NaturallyFrugal.com
Living on Oahu, any frugal ideas for cooking meals, grocery shopping?
Trying to make it on $250.00 a Month for groceries. I'm thinking of having the same dinner two nights in a row. Could you please share any recipes or ideas on how to make things stretch?
Public Comments
- spam, veggies, buy your food at Costco...no alcohol, no soda, all money sucking drinks
- Rice, rice, and more rice! I make chili rice once in a while -- just put rice in the rice cooker and make a can of chili. Cheaper than buying all the ingredients (but not as good tasting) for homemade chili.
If you can stand the taste of Spam, buy it. Cut it into little chunks and put it in salads...fry up strips and eat it with eggs or in a sandwich...thousands of ways to use Spam!
Buy produce at farmer's markets. Usually cheaper, always fresher than the grocery stores.
- if you got a military ID, you can shop at the grocery store on the Army post. They are MUCH cheaper than the grocery stores around the island. If you don't have a military ID, then I guess you have to do what most of the local people do. You just got to get a local paper and see what are the deals for the week. You can't just limit yourself to one store, because they are always changing their sales. So you got to be flexible, and start clipping out those coupons. You're going to make good use of your scissors. One day, BIG SAVE will have a sale, and then the next day, WALMART will have a good sale, and then the next day ABC STORE is going to have a good sale, ,, it's always changing, fluctuating, like the economy, it's crazy. .but yes, 250 should be enough for a person or two. But if you factor in children, maybe it would cost more than that. good luck
- For once, Leroy didn't have a snarky answer, but gave good advice.
The Midweek is a weekly free newspaper that comes by mail. All the major grocery stores have their weekly sales ads in it. We usually go through all the ads and make a list, then go shopping. Most of the stores also have discount or reward cards, sign up for them. Costco and Sam's Club are great for non-perishables, bread, milk, paper products. If the bulk amounts will be too much for you, find some one to split it with you. Depending on where you live, check independent grocers for produce. When I was in Waimanalo, Shima's Market usually had produce any where from 20 cents to a dollar less per pound than the big chains. In Waianae, I go to Tamura's or The Waianae store for the same reason. Farmers Markets are great and most communities have them weekly.
As far as stretching, make the most of your left overs. For example; We had a 12 pound spiral ham for Christmas. With the leftover meat, my mom made ham and bean soup, using the ham bone to flavor the stock. With more leftover meat, I made a ham, cheese, broccoli, and noodle casserole. Some of the meat was frozen and used later. My dad chopped some to add to his fried rice. I am really not sure how many different meals that one ham was a part of. We do the same thing with turkey. I have a large beef roast in the slow cooker right now. That will be dinner for tonight, and the rest of the meat will be shredded and frozen so I can use it in a casserole later, probably a Sheppard's pie. The other thing I try to do, is if I make a large recipe, instead of eating it two nights in a row, I freeze the leftovers. I'd rather have it ready made at a later date when I am pressed for time, than eat the same thing in a row.
- I linked an article called "How to Save Money on Groceries" below. It should be just what you're looking for.
- If you have a freezer, that can really save you a lot of money. When an item is on sale, you can stock up. You can freeze meat, bread, or even entire meals.
Here is an article addressing this very question. It is titled, "5 Simple Ways to Save Money on Groceries". You can read it at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1455027/5_simple_ways_to_save_money_on_groceries.html?cat=3
