Groceries on $21 a week? It is becoming more difficult to find good buys on groceries, but it can be a breeze if you pay attention to sales ads, and even easier if you take the time to clip a few coupons. Today, I went on line to www.foodcity.com and put in my local zip code of 37938 in order to access my local Food City grocery store weekly ad. I printed this ad, and was off to the store. I took a few notes while I was there and discovered that 2 people could eat fairly well for a week with just $21.00.
Here’s what I came up with:
3 Cans Van Camp’s Pork & Beans 15 oz cans @ $0.33 each = $0.99
10 lb bag Potatoes = $2.25
Little Debbie Snack Cakes 16.2 oz box = $1.00
Sanderson Farms Fryer Leg Quarters 10 lbs @ $0.49/lb = $4.90
Parkay margarine 1 lb = $1.00
2 Jugs 64 oz. Sweet Tea $1.19 buy one get one free = $1.19
Ball Park Meat Franks 1 lb. = $1.50
6 x 15oz cans Valu time vegetables @ $0.39/can = $2.34
Food City brand 8 count hot dog buns = $0.99
Valleydale Pork Sausage 16oz = $1.69
1 Dozen Eggs = $1.29
Valu time BBQ Sauce 18oz = $0.79
1 lb loaf bread = $1.00
These items total $20.93. I think you will agree that this is enough food for 2 people to live on comfortably for a week. If you go to the www.foodcity.com website and locate my local ad for this week, you will find that almost every item was found on the weekly ad.
The key to shopping on a very strict budget is in purchasing items that are on sale. Also, look for coupons on line or in your local Sunday newspaper to save even more. Potatoes can almost always be found for next to nothing and can be fixed a hundred different ways. The same goes for chicken leg quarters. They can be baked, fried, grilled, broiled, slow cooked in the crock pot, and prepared about any other way you can imagine.
There are dozens of other items out there that you can pick up for very little such as beans, rice, pasta, ramen noodles, ground beef, whole turkey, frozen vegetables, pudding cups, and crackers to name just a few.
If you don’t have a coupon for an item, then look for the store’s brand instead of the famous name brand. In many cases, the store brand is just as good as the national brand and comes with a satisfaction guarantee, which means if you buy it and it tastes like crap, then take it back and they will give your money back or sometimes will give you the national brand at no additional charge. It really is a no lose situation.
Another great tip is to alway take a list to the store with you and stick to it. Don’t waste money on snack items that are expensive and have little nutritional value. Also, numerous studies show that you will spend much more money if you are hungry when you go shopping, so be sure to go just after you’ve eaten a good meal. Last but not least, don’t buy more food than you need. If it spoils before you get a chance to eat it, then you wasted your money.