Slashing the grocery bill

I am on a mad quest to slash our grocery bill.

In the past, we have easily spent over $100 a week on groceries.  That is too much for 2 adults and a toddler.  Though in our defense, our toddler can probably out eat most adults I know.  But still, we can do better.

My strategy to get us to a smaller bill includes...

• We meal plan. This has helped us more than anything else.  We cook smarter. And there are less mad dashes to the store.

• We make our own yogurt. So much less expensive! You can read more about that here.

• We joined a CSA.  At first, this may seem more costly. But when you break it down, it really isn't.  We eat a lot more vegetables and a lot less junk.  Plus we also split it with our neighbor.

• We make our own bread.  I have actually gotten lazy on this one and need to start back up.  But this just makes sense to me when you look at not only the price, but also what is actually in store bought bread.  I want ingredients that I can pronounce.

• I make a grocery list.  And I stick to it.  It is based off of the meal plan that I created for the week.

• We have a garden in the backyard.  There is an initial investment to get it set up and to get seeds/plants.  But once that is done, the payback in awesome!  I don't buy salsa... because I make it from the garden.  And it tastes 10x better than anything store bought.

• We make our own jams and salsa.  With stuff that we get from the garden and the CSA, we have to do something with the bumper crops.  And when the good jam costs $2-$3 a jar, that adds up.

• We make granola at home.  It tastes better and makes your house smell delicious.  And because of it, we do not buy cereal (with the exception of Cheerios for Little B).  Cereal is ridiculously expensive when you think about how much food you actually get for the money.

• I make our own laundry powder. You can read more about that here.

• I try to substitute with things we already have.  If a recipe calls for sour cream, I substitute with our plain homemade yogurt.  This practice works for a lot of stuff.  Pecorino instead of Parmesan.  Basil instead of sage.

• I only buy meat when it is on sale.  And when it is on sale, we buy a lot and freeze it.

• We make our own bread crumbs.  No use paying the stores for overpriced stale bread.  I have a bag in the freezer that I add stale bread to.  And when it gets full, I run it through the food processor and Voila... bread crumbs.  

• We have developed staples.  You will always find canned beans (we like black and Northern), pasta, flour, and spaghetti sauce in our pantry.  These staples are good when I have a mish-mash of fresh stuff that need to be used up.

• I do not buy baby-specific food.  Babies do not need special food.  They can eat the same things the parents do.  Baby food is like wedding stuff.  Once the word "baby" is added on to something, the price doubles.

• I am going to try to limit our grocery visits to once every 2 weeks.  Right now we do at least once a week.  My theory is that less trips to the store will mean less purchases.

Now with all of that said, I do have my areas of failure.  When I want to indulge, I don't want to buy shoes, jewelry, or a fancy bag.  Nope.  I want to buy Nutella, fancy cheeses, good wine, sparkling water, avocados, olives, and smoked paprika.  But I committed to this challenge.  So if it does not fit in the budget, then they will be put back on the shelf. 


My goal is to get us down to $75 per week.  I would love to get us down to $50, but that seems unrealistic until we can cross diapers off the list.  But I figure if we can at least get down to $75, then that is a savings of $25 per week/$100 per month!

Are you on your own quest to slash your grocery bills? Tell me all about it! I'd love the advice . . . and just knowing we're not the only ones out there embarrassed at how much we spend. So, leave a comment and let me know how you do it.