How do you do SB and save $$?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-21-2003
How do you do SB and save $$?
20
Fri, 09-05-2008 - 7:38pm

Hi all!


I am back again after a LOOOONG hiatus from this board and SB in general.  I have the Getting Started thread up so that I can study up on the changes since I did SB (back in 2003-2004, and I remember when cl-cathy205 became a CL!).  In the meantime my biggest diet success/failure was Nutrisystem-- I lost 29.5 pounds in early 2006 (down to 151.5), gained a few back before my wedding in October 2006, and over the past two years or so have gained back all but literally a couple of pounds.  I kept going back on Nutrisystem, then off when I got bored (usually within a couple of weeks), and so on and so forth.  My brother and sister-in-law are doing SB again (they did it quite successfully before they had their twins this past February), and I started thinking about it again.  I remembered that on SB I could actually eat like a human being (and share meals, eat out, etc.) rather than what I did on Nutrisystem, which was feel like an alien because my husband and I could not eat together, nor could we eat out at all, pretty much, at least not without a serious amount of research beforehand.


So I'm back :)


Anyway, to get more to the point, the economy sucks.  My household is far from immune, so we are trying to keep our expenses down as much as possible.


I remember that SB required a lot of "special" foods and cost quite a bit more than my cheap, unhealthy convenience food.  Not that Nutrisystem was cheap, but times were better when I was on it.


Besides the obvious shopping around/coupon cutting/etc., how do you all keep your grocery bills down while on SB?  What foods provide the most bang for your buck?


TIA!


Becca


179/179/135

Becca

On the Beach Since September 8, 2008

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-15-2008
Fri, 09-05-2008 - 8:55pm

I shop around and meal plan around what is on sale that week and will often stock up on things if the price is good and I have the $ to do so.


Fresh veggies are sometimes pricey, so I will buy frozen instead.


Some weeks it's easier and less expensive than others.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-21-2003
Fri, 09-05-2008 - 9:01pm

Thanks for the reply!

Becca

On the Beach Since September 8, 2008

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2005
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 2:57am

Great question, I'd like to see what people say as well. With the birth of my daughter, I've decided to be a stay-at-home mom, so not only are we incurring the additional expenses of a new baby, we are doing it on one income, whereas we were DINKS before.

I've been clipping coupons, but I've noticed that the majority of the coupons I see in the Sunday paper are geared towards packaged foods and stuff that's generally not SBD-friendly. I do do what the pp suggested, to plan my meals around whatever's on sale that week. Some veggies are ok frozen or canned (beans, spinach), but some veggies I can only eat fresh (broccoli, asparagus) b/c I don't like the texture of the frozen ones.

I haven't noticed the steam-bag veggies. Have you thought about purchasing a steamer? They're relatively inexpensive (I bought mine for $29.99 plus a 20% off coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond), and I use it several times a week, so totally worth it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2008
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 5:07am

Someone did a thread about this a little while ago, I'm feeling lazy but you could search for a subject about being cheap; there's also one about splurging.

To be honest, I don't do much to purposely save money - more it's about my lifestyle. I work a lot and I HATE cooking so much of what I do is to save me time and hassle, not necessarily money, but it usually works out that I save money.

Things I do:
-buy frozen veggies (usually the only fresh veggies I buy are spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, and spaghetti squash although I haven't bought that in a while) and stock up on what's on sale
-buy frozen fruit for smoothies; I typically only have fresh bananas, apples, and clementines on hand and I freeze bananas for smoothies as well
-buy store brand
-buy frozen chicken breasts in bulk
-I shop at Trader Joe's - there are some things that are priced at a premium, but I tend to pick up plenty of things that would other wise cost me more at a "regular" store. Mostly, I buy fresh produce (bananas are so much cheaper there!), frozen fruit (I have yet to find any with added sugar and it's all really cheap), some frozen veggies, milk, yogurt (they have TJ brand of regular and Greek), and a couple other things I'm blanking on right now.








Past Races:
-Boston Run to Remember Half Marathon, 5/29/11 (2:35:11, no training!)
-Corporate Run, 3.5 miles 6/2/11 (36:38, 4 days after running the half!)
-BAA 10k, 6/26/11 (1:04:52, wanted to be under an hour...)
-Tavern to Tavern
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2006
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 7:33am

One of the biggest things we save $$ on is not eating out much anymore.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2007
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 8:09am

Just wanted to say welcome to the board!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2006
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 8:14am

Hi Joy -- I've stopped at a few farmers markets this summer and WOW -- their produce is actually more expensive than the grocery store or produce market.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2007
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 8:17am

I have found that the farmer's market prices are a lot higher this year.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 9:03am

Hey Becca!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Sat, 09-06-2008 - 9:55am
You have gotten some great advice.
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