Author Topic: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)  (Read 19343 times)

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Offline mrclose

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How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« on: July 03, 2018, 05:42:40 pm »
There are only two of us.
(Both in our older years and don't eat a lot.)

Each month we are determined that we won't spend over $100.00 a week on food but that never happens!

At the end of the month our total is up near or over $600.00!

We've tried the coupon thing but unless you have an enormous amount of free time (and patience), the coupons help somewhat but rarely more than 3 or 4 dollars.

We eat, maybe twice a day, usually cereal (store brand) or toast in the morning and a decent (inexpensive) dinner in the evening.
(Think Hungry Man or PF Chang)

Our food prices keep going up and up and before long ... We'll have to mortgage the house to eat!



I'd just like to know what you folks do?

I just can't imagine what a family of 4 (or more) has to spend to eat well?

Any ideas?

(Just came from the store and bought 5 days worth of groceries that added up to $125.00!)

Off rant!
« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 05:46:25 pm by mrclose »
"Hell is empty, all the devil's are here!"
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Oceander

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2018, 05:45:28 pm »
Buying in bulk?

Offline mrclose

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2018, 05:47:35 pm »
Buying in bulk?
Have tried that but I'm not sure how that really helps with limited storage space?
"Hell is empty, all the devil's are here!"
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Offline WingNot

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2018, 06:00:07 pm »
I feel your pain.   I decided to just stop eating.  My food bill went to Zero.  My bar bill jumped to $600 a month.

I can't figure this shit out.  But I vow to keep trying till I die.
"I'm a man, but I changed, because I had to. Oh well."

Offline Frank Cannon

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2018, 06:02:37 pm »
One word......Plastics.

Offline WingNot

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2018, 06:09:21 pm »
One word......Plastics.

To Mrs. Robinson, it is always about the Benjamin.
"I'm a man, but I changed, because I had to. Oh well."

Offline mrclose

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2018, 07:12:53 pm »
Smart-@$$es All! :silly:
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Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2018, 07:49:24 pm »
I feel your pain.   I decided to just stop eating.  My food bill went to Zero.  My bar bill jumped to $600 a month.

I can't figure this shit out.  But I vow to keep trying till I die.
If you aren't eating, there shouldn't be too much sh*t to figure out, anyway.
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2018, 07:58:37 pm »
I eat real good.

My first pass at the grocery store is normally about $125 or less, and the second about $80 or less.

Storage is key.
Freezer and pantry.

Other than produce, everything is bulk, and normally I buy a butt-ton when it is on sale (in store sales, I can't figger cupins any better than you).

Fairly brand conscious, but cheap brands... partial to Western Family... Ain't bought Del Monte in a million years.

Heavy reliance on hunting, fishing, and garden... and I nearly never buy packaged meals (pretty much everything scratch built). Still have Kraft Mac and Knorr brand rice mixes around, but I can't think of any other boxed-food around here anymore.

4 meals a month are fast food or similar (freezer pizza, etc), I allow 1 gallon bucket of ice cream (cheap, 5 bucks) and four bags of potato chips.

But like I said, storage is key. I can generally eat for 2 years off of what I have in the house, barring meat and fresh produce, and even at that, I have a few months worth of potted meats just in case I need to get by.

That overhead eases the on-demand need at all times, which gives me the leisure to stick to the really good deals, like case sales and such...

Even if you can't garden, learn canning and buy garden surplus from folks and lugs of produce when you can. I will be busted flat in august and september, as I buy so heavy from the harvest.

Raise chickens if you can. sixty birds, range fed, will cost about 2 to 3 bucks a bird (after purchase), and are ready to slaughter in 8 weeks or so.... 5-7 lbs. Get layers too - I hardly buy a store bought egg unless I want to boil em.

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #9 on: July 03, 2018, 08:07:16 pm »
Oh, and make a butt-ton when you do... Chili is a good example. My chili costs me about 12 bucks to make, and If I could stand to just eat that, it would feed me for a week. But I make it, pretty near once a week, and eat about half of it, with the other half going in the freezer... if the freezer starts getting a ton, then I unthaw it and run it through canning and put it on the shelf.There's probably 40 quarts of chili on the shelf right now, and maybe 15 more in the freezer...

Spaghetti sauce works the same way... and the fixins for goulash (sans noodles)

Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2018, 08:07:28 pm »
Pantry, two freezers. Shop the local stores for the 'loss leaders', and stock up on them. They tend to rotate, especially around holidays. Use coupons, but make sure it is a bargain. Expensive canned goods with a slight coupon discount may be more expensive than store brands of equal or very close quality that are not even on sale.  Avoid already prepared food and instead concentrate on 'makin's '.
Don't buy quantities or items that will go bad in the fridge--it isn't ever a bargain if you end up throwing it out.
Buy in portions you will consume unless you like leftovers, and if you have leftovers, have a leftover night every week, be creative with them, that bit of roast may star in the stroganoff. It's amazing what does well in soup.

When it comes to canned goods (which store well between sales), often the store brands are as good or better than the name brands. We did a taste test with things like canned tuna, beans, and other staples, and found what we liked.

Have a little of everything you'd like to eat, but note what you use the most of and load up when it is on sale. Buy by the case, even if there are only two of you, rotate your stock, and when it starts getting low, watch for the next sale.
 
Can your own if you can get good deals on produce in season or grow your own. (lots of info on the web)
Fresh produce is bloody expensive, and doesn't store well unless you can it.

Meat often goes on sale around barbecue holidays, that's a good time to stock up, freeze it with a seal a meal (eliminate air), and it will keep a long time in a good deep freeze. Grains like rice can be sealed up the same way, bought up in bulk, but put oxygen absorbers in the bag before you seal it to help it keep, and then store it some place cool.

There is a lot you can do. If you have the patience to cook dry beans, those are commonly cheaper in bulk, too.

We also use a dehydrator to dry garden produce that makes good powdered or ground additions to soup or stew, or as seasoning. Some of last year's habaneros are now still a green powder, and downright dangerous if over used.  :laugh:

You can eat well, even if not fancy, and do so fairly cheaply if you take the time.

How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2018, 08:10:09 pm »

Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2018, 08:11:25 pm »
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline WingNot

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2018, 08:11:49 pm »
Cue the hoarders.  Er Preppers.  My bad
"I'm a man, but I changed, because I had to. Oh well."

Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #14 on: July 03, 2018, 08:14:39 pm »
Cue the hoarders.  Er Preppers.  My bad
Hoarding is no good, that stuff does have a shelf life. (and believe it or not, if it is well stored*, usually the shelf life can go well beyond what is on the can).

*consistent temp around 60F, out of sunlight, low humidity, for canned goods.
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline mrclose

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #15 on: July 03, 2018, 08:17:57 pm »
Some good ideas (as well as funny non answers from the usual suspects  ... psst Frank  :silly:) ... Thank You all!
Yes, even you Frank.
(Bumping the thread helps) :rolling:

Shhhhh, Not @ing Frank ... it'll only encourage him! :tongue2:
"Hell is empty, all the devil's are here!"
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Online roamer_1

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #16 on: July 03, 2018, 08:24:31 pm »
Just read your post, too.  :beer:

Yeah... Ain't it funny?
 :beer: :seeya:

Offline RoosGirl

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #17 on: July 03, 2018, 08:24:55 pm »
@RoosGirl
@Victoria33

Blah, the last half grass-fed cow I got was crap. So dang gamey we couldn't stand eating it.  Thankfully it was only $3/lb so we weren't out a ton of money, but still...

I've been so busy with working part time, keeping up the house and dogs, home schooling and shuttling the kid back and forth to his activities that I've given up grocery shopping.  I got an Instacart membership, and yes I spend a little more, but groceries are delivered to my door and it frees up 2 hours of my time per week to get other things done.  For a family of three we're consistently at $150/week for groceries, plus eggs and raw milk from a little farm around the corner.

I was considering giving Azure Standard a try, but the last half cow has me leery of more grass-fed.

Online roamer_1

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #18 on: July 03, 2018, 08:25:25 pm »
Cue the hoarders.  Er Preppers.  My bad

You mean rednecks and farmers?

Offline RoosGirl

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #19 on: July 03, 2018, 08:25:54 pm »
You mean rednecks and farmers?

Them queer city folk don't get it.

Offline 240B

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #20 on: July 03, 2018, 08:30:24 pm »
Mormons should have at least 1 to 2 years of food on hand at all times.
Actually, it's not a bad idea. I couldn't do it myself though. Don't have the will power. If I had a year of food available, I would never go shopping. Until next year that is.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists

Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #21 on: July 03, 2018, 08:33:46 pm »
Mormons should have at least 1 to 2 years of food on hand at all times.
Actually, it's not a bad idea. I couldn't do it myself though. Don't have the will power. If I had a year of food available, I would never go shopping. Until next year that is.
When my income went from six figures to zero when oil dropped in price, well, it was mighty handy having all that food. Three years of buying milk, bread, butter, and eggs, a few treats, and the rest pretty much taken care of. Still not all the way through the pile. I have to get back to work and restock the larder, though.

(BTW, I'm not LDS, but it seemed like a good idea to have food)
« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 08:34:29 pm by Smokin Joe »
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline 240B

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #22 on: July 03, 2018, 08:39:37 pm »
When my income went from six figures to zero when oil dropped in price, well, it was mighty handy having all that food. Three years of buying milk, bread, butter, and eggs, a few treats, and the rest pretty much taken care of. Still not all the way through the pile. I have to get back to work and restock the larder, though.

(BTW, I'm not LDS, but it seemed like a good idea to have food)

If you want to 'get back to work', now is a great time to do it.  Jobs are all over the place. I could get a great job tomorrow if I wanted to go back to work. But I've been retired now for a few years now. The idea of getting up in the morning, and the drive, and the politics of work, all that is just not for me now. I evolved beyond it.
Don't need to work anymore anyway.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists

Online roamer_1

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #23 on: July 03, 2018, 08:45:43 pm »
Blah, the last half grass-fed cow I got was crap. So dang gamey we couldn't stand eating it.  Thankfully it was only $3/lb so we weren't out a ton of money, but still...

What the heck? Sorry for that. I just got in a quarter beef - grass fed angus, and he's finger lickin good. I don't rightly know the cost, as we did our own slaughter, butcher, cut, and wrap... Way under 3 bucks though...

Have your butcher pick em next time.

Quote
I've been so busy with working part time, keeping up the house and dogs, home schooling and shuttling the kid back and forth to his activities that I've given up grocery shopping.  I got an Instacart membership, and yes I spend a little more, but groceries are delivered to my door and it frees up 2 hours of my time per week to get other things done.  For a family of three we're consistently at $150/week for groceries, plus eggs and raw milk from a little farm around the corner.

Take a peek at Thrive Life
... A little something I was messin with for making freeze dried meals for out in the bush... But I am finding it very handy for making quick meals... and it ain't bad for cost... once you get enough stuff to matter.

Then it's no cutting or prepping, just add ingredients and hot water... zoom!
Might be a pleasant intersection a bit cheaper tan your delivery thing.

Quote
I was considering giving Azure Standard a try, but the last half cow has me leery of more grass-fed.

Azure is the BOMB! I dunno about prepared meals or nothing, but I buy tons of bulk from them...

But beef? Local... stick to Angus, and let your butcher pick the cow.

Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: How Do You Do It? (grocery shopping)
« Reply #24 on: July 03, 2018, 08:51:40 pm »
What the heck? Sorry for that. I just got in a quarter beef - grass fed angus, and he's finger lickin good. I don't rightly know the cost, as we did our own slaughter, butcher, cut, and wrap... Way under 3 bucks though...

Have your butcher pick em next time.

Take a peek at Thrive Life
... A little something I was messin with for making freeze dried meals for out in the bush... But I am finding it very handy for making quick meals... and it ain't bad for cost... once you get enough stuff to matter.

Then it's no cutting or prepping, just add ingredients and hot water... zoom!
Might be a pleasant intersection a bit cheaper tan your delivery thing.

Azure is the BOMB! I dunno about prepared meals or nothing, but I buy tons of bulk from them...

But beef? Local... stick to Angus, and let your butcher pick the cow.
I have one of those big can racks thrive has. I love it. Rotate stock as you put more in, see what you have at a glance, and nothing gets lost in the corners.
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis