Don’t eat out, and don’t cook!
I just got got a cartload piled high and stuffed underneath for $90 (all good quality brand name stuff!). That’s typical for Grocer Game players. We usually save about 67%.
A lady in front of me got less than half as much as me, paid over $200, and had that bewildered look as she stared at her receipt, “What did I buy?”. That’s why I’ve heard people say, “Groceries are so expensive, it’s cheaper to just eat out.” Yes. That can definitely be true, if you don’t know how to play The Grocery Game.
A report was just released by Food Marketing Institute, that 69% of US households said they are eating out less often this year, compared with 46% in 2008. That’s an improvement. But the scary thing is that I know they’re paying twice as much on groceries than they should. Gamers buy all the same stuff for about 67% off. Yes, same brands and everything.
For those who don’t want to cook every night, supermarkets nationwide are ramping up their service delis. Just about every one of them now offers take out dinner options for a family of four for about $15. While that’s about half the cost of eating out, there’s an even better deal… and you still don’t have to cook…
Dinner for four for less than $6, and you still don’t have to cook!… Invest in frozen family size entrees when they are on sale and with a coupon, add a salad, and voila! For example, just pulled from Grocery Game databases: Stouffers Family size entrees which feed up to five people were just on sale in lots of supermarkets nationwide for $3.99. Throw together a salad: Fresh Express salad mix on sale for $1. Add veggies in season, sliced tomatoes for about 50 cents, Fresh Gourmet salad toppings for FREE, and Kraft salad dressing for FREE = $5.49. Again, this is not unusual for Gamers.
The key is this: We “invest” in things we know we like, different things each week. When I put together a meal, I use things that I “invested” in for the past 2 or 3 months. It all makes its appearance to make a well rounded meal. Only the produce is weekly, and even that is on sale.
Now, don’t be a snob about frozen foods… Most of the time, I cook from scratch too. But I have busy days when I intended to make dinner, but football practice ran late, or laundry was piled high, or I had too many meetings, or I’m just plain pooped! That’s when my investment of a frozen entree saves me from doing something more expensive like eating out, or getting takeout, or calling for pizza.
NOTE: Coupons are not just for pre-made food. It’s for all the food that you buy every week: cheese, yogurt, pasta, tofu, whole grain bread, orange juice, etc. Today’s topic was just about avoiding eating out when you’re too busy to cook.
