How much money do you waste at the grocery store every week?
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
United States
June 10, 2007 2:46am CST
I hate to admit this, but we often waste $10 to $20 every week at the grocery store. Ultimately, all the
fresh salad fixings end up rotting unused in the bottom of the refrigerator. And, then theres the impulse potato chip purchase. Sure we eat those, but really shouldn't.
We've been doing a better job lately, simply by stocking up on groceries, and not going into the stores at all. But, we have a long way to go.
So, what's your biggest waste of money in the grocery store? Or, have you found a way to cut out all unnecessary expenses?
3 people like this
18 responses
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
10 Jun 07
Some of the choices my husband makes i.e. ready made pasta dishes, some of the different cereal my son wants to try and then after tasting it doesn't like it and it never gets eaten, mostly items like that. I know we always overspend when it comes to munchies, and because we watch a lot of movies on cable, we always have to have munchies to go with it LOL good excuse aye haha!
I know we could do a lot better when it comes to grocery shopping!
@CinderInMySoul (4717)
• United States
10 Jun 07
oh i hate that "i wanna try this cereal" and then its yucky and you just wasted almost $5! dang cereal is getting more and more expensive!
ive started to do the "if we get it, you eat it, period" thing..lol which has made for an unhappy kid, but at least she does learn not to waste food, and that you have to suffer the consequences of your choice LOL!
3 people like this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
10 Jun 07
haha, Yes my son is learning that very fast.
2 people like this
@scarywhitegirl (2766)
• United States
10 Jun 07
We have been getting better about cutting out the unnecessary expenses at the grocery store. My fiance often wants to buy certain items, but I know that they will go bad before he eats them, so I have started buying him mostly canned goods and other non-perishable foods, rather than deli meats and salad fixings.
Our one big waste is that neither of us really like to eat leftovers, so if I make a meal that would serve more than two people, we often see some of that food go to waste. The only leftover food that I know we won't waste is things like chili or spaghetti sauce, which I cook in big batches and then freeze for later meals.
3 people like this
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
10 Jun 07
We don't. We're very careful to plan out any meals, and to buy foods that are on sale and that we will eat. We don't buy potato chips, cookies, etc., because we can't afford to spend any extra money. We're on a very tight budget.
3 people like this
@golfproo (1839)
• Canada
10 Jun 07
I wish I could find a way to cut out all the unnecessary expenses! The truth is my daughters and I waste a ton of money at the grocery store. It is usually on treats for the girls which they claim they cannot do without. As I tend to spoil them, I always give in. It is in my plans to budget better however, and this is one area I will have to cut!
cheers,
@Amstardam (1348)
• United States
10 Jun 07
I tend to buy tons of fruits and veggies. Our fridge gets stocked full of fresh treats, but then I just can't eat them in time! We throw away so many veggies and fruits. I hate it, but sometimes they just rot faster than you think.
2 people like this
@dancia2007 (551)
• United States
14 Jun 07
TIP:
Start keeping track of how long a veggie lasts....
Off the top of my head:
Spinach goes right away if it is in bunches...
But beets and carrots and rutabagas and parsnips last a long time.
Spaghetti squash and butternut squash last a VERY long time.
Avocadoes last a short time, and a bit longer if put in the fridge.
Peaches and pears last a very short time.
Strawberries last not very long.
Blueberries don't last long unless you freeze them.
Radishes last longer if you cut the leaves and stems off, and if you keep them a bit moist.
Parsley lasts a short time.
Cauliflower in a head can last awhile.
Cucumber doesn't last exceptionally long, and if it is cut, then not long at all.
Mangoes need to be eaten when optimally ripe. They go downhill rapidly after that.
Etc.
@amyzim1 (122)
• United States
10 Jun 07
My Husband and I have happily cut all unnecessary expenses. We discuss everything, do we NEED it, can it save us money, will it make life easier? Sure I don't wash clothes by hand so we pay for the washer/dryer.
We have a goal of moving back to Egypt, buying land and building an apartment building. My Husband is the oldest son so in his culture it's his responsibility to take care of the family now that his Father is retired. The sooner we save the money, the sooner we'll be back.
So having a goal works. Maybe it's putting the kids through college, buying a home or buying a new car with CASH. It's easy to save when our goal is the most important thing to us.
@5000ml (1923)
• Belgium
11 Jun 07
We're not on an incredibly tight budget, but I absolutely hate wasting food, so I do try to only buy things that I know we really need or will eat. This doesn't matter if it's snacks (we keep our spending on those to minimum though), just as long as I know we'll be eating them.
@Married2aMarine (1273)
• United States
12 Jun 07
We do grocery shopping once a week and sometimes once every 2 weeks. So, every time I shop, I always feel like I have to get lots to keep us going through the week(s) so I don't have to make so many trips. But I try my best to make sure we don't end up with any kind of waste. For example, now, I only buy two bags of fresh salad cos' it's only me and my husband eating that. The rest, I get frozen veggies. That way, we have fresh salads for the first few days and the rest, we eat frozen. Same for fruits too or if I buy a lot, I will clean and freeze the excess. No more rotten fruits and veggies! I find that I never use onions or potatoes fast enough so instead of buying a whole bag, I just get a few. It may be a little bit more expensive to get them individually but figured it will still be cheaper than if I had to throw out half a bag!
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
6 Jul 07
I know what you mean. Initially, when I bought my new fridge, I am always stocking it fully with food. Then by and by, i noticed that I am throwing away a lot of food cos they rotted. With the busy schedule at my new job, I hardly have the time to cook them.
So I decided to only buy the food I want to cook at the supermarket after work, so that I only get what I want to cook rather than waste the food and money during the weekly marketing trip.
Now a days, when I go grocery shopping, it is mostly for dry goods like cereals, eggs, bread... etc... stuff that I know for sure that I will be able to consume during the week rather than shop for a fridge full of fresh foods that only goes to waste cos they rotted.
Saves me a bunch of monies and efforts cleaning up the mess in the fridge!
@mykmari_08 (2464)
• Philippines
12 Jun 07
I'm with you in this spending thing. Almost every week, we spend about $10 to $22; spending mostly in diapers, vitamins, baby food, & infant milk for our daughter. But lately, we've been trying to buy only the essentials and spend lesser than usual. Given more time and with constant effort, I hope we'll be doing fine and come to saving more.
Foods which more often go to waste include veggies which we buy way too much. Cereals, too, are wasted when their expiry dates are left unnoticed - baby cereals in particular.
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
12 Jun 07
When our daughter was an infant, diaper costs got so expensive and cost us about $80 monthly. So, I switched to cloth diapers for day time use, and used the less expensive, (but just as effective) Walmart baby diapers at night. By using real diapers at night, she was able to sleep comfortably without waking up so often.
The cloth baby diapers are a bit of a hassle to deal with, but you can get used to it, if you really don't have the money to spend on the other.
As far as baby food goes, you might be able to puree a cup of family dinner in the blender. It's just as nutritious as the store bought stuff and practically the same dish. You can puree stews, soups, mac and cheese, most cooked veggies, etc.
I didn't think it was a good idea, until I started paying upwards of a dollar for one small jar of pureed mac and cheese for babies. Just be sure to add sufficient water to the blender while processing.
Best of luck cutting your expenses. Just do what works best for your family and you'll be successful.
@jolenegreen (1209)
• United States
10 Jun 07
I would say I spend quite a bit on snack food, cookies, candy and chips. I buy them for my toddlers and they eat them right up. I dont mind spending the extra to buy it for them either. But u are definatley right about veggies and sometimes fruit, It will sit in my fridge and go to waste. With the salad fixings...Instead of buying them every week just becuase I find it easier to just go to the store that night u are having a salad and buy it. This way most of it gets used up that night instead of sitting in the fridge waiting to be used!
1 person likes this
@dancia2007 (551)
• United States
14 Jun 07
About the milk, even at $1.88 I consider it too expensive to waste. Your family needs some education... to only take what they will use, or less than that... because they can always take seconds.
I'm being extremely waste-conscious right now because I'm a lender at Prosper (see link "investing on Prosper" on my website that is listed on my profile), and $50 can purchase a loan at a rate anywhere from 8 to 29% return. I got a large bunch of spinach in the last couple days, because I am trying to focus on foods that have certain minerals in them, for health, and yes, I eat spinach anyway. But, tomorrow I've got to have spinach salad. It's starting to show signs it needs to be consumed.... or I will lose almost 2.6% of potential $50 Prosper loan investment.
Really keeps me on my toes. I grew up not wasting a THING as we were too poor to have extra during any time but the summer when the garden was producing, but have gotten lax.
@jolenegreen (1209)
• United States
10 Jun 07
Another thing I find my family wasting is Milk. OMG...it costs me almost $4 a gallon at times and sometimes only a sip gets drank. But most times it only costs me $1.88 at walmart so I buy it there and it dont bother me as much if it gets wasted.
1 person likes this
@wiccania (3360)
• United States
17 Jun 07
Most of the money I waste is getting things for my son that he ends up not eating. He doesn't have a lot of foods he likes to eat, so I'm trying to figure out ways to get more protein in him (among other things). I tried those nutripals drinks and he hated them. I tried one and thought it was pretty disgusting, myself. He likes the bars tho, which is good. Except that they cost about $5 for a package of 6.
There have been a number of things I've bought for him that just ended up not working.
@faerybeach (55)
• United States
10 Jun 07
We waste the same thing, veggies/salad!
I actually started last week buying the small pre-made salad bags. They are only $1.50 and have enough salad mix in them for 3 small salads. I have been trying to make myself salad to eat before lunch and dinner so that I don't eat as much and with these small bags, they last just as long as the stuff remains fresh.
Cost per unit wise, they are a little more expensive than the regular sized bags, but when you take into account that the regular bags are $3 and all getting thrown out, it's still a savings.
1 person likes this
@Carrie26 (1587)
• United States
10 Jun 07
The salads in a bag that We usually buy ends up getting up spoled before we eat them as well as the fruit ends up getting mold on them sometimes before we can get a chance to eat them up.I guess I get them in advance thinking we will eat them before they spoil but sometimes we tend to eat the candy,or chips,ect.But we do sometimes eat fruit.The bananas get ripe and rotten really fast too.Me and my huband now go and buy stuff weekly or 2 times a week that way we dont waste as much.Also I noticed almost half a loaf of bread will get wasted due to evenually mold getting on it.Milk usually goese fast around the house here.I dont drink it but my husband and 2 kids do.Also though it saves sometimes to stock up only once or every two weeks because of how much gas costs and buy the time you pay for gas the food you wasted I guess is pretty the much the same as in going twice a week to get groceries or everyday.But it depends on how much the food cost and how much you waste in a week I guess too as well.
@bcl_me (582)
• Philippines
11 Jun 07
in my case...i do not go to the grocery stores anymore...i'd rather buy cooked food which is a lot cheaper or i'll just buy an instant noodle soup plus an egg and a loaf bread which cost a mere $0.25 I could save a lot than go to the grocery store the food and cook them...i am not only wasting my time but my money and too much electricity and life will be so terribly complicated...while if i just buy pre-cooked food and those instant noodle...it is like eating is no longer a complicated thing...so i could have more time posting at mylot, analyzing market trends and play with some friends
@amyann16 (414)
• United States
10 Jun 07
I can totally relate to this, we waste way too much money in groceries! We have found that by creating a menu every two weeks, and then going through the house to make sure we have the items we need to make the meals and write down a grocery list for the items we do not have, that we save a ton of money. I was always picking up stuff at the grocery store because I was unsure if we had what we needed at home (one time we had 4 bottles of mustard in our pantry, because I never could remember if we had mustard and I kept buying more!). Now we rarely throw out items or have a stockpile of items in the pantry. I love this new system of ours.
