Prices are increasing like crazy on everything.
Budget Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning
- Thread starter AnnieClaus
- Start date
I saw somewhere that there is an issue with the Central and South American coffee crop (again!) and that prices would be higher.
It is obviously a world wide problem. The coffee we use went from $11 to $13. I used to get it on sale for $8 so never really paid full price. I have 6 tins in the stockpile at the moment so will be OK for a while.
Hi all!
Today is payday and I have my food/grocery budget set for the next 2 weeks.
I REALLY went over budget the last 2 weeks.
I did go to a fancy, expensive dinner out and I had to stock up on items that don't come up very often but why do they run out all at once?! Hahaha- T.P., dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent.
Have my meal plan for the week.
Annie
Today is payday and I have my food/grocery budget set for the next 2 weeks.
I REALLY went over budget the last 2 weeks.
I did go to a fancy, expensive dinner out and I had to stock up on items that don't come up very often but why do they run out all at once?! Hahaha- T.P., dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent.
Have my meal plan for the week.
Annie
I feel ya! That’s why, whenever I see my favorite brand on sale, I buy an extra. And I’ve found an off-brand of TP and paper towels that I really like. My grocery used to put them on a $2.99 loss leader, limit 2. They’re now doing $4.99, sometimes $3.99/12 pack, and I’ll grab the limit and often make another trip mid-week. If you have a Menards, watch their detergent and TP sales.
Both of our major supermarkets do half price specials every week. I watch the supermarket catalogues and when I see something for 1/2 price I buy 2. I find that most things go in cycles so TP for example might be on 1/2 price every 6 weeks.
Seems mustard is going to be sparse ... so dh bought 3 bottles, set for the year
Lori and Katrina- I'll have to look out for those specials more closely.
I did have a coupon for Bath & Body works. I like their cinnamon stick wall plug ins.
They had a one day special where they were significantly marked down. With my free shipping coupon, I got what I needed to last at least a year.
Again, yesterday at the grocery store, I was shocked at the total price. $105.00
I want to make a pot roast. The cut I normally buy- A chuck roast- for just a 3lb roast, they were $25.00!
I googled it and substituted a round roast which was $13.00.
Annie
I did have a coupon for Bath & Body works. I like their cinnamon stick wall plug ins.
They had a one day special where they were significantly marked down. With my free shipping coupon, I got what I needed to last at least a year.
Again, yesterday at the grocery store, I was shocked at the total price. $105.00
I want to make a pot roast. The cut I normally buy- A chuck roast- for just a 3lb roast, they were $25.00!
I googled it and substituted a round roast which was $13.00.
Annie
I’ve been stocking up on coffee. Finally found hazelnut decaf that I’ve been looking for. I can’t live without coffee.
Guess I’ll add mustard to my list, ( along with everything else effected by the craziness)
My pantry/ freezer challenge is in full swing. Feeling pretty good about using up some things.
Not grocery related but stamps are going up in July so I’ll be ordering extra stamps for the holiday cards.
Guess I’ll add mustard to my list, ( along with everything else effected by the craziness)
My pantry/ freezer challenge is in full swing. Feeling pretty good about using up some things.
Not grocery related but stamps are going up in July so I’ll be ordering extra stamps for the holiday cards.
That is the smart way of doing things. We are just all having to work a little smarter and harder with how we use our money.
Just throwing this out ... It also pays to go through your closets, cabinets, and storage areas and see what you have, what you use, and what you can do without. As you may have seen, I sold my boat and participated in a nautical garage sale over the weekend. Surprisingly, what I thought would sell didn't (and will be either donated to charity or I may participate in my sister's garage sale, if she decides to have it), and what I thought I'd be junking actually sold. Either way, I made $187.50 in two hours on Saturday morning. Subtract the gas to get to the marina and back, and I still cleared close to $150. It's extra money for the grocery budget, and cleaned up my garage space.
And FYI, the "budget brand" of TP/paper towels is Fiora. Soft and sturdy enough to hold up for wiping and flushing, it gets the job done without breaking the bank. Not a fan of their lilac scented rolls, but if that's all that's available at that price, I'll live with it. I'm a single person household and have figured that I use about 1 roll per week, so I try to keep 4 12-packs on hand.
And FYI, the "budget brand" of TP/paper towels is Fiora. Soft and sturdy enough to hold up for wiping and flushing, it gets the job done without breaking the bank. Not a fan of their lilac scented rolls, but if that's all that's available at that price, I'll live with it. I'm a single person household and have figured that I use about 1 roll per week, so I try to keep 4 12-packs on hand.
Excellent thought!..
One thing I always try and remember is "shop at home first". Might not work for food, but for other items you can often find things that you can repurpose into something that you need at the moment. Can an old basket become a storage container for scarves and belts and can a pretty gift box be used as drawer dividers? That way you don't have to buy anything new.
These are both things I've done so just tossing them out to the group. Always "shop at home first."
I have been playing around with the whole "what would my Nanna do?' idea.
She had not a lot of extra money and did an amazing job of raising her family and feeding them well. Nanna is now 97 and not able to communicate but I have been speaking ot my Mum about how things used to be and how we can adapt to today.
She had not a lot of extra money and did an amazing job of raising her family and feeding them well. Nanna is now 97 and not able to communicate but I have been speaking ot my Mum about how things used to be and how we can adapt to today.
A YT homesteading gal I watch talks about "What would nana do?" 
Yep, I've been so thankful lately for the skills that I learned (although I didn't realize it at the time) from my grandmother. When I was inventorying and organizing my pantry a couple of nights back, I pulled a jar of grape juice and stuck it in the fridge. Yesterday, I opened the home-canned grape juice, made according to my gram's instructions. It was sooooooo good and brought back such good memories. So easy, too! And at times like this, I'm thankful I know how to can and preserve, all due to her.
Grandma's Grape Juice Recipe
For each quart jar, add:
1 to 1 1/2 c. juice grapes (I use concords or a concord variety; these are juice grapes, not the table grapes you typically get at the grocery store)
1/3 c. sugar
Fill to 1" headspace with boiling water from the tea kettle.
Top with canning lid and ring and tighten.
Grandma's recipe said to simply invert the jars until they cool and they heat from the boiling water would seal the jars. To be on the safe side, I water bath mine for 10 mins. Let sit for about 30 days or so to allow the juice and flavors to extract the fruit. Strain the skins from the juice before serving. (I just pour it from the jar, using the lid to hold back the spent fruit.)
Per her recipe, 1/2 bushel would make 48-50 quarts. I bought either a quart or 2 quarts of grapes and easily made 8 pints and 2 @ 1 1/2 pint jars.
Grandma's Grape Juice Recipe
For each quart jar, add:
1 to 1 1/2 c. juice grapes (I use concords or a concord variety; these are juice grapes, not the table grapes you typically get at the grocery store)
1/3 c. sugar
Fill to 1" headspace with boiling water from the tea kettle.
Top with canning lid and ring and tighten.
Grandma's recipe said to simply invert the jars until they cool and they heat from the boiling water would seal the jars. To be on the safe side, I water bath mine for 10 mins. Let sit for about 30 days or so to allow the juice and flavors to extract the fruit. Strain the skins from the juice before serving. (I just pour it from the jar, using the lid to hold back the spent fruit.)
Per her recipe, 1/2 bushel would make 48-50 quarts. I bought either a quart or 2 quarts of grapes and easily made 8 pints and 2 @ 1 1/2 pint jars.
We normally spend roughly £130 a week on our Grocery shop but that has gone upto £170 a week
I know, the prices! I am also prepping the prepper pantry ....
I am also prepping the prepper pantry ....Got my cucumber and zucchini plants in the raised beds a couple days ago. Need to the get the tomato and pepper plants in next, hopefully this evening.
Grocery store had chicken thighs and on sale at a decent price this week so I bought a couple extra family packs of each for the freezer.
Grocery store had chicken thighs and on sale at a decent price this week so I bought a couple extra family packs of each for the freezer.
Same here. One of our locally owned stores had leg quarters on sale, which is what I went for. But they had separate packages of thighs only and drumsticks only for the same price. I grabbed 2 pkgs of thighs and one of the drumsticks and vacuum sealed them in single serving sizes for the freezer (household of 1). Ours were $1.49/#. Sad thing is, the same thing was $0.49/# 3 months ago.
I have done very very well on my "No spend week."
I had to fight off going to a restaurant that has a spaghetti special on Weds.
Every couple of months I will get that to bring home for dinner. I stuck to my guns, though. LOL
I actually enjoyed the challenge. I felt like I ate like a queen. I even met a cw for lunch- I told her about my challenge and that I couldn't go out to eat. We each brought our lunch and she looked at my
gorgeous salad (Chicken greek salad) and her bags of chips and said, "Wow, that looks sooo good!"
I will be hitting the grocery store this evening for next week.
Annie
I had to fight off going to a restaurant that has a spaghetti special on Weds.
Every couple of months I will get that to bring home for dinner. I stuck to my guns, though. LOL
I actually enjoyed the challenge. I felt like I ate like a queen. I even met a cw for lunch- I told her about my challenge and that I couldn't go out to eat. We each brought our lunch and she looked at my
gorgeous salad (Chicken greek salad) and her bags of chips and said, "Wow, that looks sooo good!"
I will be hitting the grocery store this evening for next week.
Annie