1024.70 a month

The amount the average family spends on food.  Hard to believe, since for a lot of people, that would be a good portion of their income.   I am maybe guessing that figure includes some serious eating out.
None the less, we are a family of four adults and a child, and we spend less than a third of that.   I am not going to pretend that we spend a hundred dollars a month on food because I did that in 1970, but we do spend around 300.00 a month on food.    I have noticed that we are spending about ten percent more this last quarter than the quarter before.

In our area, one grocery chain bought two others.   Now basically, we have Kroger and Haggens.  We do have Costco and grocery outlet and are getting a Winco soon.   I'm hoping that gives us more competition. I'm wondering if prices have gone up that much, or if I have a lot larger stock built.  Or, if there is some other reason.   I'm still at an average of 75.00 a week.

I'm dong this by using a variety of tools.   It's constantly changing, I am still learning and trying new ways to stretch the proverbial grocery dollar.

1. Ibotta gets you cash back for buying foods that almost never have coupons. 
2. Fav ado  tells you sale prices even when the store doesn't have ads like Costco and Winco so you can compare and it tells you of there is a  coupon and where to find it. 
3. Coupons can be downloaded monthly on coupons.com.   Only download what you think you might use.   Match coupons with sales for the best buys.
4. The Sunday paper has coupons, along with the flyer that comes in the mail with the rite aid ad. I only clip what I know I will I use.  Date  the insert and file it so that you can use it later if you find a match up.   
5. Use the store ads to compare prices and find the RBP on the staples you need and the protein of the week and your perishables.   
6. Pick two stores and plan your trip.   Buy only what is on your list and get on and get out. The longer you spend in a store, the more money you will spend.  Don't pickup anything unless You are going to buy it.   
7.  Buy only amounts of perishables that you will up before they go bad.  
8. Take a day mid week and assess what's on the fridge and use up anything that is in the edge.  Think fried rice or soup.    
9. Compile recipes for the entrees your family likes to eat.  Make a matrix to helping meal planning.  Plan your meals on a worksheet that has a use up and a buy column before you go to the store.  Be flexible and take advantage of unadvertised sales of you see them.   I once got a whole bag of peppers for a buck, and whole chickens for .50.   Find recipes that your family will eat that are quick and easy. 
10. Spend more time planning and shopping, and less time in the kitchen.   You get paid for shopping, not for cooking.    
11. Once you have your basic planning done, ( that's another blog! ) it doesn't take much time to plan a trip and shop.   I don't take hours to plan a trip and I don't take twenty hours a week to coupon.   The time I do spend is well worth the effort.  It affords us a better quality of life.   It means  we can have more than just food and meds.   

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Jane