the groceries, but I've found this system to work pretty well.

[Jasman0717 9]

We try to budget about $600 for groceries per month for 4 of us, but when we add how much we spend eating out on top of that, probably close to $1,000 a month.

I like the meat at Costco - we can get ground turkey in packets of 4 for about $2/lb. For awhile they had pork loin (very lean) for $1.99/lb. The cut, quality and price of the meat at Costco is hard to beat.

We shop at Trader Joe's for things like eggs, cheese and produce - they have some really good frozen veggies that are also organic and they're cheap.

The rest of things we buy at Stater Bros., Ralph's and Von's - usually just hit their ad items (for example, Von's had Hormel chili on sale for $1/can ...about half off normal price) to save the most.

It means going to several places to buy all the groceries, but I've found this system to work pretty well.

Every Sunday my ex used to go to a half dozen different stores to get groceries. I am just too damn lazy to do that so its mostly Vons and then about once every three months is $400+ at Costco

[russ 1]

I guess I have to start making plan for a week what we cook in advance:)

We typically spend about $1,000 a month on groceries for the two of us. Changing jobs this month, we have tried to stay on a budget, which has not been fun. I'm kind of cheap when it comes to shopping, I usually try to get store brand stuff and things on sale. We also eat out quite a bit.

I agree that organic anything is a ripoff. (I remember chemistry in college, doesn't organic mean a carbon molecule -- which is all food?) It isn't any better for you, and probably has more bacteria. Don't waste your money.

Back in college I managed to live on about $50 a month for groceries, it can be done. Lots of potatoes, mac&cheese, and ramen noodle.

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

Well if you want to go back to college days, i worked in the cafeteria and my roommate and I lets say repatriated a lot of food. It took about 6 weeks (including 1 ice cream social) to go through a 5 gallon bucket of cut strawberries.

We go to Sam's club for gas and formula(much better price and we have coupons), I also will check and see if they have deals on meat or anything else that might interest us. I am thinking of going to the 3 gallon container of Ketchup since Elena cant seem to eat anything without it. I asked her once if she knew what chicken tastes like, she said "Of course" and I asked does it taste like ketchup? Talk about cultural differences, I dont get that one.

We go to a regular grocery store for everything else.

Organic is a joke, unless they can show me, that the seeds came from organic plants going all the way back, that the earth they plant them in has never been treated, that the water comes from a pure aquifer, that the farmer wore gloves when handling, that it was washed in pure spring water, that it was transported to market by horse drawn carriage and the horse was fed with organic grains and they can trace the source of everything that comes in contact then I will buy organic but until then I believe the perservatives are going to make me live longer.

[mox 298]

Organic is a joke, unless they can show me, that the seeds came from organic plants going all the way back, that the earth they plant them in has never been treated, that the water comes from a pure aquifer, that the farmer wore gloves when handling, that it was washed in pure spring water, that it was transported to market by horse drawn carriage and the horse was fed with organic grains and they can trace the source of everything that comes in contact then I will buy organic but until then I believe the perservatives are going to make me live longer.

Organic is a label that is often thrown around indiscriminately. If you go to Safeway and buy anything labeled organic, you're just paying too much money for roughly the same as anything else in the store. You have to look harder to find real organic food. And to me, it isn't about pesticides or fertilizers or preservatives or anything like that, although I really do think those things are harmful in the long run to our health and the environment. But for me, an organic peach, for example, just has MUCH more flavor than a non-organic. Most real organic foods I've had simply taste better, and that's enough for me to be cool with paying the premium. But again, you have to understand what you're buying and not just look at the "organic" label.

[slim 1,514]

This is why I boycot fruits and vegitables entirely.

I'll tell you where you can get MUCH more flavor....... in a tube of artificial flavoring. And, you can get MUCH more flavoring in any flavor you can imagine.

I SAY BRING BACK THE MSG!!!

And while we're at it, give me a pack of filterless Lucky's and a big ol' BLT sandwich with processed bread, enough Mayo to stop up a drain pipe, thick pieces of greasy bacon, and tomatoes with enough pesticide and radiation to... on second thought, hold the tomatoes, that stuff will kill you.

[mox 298]

[mendeleev 68]

Seems like this topic -- how to save on food -- is becoming a lot more important lately for Russians, especially on fixed budgets, right?

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

... and a big ol' BLT sandwich with processed bread, enough Mayo to stop up a drain pipe, thick pieces of greasy bacon, and tomatoes with enough pesticide and radiation to... on second thought, hold the tomatoes, that stuff will kill you.

Funny you mention the old BLT my wife has fallen in love with them. I havent eaten this much bacon in a long time, now we have to buy bacon and that squishy white bread for making the bacon sandwiches.

As far as the tomotoes go they are SATAN's apples to me so no touchy.

[spidergirl 0]

We do waste a lot of food I have tried to encourage Claudeth to be a little less wasteful but so far it has done no good. We spend almost $1000 at the grocery store last month for just the two of us

We do waste lots of food too. Thats because my husband doesn't want to eat leftover foods, every leftovers after we eat end up on the trash. Even the raw meats that we stocked on the freezer he throw it away after 1 week. So we go grocery shopping every week and we spend $50 to $70. On his days off we dine out and we spend $30 to $50 a meal.