Share your tips for lowering grocery bills here! :D

[DrakeMaiden]

Oh, also if you have the time . . . whenever you have extra food from a meal, figure out ways to re-purpose it. So if you have stale bread, make croutons . . . if you have a lot of basil on hand, make pesto, etc.

 

[Okiemommy]

I plan only one week ahead. That's how often I go to the grocery store. I couldn't buy a longer supply than that, because it would all go bad! I stockpile, of course. Like when butter went $1.33 per pound, normally a "sale" is $2.50. Eat before you go, or you'll come out with all sorts of junk.

I shop in the mornings. Less crowds. The more crowded it is, the more likely I am to grab an item just to get out of the over crowed isle. Then later I realize it's the wrong thing, or not the best deal. hmm

Buy less processed and pre-packaged stuff. I'm trying to cut down on stuff like granola bars, that I could make myself. And bread! Healthier and cheaper.

Coupons. No stores in Washington double them, but there are still some decent coupons out there.

Don't go to the store often. If I forget something, either I go without, OR if I really need it, I go to the store I hate. It's called Cost Cutter, and I don't like shopping there. This means that I streak in the door and out in RECORD time. smile Works for me!

That is such a good point also!! I try to shop in the morning also when there are less crowds. It's less stressful and I am less prone to make "exceptions" lol I also make it a point to not take my children grocery shopping. It just ends in disaster and I never end up with everything I need, which means more trips to the grocery store.

We have started going without also. We just make do with what we have, and if we're missing something, we substitute meals if we have to.

Great Ideas!!! Keep them coming!!

In store or at home ways to save on the grocery bills! Any ways that you save on the grocery bill are welcome!

 

[dacjohns]

Gonna come later.

 

[Wifezilla]

I spend time AFTER supper preparing something for a future meal

I use leftovers to make lunches. Those round zip lock reusable containers are perfect for lunch-sized meals.

 

[keljonma]

Make a double recipe and freeze one for another day.

For example, make two lasagnas, but make one in a foil lined dish. Then freeze that one while one is baking for dinner that night.

After the foil lined dish of food is frozen, remove the food from the dish and finish wrapping the frozen food. Label and date it. I used to label them like this:
date
food name
oven temp
baking time

Then all you have to do is take it out of the freezer, unwrap and put back into the dish it was frozen it. Pop it into the oven.

Now you have a bit of time to relax, catch up with the family, visit/care for animals, read the mail, or make a salad or veggie to go with dinner.

 

[Okiemommy]

See ya soon dacs

Make a double recipe and freeze one for another day.

For example, make two lasagnas, but make one in a foil lined dish. Then freeze that one while one is baking for dinner that night.

After the foil lined dish of food is frozen, remove the food from the dish and finish wrapping the frozen food. Label and date it. I used to label them like this:
date
food name
oven temp
baking time

Then all you have to do is take it out of the freezer, unwrap and put back into the dish it was frozen it. Pop it into the oven.

Now you have a bit of time to relax, catch up with the family, visit/care for animals, read the mail, or make a salad or veggie to go with dinner.

oh...that is awesome.....


I will use this idea too! This would be perfect for when the baby comes!!! YAY!!!

 

[Wifezilla]

Make a double recipe and freeze one for another day.

My mom always did this when she made lasagna.

 

[keljonma]

Make a double recipe and freeze one for another day.

My mom always did this when she made lasagna.

Yeah, my mom too... for most things. Though we really didn't eat lasagna growing up. But baked fish, chicken dishes, and stuffed peppers or cabbage, too. She would also make extra stuffing for the pepper and make them look like logs. Then when the summer squash were ready for harvesting, would thaw out the logs and put them into the squash for stuffed squash.

 

[me&thegals]

Great ideas! I will try not to duplicate...

Buy bulk for things you will actually use up.

Make your own when possible--I can get 4 cups of dried mung beans to sprout about 4 gallons of sprouts for $3. One tiny container of sprouts costs about $3. Make my own pancake mixes, dressings, hot cocoa mix, chai, etc.

Avoid plastic and paper products, especially disposable dishes. I "invest" in reusable containers like Wifezilla has mentioned. That way my kids don't go through about 8 plastic baggies per day for lunch

Pack lunches. My kids get the basics--leftover soup in a thermos, sandwiches with applesauce and carrots, etc. Not much fancy stuff. No Go-gurts, chips or other expensive foods.

Grow your own food! We save so much money doing this, it would be hard to calculate. Our freezer had about 50 quarts of sweet corn, 25 quarts of applesauce, 15 gallons of berries (or more), jam, Swiss chard quiche mixes (6), chickens (about 25) and so much more. You can save crazy amounts of $ growing and processing your own food.

Buy generic.

Try to stick to the necessities. Great ideas on planning menus! I will really have to try that. Like Wifezilla, though, one of my joys in life is making whatever sounds great that very day.

Similar to above, try to avoid soda, chips, candy, premade meals, ice cream and other "junky" foods that are very expensive and not necessary. Chocolate, however, IS necessary! I'm not saying don't have treats--just that having these things as treats rather than an everyday item can save a lot of $.

Just what I can think of off the top of my head...

 

[freemotion]

Just a thought on the lasagna freezing....I do this, too. Love it. But I either freeze it in a loaf pan ready to go into the oven (stainless steel) or line the pan with plastic. In the case of tomato sauce, plastic is probably the lesser of two evils. The tomato sauce will dissolve the aluminum in the foil and there will be aluminum in the lasagna. Even if you can't see it, it is there. Plastic is probably not much better, so I freeze the whole pan when possible, it just means I don't have access to that pan. But I suppose I could set it into warm water after it is frozen solid, and maybe pop the frozen lasagna out and put it into a ziploc later, which would be much better. Thanks for making me think!

I actually no longer coupon. Maybe it is just my area, but there are so rarely any coupons for anything I really use, and by looking at them, I tend to cut out coupons for things that will be "a good deal" but that I don't really need. Most coupons here are for cleaning products (I prefer vinegar, baking soda, etc) and processed foods and convenience foods. I rarely look at any ads or flyers anymore, that has saved me money! I just look at two flyers at the produce and meat, and scan for the buy-one-get-two-free sale on Marcal toilet paper that happens now and then, so I can stock up.

I also have dh do most of the shopping. He asks me what I need, and goes to get it. I tend to impulse buy....in the produce section and meat section.....because I love to cook but then won't have time to get to all the things I impulse buy in one trip! Almost everytime I go to the grocery store, something goes bad in the fridge and gets tossed....