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Suggestions for trimming grocery costs?
self | 5/1/08 | randita

Posted on 05/01/2008 5:21:12 AM PDT by randita

Grocery costs are going through the roof. Do you have any suggestions for trimming the skyrocketing grocery bills?

We don't buy much in the way of pre-packaged or prepared food items and we do eat a lot of dried beans. Don't eat out much either. Still my weekly grocery bill is about 25% higher than I'd like.

Let the suggestions roll...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: groceries
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To: Publius Valerius

Our nearest Costco is 200 miles away. : (

I’m seriously considering getting goats again, but then you have feed prices to contend with. This time around you can’t win for losing!


21 posted on 05/01/2008 5:48:37 AM PDT by ozark hilljilly
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To: 4yearlurker
It’s not just for street bums anymore.

Hey, get it right. The preferred term is "freegan". :)

22 posted on 05/01/2008 5:48:46 AM PDT by thecabal
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To: thecabal
Freegan?? Didn't Godzilla kick his a$$ about 6 movies ago?
23 posted on 05/01/2008 5:51:39 AM PDT by 4yearlurker (I miss Ronnie!!!!!)
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To: 1rudeboy
Learn to make your own soups, it’s cheaper than buying them by the can.

A store where I live sells turkey backs for 29 cents a pound. Bake 'em in the oven for an hour, then boil 'em for broth. Makes a really good soup base.

Agree about red meat. I eat it maybe once every other week. Giant this week has chicken legs for 49 cents a pound. The freezer is now full of them.

24 posted on 05/01/2008 5:52:02 AM PDT by dirtboy
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To: dirtboy

I can still get chicken and pork at a reasonable price. I can’t figure out why . . . pigs and chickens gotta’ eat, also.


25 posted on 05/01/2008 5:53:40 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: randita

In the past I have saved a ton of money using coupons, easily 50-65% of my grocery bill. There are various coupon clubs that help you get organized, and in Arizona and Utah, www.couponsense.com is an awesome service that compiles all the local grocery ads and allows you to print reports with the best deals. One of the downsides of couponing is that they are usually for processed foods.


26 posted on 05/01/2008 5:53:42 AM PDT by ChocChipCookie (<----- Typical White Person)
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To: TomGuy

Gee, thanks.


27 posted on 05/01/2008 5:57:26 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: randita
Eat a lot of potatoes. I can get a 10-lb bag of Pennsylvania white potatoes for $2.50 at the local eevil Wal-Mart. Aldi had them for $2.00 this week. They are very nutritious and flexible. Spuds at the grocery store such as Giant or Acme are typically overpriced.

My typical lunch at work is spuds, frozen veggies heated up in the microwave, and one piece of chicken - a thigh or drumstick. Add a bit of margarine and I'm happy. But, then again, I'm Scots-Irish (among other things), so I have mashed potatoes flowing in my veins instead of cholesterol.

Also, there often are bulk produce stores in your area. The quality is generally good - it may not have been top-shelf when bought, but the turnover is high, so it tends to be fresher than the grocery store stuff.

28 posted on 05/01/2008 5:58:18 AM PDT by dirtboy
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To: ozark hilljilly
What’s killin’ me is milk prices.

Mixing real milk with reconstituted powdered milk is not bad tasting.

29 posted on 05/01/2008 5:59:42 AM PDT by 6SJ7
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To: randita

Eat less and then only food you don’t really like.


30 posted on 05/01/2008 6:00:19 AM PDT by stuartcr (Election year.....Who we gonna hate, in '08?)
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To: 1rudeboy
I can still get chicken and pork at a reasonable price. I can’t figure out why . . . pigs and chickens gotta’ eat, also.

Chickens apparently are more efficient at converting feed to meat than cows. Pigs are somewhere in-between.

I basically check the circulars, plan a grocery circuit and hit 3-4 stores for the week. Certain things are cheaper at one store than another on a continuing basis as well. And then you clean 'em out when they have certain things on sale, such as $1.39/lb boneless thighs at Redners. Or the $.49/lb legs at Giant.

31 posted on 05/01/2008 6:01:45 AM PDT by dirtboy
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To: randita

I try to cut coupons, shop at cheaper stores (I love the Walmart Grocery Stores), buy generic and buy frozen or canned instead of fresh. One store close to me has a section where everything is a dollar - I buy the toilet paper (6 rolls for a buck), paper towels (3 rolls for a buck) soap, shampoo, dog treats, cleaning supplies, etc. I buy my laundry soap, softener and dishwasher detergent at Big Lots - a lot cheaper than even Walmart. Big Lots also has great bargains on canned products and other food products. I also buy eye shadow there - a dollar for a name brand with several colors.


32 posted on 05/01/2008 6:02:02 AM PDT by peggybac (Tolerance is the virtue of believing in nothing)
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To: randita
Make a big meal out of potatoes sliced up and cooked in a cast iron skillet outside on a wood fire. It's a blast. Lots of garlic, butter and paprika. The kids love it.
33 posted on 05/01/2008 6:06:31 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (WELL I SPEAK LOUD, AND I CARRY A BIGGER STICK, AND I USE IT TOO!)
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To: Red Badger
Hey I belong to a website called refundcents. I LOVE this site. They tell you about sales and the best way to combine sales and coupons. Just last week I had a coupon for buy 3 12 packs of coke and get one free and a coupon for buy 2 12 packs of coke get $3 off a dijourno pizza. The pizzas were on sale so I only paid $1.50 for the pizza. The cokes were on sale so I got four 12 packs for $11. It's not my best deal by any measure but I’m just showing you that it's possible to eat what you like and still save money.

I gave three of our school secretaries each a gift bag for secretaries day. In each gift bag was a regular size soft soap spa body wash and a bag of Dove candy. Altogether for everything including the bag and tissue paper I paid about 25 cents a piece. So I gave three gifts for 75 cents and trust me they LOVED it.

So check out this site. I love it. I swear by it and let them know teechbiz sent you.

34 posted on 05/01/2008 6:08:21 AM PDT by teechbiz (teechbiz)
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To: ozark hilljilly
What’s killin’ me is milk prices. Over 4 bucks a gallon-more than gas.

In Missouri? Wow. Here in Iowa, I'm paying $2.59/gallon for 2% at Aldi. Sam's Club and everyone else is a tad over $3 though.

35 posted on 05/01/2008 6:11:54 AM PDT by newgeezer (It is [the people's] right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson)
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To: 1rudeboy
Making your own bread can be fun w/the kids also .. !




36 posted on 05/01/2008 6:12:38 AM PDT by Jay Howard Smith (Retired(25yrNCO)Military)
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To: newgeezer

Yeah and what cracks me up is that we are smack dab in the middle of the dairy region for these parts!
Guess the local milk is “more special”.


37 posted on 05/01/2008 6:14:36 AM PDT by ozark hilljilly
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To: Jay Howard Smith

LOL!
Cute.


38 posted on 05/01/2008 6:16:23 AM PDT by ozark hilljilly
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To: randita
Angel Food

A food ministry for everyone, not just the indigent and poor.

39 posted on 05/01/2008 6:18:09 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
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To: randita

Even the “warehouse stores” like Costco are too expensive. Go to your local restaurant supply place...ours is called “Cash and Carry”. You won’t believe how cheap some stuff is.


40 posted on 05/01/2008 6:21:08 AM PDT by poindexter
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