By PennyPincher

May 2, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

With the growing cost of living and no increase in our salaries, my husband and I are certainly cutting costs. I cut coupons every Sunday (we buy the double paper at Kroger) and pretty much buy only what is on sale and if I have a coupon. I stock up on items and it seems to save us some money. It’s actually kind of fun too! We don’t go out to eat too much either. We use points on American Express to buy restaurant gift cards for ourselves and when family asks what we want for Christmas or birthdays we say gift cards. Look forward to reading what other people are doing!

By Stan

May 2, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this

We buy bone in chicken breasts and skin/de-bone them at home - About $1 per pound cheaper, + we then make chicken stock with the left overs. Also bought a slab of ribeye and cut our own steaks from it - ~$2+ cheaper per pound.

Stan

By Edie

May 2, 2008 3:45 PM | Link to this

Sure, we are eating less expensive cuts of meat, buying less food in general, more chicken and tilapia, hence less waste. And we eat dinner out a lot less.

No change in lunch habits, however.

By catlady

May 2, 2008 4:22 PM | Link to this

Growing a big garden (nothing new about that). Not eating out (nothing new about that). Giving up meat (new—was eating meat 2-3 x a week). Fewer trips to the store. Trying to eat less. Focusing on wise choices—things with multiple uses. Trying not to waste anything. Trying to be more conscious about everything I put in my mouth.

By Stacey

May 2, 2008 4:35 PM | Link to this

I am cooking more casseroles in order to stretch my meat because my husband “has” to have meat with every meal. Casseroles also allow me to use “scraps” of leftovers that really aren’t enough for a meal (in the past, I would usually just throw them away). I try to go to the grocery store early in the morning because a lot of them have really good markdowns own products with that day’s “sell by” date. When I find a really good deal, I stock up and freeze it. I buy most of my meat this way but I can often find bread, cold cuts and produce marked down. The produce is usually on it’s last day of shelf life so I cook it the same day then freeze it.

By slim

May 3, 2008 6:41 AM | Link to this

I have been cutting back on the groceries so I can afford to buy gas - I need to get to work. The food that I do buy is mainly to feed my two year old. I sure will be loosing lots of weight when this depression ends!!

By Mark

May 3, 2008 7:23 PM | Link to this

Duh! What a stupid blog. Who isn’t???

By Woodstock

May 3, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this

George Sr. must be proud of Jr. for giving us 2 recessions.

By mp

May 4, 2008 8:02 AM | Link to this

I’m growing a big veggie garden this year and tried to concentrate on veggies with the most value and starting a altogether new patch it increase production. stretch my meat,cook most things from scratch don’t used convince foods. less empty foods like sweets ( even homemade) and chips more peanut butter. cheaper lunch meat bread store for bread and cheaper stuff all around, more store brand

By Dixie

May 4, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

http://www.angelfoodministries.com/menu.asp -Restaurant quality food at great prices. I have never been disappointed. And never pay full price for pantry shelf items. Always buy them when they are 2-4-1. I don’t know how I would make it through these tough times without those 2 tips.

By shirley

May 4, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this

I buy all the things we use often in bulk or stock up on sales.Now going out is really a treat.My garden is going to be much larger and I will be freezing it and not giving much away.My husband is going to start eating leftovers if he wants to or not.People have been spoilt too long when they refuse good old fashion meals!

By Bob

May 4, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this

Gas prices are affecting even more than groceries. I’ve cut back on driving as much as possible even with my small 4-cyl car. I’ve had to cut back on groceries and buy cheaper brands/cuts. In addition, I’ve cut back on the medications and doctor visits I because I can’t afford all of them as really needed. In addition, there is no vacation and clothes - only when my current ones fall off of my back. Forget any other luxuries!

By George

May 4, 2008 1:17 PM | Link to this

I’ve tried Angelfood Ministeries and it is not restaurant quality food. I ended up having to throw most of the meat out because it was so gross. Half of the meat wasn’t even in proper sealed bags so who the heck knows where it came from. Now I strictly only buy whats on sale and use coupons. That has stretched my dollar more.

By Thrifty

May 4, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this

I have challenged myself to spend $10 a day on meals for a family of four. I only buy necessities and my total spent by Friday was $40. The challenge motivated friends to try and budget as well. We have eliminated wasting food and eating out. My parents are children of the depression and I learned how to budget and recycle meals.

By Free to be me

May 5, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this

Well, I guess as this gets worse, some of the overweight people will change their eating habits.

By Rafael

May 5, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

Our family has really cut down on our grocery bills. We find it cheaper to buy a lot of the things we need from Sam’s Club in bulk rather than buy them in pieces and more expensive at Kroger and Publix. We are now watching budget. What is great for me is that I am only ten minutes by car to my job. Therefore, I am able to save on gasoline.

By JJ

May 5, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this

I buy some stuff at Dollar General, laundry detergent, soap, paper towels, kleenex, etc…..way cheaper than the grocery stores.

Target has some good prices too.

By vanessa

May 5, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this

I have defintely cut back on some things. I bought a freezer and shop at a meat market. I shop at Publix where they have a lot of Buy one get one free deals and stock up. We only eat out like 3 times per month. I am online alot for simple receipes and buy off brand. If this keeps up, I plan to buy some chickens and have them in my back yard for eggs and I will defintely be alot smaller.

By Anika

May 5, 2008 2:45 PM | Link to this

Try www.thecuttinedge.org

Free workshops on a coupon shopping method where you can reduce your grocery bills by 90%. It WORKS!! The next workshop is in Smyrna on 5/17.

I walk out of Publix and Kroger with freebies every week & have cut my grocery bill from $200 to $75/week.

By LG

May 5, 2008 4:59 PM | Link to this

Hey Free to be me, it is a lot cheaper to eat unhealthy. That statement was stupid and crass.

By Loosing Weight

May 6, 2008 7:12 AM | Link to this

Finally starting to loose weight on the CATEGBG Diet Cant Afford To Eat Gotta Buy Gas diet!

By Lucia

May 6, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

We do what other families do: try not to make unnecessary trips to the store and use up the food in the pantry. Using coupons is a pain when you’re shopping with a 2 year old, so that’s out for me. We eat out about once or twice a week, and it’s usually an inexpensive barbecue place. My strategy is to be the best cook that I can be and a good steward of the resources that I have.

By Pablo

May 7, 2008 7:44 AM | Link to this

What we’ve been doing in our home for years now is to shop in bulk for meats and high consumption items at the shopping clubs (we have membership in several of them, which allow us to shop for better deals, and save on gas), and when we go to the supermarket we rarely shop national brands. We have found that almost without exception the “store” brand items are as good or better than the national brands. We also do the 2-for-1 deals and only buy what we need. We save a lot on our grocery bills also because we never get in the door without a list, and we stick to it. No more, no less. My wife gets aggravated sometimes when I pull out a calculator at the store and compare size vs. price. This one can save you a lot of money, especially on things you use a lot. The larger size item is sometimes a much better deal than the regular size.

By mariposa1208

May 8, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this

My husband is a pilot, and therefore out of town a lot. To save money and prevent both of us from eating out, I cook casseroles and pasta dishes that we freeze in small containers and he takes with him to eat and I take to work for lunch. I also grocery shop only twice a month and plan 2 weeks of meals before I go and buy only what I need for those meals. So far I’ve cut our bill down $100 a month. We usually only do off brand items, which saves quite a bit.