save money on food bill

[Belinda_Cooperstone1]

I believe food in the US is cheaper than Canada. I for one can not feed my family with $200 a month and I am cheap. When milk costs $7 for 4 liters and cheese is also $7 and lets not get started on meat costs, $200 is a weekly bill for us and that is being cheap. So I am open for great idea's too.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Belinda_Cooperstone1

I believe food in the US is cheaper than Canada. I for one can not feed my family with $200 a month and I am cheap. When milk costs $7 for 4 liters and cheese is also $7 and lets not get started on meat costs, $200 is a weekly bill for us and that is being cheap. So I am open for great idea's too.

Agree completely. Food prices are higher in Canada. Of course, if you cross the borders, you can bring most groceries back into Canada.

There are items that are cheaper in Canada - most products imported from other commonwealth countries. I used to buy a lot of Australia lamb which was much cheaper in Windsor than Detroit.

[spiderbear]

Eating organic helped us shrink our food bill...not even kidding. Organic food seems to be much more filling to me, and my husband.

Just did the math. Groceries last month (all organic produce and dairy) was $266. Add in our eating out total (we went on vacation), it was $390. Our cost per person, per meal ends up being 2.32...and I didn't even subtract from the bill the food costs to feed four pets, or paper products/cleaners. Or the two dinner parties we had, with korean steak BBQ for twelve. So it's even less than that.

I don't skimp...I make sure I buy the good stuff. But I go shopping at least twice a week, shop with sales, and always base it around fresh, cheap produce. It's filling, healthy, and so much more satisfying. When I see meat on sale, I stock up. Last month I bought ten pounds of semi-boneless leg of lamb for $28. That will last the two of us a good bit into the grilling season. Breakfast for me is always fruit and an english muffin with brie and coffee...a few light snacks through the lunch hour, and then dinner is our big meal. Eating less makes me feel much better, and I tend to eat much better quality.

Also, if it's processed, it usually doesn't come into the house (with a few exceptions, like ice cream of course). I have a 25lb bag of flour that I got for $6...and I make all our bread and pasta from that. If I want fried chicken, I bread it myself. Cakes and cookies are always baked fresh. My husband and I are college students and he only works part time, so time is the one thing I definitely have. When we don't have time, we'll go out somewhere cheap or whip up a salad. I don't fret. At least for me, the more I fret about money, the more I spend. It's like dieting..if I fret about food, I just eat more.

I also cheat when I need to. $25 of that grocery tally was from an ice cream and junk food run when I was feeling down. Ben and Jerry's, fresh cannolis, seltzer and juice for me, and Dr. Pepper for the hubby. One transgression didn't nab too much from my bank account or add any to my waistline, but it keeps me feeling spoiled so I keep up my good habits.

[NicoleJ]

Just an FYI to those of you w/ an ALDI near you. They have DRASTICALLY reduced the prices of their meats!!! I will only be getting my meat from there for now. 80/20 ground beef: $1.79/lb!!! Spareribs are now $1.89/lb!! wow.

ALDI - New Low Prices

[hotzcatz]

Hmm, wonder why all the ranchers were sending the cattle off to slaughter? Feed prices going up do you suppose? Will that mean meat prices will be really expensive later? If you've got an Aldi's nearby as well as a big freezer, the two of them may be meant for each other. We don't have an Aldi's but we've got friends with cows and sheep so we get meat from them. Even after paying them for the animal and the slaughterhouse to process it, it is still a lot cheaper than the stuff from the grocery store.

Small kid time the town I grew up in had a big commercial freezer that folks could rent a freezer basket in. Mom would go there to pick up a roast for dinner sometimes. I wonder why that sort of establishment isn't common anymore?

[NicoleJ]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Small kid time the town I grew up in had a big commercial freezer that folks could rent a freezer basket in. Mom would go there to pick up a roast for dinner sometimes. I wonder why that sort of establishment isn't common anymore?

I've never heard of such a thing. I bet in today's economy, it would go over really really well. Charge $25/month and let people come put their extra foods that they got cheap so it doesn't spoil...

[cardinal2007]

US grown rice is very cheap. In Costco they charge about $.32/lb for a 25lb bag, granted that's a lot of rice, a family of 4 should go through it in a 2 months, the rice doesn't go bad either. Some people prefer rice from other countries, but it is more expensive. If you buy pasta, potatoes, or bread you will probably spend more money, adding some rice would save you some money.

[NicoleJ]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

US grown rice is very cheap. In Costco they charge about $.32/lb for a 25lb bag, granted that's a lot of rice, a family of 4 should go through it in a 2 months, the rice doesn't go bad either. Some people prefer rice from other countries, but it is more expensive. If you buy pasta, potatoes, or bread you will probably spend more money, adding some rice would save you some money.

LOL, there's no way my family of 5 could eat 25 lbs of rice in 2 months!!! Maybe 10.