Groceries Are So Expensive!

Go to the website www.thesimpledollar.com Trent has the best ideas for saving. He also is currently running a series of meatless meals that save you money. Go into his archives. Also look up Mary Hunt's website for the "everyday cheapskate". Also if possible find anything written by the the original "tightwad" Amy Dacyczyn ( of the Tightwad Gazette fame). Her stuff may be a little dated but can save your life. I believe that all writers after her (Amy D.) are just changing and modernizing her advice. Her advice is so life changing if you want to save money not only on groceries but on everything in your life. Good luck and God Bless.

3 moms found this helpful

Groceries are real expensive in my State as well.
Over $6 for a gallon of milk. And.. that is the "sale" price. Regular price is over $8 for a gallon.
This is for milk that is hormone free etc.

What I do is: I make a weekly grocery list, based on weekly menus that I plan.

Then, I only buy what is on the list.

Next: although I cook from scratch daily... I do not, make recipes that requires buying lots of ingredients that I normally do not have. I will not for example, buy a whole tube of Anchovy paste... to make 1 recipe, and which I may not use, again. I will not, buy one whole bottle of a Spice, that I will not use again or is used in only 1 experimental recipe that I am trying. Spices, are expensive. But I have many, which I DO use. Regularly.

Also, I use recipes, that have ingredients, that I normally stock.
I also don't make recipes, that requires 20 different ingredients. It costs more. And I don't cook things, that only use say, 1 Teaspoon of something and 2 teaspoons of another thing, and then you actually waste that whole container of it, unless you make another recipe that same week, to use it up. Especially of perishable items. So, you 'waste' food and spend too much/waste money, by buying ingredients that are not used entirely. Or will only be used, once.

I buy staples on sale or in bulk, the portion them out in ziplocks and freeze them.

Based on how I shop and our budget, we eat pretty good.
Beef, chicken, pork, roasts, fresh salads, pastas, foods of all cultures.
Tonight I made fish cakes. Like crab cakes, but made with canned white albacore tuna. Using tuna, instead of crab. Crab much too pricey!

3 moms found this helpful

I shop around online (circulars to my local stores).

I have a budget of $100 a week for food. I have a total of 4 people in my family, and I take care of 2 extra kids during the week. The only "processed" food we eat is pasta. We usually eat pasta once a week. Otherwise, I shop our meat from costco or sams club. Also, I watch the circulars for good deals on meats.
We are actually looking to buy a 1/4 side of grass fed beef- which will help stretch our dollars more. We only eat meat meals 4 days a week. The rest of the nights are meatless. Beans and lentils are CHEAP. We eat lots of brown rice. I only buy veggies that are on sale- or are typically cheap. For instance- I buy roma tomatoes when they are $1lbs, never when they are $1.50+lbs. If you shop only what's on sale or cheap you'll do fine. We snack on popcorn cooked on the stovetop, fruits, and other little things.

I try to make enough dinner for there to be enough leftover food for the adults to have lunch the next day.

Breakfast is eggs and toast, french toast with fruit, steel cut oats (bought in bulk) with sauteed fruit as a topping, or a smoothie with yogurt.

I make our yogurt in a crockpot. If you don't have time- get bulk yogurt and flavor it with frozen fruit that you can also use in your smoothies and oatmeals.

We don't buy boxed cereals, bread products, or other boxed junk.

I think I do and exceptionally good job of feeding as many people as I do with my little budget.

Good luck!

2 moms found this helpful

I work at a grocery store. Seriously! That is the solution I came up with to help with our grocery bill...b/c you are absolutely correct...buying fresh, healthy foods is VERY expensive! I have a house full of kids (7 total, 5 of my own + 2 nephews) 6 being boys, 4 of those being teenage boys (who consume more food than I ever thought possible ;)...it takes a LOT of $ to feed them and even more $ to feed them healthy foods!

I work very PT...like sometimes as little as 4 hours a week (4am-8am so I can be home before hubby goes to work and still be a SAHM) but this allows me the company/employee discount which has saved us a ton!

It is not ideal, but it has turned out to be the BEST decision I ever made for our family...my store has a line of organic foods that are great and I get a certain % off of everything in the store + an added % off of store brands.

You gotta do what you gotta do!

~How about hitting up your local Farmers market for produce? Or looking into buying a section of a whole cow? I know lots of people who do this and it really saves $ to buy the meat in bulk like that, you do need a separate freezer though to store it all in :) My community has started a local growers co-op program you can buy into to get great produce, maybe your area has something like this too?

Just do your best, that's all any of us can do. I admit there are sometimes that I have to be happy with the canned fruit and frozen veggies b/c sometimes I just don't have the $ in the budget for the fresh stuff...just read the labels and do the best you can woman and try to take comfort that most of us are in the same boat with you!

1 mom found this helpful

I like these sites:
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/
http://www.sharedc.org/links
http://www.wholesaledistributorsnet.com/SHARE_food.html

You can usually just google SHARE food and your state and find one locally. I y\used to use it all the time when we lived in Kansas. We got 3 or 4 boxed of food for a really cheap rate. You can try it.

Also I bake and cook with dried milk because it is cheaper. You might try it. No one in my house can tell if the homemade mashed potatos have dried milk in them or not.

1 mom found this helpful

Check the local stores for sales or in-store specials. Most have produce specials and meat/poultry/seafood specials each week. My Walmart had asparagus on sale for under $2 per bunch this week - Yum - I bought several bunches. We love shrimp, but I only buy it on BOGO at my local grocery. I stock up on poultry and such when I find it on sale.

Check local farmer's markets for produce in your area. Locally grown is usually less expensive, plus you dollars are going straight back into your community. You could also plant a vegetable garden - I used to do that regularly and we had fresh produce spring and summer. Winter gardens are also possible for things like broccoli and cauliflower depending on where you live. Or build a small greenhouse and container plant.

Good Luck, God Bless, and happy eating.

1 mom found this helpful

Actually, I noticed I started saving more money when I stopped buy packaged/frozen foods and started buying all fresh.

I shop at HEB b/c produce is amazingly fresh and inexpensive. Just read the paper, see which stores are having produce/meat sales and go there. I don't use coupons either, unless they are store ones at the store (which heb has a ton of, I usually save about $60 a week from them). I find most 'couponing' is for junk I wouldn't buy anyways. I don't buy any drinks, only milk and sometimes orange juice, I bake a lot more instead of buying packaged cookies or sweets. I buy a lot of generic (expect some brands I wont if I think the name brand tastes better and is healthier).

Also, prepare, simple, healthy meals that don't call for a lot of expensive ingredients. Meal planning helps b/c you don't overbuy what you don't need. Daytime snacks can be crackers and cheese, hard boiled eggs, celery and peanut butter with raisins, apple slices, pretzels, fresh salsa/guacamole... Plant some herbs, we have basil, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, chives.

Make things like stews, chowders... they usually last for at least two meals. Make a big chicken, one night have chicken, the next, turn the left over shreds into chicken pot pie or tortilla soup or something. Make a roast, then next night, crock pot the left over roast with bbq sauce and onions and have roast beef sandwiches.

She has some good weekly meal plans with printable grocery lists:
http://www.livinglocurto.com/weekly-meal-plans/

1 mom found this helpful

It varies. One local chain has a promo where for every dollar you spend, you earn money you can get off gas later. We save up and take our van to that station and sometimes get 70 cents off a gallon.

We also have Korean grocery stores, which often carry veggies at better prices.

Friend of mine did the math and found that at her store, the deli meat is often cheaper per pound than the prepackaged variety. I always look at the price per unit. Sometimes bigger or even sale isn't really any better. If you can buy bulk and freeze, you can take advantage of meat on sale. Break big packs into freezer bags and label before they get frozen and then you just pull out a portion vs chipping away an iceburg.

We also garden and compost, so the veg waste turns back into veggies for us in the summer. We have a small backyard tumbler so we can use it year-round.

Processed drinks are another money-sink. We rarely buy soda and our family has a water filter so we can refill water bottles vs buying water.

We also go with a list and try to stick pretty close to it. That way we are not adding "shopping hungry" extras or buying more eggs when we have a dozen in the fridge at home. It also helps to get a list from older kids and leave them home so we don't get their extras, either.

We make it a point to re-use leftovers - either as lunches or as future meals. A chicken can be soup or sandwiches later. Have a plan for it so you don't end up with a science experiment in a week.

1 mom found this helpful

Yeash...I wrote that all out just to have it vanish.

I make home-made soups 3-4 days weekly. I add brown rice to most of my soups or barley. We snack mostly on bananas and apples and grapes and crackers.

We make chili once or twice per month and I'm planning on making more beans and lentils and I've scaled back on the amount of meat we use and adding more beans to make up for it.

We do peanut butter, ramen noodles, and potatoes and STILL spend around 1200+ per month on food. I am feeding a family of 6 plus a 24/7 daycare of 4 children on each shift.

We go through a mountain of paper products. I purchased commercial paper towel dispensers. This saves in the long run. But I have to come up with 100+ dollars every 3-4 months for the paper towels and we spend about 5 times that on toilet paper. We buy it on sale and in bulk and still it's expensive.

Add trash bags, hair care products, cleaning supplies, and laundry soap and my income is sucked dry. People ask me all the time why I work 7 days per week/24 hours per day. My question is how doesn't everyone?

I see you live in Watertown. Have you considered going into Haymarket on the weekends? I know it's not convenient but the deals on fresh fruits and vegetables are signifcant. You can get pints of strawberries or blueberries for a dollar. Last week I saw avacados were 2 for a dollar, which is amazing. Every week something different is on sale so you have to be a little flexible but if you have the time- you can definitely cut your fruit and veggie bill down quite a bit.

Once a week I buy a whole chicken and I end up making 3 meals with it (roast chicken one night, enchilladas, chicken soup (from the stock made from boiling the carcass)...or instead of enchiladas maybe chicken spaghetti or chicken salad or a casserole). That saves some money. I hear you though...groceries are so crazy expensive. We also don't eat processed foods (except our son likes some crackers/chips) and boy it is pricey. I will read your other responses now to get some ideas!

Yes, I have had the same concerns. A friend just told me that she saw a sign in the grocery store this week that said the prices have increased 18-20%...what??! I agree with SH to make a specific list and try to stick to it. Also, I buy a lot of frozen veggies b/c they are cheaper and just as healthy! They keep a lot longer and you can use as much or little of the bag at a time. Plus if I always have a bag or two of frozen then if I need to make something quickly or that wasn't on the list, I know I have a veggie. With fruit try to run out before you have to hit the store so you don't waste. I also will take fruit or veggies, like grapes and green beans, that are already bagged and add or subtract to what's in there so it meets my needs. Milk is the worst, but we drink a lot of it so I'm resigned to spending they money on the good stuff! Good luck!

Try Aldi's if you have one near by. They mostly sell their inhouse brand of items such as cereal, bread, crackers, cookies, chips, etc but I have found very little that I have not liked. Some items I like better than the name brand. Their produce is also priced far below the regular grocery store, Walmart Supercenter, or even the Farmer's Markets in the summer!

What I've done is start shopping at Aldi's. I save so much on milk, bread, cheese, cereal, coffee, creamer etc that I can afford to buy my meat, produce and veggies elsewhere. I probably have chopped our grocery bill by over $200 a month by doing this. Good luck!

I know a lot of people think Market Basket is a low end super market, BUT my husband does garage doors and worked at the produce plant a few weeks ago... All of the trucks from shaw's stop & shop and market basket ALL got the same produce there. The Market Basket in Chelsea is brand new and it's worth a shot for a family of 4 I spend about $160 a week on food and such but we always have more then enough and eat tons of fresh fruits and veggies. :) Good Luck I'm going to start watching Extreme Couponing on TLC and try to get some advice HAHA Happy food shopping to all!!!

Updated

I know a lot of people think Market Basket is a low end super market, BUT my husband does garage doors and worked at the produce plant a few weeks ago... All of the trucks from shaw's stop & shop and market basket ALL got the same produce there. The Market Basket in Chelsea is brand new and it's worth a shot for a family of 4 I spend about $160 a week on food and such but we always have more then enough and eat tons of fresh fruits and veggies. :) Good Luck I'm going to start watching Extreme Couponing on TLC and try to get some advice HAHA Happy food shopping to all!!!

I have this issue too, but having the good/real food is worth it to me, so I just cut something else out that would cost money, like coffee from a shop (even though I love that!!). I see you live nearby (I'm in Arlington MA), and one thing I do is go to Market Basket in Burlington, right over the Lexington line. It would be further for you from Watertown than for me, but it is a great, newly redesigned store and the prices are SO much lower than Shaw's or Stop and Shop (not sure where you go). This includes produce and dairy, not just the meats and other foods. I literally save thousands every year going there. Give it a try if you have the time and can make the trip one day! Other than that, I guess I'd say, I hear you and I'm in the same boat! Hopefully prices will moderate sometime soon??!!

It's easy to say "shop for what's on sale", but you have to be cautious with sales. You have to know what a good price is, or you can be fooled. A grocery store chain around here often has a buy one get two free sale. When you break out a calculator and do the math, you are really paying full price most of the time.

But when it is on sale, we stock up. We have a deep freeze so I can store meats in there.

I have a Sam's membership and a Costco membership. The Sam's club here allows two people on one account, so I share it with a family member. Costco does not allow sharing and the one here is pretty strict about it. I have the card, so I paid more, but I share the account with two friends. When I go they give me a list and reimburse me later. Sometimes they come with me to check things out and see what's new. It allows me to take advantage of both places without having the enormous membership fees.

We buy in bulk when feasible. I buy sugar, flour and rice in 50 pound bags. We sanitized some five gallon paint buckets we bought at the hardware store and they stay sealed tight. We have never had a critter or humidity problem (and we live in Texas). They get stored on a shelf in our garage (far away from anything toxic).

We use EVERYTHING we buy. If I buy a whole chicken, we usually cook it on our outdoor spit. We eat it for dinner one night. Sometime later in the week we use the leftover meat for soups or casseroles. Often a whole chicken can make three meals for our family of four. The bones are stored in the deep freeze, when we have enough and it 's chilly we warm up the house to make chicken stock.

Stick to your list. It's easy to spend more if you go off track. Never grocery shop at Target or Walmart, because inevitably you will walk out of there with many non-grocery items or things you "needed" instead of just food.

We also have a garden. We plant what we enjoy eating. Our kids help with it. We also planted raspberries and strawberries. We have all our own herbs too. We have learned to can and freeze what we can't eat right away. We have even been known to dry the herbs on occasion.

We have a few chains that have deals on certain items. I haven't been a huge fan of one grocery in our area, because the quality is very hit or miss. BUT they do have great milk and egg prices($1.29 for a galon of milk and $0.49 for a dozen eggs). It's close to my house, so I stop by for those two items. ANother store has an overlapping sale on Wednesdays (you get that week's sales and the previous week's sales on the same day), so when I go there, it's always on a Wednesday.

Some of my recipes make larger batches, so those get split in half and we freeze the meals for later. And like SH we don't make meals that have one time only ingredients.

I make sure to mindfully plan a "cheap" meal every week (lentil soup, quiche, etc..) and make sure to have a "left over" night, so that odds and ends of meals don't go wasted. Also, little things - like thinking ahead and using raw beans vs. canned. I have certain frozen veggies on hand, so that I can push off grocery shopping a day or two and use up what I have - a mix of fresh and frozen - if we get to that point. I also stock up at stores when I know that I can get the best product for the best price. I do Trader Joe's runs for things like organic ketchup, bread, organic whole wheat pasta, etc... Also, if you have a price right near you - they sell a lot of processed foods, but they have a great dairy section, 1 particular brand of bread that is the healthiest and cheapest I've found - and cheap (usually non organic) produce that is the best price. I can't get everything there, but that's the last component - being willing to space out and hit up several different grocery stores. For instance, we have an expensive health food store here, but you can get a dozen organic eggs for about $2 - so i buy 3 dozen at a time.
Works for us.

Buy what is in season and watch for sales. Produce does go on sale. Also, go on the day the sale starts and then go back on the last day of the sale. This way your produce will last longer. This week our local store had romaine lettuce on sale for .99. So I bought 3 packages and I am going to go back tomorrow before the sale is over to buy enough for next week. We eat a lot of lettuce!!!There are coupons sometimes for produce. I recently found coupons for Cuties and lettuce. We drink almond milk and coconut milk so when Whole Foods has it on sale I stock up and I usually have coupons. My husband bakes vegan bread for my daughter and himself. I still buy my own Gluten free bread (with coupons) since I cannot find a recipe I like. We make our own hummus, salsa, and saurkraut also.
Freeze what you can. When green peppers are cheap I buy tons and chop them up and freeze them for the winter. I freeze bananas and use them in smoothies and bread. In the summer we freeze tomatoes for sauces.
Use reuseable containers so you are not always buying plastic bags, plastic wrap, tin foil etc.. also cloth napkins instead of paper.
Use coupons for personnel items, cleaning supplies, pets, paper goods, etc...
We don't buy alot of processed foods except cereal, pasta, rice and canned beans but I seem to always have coupons for something.
Work your shopping list around what is on sale, not around what you want to eat. Since we are eating more vegetarian meals are food bill has gone down also.
The last thing I can think of to lower your food bill is to send your kids off to college!! I never realize how much my daughter ate until she went to college. :)

The girls in the office are using this fresh vegetable basket that they order on line and then pick it up the next morning in a local nearby park. They pay about $12 and all brag about how much fresh vegetables and fruit they get. Personally, I would rather get what I want, because i believe the basket is a surprise.

I use a cut of meat in several different meals. I buy a whole chicken because it is cheaper and I cut it into pieces and cook one side, freeze the other side, and make soup out of the carcass. Three meals for $1.33 each.

It's spring! : ) Start a garden, freeze some for this winter.

Good luck,
MD

Yes, it is getting more expensive especially to eat healthy! I buy frozen veggies and I guess that that is actually the better choice because they stay fresh longer and not to mention cheaper!

Have you been to Russo's? I see you are in Watertown...when we lived there I LOVED to shop at Russo's. Theu carry BEAUTIFUL fruits and veggies, also lots of other things (breads, bakery, cheeses, pasta, lots and lots of other things). they have great prices. When I moved out to the suburbs, I considered still shopping there (of course, 2 kids later, I am not shopping 1/2 hour away!). check them out - I have't been there in years, but when I shopped there I felt I was saving a lot of $.

I agree with all the other posters, make a menu, only shop 1x/week, stock up on things you use when they are on sale, and switch things out when you can (substitute ground turkey for ground beef, etc).

Good Luck!

Omg, I hear ya!!! Between the gas prices and grocery bill, I am seriously concerned about feeding my family! I start my part-time job next Monday!

A couple things I've done that SEEMS to help, but I can't say it's a huge difference. Any little bit helps.

One, is instead of meat, I'm substituting beans. I will make spaghetti sauce and use black beans instead of ground beef. I also take advantage of the buy 1, get 1 at my local grocery store. Usually, at least once a month, they will offer pork chops or beef roasts. I buy those and freeze. I use the crock pot a lot, so I will put a frozen roast in it in the morning and it's done by the time dinner rolls around.

Just the other night, I made meatloaf and put two hard-boiled eggs inside the loaf. Did it really make a huge difference? Not sure, but I had enough left-over meatloaf for hubby's lunch the next day. That's one lunch he didn't have to buy.

I agree that the coupons I find online and in the paper, are rarely for the things I buy. Maybe dog food? But, mostly, I find that buying the store brand is cheaper than the coupons, anyway. Most of the time, I don't see a difference in taste or quality of store brand vs name brand. Other than that, the coupons are for the processed foods that I don't want my family eating.

We don't buy bottled water, anymore. We invested in the re-usable canteens. Also, I am bound and determined to have a successful garden, this year. (do'nt even get me started on my fails of summers past! LOL) I'm hoping to save money on the spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers,etc my family eats a lot of. Even if you don't have the room for a garden, you can use pots for cherry tomatoes or put down a 3x3 or 5x5 above ground area to plant a few faves in.

*I made falafels last night. Two cans of garbonzo beans for less than $2- compared to a pound and a half of ground beef for $4.50. The rest of the ingredients I hand on hand, mostly. Beans can be a savers best friend!! (Maybe not so much the after-effects, but until I can figure out how to use my hubby's methane to power my tv, I will put up with it!! LOL!!!! )

Groceries are sucking us dry! All I can say is I'm glad I don't live in Hawaii (for once, lol) because with my hubby and teen boys we go through about 10 gallons of milk a week. We don't buy many processed foods and I cannot seem to get control of the grocery budget. I feel I need to buy what I buy and it just gets more expensive! I am going to have to sit down and really try to come up with some new ideas. I do planning and use some coupons, and we do not waste any food, but it is still hard to keep the bill down. I know when my boys are out of the house it will make a huge difference, but until then I can't compromise on the quality of what I feed them to save a few bucks - I just can't justify that.

ARGH! I just lost everything I had just written. Let's try again!

You're in Market Basket country in MA. I find them consistently to have good prices across the board, so they are my go-to grocery store. They don't have all the gimmicks like other stores, so they pass on the savings more directly to you. Their buildings aren't as appealing as the others, perhaps, but that's another way they pass on the savings to you. We also like their generic store brands better than others, like Hannafords, Shaws, and Stop & Shop.

I can't tell you how much I have saved through the years on their generics and/or products--eggs, milk, cheese, cream cheese, hearty natural grain breads, whole wheat tortilla chips and salsa, multi-grain crackers, canned goods, cereals/oatmeals, frozen shrimp, TP, etc. For some items, we still buy name brands, but not many.

I am not big on coupons, because they are usually for things I don't buy. I may be missing an opportunity, but I find them to be a hassle, to tell the truth.

My main way of saving is cooking most things from scratch and making enough for leftovers and for freezing. As for baking, I almost never buy a baked good. They're just too easy and inexpensive to make myself.

Plus, here are a bunch of little things I do to cut corners:

Buy big carrots instead of baby carrots (they're a lot cheaper and don't take long to cut up). Full stalks of celery instead of celery hearts (cheaper and there is a lot of flavor in the leaves that are cut off to make celery hearts). Romaine lettuce 3-packs instead of head lettuce (seem to last longer). White eggs instead of brown (usually cheaper, but check that they're not cracked...white ones tend to have thinner shells). Turkey, turkey breast, or broiler chicken (makes several meals from hot meal to salad bits to soups). Meatless meals (a lot cheaper and good fiber). Dried beans instead of canned beans (even cheaper). Grate your own cheese rather than buying pre-grated cheese (lasts longer, plus cheaper). Frozen veggies instead of canned veggies (retains nutrients better, less chance of overcooking, often less expensive way to get nutrients in winter). Watch for sales on big packages of meats and fish (freeze them separately in ziplocs so you can pull them out individually as needed)--we usually just buy fish and chicken.

Buy the big bags of red peppers (holds 6 or so peppers) at Market Basket for roughly the per-pound price of green peppers (better price and great for snacks and adding to dishes, you can even freeze some if you desire but ours never last that long). If you're a deli meat person, we have found that turkey ham is usually priced very low. But beware of the salt content and sulfites.

Buy fruits and veggies in season. Or determine a price you won't go over to keep yourself in check. I must admit I LOVE my fresh fruits and veggies year round. I admit I've become spoiled with winter fruits and veggies from the grocery stores.

Summer...
Plant your own garden. Home grown potatoes are Y-U-M-M-Y, along with lots of other veggies like tomatoes, asparagus, zukes, green beans, peas, peppers, onions, scallions, etc. I'm not a canner, so what we grow, we eat.

Pick lots of blueberries in August and freeze them. They freeze better if they aren't washed, so find a place that doesn't spray them with chemicals. Just spread them out on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen, put them in ziploc bags to use throughout the winter. (Alas, we're down to our last portion of blueberries. We'll have to double our pickings in the fall.)

Another thing I watch for is to pay attention to where grocery items originate. I try to buy things from the region where I live for two reasons: 1) less gas is used to transport them, 2) sometimes they're cheaper because of that (but not always).

Reuse your ziplocs. Use cloth towels and napkins rather than paper ones. Use real dishes rather than disposable. Eat all your leftovers.

I buy bulk spices and grains from a local store. It's highway robbery what most grocery stores charge for spices! I have an entire cabinet of baby food jars that contain a full range of spices. If there is a local food co-op or natural food store, you should be able to find bulk items.

I'm sure there is more that I do, but it's a start for ideas of how to save. I find processed foods and meats to be more expensive than fresh food and grains, so we usually keep them to a minimum. If you cook from scratch, you'll eat more healthfully and save a lot of money!

Good luck!
Sue : )

P.S. We LOVE this cookbook and I recommend it to anyone who is interested!
--http://search.half.ebay.com/eating-well-rush-hour-cookboo...

Don't discount frozen and canned vegetables as being unhealthy. They're actually packed with vitamins and minerals and sometimes are healthier for you than what you bring home and cook yourself because a lot of people overcook their vegetables and that leeches out all of the nutrients. There's nothing wrong with getting frozen veggies and supplementing a meal with them, especially if you add them to something like a pasta dish or sneak them into a dish you might not typically put a veggie into (look up zucchini brownies).

Pasta is a complex carb so it's actually not bad for you if you don't eat it late at night or every single day. And you have options for multi-grain, whole grain, and whole wheat versus the typical semolina flour pasta. I would personally stay away from egg based pastas. Pastas are great with veggies and some olive oil and garlic, especially if you use it as a salad/side dish.

If you like making things like enchiladas, get creative. Make a filling with chicken chunks, shredded skim mozzarella, low fat or fat free cream cheese, and chopped spinach. Make your own enchilada sauce to keep down the cost and the sodium.

Use bags of frozen mixed veggies and make soups with them. Add cans of diced tomatoes and green beans to make it more hearty. Make your own broth with chicken bones. That will help you control sodium.

Shop sales. Look for store % off purchase coupons. Look for buy one get one sales. Shop for generic brands in the deli. Check out various stores and go through their circulars and see who has what on sale, then shop the various stores. See if there are coupons to use on top of the sales. See which stores will take competitor coupons. See if any of the stores have double coupon days. Store coupons often print out at Price Chopper for fruits and veggies even if you have to pair them up with something else, but the pair up is usually something you would probably already be buying.

Pasta - as in the dry pasta that you get in the box - is pretty good for you if you buy whole wheat.

We buy some of the bulk stuff from Gordon Food Services/GFS, because it's cheaper.

You can make your own spaghetti sauce much less expensively if you buy the giant can of tomato sauce, add spices/garlic/onions/peppers/spinach, crushed tomatoes, and simmer. Then cool & freeze in meal size amounts.

Get a bread maker from the thrift store and make your own bread. Or, if you don't have time (or have a noise-phobic dog like us who is terrified of the bread maker (???)), find your local bakery outlet by searching "bread store" or "bakery outlet" and your town's or nearest city's name. We found a Pepridge Farm bakery outlet near us and stock up by putting a couple of loaves in the freezer; the bread there is about 1/2 the cost of the same loaf at the grocery store.

Check your grocery stores freezer section -- the frozen veggies can be a lifesaver, and are sometimes cheaper than the stuff in the fresh produce section. We buy bags when they're on sale for $1 each.

We do buy convenience food (usually, fish sticks or chic nuggest & sweet potato fries) for the quick "emergency meal" when we're super rushed. But most of the time, I try to plan ahead and use my crockpot or plan a casserole & set it up the night before.

I usually buy an extra turkey when they are on sale around Thanksgiving & cook one up for our family at home--we eat it one night & I freeze the rest of the meat for casseroles, turkey fajitas, etc. I use the bones and other stuff to make broth and freeze it.

You should check your local ethnic food stores too--a lot of times, they actually have better prices, and you can learn a little bit about another culture, as well. There is a Somali store near us where I always buy my black beans--$3.50 for a 4# bag! And the rice (we buy brown rice) is significantly cheaper there too. They have lentils, peanut butter, powdered whole milk (which I can't find in our regular grocery), etc.

Good for you for choosing not to feed your family processed foods. We don't buy any of that stuff and haven't for at least 7 years now. It's so unhealthy and American's are so over weight and I believe that has a lot to do with it, well that and the fast food resturaunts. We garden and can many of the things we grow. If you can't afford to buy the canning jars, check your local thrift stores or better yet freecycle. We make most of our bread home made from scratch. We aren't vegetarians but we eat meat (any kind) only 3x a week. Meat is one of the most expensive items on our lists. We never have soda and we husband rarely drinks beer (or any alcohol). In the summer, we shop at the local farmers markets for the things we don't grown in our garden.

I guess the best advice I can offer is to ask how do you shop? Once a week, two weeks worth of groceries? I shop for 2 weeks because my husband gets paid every other week. I plan out a menu of meals (all home-cooked, no frozen prepared stuff) for those two weeks and I buy only the ingredients I need, extra staples we've run out of, but for the most part, I only buy what I need. I don't buy chips, sodas, or junk foods. For my children, I make a homemade snack mix that lasts for several weeks and they love it. I reuse things like ziplock bags (they wash just fine); I don't use disposable plates or cups or items like that. I look for the sale items but I will look at labels to be sure I am getting the best product, no matter what the price. I buy organic when I can and things we use a lot of, I will buy organic like milk, eggs, and yogurts. We use up those kinds of things the most so I want to ensure the "best" for my family. I have heard that "healthy food" is expensive but honestly, I don't see it that way at all. I see healthy eating as a lifelong investment, one that I hope pays off long after my children have grown and moved away. I collect coupons for the items I need and use and I DO take advantage of sale items, even when I may not need them right away like soaps/detergents/toiletries because they won't go bad and often times you need those types of things when they are not on sale. If you saw my pantry and refrigerator you wouldn't find junk foods in either. My last grocery shopping bill was just this past Saturday and it was the highest it's been in a very long time : $415.00. You also have to consider the economy. I have noticed the price for some things going up steadily so it could also be the economy affecting the price of food as well. I also heard that there are droughts worldwide, affecting the food prices.

Hi G.! I have to add my vote for going to Haymarket too! We drive in from Billerica and it is definitely worth the effort. Some hints... Get there early, before the tourists (and others) come out. The Parcel 7 Garage is only a dollar to park if you get validated. We usually use the cheese shop but others use the pizza shop, even adding the price of a slice is cheaper than regular parking. Better yet, if you get there early enough you can park right on the street and it's easier to schlep your goodies. Do things to make the vendors like you. Don't touch, don't argue, be pleasant and quick, stop at the bank for a stack of ones. Be prepared to find different stuff at different prices every week. We've had 4 lb bags of baby spinach for $3 for the last 3 weeks but no peppers. Check out what looks like the best deals for you for the week. And be mindful that since this is technically the leftovers from the wholesale market they are not going to last forever, although I've gotten much better at storing. The real key is to be a regular. As the vendors get to know you, you will get better stuff. Always get tp (toilet paper) from CVS when those 12 packs are on sale. We get at least 4 at a time. That is the only paper product we use. Okay, I occasionally get tissues, only for when someone is really sick. The boys carry bandanas. Beans are your friend, dried beans. You can smoosh them and add them to anything. I made meatloaf 50/50 with beans for years without anyone figuring it out. Find someone to go to Costco with, the one in Waltham shouldn't be too far. You will save serious money on cheese and milk. Their Kirkland brand ice cream has no high fructose corn syrup!!!! Like anyplace else not everything is a bargain but I can point out lots of things that are. They are beginning to have lots of well priced organic products, things we could never afford at Whole Foods. I do use coupons. But I don't use a lot of the things there are coupons for. They are good to add on to loss leaders. Always check the weekly loss leaders and if it is something you use buy lots! My kids know that sometimes they are going to have things that they are never going to get again because of a combined coupon. sale. Oh, and I never buy bread, bread is too easy to make to spend that much money on. Get bulk dry yeast at Costco or ask your local bakery, sometimes they will sell you a pound but remember to keep it in the freezer. Uh oh, the wild bunch is home!!! Fell free to ask questions---

I look at the adds at all the stores near me to see where I'm shopping that week. Sometimes I go to 2, as inconvenient as it is, because they are close by and I'd rather save the money. We don't have a full service Walmart, not sure if you do either, but I've been buying shelf type items that they do have like canned corn (don't like canned green beens, frozen are good though) tomato sauces, bread and condiments. They are way cheaper there than on sale at any store. We are Hidden Valley ranch only people and can buy it for like 1/2 the cost of any grocery store price. It's rediculous. I hate it when you don't eat the veges fast enough and you have to through them out so I usually will by those 2x a week to prevent waste. It is expensive but do your homework and decide which is better, one store at a higher cost or a couple of stores with inconvenience but money saved.

stay out of the aisles, shop the perimeter of the store, thats where the healthy stuff is anyway. Consider costco for buying in bulk for meats and stuff, much cheaper. Cook large meals and freeze half for another day.

Wow, over $6 for a gallon of milk!!?? I thought the U.S. was cheaper, but milk here is around 3.50-4.00 a gallon....

Check out this website: www.howtoshopforfree.net There are lots of great tips about how to get all kinds of products for free or almost free. It takes some time, but with a little bit of work you really can save a lot.