I am spending SO much money on groceries and hba each month. Right now for the month of August I have spent almost 560.00 dollars. I buy mostly generic brands of food, use coupons when I have them (which isn't often), buy meat on sale or in the reduced section, and don't buy fancier cuts of meat. I know this amount for 4 people is crazy. I try but can't seem to do any good. What do you all do to keep your prices down?

From your post, I discern -- if I'm not wrong -- that (1) you do not cook with meat as a condiment in brown rice, beans & lentils, or such "vegetarian" dishes.  Also, (2) you do nto check the Sun papers for coupons, clip all for items you need to buy (that is, clip 3 or 4 different brands of coffee coupons, so that you can compare prices at the store.  (3)  you are not shopping with a price list -- you are shopping at onlly one store (assuming that you have transportation to other store(s).

I could be wrong.  On the other hand, I have barely scratched the surface of how you can save money on groceries & on health & beauty aids.  Don't feel bad -- we all were frugality newbies at some point!

I actually eat a lot of beans. My husband wants meat and vegetables most days for his supper. I mostly buy generic so I don't get the Sunday paper. I used to try that but I very rarely saved even the amount I spent on the paper. Our paper doesn't usually have many coupons. We have no double or triple coupon days around here. I shop at Save-a-lot, Food City and Walmart. I try to get whatever is the cheapest at which ever of these stores. I cook a lot from scratch but like I said it seems to just be unreal how much I spend. The prices here have went up so much and continues to. Milk here is over 5 dollars a gallon without being on sale at the nearest store we have. On health and beauty aides there are a few things I buy name brand because of my skin being so sensitive (example dove soap) but I mostly buy the walmart generic brand of everything.

 I spend $300 / month for 3 adults and 2 kids. Includes toiletries and household merchandise.

I'm wondering how much food you waste. We throw away very little. My DH likes leftovers for lunch a lot better than sandwiches. (BTW, leftovers are cheaper!) I also have "garbage bags" in my freezer. I have 3 zipper-top bags that I've labeled "Chicken," "Mexican" and "Italian." All uneaten leftovers get tossed in a bag before they go bad. Pork and beef usually goes in "Mexican," while hamburger gets tossed in "Italian." Chicken ends up as soup, and the others as a "Surprise Casserole," or as my kids call it, "Mystery Dinner" !! LOL

I have also stopped stockpiling. If you stockpile foods, a lot of your budget goes to that. Using a pricebook, I have figured that sales are cyclical and the same item will be on sale again in the near future. It doesn't pay to buy 12 of something when you may only use 2 before it is on sale again. The only thing we "stockpile" is beef. We buy a side every 9 to 12 months. It's cheaper than grocery store meat.

Do you plan meals? I have a meal-planning calendar that helps me a lot! We have a Palm Pilot, but if you go to palm.com, you can download their desktop calendar at no charge. The reason I like the software is that you can set up menus so that they repeat at specified intervals. For example, Monday nights are Italian nights, so I've created a list of 6 dishes that my family enjoys. Each dish repeats every 6 weeks, so there isn't a bunch of "we just had that!" You should also consider making each night of the week a theme night. Monday - Italian, Tuesday - Mexican, Wednesday - Leftovers, Thursday - Kids choice, Friday - On a Bun, Saturday - Restaurant at Home, and Sunday - Chef's Choice.

Do you buy a lot of convenience foods? There are a lot of recipes on the Internet for ones you make yourself. We have many activities during the week and my homemade frozen meals come in handy! If you need ideas, take a notebook to your grocery store and write down things you see in the frozen aisle that looks good.

And speaking of convenience foods, stop buying bakery products and packaged snacks if you do unless they are reduced. Most of the items you (or your kids) don't need anyway. If you feel the urge to grab a box of cookies, snack cakes or fruit snacks, go back to the produce section and pick up some apples instead. I'd like to know why fruit snacks are $7 a pound but we whine at apples for $1.50 a pound!

The deli is another no-no. $5 to $7 a pound -- or more! -- just for cooked meat? That's crazy! 

Good luck - I'm sure other members can give you more advice! 

Oops, forgot a few more tips.

I don't buy paper towels. I do have a roll for when the cat yaks or something else gross, but usually we use a towel.  If they are good enough in the bathroom, then they are good enough in the kitchen!

Also, I don't buy cleaning products. Most are just vinegar gussied up with color and scent. There are a ton of resources on the Internet for vinegar cleaning products. I follow Flylady, and as she says, "Soap is soap!" and I use shampoo I no longer love to clean the shower and toilet. It works! Elbow grease does more for a clean home than any commercial product will. 

My rule of thumb is:  I shy away from paying more than $1 a pound for any food stuff. I know it sounds simple - even to the point of being silly - but it's really easy to remember and has helped me not only curb our grocery spending, but eat healthier because of it.  Obviously it means eating lower on the food chain (more veggies, legumes, etc. and less animal protien and fat), which costs a lot less, is much healthier for you, and much easier on Mother Earth. 

It also means that we only eat fruits and vegatables that are in season (pooooor us), plan our menus around the best deals of the week (which has actually led to greater variety in our diet than if we go out and buy whatever we want ... which is always the same old thing), and experiment with a lot of delicious foreign recipes that usually use less meat (again, pooooor us). 

Once in a while I'll swallow hard and put a peice of meat or cheese in the grocery cart that costs more than a buck a pound, but now it's the exception and not the rule.

-Jeff Yeager, The Ultimate Cheapskate - www.UltimateCheapskate.com 

On the issue of leftovers I sure do use them. I love having them for when I don't want to cook or to send in my husband's lunch at work. I also put some in the freezer for a later use. I do stockpile on things that are a great price and I can't find them at that price very often. I try to plan my menu's on what I have bought on sale. I don't ever buy meats or cheeses or anything like that from the deli. I look at the deli but move on. Their prices are crazy. Occasionally, I might buy a birthday cake for one of the boys on their birthday. I very rarely ever buy many cleaners. Just the basic stuff for the most part. I do use a lot of paper towels. I seem to have a lot of grease messes and feel I need them. I also eat from what little we have from the garden. Our garden didn't do good this year due to severe dry weather. You see thats why I can't understand how much I spend when I am doing so much to try to watch. I may be able to do some better in September since my oldest will be away at college a lot of the time.

I think it definitely depends if you are feeding little kids or teenagers, the amount they eat is huge! I remember forever eating at that age.  cooking from scratch. setting limits on snacks food etc. like filling up on cheap popcorn not bags of chips etc. or drinking water more.  Food isn't the cheapest here. Milk $4 per gallon.  I don't use coupons much except for diapers.  But I do read the stores flyers to catch the sales. They are on a cycle. I look for other cheaper resources for items. I am picky about quality.  For example I use IGA only for the meat specials normally because they have great sales on pork etc bogo and marinated pork ( a plus) a lot. It is good quality. I can go to superstore and buy cheap meat but I don't trust the quality so it is not worth it. There is a place called International sausage that manufactures sausage etc of course but they have a full european deli at the site with great products at great prices. A big round 1-2lb garlic sausage there that is lean, full of flavor costs me $6.00 but at Safeway at extreme special the cheap garlic sausage full of whatever and flour is then $6 for the same amount. They have ground meat, deli, cheese etc.   It all freezes well so I go every few mths. love the smell in that deli!  I know fancy feast at Walmart (doesn't have a full grocery section) is always cheap so I buy lots to last. But I found that the pet store we buy our bird seed from is the same price as walmart so I can save a trip if needed.   Same with discount bakery items IGA's marked down bakery stuff is great and usually not expired yet but superstores is expired before they are discounted and the last time I took a chance on the marked up items, the muffins had tiny bits of mold!  but for $1.49 it wasn't worth going but for because the gas wouldn't be worth it. I go for canned or frozen stuff there not fresh. They  have clothes, toys etc too.   You have to know your prices and stores.

This is one area that has been harder and harder to keep down. That and gas and utilities!

We were spending about four hundred a month for three people with the occassional stop in from dd23's fiance or dd23 and her fiance home from college and cooking once a week to take over to my parents for Sunday brunch.

I buy generic on most things. I buy crushed tomatoes instead of pizza sauce or picante sauce and season it to my taste. I do clip coupons sometimes, but was mostly using those for cleaning supplies b/c we do not eat a lot of boxed foods. I guess I will try the vinegar route and see how well that works. We use cleaning rags instead of paper towels. I need to plan menus better, I tend to fly by the seat of my pants. Any suggestions on ways to learn that? I have tried in the past and failed.

How is your price book set up?

I don't have one. I know it is a common idea but I am really good at knowing my prices. I know basically what all my major purchases cost. Like diapers/pullups are $14-15 a package so cheaper then that is good. Lucky my safeway has everything broken down by price per oz/100 grams depending on the items on the price tag so you can see at a glance what is a good buy. Generic/on sale big box/sm box etc. saves lots of headaches.  Our store flyers  are in the local paper which is delivered. I know Safeway sales cycle reg/holidays etc. back to school sales will be on next week so I will stock up on specials like wagon wheels for my hubby's lunches since that is the cheapest they will be. gross things but 20 for $5 (or cheaper)  is only .25 each and keeps him happy. no one else in the house will eat them! and the shelf life of them are good lol!