31 Weeks to a Better Grocery Budget Video Series: Don’t Give Up Too Soon

Hi Mag,

I’m single as well and have been working on getting my grocery budget under control too – there are a few things I’ve figured out that work for me, and a few things that jumped out at me reviewing your grocery list. I live in a suburb of NYC so the prices I see are probably not too different than what you pay.

First, this wasn’t really an average week of shopping for you, this was a stock-up-on-household-supplies week. You spent more than $20 on cleaning supplies and tissues. That stuff should last for months and months in a small apartment, not just a couple weeks. Speaking of cleaning supplies, do you need Softscrub and Lysol, and Scrubbing Bubbles? Could you make do with a bottle of Lysol and a sponge? I used to do a big stock-up shopping trip every few months but found that it is much more budget-friendly to get one or two things at a time. This week I’ll get trash bags, next week I’ll get the laundry detergent, etc. It helps to plan ahead a little but since it’s just me and I don’t go thru that stuff as quickly as a family would, I don’t go crazy.

Secondly, I think you are overpaying for dessert. I totally understand wanting something sweet every night, but instead of the Mini-Delights, which work out to $1.49 per dessert even on sale, buy a box of brownie mix for $1, which should be easy enough to find on sale and you could do better with a coupon, and make a batch yourself. If you get 8 servings out of that box, it works out to maybe $.025 per dessert when you include the eggs and oil. Same with ice cream. Weight Watchers products are very expensive, but you can probably get 2 half-gallons of a different namebrand for $5. If you go thru one half-gallon a week, that’s $.36 per serving. You can have a gigantic, yummy brownie sundae every night for half of what you’re paying for those four bites of Warm Delight.

Speaking for myself, I do much better with the grocery shopping when I have a menu for the week – nothing crazy, just an idea of what I want to cook and when. I like to cook a full family-sized recipe of something or other maybe twice a week, and then I have leftovers for lunches and/or dinners, and supplement it with a meal or two of grilled meat and veggies or whatever.

Don’t knock frozen veggies either – I prefer fresh from a local farm stand in the summer, but most other times of the year I go with frozen, and I always have a good stockpile in my freezer. Nutritionally they’re nearly as good as fresh (and I think moreso in the winter, since they were frozen when they were fresh, as opposed to “fresh” veggies out of season, which were likely picked 2 weeks ago and shipped here from the far side of the world), and it’s easier for a single person to have a good variety of frozen on hand.

Hope that helps a bit.

Don’t feel too bad. I was spending almost that much when I was single 10 + years ago in the pricey D.C. area (and food was cheaper then). I didn’t do much couponing then, but I was very sale conscious. The prices you listed don’t look too terrible to me, considering where you live.
It seems to cost more to feed one person by herself than it would to feed that one person if she were part of a large family. Anyway, the other comments have some good advice. I would add that I did not notice much in the way of grains or legumes on your list – maybe you already had plenty on hand, or you have dietary restrictions? If not, consider adding potatoes, dried beans, bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, lentils, etc. to your shopping list. They are filling, cheap, and can replace some of the more expensive meat. Also, Puffs for $1 is a good price, but it is still a lot cheaper to use t.p.! Unless, of course, one is having a blow-your-nose-every-two-minutes cold/allergy episode, in which case Puffs with Lotion are a must! I love them!