How can I lower my grocery bill as a college student?
Right, so I just spent almost $70 on groceries (mostly for myself) at Publix (a local grocery store). Yikes. I'm going to provide a list of what I bought... let me know how I can save some money next time. I am expecting this to last 3 weeks to a month (of course some basics will last longer than that). I bought generic brands when available and cheaper (some name brands were on sale). Was this an alright trip? I work a lot and I'm a college student, so time is limited. I am not an experienced grocery shopper really... I hunt for bargains and sales... but I just moved into my new apartment and my roomates had some basics, but I had to start from scratch. I always check the "per oz" cost on the grocery store tag, but any other tips are greatly appreciated. Some easy ways to do more sale shopping would be great! 1 bag frozen Tortellini Frozen Broccoli Frozen Mushrooms *1 Bag Banquet Chicken Nuggets *1 Bag Chicken Tenders (^They were buy one, get one free) Cottage Cheese 6 Pack Bagels Fresh Spinach Salad Mix Bag of Shredded Cheese Baby Carrots Feta Cheese Seafood Spread French Onion Dip Coffee Creamer Cream Cheese Turkey Polish Sausage Gallon of Green Tea Gallon of Milk Crackers 100 Snack Pack (Variety Box) Box of Kettle Corn Generic Brand Cheerios Tortilla Chips Jar of Pasta Sauce Garlic Powder Drinking water (the kind that goes in the fridge and has a spout) Mini Rice Cakes A Dozen Eggs Oh, please keep in mind that I try to eat healthy. Everything I buy is a lower fat or lower calorie option. This time my "non-healthy" item was the chicken because it was fast, easy, cheap... and not the WORST thing for me. Cheese is expensive, but dairy is part of a well-balanced diet. I mix it with eggs, salads, etc etc. I'd love to be able to cut it out, but I also don't want to be lacking nutrition. I'm the only one eating the veggies, so I try not to buy fresh. It's cheaper to buy the frozen... and it doesn't go to waste. Instead of spending $4 on fresh veggies and half of it goes to waste, I spend the $1-$1.50 and it all gets eaten. Thanks for the tips so far. A lot of them are helpful. There were a couple buys like the tea, pasta sauce and snack packs that were just easy, and on sale. I try to limit those. A Ramen... my best friend. We have a HUGE package of it, but I try to limit my consumption of it. It's LOADED with fat and sodium... gross. I try to make my own "sauce" for it, but it's hard to get a good sauce, low in sodium.
Other - Food & Drink - 9 Answers
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1 :
When I was a starving college student I found Ramon Noodles, and fresh veggies, Sandwiches, and fruit were the best way to save money. Just cut all the veggies and fruit yourself and make meals out of them.
2 :
eat less
3 :
hmm sales and bargains are always better. i think that if you buy a salad mix than you dont need to have cheese. the thing you want to try is not buy the salad mix because you can easily make a salad with the spinach you buy. and try to reduce the number of cheeses. you might want to visit some asian or a country specialised shop where you can buy a lot of nutriotous food at low cost and also try a different taste. and instead of bagels try the whole wheat bread. and also choose either the rice cakes or the crakcers.
4 :
ok.... check back on my answr frequently cuz i am sure i will think of more ideas..... instead of buying bagged foods such as shredded cheese, tortellini, baby, carrots, broccoli, jar sauce... try this buy the generic block of chz and shred it yourself, you can buy one at the dollar store buy a can of crushed tomatoes and doctor it yourself with garlic, onion, salt, pepper parsley instead of buying green tea already made, try brewing your own, instead of bagels, buy whole wheat or whole grain bread, it freezes well buy whole carrots, and clean and cut them up, buy fresh broccoli and steam it instead of tortellini, buy pasta , boil it and add ricoota cheese to your homemade sauce... its yummy ramen noodles make a huge pot of chili or a soup on your day off, you can eat it everyday, so it cost you 20 bucks to make a pot of chili, you can eat it everyday or freeze it in containers enough for a meal at a time.....i made a pot of cabbage and beef soup.... wheat pasta was just on sale at publix, buy 1 get 1...... you can get used to it, lord knows i did.... instead of kettle korn, buy a bag of raw popcorn and pickup a cheap popcorn maker for 10 bucks and pop your own... instead of your snack packs, buy a huge tub of sherbert and eat that when you get the munchies..... buy publix brand crackers, they have thier version of almost all the cracker brands, the woven wheats are my fave, (the publix brand of triscuits) if you have a fruit stand nearby you can get alot of your fresh produce super cheap that way.... i bought a case of tomatoes for 12 bucks, that 40 lbs of tomatoes.....
5 :
I was going to say to not buy processed and prepared foods, but it looks like you don't anyway. All the more you can do is try to always buy the store brand and try to buy whatever is on special. Let the specials dictate your menus.
6 :
You already sound like you have some good strategies with keeping an eye out for sales and buying generic. You may also try clipping coupons or buying a membership to a wholesale warehouse like Costco or Sam's Club. You can get a friend or a group of friends to split the yearly fee (around $40 or so) and take them shopping with you. This way you and your friends buy in bulk which is much cheaper than retail in the long run.
7 :
Cottage Cheese - you can make it by yourself Salad Mix - by lettice and make it by yourself Bag of Shredded Cheese - shreded cheese more pricy (buy cheese in bricks and shred by youself) Gallon of Green Tea - make it by yourself and keep at the freege Also - use coupons (try to shop at the stores accepting double coupons)
8 :
I'd say you did pretty well, but I'll put my two cents in: Don't know what the tortillini cost but dried pasta is really inexpensive. Salad mix - I find that heads of lettuce are cheaper and go further Shredded cheese- buy a grater(@ a thrift store) and buy blocks of cheese Baby carrots-I find that carrots are cheaper by the pound than in pkgs. Buy tea bags and make your own tea snack packs - is that chips? if so, buy big bags and baggies Lastly- bottled water is usually cheaper by the gallon, and you could save the jugs and refill at many stores. Oh yeah, I know it sounds nerdy, but have you thought of coupons? I save almost half of my bill using them. Good luck- hope this helps
9 :
Just buy what you NEED, you shouldn't spend so much money on food you don't need.
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