What tips have you found successful in offsetting the rising price of food? Are you cooking differently? Is there something you have stopped buying? Do you or your family miss it?

We have cut down on eating out quite a bit. I've also gone to meatless meals when dh is at work. Now that's it's warmer out I will use the crock pot more often if we can't grill. I hate to heat up the house with the oven.

we have stopped eating out as much too. plus we used to order pizza once a week, and we have stopped doing that as well. I cook things like mac and cheese when DH is working late, and have been stocking up on chicken and hamburger meat when it goes on sale, and freezing it, instead of buying it at full price.

We are eating meals that do cost a lot less to make. I can not remember the last time that any of us had beef that was not ground. We are also eating two meatless meals a week. One is homemade pizza on Friday. (I can make an all natural pizza that is great for only 6 dollars and that includes toppings like carmalized onions and turkey pepperoni.) The other meatless is either baked ziti, beans and cornbread, beans and rice, or a veggie casserole with a great loaf of bread. We have a $450 a month food budget and I shop a good bit of natural and organic food so I have had to get creative, but it pays off and I have (so far) been able to stick to my budget.

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"Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts."
~Unknown~

We haven't really changed much about our grocery shopping - We already were trying to spend as little as possible. I have noticed that it has only really gone up about $2 or $3 per visit on the things I buy. But I have been going to Aldi a bunch & doing less shopping at Sam's Club. I normally would have gone about once every other week & spent like $130-ish ~ but now I just go once a month & spend about $100! (so I guess we have changed our habits!)

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"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them." ~ Phyllis Diller

I run an in home daycare and my budget has been really hard to stick to these last two months...this month I am concentrating on planning meals according to what I have stockpiled from last month....for example ...this week mac n cheese is on sale for 4/$1.00...so next month (I plan lunches and bfast by the month and dinner by the week) tuesdays will be mac n cheese day for lunch...last month hotdogs were on sale so thursdays it is hotdog day...we are not eating out nearly as often and we also have cut out our weekly pizza delivery night. I try to plan 2-3 meatless meals a week though it is challenging to find menus that make everyone happy!! AND 4 of my friends and I have started a coupon ring and we pass around coupons each week...so I am getting more that I can use!

I have been trying to cut back but I havent cut anything out for good yet. My grocery bill has gone down a bit because I just finished potty training my son, and I always counted diapers/pull ups in the budget.
I always try to have at least 2 meatless nights a week. One is usually homemade mac and cheese and the other is either rice and beans or some other veggie recipe.

Like Fergy78 said, we don't eat any beef that isn't ground. I am trying to squeeze in a meatless meal each week, DH doesn't really like that. I haven't been buying any softdrinks. That is about all I have changed.

well i got dh to quit drinking pop(i have not had it in a year and half) we drink mainly water with about 12 oz milk a day per person and 1 glass of juice each for the kids.(they are getting used to it now). we also are eating meatless meals and have cut out almost all eating out(we used to go once a month we are now down to every other month). we are trying to plan our menus on sale items when ever possible.

I've cut out all of the ready made snack stuff and have been doing a lot of baking instead. I won't give up my potato chips though!

Things were getting rough before. So we had adjusted then by:
*drinking Iced Tea and kool aid instead of soda, 1 glass of milk a day
*buying big bags of pretzels at the dollar tree instead of chips
*less eating out
*I planned meals with leftovers instead of throwing them out at the end of the week, like stir fries
*we have a breakfast night (breakfast burritos, omollettes, etc.)
*making it a personal rule to not spend more than $2 lb for meat and stockpile
*I'll buy frozen pizzas on sale for pizza night. I was making them but with all my time in the kitchen, pizza night wasn't a treat any more.
*we eat dried beans more in place of potatoes
*my dh takes a drink bottle instead of canned soda to work, and dry cereal instead of prepackaged snacks. I can get good deals on cereal.
* I usually don't buy anything at full price
But like I said I did this before, now that it's getting even more expensive to live, I have no idea where to cut next!!!

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"Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body." ~Anonymous