My grocery bill is steadily climbing and I am not sure what to do. I make too much for SNAP. Any tips or tricks? It’s just me in my household, so would buying in bulk be worth it?
Edit: I want to thank everyone for their responses. I have a lot to think about.
Dry goods. Bulk bags of dry rice, beans, lentils, corn grits. That stuff will last forever, and are healthy!
If you and some friends/family can pool your money together and afford it, buy a whole entire cow. Parcel out the meat, and freeze it. My family has been doing this for a long time now, and a whole cow, split between 3 households, lasts a little over a year.
Get into canning, pickling, etc. Don’t let the fresh produce you buy at the store, or grow in a garden, just flounder in your fridge, preserve it!
I can a lot of salsa over the summer. Its easy, and it’s easy to make in big batches that last awhile.
I feel pretty lucky in this regard, in that I’ve got family members who work at a grocery store, and they let me bum off their employee discount. It’s only good for store-brand items though, and it only works while they’re off the clock, so it takes some coordination for me to use it. Stacks with coupons though, which also helps.
Buying in bulk can absolutely be helpful, if you can shop at wholesalers or warehouse clubs, and take advantage of coupons and sales. Wouldn’t recommend doing this for perishables though, if you’re only buying for yourself. Might also be annoying trying to find space for everything at home.
pushing my bank account to its limit lol
Investing, assuming you have some spare room for storage.
I own 2x50 lb bags of rice, 25lbs of dry black beans, 40 lbs of pizza flour, 50lbs of masa flour, 100lbs of AP flour. Bulk pasta.
At those bag sizes, the cost per serving is tiny.
Rebag all the flours, freeze the individual bags, then store them in Beren’s cans. I fit most of that in 2 cans.
Buy and freeze protein when it’s on sale.
Learn how to make pancake/waffle mix, pizza crust. bread, chicken breading.
Shop for perishables at Aldi or Lidl, Walmart if need be.
You save so much on non-perisable bulk that you can start out with one or two things and slowly grow you pantry to the point there you can afford to bulk buy easily, but you must save for it and reinvest.
Rice cooker
Bought a nice one (zojirushi brand that has the little elephant), but I’ve read most rice cookers work well. I use it so often for different meals and it’s been a game changer and money saver. Making rice is so simple now, and an easy cheap way to supplement a meal.
Rice eggs is a staple for us now: Make some rice, and when there’s about 5 minutes left on time, throw in some scrambled eggs for a tasty protein.
Mine is microwave safe so was relatively cheap. Follow the 1-2-2-12 to perfectly cooked rice. 1 measure of 2 cups of rice, 2 of water, some salt, 12 minutes. Can reheat, Fri overnight leftover rice and side carbs with anything specially beans.
I eat out less, I order in less, I’m not going to events as much. I see the increases and it sucks but I’m fortunate enough that I can handle it. For now.
The restaurant prices are the real shockers to me. I’m trying to find some places to grab a burger for two in Toronto; not just a burger joint but a proper restaurant. I’m looking at something like $30 per person average before tax and tip, without fries. Lol. Like excuse the fuck out of me but… dining in it is.
I have tended towards making very simple, quick, healthy and hearty breakfast meals, since those make or break the day for me if I have the wrong thing.
One breakfast I have is 150g hummus, around 50g of feta and a large whole grain wrap (cut into pieces and microwaved to be like chips), with the batching I use lasting around a week. I get a $6AUD 1kg tub of hummus per week (and usually have a spare as rollover if there isn’t enough in the tub I take from,) $4 250g feta block, and a $4 pack of 8 large whole grain wraps.
I’m likely not accurate with the pricing, since I don’t tend to concentrate a lot on the pricing since I’ve found this breakfast good value, but it tends to come to ~$1.90 per serving.
It’s also why I tend to do intermittent fasting a lot (for usually at least 7 hours), as it is very filling.
Not saying you need my solution, since finding your own solution would allow it to be integrated better into your routine, although inspiration is also great (the wrap idea was from my sister for instance).
Get a long, narrow planter or two. Potting soil, and grow onions, garlic, and potatoes (based on where you live) get grow lights if you can. Onions last longer, but potatoes grow easier.
Rice and beans. Tomato sauce/paste for stretching and altering it.
soylent is pretty awesome
I don’t buy stupid shit like Starbucks. You can get better “coffee” much cheaper. I buy half a cow from a farmer every year. It’s roughly $3.00/lb, but that includes 50lbs of ground beef, a couple dozen steaks, roasts, ect. All in I spend about $500 and it lasts 4 of us a year and it’s about $2,000+ in meat were in buy it at a store.
Bean beans n more beans
- Don’t eat out.
- Buy staples and spices and learn to make tasty dishes from them. Pretty much every culture on this planet has figured out super tasty and nutritious dishes from the staples that are available to them. Learn from them. (This will take time, as in it’s a long term goal, but it’s so worth it.)
- Don’t buy processed products of any kind. Pre-processing terribly bad ingredients for convenience is how the food industry takes your money. Buy real food.
- If you can, don’t buy meat. If you can’t, buy as little as possible. It will be better for you, for your wallet, for the animals, and for the planet. But also don’t buy any preprocessed meat replacement products (see point 3).
Looking for the silver lining, if you’ve needed to lose some weight, now is a good time. I’m looking at it this way: I’m not short on food, I’m keeping temptation out of the house.
Stealing/grifting from the conservatives who caused it.
Aldi and Lidl.
Look for red 50% off stickers at Aldi (US). You can freeze meat and save for later
Costco too
Costco really only makes sense with a family or group. Buying in bulk isn’t necessarily better for a single person, especially given that any impulse buys are more expensive at Costco
If it is freezable, it is fine (rotisserie chicken, for example).
I also make them into preservable forms, like I made little jar of scallion oil from a giant bag of scallion and they last years in the fridge. Ginger and garlic works as well.
You can also cook produces and store in the fridge, they will last longer, although not forever. For example, mushrooms, cabbage, etc.
