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I've never saved from coupons. .50 here and there just isn't going to make a dent in my budget. I use them if it is something I plan on buying, anyways. The BOGOS are a bigger saving, but again, only if it is something you already are going to buy.
Don't buy organics
Don't buy prepared deli meals/foods/salads
Don't buy pricey meat cuts (lamb, salmon). You can eat healthy with cheaper cuts. Salmon is healthy, but Cod is a much cheaper cold water fish that is also high in Omega. I LOVE salmon, but it is very costly.
Prepared baked goods at my grocer are very costly. Better to do your own if you have the time.
Our store-bought staples are mostly things like:
dried beans
bulk grains (brown rice, millet, oats, couscous, barley, corn, ...)
frozen fruits and vegetables
fresh veggies
potatoes, sweet potatoes
cornmeal
and flour
If you keep these things in your kitchen you will never go hungry.
We garden a lot, and we barter among local Farmer's Markets.
My Dw loves beets, but our soil is very rocky so root crops are difficult. So she has an arrangement with a friend who grows a lot of root crops. She gives us 100-pounds of beets in exchange for a bushel of apples and some honey each year.
I think you did well. But you could have bought pudding mix for less than $1.00 instead of the 4.99 cupcakes (if you like pudding). Not sure the cost of making cupcakes from a mix?
I appreciate it. Cup cakes are a no no. It is day three and I am doing okay. 160 for groceries at the grocery store and 40 for take out. I can cut anything but food has always been my problem.
I mentioned cupcakes because I am annoyed I made the purchase. I see food as groceries which includes the cupcakes not the dishwashing liquid and commet.
I only buy natural foods. No organics.
Meat costs a lot. I want to eat more rices, beans and veggies. I love onions and peppers. Pasta is good too.I
My downfall is that I now live in an apartment and cannot save money by growing some of my own food. Going to try some in containers but my favorite thing to grow is beets. Will have to get a big, deep container of some type for those.
We have found a cute little grocery store that gets leftovers from somewhere. They have good stuff. High quality yogurts for 33 cents. Almond milk, Kerry Gold, Coleman hotdogs for next to nothing, bananas for nearly free. I stock up on anything that can go into the freezer.
The only thing is that you have to go several times a week and that you never know what you'll find there. I like the hummus idea a few posts back because I'm going to start making my own. I can't find hummus that doesn't contain red peppers and I HATE red peppers. Found the chickpeas for next to nothing at the cute little grocery store, probably have to go to a regular $$$$ grocery store for the tahini.
I could save a lot more money if dh didn't always want meat. I do use the cheaper cuts and make things like pot roast, stew, and chicken in the slow cooker. I rarely make desserts except I had a few apples and that warm apple crisp hit the spot on a cold winter night.
The slow cooker saves you a lot of money because you can buy the cheaper cuts of meat, you can throw in leftovers to make a soup or a stew. I have a few good bean recipes for the slow cooker too. My one splurge is on real maple syrup but I buy several bottles when it's on sale. I don't know what I spend on groceries--it varies according to what that little discount grocery store has for sale that week.
I've never saved from coupons. .50 here and there just isn't going to make a dent in my budget. I use them if it is something I plan on buying, anyways. The BOGOS are a bigger saving, but again, only if it is something you already are going to buy.
Don't buy organics
Don't buy prepared deli meals/foods/salads
Don't buy pricey meat cuts (lamb, salmon). You can eat healthy with cheaper cuts. Salmon is healthy, but Cod is a much cheaper cold water fish that is also high in Omega. I LOVE salmon, but it is very costly.
Prepared baked goods at my grocer are very costly. Better to do your own if you have the time.
Do you possibly have two different issues here? One issue is budget. The other is unhealthy eating.
I think moderation is key. Is it possible to buy just one cupcake in the bakery or coffee shop? You may spend more than $1.50 or so that it would take to bake a cake or cupcakes, but it is less than $4. Quality and calories count. If you're going to eat junk, make it special. It's ok to indulge or treat yourself sometimes particularly if it will help with another goal.
I need to cut costs and food is a likely place to start. I started yesterday. I landed at $43. I spend nearly three dollars on dish washing liquid and commet. I made my goal.
There is room for improvement. I spent $4.99 for cupcukes. I know. I should have bought salmon.
Let's see how I do this week.
I buy my dish washing liquid at Dollar Tree. But mostly I use the dishwasher and buy the Walmart brand of powder dish washer soap and it cost less than $4 and lasts over a month.
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