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My wife & I we spend every month $300 - $400.
Try to cook in home (don’t buy too many pre-cooked stuff), don't buy unnecessary stuff and bring lunch to work.
This is what we used to do back in our country and we’ve applied the same technique here and it works:
Buy in different stores, for example, Costco, Sams or BJs (for big things in big amounts, like milk, paper towels, sugar, bread, meat), then go for specific things to small grocery stores like ShopRite, Stop and Shop, Aldi’s, etc.
Very important buy fruits and vegetables from Farmers market’s.
Don’t buy too much junk food.
And you’ll see the difference in your pocket. Saludos J
I am a former NJ resident. DH & I relocated to NC 7 yrs. ago. You have no idea how fortunate you are to have the stores that you do in the Met. area. I look at the shop rite circulars on line and just want to cry. Down here boneless chicken breasts are $2.99 lb. 1 lb DeCecco pasta $3.49, Sam's had a one time deal last week, 7 lbs. DeCecco pasta $4.41. I stocked up. It is just my husband, Samoyed and myself, I cook for people that need food, dr's and Vet's office. I only shop at the Fresh Market which is eq. to Whole Foods, Sam's Club for bulk, Farmer's Market and our garden. I keep every single receipt and staple it to my appt. book, total each month and then for the yeaqr. I mark on all laundry and cleaning products the dates and know how long they last. I do 2 loads of laundry a day & most products last me 10 mos. to 1 yr. Everything is cooked from scratch, absolutely no processed foods. We shop weekly and average $100 a week for everything, except dog food (special diet.) I buy fish on sale, chicken, etc., Homemade meatballs for sauce, & I use San Marzano tomatoes that are 2 cans for $5.00, (I know with your stores you can do so much better then me.) I can only buy Carolina rice when we come back to visit family in NJ
Look over everything you buy, make new meals out of leftovers, nothing gets thrown away. When I was a working mom in Jersey the crockpot was my best friend, the fabulous smell when you walked through the front door couldn't be beat.
January I decided that I was NOT going shopping for 2 whole weeks, but would "shop" from our pantry, freezer and fridge. By the 12th day, I had 1 onion, potato, carrot and celery. But it worked, I spent less then $250 for the month of January. Horizon milk is the best it lasts forever, you can't kill it. I can't say enough about the Food Saver, I used grape tomatoes and tri-colored peppers last night for dinner from last Summer.
I teach people how to shop & cook, the first thing you should do is take inventory of what you have and plan from there. It takes planning and organization but you will be surprised how much you will save. kelsie
I am a former NJ resident. DH & I relocated to NC 7 yrs. ago. You have no idea how fortunate you are to have the stores that you do in the Met. area. I look at the shop rite circulars on line and just want to cry. Down here boneless chicken breasts are $2.99 lb. 1 lb DeCecco pasta $3.49, Sam's had a one time deal last week, 7 lbs. DeCecco pasta $4.41. I stocked up. It is just my husband, Samoyed and myself, I cook for people that need food, dr's and Vet's office. I only shop at the Fresh Market which is eq. to Whole Foods, Sam's Club for bulk, Farmer's Market and our garden. I keep every single receipt and staple it to my appt. book, total each month and then for the yeaqr. I mark on all laundry and cleaning products the dates and know how long they last. I do 2 loads of laundry a day & most products last me 10 mos. to 1 yr. Everything is cooked from scratch, absolutely no processed foods. We shop weekly and average $100 a week for everything, except dog food (special diet.) I buy fish on sale, chicken, etc., Homemade meatballs for sauce, & I use San Marzano tomatoes that are 2 cans for $5.00, (I know with your stores you can do so much better then me.) I can only buy Carolina rice when we come back to visit family in NJ
Look over everything you buy, make new meals out of leftovers, nothing gets thrown away. When I was a working mom in Jersey the crockpot was my best friend, the fabulous smell when you walked through the front door couldn't be beat.
January I decided that I was NOT going shopping for 2 whole weeks, but would "shop" from our pantry, freezer and fridge. By the 12th day, I had 1 onion, potato, carrot and celery. But it worked, I spent less then $250 for the month of January. Horizon milk is the best it lasts forever, you can't kill it. I can't say enough about the Food Saver, I used grape tomatoes and tri-colored peppers last night for dinner from last Summer.
I teach people how to shop & cook, the first thing you should do is take inventory of what you have and plan from there. It takes planning and organization but you will be surprised how much you will save. kelsie
Is there a website where you can get crockpot recipes from?
FB, just google crockpot recipes and you will see many. I gave my secretary, 10 yrs. ago, a very good book for beginners called Set In & Forget It. There are so many great books. Check out The Good Cook cookbooks and search crockpots. If there is a recipe in particular that you are looking for let me know, I may be able to help you. kelsie
I heart my crockpot!! Definitely helps cut out those "i'm too hungry to wait until I finish cooking something, let's just grab take out" nights! The one problem I have with it is that i'm not a morning person and you do need to set aside 10 to 15 minutes each morning to get dinner going. But on those days I do use it, I looooooove coming home and smelling home cooked food waiting for me makes me feel like I have a live in housekeeper.
Coupon clipping for lazy folk:
buy the sunday paper and remove the coupon inserts, don't even bother looking at the coupons or cutting anything out. Place the circular in an envelop/folder/sleeve/whatever you have on hand, put the date on the outside. After two or three weeks of doing this your ready to start shopping with coupons. Do a google for coupons + the name of your supermarket (ex: Shoprite coupons) you should be able to find atleast one or two bloggers who shop at this store and they have done all the work for you. They will tell you that there was a coupon in the March 14th paper for $1 off of something AND it's on sale this week. Scan through the blog for items you actually buy then retrive the coupons. You are ready to go You will be amazed how much money you can save. There are also websites that alert you to all sorts of deals and freebies. My fave is deal seeking mom.com, she has great deals and links to lots of other blogs. Only downfall of this website is I think she's based on the west coast and most of the supermarkets she features aren't here in NJ but she has great deals for national chains like target and lots of links to other coupon sites.
The more time you dedicate to it the more you will save but even if you don't have lots of times it's very worthwhile for things like detergents and toilet paper. I think I paid 2.99 for the HUGE tide I am currently using.
About $400-600 a month, depending if there are any holidays, special dinners, etc. Family of 4, 2 kids in school.
This includes going to ShopRite for everyday stuff, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's for organic or gourmet foods, wine and bakery items and the local Farmer's Market for inexpensive, fresh produce. We just discovered Super Walmart in North Bergen and plan to do food shopping there, more often.
ICI, Note about the crockpot. I would buy the Reynolds crockpot liners. After dinner dishes put in the dishwasher, I would assemble the next nights meal in the crockpot, ie. chicken or pot roast for ex., potatoes and broth. The next morning before leaving for work the crockpot gets plugged in and out the door I would go. I would tell our daughter when she got home from school to add the vegetables (already cleaned and in a plastic bag in fridge) to the crockpot. Crockpot dinner done when dh and I walked in the house at 6:30 and the liner gets thrown away and virtually no cleanup.
Oh, and Debbie Meyers green bags, when used as directed, my vegetables last up to 3 wks. Have a great night NJ. kelsie NC transplant from NJ
i have a feeling you are buying produce at the supermarket. that will cost you. better try going to the produce market instead. Market 46 in totowa is GREAT! or try one of the Corrado's locations (clifton or Wayne). it will save you a bundle
is it safe to leave a crock pot running all day long alone in the house while u are at work? couldnt this cause a fire?
I'm just not comfortable with that either.
There's 2 of us and a cat and we spend 240-300 per month. That includes both of us bringing food to work. Also includes toiletries - but not alcohol.
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makes me feel like I have a live in housekeeper. 
You will be amazed how much money you can save. There are also websites that alert you to all sorts of deals and freebies. My fave is deal seeking mom.com, she has great deals and links to lots of other blogs. Only downfall of this website is I think she's based on the west coast and most of the supermarkets she features aren't here in NJ but she has great deals for national chains like target and lots of links to other coupon sites. 
