I’ve concluded Week 1 of my “I’m spending the least amount of money humanly possible” campaign. Mostly, this campaign is focused on groceries, as that is where the bulk of my weekly spending occurs.
I was determined to get my average weekly grocery spend down to $100 per week (from about $250 per week). I wasn’t as diligent as I could have been in planning meals or clipping coupons (I actually didn’t clip any). What I *did* do is only stock up on things that: 1) My family eats all the time or 2) I knew exactly how and when I would prepare. I shopped at Trader Joe’s (cheap) and Safeway (where I have a discount card).
In the end, I spent $107 for the week to feed myself, my ex, and our two-year old. Not bad, eh?
Things I did to achieve this:
- Ate cereal and milk for breakfast.
- Drank free office-brewed coffee.
- Brought my lunch to work instead of take-out.
- Used frozen veggies in my cooking rather than fresh.
- Purposely made extra food for dinner so I could have leftovers for the next day’s lunch - it’s all about economies of scale.
- Cut out (most of) the diet soda I drink.
- Bought generic brands of everyday products.
- Bought items that were on sale at the market and planned meals around that week’s “specials.”
I’m pretty intrigued by saving money with coupons (I keep hearing about these women who get hundreds of dollars of groceries practically for free), but have yet to try it. Where do you find these coupons besides the Sunday paper? I’m not really into signing up for any type of website / service and I certainly don’t want to pay for it. Tips, please!
Share your saving tips and help inspire me - and others.
6 responses so far ↓
1 MarkusK // Jul 1, 2008 at 2:46 am
Trader Joe’s is cheap???
Where do you live?
I go to Trader Joe’s because they have stuff that other stores don’t have. And that’s exactly the reason why they are NOT necessarily cheap.
But it’s an excellent store anyway.
2 Ian Romaine // Jul 1, 2008 at 5:24 am
Me and my partner are also trying to figure out ways to cut down our bills, given the rising cost of absolutely everything in the UK.
One thing we’ve recently got into, and have had good results already, is growing your own stuff. If you’ve got time to plant a few sides and water them every so often, in the long run you end saving a bomb. Admittedly it won’t happen overnight because you’ve got to wait for everything to grow, but once it has done you’ll begrudge ever paying for herbs and vegetables ever again!
3 Bryan // Jul 1, 2008 at 7:41 pm
1) Cut down on meats. Most people eat more than necessary, and more often than necessary. And remember that pork is the cheapest of the main meats.
2) You are not above eating rice. I know a lot of people that think I’m poor or a vagrant because half of my meals include rice. What gives? I blame it on ignorance. Rice is abundant, cheap, and can be fixed in hundreds of different ways.
3) Meal helpers take as much time as preparing the dinner yourself, if you know what you are doing in the kitchen. I can make my own cheeseburger noodly dish in the same amount of time as a box of Hamburger Helper, but at half the price.
4) Don’t be afraid of leftovers. Cook twice as much and you have lunch the next day. The money saving here comes from food wasted in preparation or not storing little amounts. Plus the more leftovers you eat, the less new foods you have to buy. Less trips to the market overall.
5) Eat before shopping. Eat a sandwich if you have to, but do this nonetheless. Shopping hungry leads to purchases of things that look pretty on the packaging. Your stomach promises to thank you later, but your wallet will kick your ass now. Go to the store fed, and shop sensibly.
6) Snack cheaply. Snacking is making a comeback, but people are paying too much for snacks by getting the prepackaged goods like chips and granola bars. Go cheap with granola in bulk or making a salad with odds and ends of vegetables in your crisper drawer. If you’re looking to calm your stomach between meals, drink tea; $.25 a teabag each. Can’t get much cheaper than that.
7) Shop at different stores and monitor prices. People usually don’t know what they should be paying for stuff. It kills me how much people overpay for simple things like milk and bread. Just by shopping different stores and keeping an eye or prices you can shave several dollars per trip. Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread is $3.49 at Stop and Shop, but $3.19 at Big Y. Thirty cents might not seem like a lot, but once you realize the differences, you’ll realize the savings.
9) Store brands vs. National brands. There is a quality difference and we all know it. But here’s my suggestion: always try the store brand version at least once. If it’s okay for you, keep buying that. I tried the store brand chili with beans and almost puked, so I stay true to my Hormel Chili. But Target’s 1 gal apple juice is just as good as Mott’s (as far as I am concerned) but way less at the registers.
I can feed anyone for less than $150 a month. During summer of 2007, I averaged $90/mo. It’s not hard to do. I love to cook, and love to eat, but don’t have to spend a lot to do it.
4 sunny beach // Jul 2, 2008 at 2:19 am
I’m interested in this sort of thing as a college budgeted individual, but the blog doesn’t give nearly enough details in the break down of the food bought and meals made.
5 vulcanhammer // Jul 3, 2008 at 12:10 am
Hey Erica,
Try the following link: Mommy Saves Big
Sometimes I will find a coupon I can use, sometimes not. If you shop at Target, you can go to their website and they will allow you to print coupons for foodstuff they sell.
You could try coupon.com too. Hope this helps a little.
6 Debby Phillips // Aug 1, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I eat cereal for dinner all of the time. I live alone so I don’t have to worry about pleasing a family. Living on cereal for dinner can cut my grocery bill way back!
Leave a Comment