$200/mth for groceries doable???

[Katie P]

For the month of October I'm gonna budget my grocery bill for $200....any advice....think it's doable????

[rawrawks]

Sounds good. How many you feeding? Where are you shopping? Etc etc
Do you eat lotsa nuts?

[katchmoleen]

For just yourself? Absolutely, if you don't do organic totally and if you buy mostly sale stuff.

I try to keep my budget at $150/week for seven people. three raw and 4 high raw. It is very difficult. This last two weeks I blew it a bit. Oh well.:cool:

[green jeanie]

i just started 2 days ago with a total grocery spending freeze!!!!!

i am on day 2. plums from a tree for breakfast, kale and tomatoes from a garden for lunch........12 more days, I am so excited to see what happens :D

[juliebove]

I really think it depends on where you live. Our food prices here are pretty high. I just spent close to $60 at the health food store and mostly bought nuts. Spent close to another $60 at the grocery store and mostly bought veggies. Now granted, I got some cut up ones from the salad bar because I was feeling lazy. Have to pack a dinner for daughter and I tomorrow because we'll be at her dance class all night. Did not feel like cutting all that stuff up! I will have to cut up a couple of things because they didn't have them on the salad bar. So I could have paid a lot less if I bought the whole veggies. But the other factor is I would have had a lot more food and I'm trying to cut down on waste.

[Tsurugi_Oni]

Here's a little breakdown of some of my food prices for the last month (not including garden stuff, which is much much cheaper to nearly free)

Bananas - 39c/lb
Apples + Pears - 59 c/lb
Canteloupe - $1 each
Watermelon - $4 for large seeded
Pineapple - $2 each
Broccoli - $1 for 1-2 heads.
Beets - 79c/lb
White Button Mushrooms - $2/lb

So really its not all that expensive. In the morning I'll usually grab about 2lbs of bananas, 3 apples and pears, quarter of a watermelon, and half a canteloupe. We also grow our own peppers, leafy greens, zuchinni, cucumbers, and tomatoes (Plus I get tons of free beef + grape tomatoes from a friend).

It can definately be done. You just have to get things on sale.

[katchmoleen]

Wow, Tsurugi, your prices are CHEAP! I am jealous. Today I bought

Mushrooms for $2.49/8 oz (non sale)
Peaches for 99 cents/lb (GOOD sale)
Apples for $1/49/lb (non sale)
Watermelon for 39 cents.lb (decent sale)
cantaloupe for 59 cents/lb (decent sale)

Cauliflower for 99 cents/lb

If you can get produce (besides watermelon and cantaloupe) for under a dollar a pound here, it is a good sale.

Pineapples are $4, mangoes and avocados $1, coconuts $2-$4.

[Thick]

Also, do you shop at farmers' markets? Quite often they make discounts near closing time. You might could bargain for a share of the crops if you volunteered to work on their farms, perhaps. Sometimes there is ugly produce that they don't attempt to sell--and if you let them know that you are interested, they might bring it along.

I could definately spend $200 a week if I were shoppping at Whole Foods (whole paycheck) and stocking up on pantry items like nuts/honey/coconut oil/cocoa butter/olive oil etc. and buying certified organic produce. Many farms are organic, but can't afford to get certified.

Also, if you can grow a portion of your food--it gets a lot cheaper=)

[rawrawks]

tsurugi...where on earth do you live with prices that low???? woweeeee

Kathamoleen, I am so very proud of you for all you feed and still do it..if you can we can..woweeee...priorities and simple living is the key.

[Katie P]

I'm just feeding myself.....so I hope it works! I probably won't be able to do much organic & I'll be doing a lot of coupon clipping & searching for bargains.

I also think I'll be eating less nuts & more fruits & veggies b/c they're cheaper.

[michigan roman]

look up in the sky , its a bird , its a plane ,
no its the super thread on raw budgeting below .....:p

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22555&highlight=budget


* bananas are my staple

[Tsurugi_Oni]

I live in NE Ohio, by Cleveland. I dont' get any of my stuff from the big retailers, I always get it from smaller stores. Iga's, ethnics stores, etc. And usually buy stuff when on sale.

At our Chinatowns you can find groceries for REAL cheap (3lbs of bean sprout / $1, $2-3 a lb exotic mushrooms / cheap fruit, as well as mangosteen, lychee, and other exotic Asian fruits). The local IGA usually has some pretty sweet deals.

What helps tremendously is knowing food seasons. I try to eat lots of wild fruits. Like over the summer I"ve picked about 3 gallons of mulberries from 1 tree (taste as sweet as jam!!), 1.5 gallons of blackberries (from 1 golf course), apples, 6 gallons of fresh pressed grape juice (from 1 massive vine). All at a work rate which nets me a MUCH better return than working a minimum wage job and paying for the stuff. Come fall most of the fruits die off, and the dark leafy greens and starchy veggies become more appetizing for the budget.

[sprouts2go]

How does one go about getting cases for less at the stores? Do you have to join the store co-ops? I also find out farmers markets as expensive or more so then the stores. Not all food at the farmers markets are organic.
Bananas are 79cents a pound for non organic. Peaches in season(now) are $2.50 a pound and non organic. Apples are $9 a bag for seconds and non organic. I stopped buying some nuts because they were $17 a pound!! I try to stick to sunflower seeds and I will be seeing what I can do with pumpkin seeds. I know people have mentioned Costco. Can you buy cases for less there? I still have to buy for the non rawbies in the house.

[Tsurugi_Oni]

Farmers markets a lot of the times don't offer good deals unless you buy in bulk. But you gotta bargain with em for sure! And its best to go shopping with friends so you can increase your purchasing (bargaining) power.

Sprouts2go, where do you live? Those prices are outrageous. I can get almonds (probably not raw) for $3-4/lb.

[katchmoleen]

Haha well in my neck of the woods, the only fruits that grow wild are chokecherries (incredibly sour but edible, they make good syrup boiled for hours with tons of sugar :rolleyes:) and wild strawberries, raspberries, and huckleberries, which have a very short season and you have to beat the bears (and the hmongs) to them and get all scratched up hiking in the mountains.

[DeborahB]

Eat only when you're hungry. You'll be surprised at how little you actually need to eat.

[green jeanie]

ok, I am on day 4 of spending 0.00

yippee!!

i have found giant alley kale plants, forgotten tomatoe plants, my own beet greens and chard, the best pears i have ever eaten!!! amazing apples, blackberries and some pecans out of my freezer ;)

i am excited to see what is next!!

[Green_Woman]

I did a month on $75 this summer and was 75-90% raw the entire time... my major deviations were when my fiance came to visit and wanted to eat out!

My advise, from one serious budgeter to another?

Take free RAW food when you can get it, and just don't buy any fancy prepared raw foods or speciality items like cacao powder and raw bars, and you'll be MORE than fine!!!

Btw, my regular monthly budget for food has been/is $100 and I'm 90-100% RAW except when fiance comes to call. ;)

In my opinion, it's EASIER to eat High Raw on a tight budget because you don't HAVE money to spend on non-Raw junk foods! ;)

[trinity082482]

I couldn't live off $200.00 a month on food. My advice would be to take advantage of sales and flea markets.

[sprouts2go]

I am in Mass. Yeah it's not cheap here.


How does one go about getting cases for less at the stores? Do you have to join the store co-ops? I also find out farmers markets as expensive or more so then the stores. Not all food at the farmers markets are organic.
Bananas are 79cents a pound for non organic. Peaches in season(now) are $2.50 a pound and non organic. Apples are $9 a bag for seconds and non organic. I stopped buying some nuts because they were $17 a pound!! I try to stick to sunflower seeds and I will be seeing what I can do with pumpkin seeds. I know people have mentioned Costco. Can you buy cases for less there? I still have to buy for the non rawbies in the house.

[Katie P]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I spend now probably close to $400/mnth for just me, but I'm really gonna go for the cheaper in season foods rather than foods that cost more. I'll probably also will mooch.. HAHA