Background: two of us, 5'7" >120lb. female, 6'4" 240lb. male. We grocery shop at a local chain in Connecticut, every Saturday. We only eat turkey and chicken for meat, no dairy at all, and I have a gluten sensitivity so I avoid it 99% of the time.
We spend on average $120 per week on groceries. We're fairly frugal in most other areas but here we struggle. I have no problems eating the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day so I meal-plan those and freeze them. And we have a rotating list of dinners (turkey tacos, veggie stir-fry with rice, chickpea curry, pasta and meat sauce, etc.) and we meal-plan those as well.
I've tried in earnest to spend less on groceries and for whatever reason, have a very hard time with it. I get overwhelmed by all the different factors you need to consider like price per ounce/pound, rotating sales, etc. So grocery shopping has become a very stressful event for me.
We do buy all our seasonings in bulk from a local Asian grocer but unfortunately their produce is terrible so we have to buy that from our regular store. We do have an Aldi very close to us that we haven't visited yet (we're totally new to this store).
Please critique our grocery receipt from yesterday:
- Welch's 48oz frozen fruit @ 8.99
- Bag frozen pearl onions @ 2.00
- Bag frozen pearl onions @ 2.00
- Bag frozen peppers @ 1.25
- Bag frozen peppers @ 1.25
- Bag frozen green beans @ 1.79
- Bag frozen green beans @ 1.79
- Bag frozen pierogies @ 1.25
- Bag frozen pierogies @ 1.25
- Bag frozen pierogies @ 1.25
- Bag frozen pierogies @ 1.25
- 25.3oz olive oil @ 5.99
- Walnut halves @ 2.32
- Schar gluten-free white bread loaf @ 6.99
- Package chickpea curry lunch @ 2.99
- Package chickpea curry lunch @ 2.99
- Package chickpea curry lunch @ 2.99
- 1 box Kind breakfast bars @ 3.29
- Box of microwave popcorn @ 3.69
- Bag Goya lentils @ 2.39
- 1 can coconut water @ 1.29
- 1 can Goya black beans @ 0.75
- 1 can Goya black beans @ 0.75
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes @ 1.77
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes @ 1.77
- 1 box Barilla pasta @ 1.49
- 1 box Barilla pasta @ 1.49
- 6-roll toilet tissue @ 4.99
- 1 box gluten-free pasta @ 2.00
- 1 package vegetable bouillion @ 1.59
- 1 package vegetable bouillion @ 1.59
- 1 jar 24oz pasta sauce @ 2.00
- 1 jar 24oz pasta sauce @ 2.00
- Gain 21.6oz dish soap @ 2.00
- Gain 21.6oz dish soap @ 2.00
- 1 box instant couscous @ 1.89
- 1 box instant couscous @ 1.89
- 1 box instant couscous @ 1.89
- 2lb chicken sausage @ 12.02 - this was an accident, my boyfriend miscalculated...
- 1 package basil @ 1.99
- 1 package basil @ 1.99
- 1 package thyme @ 1.99
- 1 bag large carrots @ 0.99
- 1 bag large carrots @ 0.99
- 1 lemon @ 0.89
- Tangerine hybrids, 1.34 lb @ 1.99/lb = 2.67
- Italian peppers, 0.72 lb @ 2.99/lb = 2.15
- 2lb onions @ 1.99
- Bananas, 1.95 lb @ 0.69/lb. = 1.35
- White garlic, 0.51 lb @ 3.99/lb = 2.03
- Celery bunch @ 2.49
- Celery bunch @ 2.49
Total (after card savings): $129.45
There are obvious poor purchases here like the meat and packaged products (popcorn, breakfast bars, etc.) The packaged chickpeas were a completely out-of-character purchase for me, as I usually make my lunches from scratch and freeze them like I said. I'm totally open to (kind, please?) critique and suggestions.
Thanks in advance, apologies if anything is confusing or missing.
April 30, 2017 at 02:12PM
