Photo by Faith Goble
Every week I’ll pose a question for you to share your experiences and tips. If you have a question that you’d like me to post, I’d love to hear from you!
Recently, I received this question from Kelly:
I was curious to know how you save on things that don’t usually have a plethora of coupons like fresh fruit, vegetables, butcher meats, milk, bread…
As a family, we’re working to eliminate prepared foods and anything that contains high fructose corn syrup. Since we have five kids, we go through a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread or a bag of fruit very quickly, and I’ve been looking for additional ways to save on fresh foods as well.
How do you save on produce, meat, dairy and bread? Do you limit the amount of these foods that you buy in favor of cheaper processed foods? Do you shop at specialty outlets that offer these at a discount?
Join the discussion — add your two cents to previous Ask DSM Readers questions too!
cheryl
i had 3 stores i routinly check the prices on and make a list for each store. however last week when i went to krogers i was told by the cashier that they no longer take coupons printed from the internet. i e-mailed corporate krogers but have yet to receive an answer. i now have two stores to shop at. we also have several fruit and veggie open air markets that we frequent. my grand daughter insists we buy a watermelon every week!
Joy
Our Price Chopper about once a month or so does B1G2 free Freihoffer’s bread. So I stock up our big freezer. I only buy bread when it is on sale like this. Too bad Freihoffer’s doesn’t have Qs. :(
I am lucky that my Dad has a huge garden. So in summer I get plenty of zucchini, cukes and tomatoes (sometimes corn) from him. I also planted my own cherry tomatoes that are doing great this year. My peppers not so great.
I also visit u-pick berry farms for strawberries, blueberries and raspberries and then I freeze the berries. In fall, we do u-pick apple orchards.
Sometimes Aldi’s has cheap produce that is pretty good quality. Their baby carrots and bananas are usually the cheapest.
As for milk, with three tween boys I go through a lot now. So not sure how to save there. LOL.
Dh also works for a food distributor so every now and then after a food show I end up with several 5 lb bags of various shredded cheeses. The cheese has been kept refrigerated during a food show, but can’t be put back in inventory so employees get to bring unopened packages home. I break up the 5 lb. packages and freeze in smaller bags. Luckily, cheese freezes well. I haven’t bought mozzarella cheese in months. I have huge gallons of ketchup, too. LOL.
Joy
I forgot to add that meat is something I struggle with each week though. It is our biggest grocery expense especially with three growing boys plus dh. I sometimes splurge and buy big family packs at BJ’s and divide it up to freeze. But usually need to have extra $$ to do that. I do buy hot dogs when they are B1G1 free or B1G2 free at Price Chopper and with Qs. Oscar Mayer now has nitrate free variety, too. But lately the boys aren’t interested in hot dogs.
Lisa
I save a bundle on produce by checking all the local grocery store ads online and recording the lowest price for each item. Then I go to Walmart Superstore, they price match and generally have a copy of each store ad at the register. Just today I purchased Bing Cherries which were marked $2.98 lb at Walmart for the competitor’s price of $1.88 per lb.
Heather
The advice I can give is rebates. I buy beer rebates on ebay each month and are usually good on meats and fresh produce. They have tons more of rebates for other things too like $20 off groceries when you spend $20.01 and many more. I have saved tons using these. The rebates are valid for certain states (varies depending on what company puts them out) and most of the time a beer purchase is not required which means you only have to buy the fruit or meat and so on. To find them on ebay search “beer rebate”. It takes a few weeks for the checks to start coming in but once they do and you send them out more frequently you will be getting checks every week or so. Other than that making your own bread products (pizza crust, bread, rolls, etc) will save you money and contacting companies for the milk you buy might get you some coupons sent in the mail. I hope this helps.
Heather
Also not sure what the price of bread is at your walmart for the store brand but ours is $0.75 for whole wheat and $1.25 for white.
You can also check your local dollar store. Ours gets bread that will exp soon and they sell it for $1 ea. They have a limit of 4 per person per day but if you are going to freeze it $4 for 4 loafs is not a bad price at all.
Ruth
overage, overage overage! :) I make it my game to use enough coupons with overage and/pr catalina offers to pay for all my dairy/meat/and produce. Most weeks I can make it happen by using this site and the slick deals forums to order plenty of coupons in advance. I don’t have a dog or cat or wear dentures– but the items for them often provide overage– so I buy lots and lots and use the overage to pay for my things I don’t get coupons for and then give them to neightbors/old folks homes, etc. :) Also, I grow a garden. Right now on home depot’s website you can get a basic 4×4 square foot garden for $9 shipped. If you use the square foot method and grow vertically where you can, and buy the seeds and compost/peat on clearenece in a month or so when all the garden centers are getting rid of them for the season, you can grow hundreds of dollars of produce in a garden you will use year after year for less than $50– and then continue to use it year after year by adding your home compost to the mix to keep it fertile.
Kelly
I just looked on the home depot website and couldn’t find the 4 x 4 for $9. Can you help me out?
bmomma
there’s a 4×4 cedar raised garden kit on their site.. but that’s more like $40. not including soil, seeds, etc : )
Jessica C
Sorry if I’m repeating anything anyone else wrote, quickly skimmed through but didn’t read all in detail. I think for me, couponing means cutting down the grocery costs to the point where when it’s time to buy from the outer edges of the grocery store (milk, eggs, produce, bread etc) we can actually afford to buy MORE good stuff because I coupon so effectively. If it weren’t for coupons I’d be forced to buy more packaged, boxed, processed junk and less fresh. I can’t change the fact that produce companies rarely if ever put out coupons but I can get a box of cereal for .75 cents with coupons instead of $3.00 and put the other $2.25 toward fruits and veggies. Not very helpful in answering the question, just an opinion. :)
Mindy
Just a quick milk note. If you live in Michigan any milk that goes through Michigan Milk Producers must be hormone free. It has been that way for a couple years now. Since basically all the milk goes through them it is basically all that way.
Ashley
Wow thanks for that post! I was reading about the issues posted above with hormones in milk but glad to hear I shouldn’t have to worry about it since I am in MI.
Ana
We have also been working for over 2 years now to eliminate all HFCS, preservatives and dyes from all of our foods. I buy Narture’s Own Sugar Free bread loaves at the Dollar Tree, I try my best to eliminate milk also (unless raw) so I stock up on almond milk anytime I can, we buy most of fruits and veggies at Sam’s Club. I’m working myself to finally make it to a farmer’s market one of this weekends and see how that works out financially.
genie
I’ll have to second the idea of eating a lot less meat. We eat a lot of beans and quinoa and maybe buy any sort of meat once a month. We found organic quinoa for $2.50/pound at Costco, which ended up paying for the membership fee with the cost savings on just that item. (We eat a lot of quinoa.) Costco also has a lot of other good stuff, like dried fruit and nuts, for much cheaper than the grocery stores. As I make home made granola bars, we go through these types of items really fast. Also, buying yard eggs is a great way to get better quality eggs for not too much more. They go for about $2.50/dozen around here, but are more at the farmers market.
“A recent study conducted by Mother Earth News has found that eggs from pasture raised hens have higher values for a number of nutrients than USDA data for eggs from hens in confinement houses. Pastured eggs contain: 50% more vitamin E; 4 times the beta carotene; 35 times the omega-3 fatty acids; and half the cholesterol. And, they contain 10.5 mcg of folic acid (that is 10.5 mcg more than USDA’s data for eggs).
A recent study funded by the USDA shows meat from chickens raised on pasture contained: 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat, 28% fewer calories, 50% more vitamin A, and 100% more omega-3 fatty acids.” From https://www.gardengirltv.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=371
Personally, I don’t find VALUE in cheap foods with lower nutritional content! If I am going to buy meats, I get the free range/pastured, no hormones type and buy locally if I can. That’s especially true of eggs, which we eat a LOT more of. There’s a study done at Mother Earth News about the nutritional content of farm eggs verses the normal store eggs… https://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx
Makes sense to me and my kid has never eaten anything other than whole wheat pasta or anything – so she has no idea how nasty white pasta even tastes!
Nilufer
I do alot of our grocery shopping at ethnic markets. Their prices for fruits and veggies usually beat any chain supermarkets. I can 10 lbs of onions for a dollar! Or half a pound of blue berries for $2. Ethnic markets also carry a larger variety of produce. We are big on plain youghurt, so I buy a 4 lb tub for $4!
Ashley
Wow I can’t believe how much everyone is paying for bread!!! For atleast the past couple months Meijer (if you live in an area with meijer) has been running specials on Sara Lee bread and buns….I have been getting them for .45 cents a loaf or package of hamburger/hotdog buns…well that is after my .55 cent coupons that I had for them. Also milk normally always goes on sale for $1.99 at Kroger or 2 for $4 at Meijer.
As for produce farmer’s markets are the way to go for us. Great prices and great produce! I am also going to try my hand at freezing/preserving some stuff for the winter.
Paul
There are several ways in which I have greatly slashed the cost of my family weekly food bill.
1. Grow own veg – I don’t have a big garden, but grew in pots this year sald leaves, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. It was really easy to do and supplied us with many weeks of fresh, healthy food.
2. Plan a weeks worth of recipes at a time – I like to plan ahead and by producing a shopping list of what I need I feel I save money in the store – the trick is to STICK TO THE LIST !! Difficult i know, but try shopping after you have had a meal and don’t feel quite so hungry – you don’t feel the need to fill up with so many snacks.
3. Make things such as stews, soups, and curries in large quantities and freeze in individual batches – it is surprising how many meals you can get from one large cooking pan.
4. Buy the cheaper ‘shop brands’ as opposed to the more well-known brands – very often both foods come from the same source, but you pay more with the branded item. Crazy but true !
Amy
Great conversation! One I love reading and helping with!
I keep VERY good track of the produce sales, noting which place has the cheaper cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, etc. Then, I put the flyers together and head over to Walmart to price comp. LOVE it! I love getting an Aldi’s flyer, but don’t get them very often for some reason. When it’s berries or something, I buy a lot and freeze some, make bread and muffins with them, etc. I love having a chest freezer!
Love the idea of buying the meat in big amts too! I don’t eat meat for the most part, because of digestive issues, but my family def. does. Wonder if there’s a way to buy up some turkeys and chickens as well.Then again, I’m not willing to do much more than take the skin off of them. No necks/gizzards, etc. :D
We eat a lot of fresh produce, but there are some great frozen and canned ones too with no additives, so I use them when it’s significantly cheaper.
Thanks for the great convo!!!
Heather
We found out that the butcher at the grocery store will ground meat for us at no charge. We often find cheap steak and have him grind it instead of buying ground beef. It is usually better quality and much leaner this way.
Lauren
I’m a bread machine advocate. I make 1-2 loaves a week and my husband and I devour them. I really enjoy the bread a lot more than store bought honestly. For fruits and veggies… There is one place in town that offers $.19 per lb bananas, so we eat a lot of bananas.. Buying in season also helps. For meat I watch for great specials, stock up and freeze them. Sometimes hamburger helper does $3 off your next meat purchase which helps. I believe Target does a $1 off coupon once in a while. Dairy. I agree with the previous posters Roberts suggestion. It’s fantastic.
Dannette
I am new to couponing but so far have done pretty good with them…For Breads and buns and Little Debbie’s. We use a local Colonial bakery and they have their own store where i get GREAT Deals. And for Little Debbie snack cakes its the same. And buying 1 cow and having it slaughtered will supply our family for a year. The stores that I shop are Ingles,Bilo, Walgreen,CVS, and The Dollar General or The Family Dollar Store.
Gidget
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Celesta
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