Is anyone else feeling like their checkbboks are being drained by the price of food? It seems like I cannot keep any meat in our freezers. It is too darn expensive. Our grocery bill has jumped so much in the last 6 months. What is everyone else doing about the price of groceries? Are you finding cheaper ways to feed your family or just going with the prices climbing? What kind of protiens are you using insted of meats? Just needing some ideas. Thanks in advance.

groceries have gone up 47% in the last two years. I sooooo believe it!!!!! We have some medical issues here, so we have to eat fairly well. Leaner meats, more veggies, etc. I shop pretty carefully and try to use every loss leader I can to our advantage. We went through our stockpile when DH was out of work for 3 months last year due to a back injury. Because groceries are so high, I haven't been able to replenish it yet. But, I'm hoping to find somewhere local to buy things like brown rice, etc. in bulk to cut down expenses a little more.

Michelle

I agree. I used to be able to go to the store and with sales and coupons be able to feed my family for like 2 weeks on around $40. Now I can't walk out under $60 and it doesn't last me as long. Granted my dd is bigger now and we had another baby, but they don't eat THAT much for dinner. PLUS that was when I stayed home, now we all eat breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks at my daycare!

It seems like every week when I go grocery shopping the prices have risen. I went yesterday and ground beef had gone up again. We have been eating soup beans once a week with leftovers for lunches which is a really healthy and cheap meal.

Michelle

I try to do a meatless supper, once or twice a week. A favorite around here is of course breakfast for supper, and the only meat we DO eat on that night is bacon. A lb of bacon at Walmart is about 2.50-3.00. Or if I buy a pork loin or chicken, I save some of the pieces that might get thrown away and put them in a stir fry. That helps somewhat to keep my grocery bill down.

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Meghan8.Samantha7,Cameron4

We "cheat" on meat - since we both hunt, we generally have enough red meat to last a year (venison), and we don't have to buy turkey for the big holidays (we get 4 per year). We also have a lot of goose and duck.

I also buy my meat, if it's not wild, in the biggest "portion" I can get. I know how to process/cut up any type of meat, so I can get a lower price/lb whole chicken and cut it up to pieces, and not pay the markup for a cut up chicken (it takes only about 5-10 minutes to do).

About every other year, my family tries to buy an entire pig or half a cow. It's a lot cheaper to buy it in that size and have it straight from the processers than to get each individual steak or burger. I think the cow farm around here sells sides (about 300lbs of meat) for ~$2.00/lb processed and delivered. Many meat stores will have packages for quantity cut up meats. Like this one: (Merindorf Meats & More | Your destination for excellence in high quality meat and meat products! - The bundles equal out to ~$2.30/lb) I find the meat to be MUCH better quality too.

We also have 3 "deep" freezers, hence the ability to buy in quantity.

For my "wedding dinner" for four, I went to the store and about croaked at the price of steak. I "splurged" and got two Tbones and two porterhouse steaks - and paid $30 for the STEAKS only. I about croaked!

I have changed my shopping style. I plan around what I can find inexpensively, not buy arournd what I want. We actually eat very little meat. I buy lots of hamburger on sale. I also buy the bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts when they are on sale and use them to make lots of stuff such as hot dishes and quesadillas.

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Hi! I also try to go a couple of meatless night. We like loaded baked potato night, with a side of steamed veggie or french bread. I buy chickens whole and can get 2 meals out of it, the first one just right out of the crock pot ( we eat the legs and thighs ) then the breast meat for another meal, like a pot pie.

Bean burritos are another easy one ( try to by the vegetarian beans, they don't have all the yuck in them ) with cheese on top and onions.

I still cannot believe that people here can make it on $60 a week, I am WAY over that...

Its just as bad here - our milk for one litre went from 3.40 to 5.00, bread went from 4.10 to 6.50. Cheese increased as well, its awful.

Basically we have mac and cheese once a week as well as an egg dish once a week. We buy hindquaters - as thats the most that can fit in our freezer but it works out far cheaper. I'm just as hopeless as you are - Ive thought about growing a vegetable garden - but I have a black thumb - I just cant grow anything
Its currently summer here - so I dont think I can get away with a soup dish.

Yes, it's been very difficult to find ways of saving money on groceries lately!! I have started buying eggs from the Amish farms outside of town here, because in the grocery store they are about $1.40 a dozen. I used to bake my own cookies for the kids, but geez the chocolate chips are getting expensive too, a big bag of hershey semisweet chips is $4.00 here. We go thru 5-6 gallons of milk a week here and that's not getting any cheaper. I buy generic microwave popcorn for the kids to snack on, it's more filling too.

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