My husband and I are both unemployed and living very, very frugally. I hate to admit it but this experience has taught me a lot, that I don't need much to be happy. With this time off, I've learned to cook a lot more things too.

Today I went grocery shopping at the local Chinese grocery store.

Here's what I got for $31.66:

$9.65 2 lbs of chicken tocino (marinate chicken)
$ .49 bunch of green onions
$3.19 boneless skinless chicken breasts
$3.33 whole tilapia fish
$5.46 skinless salmon fillet
$ .99 dried buckwheat noodles
$ .45 2 yellow onions
$ .99 tofu
$2.64 package of shiitake mushrooms
$1.88 3 chayotes
$2.59 dozen eggs

(Without the chicken tocino, this would have been around $20.)

I still can't believe this. $30 is how much I would spend on a meal out with my hubby.

If you live near a Mollie Stone's grocery store in the San Francisco Bay Area, they have a natural vitamin and natural beauty care 20% discount card. You can get 20% off those items once a month. Just ask for the free card at the register.

Check out my recommendations for cheap iced drinks at www.yummysf.com

Groceries are one of our biggest expenses each month. Here are ways we have cut down some of the costs.

Bottled water - We no longer buy bottled water since we use a Brita filter at home. If we do need bottled water, we get them free at my husband's work gym.

Convenience foods - We buy less premade, frozen foods and cook our meals from scratch.

Coffee - I haven't gone to Starbucks in a long time. I make my coffee lattes and chai lattes at home. For coffee lattes, I use instant espresso powder, hot water, and hot milk. For chai, I buy chai concentrate and add hot milk. I got this machine (with a giftcard) to make coffee drinks at work.

Some Target stores have a grocery section. They have frozen foods and packaged goods like cookies, crackers, coffee, bread, cereal, etc. I like to go to Target to get organic milk, Amy's frozen pizza, ice cream, and Archer Farms tiramisu (delicious!). Archer Farms is the Target house brand. The prices are cheaper than the chain grocery stores. But my Target doesn't sell fresh produce.

I recently quit my job. Living frugally has a new meaning for me now.

I love reading everyone's blogs here. And I love reading about new tips about saving money.

I cook a lot more and don't eat out as much. Here are some of my discoveries.

Cheap places to buy groceries:
1.Costco - My husband and I now buy our raw chicken here. Foster Farms has these prepackaged chicken packs - 3 chicken pieces in a pack and 6 packs per package. You can use just what you need and the rest are still sealed fresh to be fridged or frozen. We get chicken thighs because they are cheaper than chicken breasts and tastier. Plus the ones with the skin are half of the price of skinless! $9 for skin vs. $18 for skinless.
2.Chinese Supermarkets - It's just like the major chains minus the frozen dinners and processed foods, which will save you money in the long run because you will be forced to cook from scratch. You can get fresh vegetables, fruits, seafood, meats, etc. Prices are a lot cheaper, eg. green onions are only 33 cents vs. 99 cents at Safeway/Vons. And they speak English so there's no excuse not to go if you live near one. Chinese supermarkets are cheaper than Korean and Japanese supermarkets.