Frugal March chatter (Marching on with Savings) cont'd Frugal Feb....

[Frugal Lisa]

Dry, but I have some $.75 off iiogo. I'll look at your trade list!

[Frugal Lisa]

I just realized they aren't on my trade list, but I have 3 iogo

[jasperandchar]

Welcome aboard, join the chatter, share your ideas, your frugal ways, or ask for any suggestions to help you on your way to a better future!

Love this thread! We just stopped and looked at our finances and realized we need to manage our money better if we want to save for things we want in the future!

[jasperandchar]

Last question I hope - are they tare pads or from inserts and what if any is the expiry dates you are looking for if any in specific?

Dry food or wet food?

[Frugal Lisa]

Sent a pm.

[wimbly11]

Welcome aboard, join the chatter, share your ideas, your frugal ways, or ask for any suggestions to help you on your way to a better future!

We've started a budget, but we're wondering what to budget for food. That seems to be our downfall because we were both stopped at the grocery store whenever and spending way too much. We thought we would pick a number and actually take that money out each month to spend. What do you guys spend on groceries? There's the two of us and my step daughter on a part time basis.

[Caseythegoalie]

Good morning Frugal(ers?) LOL.
I missed you yesterday......internet went down, saaaaaay what?!
I have TONS of Iogos and $2 dry whiskas and $2.50 whiskas wet if either of you wants them they are yours

[jasperandchar]

Check out my tradelist so that hopefully we can work something out or pm me as I have a few more coupons that I need to add to my tradelist, I may have something you are looking for that is not on my list.

I need to add the buy 3 Knorr save $1.00 or something like that!

Good morning Frugal(ers?) LOL.
I missed you yesterday......internet went down, saaaaaay what?!
I have TONS of Iogos and $2 dry whiskas and $2.50 whiskas wet if either of you wants them they are yours

[Frugal Lisa]

I'd like the $2 off whiskas dry food, check out what I have for trade!

[jasperandchar]

1st trade completed, thanks Frugal Lisa!

Sent a pm.

[jasperandchar]

My internet sucks....it craps out for minutes or hours at a time and it drives me batty (lol) especially when I AM STALKING THIS THREAD

Good morning Frugal(ers?) LOL.
I missed you yesterday......internet went down, saaaaaay what?!
I have TONS of Iogos and $2 dry whiskas and $2.50 whiskas wet if either of you wants them they are yours

[Frugal Lisa]

It's is great!! I'll have a decent trade rating in no time! thanks jasper and char!!

[jasperandchar]

winbly11,

Groceries are so hard to budget for - here are a few questions you need to answer (to yourself or on here whichever you choose) and then we can help out or make suggestions.

1. How old is your step-daughter and are you purchasing stuff like pizza pockets or is she a "GOOD eater" not picky, will eat whatever is cooked? I think your answer will make a huge difference on your budget. Also if you are providing lunch snacks such as granola bars, etc. that makes a difference as well.

2. Do you cook from scratch or pre-packaged foods? If pre-packaged foods how often do you cook them i.e. only on weekends, etc?

3. Are you brand specific (will only buy Heinz ketchup, name brand bread/buns), etc. Or do you buy whatever is cheapest at the time?

4. Do you have a good stockpile on can food or frozen meats? do you have a deep freezer? Do you contribute a certain amount of your grocery budget to your stockpile (I know some people do this, I don't)?

5. Do you make a grocery list before you go shopping or as supplies run out?

6. Do you stray from your list? that's a hard one in my opinion, I personally don't anymore but still struggle at times.

7. Make sure you have a bite to eat and a beverage handy in your car so that you don't buy a drink or a snack while out shopping, I find that if you shop hungry you spend more $ than you should have (lol).

8. Do you only purchase certain cuts of meat (rib steak, porc loins, etc) or purchase whatever meats are on sale. We try to have a pasta dinner once a week, it's cheap & easy. We also have a leftover night which is normally on Thrusdays as Friday is our meatless day.

9. Do you use coupons (lol) and price match at the same time? I find this makes a huge difference regardless of what you are purchasing.

10. What can you afford to actually pay vs. what are you spending/budgeting? I find this is difficult to admit!

11. Who does the shopping you or your husband or both of you at different times, and is he willing to use coupons & price match. It all adds up.

FOR ME: We are a family of 2 adult and two boys (12 & 10) and 2 dogs and 1 stray cat we feed. I do stockups when items are on sale and not before, so we may not have juiceboxes until there is a good sale or coupons that I can use & pricematch, my kids of course end up brining a water bottle & a koolaid single to add so they are not deprived.

I must admit that the prices of groceries is ridiculous, they have gone up over time and are absolutely ridiculous, I stock up on milk when it's on sale, fresh fruits I generally purchase for a 2 week period if it's a great price (apples, oranges, nectarines - I keep them in the fridge). Lately because of the lack of coupons and great sales my grocery bill is $100.00 or so a week, however, when more coupons will become available I will probably be at $50-75.00 a week. Keep in mind that my 14 year old Golden Retriever now eats 2 big cans of Pedigree wet food which is not cheap and that in itself is 14 cans a week so there is $20+ of my grocery bill every week.

I personally am stocked up on laundry detergents, body washes, hand soaps, cleaners, deoderants, toilet paper, paper towels so I don't have to worry about those items for atleast 6 months or so.

Hope this helps.

We've started a budget, but we're wondering what to budget for food. That seems to be our downfall because we were both stopped at the grocery store whenever and spending way too much. We thought we would pick a number and actually take that money out each month to spend. What do you guys spend on groceries? There's the two of us and my step daughter on a part time basis.

[jasperandchar]

this is a win win for everyone involved, great trades, great sc'ers, great advice & pricesless knowledge & information shared Let's Keep Marching ON (lol)

It's is great!! I'll have a decent trade rating in no time! thanks jasper and char!!

[wimbly11]

winbly11,

Groceries are so hard to budget for - here are a few questions you need to answer (to yourself or on here whichever you choose) and then we can help out or make suggestions.

1. How old is your step-daughter and are you purchasing stuff like pizza pockets or is she a "GOOD eater" not picky, will eat whatever is cooked? I think your answer will make a huge difference on your budget. Also if you are providing lunch snacks such as granola bars, etc. that makes a difference as well. She's 11 and is fairly picky. We have her twice during the week and every second weekend. We don't have to provide anything for lunches because the band pays for that. But she is somewhat picky, however, we try and get her to try new things.

2. Do you cook from scratch or pre-packaged foods? If pre-packaged foods how often do you cook them i.e. only on weekends, etc? A little bit of both really.

3. Are you brand specific (will only buy Heinz ketchup, name brand bread/buns), etc. Or do you buy whatever is cheapest at the time? Not brand specific at all.

4. Do you have a good stockpile on can food or frozen meats? do you have a deep freezer? Do you contribute a certain amount of your grocery budget to your stockpile (I know some people do this, I don't)?I try to stockpile as much as I can. Space is limited, but we are hoping to move in May. No deep freeze right now due to space restrictions.

5. Do you make a grocery list before you go shopping or as supplies run out? Always

6. Do you stray from your list? that's a hard one in my opinion, I personally don't anymore but still struggle at times. I try not to but it happens. Especially if Jon is with me lol

7. Make sure you have a bite to eat and a beverage handy in your car so that you don't buy a drink or a snack while out shopping, I find that if you shop hungry you spend more $ than you should have (lol). Agreed!

8. Do you only purchase certain cuts of meat (rib steak, porc loins, etc) or purchase whatever meats are on sale. We try to have a pasta dinner once a week, it's cheap & easy. We also have a leftover night which is normally on Thrusdays as Friday is our meatless day.I will purchase whatever is on sale. We don't eat a huge amount of meat. We tend to do lots of pasta as well.

9. Do you use coupons (lol) and price match at the same time? I find this makes a huge difference regardless of what you are purchasing. I wasn't but I'm getting back into this now. Sales and coupons all the way!

10. What can you afford to actually pay vs. what are you spending/budgeting? I find this is difficult to admit!Last month I budgeted 200 for myself to spend on food/eating out. I alone spent about 350 not counting what Jon spent. I want to try and cut it to both of us spending maybe 300 a month between us?

11. Who does the shopping you or your husband or both of you at different times, and is he willing to use coupons & price match. It all adds up. He's never used coupons before but he probably would.

FOR ME: We are a family of 2 adult and two boys (12 & 10) and 2 dogs and 1 stray cat we feed. I do stockups when items are on sale and not before, so we may not have juiceboxes until there is a good sale or coupons that I can use & pricematch, my kids of course end up brining a water bottle & a koolaid single to add so they are not deprived.

I must admit that the prices of groceries is ridiculous, they have gone up over time and are absolutely ridiculous, I stock up on milk when it's on sale, fresh fruits I generally purchase for a 2 week period if it's a great price (apples, oranges, nectarines - I keep them in the fridge). Lately because of the lack of coupons and great sales my grocery bill is $100.00 or so a week, however, when more coupons will become available I will probably be at $50-75.00 a week. Keep in mind that my 14 year old Golden Retriever now eats 2 big cans of Pedigree wet food which is not cheap and that in itself is 14 cans a week so there is $20+ of my grocery bill every week.

I personally am stocked up on laundry detergents, body washes, hand soaps, cleaners, deoderants, toilet paper, paper towels so I don't have to worry about those items for atleast 6 months or so.

Hope this helps.

This does help! I wonder could we get away with $300 a month if we price match and use coupons.