This week I’ll be doing a mini-series titled “Frugal & Fabulous.” Each day I’ll pick a different topic to discuss and share some of my tips on being frugal in that area!
Today we’re discussing saving money on groceries. Please share your own tips in the form of comments, and feel free to link to posts on your blog about this topic as well!
My husband and I have a $40 a week grocery budget, and while I know that some families larger than ours spend less than that, we think we personally are being good stewards to keep our bill around that amount each week. The $40 includes paper products (paper towels, tp, tissues, etc.) as well as cleaners (laundry detergent, dish soap, etc.).
I’ll start out by saying: I don’t coupon. (I found that using a coupon on a brand-name product still didn’t make it cheaper than the store brand… I know… you have to wait ’til the stars align and the brand-name product is also on sale… but WOW that takes a while to learn!) Occasionally I’ll have a coupon for something we regularly buy, or I’ll hear of a great deal or coupon match-up. But for the most part, we’ve been sticking to $40 a week without coupons. How?
1) Angel Food Ministries
Each month, we purchase a signature box from AFM. The box costs $30 and contains (according to their website), $60 worth of food. It is designed to assist in feeding a family of four for a week, so we have found that we get quite a few meals out of each box! To see this month’s menu, click here. To find a host site near you, click here. Sometimes we also purchase their produce box as well. AFM is not for everyone, but it really works for our family. I have comparison-shopped at Wal-mart (where we typically did all of our shopping when we first got married), and I know I couldn’t buy what is in each box for $30, even when buying store brand and shopping sales. (Some of you coupon-moms out there could maybe beat it, though! I just find it hard to find coupons for eggs, produce, meat, etc.) So, check it out and see if this might help your family save a little money!
2) Shop around
It was nice when we first got married that we did all of our grocery shopping in one fell swoop at Wal-mart. We’d shop once a week and buy everything we needed! Now, we shop around in order to get better deals. In a week, we might pick up our AFM box, make a trip to Aldi, buy a few things at Wal-mart, and pick up a gallon of milk at the gas station (one of the cheapest places in town). We also are crazy-excited about buying local produce this summer from stands and farmer’s markets. Shopping around is not as convenient, but at this season of my life I have the time to do this. As our family grows, it might become harder to shop around, but right now, it’s how we’re saving some serious cash!
3) Freezer Cooking Day
I’m not sure how it worked out that way… but I really think my March Freezer Cooking Day ended up saving us a TON of money, in addition to saving me plenty of time in the kitchen on a daily basis! I didn’t do a freezer cooking day in April because we were in the midst of moving, and because I still had meals left from the March day! I am making plans to do a freezer cooking day in May, so stay tuned for details about that in the next couple of weeks.
4) Aldi
People I have talked to have mixed feelings about Aldi. Some hate it; some love it. We’re definitely on the “love it” end of the spectrum! There are a few idiosyncrasies about Aldi you should know before you go. You have to bring a quarter to get a shopping cart (you get it back when you turn in your cart), and you have to bring your own bags and bag your groceries yourself. We feel like these are small prices to pay for the savings we receive when we shop there! Aldi is a smaller store, with maybe five or six wide aisles. They carry their own brand of products, so you probably won’t find your favorite brand-name breakfast cereal or peanut butter. (Because we do have a few brand loyalties…aka JIF PB… we still make an occasional Wal-mart trip.) I personally have found that their dairy products, frozen foods, and produce are their best deals! It is really helpful going in, though, to have a price notebook or at least a mental notebook of what you typically pay for things so you don’t spend more than you would just because you can’t remember what something should cost. If I don’t KNOW that something (meat, etc.) is a good buy, I don’t purchase it. But I know that $1.19 for strawberries (they’re $2 at Wal-mart) is good!!
Here are a few Aldi deals we scored this week:
romaine hearts (bag of 3): $1.99
garden salad (bag): $.69
grapefruit (bag of 6): $2.49
broccoli (1 lb.): $1.69
gallon of milk: $2.39
colby/monterey jack cheese (block): $1.79
frozen lemonade: $.77
cinnamon raisin bagels: $1.39
Since we discovered Aldi, we have typically been spending about $30 on groceries a week, plus our $30 AFM box once a month, which averages out to around $40 a week.
So spill the beans… how does your family save on groceries? Do tell all!
Coming Wednesday… Frugal & Fabulous: Saving Money on Home Decorating
Right now, I do most of my shopping at Kroger, and they double coupons up to .50 everyday (so a .50 coupon will double to $1). I can get great deals there with coupons, and I usually get at least a few items free every week. I’ve gotten to the point where I have a great stockpile in my pantry, so I just buy what I can get for a great price that week, as well as produce, milk, and bread. I also buy produce that is in season and on sale. It did take quite a while to build up my pantry and freezer to be able to shop this way. Fortunately, I really enjoy couponing and seeing how much I can save each week! Oh, and I also try to get toiletries at CVS for free (or almost free) by using their extra bucks system, so these things don’t take much out of my grocery budget. Although I haven’t been there in a month or so. Time to get back to it!
I love the AFM idea! We would do it, but I have food allergies {wheat gluten, some dairy products, and seafood} so getting a AFM box would not be frugal for us. I shop at Aldi for the majority of our dairy products, frozen stuff, and produce- unless I can get it cheaper at Kroger with sales and coupons. Also, with my food allergies I can’t eat processed foods at all, so we mostly buy fresh meats and produce, which adds up the grocery bill fast! Our weekly budget is $60. I know I could do much less if it weren’t for my allergies, but oh well, it’s what works for us in this season of our lives.
I also get toiletries at CVS for free or almost free using their ECB program. It’s amazing! Last week I got 2 bottles of shampoo, paid $1.51 out of pocket and got back $5 to use on my next trip!
We are big aldi shoppers! You just can’t beat the price and for the most part, they are very comparable products. We also shop at Walmart for almost everthing else. Our grocery store is really close so I watch their ads and do alot of couponing that way…they will double coupons too so I get some free products here and there. I need to get better at the whole coupon thing though.
i dont think$40 a week is bad for two ppl. thats pretty darn good.
We spend 100’s a month with our family… and now that we have formula to buy thats another 100 dollars to our bill each month. Yeah that one hurts lol.. NURSE IF ALL POSSIBLE!! I hate I couldnt.
Angel food has some great stuff tho, we are glad we got it this month, hope to keep getting it (as long as i remember to sign up) 🙂
We have been really thining about our grocery budget lately so this is really helpful! Thanks for sharing! My husband googled some things about budgeting for groceries and found that a frugal family of 2 would spend $400 a month on groceries!! I couldn’t believe that–we spend less than that and aren’t that frugal about grogeries! We’ve been talking about checking out aldi so we might have to jump in and do it (we live at wal-mart and sam’s)! Thanks again for the tips!
I figure when it comes to shopping around, you have to consider the gas as well. If you drive across town just to save $2, you’ve just wasted the savings on gas.
I think you’re doing amazing with $40 per week! I spend $80 per week for the 4 of us, and I have to plan carefully to keep it that low.
Meal planning is one of the easiest ways to save. It eliminates the impulse buys and extra trips to the store.
We don’t have a billion coupons here in Canada, but I do use a few now and then. I just shop very carefully!
I think KNOWing what GOOD prices specific foods is a GREAT idea!!! I used to save a lot more when I kept track of prices!!
I have LOVED couponing! We have definitely seen a DROP in our budget b/c we shop with coupons…. it definitely takes time, but I get my NAME brand foods for dollars less than the generic!!!!
I’m looking into ways to cut costs on diapering our expected one!! Couponing and “waiting for the stars to align” … LOL….has been working fo us to really stockpile some diapers….. hoping to really learn some more!!
OH…. for those with food allergies AFM has a food allergy box that contains only meat that is safe for a LOT of different allergies!! But I have found that I can get our meat cheaper and fix it healthier than the box provides…. but the breaded chicken tenders special box calls our name:)
Hi there! I am dropping in from Frugal Friday.
I enjoyed your post. I agree about the coupons. I am not a huge couponer. At least not for groceries. I would rather just shop places that are typically cheaper in general. I use coupons for clothing and entertainment. Oh, and free product coupons for sure!
Stop by and see me when you get a chance over at Free 2 Be Frugal.
🙂
I’m not a big couponer, either, but I try never to pay full price for anything. We’re blessed with a basement for storing non-perishables and non-foods, which helps tremendously.
I’ve looked into AFM, but we don’t have a location close enough to make sense. Maybe soon.
Well, my favorite way to save has been coupons! I’ve cut our grocery budget by at least $150/month since couponing. I could do it for a little less than I do for our family of 5, but staying at $300/month helps me to be able to stock up. And my older two eat like an adult;)
We all eventually find what works for us. I love couponing and have saved huge money with it. But you are right…it does take some learning time. After you’ve built up a stockpile, though, your grocery list gets shorter and easier.
I’ll tell you one thing…I wish we had an Aldi’s around here!
We saved a lot of money on meat by buying a 1/4 of beef or a 1/2 a hog at a time. My husband is a farmer and raises his own so that makes it easy for us. But for anyone else, look around and find a local farmer and meat locker to get your meat from. It’s not only cheaper, but you know where your meat is coming from!
Great post. Love how you gave alternative ideas to couponing. We have saved a lot on groceries by not buying any paper products, except TP. We have switched over to clothe napkins and towels for spills. Also, shopping the loss leaders has been my main focus each week, stocking up on the really good deals.
love your blog.. we had our first Aldi store open up this last week! I bought just a few things on opening day as it was a madhouse! I filled 3 bags I had brought with me and paid 40 dollars for it.. that would have been nearly a hundred dollars at my local stater brothers. With a daughter going to college in the Fall I am really needing to get frugal in the grocery department! I will be returning again!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed your first experience at Aldi!