I have been driving a Plug-In car that gets over 100mpg for the past year, I use just 4kwh (60 cents) of Clean Domestic Wind Energy to offset the amount of Dirty Foreign Oil I have to buy. It is not the cost of gas that is the problem; it is the amount of gas you have to buy that is the problem. By saving over $500.00 vs. driving my Yukon, I am able to balance my food budget. Now I’m helping others do the same.

The best tip I can give is to pay the $50 for the Costco membership. Their meat prices are SO MUCH cheaper that you will save the $50 on the first trip. Sliced Butterball Turkey is $2.19 a pound as opposed to about $6 a pound in the Wal-Mart Deli. Top quality ground beed 92% lean is about $2 a pound as opposed to $3.59 and up, center cut pork chops can be had for $2.19 a pound and block cheese is half the supermarket price. The single best deal is the 4 pound Cheesecake Factory cheesecake is about $10 which is less than $2.50 a pound and it’s pre-sliced to make it so much easier to serve–and it’s delicious–it’s my standard to bring to a party!

On my food blog, I have started a series of posts challenging readers to save money on groceries by cooking more. The first two challenges are to Never Buy Salad Dressing Again and Never Buy Fresh Herbs Again (with tips on how to grow herbs in pots). More to come …

Cutting back on meat is an easy way to reduce the grocery bill. Beans and rice are still fairly cheap, and they are filling and nutritious–and delicious if prepared right. I like to make up a big pot of rice over the weekend, so that one part of dinner is ready at least some nights, because that makes it easier to cook at home rather than buying expensive prepared foods.

Shop & Save has $10 off your $50 purchase on Thrusday nights. This is a great savings for my family, plus I get to save my weekends for fun instead of grocery shopping. Check out your local Shop & Save to see if your store has the same program. It’s great!

I started shopping at Aldi’s about 2 years ago. I buy all of the cooking and baking staples there…eggs, butter, flour, sugar, oil, rice, can goods, etc. Their frozen food selection is pretty great too and I also get great prices on cereals and cheese. If you haven’t been there I encourage you to give it a try!

ALDI! I just went grocery shopping last night. I can still get a full cart of groceries there for about $100. I went across the street to Schnucks for a couple things I couldn’t get at Aldi…1/4 cart…$50. If it wasn’t for Aldi we’d be eating ramen noodles every night

With a bread machine, you can bake your own fresh, high-quality bread with little effort. Put a bread in to bake overnight, and you wake to the best aroma you can imagine.
Avoid prepackage bread mixes - they are expensive and you can’t control the ingreients. Pay a little more for top-quality flour - King Arthur, Hodgson Mills or Bob’s Red Mill. Flour’s gone way up, but you can save a ton by buying yeast at Sam’s or Costco at about $3 for 2 pounds(!), versus $7-8 for a 4 oz jar at supermarkets (or even insanely more when you buy the tiny pre-measured packets). Buy the yeast at Sam’s and refrigerate it in jars - it’ll keep a couple years. Even better, give some away to entice friends into baking their own bread.
If you go gonzo over baking your own bread and are into serious health, you can buy your own electric flour mill. Whole foods sells organic wheat berries at $0.69 pr pound, and you can grind your own whole wheat flour! The freshness makes it much better than store bought! Grind some flax seeds in with the wheat, and you’ll lower your cholesterol! Experiment with adding seeds and nuts for an extra treat - sunflower seeds, millet, flax, sesame, walnuts. You’ll be amazed!
For feeding a family of 4 for under $10, use the bread machine to make your own pizza dough and make a scratch pizza. Talk about amazing quality and economy! Serve it with salad and you’re there!
Enjoy!

We look for the Shop N Save flier every week to see if it’s “$10 off $50 Thursday.” We take that opportunity to buy certain brand-names that we are particular to, such as coffee, dog and cat food (for the pets of course, we are not having to eat THAT yet), juices, etc. I do a fair amount of shopping at Save A Lot since one is really close to our house (gas savings!). I like their frozen selection, fresh produce and canned items are usually a little cheaper than at the “brand name” groceries and as an added bonus it is a small store which makes it easy to shop quickly. I have to follow a gluten-free diet and have found that Dierbergs has better prices on g.f. baking mixes, cereals, and pastas than Whole Foods. If you have a breadmaker, it is much cheaper - and tastier - to make the Gluten-Free Pantry brand Favorite Bread Mix than it is to purchase frozen pre-made g.f. breads. I save at least $2 per loaf by doing this. I have stopped buying as many g.f. pre-made junk foods because they are so expensive and have learned to adapt old recipes into g.f. versions that I can make at home.

Invest in a free-standing freezer. About once a month hamburger goes on sale for under 2 dollars and I buy as much as allowed. I have a Foodsaver system, so I freeze it and just plan meals around it.

Thankfully I dont really eat much meat anyway other then hamburger so I am having no trouble doing without the pricey stuff. Soups are always good and you can spread it out to a few days.

Just not buying soda and junk food has cut my food costs in half.