How much can we afford for grocerries in us

hi weasly, @weasly

others have already given lot of suggestions.

To maximize membership benefits: I get lot of non edibles from my local warehouse store - all the bathroom products: tp, moisturizer, soaps, toothpaste toothbrushes etc; washing detergent, bounty, dishwashing stuff, paper products, bounty. We go through the products pretty fast as we are a family with more members. Even before kids we used to buy a lot of these as we never run out and refill maybe 1-2 times per years. As busy working professionals that suited us just fine! Mainly if you have the space to store the extra in your house you just cant beat the price and quality. I also fill up regularly at their gas station. during seasonal time also various electronics, tvs etc, tapes so on.

Only after my kids were born I started to buy the veggies because you are right they go bad pretty fast and it is too much for 2 peeps. we are blessed with good weather where I live and seasonal produce in the farmers markets are abundant and very cheap in season. I avoid purchasing prechopped frozen veg unless I have to but have no problem buying fresh/quality/organic veg and chopping/freezing the unused excess. Maybe it sounds illogical but it works for me! So what I do sometimes for some coveted veggies is buy a lot when available in season, keep aside the weeks worth, cut up the rest and bag in ziplocs. (also available in warehouse store!) I just set up in my living room, put on a good movie or binge watch 4-5 episodes of my fave serials while chopping them and bagging them up. Then they go in my freezer. It really simplifies my life. I throw them in soups, sambhars, kadhis, pulavs what have you. From Warehouse store I buy only the no brainer veggies that go into practically every dish I prepare like green beans, carrots, spinach, fruits in season etc. Yes it requires some planning and commitment to clean and chop within few days of purchase else they will rot but whenever I have had the discipline to follow through it has simplified my cooking life considerably for the next 2 weeks. Plus I incentivize myself by 'allowing' myself to binge-watch without guilt!

 

Sandhya - what all veggies have you stored like this?

 

Green beans, bhindi, one kind of spinach called bacchali koora in telugu which comes only for 2 weeks in early august, tindora, tomatoes (in aug again, so red and ripe- the seller will be practically giving them away for 50c a lb- I throw them in my homemade spaghetti sauces during the fall), from costco regular spinach, pomegranates, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries - last 3 go bad tooo fast so just bring home, wash, bag and freeze.

 

Since you have just moved to US, initially you might spend more for many bulk items.
Once you have purchased all your bulk items like rice, oil, kitchen towel, toilet tissue, toothpaste etc your grocery bill will surely come down.

you will realize this within few weeks. Do not stress much on buying veggies in bulk as initially you won't know how to store them and all. Buy veggies once a week and use them within the week. Of course you can buy bulk mixed veggies bag for upma and other things.

regards
sangeetha

 

Sams club releases 1 day passes once in a while (just search online with the keyword "sams club one day pass 2015". My suggestion is to use it for few times and see whether these wholesale grocery chains really save money for your family.

I personally don't find the membership very useful.

Another option is to share the membership with some of your friends.