I am so proud to me. I came with in $20.00 of paying for our new lawn mower. We were able to find one on sale for $450.00 and I had $430.00. So I call that a success. Now I need to sit down and balance books again today and figure out how much Hubbies over time was and put it in savings.
I can not figure out why our grocery bill is so high. I mean there is just the 2 of us and I look at how some of you are feeding families for $240.00 a month. It seems hard for me to get through the week on $100.00. So I took a careful look at what we normally buy. 1% milk, greek yogurt, fruit,cereal, seem to be the things that we but every time we go to the store. I do not buy chips, or candy. We do buy soda but I try to stock up when it is on sale.
I then compared prices of the products we do buy. Greek yogurt is 2x the price of the store brand, but the protein content is so much higher, it keeps you satisfied longer, to me that is worth the price. We also buy mixed salad greens and they are 2x as high as a big bag of iceberg lettuce, but again the flavor and vitamin count is so much better. Hebrew franks versus the $1 store brand of (chicken part ) franks. Do I have to justify this? We eat only heavy seeded bread that is 100% Whole Wheat. I try to buy fruit in season, but Hubby takes a piece every day in his lunch. We also buy wheat chex or whole grain cereal's and they cost more. So I guess our biggest problem is we buy for health and flavor and not for our pocketbook.
I am just beginning to wonder if it is cheaper to buy store bought mixes and frozen pizzas?
Anyway, my question is: Do you spend more for quality food? If you do why? Is it nutrition? Is it taste?
I need to get cleaned up, I'm 1/2 way there, but have a wet head and no makeup on. (I think I just scared my first customer:))
The house needs a quick run through, the basement needs a fire hose, laundry needs to be caught up and I have sewing and books to do. Don't even want to look at the ironing pile it is taking over the shop. I hope this week is as productive in the shop as last week.
Out My Window: It was 98 degrees here on Friday and Saturday, it cooled down to 96 on Sunday. This is such a hot September. Everyone is getting grouchy. Our large buildings cannot keep up with the demands and teachers and school children are melting. No school system wants to run air conditioners. We are all looking forward to fall weather.
Have a great and productive day!
Kim
I buy for nutritional value and taste - if it is the store brand, so be it. I would rather spend a little more for food that is good for me and I like than other things. So our bill is much higher - around $700 a month for 6 people.
ReplyDeleteIt is hot here as well and everyone is grouchy. Though it is not an option for schools to use air conditioning. We are above 90 degrees at least 7 months of the year.
Greek yogurt is just regular yogurt that is strained longer, so less whey or water.
ReplyDeleteDo an experiment and buy some reg. plain yogurt and use a cheesecloth and a colander to let it strain so it becomes greek yogurt, then figure out the cost of that vs. buying an equal amount of greek yogurt ready made in the store to see which is cheaper.
I also only buy better quality of certain things like hot dogs(tho we don't have them very often). I buy the Hebrew Nationals or Sabrett's or Coleman's(nitrite free)ONLY when on sale and stockpile so I have them when needed. That way I can have the best for the cost of Oscar Meyers or Ballparks here every day of the week. Tho cheaper that way, the best are still more expensive than those store brand things that go on sale for $1 a package.
Is that cold cereal you are buying? Kick that habit and go with hot cereals and stockpile those to get the cost down and they will keep you feeling fuller longer. I use to waste so much money on cold cereals....they are so not worth the cost.
It's a balancing act of getting better quality foods to eat yet not going broke with the cost.
Good luck getting your food spending down but keeping your health up. 8-)
Good job saving some money there!! :) Groceries are a never-ending challenge here as well! And the price just keeps going up and up and up! I try to hit sales as much as I can, but that doesn't always happen... but I press on and do what I can. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteI prefer to buy the healthier options even if they do cost more sometimes. Do you need to shop every week? I've found that the more often we shop, the more money we spend.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on paying cash for the new mower!!! Have you ever tried to make yogurt? It is super easy, healthier (no added sugar, etc), and you can strain it yourself and make "Greek" yogurt.
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