What is your limit?

[Steve Kroll]

Just my wife and I. We average about $60 a week on groceries (we also eat out once or twice a week). I say "average" but summer months are cheaper than winter months, when I can grow produce or buy almost everything at farm markets. Canned items and proteins we get at a co-op. We also bake bread from scratch and tend to use a lot of bulk food type items. Meat and dairy is the most expensive thing in most stores, and we eat only locally sourced meat/cheeses, so in our house it's more of a luxury item. We try to eat more "European", where veggies are the main (or only) course and meat is the side dish.

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Originally Posted by vitauta

does anybody make and freeze their own "cold cuts"? i never have, myself, but i think when i get my food saver, i'd like to try slicing and freezing my own ham, pork, turkey breast, and beef for sandwiches, salads, etc. would that work?

I used to do that. When there were three of us, all taking sack lunches to work every day, I could buy a 5 pound ham, a whole turkey breast or a cooked beef roast and slice it myself and it was quite cost effective. Now that I am all by my lonesome and am not gainfully employed, I just buy the two pound packages at the warehouse store and put half in the deep freeze. The same with butter. I buy a three pound package, put two pounds in the freezer, one in the refrigerator, and ¼ pound at a time from the refrigerator in the butter dish in the pantry.

I have found that I can save quite a bit of money buying things that I can freeze part of in a small restaurant supply/warehouse store. Costco or Sam's packaging is way too big for me alone. For instance, sliced Swiss and Meunster cheeses freeze rather well, where cheddar doesn't. It gets brittle and almost impossible to separate, even if there are parchment papers between the slices. I buy two pound packages and split them, one pound in the fridge and one in the deep freeze.

I buy all my baked goods at the Used Bread Store at a significant discount. For example, a loaf of Oroweat bread sells for $4.39 in the supermarket on Monday morning. I get that same loaf for $1.99 on Tuesday morning, and seeing it's gonna take me most, if not all, of the week to eat it, I don't care if it was baked on Sunday night or Monday night.

I buy practically all my meats from Omaha Steaks, but only items that are drastically reduced. I save the advertisements they send me to compare prices, and I have told them several times that "free shipping is not free if the prices have been raised, so don't urinate down my neck and try to tell me it's raining!" What I like best about Omaha Steaks is, if you are not happy with something, for whatever reason, they will refund the full purchase price, no arguments and no questions asked. In fact I will be placing an order this week.

Walmart, K-Mart and Target are great places to buy toiletries and household cleaning products, but not groceries.

[vitauta]

Originally Posted by buckytom

lol, nikki. those carts are supposed to be for kids to pretend shop alongside mom or dad!

doesn't your back get tired?

really? are you sure, bt? i see adults using them all the time. i don't use them myself because my shins get all banged up. (ouch)

[Snip 13]

Originally Posted by vitauta

really? are you sure, bt? i see adults using them all the time. i don't use them myself because my shins get all banged up. (ouch)

When I first saw those I thought they were for the "height challenged" I was so ashamed for thinking that once I found out they were for kids

[vitauta]

Originally Posted by Sir_Loin_of_Beef

I used to do that. When there were three of us, all taking sack lunches to work every day, I could buy a 5 pound ham, a whole turkey breast or a cooked beef roast and slice it myself and it was quite cost effective. Now that I am all by my lonesome and am not gainfully employed, I just buy the two pound packages at the warehouse store and put half in the deep freeze. The same with butter. I buy a three pound package, put two pounds in the freezer, one in the refrigerator, and ¼ pound at a time from the refrigerator in the butter dish in the pantry.

I have found that I can save quite a bit of money buying things that I can freeze part of in a small restaurant supply/warehouse store. Costco or Sam's packaging is way too big for me alone. For instance, sliced Swiss and Meunster cheeses freeze rather well, where cheddar doesn't. It gets brittle and almost impossible to separate, even if there are parchment papers between the slices. I buy two pound packages and split them, one pound in the fridge and one in the deep freeze.

I buy all my baked goods at the Used Bread Store at a significant discount. For example, a loaf of Oroweat bread sells for $4.39 in the supermarket on Monday morning. I get that same loaf for $1.99 on Tuesday morning, and seeing it's gonna take me most, if not all, of the week to eat it, I don't care if it was baked on Sunday night or Monday night.

I buy practically all my meats from Omaha Steaks, but only items that are drastically reduced. I save the advertisements they send me to compare prices, and I have told them several times that "free shipping is not free if the prices have been raised, so don't urinate down my neck and try to tell me it's raining!" What I like best about Omaha Steaks is, if you are not happy with something, for whatever reason, they will refund the full purchase price, no arguments and no questions asked. In fact I will be placing an order this week.

Walmart, K-Mart and Target are great places to buy toiletries and household cleaning products, but not groceries.

thanks, sir loin, for some great tips. in the future i'll be buying extras on the sale cheese for the freezer. just as soon as i can come up with a comprehensive list of all my needs in the areas of paper and cleaning goods, house wares, health and first aid stuff, etc., i will make a box store trip. in the past, i have never been able to combine these needs into a workable shopping list, however. it's almost too ambitious for me....

[vitauta]

Originally Posted by Snip 13

When I first saw those I thought they were for the "height challenged" I was so ashamed for thinking that once I found out they were for kids

we must be talking about different carts. the ones i'm referring to are the same height as the regular carts, only with a much smaller basket area. many seniors use them.

[jusnikki]

Originally Posted by vitauta

we must be talking about different carts. the ones i'm referring to are the same height as the regular carts, only with a much smaller basket area. many seniors use them.

I think BT was kidding around, I hope, lol. But we have the really little ones for kids small kids. Then there are the ones that are the same height as the big carts but the basket part is smaller. It doesn't hold but a few items. About double maybe triple the size of those held held baskets.

[CWS4322]

Well, ground lean beef is advertised at $3.49/lb this week. A whole 3 lb chicken is $6.99. Turkey is $1.29/lb, side of sirloin is $1.88/lb. Ground beef was always the standby, inexpensive meat. I'm buying the sirloin and grinding it (have a craving for meatballs this week). I have 2 turkeys in the freezer, so am going to eat those before buying another, but instead of chicken, Ill be buying turkey. No wonder people are having a hard time feeding their families--the standby foods have gone up in price...

[Aunt Bea]

You can only cut your expenses to the bone once, then the price of the bone goes up!

[Zhizara]

My food stamps went from $48 to $33 based on my $29 SS cost of living raise. It's strange that neither food stamps or social security take into account the rising price of food.