Food Anyone else getting shocked at their grocery bills?

berryblondeboys

berryblondeboys

Member
Sep 30, 2007
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#1
I'm not going to complain about the prices of fuel and groceries for in the US we are SUPER privileged in having CHEAPER food and gas than most of the world, but I'm just shocked at how FAST it has gone up!

Now, I do have a toddler in diapers, so my bill is higher than it will be once the diapers are gone, but I spend on average now $280 a WEEK at the grocery store. We eat ALL meals at home and pack lunches for 4 people, but one is a toddler, so he doesn't eat a ton yet!

I also buy organic meat and dairy and whole grain breads and pastas and fresh fruit and veggies, so I EXPECT my bill to be higher than most, but.... a year ago I rarely topped $200 a week. Now I'm at $280 a week, that's a HUGE increase and our eating habits have not changed!!!!

Anyone else experiencing this?
 
#4
I think that might be why our bills did jump a bit too. DH needs more fiber and while we do eat beans, I am buying MORE fresh fruits and veggies and nuts than before, but it's just everything. I spend as much on organic chicken breasts as most people spend on a good piece of steak!

I've started to buy whole chickens more and more to spread it out for three meals (two days of the chicken cut from the bone and the last day using the small pieces to make a chicken and noodle or brown rice dish).
 
#6
Nishi621 said:
The organics jump it a lot.
Click to expand...

^ That's true.

Do you go to Costco? They have really good deals some things. I always get my milk there, because it's ~$6 for 3 half gallons of organic 1%. I also buy Kirkland brand whole wheat bread and freeze whatever I don't need right away. And I buy stuff like vanilla extract, olive oil, spices, etc there. Also I buy tuna, canned tomatoes and beans from them. I hate buying food in bulk, but when they do coupons and special
offers, it's SUCH a better deal!

I also stock up on organic chicken when grocery stores have sales and I rebag it Ziplocs and freeze it. That really cuts down on cost too!
 
#7
I don't go to Costco for a couple of reasons. One, is that I'm not sure the membership would be worth it and two, we don't have much room to store stuff. We live in a townhouse with no garage and basically no basement (lower level is finished and all storage is one room for EVERYTHING) and we have no kitchen pantry - not for brooms or anything. Even our three of our four bathrooms don't have vanities! This place SOOOOO lacks storage!

I have a deep freezer, but we had a boo-boo with it a couple months back where we didnt realize that the power cord had been bumped and it turned off. ALL the stuff in there was rotting for two months!!! We emptied it, bu thaven't cleaned it yet. Fortunately, it wasn't very full and mostly had sealed containers, but I had some ziplocs with frozen bananas that leaked, so I'm still getting the courage to clean that puppy!
 
#8
^ LOL yikes! Rotten/frozen bananas aren't that bad to clean up though, I promise! When my sister was pregnant she was eating bananas like crazy, but she never wanted the last one because it was "too ripe." So she would just take the extra banana and stick it in the freezer. After my nephew was born, I found dozens of nasty, smooshed BLACK bananas in her freezer :shocked:

They looked pretty nasty, but it wasn't bad to clean up!


I don't have a Costco membership either. I just make other people take me and then I give them cash to pay for my stuff. ;)
 
#9
It's just me and the SO and I LOVE grocery shopping - but if you want to save big, you really need to strategize based on sales every week. I rarely spend more than $30/week on groceries and we go out a couple of times a week (obviously more than $30, but not more than $100). I really stockpile based on sales (.21/can for Del month veggies this week with sale and coupone).

I don't always buy organic, but will buy some things from Trader Joe's. I shop at the Asian supermarkets because they have the lowest prices for produce.

As mentioned, I also freeze if I buy a lot of a perishable sale item that week.
 
#10
Grocery for me is EXPENSIVE!! Mainly cause I love organic. I buy all my vegetables, fruits, and dairy organic. As far as my meat and chicken, I get it from my Halal butcher. I get my fish from the Asian market. I stock pile.

However, my father comes every 6 months from Africa and he loves home-made food (my brother's SO doesn't cook!!! eek!), so I cook for him. AND my SO prefers my food to eating out. I am always cooking!! I love the fact that people love my food and are ALWAYS asking me to cook but its getting expensive.

So, I hear ya on the bills!!!
 
#12
I went through something similar at the end of summer, we were spending about $1400 a month on groceries for a family of 4.

The money isn't really the issue, it is more a feeling of gluttony, like so much in our lives, we as a family are too wasteful...and that is not something I want to teach my children. I also want to teach them to be good consumers, just because you have money doesn't mean you should throw it around, kwim?

So now I plan our meals better, including 'leftover' nights, other than milk and bread, and a few fresh veggies I only shop 2 times a month. I clip coupons and read the ads and plan my shopping trips. I cut out convience food, stuff like pre-cooked chickens, pre made pudding, etc and make those things.

After 3 months, I now am spending about $400 a month, no kidding...and dh and kids said they feel like there is more in the house to eat than before...lol. My youngest son, loves to shop and coupon clip with me...I don't know who was more excited last Saturday, me or him...the total bill was $162...our savings (from sales and coupons) was $149! Almost half off, he was jumping around like crazy!

One trick I do: on the refrigerator white board, I write an 'available menu', it started as a joke...but turned out to be a great tool...and the kids and DH will now say things like, 'oh I didn't know we had plums' and eat that instead of a handful of chips.

HTH :smile:
 
#14
Yep. It does cost more to buy organic and fresh fruits and veggies, but I believe it is totally worth it.
Yeah. Our weekly grocery bill seems to be going up as well, and we shop at Trader Joe's with is a very reasonably priced place!
 
#15
No offense to Canada (I'm dual), but I can't wait to be back in the States. It's outrageous here, and I came home last night with a few bags, well over $150 and had just a handful of food items. ^^^Yeah, the healthier you eat, the higher you pay^^^^Makes no sense at all. Oh, and they kick us with gst and pst. Happy:throwup: Happy :throwup:Joy Joy!
 
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