Eat at Home 3!

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

We need to do this too. I think it'd really help with what we spend at the grocery store. I just updated our expenditures, and we've been to Walmart 5 times already. And we didn't go after Jan. 9. So 5 times between Dec. 31-Jan. 9 (plus a trip to Target). Further, I budgeted $500 for the month since there's 2 of us. We've spent $250 of that so far in 13 days. I know part of that is Walmart and their greedy, outrageous food prices. But part of it is just going to much. Anyway, I'm going to find an inventory sheet and go through my pantry/fridge. Anything that is almost empty or out of date will go in the trash, and we'll start over.

I went through my freezer and pantry this past weekend. Had to toss a couple things, but now I have a much better idea of WHAT I have on hand. So meals will be based around that for awhile.

 

[barkley]

Even when I'm eating down my pantry/freezer (I've been doing that since Thanksgiving and I have officially reached near the bottom in mid January!!!) I will still grab really good deals if I can't pass them up. Some are too good to pass up.

I thought of you today-went to Walmart and nearly DIED when I saw they had big beautiful butterball turkeys on sale for....................50 cents per pound . I snagged one which is defrosting in the fridge to cook later in the week.

We need to do this too. I think it'd really help with what we spend at the grocery store. I just updated our expenditures, and we've been to Walmart 5 times already. And we didn't go after Jan. 9. So 5 times between Dec. 31-Jan. 9 (plus a trip to Target). Further, I budgeted $500 for the month since there's 2 of us. We've spent $250 of that so far in 13 days. I know part of that is Walmart and their greedy, outrageous food prices. But part of it is just going to much. Anyway, I'm going to find an inventory sheet and go through my pantry/fridge. Anything that is almost empty or out of date will go in the trash, and we'll start over.

i've found it helps curtail my Walmart shopping if I do grocery pick-up for the bulk of my shopping. I still prefer to select my own produce and dairy but for frozen/shelf stable I start an order online about a week out add/delete until the day before I want to do pickup (until you hit 'submit order' you card is not charged, at most you have to reenter your pickup date/time if it's expired). I pull up to pickup, they load the car and then I pull around and park to go in for the last few items. it's also a bit of a way to track your shopping habits b/c it will keep a record of your purchases for a year or more so you can see if you are really buying more or it's a case of prices increasing more than you realize.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Yes, we do online pickup for nonperishable foods and things like toiletries, etc. But we won't do it for cold items. So yes, we do the online thing. We love it, especially at our Walmart. We actually went to Kroger (and not Target) on the other run. It was a Friday, and we went after eating dinner using a gift card we had gotten for Christmas. So 5 trips to Walmart and 1 trip to Kroger in the first 13 days of 2025. We chose Kroger because it was across the street from the restaurant, and we wanted to see how prices compared to Walmart (and they were a little higher, so we probably won't be going back).

i've found it helps curtail my Walmart shopping if I do grocery pick-up for the bulk of my shopping. I still prefer to select my own produce and dairy but for frozen/shelf stable I start an order online about a week out add/delete until the day before I want to do pickup (until you hit 'submit order' you card is not charged, at most you have to reenter your pickup date/time if it's expired). I pull up to pickup, they load the car and then I pull around and park to go in for the last few items. it's also a bit of a way to track your shopping habits b/c it will keep a record of your purchases for a year or more so you can see if you are really buying more or it's a case of prices increasing more than you realize.

 

[DisneyTexan]

We chose Kroger because it was across the street from the restaurant, and we wanted to see how prices compared to Walmart (and they were a little higher, so we probably won't be going back).

Do you have an online loyalty account set up with Kroger, and did you clip the online coupons before visiting? There can be some great online coupons available. For example, today I got a coupon for free eggs.

However, if you really don't have time to clip online coupons, then Walmart is usually better.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I didn't know about either program. We do have a thing where you have to put in your number before they start ringing up your items. But I'm not sure that gets us anything. I'll look into the online program. Do you have to do online shopping though to use it? I don't want to do online. I'd rather just go in and get my own stuff.

Do you have an online loyalty account set up with Kroger, and did you clip the online coupons before visiting? There can be some great online coupons available. For example, today I got a coupon for free eggs.

However, if you really don't have time to clip online coupons, then Walmart is usually better.

 

[DisneyTexan]

I didn't know about either program. We do have a thing where you have to put in your number before they start ringing up your items. But I'm not sure that gets us anything. I'll look into the online program. Do you have to do online shopping though to use it? I don't want to do online. I'd rather just go in and get my own stuff.

No, you don't have to shop online. Both Kroger and Tom Thumb have very good online coupons. You get a discount when typing in your phone number at check-out, but it is even better if you clip additional coupons before going to the store. Tom Thumb points also accumulate for cash discounts. I've been getting a $20 discount every couple months for quite a while.