How can a family of 4 live on 400.00 a month in groceries in SA? (buy, vs.)

[banker]

Originally Posted by banker

I hear horor stories of folks spending $1,000/month on groceries and I don't understand how they do it!!

Just to clarify an earlier remark...this is normal families making regular average incomes of $40,0000-60,000/year. These are families that spend tons on groceries while neglecting retirement, college and being debt free. If you can do all those things (save for you and your kids future) and still afford tons on groceries then enjoy! I am working to be at that point in our life...just not there yet.

Happy New Year!!

[cobolt]

I live south of Seattle and my grocery bill for myself averages $150 a month. This includes toilitries and the occassional bottle of wine/amaretto/appertif. I cook EVERYTHING, even bread and pita bread. I rarely buy prepared food. I use meat not so much for the main course but as flavoring (in soups or stews more heavy on the veggies). I brownbag my lunch. Sometimes I'll buy tolitries at the dollar store---White Rain shampoo...does the same job as anything else so who cares? Name brand dishwashing liquid etc at the dollar store too. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy it at the grocery store, so I keep track of the prices. No sodas. No foo foo coffees at 10.99 a pound either. For snacking, I pop popcorn in an airpopper and I will sometimes buy tortilla chips but I make my own salsa, red and green. I tried making tortilla chips with corn toritillas, but it's sort of time consuming. I check the local drug store weekly flyers because sometimes you'll get good deals, especially when they run the coupons (2 cans of white albacore chunk tuna for a dollar, 5 packages of jello for a dollar, paper towels 59 cents a roll sort of stuff). I buy whatever veggies and fruits are on sale and I get lots of frozen veggies as well. Been reading alot about canning and plan to venture into that. The cost of living is high here but you gotta eat and you gotta be smart about it!

[TXRose]

Originally Posted by GoTexan

On a more serious note, I do buy the following at Costco and find that it saves me time (I don't have to go to the store as often) and money. These are our "costco" staples:

meat (prepackaged chicken breast are great)
liquor/wine (excellent discounts at costco)
olive oil (will last us a whole year)
coffee
big box of chips (single sizes so they don't go stale, only 2 of us)
paper towels/toilet paper/ziplocks/trash bags
dishwasher detergent/ tide/ soap
sodas
bottled water
Over-the-counter medicine (still on the same bottle of advil we bought 2yrs ago!)
light bulbs

Not sure if you're aware, but your olive oil might not be good for the full year. It keeps for 6 months in a cool, dark place like your pantry.

I'll also throw this in for everyone - think about the extras you use like paper towels, ziplocks, fabric softener, etc. Instead of using paper towels, use dish rags and wash after each use. We cut up old tshirts and use those to wipe down the countertops each day. We also bought some white washcloths at Costco and use those for heavier cleaning like in bathrooms. We haven't replaced our papertowels in a couple months.

Ziploc bags are VERY bad for the environment. Plus, they're expensive. Use washable containers or wrap things in foil, which is cheaper and can be recycled. If you use ziplocs for sandwiches, consider something like this: Reuseable Sandwich Bag.

Fabric softener isn't that great for your clothes. We use vinegar which works really well and we can get a big jug of it at Costco for about $2.50 which lasts us for months. I promise it doesn't make your clothes smell, they are soft, and if you switch you'll notice that stuff washed w/fabric softener has a filmy feel to it.

You can also use vinegar to make homemade cleaners, which are better for your health and the environment, and are cheaper. Vinegar Tips

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by TXRose

Not sure if you're aware, but your olive oil might not be good for the full year. It keeps for 6 months in a cool, dark place like your pantry.

I'll also throw this in for everyone - think about the extras you use like paper towels, ziplocks, fabric softener, etc. Instead of using paper towels, use dish rags and wash after each use. We cut up old tshirts and use those to wipe down the countertops each day. We also bought some white washcloths at Costco and use those for heavier cleaning like in bathrooms. We haven't replaced our papertowels in a couple months.

Ziploc bags are VERY bad for the environment. Plus, they're expensive. Use washable containers or wrap things in foil, which is cheaper and can be recycled. If you use ziplocs for sandwiches, consider something like this: Reuseable Sandwich Bag.

Fabric softener isn't that great for your clothes. We use vinegar which works really well and we can get a big jug of it at Costco for about $2.50 which lasts us for months. I promise it doesn't make your clothes smell, they are soft, and if you switch you'll notice that stuff washed w/fabric softener has a filmy feel to it.

You can also use vinegar to make homemade cleaners, which are better for your health and the environment, and are cheaper. Vinegar Tips

You bring up good points. I too don't use ziplock bags. I use cloth napkins instead of paper etc.

About the vinegar as a fabric softener. You just put some in the rinse cycle? I currently use dryer sheets, but I've been thinking about nixing that. It does get rid of the static cling in the winter, but I don't really notice any difference otherwise.

Yes homemade cleaning products are great. There is a book called the Tightwad Gazette or something that you can check out of the library (as I do, cheapskate that I am) or I suppose buy secondhand, and it has lots of great, moneysaving tips. People use and throw away so much and buy more than they need anyway.

[TXRose]

Originally Posted by cobolt

About the vinegar as a fabric softener. You just put some in the rinse cycle? I currently use dryer sheets, but I've been thinking about nixing that. It does get rid of the static cling in the winter, but I don't really notice any difference otherwise.

We have an HE washing machine and it has a special reservoir for fabric softener, so I just put the vinegar in that area. I assume that it gets dumped during the rinse cycle.

[shoosh1958]

Originally Posted by TXRose

We have an HE washing machine and it has a special reservoir for fabric softener, so I just put the vinegar in that area. I assume that it gets dumped during the rinse cycle.

I have an HE washer, as well. I never thought of using vinegar in it--the smell of it makes me ill! Are you using an HE detergent?

[sapphire]

It actually has a nice, clean smell. I'll take it over bleach fumes any day. It's a bit strong at first, but once it wears off a bit, it's actually quite nice, and can be used to clean almost everything in your house. It's nice and cheap, too.

Household cleaners are mostly water anyway. Same with hair products. We're silly little people, aren't we?

[FamilyTexas]

Thanks for mentioning the vinegar! I'll definitely look into that with our HE washer. We're low on dryer sheets right now.

RE: dishcloths vs. paper towels. How do you keep them fresh and nice? We regularly use washcloths that we buy from Target, etc. however they get stinky sooo easily! I feel like we're buying new ones every other month. Paper towels are a splurge in our house, but I've been thinking about switching back just because of our stinky washcloths.

LOVE the Tightwad Gazette! We have a copy from the library right now. It's FANTASTIC! I'd recommend it to anyone. Wonderful ideas! You can look in the index for anything and there are alternative/cheaper ways of doing it.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by shoosh1958

I have an HE washer, as well. I never thought of using vinegar in it--the smell of it makes me ill! Are you using an HE detergent?

It doesn't smell at all in the clothes. We use it all the time.

I also use it for cleaner since we have hard water and there are deposits everywhere. I dilute it a bit and works excellent.

TXRose has some great suggestions for minimizing use. It usually takes anywhere from 6-9 months for us to go through a 3 pack roll of paper towels, and that's usually due to having parties. And even though we use all cloth for diapers/wipes, I haven't quite gotten to the point of getting rid of my toilet paper for grown ups though.

As for Costco, I actually find buying in bulk - for our small family - to be a waste of money. The few times we've gone (usually when someone was visiting who had a membership), I've found that they either don't have the stuff we'd buy, or we'd never use that amount before it went off/stale...and we don't have a lot of storage space. I find we spend less by buying small amounts of things.

re: dishtowels - we just wash frequently. Occasionally I'll throw some bleach in.

[dontbugme]

The best investment we have made in reducing our food bill is a decent rice cooker.

It makes great organic "steal cut oats" for breakfast and organic brown rice to augment our dinner.

Before the rice cooker it was ego muffins and frozen blue-berry muffin tops.