Comments on: Grocery Geek Presents: How to Save Money on Groceries

By: Jenelle

Jenelle — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:30:43 +0000

I do a lot of the same things you do Jessica. I go through all the weekly ads and shop the loss leaders. I can shop a lot of different stores every week because I am lucky to have them all close by so I’m not waisting money on gas. Next I also use coupons. Sites like the Krazy Coupon Lady has really helped me to make the most of my coupons over the last few months. Finally, I make as much as I can for scratch. I can make Mayo, bread, granola bars and yogurt for a lot less then I can get then in the store, not to mention they are healthier for you and taste better too!

Oh! I also shop at Costco. I find they have the best prices on milk, tortillas & cheese. I also buy eggs and juice there often when I can’t find them on sale somewhere else.

By: Jessica Fisher

Jessica Fisher — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:46:49 +0000

I regularly get milk, cheese, lettuce, tortillas, and bananas. They are better priced than reg, non-sale items at the grocery store.

By: toni

toni — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:12:02 +0000

I’m wondering what items you buy usually at Costco. I have a hard time figuring out what the good buys are- since it seems the size of their packaging is always changing, and I can’t always match up with my grocery stores item for item. We do get some good use out of our membership, but I know probably veggies, fruit and some dairy would be cheaper there..

By: Freezer Cooking Survival Guide — Life As Mom

Freezer Cooking Survival Guide — Life As Mom — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:58:35 +0000

[...] got your plan for freezer cooking. You’ve seen how an expert does it. You’ve done your shopping. You’re all prepared for a big day of cooking. Now what? Bulk cooking can be intimidating, [...]

By: Pam

Pam — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:19:11 +0000

@Brenda, This was what I used to think too, and shopping the generic brands is a great idea. But in the past few months I've learned how to really make coupons work for me, and I've learned how often the name brand on sale, paired with a coupon is CHEAPER than the generic brand. For example, I was recently in the soup isle and Campbell's was on sale. I had a coupon which made the cream soups only $0.28 a can. The generic brand was $0.79. As I was loading up my cart will several cans, a woman came by and put one can of the generic in her cart!

By: Jessica Fisher

Jessica Fisher — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:36:22 +0000

Thanks, Lisa. I’m so glad that chart was an encouragement!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:52:19 +0000

Boy that chart just made me feel really good about my grocery spending! I have a family of 8 (2 in diapers) and am always looking for ways to cut down on our grocery spending. I write a monthly menu and do a “big” shopping day once a month for all of our perishable items. Weekly we do a quick shopping trip for produce and milk. By the way, I love your recipes!

By: Ashley

Ashley — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:20:28 +0000

I calculated our “Thrifty Plan” spending, and we should be spending $113.80 a week. I think we spend around $250 a month (and that’s with eating fast food way more than we should)!

Coupons are a beautiful thing, as is shopping at Aldi. Monthly meal planning from my pantry/freezer also saves a LOT of money!

By: Brenda

Brenda — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:00:07 +0000

@Brenda, ps. I don't clip coupons because they are always for name brands which we don't use. Plus, I only go to the grocery/Big Lots once every three weeks. This saves me time.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:58:10 +0000

We do three things that save us hundreds. We have seven mouths to feed and can do it for $360 every 3 weeks.

1. We pretty much buy store brand items. If it says Hannaford or Nature’s Place on it, it goes in the cart. (We shop at Sweetbay). I tried this tactic at Publix several times, buying Publix brands and our bill was consistently $50 more each time. So, find a local grocery store that has good store brand prices.

2. When meat is on sale, we buy it out. Then we go to the counter for a “credit”. They will issue you a credit for up to a certain amount good for one month from the issue date. This saves us tons of money on meat, which can be the most costly items.

3. We shop the perimeter of the store mainly. There are several aisles that we skip all together. Prepackaged items = money. Instead, I go to Big Lots for our boxed snacks for snack time. Crackers, cookies, cereal – and most the time I get organic. This is all under 1/2 price at Big Lots.

Because we do so well on our grocery bill, it enables us to go out to dinner once a week as a family, where we get to practice our good manners. ; )