Hi!
I am new here.
I am looking for ways to cut down my grocery bill.
I shop at Super Walmart and find that is cheaper than my regular grocery store.
We spend around $400 a month on groceries.
We are a family of 3 (DH, myself and DD (4.5)

Most of the money IS not spent on initial grocery store visits. In fact on my BI weekly grocery trip, I spend only around $120, that is $240. Cutting my ACTUAL spending in 1/2!!!

I make out a menu for 2 weeks, and then go through the menu to write what i need at walmart. (including soaps, and paper goods)

BUT, I still end up running to the grocery store (ALOT) for "other stuff". I don't think my family spreads out their snacks well. We seem to eat them all in one weekend and assume there is a never ending supply of Doritos at the store. The same goes for cookies! This is terriable, I know. Alos, I never seem to budget well for foods and or lunches that Dh can take to work and DD to school. Any ideas??
How can I fix this problem and save money for my family??

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:muahahahah:

Nicole

First thing, hide the snacks! I know this sounds sneaky but I had to do this for the same reason. Without the "fun" snacks being readily accessible, my DH is now making better food choices.

Here are a few other ideas:
- paper goods? Except for toilet tissue and kleenex, try to eliminate these. Use cloth napkins, t-towels etc.
- are your menus simple, hearty food or "fancier" gourmet items.
- home cook every meal, including snacks, breakfast etc.
- you mentioned Doritos. Skip them, too pricey and cook popcorn instead. Same with cookies......bake them unless you get a rock bottom price.

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Children Learn What They Live, And Live What They Learn.
What have you taught your child today?
When life throws you a curve ball...it's up to you how you catch it!

my tips are
plan a menu(wich you are doing)
plan the menu around sales flyers(walmart price matchs if there is a good deal at another store)
also for snacks my ds 5 picks out what kinds of things he wants for his lunch box ect so does dh i then keep the lunch box items in a seperate area...the snacks i buy they know that if they eat them all right away then they won't have anything the next week it took them a little while but they finally all get it...also we now watch our portion sizes as well....

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fALL SEVEN TIMES STAND UP EIGHT!

I wish I had some better ideas for you, but I am also trying to figure out how to cut back on our expenses, including the grocery store. I have started buying more generic items.

Do you end up having alot of items left over at the end of the week/month or throwing stuff out because you do not use it?? We spend about $400 on a family of 6, three dogs and a cat.

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Theresa
Mom of 3 boys and 1 girl

One of the things I like to do is when I find a sale, I stock up. For intance, if Skippy Peanut butter is on sale 3 for $5, I look for the coupon that goes with that. SO I buy 3 of them, but only spend 3 for $4. When coffee is 2 for $5 I do the same thing:find my coupon, and get them for $2 each. I LOOK for these sales. You won't find these sales at Walmart, you need to check out the other grocery stores and read their flyers very carefully, you will be suprised at what you find! Then I start to create a little stock pile and can refer to that when money is tight and I can't afford to shop as much.

I also look for bulk meat sales. Today I'm going to the store to pick up a Pork loin, you know that HUGE one that is like 2.5 feet long? Its only 1.59 lb to buy it like that. I bring it home and cut it up into little pork chops, and save myself TONS of money per lb on pork chops. If you were to buy them in the store alreay prescliced and packaged, you would pay upwards of $2 and $3 a lb.

Start clipping those coupons, thats the BEST way to save and make the most of your money.

The other ideas are great too, stop using paper plates, and start washing those dishes. Yes it sucks, but it saves you money in the long run. Shop with a list, make sure you only buy whats on your list, and if you do a menu, make sure your list corresponds to your menu and that will save you from buying unneeded items.

HTHs some!

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~Missy~Mommy
Meghan8.Samantha7,Cameron4

Well first of all welcome to the site...your first step to saving on groceries is that you found this site, lol.

Are you from Orlando? You'll have to click over to the intoduction forum and tell us a little bit about yourself...we would love to get to to know you better.

Anyway there are tons of great advice for saving money on here.
I do a few things that really seem to help.
I have a family of 5 so I try to stockpile up on things when I can get then cheap or sometimes 4 free.
I stopped using Wal-mart. I find better deals at Supertarget.They have on-line coupons and you can use a manufacture coupon along with it together.
Also, I will look for items in stores that are buy1 get 1 free....if I have a coupon for that item I can save a bunch because you can us one coupon per item.

I shop CVS and use the extrabucks.

I also joined a coupon train on here to get more coupons.

I always make a list before I go to the store...I save tons.

With the money I save I make one trip to Sam's club per month and try to stock up on stuff too.

If you have any question feel free to ask me. I think you will be able to find a lot of useful information on this site! There is tons of great women on here with great advice for you.
Heather

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Heather
Mom to three dd 14, ds 8, dd 5

I bake two dozen cookies at the first of the month and freeze half. That way they dont get eaten. I also bake two dozen muffins and freeze half. For about 4$ I have cookies and muffins for the month. Dont buy doritos unless its agreat sale. At first the family might miss them but I promise they will forget about it no time. Try store brand chips if you havent already they will be 1/3 of the price.I agree forget the papet products, and buy cloth napkins. JUst throw them in with the rest of the wash. Stock up on baking goods, that way if you run out of treats you can just wip something up instead of going to the store.

I think that you are starting out really well with planning the menus however, you may want to plan one week at a time so you can shop the sales.

A few things that may help .......

- Buy in bulk if you can when items are on sale (some grocery stores will have better deals on certain items) and stock up if you have the room

- Cut down on convience food ... ie. baby carrots instead of 5 lb of carrots

- Make your own frozen dinners with leftovers.

- Freezer cooking has really helped my family. I make 10 lbs of meatballs when meat is one sale and then I can freeze and have spaghetti and meatballs easily

- Vegetarian dishes with beans instead of meat

- Clip coupons. I know which stores double, take competitors. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy the smaller size shampoo on sale with a coupon than the bigger one (Check ounce price). My friends ask me coupon questions ......

Hope this helps

Try cooking a lot of conveinance foods from scratch. It's really not that hard, once you try it you'll be amazed at how much $$ you save. Go to Hillbillyhousewife.com she has some great recipes. I make my own creamed soups now, I have posted the recipe here b4, if you can't find it pm me and I'll get it to you. Also, have a meatless night. Baked potatoes are great, cheap and filling. I bake most of our snacks, granola bars, cookies, cakes, etc. I have a really good sugar cookie from WWII that is delicious. Tastes like lofthouse cookies at a fraction of the cost.

Do you have an Aldi's near you? I love Aldi!!! They have such good prices, but most things are not name brand. Also, maybe this summer you can plant a garden for your veggies. That's what I'm planning on doing. Good luck!