I have been trying to work on a budget with my groceries. I'm working on a financial notebook a little at a time. I would like to have a shopping notebook for the stores. Been looking into making a grocery shopping list like from http://www.organizetips.com/grocer.htm for the stores.
Grocery Budget Challenge
- Thread starter Gingerbug
- Start date
Wow that's a pretty comprehensive list...I made something similar myself that I have been using for a year or two...but now since I am changing my focus a bit I am going to rough draft a list for monthly food shopping, nonfood shopping (monthly) and then hopefully a much shorter list for weekly like milk, fresh fruit etc.
Im going to check out your blog this is a subject dear to my heart. We're a one income family of seven so I like to save money whenever possible and Im always trying to save on the grocery bill because it always seems to cost a fortune to feed all of us.
Thanks Ginger!
Thanks Ginger!
ChristmasMissy said:
I had printed that same list out years ago!!! Now that I am keeping a notebook and not sure where my original copy is (probably in storage from my moving) so it is glad to have it again. Thanks for sharing!!!
There are only 3 of us in our family -- here is what my groceries look like this week. Just went grocery shopping a few days ago. I shop for 2 weeks at a time. We eat the same thing each week so my list is the same each with with a few exceptions (laundry soap, toilet paper, bulk body soap, dishwashing soap and diapers). Those items get add ONLY when we need them.
For 2 weeks we spent just under $170. I was very pleased. We buy mostly off brand food items. This is NOT including the food I will need for 4th of July-- more eggs, some pop, more strawberries and the laundry soap I forgot to put on the list. Hubby will get those thing later this week--- That will put us closer to $190 for two weeks. Not too bad for including a holiday.
I bake my own bread (and hamburger buns) and make my own pancake mix, cakes, muffins and breakfast breads from scratch. It is alot more work but so much cheaper!!
For 2 weeks we spent just under $170. I was very pleased. We buy mostly off brand food items. This is NOT including the food I will need for 4th of July-- more eggs, some pop, more strawberries and the laundry soap I forgot to put on the list. Hubby will get those thing later this week--- That will put us closer to $190 for two weeks. Not too bad for including a holiday.
I bake my own bread (and hamburger buns) and make my own pancake mix, cakes, muffins and breakfast breads from scratch. It is alot more work but so much cheaper!!
Thanks for the site for the printable groc. list. I'm not good at sticking to a list when I shop, but maybe if I marked the items I was out of and made sure I picked those up I wouldn't make so many trips. I do like checking all the ads on Sunday morning to get the sale items at each one. I'm sure we're all in for some penny saving, it's something we've forgoten how to do.
I've been continuing to do research on how to save money on groceries and I've decided to try the following:
- I'm going to do my darndest to buy everthing I possibly can at Aldi's
I typically won't buy produce or meat there, but anything else...that is where it is probably cheapest. Flour, sugar, canned goods, cereal, spices, mixes, there is really alot I can get there.
- I'm going to continue researching low cost & healthy recipes so I can make the most of what I am buying...
If you google the term "low cost recipes" now a days, you get plenty of hits that include the phrase "healthy" as well! About a year ago I tried the same thing and could find almost nothing out there that wasn't very high in both calories and fat. But times are a changin'! People want to save money, but still eat healthy too!
Part of the reason I gravitated away from Aldi's in the past was my desire to buy healthier things for us to eat, and not all the prepacked stuff, etc.
- When it comes to toiletries and cleaning products, I will use sales + coupons at Meijer or find stuff at Dollar General...
They carry Tide detergent, for example, and they also accept coupons. So that is the route I am going to try to go.
- If I do buy a brand name food product from Meijer or Wal-Mart I will try the "stacking" coupon technique...
You clip the coupon out of your newspaper circular and then you also visit that manufacturer's website to print out any coupons they might have there.
Then you use both coupons in the check out lane to increase your savings. It won't always be possible, but it sounds like a good idea in theory.
- I am going to visit the bakery thrift store by our house and see what kind of deals I can get there. With the price of flour going up and up, I'd like to know what my options are...
- We use alot of frozen chicken, so I will start to buy frozen chicken thighs when they go on sale (Buy 1 Get 1) instead of always getting chicken breasts.
It is cheaper for the thighs, they stay juicier when you grill them and the difference if calories/fat isn't that drastic...
- I'm also going to make an effort to use my freezer more to save on waste.
Did I only use part of that can of tomato paste, I'll freeze the rest in ice cube trays.
Same thing for chicken broth. And so on...
- Last but not least, I am going to try and get to the point where I only go to the store every 2 weeks. Supposedly, you spend less $ that way. But that will be an experiment for me...
That's all for now...but if I find any other thoughts/ideas I will continue to post... :grin:
- I'm going to do my darndest to buy everthing I possibly can at Aldi's
I typically won't buy produce or meat there, but anything else...that is where it is probably cheapest. Flour, sugar, canned goods, cereal, spices, mixes, there is really alot I can get there.
- I'm going to continue researching low cost & healthy recipes so I can make the most of what I am buying...
If you google the term "low cost recipes" now a days, you get plenty of hits that include the phrase "healthy" as well! About a year ago I tried the same thing and could find almost nothing out there that wasn't very high in both calories and fat. But times are a changin'! People want to save money, but still eat healthy too!
Part of the reason I gravitated away from Aldi's in the past was my desire to buy healthier things for us to eat, and not all the prepacked stuff, etc.
- When it comes to toiletries and cleaning products, I will use sales + coupons at Meijer or find stuff at Dollar General...
They carry Tide detergent, for example, and they also accept coupons. So that is the route I am going to try to go.
- If I do buy a brand name food product from Meijer or Wal-Mart I will try the "stacking" coupon technique...
You clip the coupon out of your newspaper circular and then you also visit that manufacturer's website to print out any coupons they might have there.
Then you use both coupons in the check out lane to increase your savings. It won't always be possible, but it sounds like a good idea in theory.
- I am going to visit the bakery thrift store by our house and see what kind of deals I can get there. With the price of flour going up and up, I'd like to know what my options are...
- We use alot of frozen chicken, so I will start to buy frozen chicken thighs when they go on sale (Buy 1 Get 1) instead of always getting chicken breasts.
It is cheaper for the thighs, they stay juicier when you grill them and the difference if calories/fat isn't that drastic...
- I'm also going to make an effort to use my freezer more to save on waste.
Did I only use part of that can of tomato paste, I'll freeze the rest in ice cube trays.
Same thing for chicken broth. And so on...
- Last but not least, I am going to try and get to the point where I only go to the store every 2 weeks. Supposedly, you spend less $ that way. But that will be an experiment for me...
That's all for now...but if I find any other thoughts/ideas I will continue to post... :grin:
Wonderful ideas - with three boys my grocery bill has taken on a life of it's own. Add special diets (diabetes and celiacs)and its enough to make you cry!
Ahorsesoul said:
LOL! This is exactly it, isn't it! I don't need to live like a pioneer either! And I'm working to get away from it. It's not so much about buying in bulk on specific items; I'm fine with that. But I cleaned out my pantry yesterday and re-did the bottom two shelves using milk crates. (I've done this before in a previous house and it's a wonderful system -- I set the crates on their sides so the opening faces out, not up, and I use them as "contained" shelves). Each milk crate gets one or two items I tend to buy in bulk. Soups, broths, beverages, tomato sauce, etc. Whenever I go shopping it is just a quick glance to see what I'm low on, instead of going hunting into the abyss of my pantry shelves behind the baking goods, the chips, the whatever...
Anyhow, I sorted out my goods and found I had the equivalent of another milk-crate-plus worth of expired items and items that are for specific recipes (green olives for instance). I bought these SOOO long ago thinking it would be nice to have it on hand just in case I felt like making a specific recipe. And of course, in case that 100 year storm hits and I have a hankering for that recipe and can't get to the store. And here I haven't made that recipe for a year or two! And furthermore, to make that recipe, I'd still have to go to the store for other ingredients anyway. Silly silly me! So I'm shaking my head and swearing to use up these items and not replace them unless I'm planning to make that recipe soon. No more pioneering days for me!
You both have valid points on the expired items...just can't afford to waste food ...now days ...too expensive...but the basic things I stock up on our things that we will definately use...STAPLES so to speak...pastas, canned goods, etc....and never do I have more than a month's worth on the shelf....so I guess it is all in how you view stocking up.....LOL
Buying in bulk....yes when it is something we use a lot and when it is a super sale...just makes sense...but seldom does my budget allow for me to stock up over a months worth.
Also I will tell you that honestly buying by the month is saving me money...I went to Walmart this week and had lots of aisle that I didn't even have to go down...cause I already had my monthly allottment at home!!! I think fewer trips to the store and down aisles where impulse buying can occur really makes a differenve. I also think that buying monthly makes me be more organized and I am starting to plan around those special purchase...if I decide to try a recipe that needs half a jar of those green olives...I immediately search for a recipe to use the other half THIS month...
We are no longer pioneers but it reminds me of a story when my aunt visited me along with my mom. I was making something using cabbage and I was throwing away some of the outer leaves and smaller pieces. She asked if she could have them to take home and add to soup or something...at the time I thought..."oh the poor dear" as she lived on a very limited income...but now some 20 years later...I just realize that she was SMART...we can eat good...the 2000's just show us we need to be more thrify...not wasteful!!
Buying in bulk....yes when it is something we use a lot and when it is a super sale...just makes sense...but seldom does my budget allow for me to stock up over a months worth.
Also I will tell you that honestly buying by the month is saving me money...I went to Walmart this week and had lots of aisle that I didn't even have to go down...cause I already had my monthly allottment at home!!! I think fewer trips to the store and down aisles where impulse buying can occur really makes a differenve. I also think that buying monthly makes me be more organized and I am starting to plan around those special purchase...if I decide to try a recipe that needs half a jar of those green olives...I immediately search for a recipe to use the other half THIS month...
We are no longer pioneers but it reminds me of a story when my aunt visited me along with my mom. I was making something using cabbage and I was throwing away some of the outer leaves and smaller pieces. She asked if she could have them to take home and add to soup or something...at the time I thought..."oh the poor dear" as she lived on a very limited income...but now some 20 years later...I just realize that she was SMART...we can eat good...the 2000's just show us we need to be more thrify...not wasteful!!
Food has really increased in price in Ireland too in recent months and I am making a lot of efforts to cut down my spending.
I am now growing much more of my own veggies (I was just growing a few in the garden, but I now have an allotment that I rent too which means I can grow a lot more). Especially easy to grow things like onions and garlic (they store a long time), and higher value items like french and broad beans, fresh peas, courgettes, purple sprouting brocolli, tomatoes and early potatoes. I tried sweetcorn but the slugs got that this year - maybe next year (sweetcorn on the cob is very expensive over here). I managed to keep myself in salad leaves since April for lunches every day at work (it would cost me at least €6 a week to buy, and I paid €1 for the seed which still has enough for next year as well). And I have a good lot of leeks, brussels sprouts and some brocolli for later on in the winter growing too.
I am also learning to like beans a bit more and adding canned/dried ones to various stews for the winter. And bulking out a lot of dishes with a lot more veggies and a lot less meat than before.
I take a trip to a shop across the border in Northern Ireland (about 2 hours away) every 2-3 months or so and stock up on a lot of staples there as it is a lot cheaper than locally. Even with the cost of petrol, there are huge savings for me. And we also have a couple of discount supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl - both German companies) which have opened up near to me in the past year or so, and I get a lot of things there (like nappies for the toddler are half the price of branded ones in the ordinary supermarket).
I find that if I make a double or treble batch of a dinner (and freeze the extra portions), I don't actually need quite double or treble the meat or tinned tomatoes etc. Usually, a treble batch works fine with 2 tins of tomatoes and a dash of water/stock. And it's easier to go to the bother of filling it up with extra veggies if there is a large batch (I'd take out the grater to grate a handful of carrots and 2/3 courgettes for a spaghetti sauce, but not necessarily if only one carrot and half a courgette, or getting out the liquidiser for large batches of soup - not worth the washing up for one).
I am also experimenting with lots of things dropping one level of luxury/quality - instead of getting the luxury branded pasta, I might try the luxury own brand version or the standard branded version and see if there's any difference apart from my pocket. If not, I'll keep buying (and maybe, depending on ingredients, move downwards to try the own brand basics version). If we do notice a difference and we can't live with it, we'll stick with our original for the time being.
And I have gone back to baking at home a lot more than before. Partly the cost of baked goods. But also partly to make good use of the electricity when I have the oven on (I am making a lot more dinners that cook in the oven - roasts, stews, various pasta/potato bakes) and I may as well use the second shelf while I am at it.
I will be checking out your blog to see if there are any hints that I am missing.
I am now growing much more of my own veggies (I was just growing a few in the garden, but I now have an allotment that I rent too which means I can grow a lot more). Especially easy to grow things like onions and garlic (they store a long time), and higher value items like french and broad beans, fresh peas, courgettes, purple sprouting brocolli, tomatoes and early potatoes. I tried sweetcorn but the slugs got that this year - maybe next year (sweetcorn on the cob is very expensive over here). I managed to keep myself in salad leaves since April for lunches every day at work (it would cost me at least €6 a week to buy, and I paid €1 for the seed which still has enough for next year as well). And I have a good lot of leeks, brussels sprouts and some brocolli for later on in the winter growing too.
I am also learning to like beans a bit more and adding canned/dried ones to various stews for the winter. And bulking out a lot of dishes with a lot more veggies and a lot less meat than before.
I take a trip to a shop across the border in Northern Ireland (about 2 hours away) every 2-3 months or so and stock up on a lot of staples there as it is a lot cheaper than locally. Even with the cost of petrol, there are huge savings for me. And we also have a couple of discount supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl - both German companies) which have opened up near to me in the past year or so, and I get a lot of things there (like nappies for the toddler are half the price of branded ones in the ordinary supermarket).
I find that if I make a double or treble batch of a dinner (and freeze the extra portions), I don't actually need quite double or treble the meat or tinned tomatoes etc. Usually, a treble batch works fine with 2 tins of tomatoes and a dash of water/stock. And it's easier to go to the bother of filling it up with extra veggies if there is a large batch (I'd take out the grater to grate a handful of carrots and 2/3 courgettes for a spaghetti sauce, but not necessarily if only one carrot and half a courgette, or getting out the liquidiser for large batches of soup - not worth the washing up for one).
I am also experimenting with lots of things dropping one level of luxury/quality - instead of getting the luxury branded pasta, I might try the luxury own brand version or the standard branded version and see if there's any difference apart from my pocket. If not, I'll keep buying (and maybe, depending on ingredients, move downwards to try the own brand basics version). If we do notice a difference and we can't live with it, we'll stick with our original for the time being.
And I have gone back to baking at home a lot more than before. Partly the cost of baked goods. But also partly to make good use of the electricity when I have the oven on (I am making a lot more dinners that cook in the oven - roasts, stews, various pasta/potato bakes) and I may as well use the second shelf while I am at it.
I will be checking out your blog to see if there are any hints that I am missing.
Food prices have gone crazy here. Potatoes are $1 a pound right now :thud: It has pretty much doubled in everything, so that means we cut back on the extras. I mean $15 for no-name flour, $7 for a gallon of milk...
I grow alot of my veggies(although this year I had a few surgeries and could only put in a tiny hobby garden). I make my own jams, jellies and pickles and such. Our baking and bread are homemade as well and we now have our own cattle. Hoping to add chickens and a pig next year.
We are a one income family but do alright, but it takes alot of work really. Honestly, it's going to get like in the 'olden days' here, you'll need to farm to survive.
I grow alot of my veggies(although this year I had a few surgeries and could only put in a tiny hobby garden). I make my own jams, jellies and pickles and such. Our baking and bread are homemade as well and we now have our own cattle. Hoping to add chickens and a pig next year.
We are a one income family but do alright, but it takes alot of work really. Honestly, it's going to get like in the 'olden days' here, you'll need to farm to survive.