This post is the third in my money management series. To start at the beginning, see post one: money management, post two: housing, and post three: food matters here!
Last Friday night (cool person that I am) I spent a couple hours at our grocery store – Woodman’s – with my shopping list, coupons, and a clipboard in hand. My mission was to record the prices of the products we most often buy and to also record prices of some cheaper (but less sustainable or “responsible”) products.
You all had some great thoughts and suggestions about food, and I put some of it to the test.
For those of you not in the area, Woodman’s is a warehouse-type grocery store. The shopping experience is…I’d say…not pleasant. It’s also the cheapest place I know of to shop for groceries. In the past, Bryan and I decided to cut our grocery bill (maybe $10/week) by shopping here instead of at Copps and the Willy Street Co-op. It was a trade-off that allowed us to keep purchasing the food items we wanted (although the produce really does kind of suck).
I wanted to find out if buying all my toiletries, organic groceries, and cleaning supplies at Woodman’s was the best strategy, or if I could get some of the same items for less money elsewhere. I found that a few toiletries (deodorant, contact solution, and tooth paste) were all actually cheaper at Woodman’s (the contact solution was $7 instead of $8) than at Walgreen’s. Organic milk, Annie’s mac & cheese, and 7th Generation diapers were about equally priced at the Willy Street Co-op (which I’d say specializes in organic and local products). So overall, I’d say that I’m doing pretty well by doing all my shopping at Woodman’s. I’d love to buy more at the Co-op or at Trader Joe’s, but I feel like I’m saving a bit by doing it this way…and that’s allowing me to buy more of the products that I love.
Several of you suggested that I consider using coupons. Some of you were shocked to hear that I have never clipped coupons. I like the 20% off Gymboree or Macy’s coupons I get in the mail, but I really can’t think of a time I have clipped grocery coupons. But, hey, I’m willing to try. So I spent a couple hours looking online at various coupon sites. There are hundreds of them. The NY Times did a good article last week on how people are getting into clipping coupons again. I was hoping to find a site where I could enter in all the brands of food that I like and they would let me know when manufacturer coupons became available. As far as I can tell, no such site exists. Instead, I found myself reading through hundreds of coupons for products I don’t want (mostly processed foods), and I just felt like I was reading advertisements. I had a bit better luck by going directly the websites for a couple brands I like (Organic Valley milk and Cascade Farms organic frozen vegetables). So I saved a couple dollars using coupons for the first time. Woodman’s doesn’t have store coupons (or big advertised store sales), so I don’t think that the coupon route is going to be a huge saver. If I wasn’t as picky…if I didn’t want a certain brand of yogurt or breakfast bars or soup…I think coupon clipping would be a lot more of a money saving technique. But after doing research into brands and rather carefully deciding which ones I most want to support, I don’t like to switch brands to save $0.30. Ahh, decisions, decisions.
Next I did a comparison of four products: Coffee, diapers, milk, and eggs. Here’s what I found.
Coffee
We go through about a pound of coffee every 4-6 weeks. We grind our coffee at home, and especially since I have friends who have worked in Central American on fair trade coffee, I feel like spending a little extra money on our coffee is a tangible way that I can help the living conditions of people living in some really vulnerable parts of the world. I also like to buy shade grown because I am concerned about the effect the loss of forests are having on bird populations (here’s some info from the National Wildlife Federation). Here’s a comparison of four brands.
Cafe Fair (local): $6.99/lb bulk, $8.49/lb pre-bagged
Equal Exchange: $8.29/lb bulk
Cameron’s regular, fair, or organic/shade grown: $5.69/lb
Eight-O’clock Coffee: (non-fair trade, organic, etc.) $5.20/lb
Between the cheap, non-fair trade coffee and the most expensive fair trade option, it looks like a difference of about $3/month. That’s not much. I think we can definitely stick with some version of fair-trade/shade grown without breaking the bank.
Eggs
We eat lots of eggs…I’d guess about eighteen per week. At Woodman’s, there’s an overwhelming array of egg options. Customers often stand stupefied while trying to decipher the differences between all the various choices. Organic, free-range, cage-free, vegetarian-fed, Omega-3, brown…how’s a person to decide (here’s a quick guide and a good NY Times article)! I first decided to buy free-range eggs when I leaned that laying hens are often de-beaked to keep them from pecking each other to death in their cage homes. Unless you know the producer, it’s hard to feel confident that the chickens really are treated humanely, but I’m hoping the brands I’m supporting are doing their best.
So here’s a comparison of some of the brands we choose:
Sparboe Farms:
Cage free brown plus: $2.39
Vegetarian-fed brown: $1.31
Organic brown: $3.29
Egg Innovations
Cage free white: $3.49
Eggland’s Best
Organic: $3.39
Regular (non-organic or in other ways special) eggs: $1.00
So for eighteen eggs a week, we spend between $3.60 and $5.40 per week on eggs compared to $1.50/week if we bought standard eggs. In a year (if we really do eat 18 eggs a week), we’re spending $110 to $203 on premium eggs. That’s a lot, but in my opinion, we shouldn’t allow farm animals to be raised in in-humane conditions. If we were treating the animals appropriately, I think all eggs would cost more like premium eggs. I think that assuming that we continue to buy premium eggs that I’ll do a little more research into the companies that we’re supporting to make sure that my extra money is actually supporting upstanding agriculture!
Milk
Milk is a big one. Our family drinks about a gallon of milk a week.
One gallon of 1% milk costs:
Sassy Cow (local, organic): $6.09
Organic Valley (local, organic): $5.99
Swiss Valley: $1.89
Dean’s: $2.49
Home milk delivery from Blue Marble Family Farm: $8/gallon. So local, so fresh, so much money!
So we’re spending a bit over $4/week to be purchasing organic milk. That’s around $220 over the course of the year. Hmmm. So much data, so little conclusions!
Skipping on to the next topic…
Diapers
Sylvia uses about a pack of 30 diapers a week. That’s around 5 diapers a day. The brand we’ve always used is 7th Generation. I love those diapers. Is it possible to love diapers? Well, I do.
Here’s a break-down of size 4 diapers:
7th Generation (chlorine-free, great company): $11.49 ($0.38/diaper)
Natural Choice (environmentally sensitive, chlorine-free): $7.99 ($0.26/diaper)
Pure ‘n Gentle (just fragrance free): $6.29 ($0.19/diaper)
Sylvia will probably be potty-trained in the next year, so hopefully this expense will drop off our chart before too long. The most cost-saving choice I could make would be to use the cloth diapers I have sitting in my basement. I used them with Andrew but not Sylvia. This would be a good way to save myself $10/week! But disposable diapers are easy, easy, easy. I just purchased a pack of the Natural Choice diapers. The company seems to be trying some innovative products, so if I like them, I think I’ll switch. The Pure ‘n Gentle work alright, but I do like supporting a company that really is making an effort to be “green”!
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Overall, I think my foray deep into our grocery cart helped me understand a little more clearly where our food dollars age going. I feel good about how we spend our grocery money, so I think that the trick in lowering this budget item is going to mean generally keeping our food on the simple side. Refraining from purchasing salmon filets, rich cuts of beef, excessive berries, or fun but not necessary items might be the way to keep costs down.
Wow. This was a huge post. If you’re still reading at this point, congratulations! And now, I’m so curious!! What do you think about all this? What are the food items that your family prioritizes? Should I be shopping at Trader Joe’s? If I buy Nestle instead of Ghirardelli chocolate chips, should I feel like I’m being frugal? So many questions. I await your response!
Hi Betsy – I own a good amount of Fuzzibunz, and they are indeed very cool. Bum genius diapers are also great for those of you considering cloth diapering options. Alternatively, Heather can tell you about infant toilet training!You're right about the cumulative effect of buying eco-friendly products. It was helpful, though, to really break down a few examples to get a better handle on the cost per item.
Has anyone directed you to Fuzzibunz diapers? A friend started using them to go green. I guess they are like super modern and festive cloth diapers. http://www.fuzzibunz.com/There is something you are catching- quality vs. price. Sometimes it is in the ingredients and not the name. Like chocolate chips- there is a brand at Woodman's that is cheaper and contains more dairy products than Nestle's. I don't remember the brand other than it is a clear, cheap bag with a white tag and green print. Woodmans is good on some things, but produce is not one of them.The scary thing about this post is how much things add up- per item that you buy to be ecofriendly and then how much all the choices adds up per year. If each ecofriendly item adds $30 to $200 per year to your annual budget and there is 10 to 20 ecofriendly products? The price tag ends up being huge.
Hi Althea <<waving>> Love your notes and thoughts on budgeting and food production. I feel much the same as you. One thought on buying milk, Willy St. Co-op has the traditional Sassy Cow (non-organic) milk. If you read this link, I feel pretty confident purchasing non-organic from this family farm. Good way to save some $$ w/out sacrificing supporting local farmers and still voting with your dollars.http://www.sassycowcreamery.com/Content/Organic_vs_Traditional_Milk.htm
Has anyone directed you to Fuzzibunz diapers? A friend started using them to go green. I guess they are like super modern and festive cloth diapers. http://www.fuzzibunz.com/There is something you are catching- quality vs. price. Sometimes it is in the ingredients and not the name. Like chocolate chips- there is a brand at Woodman's that is cheaper and contains more dairy products than Nestle's. I don't remember the brand other than it is a clear, cheap bag with a white tag and green print. Woodmans is good on some things, but produce is not one of them.The scary thing about this post is how much things add up- per item that you buy to be ecofriendly and then how much all the choices adds up per year. If each ecofriendly item adds $30 to $200 per year to your annual budget and there is 10 to 20 ecofriendly products? The price tag ends up being huge.
Hi Betsy – I own a good amount of Fuzzibunz, and they are indeed very cool. Bum genius diapers are also great for those of you considering cloth diapering options. Alternatively, Heather can tell you about infant toilet training!You're right about the cumulative effect of buying eco-friendly products. It was helpful, though, to really break down a few examples to get a better handle on the cost per item.
Not to push for a store, as I don't really have a store loyalty- usually go for who has the best coupons per week. I do have to say though that I hate Woodmans for the same reasons you do- huge, impersonal, bad produce… etc. I have found by having store cards you can often make up the difference that you would save by shopping at a store you don't like. Ex: by shopping at Copps, having a Roundy's card you earn points and save .10 per gallon of gas at BP for every $50 you spend. I would say we end up saving about $15ish per month on gas by using this feature. Just something else to consider.
Hi Althea <<waving>> Love your notes and thoughts on budgeting and food production. I feel much the same as you. One thought on buying milk, Willy St. Co-op has the traditional Sassy Cow (non-organic) milk. If you read this link, I feel pretty confident purchasing non-organic from this family farm. Good way to save some $$ w/out sacrificing supporting local farmers and still voting with your dollars.http://www.sassycowcreamery.com/Content/Organic_vs_Traditional_Milk.htm
Don’t buy Nestle anything! That is a horrible, horrible company: http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/boycott.html
Milk delivery from LW Dairy, which is BGH free but not organic, is about $5/gallon, depending on if you want whole, 2%, 1%, skim or chocolate: http://www.lwdairy.com/aboutus.cfm You only go through one gallon a week?? We go through at least 3. And we easily demolish a pound of coffee in a week or a week and a half. Especially now that Shara has started drinking it!
I’ve never gotten into coupons – there are so rarely coupons for the things I buy. Except the Coop coupon booklet that comes every couple of months.
I think the grocery item I resent paying for the most is breakfast cereal. It’s godawful expensive. So I prowl for those that are on sale, and stock up when they are.
Here’s our family grocery shopping menu:
Daily items for dinners: Jenny St. Market or Coop (more likely the Jenny St. since it is easier to get to by bike or car) Jenny St. is also our main source of vino, since it is their “loss leader”.
Staples to have on hand (flour, canned beans, canned toms, oils, baking things, pasta): Coop
Produce: usually the Coop, but also Jenny St.
Basics and non-food (toilet paper, cereals, sandwich baggies, bagels, veggie burgers, Annie’s mac&cheese, etc.): Woodmans
We probably shop at Woodmans once every 2 weeks, and at Jenny St. or the Coop daily. I know I pay more at the Jenny St. (except for wine!) but I do so because it is more convenient and I am quite willing to pay a premium for convenience!
Has anyone directed you to Fuzzibunz diapers? A friend started using them to go green. I guess they are like super modern and festive cloth diapers. http://www.fuzzibunz.com/
There is something you are catching- quality vs. price. Sometimes it is in the ingredients and not the name. Like chocolate chips- there is a brand at Woodman’s that is … Read Morecheaper and contains more dairy products than Nestle’s. I don’t remember the brand other than it is a clear, cheap bag with a white tag and green print. Woodmans is good on some things, but produce is not one of them.
The scary thing about this post is how much things add up- per item that you buy to be ecofriendly and then how much all the choices adds up per year. If each ecofriendly item adds $30 to $200 per year to your annual budget and there is 10 to 20 ecofriendly products? The price tag ends up being huge.
Hi Betsy – I own a good amount of Fuzzibunz, and they are indeed very cool. Bum genius diapers are also great for those of you considering cloth diapering options. Alternatively, Heather can tell you about infant toilet training!
You’re right about the cumulative effect of buying eco-friendly products. It was helpful, though, to really break down a few examples to get a better handle on the cost per item.
althea, i agree with you on the coupons – i will look through them if i’m at someone’s house and they get the sunday inserts, but it’s not enough to make me subscribe.
you can get coupons for eggland’s best eggs. if you’re concerned about the cost of eggs, though, could you eat fewer eggs? could you adjust how many
i really really like getting milk delivered from a dairy. i think people have fond memories about that, and for us, that’s the only connection we have with a real farmer. john knows the milk and veggies we get delivered are from a farmer. i hope it is one way to instill good food values.
i really think that it’s best to buy certain quality foods that you enjoy AND notice the difference. so for us, it’s buying expensive maple syrup (and we eat so many pancakes! and the guys use so much syrup!!), real parmesan cheese, buying organic meat when we can, good chocolate chips, and getting milk delivered. everything else is negotiable.
Althea,
I so enjoy reading your posts about economics and food, it is definitely something Kaleb and I discuss a lot! Our biggest problem is that neither of us really have any good ideas when it comes to cooking. We have such a hard time coming up with things to make. That made our food bill very high, because we often went to the store without knowing what to buy. And we always went grocery shopping when we started to get hungry, and buying food being hungry is not a good idea if you want to save money!
So we decided to sign up for a food subscription. That is one of the best things we have done! Every second week we get two big bags delivered to our door from a company called “Middagsfrid” -Dinner freedom :). With the bags comes recipes for five dinners, each of them for four people. The couple that runs this little company put a lot of effort into making sure that the food is organic, locally produced, healthy and as environmentally friendly as possible.
From this company we have learned some interesting things. One thing among others is that producing beef takes a lot of energy and releases tons of carbon dioxide and is therefore not environmentally friendly at all. It is in general better to eat chicken, fish or pork. What is also interesting is that locally produced is not always the most environmentally friendly. It takes a lot of energy to produce for example tomatoes if they are growing in a green houses, which use a lot of energy to stay warm. So for us in Sweden, depending on the season, its more environmentally friendly to have tomatoes shipped from Spain than to eat Swedish grown tomatoes. Same thing with for example cucumber and fruits. Of course it all depends on the season, and that is also something “Dinner freedom” keeps in mind when they put together the recipes.
It is also better to use whole milk and fat cream instead of diet alternative, because low fat products contain more chemical substances to stay fresh and keep the right consistency.
It costs us a bit more to have this subscription than it would be for us to go to the store and buy the food, about $10 per delivery but it is worth every penny! And it is so much fun the try all the new recipes!
Another thing that is very important to me is to avoid all types of extra, unnatural ingredients that food makers put into the food. Like all the taste and color additives. I try to avoid food that contains to many E-numbers. And now with Arvid starting to eat real food I am getting almost even more picky, and it is actually hard to avoid the additives in food, which makes me upset and worried.
I could go on for hours writing about this… 🙂 but I think I am done for now!
Love, Karin
These are some good questions and investigations.
For years I have felt like I get more food for my dollar at Woodman’s, certainly. However, I think there is almost unanimous consensus that their produce is (at least at times) lacking, which is bad if you have a lot of produce items on your list.
On the other hand, their packaged “health food” aisles are stocked with a larger variety than many of the regular grocery stores, they do carry some fair trade coffees and a lot of non-food items you might purchase at a discount chain– and the prices on these items are good.
Since Michael and I have been shopping together, I have been making fewer stops at the grocery store during the week to pick up “odds and ends” and limiting most of my purchases to the weekend expedition. So I have been limiting myself to one store choice per week.
One week that might be Sentry Hilldale because I know they have a good produce selection and carry the milk we like to buy, but I probably won’t stock up as much on packaged non-perishables there. For a while this summer I was diligently shopping at Copps and reaping the value of the “fuel perks” that customers earn toward gasoline purchases. But I like to stock up on non-perishables at Woodman’s– and there are a few other places we shop occasionally.
I have a feel for what the stores I am familiar with do well and have good prices on, so most of the time I play it by ear, depending on what we need.
I don’t think the time/value ration on coupons is good for me, either. Occasionally I receive a coupon for something I buy and use it, but these are few and far between.
For chocolate chips, I always buy the kind I like the best (SunSpire has been a favorite, as have Ghirardelli’s 60% bittersweet chips) 🙂 I don’t buy very many bags of chocolate chips over the course of the year, though.
Oops. “ration” = “ratio”
A side note to your first photo: Amy’s Kitchen (producer of your Amy’s organic soups) is located right here in Petaluma. 🙂
Ohhhhh. I love Amy’s Kitchen!!! Hey, all the more reason to come visit you!