how much do you spend on groceries?

[FallenPixels]

Get a decent enzyme cleaner so the other cats don't start using her spots in the Dining Room!

[mrsjanuary]

Get a decent enzyme cleaner so the other cats don't start using her spots in the Dining Room!

yup we did that. hoping it helps. i also read that putting aluminum foil down on the spots will prevent him from going there again. so weird but it''s been working!

[FallenPixels]

Not all that unusual, they recommend putting foil where cats scratch too - I guess the feel of it on their claws is like nails on a chalk board to us

[brunt]

Just came back from our local Independent. We go about twice per week early in the morning.

The purpose of this is to peruse their markdowns. 30% off meats and 50% off everything else. It is hit or miss, but it is always worth it.

We got two trays of pineapple, chicken BLT salad, butter tarts, two bags of apples and a couple of fancy cupcakes at 50% off, and a fully cooked pot roast with gravy and some wing steaks at 30% off - and the steaks were already on sale.

We could have bought more - especially in the goodies, but we try not to overdo on the goodies front. My wife does not like day old bread or buns, so we pass on those as well.

[ashedfc]

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[ahatt]

Not only that, but their meat and produce is generally a lot cheaper!

They have a lot more coupons than us and different pricing on groceries. Many grocery stores down there give you coupons for $5 off $50 bill etc if you buy certain products etc as well as the coupons and store discount cards. I don't think we will ever see deals like those

[ahatt]

We spend about $300 - $350/month for 2 adults + 1 cat. I would love for it to be less than that, and try very hard, but it just never seems to happen (even with coupons!) lol.

[Pouf]

We are doing really well if we hit 700-800/month for groceries, including diapers, alcohol, cleaning products etc. There are 2 adults and a toddler and a 9 month old at our house. We eat very healthily- ie- fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal, quality protein at every meal, only whole grain breads/cereals etc. We eat out maybe once/week, usually subs or shwarma (those costs included in the above #). We make 95% of our meals at home and really try to eat as many leftovers as possible. We don't eat many pre-packaged or processed foods. I know if we ate junk we'd spend much less on our bills, but it's never been worth it to us.

[FallenPixels]

I spend almost as much on the cats as I do on our food

[mrsjanuary]

Not all that unusual, they recommend putting foil where cats scratch too - I guess the feel of it on their claws is like nails on a chalk board to us

we did it and it stopped him from going there... then he just went on the carpet beside the foil. *sigh*

we went to the vet and are trying a new method to keep him from peeing. hopefully it works!

[mrsjanuary]

We are doing really well if we hit 700-800/month for groceries, including diapers, alcohol, cleaning products etc. There are 2 adults and a toddler and a 9 month old at our house. We eat very healthily- ie- fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal, quality protein at every meal, only whole grain breads/cereals etc. We eat out maybe once/week, usually subs or shwarma (those costs included in the above #). We make 95% of our meals at home and really try to eat as many leftovers as possible. We don't eat many pre-packaged or processed foods. I know if we ate junk we'd spend much less on our bills, but it's never been worth it to us.

good for you! i wish i had the budget and determination to eat so well. we are really trying though. we're hoping to be able to up our grocery budget a bit to do so.

we have about 95% of our meals at home too. that saves SO MUCH money.

[NancyM]

i would say it really depends on the week and whats on sale and to be honest i tend to lose track if i need it i but it or if the sale is just too good to pass up i stock up

[pankaj]

I haven't really gone grocery shopping in two months (lazy) and in terms of my stinker's food, I keep getting free food at work (yay), but if I were paying for it it's about 25$ for an 8lb bag (holistic, but once my free bag dries up, I'm thinking of switching her to a grain free food

[lor1492]

I spend about $250 a month. 3 adults, 3 school age children. About 6 to 10 days a month there are an additional 5 people for meals. We juggle 3 special diets, a different one for each adult family member living in the house, then the other killer is lunch stuff for the kids. We try to eat healthy as much as possible including fresh produce, low fat, low cholersterol, low sodium, whole grain etc. Unless I'm really desperate or want something really badly I won't buy things unless I can get 50% off (or min of 20 to 30% off meat)- though until now I have rarely used coupons (feeling I was too busy to invest the time)
2 cats cost me $25 a month between food and litter.
I still think we are paying too much and I'm hoping to get it lower with coupon use.
I do spend more in the fall when I'm making preserves but I keep trying to grow my own produce to cut the costs (without a lot of success I might add But with the additional costs I can make between 200 and 250 pints of preserves/jams/jellys. We could never eat 100 jars of jelly/jam for example so I keep just what I think we will use and with the rest we make up gift baskets as well as donating some.

[MortgageQueen]

Wow! Can't believe people can eat so cheap on this forum! Kudos to you! I spend about $120 a week. I try to buy lean meats on sale and stick them in the freezer. But I also will buy fresh fish and steak with the money I save on other things. Mostly I just check the flyers and buy the specials. Fresh fruit and veggies sure can add up!

As far as dog and cat food - I make my own. (2 dogs/2 cats) I have found the cost is less then premium food (with a LOT less grain!) and in the long run they never get sick. They all just have nice long lives and simply die of old age. Isn't that what we all want?
My one 100 lb dog eats 1 lb. meat a day and I try to keep my cats food at about 60-70% meat as well, so I'm always on the hunt for marked down or on sale meat. Generally, I get it for $1 lb. For example, no Frills has chick 1/4 legs for $1/lb. this week. I will go and get like 30 lbs. of it.
Happy shopping!