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It's kinda hard for me to save on food. I eat way too much. I do go to BJ's Wholesale Club and buy in bulk. I get cereal, bananas, chips and salsa, toiletries, paper products, milk, eggs, and sometimes bread there. We also get granola bars, personal grooming items, toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap, and vitamins there. We don't drink soda so we don't have to worry about those sales. It helps when you buy in bulk, but you have to be careful; not all of those prices are bargains. We have found better or similar bargains right at Stop and Shop. So, it pays to price check. We don't do too much coupon clipping, as most of those are for junk anyway.
Val - my brother went to culinary school and he does the same thing with ground beef! Actually, he has a grinder attachment for his mixer (and my dad has a grinder too) and they both grind their own beef, season it with tons of salt and make the BEST burgers ever! The difference is unbelievable.
NH2008 - My daughter-in-law graduated from the Culinary Institute and does that too She and my son got married shortly after her graduation and then started a family, so she never really got to use her talents in a working environment, but boy does she use them for get-togethers!
That's pretty cool (that culinary-school trained people do that as well) I just thought I was being cheap Ummm I mean frugal! I should try adding salt (Lawrey's Seasoning Salt on burgers is the best!!) Dare, it must be nice to have a chef in the family, especially one who does it for fun and not too tired to cook after coming home from the restaurant!
Just FYI, I just saved a few $$'s (every little bit counts!) at my local Market Basket:
Bryer's Ice Cream 2/$6 with an in-store coupon = $2.00
Kraft salad dressing .55 coupon at 2/4.00 = 1.45 each PLUS there was a coupon in the isle: buy 2 dressings, get $1.00 off produce = free romaine lettuce, which was already in my basket.
Market Basket is definitely the less expensive option, here in Londonderry anyway. So the store isn't as pretty as others, and the produce area doesn't feel like a bistro. I'm there to shop, not to critique the lighting, and hopefully the 80's lighting and flooring translates to savings for the shoppers.
Daretodream, have you ever come across "30 meals cooking"? This may have been posted further down - haven't checked all the msgs - but you basically spend 3 days in one week to cook dinners for the next 30 (or 45 or 60 days), freeze them all and then live off reheating or putting only finishing touches on them. When my kids were small I did that as I didn't like to cook in those days. At this point the freezer died and I miss having that stockpile of dinners, both for us, and to give to those in need.
I don't make any extra runs to a supermarket - I pass by 3 different ones when I go to and from school in MA, and I stop to buy doorbusters (advertised specials) that are *worth it* only. They vary somewhat from store to store, and if you get the circulars you can plan your purchases at each one. Big Y has the best deals to me, fwiw. Dented can places used to be good, but I've found them as pricey as the supermarkets the last few years. Dented can sections *at* supermarkets, otoh, often hold treasures, and also the "day-old bread" and "tired-looking veggie" carts.
Learn to make lots with beans - they are highly versatile and a mainstay of Indian and Mexican foods which make them yummy rather than, "oh no, beans again?!" They translate well into a wide variety of soups and with homemade bread are amazingly comforting on a wintry day.
Learn to use what's in season in produce, or what's on special. Or grow your own!
It's kinda hard for me to save on food. I eat way too much. I do go to BJ's Wholesale Club and buy in bulk. I get cereal, bananas, chips and salsa, toiletries, paper products, milk, eggs, and sometimes bread there. We also get granola bars, personal grooming items, toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap, and vitamins there. We don't drink soda so we don't have to worry about those sales. It helps when you buy in bulk, but you have to be careful; not all of those prices are bargains. We have found better or similar bargains right at Stop and Shop. So, it pays to price check. We don't do too much coupon clipping, as most of those are for junk anyway.
bry, do you find you go through the food faster buying in bulk? Do you package it for separate meals or just use the bulk packaging? We found (a la "the tragedy of the commons" that when it was available "for free" (an open box/bag) everyone used it up a lot faster than with smaller sealed boxes/bags in the cupboard.
And we found the prices weren't always bargains, too - same goes for sales at supermarkets - knowing prices helps to know what's a good deal.
I don't freeze my tomato sauce in containers, I use quart-size freezer bags and leave some head space at the top. I lay the bags on top of each other in a baking tray, so they freeze flat, then line them up next to each other.
On freezing, the more air you can get out of the ziplocs the better, the bag will expand (use a straw to suck the air out); that way there's virtually no freezer-burn. And thaw the bags at room temp! Heating food in plastics is not believed to be a good idea, healthwise.
Val, freezing flat like that is a great idea, and you likely know this, but be careful with things not as acidic as tomato sauce - the quicker food freezes, the less chance for bacteria.
And for those not used to freezing, label and date everything! You think you'll remember, but...
Regarding food, we like to eat healthy and have to minimize cholesterol intake in our household, so we've already narrowed our food choices and try to find the best deals within those choices. No red meat, low fat, low cholesterol, natural as possible, organic where not prohibitively expensive.
I have to travel for work so I've mapped out the best places to buy everything we need each week, and go for the best store prices balanced against high gas prices.
- Trader Joe's is the place for hormone-free milk about .50 per gallon cheaper than anywhere else. Also the healthiest non-hydrongenated butter substitute, cereal, walnuts, almonds, organic jelly, all kinds of frozen veggies and vegetarian foods, and all manner of relatively healthy canned foods as well.
- Pepperidge Farm Outlet stores are the place for bread at about $2.65/loaf. The whole wheat cinnamon raisin is $1.99/loaf. About once a month they have a 20% off sale on everything in the store and I freeze a bunch. Homemade bread would be healthier but I'm not at home enough hours each week to want to spend my time baking and organic bread is crazy expensive.
- Super Walmart (and in some cases Target) are the places for paper goods, health products, cleaning products, and a lot of groceries. Super Walmart in particular has many products that you would otherwise have to get at the chain grocery store, but much cheaper. Super WM sells a natural brand of high-quality chicken breasts individually shrink-wrapped in packages of 3. These are wonderful for freezing and easy handling.
- Chain grocery stores are where I get the things I can't find anywhere else, or the few things that are actually cheaper here: like 200 oz Tide detergent for $10 or the many items on special sale each month. I buy Stonyfield's organic yogurt and this is sometimes cheaper on sale at the chains than I find it under it's Trader Joe's label for example.
Great thread, DareToDream. You have inspired so many creative posts full of wonderful ideas.
With barbeque season right around the corner I especially like the idea of using fresh ground beef. Can't wait to try it and see if my guests notice the difference.
I also, pay close attention to unit pricing. Contrary to what would seem logical, considering the costs of packaging etc., many times... products are actually cheaper in smaller quantities. I wonder how many shoppers reach for the larger size assuming they are saving money when in fact the unit price is actually higher.
Then there is the other extreme. The other day I was in Market basket. When I'm not serving brown rice I prefer Uncle Bens parboiled rice. We use a lot of rice so I was looking at the 5 lb. bag, which was priced at $5.99, thinking that would be the easiest to store. Out of habit, I also looked at the price of the 10 lb. bag. To my surprise the price of the 10 lb. bag was $6.99. One Dollar More! for an additional 5 lbs. of rice. Unbelievable!
Thanks everyone for sharing your budget saving ideas!
yep, like Boomerang, we try to always compare prices (esp unit prices)- not only of bulk vs smaller, but at different stores we shop at. You never know where the better price will be. We don't go to that many stores, but I think it's made some difference. And for sure: the larger size isn't always the best price, but sometimes it is!
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She and my son got married shortly after her graduation and then started a family, so she never really got to use her talents in a working environment, but boy does she use them for get-togethers!
and organic bread is crazy expensive.
