Why is it so satisfying to watch videos of someone else's grocery hauls? My husband is always so confused but it's so much fun for me 😂😂. We spend a lot on groceries for our family of 5. We buy primarily organic with a large azure standard order every month and buy most of our meat from a local farm. Some of the monthly budget is also food going into long term food storage and we host several times a week so it makes sense for us :)
Chelsea, I think it makes perfect sense especially if you also have a large family. We all get stuck in a rut of buying and making the same meals over and over. I like to see what others buy and create with it for fresh inspiration. You’re smart!
I need to get back to being frugal. I spend wayyyyyyy too much on our food for only 3. Yes we have a Daughter with Celiac and allergies,but I know I can do better. Thanks for this video.
We are one of those families who benefits from a gifted Thrive market. I subscribed and then unexpectedly needed to cancel my membership...when I called them, they decided to gift me a year membership. So kind!! Thrive market is a blessing
When you showed the eggs on clearance, I said, out loud “what? No way!” 😂 I was halfway tempted to make a road trip from VA just to get those egg prices 😅
You probably know this, but you can freeze chillis whole and slice them frozen, they’re so thin walled you don’t have to chisel it or anything. It also means you can grate them into things if you want a finer distribution. Loving the videos! 😊
My kids lovingly call the clearance section at Kroger the “used food section”. They think they are hilarious as they are looking through all the bargains and filling our cart
I found your video’s a few weeks ago when I was searching for freezer-pantry clean-out recipes. 3 weeks later, we’re still eating out of our freezer and pantry. It amazes me how much food we all store in our house without realising it!
Great job! I ended September by spending $472 out of my monthly $475 budget for our family of 6 - in Northern Indiana. I could and should probably do a pantry challenge soon, but like you, I can't resist a good deal, and filling my freezer! ☺️
That's pretty good! Where do you usually shop? I live in Southern Indiana. I'm determined to save money because things are getting more expensive it seems
I challenge you to do the same thing as this month for October through December right around 170 or less and then you'd average 350 a month this year and be able to continue using up your stock. You definitely have enough freezer meat, I think it's very doable! Fresh produce and dairy only, a few clearance finds/sales on lunch meat/etc and you're set! :) I've been watching all year, pretty invested now lol
Groceries are insane in the Netherlands too. We are at record level inflation at around 12% but meat and dairy have gone way up, beyond that. Sadly, I don't have the space for a big freezer and in little Dutch houses many people don't have the storage for a lot of bulk. I try to shop sales. We are eating many meatless meals, etc. It is just hard.
Can totally relate to small houses and not much storage but you can get really creative with it as I’m sure you know. My friend wanted long term storage or bulk storage and started using under her beds for that. She also cleaned out her closets of things she never used in a year and started tucking away her bulk storage items. She got really creative putting a “shelf”(boxes with her winter/or summer clothes) behind her couch and covering it with a table cloth of a color to match her decor and used it as a sort of table. I told her to put a piece of shelf board on top before the cloth and now she can put a lamp on it. No one ever notices it. One note tho, she has to keep an inventory written down of what is where in her house. But she’s able to have an inventory of bulk items stored in her very small house.
I just spent nearly 2k on a flight back home for Christmas (going home for the first time in 4 years!) so I am definitely on the 'eating everything in the fridge and pantry til payday in late October' train lol
Such a good challenge! I did one big shop at the beginning of the month and the goal is to make it last until the end of the month by cooking everything I already have in my freezer and pantry, it's a fantastic way to keep costs down as well as prevent food waste!
Me too! I just spent $8.99 on 30 eggs because it was the cheapest way to buy them and gasped when I saw that a 10kg bag of all purpose flour was $19.99. I don't know how people manage without watching grocery prices.
Wow!! That egg & sliced cheese was such an awesome price! I just told my husband that I didn’t buy any sliced cheese because even the local store brand was almost $5 a package! CA prices seem to be going even higher these past few months….Absolutely love all your videos , ideas & savings ❤
I am a single woman who for many years cooked for a family of six but haven’t done that in a long long time. When we were hearing about food shortages, I really worked hard to build up supplies thinking that I would use them and replace them as I went along but I’d always have a surplus. To my shock, some things I haven’t even made a dent in. I live in New Jersey and I average about $150 a week! I am 65 and I don’t say no to myself if I want some thing but I still try to buy deals and be frugal. I suspect though if I couldn’t leave my house between now and January one I’d have plenty of food for the most part.
Yes, I spend about $500 per month just on myself ( and do meals for family members a few x a week) .. PLUS some take out food which I have not kept track of, so... that's where it's at! I'm shocked at how little a lot of people here spend! ps I"m in Canada
@@heidibonjour I’m in NJ. Big part of the problem is we have to buy quantities that are larger than what we need. And many recipes make me crazy with the number of portions. I can only freeze so much
@@virginiablasi7109 Your words are so true! Personally, I have just started tracking my spending for the last couple of months, and I notice that I am buying vegetarian burger patties at $2 to $3 a pop, and a lot of expensive cheeses and baking with almond flour, eating a lot of cashews and nuts for snacks, so.. I made my own veggie burgers for 30 ¢ each, and am changing some of my snacking habits from expensive nuts and cheeses , and I think this month's bills ( knock on wood) will be closer for $400 , rather than the $500 I was spending! I am refraining from shopping whenever I feel like and trying to meal prep a bit more... I wonder if I could knock it down a bit more later as I learn more; We will see! Even $400 month would be a lot better than $500 month! Good luck to you! cheers from Vancouver!
I find that I budget/spend about 25% more in November and December, since we typically host extended family for multiple holiday meals, and have out of town guests that come to visit.. I’m looking forward to challenging myself to a “no spend” January, to see how long I can push it with our freezer/pantry stash..
My favorite type of video. I get inspired to look for the deals. Just yesterday, I bought all my HEB produce either half off or on sale. We may not get the crazy deals but HEB occasionally has the big yellow stickers for half off. Keep sharing your finds.
OMG!!! I made your pasta, sausage and veggies. From a couple videos ago. I changed up a bit due to what I have. Shopping is hard with $80 a month for food..5 people. I used a can of sloppy Joe with my homemade sauce, sausage my daughter gave me..pre sliced pecan smoked little kick, cup of water, the only 2 zucchinis that grew for me this year, and rigatoni noodles.!! It was amazing and even better for today's lunch!! Thank you for the idea.
Saw your jars of salsa and the chicken in the freezer…you can throw them in the crockpot with a can of beer and taco seasoning to make chicken tacos! Very quick and easy!
If my pantry and freezers aren't full heading into winter, I feel like I'm in trouble. If I don't use something for the winter, I know not to plant in the spring, and the Food Bank gets a donation.
Hey Christine, I hate to say this but since this February I have spent no money on food. Between my son medical insurance and his EBT pandemic $ we have been able to only spend those benefits. And no need to spend any other funds. And we are extremely blessed to get that. So we took a page from you and paid that money to our mortgage.
We pay $4.40 a day per kid for school lunch. They are at private school that has opted out of the USDA guidelines, so they have a full salad bar with fresh veggies, fruits, cheeses, and three sides plus entree and drink each day.
This was amazing! I'm jealous of ur clearance prices in ur area but this was so helpful I think I have more food than I think in my house too I can't wait to see ur average for 2022. Ur killing it Christine!
I love that you are freezing the tomatoes! You certainly do get some good woo-hoo deals-the price on the eggs is unbelievable. I used to be able to get some good woo-hoo deals but I think a lot of it is now being donated instead of marked down.
Hi Christine! Maybe with some of the canned and non-perishable items you are not sure you want to use like the pasta & sauce, you might consider donating to a food pantry. They are strapped for donations because of the "inflation", and you would be helping out someone who needs anything. I know you do this already, but I just thought I'd put it out there for anyone else.
Amazing, Christine! If I spent only $710 (your highest) in a month on groceries, I would be so proud of myself! We average closer to $1200/month for our family of 5 with three teenage boys. But if you can do this, we should be able to do it! I've been really inspired to cut back this month and haven't gone to the grocery store yet (today's the 8th). I think I'm just going to go replenish our produce and gets some soy milk (mostly vegan family) and that will be it. We still have SO much food in our fridge and freezer! Plus we're well stocked on dry beans. Last night I made a huge pot of split pea soup along with your crusty bread recipe, and we have enough for another meal today. It's totally doable, just requires a bit more planning.
BTW, pancakes and waffles both freeze well. I make enough for a few weeks to a month at a time and freeze them to eat later. Same thing with french toast and it makes for fast, easy breakfast.
You completely changed my mindset on feeding my family! I’ve always meal prepped and cooked larger meals for a small family but now I buy discount groceries and we saved up and bough a deep freezer! I LOVE having food storage for emergencies and never having to panic about dinner with freezer meals and extras in the freezer.
My goal for my family of 7 is $175 per week. Now I think that is totally doable but I get caught on impulse buys or “good deals” and don’t make that all the time. I could even do better if I used my long term storage. Now my concern with eating out of that and my pantry is that things are so unstable in the world.
I have had eggs in my fridge for months and they are still good. With egg prices going up, when I find them on sale, I always buy 8-10 cartons. Never had a problem with them going bad.
I found a recipe for Baked Zucchini patties this past spring and it helped me use all my garden zucchini. Even put some in the freezer so I'm having it weekly. Helps with a tight budget!
I had a zucchini I had to use and some pretty brown bananas…voilà banana zucchini muffins. Used leftover applesauce to replace half the oil and no food waste. Even my mom liked them. Was pretty proud of myself, lol. The patties sound delicious!
You do such an amazing job! I wish that food prices were even close to those where you are- here in Australia, food prices are silly at the moment and seem to be continually rising. For comparison, I spend approximately the same or even slightly more for a family of two adults. I love seeing your videos for inspiration :) It would be great to see more videos of the meals you have made from your stockpile and shopping throughout the month. Thank you for sharing!
My family of 4 (two adults, 2 teens) spends $650/month on groceries. Between 2018-2021, it was closer to $580/month. Food is considerably more expensive where I am and alot of similar families spend $800-$900 while my husband's single + no dependents coworkers are spending $500-$600 excluding pets.
I'm in New York, Long Island actually & my family of 3 adults probably spends like $500. I don't have a discount store & my bread outlet closed. I don't track as closely as I should because we restarted our pantry after moving to a place with a much better kitchen few months ago. My goal next year is to get under $400/ month. I think with more trips to the store for clearance shopping I can do it, I get good deals but nothing like what Christine gets!
@@dianahurst6377 Prices depend a lot on where you live and can't be controlled. The easiest way (for me), besides shopping the sales, is portion control. Learn how much a serving *should be. Most people eat more than they need. I realize that some people do need more (athletes, outdoor workers, etc),. Make enough for plenty of leftovers (I call them "plannedovers"). If you make a casserole, make 2 and freeze one for later. Stretch the meat in your meal ... if making chili, add extra beans. Plan meals around soups and stews. Have breakfast for dinner.
Diana, not much prepackaged stuff, but one big bag of chips instead of all Thr little ones, make your own dessert, no drinks purchased.... just water bottles, anytime something is on an hood sale, but extra and stock it up.... go to the deli counter and get the sliced meats and cheese, rather then the small package.. watch your regular meat section for sales.... some times buying a pound of green beans fresh and either canning or freeing them is less then buy them already frozen or in cans... no name brand stuff... the name brand stuff and the generic brand are exactly the same just a different label.. if you find Bread for under a dollar, buy a bunch and freeze. Etc.. also going to Costco or sams club abs getting bill is cheaper, build up you stock pile.. only buy in sale, I am a stay at home farm mom, very small income.. convenient foods like boxes cereal had to go etc!!!learn to can your own foods.. it saves a huge amount.......if you have the freezer spacw buy meats from a local farmer in bulk
I think you could easily keep going at $168/month for Oct-Nov-Dec by judiciously using your pantry staples. If you made your husband's favorite vegan dish from South America twice a month, you would have it! Maybe add $100 in to make Christmas special. What do you think?
I went to caselot sale yesterday and they had an amazing meat sale going on too, I spent $650 and I have enough food for the next 6 months for my family of 4 all I’ll have to buy is milk and eggs and fresh foods mostly. In the caselot sale they had cheese and other non canned food items in my haul that I could freeze. I planned out meals for the next several months. I’m so thrilled!
I love the word FREE. I was gifted enough carrots to can 22 pints. Pears to can 6 pints of pears plus 6 pints of cinnamon pear preserves. 8 heads of cabbage that I pressured canned. Beautiful figs. Oh My Goodness. Amazing. I made a ton of fig preserves and strawberry fig jam. Love your videos.
With those zucchini things try a stuffed zucchini...cut zucchini in half length wise, scrape out seeds, fill with Spanish rise and naybe end with shredded cheese. You have a lot if rice and tomatoes and spices...
Your timing is exceptional Christine! Because of the cost of living crisis here in the UK I decided to spend A LOT more on shelf stable food/long term preps this month. The plan is that I'll hopefully be in a good position by October (when energy bills are set to soar - and everything else will follow suit) so I can just replenish things as I use them. Even though I specifically planned on this it's still scary seeing so much money disappear in one month. It's going to be ok though, one more big shop this weekend should finish off the baseline preps I want in stock before all the prices inevitably shoot up in October. Then I'll be following your lead next month and setting a VERY low food/preps budget
I would love to see some of what you are making as you are going through your stockpile. i have always loved your cooking videos and am missing them especially as we are all trying to use what we have while still creating healthy recipes.
Girllll you are hilarious, I wanna be your friend so bad but I feel like I’m probably your kids age LOL, but as a young adult in my 20s I do appreciate your videos a ton!
After you get your bags zipped shut, flatten them when you freeze them, they thaw better and generally speaking they stack (kinda) and save freezer space too!
Tip for freezing Peppers and Strawberries if you chop and prep the peppers and just hill the strawberries and then spread on cookie sheet flash freeze then put into bags and then you can use what ever amount you need from a few tablespoons to several cups . I do this with anything I don’t can and find it handy to not have them frozen in a big chunk .
Your last shopping trip just happened to me today. I decided to check out what Aldi had. I had no plan with what I needed. I usually plan for a budget of 20 to 25 on my food. I asked what my balance was before “aisle of shame”. Let’s say it was double. I did pick up some limited items as well of mark downs which led me to wanting to try making pizza.
SOOO you should be sooo proud of the fact you are feeding your family quality nutritious food for only an average of 400 a month - because we are Keto - we spend that much and we are a family of TWO - but we do do alot of the same things and are EYES are peeled for a bargain (i have a great garden of cucumbers in Mesa and have been pickling ) glenda
Feeding my family of 5 and a few of their friends on the weekends. I buy all organic, grass fed, pasture raised items. My 2 yr old son also has many food allergies so his meals are tricky and more expensive most of the time. I average around $400-$500 for all of us and that budget also includes my sons organic oat milk, which is about $160 ish for the whole month. Love your videos and soooooo jealous you have a Kroger but I do have an Aldi 😜.
Hello, sounds like you are doing fantastic! PS Oat milk is cheap and easy to make if you were interested by any chance, not trying to pressure you at all. cheers
We really love cheese. It's so good on or with just about anything. My daughter works at a wine and cheese shop. WE LOVE CHEESE. One of our favorite cheese treatments is to take a small glass bowl and a bunch of cheese slices, cubes, rounds, all small and fill the bowl. microwave for about 2 minutes or until all melted. Then serve with a hot pad under the bowl and a fork. SOOOOO comforting, warm melty cheese. What an autumn treat. Trust me. Try it.🧀
Guess what I found yesterday at smith's?? Clearance chicken breast!! They had so much. But I only got 18lbs because my freezers are stuffed. It was clearance for $2 a pound instead of the almost $4 a pound it is normally now.
The eggs cracked me up! (No pun intended) My husband and I are on our own... One dozen eggs from our neighbors' chickens last us FOUR weeks. We have three eggs when we do a 'big' breakfast on Sundays. You just bought 16 months worth of eggs in our world!
I love the garden. I got a bunch of Zuc's and hot peppers this year, (new garden). And I have a good number of potatoes. Great job on the deals! Man, the eggs! WOW!
Well you already have Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings I think it will be a stress free time at your house. Have a waffle or pancake breakfast with your family. Chili or soups and all the hot chocolate and popcorn to keep you satisfied while you are out skiing or playing in the snow. No need to do anything but buy milk for your hot chocolate. Thanks for all the inspiration.
It's true that when you make "more" money, you tend to spend more especially on things that aren't essential- things you could live without and still manage.
My grocery budget includes all our food, household goods, such as toilet paper, soaps, toothpaste, trash sacks, stamps, etc. I was curious if you included those types of items in your grocery budget, how much do you think it would increase? Thanks!
I do the same! I know people who have a budget line of "household goods" which includes cleaning supplies, paper products, etc., and they place the amount from that stuff there. I may not eat TP, trash bags and laundry soap, but I do buy those when I go grocery shopping and it is too hard to pull that info off the receipts! Depending on sales and how much you buy in a month, I would say it adds a good $100 to the amount.
For one child, three active teens, and two adults, that doesn't seem like a lot of vegetables. And beans, tomatoes, and peppers were frozen and still not used at the end of the month. Canada's Food Rules (really more of a suggestion) call for half the plate to be vegetables, and that doesn't count potatoes, which are considered starches like bread and pasta, although they are a very nutritious vegetable in their own right.
Every time I watch your “what I spent in (month)” videos I always think of one of my friends that lives in Connecticut. About five years ago I taught her and her husband how to coupon. There was only the two of them at the time in their apartment when she was said that she couldn’t get it by on their budget for groceries. I offered to teach them what I knew about couponing. I was in extreme couponer for about a year and a half 10 years ago and I am only half way through the soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and detergents from that time period in my life when I got at least half of it for free. Anyway, she had been complaining that if she “just had an extra $100 a month for groceries” she would be fine. 👀 She never shared her budget with me or her finances, but now I really have to wonder how much those two people spending if “an extra $100“ was “all” they “needed.” My God!!! 🤑💸 PS: McDonald’s drinks are $1.59 now for a large. A small is $1.29. 😩😩😩💙💙💙
Ever since I started following you I've only had to pay full price for bread a handful of times. My basement freezer is half filled with $1 clearance bread. Same with pork and beef. Most of the meat in my freezer was clearance , sale or buy one get one free.
Love these videos! I'm always looking for ideas and inspiration to save money on groceries. We're a one income family with two young toddlers and I love the challenge of saving money while feeding them nutritious meals :)
I miss Fred Meyer SO MUCH! Their clearance items are the best! I moved from Oregon to Tennessee 2 years ago and theres NOTHING like it here ☹ Thanks for the video!
I am spending way too much on groceries lately, especially considering it's just me and my spouse! 😵💫 But this week I did way better shopping at trader joe's and it's adding up to less food waste as well so I should probably go there more often!
We live in a very rural area doing the best we can. We have a Safeway, Rite Aid and a Dollar General for the big stores and one local grocery. To get clearance prices we would have to travel 60 miles round trip. That is a gamble I am not willing to take. We do good with just watching our budget and implementing sales with coupon or cash back apps. That egg price...omg!!
I gave up on freezing bananas and tring to make banana bread. Now it pumkins 😳. My garden did not a thing and what tomatoes I got were very small 😢. Working on the freeze of meat 😏. Happy cooking Christine.
This video is the perfect example of the saving ability a stocked kitchen can provide. You didn't buy less food, you just weren't forced to buy more expensive, specific food.
That’s really awesome. We spend a ton of money on food. We live in Northern California and it’s super expensive. We stick to Sam’s club and Costco for the most part. For a family of 5 ( three little kids) we spend at least $1000 a month if not more. I wish we had an Aldi here. Where we used to live we had one and it was a lifesaver.
Ok, your comment about how long it takes to get through a stocked pantry is so true ;-; We moved recently and spent like. 3 months eating down our pantry. We still had bulk food around, even after that! It's really shocking. Then, of course, we stocked up after we moved (a nice $500 there for only a family of two, y i k e s). Fortunately, we've been able to stick to our $300/mo "grocery and eating out" budget pretty well, despite it all. Also- those egg prices are insane!! I'm super jealous.
It's always good to weed thru the pantry & freezers a few times a year. Shopping sales & coupons isn't a waste (staying ahead is always a good game plan).
One idea: Long term storage needs to be things you want to eat and replace as used. Storm boxes of storm prep food can be eaten during non storm times to be sure that the foods last and are easy to use during emergency and are tasty. Learned this from a book Apocalypse Chow. Local authors who made wonderful storm boxes with wine and chocolate and other gormet foods, it made storms more fun. We live in Va Beach with hurricanes and Nor’easters, winter hurricanes 😂. Love ya and Injoy your channel so much. Peace
I'm spending more than I did last year... mostly because I can see what is coming down the pipeline and I am not going to be caught unable to feed my family for many hard months to come. I think it's up to me to decide being the mom/grandma to know whether we have more on hand.... ponder ponder... yup, we need more.
Hey I love your videos and really feel like I get practical tips that work in real life! Please show us how you save for a vehicle and how you go about that process. (Saving and how and when to start) Thanks so much for all the inspiration in your videos!
It is just my husband and I and we are STILL working through our COVID pantry 😅. We are about to start a full kitchen remodel and I am attempting to eat down the pantry so we have less to move. It has been quite the challenge I tell you.
I wish I had markets near me that offered such deep discounts on grocery items! I have followed many of your hacks and have cut my grocery budget by 40%.. but I am still spending about $600 a month!! Do you have a video of suggestions that doesn't include clearance items?
I go through my freezers, frig and pantry quite often. Keep a running list of what meals I can make with what I have, maybe need something to make it work. Write it on my grocery list then only pick up good sale items I know I use regularly. Most of my kids left already took me a while to figure out what I like.
I typically only buy the “loss leaders” that my grocer offers to get people in the store. Impulse buying is definitely a thing. Also, I will use grocery pickup if my budget is super tight. Keeps me out of the store completely. I also maintain an inventory, it helps. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I needed something just to discover I already had it at home.
Why is it so satisfying to watch videos of someone else's grocery hauls? My husband is always so confused but it's so much fun for me 😂😂. We spend a lot on groceries for our family of 5. We buy primarily organic with a large azure standard order every month and buy most of our meat from a local farm. Some of the monthly budget is also food going into long term food storage and we host several times a week so it makes sense for us :)
It’s my favorite thing ever!! I always have to be eating when I watch them though for some reason 😂
Chelsea, I think it makes perfect sense especially if you also have a large family. We all get stuck in a rut of buying and making the same meals over and over. I like to see what others buy and create with it for fresh inspiration. You’re smart!
Lol I cook for one and it is still fun to watch
Me too! My husband doesn’t get it either!
I need to get back to being frugal. I spend wayyyyyyy too much on our food for only 3. Yes we have a Daughter with Celiac and allergies,but I know I can do better. Thanks for this video.
We are one of those families who benefits from a gifted Thrive market. I subscribed and then unexpectedly needed to cancel my membership...when I called them, they decided to gift me a year membership. So kind!! Thrive market is a blessing
Wow, that's awesome!
I always wonder if those types of claims from companies are legit. So glad you could benefit!
I am so glad to hear that because when I subscribe to Thrive Market that was one of the things I really liked about it
When you showed the eggs on clearance, I said, out loud “what? No way!” 😂 I was halfway tempted to make a road trip from VA just to get those egg prices 😅
SAME!!!!! I'm in northern Illinois and haven't seen eggs go cheaper than $2.50 a dozen in over a year :(
I know right?! I’m from VA too 😂
eggs are over $4 here in PA
I just went to the store this morning, I almost passed out the eggs were 6.25 A DOZEN 🤯 Needless to say I didn't get them
@@MP-fk9em it's so awful!!
I'm jealous of your clearance prices! Haha. Loved this, keep 'em coming
Thank you! Will do!
Man I want those egg prices! $3.18/doz at my store yesterday. We go through 6-8 doz a week.
@@LetsFocusOnChrist eggs in my area are through the roof. Around $4 per dozen and $ 9.97 for the box of 30 eggs.
You probably know this, but you can freeze chillis whole and slice them frozen, they’re so thin walled you don’t have to chisel it or anything. It also means you can grate them into things if you want a finer distribution. Loving the videos! 😊
My kids lovingly call the clearance section at Kroger the “used food section”. They think they are hilarious as they are looking through all the bargains and filling our cart
I call it the “Clarence section” 😂
Yes!! I got my 6 year old looking for those stickers too! 😂
@@susansmith3034 I love visiting Clarence! LOL
My husband calls Grocery Outlet the "used food store." haha!
I found your video’s a few weeks ago when I was searching for freezer-pantry clean-out recipes. 3 weeks later, we’re still eating out of our freezer and pantry. It amazes me how much food we all store in our house without realising it!
Great job! I ended September by spending $472 out of my monthly $475 budget for our family of 6 - in Northern Indiana. I could and should probably do a pantry challenge soon, but like you, I can't resist a good deal, and filling my freezer! ☺️
That's pretty good! Where do you usually shop? I live in Southern Indiana. I'm determined to save money because things are getting more expensive it seems
I challenge you to do the same thing as this month for October through December right around 170 or less and then you'd average 350 a month this year and be able to continue using up your stock. You definitely have enough freezer meat, I think it's very doable! Fresh produce and dairy only, a few clearance finds/sales on lunch meat/etc and you're set! :) I've been watching all year, pretty invested now lol
Groceries are insane in the Netherlands too. We are at record level inflation at around 12% but meat and dairy have gone way up, beyond that. Sadly, I don't have the space for a big freezer and in little Dutch houses many people don't have the storage for a lot of bulk. I try to shop sales. We are eating many meatless meals, etc. It is just hard.
Can totally relate to small houses and not much storage but you can get really creative with it as I’m sure you know. My friend wanted long term storage or bulk storage and started using under her beds for that. She also cleaned out her closets of things she never used in a year and started tucking away her bulk storage items. She got really creative putting a “shelf”(boxes with her winter/or summer clothes) behind her couch and covering it with a table cloth of a color to match her decor and used it as a sort of table. I told her to put a piece of shelf board on top before the cloth and now she can put a lamp on it. No one ever notices it. One note tho, she has to keep an inventory written down of what is where in her house. But she’s able to have an inventory of bulk items stored in her very small house.
Would you be able to do a no spend month on groceries? I'd love to see a video on this. Love your videos 😍
I think it would be an interesting challenge to see if you can go a month without shopping at all since you have so much in your stockpile.
I just spent nearly 2k on a flight back home for Christmas (going home for the first time in 4 years!) so I am definitely on the 'eating everything in the fridge and pantry til payday in late October' train lol
Such a good challenge! I did one big shop at the beginning of the month and the goal is to make it last until the end of the month by cooking everything I already have in my freezer and pantry, it's a fantastic way to keep costs down as well as prevent food waste!
How's it going so far? Good luck!
I cannot believe you found eggs on clearance for that price! I would have stocked up too. 😃
I'm crying Canadain tears seeing that receipt. I wish!
Right? Such a big difference in prices to what we have in Canada
Me too! I just spent $8.99 on 30 eggs because it was the cheapest way to buy them and gasped when I saw that a 10kg bag of all purpose flour was $19.99. I don't know how people manage without watching grocery prices.
Wow!! That egg & sliced cheese was such an awesome price! I just told my husband that I didn’t buy any sliced cheese because even the local store brand was almost $5 a package! CA prices seem to be going even higher these past few months….Absolutely love all your videos , ideas & savings ❤
These are my favorite videos of yours! They are all great though.
I love these too!
I am a single woman who for many years cooked for a family of six but haven’t done that in a long long time. When we were hearing about food shortages, I really worked hard to build up supplies thinking that I would use them and replace them as I went along but I’d always have a surplus. To my shock, some things I haven’t even made a dent in. I live in New Jersey and I average about $150 a week! I am 65 and I don’t say no to myself if I want some thing but I still try to buy deals and be frugal. I suspect though if I couldn’t leave my house between now and January one I’d have plenty of food for the most part.
I’m trying to do the same thing since I heard about these food shortages trying to stock up trying to cook up trying to be prepared🙏🏾
Yes, I spend about $500 per month just on myself ( and do meals for family members a few x a week) .. PLUS some take out food which I have not kept track of, so... that's where it's at! I'm shocked at how little a lot of people here spend! ps I"m in Canada
@@heidibonjour I’m in NJ. Big part of the problem is we have to buy quantities that are larger than what we need. And many recipes make me crazy with the number of portions. I can only freeze so much
@@virginiablasi7109 Your words are so true! Personally, I have just started tracking my spending for the last couple of months, and I notice that I am buying vegetarian burger patties at $2 to $3 a pop, and a lot of expensive cheeses and baking with almond flour, eating a lot of cashews and nuts for snacks, so.. I made my own veggie burgers for 30 ¢ each, and am changing some of my snacking habits from expensive nuts and cheeses , and I think this month's bills ( knock on wood) will be closer for $400 , rather than the $500 I was spending! I am refraining from shopping whenever I feel like and trying to meal prep a bit more... I wonder if I could knock it down a bit more later as I learn more; We will see! Even $400 month would be a lot better than $500 month! Good luck to you! cheers from Vancouver!
Wow! I have been spending about $150/week for my family of 8 this month in TX. 😱
The garden harvest is awesome.❤
I find that I budget/spend about 25% more in November and December, since we typically host extended family for multiple holiday meals, and have out of town guests that come to visit.. I’m looking forward to challenging myself to a “no spend” January, to see how long I can push it with our freezer/pantry stash..
My favorite type of video.
I get inspired to look for the deals. Just yesterday, I bought all my HEB produce either half off or on sale. We may not get the crazy deals but HEB occasionally has the big yellow stickers for half off.
Keep sharing your finds.
OMG!!! I made your pasta, sausage and veggies. From a couple videos ago. I changed up a bit due to what I have. Shopping is hard with $80 a month for food..5 people. I used a can of sloppy Joe with my homemade sauce, sausage my daughter gave me..pre sliced pecan smoked little kick, cup of water, the only 2 zucchinis that grew for me this year, and rigatoni noodles.!! It was amazing and even better for today's lunch!! Thank you for the idea.
Saw your jars of salsa and the chicken in the freezer…you can throw them in the crockpot with a can of beer and taco seasoning to make chicken tacos! Very quick and easy!
That sounds delicious!
If my pantry and freezers aren't full heading into winter, I feel like I'm in trouble. If I don't use something for the winter, I know not to plant in the spring, and the Food Bank gets a donation.
Hey Christine, I hate to say this but since this February I have spent no money on food. Between my son medical insurance and his EBT pandemic $ we have been able to only spend those benefits. And no need to spend any other funds. And we are extremely blessed to get that. So we took a page from you and paid that money to our mortgage.
We pay $4.40 a day per kid for school lunch. They are at private school that has opted out of the USDA guidelines, so they have a full salad bar with fresh veggies, fruits, cheeses, and three sides plus entree and drink each day.
This was amazing! I'm jealous of ur clearance prices in ur area but this was so helpful I think I have more food than I think in my house too I can't wait to see ur average for 2022. Ur killing it Christine!
I love that you are freezing the tomatoes! You certainly do get some good woo-hoo deals-the price on the eggs is unbelievable. I used to be able to get some good woo-hoo deals but I think a lot of it is now being donated instead of marked down.
Hi Christine! Maybe with some of the canned and non-perishable items you are not sure you want to use like the pasta & sauce, you might consider donating to a food pantry. They are strapped for donations because of the "inflation", and you would be helping out someone who needs anything. I know you do this already, but I just thought I'd put it out there for anyone else.
Amazing, Christine! If I spent only $710 (your highest) in a month on groceries, I would be so proud of myself! We average closer to $1200/month for our family of 5 with three teenage boys. But if you can do this, we should be able to do it! I've been really inspired to cut back this month and haven't gone to the grocery store yet (today's the 8th). I think I'm just going to go replenish our produce and gets some soy milk (mostly vegan family) and that will be it. We still have SO much food in our fridge and freezer! Plus we're well stocked on dry beans. Last night I made a huge pot of split pea soup along with your crusty bread recipe, and we have enough for another meal today. It's totally doable, just requires a bit more planning.
What on earth do you buy on routine basis??
BTW, pancakes and waffles both freeze well. I make enough for a few weeks to a month at a time and freeze them to eat later. Same thing with french toast and it makes for fast, easy breakfast.
You completely changed my mindset on feeding my family! I’ve always meal prepped and cooked larger meals for a small family but now I buy discount groceries and we saved up and bough a deep freezer! I LOVE having food storage for emergencies and never having to panic about dinner with freezer meals and extras in the freezer.
My goal for my family of 7 is $175 per week. Now I think that is totally doable but I get caught on impulse buys or “good deals” and don’t make that all the time. I could even do better if I used my long term storage. Now my concern with eating out of that and my pantry is that things are so unstable in the world.
I have had eggs in my fridge for months and they are still good.
With egg prices going up, when I find them on sale, I always buy 8-10 cartons. Never had a problem with them going bad.
I found a recipe for Baked Zucchini patties this past spring and it helped me use all my garden zucchini. Even put some in the freezer so I'm having it weekly. Helps with a tight budget!
Those sound yummy! Would you happen to have a link to the recipe?
Yes! Recipe please:)
I had a zucchini I had to use and some pretty brown bananas…voilà banana zucchini muffins. Used leftover applesauce to replace half the oil and no food waste. Even my mom liked them. Was pretty proud of myself, lol. The patties sound delicious!
@@firequeen2194 sounds like my crazy concoctions;) good job! I'm proud of you too!
You do such an amazing job! I wish that food prices were even close to those where you are- here in Australia, food prices are silly at the moment and seem to be continually rising. For comparison, I spend approximately the same or even slightly more for a family of two adults. I love seeing your videos for inspiration :) It would be great to see more videos of the meals you have made from your stockpile and shopping throughout the month. Thank you for sharing!
My family of 4 (two adults, 2 teens) spends $650/month on groceries. Between 2018-2021, it was closer to $580/month. Food is considerably more expensive where I am and alot of similar families spend $800-$900 while my husband's single + no dependents coworkers are spending $500-$600 excluding pets.
Family of 6.. spend less then $200 a month
I'm in New York, Long Island actually & my family of 3 adults probably spends like $500. I don't have a discount store & my bread outlet closed. I don't track as closely as I should because we restarted our pantry after moving to a place with a much better kitchen few months ago. My goal next year is to get under $400/ month. I think with more trips to the store for clearance shopping I can do it, I get good deals but nothing like what Christine gets!
I have a family of 3 adults .. everyone packs a lunch...makes coffee ...eats breakfast at home..I don't know how to get below $600 a month! Any tips??
@@dianahurst6377 Prices depend a lot on where you live and can't be controlled. The easiest way (for me), besides shopping the sales, is portion control. Learn how much a serving *should be. Most people eat more than they need. I realize that some people do need more (athletes, outdoor workers, etc),. Make enough for plenty of leftovers (I call them "plannedovers"). If you make a casserole, make 2 and freeze one for later. Stretch the meat in your meal ... if making chili, add extra beans. Plan meals around soups and stews. Have breakfast for dinner.
Diana, not much prepackaged stuff, but one big bag of chips instead of all Thr little ones, make your own dessert, no drinks purchased.... just water bottles, anytime something is on an hood sale, but extra and stock it up.... go to the deli counter and get the sliced meats and cheese, rather then the small package.. watch your regular meat section for sales.... some times buying a pound of green beans fresh and either canning or freeing them is less then buy them already frozen or in cans... no name brand stuff... the name brand stuff and the generic brand are exactly the same just a different label.. if you find Bread for under a dollar, buy a bunch and freeze. Etc.. also going to Costco or sams club abs getting bill is cheaper, build up you stock pile.. only buy in sale, I am a stay at home farm mom, very small income.. convenient foods like boxes cereal had to go etc!!!learn to can your own foods.. it saves a huge amount.......if you have the freezer spacw buy meats from a local farmer in bulk
Super jealous of those eggs!!!! Both the fresh laid and the super discounted ones. 😂💕🙏🏼
I think you could easily keep going at $168/month for Oct-Nov-Dec by judiciously using your pantry staples. If you made your husband's favorite vegan dish from South America twice a month, you would have it!
Maybe add $100 in to make Christmas special. What do you think?
Great idea!!
I went to caselot sale yesterday and they had an amazing meat sale going on too, I spent $650 and I have enough food for the next 6 months for my family of 4 all I’ll have to buy is milk and eggs and fresh foods mostly. In the caselot sale they had cheese and other non canned food items in my haul that I could freeze. I planned out meals for the next several months. I’m so thrilled!
I miss case lot sales
Thank you for telling us how you prep and store the foods, it's so helpful!
I love the word FREE. I was gifted enough carrots to can 22 pints. Pears to can 6 pints of pears plus 6 pints of cinnamon pear preserves. 8 heads of cabbage that I pressured canned. Beautiful figs. Oh My Goodness. Amazing. I made a ton of fig preserves and strawberry fig jam. Love your videos.
With those zucchini things try a stuffed zucchini...cut zucchini in half length wise, scrape out seeds, fill with Spanish rise and naybe end with shredded cheese. You have a lot if rice and tomatoes and spices...
I'm a house of one and spend about $30 a week (produce, milk, eggs, etc). My mom has instill in me the importance of a stocked freezer and panty.
RIP to the incredible Chris Farley!!!!❤
Truth.
Your timing is exceptional Christine!
Because of the cost of living crisis here in the UK I decided to spend A LOT more on shelf stable food/long term preps this month. The plan is that I'll hopefully be in a good position by October (when energy bills are set to soar - and everything else will follow suit) so I can just replenish things as I use them.
Even though I specifically planned on this it's still scary seeing so much money disappear in one month. It's going to be ok though, one more big shop this weekend should finish off the baseline preps I want in stock before all the prices inevitably shoot up in October.
Then I'll be following your lead next month and setting a VERY low food/preps budget
I'm super jealous of the egg deal! I would purchased as many as possible
The bananas! 😂😂😂 I’ve been here since Dave bought all those bananas a while ago. Cracks me up every time I see them in your videos.
With that many bananas, I would have messaged my friends and community that if anyone needed ripe bananas for muffins to please come to my house! 😁🤣😜
I'm budgeting $70 a week for groceries for two, and we eat out once a week as well.
I would love to see some of what you are making as you are going through your stockpile. i have always loved your cooking videos and am missing them especially as we are all trying to use what we have while still creating healthy recipes.
Girllll you are hilarious, I wanna be your friend so bad but I feel like I’m probably your kids age LOL, but as a young adult in my 20s I do appreciate your videos a ton!
After you get your bags zipped shut, flatten them when you freeze them, they thaw better and generally speaking they stack (kinda) and save freezer space too!
Tip for freezing Peppers and Strawberries if you chop and prep the peppers and just hill the strawberries and then spread on cookie sheet flash freeze then put into bags and then you can use what ever amount you need from a few tablespoons to several cups . I do this with anything I don’t can and find it handy to not have them frozen in a big chunk .
I do this to, makes cooking much easier
Your last shopping trip just happened to me today. I decided to check out what Aldi had. I had no plan with what I needed. I usually plan for a budget of 20 to 25 on my food. I asked what my balance was before “aisle of shame”. Let’s say it was double. I did pick up some limited items as well of mark downs which led me to wanting to try making pizza.
Wow, impressive for the year! Way to go!
Love the good deals! Thank you for sharing and your transparency!
Love and blessings from Johanne, Norway 🇳🇴
Yes to pantry clean out. I need to do it as well. 2 full freezers and a full pantry.
SOOO you should be sooo proud of the fact you are feeding your family quality nutritious food for only an average of 400 a month - because we are Keto - we spend that much and we are a family of TWO - but we do do alot of the same things and are EYES are peeled for a bargain (i have a great garden of cucumbers in Mesa and have been pickling ) glenda
Feeding my family of 5 and a few of their friends on the weekends. I buy all organic, grass fed, pasture raised items. My 2 yr old son also has many food allergies so his meals are tricky and more expensive most of the time. I average around $400-$500 for all of us and that budget also includes my sons organic oat milk, which is about $160 ish for the whole month.
Love your videos and soooooo jealous you have a Kroger but I do have an Aldi 😜.
Hello, sounds like you are doing fantastic! PS Oat milk is cheap and easy to make if you were interested by any chance, not trying to pressure you at all. cheers
We really love cheese. It's so good on or with just about anything. My daughter works at a wine and cheese shop. WE LOVE CHEESE. One of our favorite cheese treatments is to take a small glass bowl and a bunch of cheese slices, cubes, rounds, all small and fill the bowl. microwave for about 2 minutes or until all melted. Then serve with a hot pad under the bowl and a fork. SOOOOO comforting, warm melty cheese. What an autumn treat. Trust me. Try it.🧀
Guess what I found yesterday at smith's?? Clearance chicken breast!! They had so much. But I only got 18lbs because my freezers are stuffed. It was clearance for $2 a pound instead of the almost $4 a pound it is normally now.
I think food prices here in Canada are a lot higher! Chicken breasts are about $9 or $10 pound here regularly. ( October 2022)
For your fresh eggs store them in the carton with the pointy end down and the air cell is even.
I’m working my way through my pantry. My garden was plentiful and I’m excited to eat home grown food this winter.
The eggs cracked me up! (No pun intended) My husband and I are on our own... One dozen eggs from our neighbors' chickens last us FOUR weeks. We have three eggs when we do a 'big' breakfast on Sundays. You just bought 16 months worth of eggs in our world!
I love the garden. I got a bunch of Zuc's and hot peppers this year, (new garden). And I have a good number of potatoes. Great job on the deals! Man, the eggs! WOW!
I am so jealous of those clearance eggs. So jealous.
Well you already have Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings I think it will be a stress free time at your house. Have a waffle or pancake breakfast with your family. Chili or soups and all the hot chocolate and popcorn to keep you satisfied while you are out skiing or playing in the snow. No need to do anything but buy milk for your hot chocolate. Thanks for all the inspiration.
It's true that when you make "more" money, you tend to spend more especially on things that aren't essential- things you could live without and still manage.
Hey Christine, your makeup looks so good in this video! And you did some blush too? Looks very nice!
My grocery budget includes all our food, household goods, such as toilet paper, soaps, toothpaste, trash sacks, stamps, etc. I was curious if you included those types of items in your grocery budget, how much do you think it would increase? Thanks!
I do the same! I know people who have a budget line of "household goods" which includes cleaning supplies, paper products, etc., and they place the amount from that stuff there. I may not eat TP, trash bags and laundry soap, but I do buy those when I go grocery shopping and it is too hard to pull that info off the receipts! Depending on sales and how much you buy in a month, I would say it adds a good $100 to the amount.
I would love to see this in Walmart since a lot more people have a Walmart near them
For one child, three active teens, and two adults, that doesn't seem like a lot of vegetables. And beans, tomatoes, and peppers were frozen and still not used at the end of the month. Canada's Food Rules (really more of a suggestion) call for half the plate to be vegetables, and that doesn't count potatoes, which are considered starches like bread and pasta, although they are a very nutritious vegetable in their own right.
Do a month that challenges you to use all those sauces and canned goods that you normally don’t.
Every time I watch your “what I spent in (month)” videos I always think of one of my friends that lives in Connecticut. About five years ago I taught her and her husband how to coupon. There was only the two of them at the time in their apartment when she was said that she couldn’t get it by on their budget for groceries. I offered to teach them what I knew about couponing. I was in extreme couponer for about a year and a half 10 years ago and I am only half way through the soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and detergents from that time period in my life when I got at least half of it for free. Anyway, she had been complaining that if she “just had an extra $100 a month for groceries” she would be fine. 👀 She never shared her budget with me or her finances, but now I really have to wonder how much those two people spending if “an extra $100“ was “all” they “needed.” My God!!! 🤑💸 PS: McDonald’s drinks are $1.59 now for a large. A small is $1.29. 😩😩😩💙💙💙
Ever since I started following you I've only had to pay full price for bread a handful of times. My basement freezer is half filled with $1 clearance bread. Same with pork and beef. Most of the meat in my freezer was clearance , sale or buy one get one free.
Love these videos! I'm always looking for ideas and inspiration to save money on groceries. We're a one income family with two young toddlers and I love the challenge of saving money while feeding them nutritious meals :)
First of all.. your hair looks great! 😊
I love this kind of videos 😃
I wish we had a discount store like yours!
I miss Fred Meyer SO MUCH! Their clearance items are the best! I moved from Oregon to Tennessee 2 years ago and theres NOTHING like it here ☹ Thanks for the video!
I am spending way too much on groceries lately, especially considering it's just me and my spouse! 😵💫 But this week I did way better shopping at trader joe's and it's adding up to less food waste as well so I should probably go there more often!
We live in a very rural area doing the best we can. We have a Safeway, Rite Aid and a Dollar General for the big stores and one local grocery. To get clearance prices we would have to travel 60 miles round trip. That is a gamble I am not willing to take. We do good with just watching our budget and implementing sales with coupon or cash back apps. That egg price...omg!!
I gave up on freezing bananas and tring to make banana bread. Now it pumkins 😳. My garden did not a thing and what tomatoes I got were very small 😢. Working on the freeze of meat 😏. Happy cooking Christine.
This video is the perfect example of the saving ability a stocked kitchen can provide. You didn't buy less food, you just weren't forced to buy more expensive, specific food.
That’s really awesome. We spend a ton of money on food. We live in Northern California and it’s super expensive. We stick to Sam’s club and Costco for the most part. For a family of 5 ( three little kids) we spend at least $1000 a month if not more. I wish we had an Aldi here. Where we used to live we had one and it was a lifesaver.
Ok, your comment about how long it takes to get through a stocked pantry is so true ;-; We moved recently and spent like. 3 months eating down our pantry. We still had bulk food around, even after that! It's really shocking. Then, of course, we stocked up after we moved (a nice $500 there for only a family of two, y i k e s). Fortunately, we've been able to stick to our $300/mo "grocery and eating out" budget pretty well, despite it all.
Also- those egg prices are insane!! I'm super jealous.
I have been freezing our tomatoes and will be canning them this weekend. Also will be dehydrating peppers. They are so good to as to chili. 😋
We are spending so much on groceries. I wish I lived in the states because things are so much cheaper there.
It's always good to weed thru the pantry & freezers a few times a year. Shopping sales & coupons isn't a waste (staying ahead is always a good game plan).
I just could not manage all that inventory. I’m sure it does save money, but the hours of time and stress is just not worth it to me.
One idea: Long term storage needs to be things you want to eat and replace as used. Storm boxes of storm prep food can be eaten during non storm times to be sure that the foods last and are easy to use during emergency and are tasty. Learned this from a book Apocalypse Chow. Local authors who made wonderful storm boxes with wine and chocolate and other gormet foods, it made storms more fun. We live in Va Beach with hurricanes and Nor’easters, winter hurricanes 😂. Love ya and Injoy your channel so much. Peace
I'm spending more than I did last year... mostly because I can see what is coming down the pipeline and I am not going to be caught unable to feed my family for many hard months to come. I think it's up to me to decide being the mom/grandma to know whether we have more on hand.... ponder ponder... yup, we need more.
Amazing egg deal :) those frozen banana...just peel, stick them in a bowl, scoop with spoon to eat. Texture is just like ice cream
I like that you do the math several ways and not just what sounds cheapest. Let’s all know how to check themselves.. reality
Hey I love your videos and really feel like I get practical tips that work in real life! Please show us how you save for a vehicle and how you go about that process. (Saving and how and when to start) Thanks so much for all the inspiration in your videos!
What a deal on those eggs!!! You definitely couldn't pass that up! Wish I would find that here.
It is just my husband and I and we are STILL working through our COVID pantry 😅. We are about to start a full kitchen remodel and I am attempting to eat down the pantry so we have less to move. It has been quite the challenge I tell you.
I wish I had markets near me that offered such deep discounts on grocery items! I have followed many of your hacks and have cut my grocery budget by 40%.. but I am still spending about $600 a month!! Do you have a video of suggestions that doesn't include clearance items?
I go through my freezers, frig and pantry quite often. Keep a running list of what meals I can make with what I have, maybe need something to make it work. Write it on my grocery list then only pick up good sale items I know I use regularly. Most of my kids left already took me a while to figure out what I like.
I typically only buy the “loss leaders” that my grocer offers to get people in the store. Impulse buying is definitely a thing. Also, I will use grocery pickup if my budget is super tight. Keeps me out of the store completely. I also maintain an inventory, it helps. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I needed something just to discover I already had it at home.
A good stock gives piece of mind
Just me and my husband and I spend way too much on groceries, just say ..... I think I need a plan. Thanks for sharing 👍