How to save on groceries

[vonski8]

Hi Sisses and Moms,

How do you save on groceries/palengke? What I recently did was buy meat/fish/poultry and veggies sa palengke kasi mas fresh and akala ko makakatipid ako. Pero mas mahal pala ang mga meat / poultry doon. Example, 170/kg ang meat pero sa grocery meron 160/kg. Chicken sa palengke ay 140/kg pero merong 120/kg sa grocery. The difference is mas fresh nga naman sa palengke. I go to the wet market every week. Sa groceries naman, I do it twice a month. Pero sumosobra parin sa budget.  There are 5 of us in the household and our grocery/palengke in a month is 20k. Sakto lang ba itong budget sa ganitong kalaki na household or masyadong mataas?

What are your schedules when buying food? Do you do it on a monthly or per week basis?

Ilang beses kayo magluto in a day? Ang lunch na ulam ay good for dinner narin ba?
Do you cook or buy merienda?

[ayi0119]

Subscribing ako dito.. minsan talaga di maiwasan mag over sa budget.

Sa palengke ako bumibili ng isda at gulay.. the rest sa groceries na sa mall. Pansin ko mas nakakatipid ako kasi ang mahal ng gulay sa mall.


^ parang malaki nga yun 20k na budget for groceries lang.. may kids ba kayo? Samin kasi nasa 15k on average, ang nagpapalaki lang talaga jan yun formula milk ni baby.

[gwyne21]

Hi TS.. Kami naman sa supermarket ang grocery and meat tapos sa palengke ang fish and veggies.  We do our shopping on weekly basis after mag-church. Dati mas magastos kami sa groceries (around 14-15K a month) but recently mas bumaba na. Umaabot kami around 11-12K a month (3 adults + 1 toddler).
What I do para mas makatipid:
1. I make a meal plan for the week (breakfast, lunch, dinner) para alam ko kung ano yung dapat kong bilhin.
2. I always make grocery and palengke shopping list. Para walang makalimutan and limit unnecessary items na binibili.
3. Before halos 80% ng ulam namin ay meat. Ngayon mga 40-50% na lang. Nagdagdag na kami ng fish and veggie viands. Mas tipid na, healthier pa.
4. When I go to the supermarket, una ko pinupuntahan yung aisle ng mga may sales. May mga items kasi na hindi naman ako particular sa brand. Pag may sale or promo, dun ako bumili. Example ay oatmeal, juices, canola oil, canned meatloaf, canned tuna, tissue, etc.

[mikelly]

We do our grocery weekly. Most of the time this is what we do to make sure we do not overspend from our budget.

1.  There is a week that our budget is for only 5k, that's for 8 days and 3k for 4-5 days.  If our budget is 5k, I always program my mind that I should only spend 4k so that if we overspend for that grocery, we still have 1k left.  If we were able to keep our 4k budget, then we still have 1k for savings or luho. Same thing with 3k, we should not overspend to 2k and the 1k left will go savings or luho. 

It is also important to know the # of days the grocery will be consumed so you can measure exactly what you need and dont keep on getting stuff you dont need.

2.  We do not buy chips, sodas, instant noodles that much. If we crave for chips, 1 or 2 is enough. Same with soda, 1 to 2 small bottle is enough.  Diet na tipid pa.

3.  We buy small sachets just like with fabric con.  Buying in bigger sizes and in bulk will not keep our budget in tact unless you just have few things you need.

4. I use small pushcart with 2 baskets only.  Using the one bigger will just end up putting too much stuff.

5. I list all the items we need or take a picture of our pantry to know if we still have a stock or we dont have anymore.

Most of the time we don't consume all those groceries we bought that is why we still have stocks and will lessen another expense on the next batch of grocery.

[LGV]

I also struggle on this. We did not set a specific budget dito kasi iba iba talaga yung trend samin minsan mas madalas kame kumain sa inlaws since wala silang kasama kaya pag marami akong nabiling frozen goods nastay lang sa freezer talaga for more than a week. Minsan naman pag feel namin magluto sunod sunod na araw tapos in a day nakaka 2-3 viands so its hard to forecast talaga. So parang yung natipid namin with the days na hindi kame nagluluto napupunta parin sa araw na nagluluto kame dahil sometimes napapabili kame ng kung ano ano like kunwari biglang gusto gumawa ng baked mac, mapapabili kame ng mozzarella cheese instead of ordinary cheese na meron sa ref. Or biglang matripan ko magbake ng whatever na maisip ko for dessert namin. (Kasama sa groceries ko ang baking needs kasi there are times na everyday gusto ko magbake ng kung ano ano.  Things like that.

Though in a way may mga tipid tips din ako na nagagawa like sabi nung isang sis may sale section, I usually get  good deals on toiletries, especially sa mga shampoo. Lalo na at 2 yung extra person na kasama namin sa house (1 yaya, 1 maid) so instead of buying their toiletries on a regular price nakukuha ko minsan ng free like you buy the big bottle free small bottle of buy 2 take 1 na soap etc. ANd also sa toothpast usually 2 tubes na sya. So naghohoard talaga ako kaya minsan kahit ilang months ako di bumili ng toiletries okay lang. In that way convenient talaga. Minsan pa sa S&R infairness may significant discount talaga but this is only for my own use like yung Dove na pinakamalaki recently nakabili ako less 170php ang isang bottle. Sayang nga wala na silang members sale.

Sa detergent and fabcon, napansin ko magastos nga din malalaki na pack why, since yung maid ang naglalaba you cannot control talaga minsan they overuse especially sa paglalaba ng sarili nilang damet so I learned na dapat sachets nalang muna though nagstock parin ako ng malaking pack pero gagalawin ko sya kapag ako ang maglalaba using a washer. Especially sa fabcon super bilis maubos talaga so ngayon medjo nalessen na.

One more thing sa mga gulay, since I dont do meal plan but hopefully soon matutunan ko yan at hindi ako tamarin. Ang iniistock ko lang yung basic like onion, farlic, calamansi etc yung iba super konti lang talaga just incase kailanganin then bibili nalang sa nearby gulayan kapag nagplano magluto since I also decided recently to buy these kind of things sa mga small vendors nalang kasi pag marami ako stock minsan nabubulok nalang hindi ko parin naluto. In that way hindi ako nasasayangan unlike noon na halos every week may naitatapon ako. Ngayon as much as possible iniiwasan ko talaga magaksaya.

[neenah]

Subscribing!

By december kasi maglilipat na kami ng house, so gusto ko makasiguro na walang masasayang/matatapon na kahit na anong pagkain sa ref namin pero syempre gusto ko din yung tipong hindi naman kami mapapataba ng husto na kakain ng kakain habang may nakikita sa ref.

So inuumpisahan ko na maglist ng meal plan namin for a week or two..

Then about groceries, nilist ko na din yung mga toiletries namin, kelan binuksan at kelan naubos,
yung iba alam ko na pero yung iba hindi pa (like diswashing liquid) since wala pa kami sa talagang bahay namin..

Dilemma ko din yung sa pagbili ng meat, sigurado mas fresh ang palengke, pero hindi ako marunong tumawad, so hindi ko alam kung ang presyo na binigay sakin eh tapat o kaylangan pa makipagtawaran.. hehe..

Sana marami pa magshare ng tips..

[cheepee]

Subscribing!

Nahihirapan din akong mag budget for my family back in the Philippines. Grocery/market nila is 20,000 per month. This consist of 1 adult, 3 teenies and 1 Gradeschooler. Lagi nila sinasabi na kulang pa daw si 20k per month..ganun na ba talaga kamahal ang bilihin ngayon sa Pilipinas?

Mas makakamura ba if buying by bulk instead na yung patingi tingi or depende pa din?

[vonski8]

Oo tama, ang mahal ng gulay sa groceries. Meron akong 15 yo and 10 month old.
6 pala kami sa household..hindi ko nabilang si bulinggit. Sorry. But she takes breastmilk kaya wala akong
gastos sa formula.

Subscribing ako dito.. minsan talaga di maiwasan mag over sa budget.

Sa palengke ako bumibili ng isda at gulay.. the rest sa groceries na sa mall. Pansin ko mas nakakatipid ako kasi ang mahal ng gulay sa mall.


^ parang malaki nga yun 20k na budget for groceries lang.. may kids ba kayo? Samin kasi nasa 15k on average, ang nagpapalaki lang talaga jan yun formula milk ni baby.

[vonski8]

Meal Plan - sounds like a great idea. I have been planning to do this for ages but I am not prioritizing it.
I will do this before my next palengke/grocery

Palengke/Grocery List - I always have a list...pero I tend to buy food that is not on the list!

Less Meat - Hindi palakain ng isda at gulay ang asawa at anak ko. Meat namin is 80%. This needs to
change.

Sale - anong supermarket ang may sale aisle? I normally go to SM Center and they do not have a
specific aile for sale items..

Thank you so much for your input. Extremely helpful



[/quote]

Hi TS.. Kami naman sa supermarket ang grocery and meat tapos sa palengke ang fish and veggies.  We do our shopping on weekly basis after mag-church. Dati mas magastos kami sa groceries (around 14-15K a month) but recently mas bumaba na. Umaabot kami around 11-12K a month (3 adults + 1 toddler).
What I do para mas makatipid:
1. I make a meal plan for the week (breakfast, lunch, dinner) para alam ko kung ano yung dapat kong bilhin.
2. I always make grocery and palengke shopping list. Para walang makalimutan and limit unnecessary items na binibili.
3. Before halos 80% ng ulam namin ay meat. Ngayon mga 40-50% na lang. Nagdagdag na kami ng fish and veggie viands. Mas tipid na, healthier pa.
4. When I go to the supermarket, una ko pinupuntahan yung aisle ng mga may sales. May mga items kasi na hindi naman ako particular sa brand. Pag may sale or promo, dun ako bumili. Example ay oatmeal, juices, canola oil, canned meatloaf, canned tuna, tissue, etc.

[vonski8]

1) That sounds hard When I do the grocery..dampot lang ako without having any idea kung
magkano na kaya ang worth ng nasa grocery cart ko. Kaya minsan nagugulat ako na ang grocery ko ay umaabot na ng 5 - 6k.

So I have to be very mindful of the total price I have on my cart para hindi lumagpas sa weekly budget.

2) We don't buy junk food and noodles. More on fresh milk/milo and bottled juice ang binibili ko.

3) Buy in small sachets - great idea!

Thank you!!

We do our grocery weekly. Most of the time this is what we do to make sure we do not overspend from our budget.

1.  There is a week that our budget is for only 5k, that's for 8 days and 3k for 4-5 days.  If our budget is 5k, I always program my mind that I should only spend 4k so that if we overspend for that grocery, we still have 1k left.  If we were able to keep our 4k budget, then we still have 1k for savings or luho. Same thing with 3k, we should not overspend to 2k and the 1k left will go savings or luho. 

It is also important to know the # of days the grocery will be consumed so you can measure exactly what you need and dont keep on getting stuff you dont need.

2.  We do not buy chips, sodas, instant noodles that much. If we crave for chips, 1 or 2 is enough. Same with soda, 1 to 2 small bottle is enough.  Diet na tipid pa.

3.  We buy small sachets just like with fabric con.  Buying in bigger sizes and in bulk will not keep our budget in tact unless you just have few things you need.

4. I use small pushcart with 2 baskets only.  Using the one bigger will just end up putting too much stuff.

5. I list all the items we need or take a picture of our pantry to know if we still have a stock or we dont have anymore.

Most of the time we don't consume all those groceries we bought that is why we still have stocks and will lessen another expense on the next batch of grocery.

[summersong]

My main considerations about groceries and staples are: preference, timing, value, availability.

Generally, I do grocery shopping every ten days. I bring a list. I do it during slow hours para maiksi pila and to make me zip in and out of the store faster. I buy in bulk if it proves to be more cost-efficient. For us, buying detergent and fab con proves to be cheaper if bought in bulk since we do laundry ourselves. Minsan mas magastos sa ganoon kapag labandera or maid ang gumagawa.

Since I plan most of our meals, tanchado ko na how much food we consume per day. It’s also easier to plan how much per ingredient I’m going to buy sa market/grocery para minimized ang waste.

I plan meals based on what’s in season, or what’s readily available. Kunwari, for the price of a medium-sized bell pepper na minor ingredient lang sa spaghetti sauce, I can buy two good-sized ampalaya which is a major ingredient for ampalaya con carne. Lansones na in season instead of grapes. Pechay or mustasa instead of broccoli. May panahon na kahit patatas nagppresyong parang ginto. Although siyempre we’ll buy the others too, but less often. I find na mas mababa ang average cost kapag mas maraming gulay at masabaw na ulam, mas healthy pa.

What’s on sale? Are the items on sale fresh enough or worth buying? I keep an eye out for sales on personal care items at places such as Watson’s. If they put up my preferred toiletries on sale, I hoard. That way I’m good for a few months na.  I also have sukis for meats and seafood, since consistent naman na maganda ang quality na nakukuha ko sa kanila with the same price that I get from the markets, sometimes even cheaper.

As for certain staples sa kitchen like calamansi, tomatoes, sili, etc., I have plants and trees. If you live in a place na may open area at may naiiwang tao naman sa bahay, plant. Our country is blessed that it doesn’t take much to cultivate fruits and veggies, and you’re sure it’s safe at organic. I also have chickens that give us eggs.

Pag nasa abroad (e.g. US), may ibang sistema. Alam mo dapat ang timing sa pagbili ng groceries dahil malaking bagsak ang presyo kapag sine-sale nila ang items. If I see our favorite grocery items on sale, that’s the time I buy in bulk. Pati items na pwedeng ipasalubong sa Pinas. I buy limited-release candy and chocs either weeks before or the day after the holiday. Hehe

[Saskiya]

Kung ano yung sale sa catalogues. Usually naman lahat ng item nagse-sale except sa mga premium items so hoard talaga ako pag basic necessities.

[LGV]

Sis regarding kung saang grocery, I dont go to SM na unless nalang may nakalimutan lang ako since ito ang pinakamalapit, kung may malapit sayo na hindi SM just go there kasi kaya ata sila hindi masyadong nagbebenta ng sale items is para mapansin yung Bonus brand which is hindi naman din mura and I think hindi din magandang product. I usually go to Landmark, Metro, Shopwise and S&R (Better dito if maramihan din lang ang gusto mo bilhin).

[shygirlme]

Nag gogrocery ako every month. Umaabot kami ng 3 to 4k. 4 lang kami sa bahay. Hindi pa kasama dyan pamalengke every week. Wala din masyado junkfoods. Hindi pa kasama dyan laundry soap (bought in S&R last August yung isang balde hindi pa kami nangangalahati) dishwashing liquid (malaki nabili ko sa s&r. August ko din binili). Soap (6 pcs Olay. July ko binili) Colgate 3 pcs and Sensodine 2 pcs (August ko binili). Minsan hindi pa kasama toyo at suka dyan yung pinakamalaki kasi kinukuha ko. Akala ko nga dahil hindi na kami bumibili ng soap eh mas makakamura ko hoping maging 2k nalang every grocery kaso hindi pa din haha!

Number 1 tip. Wag mag grocery ng gutom!

[RoadrunnerXCX]

• i do my marketing once a week and every other week ang groceries. my budget for marketing is 1,5k per week for a family of 6 na 2 adults at 4 kids  all girls medyo mahihina kumain. sa groceries around the same amount but not necessarily complete na complete basta yung mga urgent needs lang like seasonings and toiletries and a few chips and juices. i don't stock on other stuff that i won't be able to consume right away kasi feeling ko natengga din ang pera ko sa item na yun na pwede naman i divert sa mas importante like rice.
• when i do my marketing, i buy by the amount and not by the kilo. kasi digital naman na karamihan ang kilohan nila. kasi mas naba budget ko sya maigi kapag sa amount kesa sa kilo. like for example, ang P100 worth na meat sa amin is enough for our viand minsan sobra pa lalo na kung may sabaw ang lutong gagawin ko...so ang 1k budget ko may 10 assorted meats and seafoods na ako na maluluto for a week. kaya kapag inapproach ko si manong o manang sa palengke o sa grocery my famous line would always be, "bigyan mo ko ng P100 worth ng liempo/isda/chicken." mag over man sya sa amount okay lang kasi barya barya lang naman minsan. so  my P500 would go to a few veggies pangsahog at P200 worth naman sa fruits the rest for other ingredients ko sa pagluluto.
• we do have our snacks. mas matipid sa amin ang tasty bread and spreads kesa bumili ng cupcakes na isang pack kasi ubos agad yon. minsan i don't buy snacks for one week kasi nakakalaki ng budget saka habang may nakikita ang kids hindi nila titigilan hehe. kaya ginagawa ko kapag naubos na nila in 2-3 days i would buy their snacks when i go home from work kung ano madadaanan like banana turon, banana cue o kaya donuts sa office kasi mura lang at partly subsidized ng company namin. masaya na kids ko sa ganon.
• i agree sa sachets. hindi din ako palabili ng bote bote ng toiletries kasi mas maraming nakikita ang gumagamit mas malakas din ang gamit. if i have a househelp i buy  dishwashing paste instead of liquids kasi maaksaya si HH.
• I buy on sale items lang sa groceries na madali ma consume lang toothpastes, sanitary napkins, shampoos, laundry powder. dishwashing pastes o liquids. hinohoard ko sya sa groceries.
• take advantage if you are near a factory outlets of breads or processed meats kasi mas malaking mura talaga. i know of 2 factories of famous brands of breads near our place and they sell their products at a lower price. around P30- P35 pesos na lang ang tasty breads , bagels, pizza crusts and others. sa processed meats nagpa register ako sa isang local brand as sari sari store kasi dati nagtinda ako dito lang sa house ng products nila kaso i stopped now pero may record na naman nila ako kaya ina avail ko pa rin ang discounted price nilahanggang ngayon.  pero hindi palage kasi processed foods have preservatives kaya once in a while lang instead ako na lang nag cure ng sarili kong tapa at home.

[mikelly]

1) That sounds hard When I do the grocery..dampot lang ako without having any idea kung
magkano na kaya ang worth ng nasa grocery cart ko. Kaya minsan nagugulat ako na ang grocery ko ay umaabot na ng 5 - 6k.

Sis vonski8, it's true that it is hard especially at first.  There was just a time before that our budget was too tight that's why I made such thing but it made us realize how much money we were overspending then we were not able to consume them at home naman.  We eventually made it a habit to budget and it is so fulfilling to end up getting just the things we needed and still have savings at the same time.  It's like 2 goals in a time.  But there are also time na nauubos din yung prepared budget namin if wala na talagang stock at home but we always make sure we dont overspend for 5k.

[red_yesha]

1st kelangan may listahan. Pero kami, hindi na kami nagdadala nyan kasi kabisado na namin yung dadamputin namin.
2nd kapag sale yung gusto naming product na kailangan naman talaga. sinasamantala namin.
3rd hindi kami bumibili ng gulay,isda,karne.Sa palengke lang kasi mas mura dun.
4th Ang binibili namin ay yung mga sobrang importanteng bagay lang like yung pang toiletries, panglaba etc..
5th do a lil math, san ba mas makakamura? sa maliit ba o malaki? example fabric con.
usually ang binibili namin e yung malaki na nakalagay sa plastic tapos pagdating sa bahay sinasalin nalang namin yun sa bote.
mas mura yun kesa sa sachet sachet lang IMO. yung naka bote naman mas mahal maybe because of the packaging.
ps. kahit maraming laman dapat dahan dahan pa rin syempre sa paggamit, so depende na sa tao yan kung mabilis mauubos o hindi.

[ayi0119]

Yun sa fabcon, shampoo, toyo, patis, suka, binibili ko yun nasa malalaking sachet o kaya yun re-sealable pack na plastik,  tapos refill na lang yun mga bote sa bahay.. Mas mura kasi yun ganun..

[quennna]

fabcon, powder laundry soap, dish liquid soap, toyo suka patis, cooking oil.. in big bottles/sachet talaga.. mas tipid.. then refill din sa smaller container.. matagal na sa amin yun, since dalawa lang kami ni hubby sa house..

[j.adore]

- always buy in bulk (mas mura kasi talaga)
- span out consumption of stocks as needed (di porke madami binili, ubusin agad)

- avail of discounts (uso na ngayon yung may daily/weekly discounted items so abangan then stock up on it, meron din yung pag closing na, sale yung items)

- consume what's available in the ref/cabinets before buying

- wala naman daw difference ang palengke sa grocery masyado so groceries na lang kami
- weekend markets daw mura? haven't tried too early for me hehe

- search the net for filling snacks (small quantity pero di nakakagutom agad)

- avoid buying or eating out if the cost is more than what you can make at home (ex. yung 1k steak meal kaya homecooked na 400 or less lang )