Food Shopping Big Families Tips

[princesa]

Looking for ideas that might help in saving some money on food shopping. I shop for a family of four and most of my monthly budget goes to food. (and ConEdison). It's so expensive. Sometimes when I've spent $200 one weekend my refrigerator still looks empty and I wonder where the money went.

The staples in our family are meats, veggies, deli cuts, snacks, cereals, milk, oj, eggs, wraps/bread/bages/rice butter. We don't buy frozen meals or processed foods like cookies (sometimes chips/salsa) very often. I work full time and I cook when I come home, it's very tiring. Anyone tried cooking meals on Sunday and just reheating the tupperware Mon-Friday?

I would like the food to last at least for the week. I buy meats to last 6 nights (we order pizza one night) but I always find myself having to go to the store midweek for something.

I found this quote from a website, what this mother said was inspiring to my sense of indulging my children:

I used to feel badly that our children did not have more variety in their food options, or more freedom in their food choices, but then the Lord taught me that this is what He has provided for them at this time, and therefore they will be better off for it. By eating simply and by not having tons of choices always at their disposal they have the opportunity to learn some good character qualities such as flexibility, contentment, gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation, and how to be frugal with their own finances some day. The Lord has provided for us a small house, a single refrigerator, and a smaller budget - but we are healthy, we eat healthfully, the food is delicious, and the children are learning with me to make bread and cook from scratch. These are very good skills to have. So we smile and thank the Lord for His provision. *smile*

Between working full time, and cooking from scratch weeknights that leaves little time for housecleaning. I might have slight OCD in that I really can't focus on anything at home if my house is a mess. Right now I'm thinking about what needs cleaning as a matter of fact.

i welcome any input on food shopping as well as working parents dealing with the whole 'no time to even clean the house' issue

[Cow Poke]

You probably already know this, but the BIGGEST thing that helped my family of four was a very simple principle... NEVER go shopping when you're hungry. ALWAYS go shopping (grocery shopping, that is) after you've had your full meal.

[Cow Poke]

We made a game of cleaning the house.... We would have "movie and popcorn night" at home IF and WHEN the house was clean, and we made assignments on sections --- at that time, my daughters were 4 and 8, and they loved it. It's ALWAYS easier to do something when you have others doing it, too, and "many hands make big tasks small".

[Sparko]

search online for coupons.

[Cow Poke]

search online for coupons.

Better yet, I have the Kroger App, and I can "load" the coupons to my rewards account, and they are automatically applied to the purchase.

Also, come to think of it, I use Grocery IQ for my shopping list. You get a FREE account, and you can sync it to your smart phones. My wife and I share the same account, so if I add a "buy this" item, it appears on her phone, as well. During the week, if we think of something we need, either of us can "add it to the list", and whichever of us ends up going shopping, we have the whole list.

The BEST thing is that you can "work the list" in the store, checking off items you intended to purchase, and SKIP those "last minute I gotta have this" things.

PLUS, you can make it search for the coupons for the stuff you actually buy.

I'm kinda partial to Kroger's these days, cause I use their fuel points to buy my gas, and often they have 4X fuel points, or stuff like that.

[Sparko]

Better yet, I have the Kroger App, and I can "load" the coupons to my rewards account, and they are automatically applied to the purchase.

Also, come to think of it, I use Grocery IQ for my shopping list. You get a FREE account, and you can sync it to your smart phones. My wife and I share the same account, so if I add a "buy this" item, it appears on her phone, as well. During the week, if we think of something we need, either of us can "add it to the list", and whichever of us ends up going shopping, we have the whole list.

The BEST thing is that you can "work the list" in the store, checking off items you intended to purchase, and SKIP those "last minute I gotta have this" things.

PLUS, you can make it search for the coupons for the stuff you actually buy.

I'm kinda partial to Kroger's these days, cause I use their fuel points to buy my gas, and often they have 4X fuel points, or stuff like that.

yeah I use the kroger and IQ apps too. And Kroger gives you extra fuel points if you fill prescriptions there which helps.

[Cow Poke]

yeah I use the kroger and IQ apps too. And Kroger gives you extra fuel points if you fill prescriptions there which helps.

Frequently they do the "4X" points on gift cards, but I NEVER buy a gift card unless I fully intend to use the whole thing, or "they win". If, for example, I need $200 worth of stuff at Lowes, I'll buy $200 worth of gift cards at Kroger, earning 800 fuel points, then go to Lowes and make my purchase. PLUS, I gotta make sure I'll be needing a fillup on my truck reasonably soon, cause them thar points EXPIRE!

[Cow Poke]

OH!!!! We stay "stocked up" on the "Steamers" frozen peas and corn and stuff... SO much better tasting than canned stuff, and in these modern days, a lot of that stuff is "flash frozen" in VERY near proximity to where it's picked, so I think it's actually "fresherer".

[Sparko]

OH!!!! We stay "stocked up" on the "Steamers" frozen peas and corn and stuff... SO much better tasting than canned stuff, and in these modern days, a lot of that stuff is "flash frozen" in VERY near proximity to where it's picked, so I think it's actually "fresherer".

me too!

And if I see meat on sale, I will buy extra and vacuum seal it and keep it in my freezer. It stays good for years.

[supton]

I'd cut back on meat. A little goes a long ways; a few ounces plus a baked potatoe and frozen veggies is pretty good. Or just try going without meat for a bit. Pasta is just fine w/o IMO. Also, IMO snacks are pretty pricey. I think we get bit on that. But we shop a couple times a week. Bananas won't keep long enough, plus sometimes you can find good deals on meat, like managers specials when the sell-by date comes due.

When the kids turn their noses up at something, I tell 'em they can eat it or go hungry, it won't bother me.

Nothing wrong with cooking food ahead of time. Cook enough to make 2 or 3 meals. I'm partial to eating the prior day's dinner as lunch; it bothers my wife but I don't mind eating pasta a few nights in a row. I'm lucky in that my wife likes to cook, and does so most nights; otherwise I'd survive on rice and pasta, frozen vegtables and cereal for breakfast.

I recall looking into this a while ago, was surprised to see that $150/week was considered on the low end for a family of four. Try doing a search for "how much should groceries cost for a family of four", this is one of the links that I got:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...amily/2104165/
$200/week seems like a lot, but thanks to inflation it's not really.

[princesa]

thanks supton, that was useful. And CP and Sparko, thank you, very helpful, I downloaded the Grocery IQ, i thought somehow it will sync with my local Waldbaums and give me the sales (I had that kind of confidence in todays technology) but I just installed it so I'll be learning how to use it. :) (Does meat really stay good in the freezer for years?) No one cleans but me and it's my fault. Now I have to implement a chore list..yay, more things for me to do, i know i will have to fight tooth and nail (they are 14 and 11....ideas are welcome)

I'd rather cook because when my husband cooks he transforms into a tyrant "Everybody out of the kitchen, I need space to work!". I have to try something different, my system is leaving me broke and exhausted. I know if I take the time to think about it I'll come up with something. I think the cooking ahead for the week or cooking quicker meals (it takes me a bit over an hour to have a meal prepped and on the table) is something i need to plan.

[thewriteranon]

(Does meat really stay good in the freezer for years?)

Yes. My parents keep toooooooons of things in the freezer, mostly meat of course, but veg and cheese and things as well because freezing it means we can keep it much much longer.

[Sparko]

I have one of those vacuum sealer thingies and it keeps meat from getting freezer burn and it will last about 3 years in the freezer.

[Sparko]

Yes. My parents keep toooooooons of things in the freezer, mostly meat of course, but veg and cheese and things as well because freezing it means we can keep it much much longer.

cheese doesnt work to well with freezing. It gets all crumbly when you thaw it back out. It's ok if you are just going to melt it into something like lasagna though.

[thewriteranon]

cheese doesnt work to well with freezing. It gets all crumbly when you thaw it back out. It's ok if you are just going to melt it into something like lasagna though.

Depends on the cheese, too. Our frozen feta is supposed to be crumbly anyway.