Comments on: On Groceries and Food Towards Our Financial and Physical Well-Being

By: Skaye

Skaye — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:00:43 +0000

I stopped buying cold cereals when I realized that most of them, per pound, are more expensive than steak! I now eat oatmeal or boiled eggs for breakfast.

I grocery shop every week and I only buy meat that is on sale. I plan my next week’s meals based on the meat I bought this week. Sometimes I have to be creative with my purchases. But it’s allowed me to research the internet for some great recipes! I now know how to bake an awesome full salmon fillet with orange juice and mandarin oranges – served with baked sweet potato flavored with some sage.

We always eat left overs, for work lunches. Or sometimes I’ll recreate a different dish with left over meat; pot roast meat makes a great beef / veg / barley soup.

We cook with powdered milk and save the fresh milk for drinking. In most recipes you can’t tell the difference and it’s cheaper to use the powdered. This helps to save some money.

Everyone has great ideas! Love this site.

By: Signe

Signe — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:28:14 +0000

We have a large refrigerator at work. On Mondays I bring a loaf of bread (LaBrea whole grain or locally made whole grain/rye bread), a stick of butter, some fresh mixed greens, a cucumber, tomatoes, sweet red or yellow pepper, a bag of snap peas, and some good cheese (Gruyere, for example) and store it in “my” section of the fridge (a crisper drawer). I make a couple of fresh open-faced sandwiches with these items for both breakfast and lunch every day and still usually have food to take home on Friday. Sometimes I’ll bring in something like hard-boiled eggs, pumpkin seeds I’ve roasted, or potato salad to augment this and usually I’ll have fruit at my desk too along with a bar of dark chocolate that can serve as desert for the week. I figure five breakfasts and five lunches lunches and some snacks each week costs me around $2 a day (the costly cheese being the most expensive item). Every meal is freshly made and tastes great and draws comments of envy from folks eyeing my “gourmet” meals while they wait for their “lean cuisine” (etc) to heat up in the microwave. I think I’m ahead of the game. I set the desk “table” with a colorful placemat and some of my favorite, colorful dishes that makes the whole meal more enjoyable. By having the food at work, I don’t have to worry about bringing lunch every day. It only takes a few minutes to put together a delicious meal.

By: Eloisa

Eloisa — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:03:27 +0000

With a family of four to feed, we buy my meats (chicken, beef, and pork) at Costco. Since they come in bulk, I would divide them according to usage and store them in the freezer. (You get more for your money at Costco and the meats are very good quality.)
I tend to buy more ground beef since it’s easier to cook and cheaper per pound. We would use them for spaghetti, ground beef with zucchini and peppers and other veggies. Staple items like rice, milk, eggs, olive oil, rice, pancake mix and pasta are quite cheap there too.

We also buy necessities like toilet paper, paper towel, detergent, fabric softener and other cleaning supplies. (Fortunately, we have storage to accommodate these.)

The only drawback with Costco is that they sell almost everything and you really have to be disciplined to shop and buy only what’s on your list. I would strictly just use cash and leave my ATM card at home.

By: cynthia

cynthia — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:00:00 +0000

My husband and I are retired. I shop from a list and plan menus weekly. I write the list as I plan for five to seven days ahead and write the menu on the side of the sheet so I will had a list to remember by.

Also, I save money by deciding once a month to eat out of the freezer and pantry, thereby forcing myself to get creative and use up what I have already paid for.

My husband said his mother had soup once a week, (Friday is a good day) and use up left-0vers to make a vegetable beef soup. I have done this often and it forces me to try new vegetables in the soup that I have not tried before, such as sweet potatoes, navy beans, spinach and so on. Hope this helps.

By: Andrew @ Financial Services

Andrew @ Financial Services — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:37:10 +0000

One who is talented in the kitchen can definitely whip up something good within a budget. A good idea would be to use those budget meal recipes and then substitute some of the ingredients with stuff that are on sale. We have tried this and it really saved us some fast cash, although it will require someone who has a experience in the culinary arts to make this work, not to mention someone who has a bit of time to plan all of these for the whole week.

By: Jimmy @ Wealth Is Boring

Jimmy @ Wealth Is Boring — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:31:15 +0000

Like the previous commenter said, keeping and sticking to a grocery shopping list is an excellent way to curb spending at the grocery store.

My girlfriend and I faithfully stick to an “index card system” whereby we write down anything we deplete in the kitchen and ONLY buy those items the next time we have to run to the store. Well, those items plus her $5 Starbucks coffee, but we’re working on that one…

By: Mizé

Mizé — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:17:21 +0000

Hi.
I always do shopping lists and try to stick to them. I do price comparison and buy less expensive brands.
Buying in bulk may have the effect of spending more but with control it can save me some money, besides, I never buy fresh products in bulk, only things like detergents, oil, pasta, etc.
I try to buy concentrate products, dilute them in water in smaller bottles and hide the big bottles, so I forget I have more product, and this works, no more the psychological effect of spending more because you see more.
I also focus on cooking home from scratch but we love eating out too. I´m trying to balance things, instead of reducing drastically one of our greatest pleasures.
Most times, at dinner I cook soups and meals that are good in the next day for lunch.
I wish I could grow a veg garden, that would save me alot but I live in a flat. That´s what I brag about in My Countryhome blog, lol.
Meal planning is my next step but I will plan weekly, not daily.
A good weekend.

By: Andrea@foolsandsages.com

Andrea@foolsandsages.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:32:44 +0000

We don’t buy much in bulk either, mostly for the same reason. I use The Grocery Game, which has small fee but is worth the money because of how nicely laid out their lists are, and also weekly fliers from some of our smaller grocery chains in the area. We eat what’s on sale, especially when it comes to fresh produce, and we eat at home. Going out to sit down restaurants just isn’t worth it, usually – the food isn’t that much tastier, it’s almost always less healthy, and there’s the tip to be included in our cost as well.

Another way to save money on groceries is to eat less. Considering the challenges we have in this country with obesity, a little cutting back in overall calories probably wouldn’t hurt.

By: marci

marci — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:46:19 +0000

Edible Landscaping…forgot to mention that one. I’m slowly taking out the lawn and replacing it with edible landscaping. My grocery store just outside my door.

By: Cassie

Cassie — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:23:57 +0000

Coupons, shopping the sales, stocking up during sales, cooking more at home — that’s what we have been focusing on. I want to start a garden next year to cut down on vegetable costs and to have some vegetables with some flavour.