How to keep food costs down?

[WinniWoman]

I have serious foot problems and cannot stand or walk for more than a few minutes. Podiatrists, plural, have said they have not come across a case like mine and they have not been able to resolve. So cooking all meals is not going to happen. I am constantly reminded that I am a very good cook, and I roast vegetables etc to make them interesting. What do you all cook and eat?

FYI- it is possible for you to sit down and cook, though I admit it takes a bit more planning. If you are going out to eat you obviously are somehow managing to get to the restaurants.

Not for anything but it would still be so much cheaper for you to even use some convenience foods as part of your meal planning. I do.

For breakfast- I have oatmeal and blueberries with almond milk and ground flax seed and wheat germ cooked in the microwave/grapefruit juice and black tea and vitamins. Greek yogurt 4 hours later after I exercise and before I leave for work. Mon-Fri. Hubby has cereal and orange juice and coffee.
Wknds we have omelets and hash browns and veggie or turkey bacon. Maybe pancakes or waffles for a treat sometimes.

Lunch everyday for me is salad. Hubby takes turkey/ham cheese- sometimes in a sandwich sometimes not. Sometimes peanut butter and jelly. And some grapes or a banana or some kind of fruit.

Dinner is whatever- fish, beef, pork, chicken, pasta, soups, tempeh.

All veggies are acceptable- we like them plain- steamed or microwaved. We use frozen mostly. Big on fresh broccoli and greens like broccoli rabe or spinach.

I love my wine and my occasional Irish Cream or vodka which I keep stocked. Hubby isn't a drinker. I drink for both of us. LOL! But only on wknds.

It is helpful for some people to designate different days for certain meals. Like crock pot Monday, pasta Sunday, pizza Friday, etc.

To make things healthy and develop a habit it is helpful to eat the same thing for one or two meals at least 5 days per week- keeps things simple and easy.

Really, if you are spending that much and it is a concern to you, there is a financial problem (and seriously, maybe an emotional one) and others advice about some guidance in that regard is needed. If you can afford $5000 per month just for food and are happy with it more power to you, but the fact that you posted in the first place suggests help is needed. This amount is the equivalent to many people's salaries. In fact, so many people make much less than that and manage to purchase food without food stamps!

I would say spending that much per month on food for 2 or 3 people is not "normal" or healthy in more ways than one. Good luck with the change!

 

[dioxide45]

I feel like a total cheapskate when I read this thread. I don't spend anywhere near that much on food each month, and we eat out a lot. I am the one who goes to Carrabba's and Outback for the meal deal that includes dessert, and I never buy pop (soda) or alcohol either. Actually, both of us just order plain ol' water. We need more water, anyway, and pop is now $3.49 at all of my favorite restaurants. They will give dessert with a meal for a nominal extra charge in those meal deals, but pop is $3.49???? How nuts is that? I could buy 4-5 2-liter bottles for that.

I agree about the cost of sodas in restaurants. I always order water but DW always orders iced tea. Iced tea in restaurants is another thing that is outrageous. $3.50 for iced tea. We gold brew a gallon of tea using gallon bottles of water from the Dollar Tree and $0.25 with three family size tea bags. So one gallon of iced tea in the fridge costs only $1.25. Now of course, that iced tea at the restaurant is unlimited, but it would be hard to even drink a quart of it at a restaurant. Using a quart at $3.50, that works out to $14 a gallon. Obviously, beverages of any kind are huge markups for restaurants.

I read, not sure if it was a post by Richard here on TUG or a link to a story from one or Richard's links, but restaurants really don't want people ordering desert. A moderately busy restaurant that is often on a wait wants to turn people over. If a table orders one or two deserts that probably cost about $6 each, they have someone linger at a table for only a marginal profit where they could instead turn that table over, sell more big ticket entrees and alcohol. So the next time you order desert and there is a line of people at the door, you are hurting your server more than helping.

 

[dioxide45]

These services are popping up like mushrooms. One of them that I found by googling sends one shipment a week and they say that they guarantee that by individually packaging and sealing, the food lasts 7 days. If you don't like one, try another.

We had two that opened around here and then closed shortly after. I think they were called Entree Vous. I never went in to one and obviously not many others did either. I don't think I live in the right market for one of these. Though there are several high end grocery stores that do very well in addition to the Whole Foods that just opened up a few months ago.

We keep our grocery and food budget for two of us to be around $600 a month. This is for groceries, dining out and lunch for work. Though most often I carry lunch to work and DW works from home. Costs certainly do go up when I go out at lunch. Can't seem to eat anywhere for less than $5 for lunch. Another problem with lunch is that most options are such high calorie bombs. There aren't many good options. Chipotle is one that I go to about once a month. Three tacos runs $7 and is about 600 calories, no cheese, no sour cream, just tortillas, protein, and salsa. I sometimes go to Long John Silvers and just buy their one piece fish and fries for $1.99. This is my go to, probably not the best nutritionally balanced meal, but no more than 500 calories.

One of my resolutions this year is to use one day of the weekend to make lunches for the rest of the week. I lost a lot of weight by taking prepared frozen meals for lunch almost every day of the week. They are low calorie, but their ingredient list leaves a lot to be desired. They are cheap at about $2-$3 per meal and cheaper than hitting fast food. I think I can make a weeks worth of meals for about $1 per day. I started this weekend by making home made chicken stock, adding some carrots and celery along with part of a roasted chicken and I have four days of chicken soup. This probably worked out to about $1.25 per meal as the chicken carcasses for the stock are from left over rotisserie chickens from Costco, so I count those as free. The only cost was the veggies and the chicken. I used part of the chicken for home made ravioli last night.

 

[WinniWoman]

A lot of people at work just take frozen entrees like lean cuisine that they can nuke and have the right number of calories. They are relatively inexpensive for a convenience food. Not the best tasting, but does the trick.

Then there are those who are always ordering out and spending at least $8.00 each day for lunch but don;t have a pot to p**s in.

One guy I work with- his wife make his and their kids lunches every day. He comes to work with a cute wonder bread Tupperware sandwich container and kids size snack packs of carrot sticks and cookies, etc. We always tease him, but he and I always say we can;t understand how people can afford to order out every day. The irony is we probably make more money than the people who buy out every day.

 

[Elan]

For lunch at work I alternate between bringing in leftovers and having Campbells Chunky Soup. I know it's not the healthiest, but I can bring a dozen cans into work and always have lunch if I forget or don't have time to bring something from home. I have a uwave in my office, so I have a hot lunch in about 3 minutes for under $2. Maybe have a few carrots or a yogurt afterward. and I'm good.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Rick used to pay $12 per shift at the firehouse for his food for the day. They make a menu and shop for the groceries they need. I am sure you have seen the local firefighters in the store with their buggies full of food.

Their menu always included steaks and other expensive meats. Staples like flour, spices, oil and sugar are provided in the house fund for all shifts to use($20 per person per month), so it was really just the meats, dessert fixin's and vegetables. When they had some money left, they put it in a shift jar and used it for a free meal on holidays. They go all out on holidays and got the rib roasts.

I will tell you for a fact: we don't even pay $360/ month on groceries, so we are saving a lot because he retired seven months ago, and we are much better off with our food budget. At least 7 guys were eating, so 7 X $12 for essentially two meals in 24 hours. I always thought that was ridiculous.

The food budget does not include going out to eat, which is under my spreadsheet as a separate expense category. I don't equate groceries and going out to eat. It's more what we do on vacation (but we vacation 12 weeks per year).

Tomorrow's meal for the Bronco game will be very cheap: Runzas (shredded cabbage, chopped onion and lean hamburger fried together and then baked in homemade bread dough rolls) and salad. Brunch is homemade pancakes and eggs and bacon. Our kids are coming over with the grandbaby. There will be lots leftover for Monday.

My favorite homemade meals are runzas, meatloaf and pot roast. Rick loves spaghetti and meat sauce and burritos with homemade green chile. We are just easy.

But we aren't diabetic and gluten-free. I am sure it's much more expensive to eat the way they do, and I cannot be judgmental.

I have read so many times how obesity is higher in lower-income households. I am sure that's true. Flour and pasta are very cheap. Meat and vegetables cost so much more.

 

[Elan]

The food budget does not include going out to eat, which is under my spreadsheet as a separate expense category. I don't equate groceries and going out to eat. It's more what we do on vacation (but we vacation 12 weeks per year).
.

It might be a different line item, but you're either eating in or out. I don't see how it makes much sense to exclude eating out from one's food budget. I mean, if I ate out every meal, I could claim my grocery budget was $0. But it doesn't really mean anything if I'm spending $5K/mo in restaurants.

 

[spirits]

Good for asking

First of all to the OP.....I think you are doing a wise thing to come here and state your case....honestly, you will get sound advice...at least something for you to get your bearings on before you make some decisions.

I almost quit my job....I was sick of the politics and being taken for granted by my boss. However, I went back, made peace with him and myself...learned to set healthy boundaries....accepted my part in it...(not easy to do) and went part time.....at my job. I can keep life in balance and it does pay me well....and I am good at it. So this is how I manage to help with our finances since we are not drawing down on our savings.

I have learned so much here on Tug for helping me with important decisions. For financial advice....I am a member of Canadian Money Forum....I know it does not help in all cases for many of you are in the US...but wise words come handy in both countries....

The second forum is Early Retirement and Financial Independence Community....this one is American based...but like I said before, the advice and wisdom I received from both forums is universal and timely. One of the greatest piece of advice I can give to anyone seeking financial security is to learn to live below your means.......and that can come easy or that can come hard.......

But you have made a good step, looking for opinions...you will get lots...remember, you can always change your mind.....don't make any big decisions.....and knowledge is never wasted.

 

[dioxide45]

I have read so many times how obesity is higher in lower-income households. I am sure that's true. Flour and pasta are very cheap. Meat and vegetables cost so much more.

I think it comes down to better education on nutrition and diet. I actually found that after I stopped eating junk and started eating better foods, vegetables and quality proteins, that the amount of money we spent on food went down instead of up. I eat less food because it tends to fill me up more than highly processed foods. You can eat good for the same or less than eating processed foods.

 

[Rusa]

The second forum is Early Retirement and Financial Independence Community.....

This is a great forum. www.early-retirement.org. Somehow I don't think they encourage owning TS though

 

[Tahiya]

Share cooking?

If standing is hard for you, can your spouse or adult child take on some of the cooking? I'm in the same boat as the OP: unable to stand or walk much. My husband does most of the cooking, which he enjoys and is really good at. When I cook, he assembles the ingredients and I sit at the table and do the chopping. While at the stove, I bring a chair and sit. If hubby doesn't have time for grocery shopping, I order online through Instacart. (I think Amazon has a shopping service too if you don't have Instacart in your area.) We rarely eat out because we both cook better than many restaurants.

All that said, we spend about $2000 per month on food because we're foodies and we buy expensive groceries and have people over regularly. (By contrast, my step daughter feeds four on $300 a month by clipping coupons, joining food buying clubs, etc. They eat nutritious food, though not organic and get some help by eating with 3 sets of parents about once a week.)

As a final comment, I like the buffets they have at some grocery stores and agree with a previous poster that you can get healthy meals for a reasonable cost that way. The best we have locally are at Whole Foods and New Seasons. Also, food carts can be a reasonable source of well-prepared meals.

 

[rickandcindy23]

It might be a different line item, but you're either eating in or out. I don't see how it makes much sense to exclude eating out from one's food budget. I mean, if I ate out every meal, I could claim my grocery budget was $0. But it doesn't really mean anything if I'm spending $5K/mo in restaurants.

That's fair. So probably $760 total per month for all of our food. We eat breakfast at home every day, even while on vacation at our timeshares. My favorite meal is a steak at Texas Roadhouse for $8.99 before 6 PM (retired and able to eat at the cheaper times).

I am super cheap, though, and I married someone equally cheap. We take a cooler with pop and snacks into Disneyworld and Disneyland. We never eat in the parks, unless it's Biergarten or the Mexico fast food nachos. We do buy popcorn at the movies but not soda/pop.

 

[VacationForever]

My husband cooks sometimes and taste of food varies from outstanding to how do I tell him politely to never cook that again? My son does not get the concept of lots of sugar in food means we won't eat it. We are foodies too and every meal has to taste good to great. But we do like simple meals too. I occasionally have peanut butter on toast or oatmeal for dinner and I am just as satisfied. I do sit down during most parts of food preparation but feeling exhausted is probably the main reason for reluctance to cook.

 

[Elan]

That's fair. So probably $760 total per month for all of our food. We eat breakfast at home every day, even while on vacation at our timeshares. My favorite meal is a steak at Texas Roadhouse for $8.99 before 6 PM (retired and able to eat at the cheaper times).

I am super cheap, though, and I married someone equally cheap. We take a cooler with pop and snacks into Disneyworld and Disneyland. We never eat in the parks, unless it's Biergarten or the Mexico fast food nachos. We do buy popcorn at the movies but not soda/pop.

Nothing wrong with being cheap. But I prefer to call it being smart with one's money. I am not a cheapskate, and I generally spend pretty freely, but I hate to WASTE money.
Typically, when on vacation, my wallet is open and I don't hold back, but that's just because my dad never let us splurge for any frivolous trinkets or activities or snacks when on family vacations. So I probably over compensate with my kids. But I plan for excessive vacation spending well ahead of time, so it's not a big deal. And if I can't afford to do it right, I just won't go. We also eat many meals in on vacation. Primarily for convenience.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[spirits]

Your finances

I am reading a bit between the lines here....but I feel your big concerns are the financials as a whole and the grocery item is just a symptom.

I have found out that if your money is invested in the stock market, whether in a mutual fund or etf's or with an individual adviser.......your money may be invested conservatively (lower yields) or in riskier investments (higher yields)

IMHO I think you AND your husband should sit down and look to see WHERE your money is invested in. Since the last stock market crash of 2007-8, the financial world has not really recovered.....and there is a lot of risk out there.

To put your mind at
rest.....please please look to see where your money is invested.....look up those funds on the internet.....educate yourself.....

Conservative thinking is saying that as you near retirement your money should be more and more in safe but lower paying funds...bonds, cash etc.
However, financial planners do not make a lot of money from those investments. I am not saying your adviser is being dishonest here....but you might want to reassure yourself that you are taking the risks with your money that you feel comfortable with.

You sound like a smart woman...and your husband is no idiot either... but as you reach retirement you should be as sure as you can be that your money will be there for you.

At first I was afraid that we would be poor in retirement....that forced me to educate myself......but as I learned more and more.....I became proud of myself to have a better understanding of something that I had ignored before. Noone looks after your money as good as you do (;

One good sign of your intelligence is that you are here on TUG.....(; You get great advice here.....so find great advice on how to best allocate your money.
Good luck

 

[WinniWoman]

This is a great forum. www.early-retirement.org. Somehow I don't think they encourage owning TS though

Thanks for this link. I joined myself.

 

[FLDVCFamily]

Do you have a Trader Joe's locally? For way under a grand a month you could buy all the prepared foods you need from the fresh selection (or from the freezer if you choose). Heat and Eat isn't really demanding cooking and could easily be done by your son or husband.

I've heard that Fresh Market is equally awesome, but I've never actually been there. Even the prepared foods section at Whole Foods wouldn't run you 5K a month.

 

[wackymother]

I'd like to recommend an electric pressure cooker to you. We have one, and you can use it to make a lot of meals quickly. It's great for soups and stews that taste like you simmered them for hours.

For a lot of these dishes, they taste slightly better if you brown the meat and vegetables first, the way you would if you were cooking on the stove...but I've been impressed by how good things can be when I was in a rush and just dumped the ingredients in without browning.

You can also use the electric pressure cooker to cook things like winter squash and potatoes very quickly so you can then use them in other dishes.

 

[bogey21]

I'm single (actually divorced) and manage to keep my food costs to about $10 a day or $300 a month. Three things help me do this. First, I eat at Subway a lot (always a 6"); Second, I eat a lot of Kroger Brand Granola ($1.75 per box with Senior Discount); and Third, I haven't bought a drink at a restaurant in over 10 years (I always ask for water).

George

 

[Sugarcubesea]

This is a great forum. www.early-retirement.org. Somehow I don't think they encourage owning TS though

Thanks, this is a great forum to review and join as I want to retire in 13 years.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I have a friend ... for many years ... who likes to smoke the wacky weed. He smoked for years in all types of weather in his shed in the yard .. not attached to his house because his wife's job had a very strong anti-drug policy and it would wipe out her defined pension plan plus the $150K job plus the Platinum benefit package, etc. He stopped smoking to get a life insurance policy for 3 months .. once. His dealer got busted; he found a new source... after being paranoid for several weeks. He works a day jobs where there is little supervision. Meeting him, no one thinks he might have a problem ... he says he is a causal user ... but he has fixed 'times' to rec-create.

OP ... it is YOUR health and quality of life that YOU control. I am sure your health care providers have advised you about this issue. The cost of your monthly food bill seems to alarm most posters to this thread ... might even be worrying you as you head into retirement years. You at one time might have LOVED the attention and ego trip that came from ordering EVERY DAY/EVERY MEAL ... the best of the best on the menu. Eating out and the staff that servers you ... flatter their guests with comments like, "excellent choice", "perfect", the cook outdid themselves, YOU will love that, only have heard it is the best tonight.

I don't recall you discussing any health issues (other than your foot) ... high blood pressure, bad blood work for LDL and HDL, lack of energy, inability to focus on tasks, worsening eyesight, leg pain, etc ... and it is none of my business.

So do what YOU WANT ... YOU are the only one who can change WHAT and HOW you live.

I learned 10+ years ago to change my diet ... lost some weight (15% of my body weight), eat better (way less sugar and few sodas), walk more, and relax more.

 

[falmouth3]

Groupon has an offer right now for "Hellofresh" which is one of those mail order meals companies.

Also, Sara Moulton has a program on public TV for weeknight meals. They are simple and healthy. Here's her website: http://saramoulton.com/weeknightmeals/ There are recipes there and she also has cookbooks.

Lots of grocery stores have prepared meals with a decent variety to choose from.

 

[ace2000]

I just skimmed over all the posts in the thread, so I may have missed something.

To me, the core issue is the amount you're spending on eating out. If you're not willing to eat out less, then you'll have to eat out cheaper. You could save money by ordering carryout at many of the restaurants you probably already attend (that would save money on your drinks and the tip - which could save you as much as 30%).

Also, where do you shop for groceries? Look for an Aldi or a Walmart nearby as opposed to a local grocery chain.

Good luck!

 

[ace2000]

Groupon has an offer right now for "Hellofresh" which is one of those mail order meals companies.

+1 on the Hellofresh suggestions (or Blue Apron, or Plated). Those meal boxes are great for traveling also and can be delivered directly to your resort.

 

[VacationForever]

I have not heard of Hello Fresh and will check it out.

I will respond to Linda's "concern" on health. We are both generally healthy except I have various autoimmunine issues. I have a BMI of 20 and we both exercise everyday for an hour. Our lack of energy is attributed to stressful jobs, pain etc. No need to be judgmental.

Managed funds / wealth allows the account owners to let the advisor know the level of risks that the owners are willing to bear. I know I am concerned about of general expenditure and yes, our financial advisor has run projections that shows that we are in great shape, leaving much more at the end of lives than we have now. Can we increase our retirement budget by another 20 to 30 and even 50K? The answer is yes but I do not want to. I want to spend only IRA savings and Social Security income. My desire to ensure my son, who has his own challenges, is taken care of for the rest of his life, plus some to charities that we want to support. We don't have an income issue, we have an expenditure issue.