Groceries: Saving Money

With rising gas prices the cost of buying groceries is going up too. Finding ways to save on your grocery bill seems to get harder, as the most important items on your list like milk, eggs, butter is going up faster then the other items. My spouse and I try to live off of $30 a week, it is not easy to stay in that range.

Where I found the best values for our money, was to shop at a few different places. The first one I like to shop at is this little butcher shop that sells fresh meat in bulk. Boneless chicken can cost up to $3.99 and more depending on where you shop. At the butchers I can buy a ten pound bag for $2.00 a pound, saving me $1.00 per pound. The ground hamburger which is sold in 5 pound bag I save the same way. Instead of paying $2.99, I pay $1.99. Pork too is cheaper in this butcher market then the big grocery.

The key here is, I received a seal a meal for Christmas. I divide the meats into servings for the two of us, seal each serving and place it into the freezer. With the Chicken, the breasts are usually huge, allowing us to eat one cutting it in half per meal. With the Chicken, last time I bought it I was able to freeze 20 individual pieces. The beef, I was able to freeze 10 packages for the two of us. Now I have a month to a month and a half worth of meat for the around $35.00 with tax. Being my spouse works mostly afternoons we have dinner together maybe 4 or 5 times a week.

For the vegetables, I find the local growers are much more cheaper then the grocer. I blanch or steam the vegetables and seal them after cooled. As I need the vegetables I just take them from the freezer. Canned vegetables, I find for me, have been cheaper at the discount grocer Aldi. I can buy a months worth of canned vegetables, cereal, bread, and dairy items for about $45.00.

I have been trying to find better ways to save on groceries as my spouse had to take employment at half the pay due to medical reasons of being epileptic. He was not permitted to drive a commercial truck as his medication levels were too unstable after his last episode. Lunch meat, for lunches, we found are cheaper at our local party store then the big grocer deli. We pay almost half price, for lunch meat and cheese with our local party store. All this with clipping those coupons, helps keep some money back in our pockets. Also to find cheaper ways of making our favorite dishes helps as well. Hope this helps someone out with cutting your grocery bill in this day and age.