Shopping budget for food

[Deleted]

Do you carefully check the prices when you shop for food, or are you determined to get what you really want, even if it means cutting back on other items? Do you tend to buy name brands or house brands? Is is common for you to buy fruits or vegetables that are completely out of season in your part of the world?

I confess that I am an excessively frugal shopper although I do not need to be. I was raised on cheap food, and I find it difficult to splurge, although I will do so on rare occasions.

I also tend to buy too much of certain items on promotion -- and that is a real waste, because the excess must sometimes be thrown away.

In other words, I am still learning.

[tillystar]

I used to buy whatever I wanted, when I wanted and probably spent about 3 times a month on food what we do now.

Now our budget has been slashed with me going part-time and nursery fees and I have become a demon frugal shopper. I buy whatever is on offer in the supermarkets in terms of meat and fish (I never buy fruit and veg there its outrageous) and then buy whatever is in season in the market for fruit and veg and plan our meals around that. For other items I have learnt where I am happy to use basics (tinned tomatoes, dried pasta) and where I use brands (cheese, sausages). I rarely throw anything away as tiny leftover portions can get frozen for little star or added to the next night's meal.

I stock up on cleaning and toiletries whenever the ones we use are on offer. For example I haven't brought shampoo or conditioner for 18 months as it was buy one get one free onthe only one I can use so I stocked up. Same with the washing powder and washing liquid we use.

I know the promotions can really work against you but I play the game professionally! I really enjoy trying to spend as little as possible now - it all helps pay for my wine and shoes

[gringalais]

For me it is seems to go in cycles. When my now-fiance started spending a lot of time at my place and we would shop together, we'd splurge quite a bit on fancy imported things and more expensive brands. Now that we are getting married, want to buy a house in the not so distant future and also are considering buying a new car since mine is old, we are more frugal. We make a list and stick to it and for most things we pay close attention to the price and take advantage of discounts. There are a few things where I am picky about the brands, though. For example, a lot of the condiments here are too sweet for my taste, so I only buy certain brands that aren't. We also have started going to this big sort of farmer's market for produce and meat. The produce generally looks better than most of what is in the supermarket and it is a lot more economical.

[missalaska]

I've only recently be able to have a credit card here due to red tape. Last week when I was away I bought some things and didn't even know how much I'd paid until afterwards - I just signed, I was shocked by my absentmindedness.
Usually I look at prices and am a very frugal shopper, although we used to buy organic veg all the time. Haven't done that for a while but want to start again, although we have a wonderful fruiterer and I enjoy the whole experience there.

[missalaska]

Sorry I never answered your questions... No I always buy in season as imported stuff is way expensive and really there is no need to have it. We mostly buy house brands with the odd name brand. We don't really get much in the way of promotions inSA so I avoid them unless it is something I buy anyway.

[Jazz]

I seldom check prices but I seem to have an innate sense of budget. I eat simply but beautifully and I love fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood and poultry. I buy housebrands as much as possible unless the quality is dreadful. Sometimes I eat out of season but I am doing that less and less. Generally I am trying to eat what is in season and local to where I live, as much as possible. This leads to a whole new creative way of cooking and is less expensive. Since I live alone, I don't buy excessive amounts of anything on sale___my freezer is very small.

I tend to shop every two or three days so that everything will be fresh. Also, shopping for food is something that I love to do at any time. And, if I am anxious or upset, nothing calms me down more than going to my favorite food shops and wandering around for hours, even if I only spend 20CDN (15E)...better than alcohol or any other self medication.

I fall off the wagon when I am having guests and I want to give them a delicious meal. I create the menu (budget be damned) and then make a feeble attempt to spend less. But, I don't entertain often. I was brought up very frugally and I want to enjoy my food, but I never really spend much just for me.

[lagatta]

I live very close to the Jean-Talon market, the largest public (farmers') market in Montréal. So I eat very locally for an extended season, but I don't manage to eat perfectly locally in wintertime as that would mean just about nothing but cabbage and carrots. Do want to eat something green every day. I deliberately have a tiny fridge (countertop sized) though I'd be in the market for a slightly larger one if I find it second-hand or on sale, mostly to freeze stock from bones.

I do check prices and try to have a bit of a pantry of dried, tinned etc foods - this since the great ice storm that hit Eastern Ontario and Western Québec around a decade ago. Do love going to the market - one can always have a coffee there (better in the clement weather but even in wintertime) and bathe in the beauty of fresh things.

But I do like some wine with a nice meal - this may well be made by frugal uncles but isn't truly local as the grape must comes from California or Argentina.

Understand gringalais about the condiments. I certainly don't eat mayonnaise every day, but I hate the sweet North American types. French mayo is readily available here, but more expensive. Of course I could make my own, but I don't eat enough and it goes bad.

[bixaorellana]

I am extremely frugal and have always been that way. My stepfather (he & my mother married when I was 37) jokes that I'm really his child, since he is careful about money. I came from a family where there was apparently a comfortable income, since we were shielded from any knowledge of money when I was a kid. This meant that I had to learn how to use it wisely all on my own.

I do subscribe to the rule of spending less on some things in order to treat myself to something pricey or more frivolous on occasion. But really, because I mostly get my groceries from the weekly market and because I eat more vegetables than meat, and have fruit instead of other desserts, I don't have to agonize that much over the occasional non-essential buy.

Because the weekly market offers bargains and because it's hard to turn down over two kilos of tomatoes for less than a dollar, I can wind up with too much fresh stuff. Since I can't stand the guilt when I let it go bad, I deal with it by making stuff I can freeze. And cooking a large quantity of certain things -- stews, beans, tomato sauce -- makes way more sense than just cooking enough for a couple of meals for one person. This makes sense for people who have to go out to work every day, too. If they like to cook, they can prepare several things on the weekend or if they have spare time during the week. It's nice to know that there's always some home cooking at hand for when there's no time to do it from scratch.

[palesa]

I am trying to learn to be frugal, I am mostly extravagant and spend way way too much on food. I have yet to find a farmer's market near us, the one that I did find had hand crochet tea cosies and dog jerseys, and a few limp veggies.

In the last 3 months I have managed to cut my food spending a bit, but am on a mission to reduce it even more.

[bixaorellana]

It's harder to curtail your food spending when you live with someone else. Food is one way of showing love. It's one thing to curtail your purchases when you live alone, because some of that is a form of self-discipline about eating healthfully, but when you know your loved one craves Oreos, for instance, well, it's hard to deprive him.

[palesa]

What she said!

[tillystar]

Since I can't stand the guilt when I let it go bad, I deal with it by making stuff I can freeze. And cooking a large quantity of certain things -- stews, beans, tomato sauce -- makes way more sense than just cooking enough for a couple of meals for one person. This makes sense for people who have to go out to work every day, too. If they like to cook, they can prepare several things on the weekend or if they have spare time during the week. It's nice to know that there's always some home cooking at hand for when there's no time to do it from scratch.

I do this, so there is always stuff in the freezer for dinner. Tuesdays I am at home and so usually thats cooking day, I cook one meal for the evening with lots extra for the freezer and another meal for Wednesday night and lots for the freezer.

Blimey it is scarey how regimented things have got in my life lately.

[gringalais]

Good suggestion about making things that can be frozen, bixa. We sometimes overbuy when we go to the Vega Central. I really need to get a refrigerator with a larger freezer.

[bixaorellana]

Gringa, I don't know how things are in Chile, but fridges here tend to be non-frostfree. Treat yourself to a nice self-defrosting model so no room in the freezer will ever be taken up with hunks of ice. The time you'd have to spend defrosting can be better used cooking stuff for the freezer.

[gringalais]

Yeah, mine has one of those crappy freezers inside the fridge. The maid at least handles defrosting it, but it is tiny. The problem was that the apartment I moved into when I first lived here had a small kitchen with only one space where I could put the fridg. There was a cabinet above, it so I had to buy a smaller model than I would like and there were none with separate freezers that size.

[Deleted]

I'm going for the cheap stuff again. Today I bought 2kg of oxtail for 9€ and it has been boiling away for hours. The aroma is really getting to me.

[existentialcrisis]

I think I also have an innate sense of budget... but I use it more when I'm living on my own or hard up for cash. Bixa, you are absolutely right about spending money when you live with a partner/spouse ... I always have to buy all my "exotic" ingredients for my cooking experimentations, and of course, lots of fruits and veggies. But I also end up buying lots of Kraft Dinner and frozen pizza for my significant other ... who obviously doesn't share my tastes. And Lagatta is right... I'm not going to eat cabbage and turnip all winter... so I buy what I want. Except for fresh berries, peaches and melons, which wait for winter. For some reason, I always buy those little clementine oranges this time of year. It's a Christmas thing...

Strangely enough, Bixa, I come from a family with comfortable income as well... however, since my father is an accountant I grew up being constantly reminded of the value of money. Most people I know who have trouble managing their money, have come from low income families.

Currently, money is no problem for me (working lots) so I am spending freely and lavishly without much care. Though I do look at prices and plan meals, so as not to waste.

[lagatta]

I think clementines are a nice treat to make up for the onset of (yecch) winter, and a needed vitamin C boost. I don't eat sugar (in its pure form) or sweet pastries, so clementines have nice natural sugar.

Existential, can't your sweetie buy his own junk food? I'd never made junk food part of a common budget, unless of course we were buying chips and stuff (as well as the fancier treats I'd spend hours making) for a party. I remember a bf who actually preferred Kraft Dinner to my homemade macaroni cheese. No surprise that this relationship did not work out, though we never fought about that. He has grown up since - has been in a Québécois non-marriage* with a woman who already had a child for at least 25 years and is a lawyer now, and since he started being a father actually began to be concerned with good food and nutrition.

*Québec has the lowest marriage rate in the world - a reaction against the stulfying hold of the Church a couple of generations earlier? I've never been married, although I have been in long-term "cohabitations", and this is the case for many if not most of my girlfriends my age or younger. The marriage rate is less than half of any "anglophone" Canadian province - I think Acadians have a somewhat higher rathe than we do - and even lower than the Scandinavian countries. I'm not saying that is good or bad, just relating a fact others may not know.

[imec]

I don't like to skimp on food - but I also HATE getting ripped off. I therefore shop carefully - I make sure I know the high, average and low prices for most of the things we consume regularly and buy accordingly. This means shopping for certain things only at certain stores and even then watching to make sure the price didn't sneak up and looking for sales and stocking up if the item is not perishable. I've checked to see how much I'm saving by doing this and I'm confident my grocery bill is 30-40% less than it would be if I didn't pay attention. All this money saved means I don't feel bad about splashing out for luxury foods when I feel like them (and even then - I bargain shop when possible e.g. I recently stocked up on frozen Alaska King Crab legs at $20 a kilo instead of the usual $27-32 per kilo).

[lagatta]

Yeah, "La Boucherie du marché" is holding a similar promotion on duck magrets - buy one, get one half-price. I think people are being careful even about their fancy holiday food spending. These are from a very good local éleveur.

There was a study done recently with the not-surprising finding that people who cook, whether rich, poor or anywhere in-between spend at least 30% less than people who resort to prepared foods. Though if we live alone or even in a couple (with both often out of the house for work, education etc) one must be very careful to reduce food waste.

[Deleted]

I am hooked on the salmon tartare that the Picard frozen food chain sells, but I absolutely only ever buy it when it is on promotion -- such as now for the holiday season. Just seeing the actual price per kilo makes me shudder.

[lagatta]

Mmm, that sounds tasty. How much does it cost on promotion - I'll tell a friend in Paris if it is good as she is quite busy with end of school term stuff but would like that.

[Deleted]

Le tartare de saumon est une préparation à base d'émincé de saumon cru agrémenté d'huile d'olive, ciboulette, basilic, oignons et parfumé au citron. Délicieux en entrée ou en apéritif servi avec des blinis ou des ciabattinas tièdes.

It's 6.50€ instead of the usual 7.95€ at the moment, but that's just for 280g total.

[existentialcrisis]

Another reason I should move to Quebec, Lagatta. I'd fit right in. I'm either going there or Vancouver - I don't think I can take another Calgary winter and it's only early December! I tend to co-habit a lot with my partners, since it makes life easier in many ways. It's always nice to have someone who appreciates your cooking. Currently my cooking is not appreciated, since it is "weird". When I made Bixa's Pepper Spaghetti, the resulting comment was "Why can't you make something ordinary? Ordinary spaghetti!" So... Kraft Dinner and frozen pizza are not budgeted as "junk", they are budgeted as "wholesome meals"... lol ... Our work scheduals don't allow us to eat together very often anyway, so I end up cooking for myself as if I was single. I leave leftovers in the fridge for my partner ... usually they are never touched. This could be a new category in the Wasting Food thread... unappreciated meals