How do you save money on groceries and what is your weekly spend on it ?.

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To save on time in the kitchen who bulk cooks and freezes meals and or main ingredients to last for months into the future ?.

When we had huge vegetable crops we would blanch and freeze the produce so we would have about 6 months ahead of food available to use for the seasons where things were hugely expensive to buy. We also bulk cook things like chickens and roasts we find on super sale and then bag them into meal sized portions for the freezer so we have base ingredients for a meal readily available and freeze them whole too.

Having purchased a new home we are still waiting to invest in canning items and jars and a dehydrator so that is another good way of supplying your household with a pantry stockpile into the future. I do traditionally dry herbs produced from our gardens to use in the home too.
 
That is lovely of you @Amish Heart that you do that for your employees and I am sure that they appreciate it :) . We also supply vegetables to those who we know are in need in our general friends group and church members too. One lady we knew who was a carer to her husband and didn't have a lot of money, we gave a lot of beetroot to and she canned enough to last a year for her family from. It made me happy to see that we helped her and her family and we knew that she would make good use of it.
 
I need more freezers! I freeze leftovers in single meal containers for lunches all the time. Husband doesn't like to eat leftovers the next day very much...maybe for lunch, but not for dinner. Our green beans are going like crazy right now, and we're eating a lot, and brought some in to employees, but I'm sure I'll freeze some. Last year's tomato harvest was hard to keep up with. I canned a lot, froze them chopped if I didn't have time to can that day, and dehydrated a lot. A customer of ours has 3 peach trees and let me have at it last year on one whole tree. I cut and froze those, then canned them later. Youngest daughter was in heaven having a supply of frozen peaches for her smoothies. Apple time gets ahead of me too, so I dehydrate and also can for applesauce and apple pie filling. We had a lot of peppers at once last year, so I dehydrated them, ground them up, and made hot pepper powder. I think I still have 5 pints on the shelf. It comes in handy.
 
@timmie we have never purchased any so far as we were saving up for a deposit for this home and all our money went into accomplishing that. There was a huge family issue where they sued me for my house from their grandfather's estate which effectively meant we were starting again on a low income. We have to factor in all purchases whilst paying a mortgage too.
 
That is the thing too @Amish Heart there is never enough freezer space. We have 2 x 400lt freezers now as we purchased a second one last year. One is for meat and the other is for blanched and frozen vegetables we either buy cheaply or grow. I found apples really cheaply and made batches of apple pie filling for the freezer too so we are still using those up now. You mention a good point too is always to accept what others offer you so you can build your pantry with things that you don't grow or have yourself.
 
Grow a lot of fruit & vegetables, raspberries,blackberries & blueberries are ripe at this time.
Some wild game, home grown egg, not cheater, but better.
Buy some things in bulk, sales & waste not, want not.
Three freezers, some can goods, dry goods wholesale.
 
That is the way to do it @joel is store your abundance and use it like we do. Growing your own vegetables, berries and fruit saves a fortune over buying it. Thinking seriously here of getting a larger industrial sized freezer too. Bulk is the way to go as the unit prices are usually so much cheaper than buying the smaller quantities in the supermarkets who have a gigantic price mark up on things.
 
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Sewingcreations15 said:
@The Innkeeper

Here it is just if you see it in a sales catalogue for an item you need you go hog wild and buy them out :) .
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Sometimes we have to do that. There are some personal care items that never come on sale and they usually have very limited stock, so we often buy that item out. Sometimes it is a matter of what store in a chain carries a particular item, for example there is a particular brand, style and size of underwear that I prefer, nothing exotic or expensive but the stores in this province don’t carry that style and size. Some of the stores one province over do carry it, so when I pass through certain communities I stop and stock up. In a pinch, anything that fits will do, but where I have the option I go for comfort. The same chain and store sells an inexpensive T-shirt that wears like iron. Most of their shirts are poor quality, but whenever I stop for underwear I pick up the 2 or 3 shirts they will have in stock.
 
Red Meat…

Over the years several times I have bought hamburger etc. when it was nice and pink in the package… When I got it home it was all gray on the inside… I discovered several of the large grocery chains across the country treat their meats with carbon monoxide or other non-oxygen gasses.

This makes the meat appear fresh and pink on the surface but the inside is dark grey and 4 or 5 days old. Not spoiled, but smelling old.

Now I only buy red meat at two stores. Both have butchers with knives flying on Thursdays getting ready for the weekend. I asked over and over until I got the days they process.

The high-end store actually prints the date and time… when hamburger is made, or steaks cut in the big town.

The low-end store isn’t so fancy… but has the best meat in the little town.

When I hunt for specials, I only shop for meat on Friday afternoons or evening. It’s the freshest it can be before I freeze it. There is no point in freezing 5-day old ground chuck. It’ll taste older than the day you froze it.

Moral of the story... know the day when your local butchers process the pork, the chicken, the beef and buy accordingly. Most of the time the days will be different for each type of meat, depending on the size of the store and the volume of meat they sell. Buy when it freshest! You'll taste the savings on your plate.
 
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@The Innkeeper I relate to favourite underwear as I also have a favourite for comfort and fit and it is only available in one store and also another that has the best cushioned work socks too so when I am there I stock up too. Personal care items rarely come on good special here but I did find it on 50 % off special recently and bought a years worth.

I agree @Peanut on fresh meat and just so you know as I worked in a butcher shop there is also another chemical that they put in the meat that makes it really red and it looks fresh too (but it is illegal here) called sulphur dioxide and it makes it red all the way through. I can say I have seen it added to meat whilst working at butcher shops. By the way it is one of the ingredients in batteries and it is also present in a lot of processed meats. It is known as a class 1 carcinogen.

The moral of the story is here that you may think you are getting fresh meat when you really aren't. Things like minced beef or hamburger will go brown in a couple of hours after exposure to oxygen naturally even when refrigerated but the inside will still be red. If the meat you are buying looks exceptionally red don't buy it as it has most likely been laced.
 
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I go to Walmart once a month for some groceries-- no meat-- and other needs such as shampoo, tp, etc. No clothes usually. Spend about $100-120. Go to local grocery once a week for meat sales and milk, bananas, grapes and lettuce. Spend maybe $20 or 25 a week. (Most) clothes from thrift when needed and I can--not freeze to preserve as I have only the freezer with the fridge. Do some dehydrating, mostly apples in season. We live on a very small disability income and don't use much gas when possible. We are definitely below the poverty line. I think of it as a challenge to do ok without government help.
 
@snappy1 good on you and from seeing your posts you do really well on your small income and are really frugal. Our combined wage isn't huge either by any means and we are classified as low income too so we have to be really careful with our purchases and budget well. As both you and I know it is possible to do it if you buy things on special and are careful with your purchasing. We also pay a mortgage as well so it is extra challenging :) .

I think we all have to work with what we have currently and then later add to our equipment. The next purchases I have penciled into our budget is a food dehydrator and a canning set.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
We also pay a mortgage as well so it is extra challenging :) .
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Our mortgage is only $30 more than we paid for rent before and it includes homeowner's insurance. $332 a month. We will start paying more in 6 months--have one bill to pay off first. That is the plan anyway.
 
Sounds good @snappy1 and you have more security owning your own home than renting and that is what we are working on too is paying of our mortgage as fast as possible. Yes our mortgage is $72 odd dollars less per week than paying rent + $17.20 for house and contents insurance so an all up savings of $54.80 including insurance on paying our previous weekly rent. Cheering you on to pay the other bill quickly so you can attack the mortgage sooner.

@snappy1 not sure on home insurance costs in the States and whether that is a huge amount to pay $332 per month on insurance there, but maybe see if you can get it cheaper as it is always good to try as that seems expensive to me. We pay around $900 per year on our home here for house and contents insurance.
 
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When we go into town on DH's doctors appointments we will keep an eye out for reduced priced vegetables so we can blanch and freeze or simply chop some for our freezer supplies. At the moment being so cold here with frosts and us still assembling our garden beds and watering systems we have not got any vegetables planted so shop purchased on special for supplies is the way to go temporarily. Once we get our shade cloth up it will protect the gardens from the frosts and we can start planting.
 
@snappy1 that sounds fine then on the mortgage and insurance for that price :) . I am glad you got a great deal when you purchased your home as we did here. We thought we were priced out of the market but are really thankful here that we weren't. If you keep a good eye on the property market when you are ready to purchase it is amazing what bargains are out there.
 
@Peanut 's post reminded me - there are choices that aren't advertised. Soup bones are very economical and add wonderful nutrients to soups. Maybe it's different elsewhere, but around here you have to ask a market with a butcher for them or they are not even put out. When we have our beef butchered, I always ask for the soup bones. Otherwise they sell them to be used in various other ways.
 
@LadyLocust yes you have to ask for the bones here even though you are already charged for them in the weight of the beef you purchase. Yes they are nice in soups but I have only ever used a smoked ham hock in split pea soup and that is lovely. Still have to try making bone broth although I do drain off the juices after a roast has cooked and save that for soups and the like.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
@LadyLocust yes you have to ask for the bones here even though you are already charged for them in the weight of the beef you purchase. Yes they are nice in soups but I have only ever used a smoked ham hock in split pea soup and that is lovely. Still have to try making bone broth although I do drain off the juices after a roast has cooked and save that for soups and the like.
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I like adding extra water to the roast pan just to get more juice for soup lol Makes the best beef vegetable soup. yum!
When I'm simmering a smoked ham hock I will make it a double batch so then I can save half the broth to use making green beans and potatoes ( ham broth is the best for that )


wow wish it was cooler here so I could make the food I'm talking about lol
 
Just received a phone call this evening. Our beef will be ready next month. The price is the same as last year so we will pay $3/lb. for everything from hamburger to sirloin. Cutting and wrapping is also by the pound (can't remember off the top of my head) about $300-350ish. Haven't shopped for beef for several years now. I will purchase a turkey or two, but we typically hunt - not great luck, but anything helps. Last year we also purchased a half of pork and might do the same this year.
 
I have had times when money was really tight. From early on in my first apartment, I would read the sales ads, from the sales write menus and then a shopping list. When things were and are on sale, I stock up. If bacon is on sale, I buy extra. I may put it in the freezer or I may plan meals around it. When I first began this, 1975, $10 a week paid for groceries with each of my other roommates putting in that much as well. It didn't take long and we would have money left over. My how times have changed for money.

Another thing is to cook from scratch. It is cheaper to buy the ingredients, but it is more work.
 
It depends where I am in the bill cycle.

It can be as low as $20 or it could be $300 per fortnight.

I always get the best bang for my buck. In fortnights with a large sum free I will stock up on meat, frozen veg, butter and cheese
and other staples that are getting low.

With the big bill cycle coming up I will be back to a budget of $20 per fortnight for fuel and groceries.
It's doable because of the garden, chickens, pantry and freezer.

I already have Christmas dinner roast brought and in the freezer.
 
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