How to save on Grocery Bill

make a weekly menu and buy the items you need ONLY. watch for sales on NON_PERISHABLES (cans of food, napkins, pasta, etc...) and buy extras to stock up then. Keep an eye out for store sales. (a lot of stores are having 10 for $10 sales these days!!) store brands of foods are usually cheaper and 99% of the time taste the same. I feed a family of 5 for under $400 a month.

We shop almost exclusively at Save A Lot grocery store. My parents shop at Aldi's. IF I need something that Save A Lot doesn't have, I shop at Giant Eagle, using my Advantage Card for fuel perks, and get the item in the brand that's on sale. You can clip coupons to help, too. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law clip coupons like crazy and it really can help. Shop around at different stores. If you have a discount store like Marc's, shop there for things that are higher priced at stores like Giant Eagle, Acme and Fishers. My whole life, my Mom has always shopped at 2-3 stores on grocery day, to get the best deals.

Plan out dinners before you go and make a list. I don't know if you have a walmart near by but I just recently found out that they price match ads if you bring them in...(a lil more time spent on list but definately worth it) cut coupons, go to mysavings.com for all kinds of free samples... I religiously cut coupons.. last week I actually saved $20! Buy stuff that for dinner one night that could possibly be used for lunch the next day? If you have kids sign up at webites like huggies and baby name products.. they like to send all kinds of samples and coupons.

Keep it simple. We are a family of 6 (4 kids) and spend $475 a month on groceries. Diapers and formula are separate (I've got tricks for this too.) We eat great. I only get our meat at butcher shop and only shop at Meijer or Wal-Mart for groceries. Diapers are only purchased at Babies R Us. By far the cheapes per diaper, if you plan.

PLAN - Plan your grocery list days in advance. Plan around your menu. I have a spreadsheet of all the item I shop for and the lowest price I have ever paid. If an item is available at that price or lower, I buy bulk.

COUPONS - Subscribe to the Sunday paper and coupons.com. Most cashiers never look at the expiration date and the self-check can't read it. So don't throw those coupons away. We save about $100/month with coupons.

WATCH THE ADs - Supermarket re-runs. Your basic are on special on a regular basis. Learn the cycle. You'll come out ahead when buying bulk. Don't be afraid of store brand. Most often good or better than national brand.

SHOP BIGLOTS FIRST - If you have a BigLots in your area, go their first. You can get a lot of things like brand name shampoo (nexxus, pantene etc..), papertowels, TP, cereal, snacks, and often find Dole and Green Giant at super low prices. This week they have Tide! Also a great place to get condiments, soup, cleaning products etc...

I've actually made it a sport and am amazed at what we eat for the money.

Good Luck and happy shopping!!

R.,
I do my shopping at either Walmart or Save A Lot. I spend about $250 to $300 a month for a family of four. If it's a tight month I can make do with $175. Here are some tips.

Instead of buying the salad in the bag, pre-washed peeled carrots, sliced and cleaned mushrooms buy your produce the old fashioned way. It would amaze you what you are paying for convenience, not to mention it really diesn't take but five more minutes to make a salad without the "easy" items.

Buy generic! I really cannot stress this enough. We buy almost everything at generic (except peanut butter and triscuits) and save so much more money that way. It really does add up

Find cheap and healthy ways to season up cheap foods. For instance, when I make rice I use low sodium chicken broth (generic!) instead of water. It adds flavor and protein and leaves out all the nasty stuff rice a roni has in it. Also, produce is pretty cheap. Learn to love fresh veggies and have a salad with every meal. I also buy the generic ranch dressing mix and make my own. It tastes so much better and is cheaper.

Buy your meat in bulk, section it, and freeze it. It's also good to look for manager's specials to buy and freeze. I always buy the big packs of pork chops, the 5lb or more rolls of ground beef, and chicken. I then take them home, portion out the amount I would need for meals, put them in storage bags and freeze them.

Lastly, again for snacks, veggies are awesome. Fruits and vegetables are pretty cheap compared to those pre-packaged snacks and healthier too! Pop Corn, pork rinds, and generic chips also are a cheap way to snack.

Basically, anything you can eat that is generic=big bucks saved. Anything with less processing is the same.

Household goods are sometimes cheaper at the dollar store but other times not. I always make sure and check the price per ounce etc. before I buy something at the dollar store. They can be sneaky with that stuff.

Good Luck,
J.

I hear you, I spend so much on groceries, it's ridiculous. I just watched Oprah the other day and she had a lot of thrifty women on who inspired me! Go to www.couponmom.com to sign up for some coupons and to see her guide to saving money. She went to Kroger and without coupons or sale prices, ran up a bill of $127. Then once she applied her discount card and coupons, the bill was $35! It was seriously like magic. I spent some time this afternoon on her site, and on the Kroger site, printing out coupons and uploading store coupons onto my Kroger card. I didn't even know you could do that! The "coupon mom"'s trick is to never buy anything unless it's on sale. She plans her family's meals each week based on the sale prices she finds in the circular. She checks to see if a buy one get one free sale will sell you one item for half-price. She also asks if the store doubles coupons. It was pretty interesting. I wonder if you go to the Oprah website, maybe the info will still be there? It's worth a look. I think what helps is not to be so brand-loyal. Buy what's on sale or what you have a coupon for, not the brand you always buy. I also look in the "clearance" section of the butcher section. A lot of times you can get meat that's reached its sell-by date, but if you freeze it right away there's nothing wrong with it. I've gotten organic ground beef for $1.99 a pound! I bought about 10 pounds of it and then just saved it. And no one got sick with food poisoning! Just kidding :)

I am trying to do the same as you - good luck!

Congratulations on the baby!!! I use a website called www.refundcents.com It is amazing!!! I can get info on all stores and download coupons, see upcoming sales, chats, grocery boards, and anything you need you can find there. I have cut my grocery bill down to $250.00 a month for 4. That includes, laundry supplies, bath items, cleaning items, paper products. I use CVS and Walgreens alot and shop, Kroger, Meijer and Target mainly. We do not go without anything and I have a nice stockpile. I use a lot of coupons and we get what we want. The one thing we do is to buy 1/4 beef and chicken at a slaughter house. This really helps on the grocery bills. Hope this helps and good luck!

Hello,
Wow, you have already received many responses but I didn't see any that gives you something as specific as this. At least in the cleaning products area, you can spend about $150 for concentrated toxic-free products that would cost the equivalent of $3,400 of typical store brands (oh and by the way they work better). One 16 oz. bottle of one product would make the equivalent of 5,824 bottles of Windex. Since the products we buy in stores are extremely dangerous to children (and adults) why not save money and keep your home safe for those precious little ones? Here's where I buy them: http://www.shaklee.net/changinglives/gc_prods1
Best of luck in your quest to save and hopefully become a stay-at-home mommy.

Hey R. - I think we are ALL feeling that pain. I am a single mom with just one child and a HUGE dog. My entire grocery budget per month is less than 350 dollars. That's for EVERYTHING!! from food to laundry to dog food to shampoo. I use lots of coupons clipped from the paper. Although time consuming, I have walked out before with over a hundred dollars in savings. If you subscribe to the Sunday paper so you can get the coupons, your first grocery trip will save what you spend on ordering the paper. Additionally, Kroger and P&G both have websites where you can load coupons to your shopper card, no clipping necessary, just a store card. And, if you log onto www.thegrocerygame.com it's a great place to get fantanstic deals and really learn how to do coupons. It's someone who has a database of all the coupons put out in the paper and they compare what some of the major (Kroger and Meijer included) stores have on sale. They color code items that you can get for free using certain coupons and it really walks you through finding a system that works for you. If you follow the advice for a few months, you'll be amazed at how easy it becomes and how much money you begin to save. I hope this helps, and trust me, once you get going it's kind of a thrill to see how much you saved on your mile long receipt.

The cost of groceries has gone up, so I'm not surprised that you spend so much, but here are some ideas:
We buy locally grown produce, most of it organically grown though not certified, at the farmers market, where it is unbelievably cheap. The growing season is almost over now, but you can keep it in mind starting in the Spring. Buy in bulk as much as possible, and buy less packaged foods. Buy store brands instead of name brands. Eat less meat or become vegetarian. Use coupons, but only if the item is something you would buy anyway. Avoid buying junk food. Don't shop when you are hungry! Make a list ahead of time, with meal plans for the next week in mind, and stick to it. Make sure the food you buy is high in nutritional value, and read labels to avoid high fructose corn syrup, which blocks your ability to tell you are full, so you eat more! If you can get toiletries someone else more cheaply, don't buy them at the grocery store out of convenience. I stay home with our daughter, only earning about $2000 yearly as a belly dance teacher. My husband makes less than $30,000. We own a home and one car. We live in a small town where we can walk places, and the cost of living is much lower than in the city. It really is possible to live on one income. We rarely eat out at restaurants, only occasionally go out for a movie, and buy most of our clothes second hand. We live comfortably, and I think any sacrifices are worth being home with my child. Good luck and God bless!

Hi R.!
I have a family of 7 full time (2 adults, 5 kids) and a family of 10 (8 kids total) every other weekend. I have been reducing our grocery budget little by little over the last 6 months and finally this month I decided it was time to get super serious. I've manage to keep our budget to an average of $500/month. I think that isn't terrible for 7 people, but I still want it lowered. So this past week, I decided to search for low cost recipes for dinners, lunches and snacks to help reduce my bill. I've ALWAYS shopped off of a menu as well. I normally only go to the grocery every 2 weeks as well. I've found that by going every 2 weeks, I was more apt to skip the 'easy snack' things to keep the bill smaller. On the 'off' weeks, I will go and resupply my milk, bread, lunch meat. This week, I made my normal 2 week menu (from recipes I found online) and then started looking through ads. I normally shop at WalMart, I've found this cheaper than Kroger, but I also like Aldi's. If I have to go to 3 different stores in a weekend shopping trip, then I will, because they are all relatively close to one another. My children were always complaining because there were no 'snacks' because I wouldn't buy cookies, fruit roll ups, or chips very often. So, by doing a little research, I managed to find easy, cheap snack ideas. So far, my kids seem to like them too. I always get the Sunday paper for the coupons and after reading the other posts, will be checking out some of the other coupon sites! I highly suggest a menu, for breakfast/lunch/dinner and snacks, if you are home for all 3 meals. Luckily, all of my children are at school during lunch, so I just have to worry about breakfasts/dinners. My goal is to get our budget down to under $400/month including tolietries.
Good Luck and thanks to the other moms for the great ideas!
D.

Hi R.,
I hope I don't duplicate advice; I read through the responses quickly for my own benefit!

Breastfeed your new baby. See if you are eligible for WIC, especially if you do not return to work. Ditto for food stamps.

Get "The Tightwad Gazette" books by Amy Dacyzyn (hope I spelled that right) from your library and read them for more ideas.

Instead of using paper napkins and towels, use cloth napkins and cleaning rags. Even though you wash them it is still cheaper according to Amy D., above.

I have not done this but have heard that Wal mart will match the sale price of any other store's ad. So you could shop there but get the equivalent of all the other stores' specials, as long as Wal Mart has the same item. Just bring in the rival store's ad and show it to the cashier when you check out.

Get a head start on making home made soups by saving any cooking liquid that is left over from meats, veggies, etc. and freezing it until you get a bunch (for me, usually a quart or so). Also if there are only a couple spoonfuls of veggies left, throw them in too; also rice or noodles. I have three freezer containers, one each marked "Chicken", "Beef" and "Veg." When one of them reaches "critical mass" I thaw it and make soup! I usually add carrots, celery, onion, especially if there weren't any of those in the freezer container. You can add rice or pasta as well. Don't season until you have everything in, because it will have all the salt etc. from whatever you froze, and it is easy to over-salt.

When your bottles of catsup, steak sauce, salad dressing are getting almost empty, turn them upside down when you put them away, make sure to TIGHTEN the cap! When dressing bottles are just about empty, pour a little vinegar or lemon juice in the bottle, slosh it around to get the last little bit out, and use that as dressing.

I make my own salad dressing and save a bundle--just combine lemon juice or vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic, and whatever herbs you feel like. Shake and refrigerate.

When spaghetti sauce jars are empty, pour a little water in, slosh it around, and freeze in your "Veg." or "Beef" containers.

We use lots of Aveeno and Cetaphil hand lotions--not cheap so I hate to waste them. If lotion is in a plastic tube, store it with the cap end down. When you can't squeeze any more out, cut the opposite end, reach your finger in the tube and grab the amount you need. When you can't reach any more, cut the tube again, closer to the cap. Keep going until there is no more tube. If lotion thickens or hardens, add a little water.

We had lotion in a pump container that had a bunch left inside but it was all sticking to the sides, so it wouldn't pump. I had a small plastic jar (used to have bouillon cubes in it) so I turned the lotion bottle upside down and let it drip into the jar. The jar has a good sized opening so it is easy to reach in for the lotion.

If you don't mind putting on deodorant with your fingers, you can easily extend the life of a solid deodorant container by a couple weeks. When you get down to the end of the deodorant you will usually see a sort of "grid"-like thing, that holds the bottom of the deodorant "column"--you'll sometimes feel this as you apply the deodorant to your underarm when you are running low. Just dig the deodorant out of the "grids", and smear it onto your armpit. Another alternative which I haven't tried but intend to soon, is to dig out all the deodorant from the grids and smoosh it onto my new deodorant--this saves having to wash hands after applying it with fingers.

Pack lunches and coffee break snacks for your husband (and yourself if you go back to work).

Roast a whole chicken for several meals, then pull all the meat off for sandwiches, casseroles, etc. Put the carcass into a pot with water to cover and make chicken stock for soup. Same thing can be done with beef bones.

Don't waste leftovers. Almost anything can be made into a casserole or stir-fry or soup. Yes, sometimes it may not be the most delicious thing you ever ate, but on the other hand you might discover something real good!

Good luck

K. Z.

There are tons of ideas already, so sorry if I repeat some. I find that the biggest help is to skip most coupons and just grab the generic. The only thing we can tell a difference on is soda, and we are trying to limit that anyway.

Plan your meals for the week before you go to the store, and work around the sales. That helps a lot and cuts down on just grabbing things at the store.

Also, Big Lots is a good place to get cheap can goods and cereal.

Try using homemade cleaning products. 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water cleans and disinfects just about everything - sinks, counters, mirrors, and windows. Add some baking soda, and you can pretty much clean your whole house.

A homemade laundry detergent is 1 c of Borax, 1 c of washing soda (not baking soda), and 1 grated bar of Fels Naptha soap. Use about 2 T in each load and it is pennies per load.

If you are interested, you could try cloth diapers. I swear they are much better than the ones are moms used. I could give you more info on that if you want.

Other than that, buy in bulk and freeze the extra. When milk is on sale, you can even buy ahead and freeze that too if you pour a little out of each gallon into a pitcher. That is easier to do with an extra freezer though.

With these ideas, we spend about $80/wk on groceries and diapers in a family of 4 (soon to be 5).

Also there are tons of websites and library books to help you out too. Congrats on the new baby and staying at home. It's hard sometimes, but it really is worth it for us.

Another thought, look at Dave Ramsey's books, especially Total Money Makeover. It doesn't deal with grocery bills, but it is really great about teaching and encouraging you in all aspects of finances.

Hi R.!
I know you got alot of responses, but I thought I'd give you info on what we do in our household. It may make sense to join either Cosco or Sam's Club and freeze the meats etc. Plus have ready made meals that you just pop in the oven instead of ordering out etc. You really save money that way or buy paper products (toilet paper and paper towels etc) in bulk and keep it stored in your basement etc. One thing that helped us also was on the advice of a friend I went online and ordered this notebook called "The Couponizer". I think it's $19.95 and it has labeled pockets and a spreadsheet on which to organize coupons before putting them away. I store all kinds of coupons in there and I just hate buying anything without finding out if I have a coupon that could chop off a part of the price. It made using coupons alot more enjoyable instead of just having them gathered in a pile in a drawer in plastic sandwhich bags. The website is www.couponizer.com. We belong to Cosco and my mother in law has a Sam's Club membership. When she visits us we use her membership and she is more than happy to help her 'kids' out! Best of luck!
Maira

We recently started using http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ and it has helped so much. We've cut our weekly bills by 20% and now do a better job on stocking up on items in a smart way. But this way does take time and work. In our family, it's become my husband's pet project. It really is a game to him. And I used to be the one who did all the grocery shopping, so after I got used to the change, it became nice.

When we did the trial period we did a lot of stores. Now we just focus on two stores.

Good luck!

THe cheapest foods are things like beans, rice etc that you can buy in the big bags. Use coupons when you can, but usually generic or store brand products are cheaper. Look at ads if you can to see what stores are offering what specials. My daughter says Meijer's is the lowest for groceries. Look at price per ounce, etc and buy the bigger pkg to get the lower per ounce price. Frozen juices are generally cheaper than bottled.
Instead of canned soups, make homemade, it is better for you and a lot cheaper- buy whole chicken, boil and debone it. Save the water for broth- this saves you from having to buy cans of broth and it is much better for you. If you don't need it all at once, freeze the chicken and/or the broth. Make big pots of chili, spaghetti etc and freeze leftovers for a week or two later.
Snacks are really expensive, especially fruit snacks, chips, cookies. So, make your cookies, buy fruits in season, pop popcorn in a pan, much cheaper than microwave.
I give myself a budgeted amt, use cash only for the week and when that is gone, I can't spend any more until the next week. It is working pretty good.

Find another mom or two to share items w/ that you can get from wholesale clubs like Sams or Costco. You CAN get good deals on bulk.

Get together and prepare meals and SHARE them. Prepare enough for both or three families or whatever and share. It saves time, develops friendships AND helps with the bill.

GET RID of things like juice boxes, pre-packed foods, etc. These really jack up your bill. Learn to simplify and MAKE things instead of someone else making them for you (pre-packaged).

Plan....you tend to over buy when you don't plan your menus and meals.

USE leftovers! I recently finished a 12 week span of cooking for 120 people EVERY Monday. I helped the church get OUT of the red with their budget by asking managers about discounts for the church, buying in bulk discounts, etc. In addition, I used the leftovers rather than give them away.

For instance, I had leftover Gourmet Potatoes, Roasted Potatoes, carrots, green beans, & shredded chicken. Before, they gave all the leftovers away. These were from five different weeks. I combined them w/ some sauted celery and onion and milk & seasoning and made some KILLER Gourmet Potatoe Soup. Everyone asked for the recipe!!

GET CREATIVE!

Well, I spend about 4 hundred a month for a family of 4 and one of them is a teenage boy! There are many coupons sites you can go to, just google them.

Plan your meals, take a list, don't go hungry shopping. Stick to the list!

Check out the flyers from your local stores, see who has what on sale and try to make your dinner plans accordingly. Also, there are websites for recipes that you can make cheaply, without giving up nutrition.

Shop wisely, use coupons, stick to your guns. You will save money...

Good Luck!

R.

i feel your pain. i am the same way for a family of four my kids are 2 and 5 and are not super big eaters. but it drives me crazy i spend so much. i have even put them in kroger brand diapers during the day and pampers at night that helps a little. kroger comforts are cheaper . but i don't know what else to do. i cut coupons also. it sucks

I would first look at whether or not you are buying brand names, and what grocery store your buying at. The federal guidelines typically say that you should be spending between 140-160 per person each month. If you buy things that are individual sized servings, your bill will be much higher. Also I would start by looking at the price per ounce on the price sticker. Pay attention to the monthly circulars and comparison shop when you have two circulars in your hand. Don't worry about making a few stops, in the same shopping trip. I will some times shop at up to 3 different shops in one trip but I plan out what I am buying each time, by meal then add in only what you need more of. I buy for a family of 6 and only spend about $400 each month.

Hello! I think that you have recieved some really great advice! There really is not much too add! I just wanted to give you some encouragement. This all sounds so overwhelming! I use alot of these techniques and they work! I limit my budget, buy bulk, sale,coupons, go to several stores, and only do it every two weeks. It really is quite easier as you get used to it. I love the challege of seeing how much money I can save! That is why I do it! I take pride that I can save money, and my husband loves it too. Just make it fun! It won't seem like such a production, if you enjoy doing it. If you don't, maybe your boyfriend/husband will. If you are like me I would take the time to clip coupons then forget them. I bought a little storage thing via the $1 store and seperated it into catagories to keep me organized. I leave it in my car and I put everything from fast food, grocery and department store coupons in it. This way wherever I go I have the ability to save some money. The motto goes" Don't pay full price if you don't have to!" Don't get overwhelmed by all the ideas. Try some here and there and get into a routine that works best for you! Besides if you aren't working try looking at this as your job, and you are paying yourself the money you save! It can be an exiting outlet to break up the long days at home!

"Better Later than Never"! If you would like crock pot recipes let me know I will be happy to email them to you. My sister sent the email to me, and this helps me keep my grocery bill under $150.00 a month. It is one of me, so I buy my meats in bulk sizes and divide them into freeze storage bags.
Let me know!

We shop at Aldi's or Save A Lot (though I like ALdi better) and we only purchase meet and produce from giant eagle. A butcher would have better prices on meat than a chain store also. Our grocery budget for my husband, me and a toddler is 300 a month. So it can be done. This does not include the baby's formula though which would only add $60. You might want to start the baby on a generic formula from the start if you plan to bottle feed. We use parents choice from walmart and it is 10 cheeper for a big can than all the others.

Go to www.angelfoodministries.com. There is no income limit. Basically they offer a very large box of food for about $30. You can also buy up t0 5 additional boxes with grill items, fresh fruits and veggies, etc... for around $20 box. If we get all the boxes, it is enough food to feed our family of four dinner for a couple of weeks (for about $150). We do have to buy additional things that aren't included in the boxes but it is well worth it and really makes our money stretch. Good luck and God bless!

I don't know if anyone posted this or not, but I recently subscribed to the grocery game. It is really cheap and for all the stores in your area that you pick she gives you a list of rock bottom deals taking into account coupons. You save 60-70% regularly. They do a 1 month trial for $1 so that you can see if you like it. If not, you can cancel it. It has been really saving me money.

try going to Aldi. They have some great buys. Also, the fresh produce that they have is much much cheaper than anywhere else! Go to the dollar tree on saturdays and buy 3 - 4 early edition sunday star...they still have the coupons and you pay only $1 each!

Hi R..
Yes, I think we can all relate to your struggle. I also shop at Aldi for a lot of things. For other things I look for sales. Kroger often has good sales on milk, cheese & meat, & if you collect coupons, & can combine those with sale items; even better!
If you become a stay at home Mom, one major thing you can do to save is make more food from scratch. It is more time consuming sometimes, but does save a lot on groceries. For some dishes, such as soups or pasta, you can make big batches & then freeze some for a busy day later. I make our pizza dough from scratch & most of our snack items, like cookies, energy bars, or quick breads. I have even made our own spaghetti sauce & frozen that, but also keep jars of it on the shelf. Aldi has very reasonbly priced spaghetti sauce.
Anyway, I hope this helps & good luck!

Haven't read all your responses, but if you google "free printable grocery coupons" this will take you to many sites. All you have to do is sign up for free, no it's not a gimmick and you can print all kinds of coupons out. Also go to couponmom.com and she is great. Hope this helps.

Hi R.,
have you tried shopping at "Save Alot" or "Aldie's"? They have name brand items and alot of the items that afre not name brand are quite delicious. They don't always have everything you will want but we save a few hundred dollars a month on our groceries. I have a family of four my mom, husband and 19 year old daughter. They can eat alot. We also use frozen vegetables instead of can. They not only are better for you and taste better but you can control the portion amount. Each member of my family can have a different vegetable if they want and nothing goes to waste. I also want to tell you that real butter is better for your family too. Margarine is 1 molecule away from being plastic. It was originally made to fatten up turkeys, it only killed them so the makers added color to it and called it a butter substitute. Real Butter however is made from 3 ingrediants. No funny names. Butter also helps maintain the nutrients in the food giving you and your family the vitamisn needed to stay healthy. Although butter is a little more expensive if you shop at "save- a -lot" or ' aldi's" it is less expensive and you will be able to afford it with the money you saving . I aslo buy my meat in the family packs then I split it up when I get home so 1 package can provide for 2 - 3 meals. that really helps with cost. Good luck with your shopping and congratulations on the baby.

Hi R.,
What I'm about to tell you is definitely easier said than done, but if you do it, it will help. Do your grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. They have the best prices on most everything. Use coupons (obviously). Don't buy items you really don't need like chips and cookies. They're not good for you anyway! Hope these tips help!

My goodness how can you spend so much for just 3 people.I feed two for less than $170 a month and we don't miss meals and we are healthy and have full bellies.I even feed a neighbor about half of the time because she is so poor she rarely has food in her home.Where do you shop? I do most of my shopping at IGA and Aldi's and now and then another store if things we like are on special.On $600 a month I could feed 25 people easily.First off cut out soda's and junk food. Drink water and real fruit juices not blends and Milk, pop corn is cheap and cholesterol free so are pretzels.I don't buy frozen meals, but I do use a crock pot a good bit.It simmers all day safely even if I am gone and I have a hot tasty meal when I get home.Food is a necessiy but it sounds like your eating very high on the hog.We also grow a lot of our own produce like leaf lettuce and peppers and tomato, cucumbers, Squash also. I live in an apartment and I use tree pots on my patio.They are about 3 foot tall and grow food wonderfully. Meat is very expensive so you need to watch what cuts you buy.Skinless boneless chicken will cost you twice what a bone in does and it is very simple to remove the bones yourself.I learned from my Mom and grand mother and believe me Mom fed a family of 4 in the 60's on $25. a week and could probably still do it if need be.
I hope you are not buying your household cleaners and TP and such at the grocery.Go to the family dollar stores.12 rolls of charmin TP $5.00 and thats the big rolls, Dawn dish soap $1.25 a container.Shampoo and conditioners are from $1. to 3.

Well, I am not sure what you are buying, but we are a family of 4 and usually spend $400 per month in groceries...that includes toiletries and such. I cut costs by planning 3-4 large healthy meals per week that will make leftovers. Also, we have a Meijer, WalMart Superstore and Kroger that I check the ads to see what is on sale. I plan my meals around the ad because I refuse to purchase meat and dairy at full price. Take yesterday for example, I hit all 3 stores (they are withing 1/4 mile of each other) and spent $100 for the week. If you are loading on a bunch of junk foods and snacks, it adds up quickly. Maybe only purchase 1 snack item instead of 8...I'm not saying that's what you're doing, just a suggestion.

Good luck!

I always clip coupons from the Sunday paper for things that I routinely by. Also my husband and I have recently been shopping at aldi's. They have some name brand things there, other things i have found store brands to be just as compareable to name brand, there are just a few things that I do NOT by store brand and that is Macaroni and Cheese in the box, and Pasta Sauce. Otherwise I think that everything is comparable in taste to most store brands. I also make a list of my meal plans for the week and also check my cupboards to make sure that I am not buying anything that we already have. Also I have found that if you do not take a child with you the the store, it makes shopping easier and cheaper. I stick to what is on my list and maybe add one or two non listed items for snacks. You can buy cheaper items if you do not have a child with you who wants the cereal or the item that has a popular caracter on it! I hope all your tips help!!

I'm not sure where you are shopping or what you are buying, but our family of 3 (2 adults and a 2-yr-old) plus a 7-month old (hardly eating much) Only spends $200-250 a month.
~I buy a lot of store-brand and generics which helps. And coupons help a lot.
~Check out couponmom.com
~Find out what day the paper puts out grocery adds and always go through them for sales. Stock up on stuff you know you use a lot of (I just bought 8 cans of black beans!!)
~Don't buy pre-made and pre-packaged things, they are both over-processed and insanely expensive compared to making them yourself.
~Make lists and stick to them.

Hope that helps!

I wished you would have given your location. I survived a layoff and developed some new strategies. Besides use your coupons and watching for sales:

1. Ask family, friends and neighbors for extra coupons that they are not using.

2. Head for the local ALDI's. Their off brands are just
fine. This store is a REAL education in trimming prices.

3. Check out the Walgreen's ads. Vitamins are sometimes BOGO there. Sometimes you get a ticker tape that comes out of the coupon machine for $3 off you next trip. Use their rebate form book.

4. DOLLAR TREE Stores: Frozen Pretzels are a $1 a box, not $2 a box like at Marc's. Farmland Hot Dogs and other items are a $1 Buck. They carry off brand pretzels and name brand movie candy and snack cakes which are buck. Buy your cleaning supplies there, White Rain shampoo and bubble bath (April brand)there. They work just fine. Watch for bonus sizes there. Check out the food ailse.

5. Nestle Thrift Store at 5750 Harper Rd in Solon. This is the Stouffer Food Outlet Store. Phone is: ###-###-####.
Call ahead for hours. They close at 1 PM on Saturdays and are not opened holiday weekends. Sometimes they special case sales. Item availability is not announced over the phone.

Strategy: Take a neighbor or friend to split cases of 12. However, they do have single items. They have lasagna, French Bread Pizza, Lean Cuisine meals, side dishes, Lean Pockets and frozen cookie dough. This is the food your family will eat. The "X Bin" of Stouffer Meals is not a deal if it is just 10% off, they go lower during special sales. Sometimes you can get the Lean Cuisine meals cheaper on sale at regular stores.

6. Sign up for these two e-newsletters from About.com. Eric Huffstetler's "Frugal Living" and Donna Montaldo's "Coupons/Bargains" e-newsletters. Check out the About.com site! These 2 e-newsletters are a must. There is another site mentioned on Fox 8 called www.bradsdeals.com

7. Check out Ollie's Outlet on Broadview Road in Parma or the other places in town. Get the yellow shopper's card.
Hershey's kisses are $2 a pound there.

8. Try gardening and grow your own produce. The kids might enjoy this. This is a good family hobby.

9. Tired of Giant Eagle? Watch for meat sales at Acme Stores and Marc's. Last marked down meat deal was a turkey breast in a poly bag on October 1st at Marc's. I got it for 1/2 off. I paid $4 instead of $8 for it and there was nothing wrong with it. He had too many left on the expiration day. The manager at Acme told me that he has special meat case sales -- once in August and again in February. Get their shopper's card.

10. Super K on Brookpark Road also has great food deals.
There is one out in Medina.

11. Save-A-Lot Stores: I have a male relative that swears by this store.

12. I also have a membership at Sam's Club. They have bigger packs of meat. I enjoy their beef stew meat and whole roasted chicken to go.

13. There is a Nickle's Outlet on Snow Rd near 130th St. in Brookpark. This is BETTER than the Hostess Outlet in Parma Hts. What a variety of buns, bread and bakery items.
WOW! Watch out for fat contact of bakery items.

14. S&R Produce is nearby. Check out those meat and cheese prices! Cheaper than Giant Eagle. However, watch out for the freshness of produce.

15. Head for the West Side Market in downtown Cleveland.
Check out their prices. Watch the prices slide down before closing!

16. We went out to the Hartsville Flea Market several years ago. Take a cooler with ice with you. The farmers were getting rid of produce dirt cheap before closing so
they would not have to haul it back. I think that was in the early afternoon. See if other flea markets in your area offer these kind of deals.

17. House sales. No joke. Besides getting rid of furniture, pots and pans and clothes. People will get rid of what is in the pantry. I picked up a jar of peanut butter cheap one time. Watch the expiration dates.

18. Buy your clothing at garage sales and thrift stores such as Value World and the Salvation Army Family Thrift Store in Strongsville and you will have MORE money for groceries. Yes you CAN find nice clothing THERE.

19. Sign up for the Very Best Baking newsletter at
www.verybestbaking.com Check out the site. It is affiliated with Nestle Foods. Find out if you can get the FREE quarterly magazine 'Very Best Kids'. It has free coupons and may come free when you sign up for their e-newsletter.

Good Luck.

Go to www.couponmom.com. It has so many good ideas and you can get alot of coupons to print. It's a great site. Check it out. This site was on Oprah last week. Good luck.

I have found a friend who is also looking to cut corners. We go buy in bulk and then cook meals for a month and freeze them. That not only saves moeny, but time and energy as well. I have also been able to get other household needs free - laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, cleaners. That helps out a lot. We do plant a garden in the summer which lets us eat fresh organic produce foe less. Plus we are always so busy tending it, that we don't go out and spend money. We actually have fun doing that as a family.
I have an 18 month old son Jonah. COngrats on the new baby and being able to stay home!

I feed a family of five (three of them are GROWING BOYS!) on about what you are spending monthly.

The coupon websites suggested are a great idea. I buy my bulk stuff at Costco (paper goods, milk, eggs, potatoes, onions) and also some meats that I can seperate out and freeze. I buy the big 5-6lb container of hamburger and use it to make a meatloaf or two and/or seperate it into one lb. bags for the freezer to use for tacos, spaghetti sauce, etc. I do the same with beef and pork roasts - cut them into one dinner portions instead of freezing one large pork roast and having to cook it all at once.

I also buy as much store brand stuff as possible. You learn pretty quickly what tastes the same as the name brand stuff. I think all of the store brand cereals (at least at Kroger) taste the same as the name brand cereals. Their canned and frozen fruits/veggies taste the same and same with the canned tomato and pasta noodle products. I buy the Hunt's canned spaghetti sauce instead of the expensive glass jar ones. It's very good.

Anytime you can have meat be a filler instead of the main course, it's a little cheaper. Pasta/sauces and rice dishes that use meat as a flavoring help save money.

Here's a recipe for chicken pot pie that has the meat and veggies all in one dish and is fairly inexpensive to make. I buy the store brand pie crust since I don't make my own.

CHICKEN POT PIE
Ingredients
2 - 9” pie crusts
1 can veg-all, drained
2 cans cream of potato soup (or other cream soup of your choice)
½ cup milk
¼ tsp. Pepper
¼ tsp. Thyme
½ - 1 cup cooked, diced chicken

Directions
Line pie plate with 1st pie crust. Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie plate. Cover with 2nd pie crust. This can also be made with only one pie crust to cover the mixture.

I know how you feel. I knly have to feed my husband and two kids, and our grocery bill is at least 4 to 450 a month. If you have an Aldi near you, start shopping there. I save alot of money by starting there and then what eler else is on my list, I get at our other grocery store. I also meal plan and shop according to my meals each week. I but store brand items and try to stick to my list. I also cut alot of non essential items like snack items that only one person likes but will only go stale. Coupons from the paper and online also help, if your stores take them. Also, try cutting eating out to once a week, cutting out movies, except on date night once a month. Use concentrated laundry soap and wash in cold water only. Statr there and maybe even start a budget in you home by getting all of your bills together and prganizing them into collumns and keeping track of them for one month. and then try to cut corners in some of your bills there. Good luck !!!

there are so many ways to cut down on the food bill. we are a family of 4 and i spend about 30-40 a week in groceries(that includes diapers & hygiene products). i go to www.coolsavings.com and print out coupons i need, i also call the store i plan to shop at & ask when their "double coupon" day is, that way i can print out 2 coupons & use it for one item and get more money off. also, i don't buy name brand unless i absolutely have to, like my daughters' diapers, she can only use huggies the others break her out very badly. you should also check into buying livestock that you can have butchered. we do that & saved over $600.00 in what we would have spent at the store. we paid 100.00 for 2 pigs over 700 lbs and we got almost 500 lbs of sausage,bacon,p.chops, roasts,ect out of it. and it only cost us barely 200.00 to have it slaughtered & processed. that was back in march & we have barely made a dent in the deep freezer. good luck, i know how testing it can be to pinch pennies, but it's well worth it in the end.

R....I have never ever spent that much in a month on groceries. Do you buy prepackaged meals? Do you buy a lot of pop and beer? I can buy a chicken and cook it in the slow cooker or get a cooked one at Sam's and feed 3 adults 2 meals and make soup on the bones for another 2 lunches. Spaghetti is cheap. Hamburger is cheap. We also grow a garden. I know it's a little late this year, but you can think ahead to next year. If you don't have any land you could use big pots and grow tomatoes, etc. on your porch or deck. Don't eat so much meat..it's expensive and not that good for you. We eat very little red meat..mostly fish and chicken. Good luck..hope this helps. Write me back and we can talk or I'll go shopping with you. M. B.

Hi there. I understand your concern. I cut coupons and only shop at Giant Eagle as they give fuel perks for each $50 you spend. (Also, I know the store layout and it's not worth me running around to other stores with two little guys.) I look at the Giant Eagle sales ad and pull my coupons for what is on sale so I'm getting it for less. I've found the key is to buy when it's cheap, not when you need it...stock up. There are websites that track that sort of thing for you but you have to pay for it and I think it just cuts into your savings. It doesn't take me more than an hour and I do it while I'm watching tv. Also, if I don't have a coupon, I buy the absolute cheapest version...the name brands can be as much as $2 more. (Betty Crocker mashed potatoes, Triscuits, Keebler graham crackers, etc.) Also, I try to have at least one meal a week without meat...meat is a huge expense. I do buy things like organic milk, eggs, produce, because I think that is where it matters most. I also do not buy any soda or alcohol, try to limit frozen prepared foods, and very little snacks...those things really add up quickly. It also helps if you grocery shop with cash because you can't go over your budgeted amount like you can with a credit/debit card. Good luck!

Try www.kraftfoods.com They have wonderful recipes that are very simple and use mostly things you have around the house anyway. They also have a section called "one bag 5 nights." It saves so much money! Some of the recipes are a little repetitive, so I change them up a little bit. It's a great jumping off point though. Making your own babyfood and nursing will save you a ton of money when the new baby comes. I've heard that cloth diapers are much much cheaper in the long run than disposables.

Hi R.!
I know you have received a TON of responses and a lot of great advice. I have just browsed through them and wanted to add that I do not have time to go to several different stores in a week. I simply go to Wal-Mart and price match EVERYTHING. If Kroger/Marsh/Meijer has it on sale, Wal-Mart will match it. I know it is hard and a pain, but lowering that grocery bill helps out a lot! Good luck!
A.

Check the weekly grocery store ads for a couple stores near you and take advantage of sales. Coupons are good too but take time. My daughters are all teenagers but ever since they were little I shopped at local small grocers (Aldi, SaveALot) and purchased off brand items. The taste for most items are the same. Walmart may help on some items also. Having your own garden will help some too.

Good luck.

Here is what helps us. Make a menu and stick to it. Believe it or not boxes of premade food are more expensive then than buying fresh foods and the fresh food is better for you (and the kids). Veggies may seem expensive but remember you have options. Try discount grociery stores like Aldi's, Marc's, or Save-A-Lot. If you make a menu and shop at places where the food is cheaper you can save money. I know this was 5 years ago but my husband and I lived on 600 after taxes for food, insurance, clothes and everything (excluding rent). We got on WIC (stands for Women Infant Children). They would give you food because you are pregnant and you have a child. It's a great program and the qualifications are higher than other government programs. There is no same in WIC. They get cheese, milk, peanut putter, cereal and carrots for free. As well as a few other things. It's a wonderful program and once we get our foster child we will be back on it again. It's great. :)

First of all use coupons. Check out couponmom.com for other ideas. I use coupons and shop sales and only at places that double coupons. I don't buy meat from major stores unless its on sale and them I stock up. I prefer to buy meats from carfagna's on 161 and again I stick to sale items. When they have a sale on ground chuck or chicken breasts, no one can beat their prices. Plus they will freezer wrap your items. I like when they have ground chuck for $2/pound. I usually get 2 2pound packs and 3-4 1 pound packs. Bulk meat is cheaper if you can store it. Giant Eagle and Kroger frequently have whole pork loin on sale for $1.99 or less per pound. If you purchase the whole loin, they will cut it to order. I usually get one and have it cut into 1 or 2, 3 pound roasts with the remainder cut up as boneless chops. Its a lot cheaper this way.

Also you can double up coupons. For example I received a store coupon at checkout for a $1 off a mutlipack of toilet paper. I

Hi, I had the same problem. If you have an Aldi's in your area try it out. I know it's not the 'high end' grocery store but with money right now you just have to suck it up and it's really worth it. I fill the cart to the top and it's $100. That's with meats too. I did some research and there was also a promo about the chain on food network. The food is of good quality. The same companies that make the named brands make there brands. The only down side is that you can't get everything there and the produce doesn't last very long. Other than that it's worth the trip :) Good luck.

Lots of good ideas here- I rea dhtem all for my own benefit.
Here's one I dind't see: Kroger will reward you for loyal shopping by sending you coupons specific to your shopping as long as you consistently use your Kroger card (free) when you check out. They also give cash back on gas and have great customer service (which can be very helpful with little ones in tow).

Meijer, at least the ones I've been in, doesn't post price per ounce on the shelf tags which makes it harder to comparison shop (you'll need a calculator or a really goo math brain).

You might want to try keeping a spreadsheet or notebook of what you buy and how much it costs where you buy it to see if you can get it cheaper elsewhere or how you can change what you buy. Sometimes just keeping track helps save money (much like dieters that lose weight just by writing down all the food they eat).

Finding a new method of shopping/ buying/ cooking that works for you and your family and cuts down on the monthly grocery bill may take time. I hope you find a new way that you're happy with!

Best of luck to you,
J.

One thing you can do is cut out the amount of meat you feed your family. You can use 1/2 pound of hamburger in Hamburger Helper type meals. You can also mix milk by combining one part powdered skim milk (cost: about .60 per quart) with one part fluid milk from the store. You can serve oatmeal instead of cold cereal. You can learn to make pancakes and biscuits from scratch. You can give thirsty people water instead of juice or soda. You may want to check out a book called "Miserly Moms" from your library, as well as vegetarian cookbooks to help you get started. Buying in bulk and freezing or canning what you don't use quickly will really save you money. Day old bread, bakery thrift stores, and the reduced fruits and vegetables on the rack at the supermarket are a good deal. You can always cut off the bruised parts of fruits and make bamana bread, applesauce, poached pears, etc.

Hi R.!
I have recently found a blog on www.Moneysavingmom.com. It is a wonderful site that helps you figure out couponing, and how to get awesome deals at CVS & Walgreens. I have been able to cut my grocery spending by about $10 a week by shopping at CVS & Walgreens because if you play it right, you can get your toiletrees & paper products for practically free! And it is fun and somewhat addicting! I have also started shopping where they double coupons so if something is on sale, you get an even better deal. I haven't gone to walmart in a month and have actually spent $5 less a week and have gotten a bigger variety of food and a few snacks I generally can not work into my budget! I do go to 3 different stores now, but staying at home with our daughter gets kinda old sometimes, so we have 1 morning a week where we get up, and start shopping for something to do! She actually enjoys it and I like to turn the shopping expeience into a little bit of learning for her.
We are also a family of 3 and my grocery budget is $65 a week, and we generally spend about $150 on average at Sams club. My husband takes his lunch to work every day and I stay at home with our daughter, so that is 3 meals a day at home for us. We also purchase a 1/2 of beef every year from our family. This saves A LOT on beef, and I never have to question the quality. We do tend to eat the same things over and over, but luckily for me my husband is not a pickey eater, neither is our daughter. She would eat quesidilla's everyday for lunch if I let her!
Anyway, goodluck on your quest for reducing your grocery bill. It is not easy!

It is a good idea to have a basic menu of favorites for the week. My family loves broccoli, so i always stock up on the microwave steamer veggies because they give you great flex in a meal without the sodium of a canned veggie. Stocking up on a few great sale items leaves you with a fuller pantry and you'll find yourself spending less because you have gotten it cheaper. Another good trick is dont pay as much attention to the brand and go for the one that offers you the sale or most amount for the least cash. Nine out of ten times they are made by the exact company and packaged differently. Also I am not a fan of clipping coupons, however if you know you are going to buy your childrens clothing, or going out to dinnner,get on the computer and google Printable Coupons For and the company you know you will be going too. For me it has saved as much as going to Childrens place and purchasing $480 worth of clothing for $160.00. Or going to Bucca's Italian restraunt and getting $10 off a $30 meal. When wanting to get out of the house to eat go somewhere like Logans Roadhouse on mon. - wed. they run a special for two adult entrees for $13 and childrens meals for $2. We feed our family of four with a dessert for all, with tip for under $26, this is cheaper than i can go buy steak and seafood at the grocery store. Well sorry to just keep blabing but I LOVe saving money and cant stand to see others not share in the thrill of the savings. Hope this is of some help to you, and good luck on the second child, I'm a mommy of two and it is truley the greatest thing I've ever done in my life.

Hello, I am none as the coupon queen in my family and I save on everything. First you might want to buy an Entertainment book (www.entertainment.com) cost about $20.00 if you choose the automatic renewal for next years book. It has various coupons in it and very helpful. There is a save-a-lot coupon for $5 off every month when spending $50. Save-a-lot is good some generic products such as can goods, pasta, some veggies, meats and frozen food items. Check weekly ads from meijers, Krogers and Giant Eagle faithfully. Clip coupons and look online for coupons also. Look up www.upromise.com and you will see great values on items and can save for your childrens college education at the same time. Invest in a deep freezer and gladware. Visit bread outlets and freeze bread. Learn to recycle meals into new dishes for your self. Make more things then buying prepared. Look forward to the winter months - cook in bulk chili, spaghetti and other pastas.

Hope this has been helpful
M.

This is difficult for me too. We have a family of 6 with 2 teenagers and a 9 yr old boy. We have been spending about 250.00-300.00 per week!
When I ask people your question they say"shop at Aldi's" or grocery shop at"Marc's". Try to budget the amount you will spend ahead of time and try to stick to it. You may need to substitute ie. if you really need sugar then put back the cream cheese and buy it next time. Also try to limit the number of times you go to the store each week. Even if you go in for just bread and milk you end up buying at least 5 more things. That really adds up over time.
Also it is good to remember w/ kids that name brand cereal is way over priced! Buy the generic type close to what they like.

There are TONS of websites out there... stretcher.com, feedindy.com, thegrocerygame.com, budget101.com, cookingonadime.com, 30daygourmet.com, etc that are full of very useful info on cutting grocery bills. I spend about $75/week for my family of 5... we eat salmon, steak, organic milk, lots of fresh produce and that price includes diapers, soap, shampoo, cleaners and things like that. I'm trying to get that price down to $50/week, actually... it's a fun challenge. Oh... we rarely go out to eat so that's for 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. Except for Friday night (movie night in family room) when twice a month we'll order pizza delivery (make it the other 2 Fridays).

Determine what you LOVE first. If you feel deprived you won't stick to it and it'll seem impossible. Make changes to the things your family doesn't really care about or won't notice. For instance... dark meat chicken is usually much cheaper than skinless/boneless chicken breasts and yet most recipes call for the later. If the recipe is one where you'll just be cutting the chicken up into pieces (like most of them out there), then use dark meat. Or half dark meat/half breasts. Bet you won't even be able to tell once it's all cooked. If you've been buying individual snack bags of crackers and cookies, buy a normal bag and a box of snack size ziplocks. Take 10 minutes to fill the snack size bags and put in a easy-to-grab-from basket or box. When cooking dinner, make enough for leftovers then eat leftovers for lunch the next day. My husband spends about $15/month on lunches... if that. He prefers to bring stuff from home.

Use the weekly flyers and get to know your grocery stores. I konw the best prices for me are Marsh for meat, seafood and produce (when on sale). I only buy those things at my Marsh because they are the best quality and best price (I only buy meat/seafood on sale and stock up). I shop Meijer for everythign else. I used to drive down to Aldi's but then calculated that it wasn't worth it. Most of the things at Aldi's are at Meijer for the same price if you buy the store brand and I'm also not spending extra gas money for the 15 mile round-trip for only half my list (still have to drive to Meijer).

Use the ads... I only buy items that are on sale. I base my weekly menu around the main meat on sale at Marsh. I buy extra when on sale to freeze. So one week I'll buy 5 lbs of ground beef, the next week a couple of whole chickens, the next week a few pounds of pork chops, etc. We have a small upright freezer in our garage that's full. Use coupons... most stores around here double coupons. A couple .25 cents off coupons may not seem like much when compared to your monthly bill, but I often save 30-50% each shopping trip by combining coupons with the sales. If you're new to it, a short subscription to thegrocerygame.com will pay for itself in no time.

Cook from scratch when you can. Make up batches of mixes. There are mix recipes for everythign out there... check the above websites. I have mixes made up for taco mix, bisquick-type-mix, onion soup mix, hot cocoa, hamburger-helper type meals, quick breads, bread machine breads, brownies, cakes, etc. Every few weeks or so, or when I'm running low on one, I'll add the needed ingredients to the shopping list and then spend 10-15 minutes making it up. Most take 5 minutes but you can save ALOT of money doing this.

Funny, but my friend and I were just talking about this yesterday.
Here's what we do:
-Spend one hundred a month on meat you can freeze. Thinking that some can be used in stews or cassarol (I know I didn't spell that right) dishes. Turkey once a month is not a bad idea either as it can be stretched in numerous ways.
-Buy your fresh veggies and fruits once a week, mixing up the options to provide various nutrition throughout the month.
-Of course with juices, make those stretch by adding half juice and half water, and it cuts down on sugar intake.
-Get the canned items or boxed items for the month like you do the meats for the quickies you may need.
-Determine that you can find these products at various stores because some prices may vary.
-Places like Dollar General, Family Dollar, Aldis, and Big Lots have canned items at very reasonable rates and you can find name brands there too.
-Shop also at a Farmers Market for fresh items, your kids will like going with you.
-Shop without your kids once they are old enough to give opinions......that helps.
-Use coupons as needed, but I personally, have found that hard to do, however, my friend actually gets money back sometimes from coupons or items for free due to rebates because she's so good at it! She is a 31 year old widow with three children and they never lack for great meals.

Where do you live? I am in the Cincinnati Area and there are some stores called Aldi (I think that's spelled correct). Milk has been running $2.25 and eggs are under 50 cents and bread almost as cheap as the bread store outlets and much fresher too. My husband and I get food stamps and live off $323 a month. It goes pretty far shopping there. They have some strange brands but everything I have tried tastes good. Bromg your own bags. They charge for them or you can use boxes if you don't want to buy bags. Also be prepared to rent your cart they are a quarter and you get it back when you return your cart to the cart parking area. I also go to super Walmart. I don't have an issue with China so it doesn't bother me to shop there. They are much cheaper than Kroger and Meijer. The other stores that are really close. We also have a Save A Lot Store but I like Aldi much better. There are some Bilo stores but I have never shopped there too far from me but I was once told they have good prices. I you know someone with a Sam's or Costco card that's another option. If you don't hasve room to volume buy or the extra money suggest spliting everything. My oldest son and I do that. We buy bleach and paper products and such items there and split them. I hope that helps.

Hi R.! I heard of a website called www.couponmom.com, which from what I understand, is full of great coupons! I haven't had the opportunity to check it out, but my girlfriend gave me the website and said she got some great coupons that you just print out and take to the store with you. Check it out!!

Wow - that's a lot! I would start by planning. I'm not sure what your style is, but I always spend less if I sit down and plan a menu before I go. Buy generics, especially for your toddler - she doesn't know the difference between cheerios and toasty o's, bulk for things you use frequently or a lot of. Opt out of expensive cuts of meat, or have them less often. Make sure you are utilizing your leftovers and watch out for things that tend to go to waste, figure out a way to salvage them, like overripe bananas into banana bread. Avoid convenience foods - like lunchables and individual serving items as they tend to be much more expensive than their bulkier counterparts. A box of mac-n-cheese costs $1 (or less for generics - often 2/$1) but an individual serving costs the same. You can make the box and put it in small containers at home for your daughter's lunches, etc. I hope something here is helpful!

We've saved a lot belonging to Costco (Sam's club and BJ's are equally as good). Even though you have to pay a membership fee, you make up for it in savings really quickly. Do a little online research to price compare and see what brands each store carries. Like Costco carries Huggies, but BJ's carries Pampers.

You've gotten a lot of great advice. almost everyone though has said to check your ads for sales, so here is my favorite site to do just that all in one stop wihtout having to buy a paper. http://www.mygrocerydeals.com now i'm off to do a little more research myself i want to figure out how the one post can spend 75$ a week on grocery's

R.
We have 9 people in our family and we have saved Hundreds of dollars a year shopping at Aldi's and Save-a-lot.
Also Angel food Ministries (not Just for Poor People)they donate some of the money you spend to churches you might check it out. Where I really save is buying everything else cleaning, bath, laundry supplies is with a green wellness company if you send me a message I can show you how you can get there products. They are much cheaper then Wall mart and the wholesale clubs and safer for you your babies and the earth.
M.

I am famous in my family for how I grocery shop. My brother thinks I just attract bargains. But here is how I view grocery shopping. They are a commodity not something I do to pretend I am on Food Network. So stop shopping by menu and start shopping according to what's on sale. So when I shop I have the sale paper and coupons in tow, and don't feel at all embarrassed to look for manager reductions. The only things I would ever pay full price for is occasionally milk and eggs. When something I know I can use is on sale I buy in quantity. If I can buy in quantity -- if it's freezable or in cans -- I get as much as my budget allows. Shredded cheese, butter, even milk freezes just fine. Frozen veggies on sale, stock up. Stock up on the canned beans, tomatoes, green beans, corn, while they are on sale. Use coupons only when it's something you actually use. And save the money you are saving. Even if it's only $50 put it in a savings account.

A couple of things, we have a family of six and don't spend much more than that.

-Use coupons especially where they double them, my husband orders some of the more used ones on ebay if the cost of the item is large.
-Buy generic
-Shop at ALDI for staples (they are about 1/3 the price of Giant Eagle or Kroger)
-Use a list and stick to it
-Buy in bulk when there are large sales like yellow tags or 10 for 10 at Kroger.

R.,
Congrats on the baby...and being a STAY AT HOME MOMMY. I have to save money because I work pt and my guy is in the army so he gets paid 2 times a month. The only thing I can say is cut coupons and look at sales. I only buy formula from Walmart unless its onlsale somewhere else plus I use a 1.50 coupon so I save on average for diapers/formula 15-20 bucks a month. Groceries, I double/triple coupon days. Or buy in bulk. So for the coupons you basically get alot for free. Then when they have 10 for 10's you actually save or get a few free. I hope that helps.

R.,

I think we are all feeling like you these days. I will tell you what I do. My family even has 2 special diets in the house that I have to work around and 4 people so, I think I do ok with our budget. I probably spend about what you are spending now but that has come down from about 800 to 1,000 for us so, here is my 2 cents for you.

Have you shopped at ALDI? It takes some getting used to but, I buy everything I can from there. Sometimes people worry about the food not being good but, I have not had any issues yet. Everything tastes exactly like name brand that you pay 2 times more for. I also use our farmer's market while they are open.

Good Luck!

The three major things I have done to save on the grocery bill are:
1. Is there an Aldi's near by? Do a little price comparisons for the stores closest to me. At Aldi's a gallon of milk is like $2.59 as opposed to $3.39 at Kroger's. I don't purchase my produce at Aldi's as far as most fruits but I will buy celery and carrots, even onions there. Eggs, oleo, yogurt, etc., are all considerably cheaper as are flour, sugar, etc.
2. If I have a coupon for something check it out before using it, sometimes to save $.50 you have to purchase 2 or 3 and cost wise it doesn't pass the common sense test to buy that many of the item.
3. Take a good look at what I am buying. If I am buying a lot of prepared foods instead of actually cooking it may cost me cosiderably more. An example is if I am using one of those bagged cooking meals and it is $3.98 but to get enough meat I am adding additional canned chicken at $3.29 a can it is cheaper to buy a chicken on sale, boil it up with the carrots and a bag of noodle in it with a sauce I can make from a can of soup, a some carrots, diced onion etc.
Watch your name brands, you can find out what products are produced by the same companies with the store brand name pasted on fairly easily. Sometimes the name brands quality is just the same as the store brand.
Here is an example. I went through a salt maufacturer once. Down one shoot went Sterling, down another shoot went Morton, and down another shoot was Marsh brand. Hmmm, all from the same tank of salt were 3 different name brands and three decidedly different prices.

www.angelfoodministries.com

P. P

Plan a weekly menu. Buy in bulk when you can. Use coupons. Shop when the store has specials. If the store has a discount card (Vic card for Harris Teeter, Food Lion has a VIP card, etc) use it. Buy store brands rather than national brands (usually cheaper and usually tastes the same). A crock pot comes in handy for beans, rice, soups, stews, pot roast chili, etc.
Shop around different stores and see who has cheaper prices. I have a favorite International coffee flavor that the super markets charges $4.25 per can. Target and Walmsrt regularly has it for almost a $1 cheaper but just before Thanksgiving they marked it down to $2.73 a can (a pre black Friday special). I was not the only one who was stocking up on their favorite flavor that week.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/70dollarmenu.htm
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm

Change your eating habits. It's the easiest way to cut your bill. Introduce some vegetarian meals to your diet. Beans and rice with lots of yummy spices is delicious and cheap. Try new kinds of beans and rotate. Make one night beans and rice night.
Will you really miss that ground beef in your lasagna? Probably not. And while we are at it, make sure that you are making your own lasagna. Don't buy premade meals or frozen food (other than veggies and fruit).

Buy what's on sale and stock up when it is. Go the store with a general idea of what you need in mind not specific examples. If you were planning on getting pears to snack on but apples are on sale then buy the apples. If your favorite crackers are on sale then buy double the amount and you will save next month.

Buy in bulk! I love my store's bulk bins and since I transfer food to my platic wear or jars when I get home it stays fresh longer than in bags too.

Buy local and direct from farmers when you can. Not only will your food be tastier and fresher but you are supporting your community.

You've already gotten some great advice, I do the coupons(occasionally), wholesale clubs and CSA's for produce, I would just add that if you're going to buy diapers rather than do the cloth, I would recommend Target's brand (Up & Up). I finally swallowed my pride with the birth of my second child and started trying the store brands, as they were much cheaper ( I have to say, don't buy the generics at Acme or Food Lion, they leak...) The Target brand are just as good as the Huggies (our prefered brand)and about 30% cheaper. I don't have too many choices on the groceries, as we are in a rural area, so I buy what I can at Walmart and whenever we visit gramma (an hour drive) I stock up at Acme...gas rewards, coupons generated at register for brands I buy and FREQUENT rewards coupons, such as $5 off purchase of $50, free turkeys at Thanksgiving, they're currently running a cookware promo. I don't need them, but am giving them as gifts to some younger co-workers.
I only work part-time, when either Daddy or Gramma can watch the boys, saves on child care :) I work at a children's and women's consignment shop. FIND ONE in your area!!! A lot of the clothes, toys etc. are new, tags still on them. People get them as gifts, the child never wears them, wrong season, et. All gently-used clothing has to be freshly laundered before being accepted, I still wash it before my children wear it. We rarely buy clothing or shoes new except for special occasions. By working there, I also get an employee discount and first dibs on items coming in, LOL!
hope this helps!
J. S.

I saw several moms mention cutting coupons-take that one step further and join a couponing group. You can trade coupons with other members, ride coupon "trains", receive RAK's (Random Acts of Kindness) from other members. I actually just started a couponing group here in Cinci and have been looking for new members.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/cincinnaticouponcli...

Once you have a coupon stash started, keep it organized. Make sure you watch sale ads and match coupons to sales. It can be hard getting started with coupons, but the rewards can be great. The single greatest thing you can do when couponing is take the time to get everything organized when you first start and keep it organized as you go.

Another thing to do is to sign up for freebies and samples. A lot of companies offer trial sized items and will enclose a coupon with your sample.

I switched to buying at Walmart, which helped immensely, without me even trying - then for every item I looked for an item, I would find the generic brand...look for Price Per Item - this really helps because marketers are tricky and make things look cheaper than they are - they may say you can get a box of Q-Tips for $3.50, but you can get cotton swabs for $3.57....but when you look at the box size, you are only getting like 300 count for the Q-Tip brand box and maybe 500 for the generic swabs....a much better deal!! It takes a while to figure it out for everything that you usually buy, but once you get the routine down, it is easy to pick out the cheaper one because you are more familiar with the brands they sell at Walmart. And when in doubt, and a hurry, I usually grab the Walmart brand item - they are usually the best deal. I have found that I like that brand the best any way....I also switched to White Cloud toilet paper which was cheaper than the other brand I used to buy, and I even like it more....
Also - sales and coupons can help out a lot...I don't do a lot of coupons, so I find the Walmart method to be a lot easier and less time consuming.
Another idea is to buy in bulk, like some others have suggested - you spend a lot at each trip, but the trips are so few and far between because that stuff lasts forever....we belong to Costco and like it - but can't go too regularly because it does get expensive at times...I can also buy bigger items (not bulk, but still large) at Walmart and then I split the food up - so instead of buying my normal 2 packages of 1lb ground beef, I will buy 1 package of 2 lb ground beef - and that is actually cheaper most of the time...so I will cut it in half, use half and keep the rest in the fridge and then use the rest for a different meal the next night - so easy - it's already defrosted and ready to use.
Also - don't be tempted to go to the store more than once a week....plan a day to go - then stick to it - if you run out of something, improvise! We recently traded in our new car for a used car so we could cut back on on car payments (I am expecting too), so before we did that we were on an even tighter budget - I would limit what I made, always packed lunches instead of buying, and if I ran out of bread or something I would make some from scratch....there's always flour and stuff in the pantry that doesn't get used all the time...and I switched my thinking - instead of looking for the usual dinnertime meal ingredients, I would see what I had left from the groceries and look up things online - and I have actually made some great stuff that way! I would have 3 odd ingredients like ground turkey, olives and cheese or something (just an example I made up) and look up recipes online using those three...and I have always found something to make! It is awesome and really uses all your pantry items and cleans out your cabinets! :) Then you also won't be tempted to shop for more and spend more....you will find you will have more time with not working to plan and be creative....
Hope this helps!!!

Found this article. Pretty basic ideas, guess the trick is to applying the suggestions. The page also has some good coupons.

http://helpupay.blogspot.com/2009/11/slash-your-monthly-s...

Subscribe to a monthly family friendly magazine like Everyday Foods by Martha Stewart. It will cost you $12 and is the gift that keeps on giving. She uses inexpensive ingredients (most times) and seasonal produce (ie: cost savings). If you like to cook and don't mind leftovers, double the recipes so you have less to do during the week. Leftovers will also provide really inexpensive and HEALTHY lunches to take to work or eat at home.

I have recently started using "Always Fresh" containers. Personally, I bought them from pulsetv.com. I hear mixed reviews when buying them from the official always fresh site. They have been saving me a LOT of money. I've been able to buy huge bags of produce at Costco and put them in the containers. (Buy more than one set. You can only put one kind of food in each container.) I've been buying so much food that I fill up the containers and then use up what doesn't fit first. These things hold everything though, not just produce. Meat, cheese, whatever.

And word to the wise, for most wet foods (ie. most produce), put a paper towel in there to soak up moisture. I did that instinctively and then read reviews from people saying that if they didn't, broccoli and such went moldy fast.

And be prepared to label them. It's hard to see through the green container.

fyi: I bought a HUGE bag of carrots, and put about 1/2 the bag in the largest container. Then I used the stuff in the regular carrot bag first. By the time I finished the stuff in the carrot bag, it was obvious that they would not have lasted much longer. And now I'm more than a week into the the always fresh container's carrots... and they are as fresh as the day I bought them. Same goes with tomatoes! I bought a big thing of perfectly ripe tomatoes. It has been 3 weeks now, and the tomatoes are still fresh in that container. It's pretty crazy how well it works.

I used to buy smaller packages of cheese, because it would go bad before I could use it up. But now I'm buying everything in mega-bulk. My husband is laughing at me, but I'm saving money.

The majority of the money wasted at the grocery store is on pre-prepared items, which tend to be expensive, unnecessary and overall unhealthy (lots of sugar, sodium and additives). The easiest way to save money is to go au'natural and to buy the ingredients to make your favorite meals. For example, buy the turkey instead of the turkey deli meat. Buy the whole grain muffin mix instead of the bag of cookies. Buy the fruit and veggies and make the baby food. I'm working on this myself - it certainly has trimmed down my wasteline as well as my grocery bill. I'm not a big cook and I have been able to find a few quick easy meals, for example (oatmeal + natural peanut butter + Splenda = breakfast) that are tasty, healthy and satisfying.