Need some Help/Tips for cutting costs!

Megan - posted on 08/04/2009

we buy stuff in the larger packages, if we need pork chops I will sift through the section of larger packages and will try to find the cheapest one. We stay away from things with a lot of sugar in it (mostly for sanity reasons but it also helps on our budget) right now we are buying for four kids and three adults and we typically spend about $500 - $600 per month. We only eat out about twice a month, and we don't buy stuff like paper plates or other items that are just use once items. Since we have three boys at the moment we try to do the hand me down thing (though our oldest destroys his clothes so we buy his second hand so its not so costly to replace) plus we also buy clothes twice a year, once before school and once at the end of winter, shoes are typically bought three times a year, nothing too special and we try to pick out the cheapest ones that look nice and fit.



we buy school snacks in bulk and well in advance of the start of school, and we buy reuseable containers instead of pre-packaged items. Juice is either in powdered form or the frozen drinks you can mix and keep for a while rather than the small boxes that wont last.



We buy frozen veggies since you get more. and lastly we try to buy as much no name style brands as possible (we buy the large box of cherrios that has two packages in it rather than buying the thin more expensive brand)



The hard part about buying our food is that we have two kids with allergies, one with chocolate and the other with eggs (there are tons of foods alone that have eggs in it that you'd be surprised over!)

Jessica - posted on 08/04/2009

There is a organization called angelfoodministeries.com i have not used it yet, but plan to this month. Check to see if they do this in your area.

Jennifer - posted on 08/03/2009

look at the sale website, look at your coupons, and plot out your menu accordingly. I also saved a lot of our favorite recipes and buy the ingredients for those in bulk. Buy store brand over "name brand" if you can. If you aren't all that worried about fat content, go with the lower percentage of "lean" ground beef. Could save up to .75 a lb. Get rid of the frozen lunches. My husband takes leftovers to work and I'll usually eat leftover for lunch with my kids. Or we each do sandwiches and snacks. If your family loves cookies, make your own. You might spend a little more buying all the stuff to make them but with 5lb of flour, 3-4 bags of chocolate chips. sugar etc, I can make 10 doz cookies, if not more. Making stuff at home like cookies or biscuits or even bread also makes for some fun family time. I have a family of 4 and spend about $180 evey 10 days or so. And look at how much soda you buy. I discovered when I cut out soda, I saved a lot. If you have to have it, see about buying the store brand instead of Coke or Pepsi. WalMart has a lot of the Sam's Choice that taste just as good.

Elsa - posted on 08/01/2009

i am a coupon shopper as well and i combine my coupon when an item goes on sale.. so it's almost like a double saving... we cooked about 3-4 nites a week, and we buy to-go food the rest of the way.. sometimes it's actually cheaper. for example: el polo loco (if u have one in your area) offers 8 pcs chicken for only $6.99, i will make rice or pasta at home to go with the chicken, and 8 pcs of chicken goes a total of 2 meal between my husband and I, so it's really only 3.50/meal, or 1.75 per person. i heard of the grocerygame website too, have yet to try, but i heard it's worth the try. good luck to you all!!

Geneva - posted on 07/22/2009

you might shave a tiny bit more off my doing cold cut sandwiches for lunch instead of the frozen meals....2 meals 5 days a week is $30....around here boars head cold cuts run $8-9 per pound & that's the expensive stuff! 1lb lasts my husband & I all week.

Tiffany - posted on 07/21/2009

thanks for the ideas guys. i need to meal plan more i guess. we take our lunches, and so i but the frozen dinners for that, and i try and buy what is on sale & i have a coupon for, or i have set it to $3 or less per. normally i can score on that. leftovers, i freeze, b/c we dont do leftovers much! i make large batches of spagetti meat sauce & freeze. then set it out and all i have to do is boil noodles.

our cell phones are paid for by work, so i dont have that bill, and what kills us is health insurance costs, and food! i have cut eating out OFF and that is helping, but last sunday i went to the grocery, and still managed to spend $160. on all off brand ( except spagetti-o's) and limited my fresh fruit/veggies. No beer, or milk in this bill either. I guess groceries are high here or something!

well thanks for the ideas!!

Jennifer - posted on 07/21/2009

My family of four spends, on average, $85/week. I do it by checking the sales ads, and planning my means accordingly. If something is an absolute steal, and we use it frequently, we'll buy some and use it another week. For example, we love steak fajitas, so when the NY strip steaks go on sale for a really good price (watch out "sale" doesn't always mean "bargain"), we'll buy several and freeze them. Then, a week or two later when I see the peppers and onions go on sale, we buy those and we're good to go.

Another big saver is clothes. It takes a bit of planning and a lot of thinking, but you can buy clothes C-H-E-A-P for kids when the seasons change. Each of my kids have a drawer of clothes that are for next season, and most items cost $1-$3 items. We love Children's Place, and there is an outlet not too far that always has great deals on whatever is going out of season.

And finally, the shocker. We get made fun of for it, but my hubby and I share a cell phone. We have a home phone, just basic to make a receive calls, no call waiting, caller ID or anything. Sharing a cell phone with a very basic plan ($30/month) saves a ton. We don't text, and if we have a long call to make we do it from home to avoid going over on minutes. Crazy, but we've always had it that way, so we don't feel like we're sacrificing too much.

Geneva - posted on 07/21/2009

yeah....BIGGEST food saving thing you can do is plan ahead. sit down on the weekend & make a realistic meal plan allowing for leftovers & simple meals. I try & do 1 leftover meal per week but not much more b/c I get bored of the same thing over & over - if i have a huge batch of something, I'll freeze it. This week I made chili in the crockpot, recipe says 4-6 servings but that must be for 4-6 giants so hubby & I had it 2x already (I offered it to my 17 month old, he didn't like it but I offered) & I'll freeze the rest for another week!

Manda - posted on 07/21/2009

I shop at wal-mart and my food bills about $150.00 a week are so..and that is a family of 6 people..Wal-mart I buy the off brands it is a good as the name brands...We eat a lot of chicken breast and you can get a bag of it at wal-mart for $7 we also eat turkey meat instead of beef it is cheaper..I also go to save a lot for my can goods b/c they are cheap...If your water bill is the same every month then don't buy paper plat and cups...they add up...I buy luvs diapers in the big box for my 17 month old b/c they are cheaper...I cut coupons and at wal-mart if the is a store that has something in their little paper you get in the mail every week cheaper then wal-mart they will beat that price you just have to take the paper with you and when you check out they will sale it to you for that price...It you have a store where you live that has a loyal card get one b/c you can get things cheaper that way to b/c sometime thing are on sale and if you have a loyal card you get it cheaper then the sale price...I hope I helped...If not I am sorry...Plus do not go buy food when you have not eaten b/c you buy more then you need...

Stacey - posted on 07/21/2009

I say go to places like Aldies or Save A Lot...the have cheap food stores where i live. They r not name brand but just as good. We buy meat n cereal else where bc we r picky bout those. For a family of three (and i'm pregnant) we spend 400 dollars a month...so bout 200 every other week. What we do is go down each aisle n I pick out what i think we'd use. If we have six lbs of noodles i but 2 more then the next visit i cut that off the bill n dont buy it. We r very picy bout fruits a veggies...dont eat canned. We like fresh or frozen. Plus I buy meals in a bag...sautaee meals....It takes two to feed my family but they r good, healty n cheap n did i say easy?!? Gourmet Dinning n Banquet Crock Pot Classics. Thos r awesome.I'll buy two bags of Gourmet Dinning Chicken Stir Fry and I'll add stuff to it klike a bag of broccoli or ne other veggie we have on hand. It stretches the meal. It's all bout thinking ahead too.



Example tonight am making a crock pot meal. I take one of those bags I told u bout n put it in the crock pot with extra carrots. When it's time to add the noodles I add extra n I'll add some fresh celery n some chicken broth. There u go...bigger meal n it's healthy.



I hope my advice helps some.

Geneva - posted on 07/20/2009

make cheaper food go further - buy a whole chicken instead of individual butchered pieces - & stir frys & stews make a little meat go a long way. another thing I've heard about but haven't tried myself yet is grocerygame.com. they do the research for you as for what to buy when, & when to wait. I have a fried who says she's saved hundreds of dollars by using it & they have a trial period that only costs 1$. For my husband & myself & our 17 month old, we spend about 100-125 per week & allow ourselves 1 meal out per week that costs no more than 50 for the whole family including tip (90% of the time). BUT we live in an area where we can get a lot of fresh produce cheap. Other cost cutting tips.....you can always re-evaluate if you are getting the best price on homeowners & auto insurance - you'd be surprised what you can find/get when you tell your current policy holder you are thinking of leaving!

Tina - posted on 07/20/2009

The only thing I can suggest is bulk out your meals. I have found the best way to make food last longer on a budget is to think what can go in it which will fill you up quicker but still be nutritious. The best example is Chili con Carne - most people will just put in some kidney beans in however I add a sprinkle of chick peas, black eye, mung, aduki, pinto and haricot, whatever bean or lentil is on offer. It is amazing how much further your food will go.



Hope this helps