Budget Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning

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Ahorsesoul

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Stepmom said she would pay for our dinner if we would order, pick up and deliver hers. It was $90 for three dinners and a hamburger. The prices have gone up a lot. We use to eat at the same place weekly but not any more.
 

Minta

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Thanks for the reminder. Loved doing this when I had a bottom-drawer freezer. I now have a side-by-side, which is too narrow for a cookie sheet. Need to think of an alternative.
I used to have a side by side too and got a small cheap cookie sheet to use for flash freezing. Those small ones fit.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Its time to tighten our belts for a while till things start easing :)
For sure. I am working harder in the house than I ever have before. Trying so hard to meal plan, not waste a thing, reuse where possible. I am trying to not pop into the shop where it suddenly costs $20-$30 on impulse buys. Sticking to a list and a budget is a challenge but I think if we put the work in now we will come out the other side in a much better position.
 

SmackDabFarmGirl

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Wow, so much good info here! Allow me to add some tips from my own life.

If you regularly get the Sunday paper, clip all the coupons. If it's something you just don't use or won't use, stick the coupon next to the item on the shelf for someone else. If it's an item you would use/eat if the price is right, keep it. You can use coupons on marked down items. I once got enough cereal for an entire month for less than $10 (6 large boxes, so prob more than a month). If you don't usually buy the Sunday paper, you can usually find a website that tells you what coupons will be in that weeks paper, plus the deals in the store flyers. I'm in Georgia, so I've found that the Southern Savers website has all this info.

Find out when you're favorite store marks down items. Some do meats twice a week. I like to hit my local to work store right after they open, mostly bc it's right as I get off with. They usually have a cart or two of marked down items, often seasonal, right up front. I've gotten several items as a steal, such as rice, beans, popcorn, even diapers once that I got for one of my daughter's friends. Those diapers don't go bad, and they can always be donated to a food pantry or pregnancy center.

Check out cookbooks from your local library. It's a great, free way to find new ways of making meals with the same old ingredients. Also be on the lookout at yard sales and thrift stores for older cookbooks, like from the 50s and 70s. I use these decades because people were being more frugal due to financial times they were living in.

Another place to get cookbooks and other things at potential great prices is ThriftBooks. I've gotten several things from them and have always been pleased. Honestly, though, I usually buy DVDs from them, but if you find a great cookbook at the library, you can check at TB for it. You can even put it on your wish list and they'll send you an email when it comes in. One of the best things for me about TB is that they are not owned by Amazon.

Get together with a few friends every couple of months for a big batch cooking freezer meal day. I absolutely love the Don't Panic! Dinner's In The Freezer books (there are 2 that I know of). This book gives you the recipes, how to multiply it, plus all the instructions for how to store, cook, and serve the meal. You can come together in one day and make several meals to put in your freezer, plus there's the added benefit of a great social time with your friends.

Pinterest is a great place to find recipes as well.

I'm about to go back on a health related eating plan, and I'm grateful the doctor who wrote it and the books that go with it gives sample menus and a day to day schedule for the first week so you get an idea of what to do when. I was on this plan a few years ago and it was wonderful for me. And then I had some sugar and well....

When you have an abundance of eggs (after a huge sale, find a great markdown, or if you have chickens), it's a great time to make up things like cookie dough or quiche for your freezer. Before my last bit of depression, I used to bake dozens of cookies at Christmas. I would buy up baking supplies at Easter (except for eggs) and then in the summer when everyone I know had eggs coming out of their ears, I made cookie dough. You can either package the dough in bulk, like in plastic bags, or individually for drop cookies. If you do the individuals, you can just thaw and bake a few when you need a pick me up.

Use up all of that chicken! Say you roasted a chicken, or bought one of those rotisserie ones. Don't toss the bones! Make chicken broth/ stock! Toss the bones, skin, whatever you didn't eat into your crockpot along with onion tops, bits of celery, carrots, whatever extra pieces of veges you tossed in the freezer, cover with water, and add a tablespoon of vinegar. Turn that puppy on low and let it go for 12-24 hours. Skim off the foam and dip out the broth into a pitcher or bowl to cool before putting it in the freezer (I usually double bag in quart zip lock bags, they freeze flat and are easier to store). But wait! You aren't done yet! Cover it with more cold water and repeat! You can keep doing this until the bones turn to mush, that's how you know you've gotten all the good stuff out. Then you can add the mush to your pet's food as a treat, if they like that sort of thing. I've managed to go about 5 days doing this daily, about 8 gallons. Which I needed, because I was using a lot of broth on that plan I mentioned earlier.

Get together with someone to go a couple of times to a big store to stock up. It will save on gas. I've got a friend who arranges a big trip a couple of times a year to a huge farmers market in the Big City about an hour away from us. They carry a lot of bulk spices and tea, plus they have a lot of specialty things we don't have where we are. We plan to go on a week day, everyone riding along usually gives $5-10 towards her gas (she's got a really big vehicle with lots of trunk space), and we plan to stop somewhere for lunch on the way back. The lunch is a bit of a splurge, but it's great fellowship and a chance to try something new. We usually try to go in October to avoid all the chaos of holiday shoppers.

Make friends with your local farmers. Often you can arrange for deals on trades or buying in larger quantities. I've traded knowledge and crafted items for food, sometimes without knowing I was doing it. One of my friends asked me to teach her to knit. I went over and spent 2 hours with her trying to get her comfortable with the one stitch. I'd also taken her some things I'd accumulatedthat she liked (buckets, actually), but she sent me home with a huge flat of her organic produce - blueberries, blackberries, onions, squash, cucumbers!

For storage in bulk of dry items, get food grade buckets. But before you go out and buy them, check with your local bakeries, grocery stores, donut places. I work for a Dunkin franchise, and they usually throw away the buckets the frosting and glaze come in. I've been bringing them home and selling for $1 each. It's cheaper than buying buckets at Home Depot, plus they are already certified food grade and have rubber gaskets in the lids.
 

AnnieClaus

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SmackDabFarmGirl-
Great tips and insights. Thanks for sharing.

With my b-day and trip out of town, I have been spending a lot more on food.
Time to scale it back and will also do another "no spend" week.
I actually really like the feeling of it.

Annie
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Annie, just finished another no spend week. I am amazed how easy it is to adapt to not spending. Maybe for me shopping is more of a habit than a necessity.
Having said that it is grocery day for me tomorrow and need to stock up on milk and veggies and that is about it.
 

Lori K

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Today is my big grocery shop for July 4th. Yesterday I cleaned out the refrig -- lots of bits and pieces of this and that got tossed (i.e. 1/4 jar of salsa that I don't even remember when it was opened). So, today I'll get all the non-perishable goods and produce and then on Sunday, I'll get the meat for the grill and anything that is still needed. Once this shopping list has been completed, I'm looking to devote the month of July to perishable dairy and fresh produce only. My freezer and pantry are well-stocked, and I'll have plenty of condiments on hand after the 4th. At least that's my plan. We'll see how it goes.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Katrina-
I'm going to do it next week.
I saved at least $100. The only things I bought for the whole week was $46.00 for petrol and $7.00 for parking for work. We spent nothing else. We also used up a whole lot of items in the fridge. That 1/2 jar of jam, some sour cream and some mustard etc.
 

halimer

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I did well shopping for beef and chicken - whole price and reduced - at the commissary. For most of my other items I did OK too.

As the manager said, it's between being scared by the prices in the commissary and being terrified by those in the grocery.

So, if you have access via your or your spouse's military service, give it a try. Also, by using the commissary you are helping support military families.
 

AnnieClaus

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A new thing I have been noticing just recently:
I have gotten home with items that are expiring within a day of purchase.

Dairy products- you usually have several days.
I bought half and half and it was expired THAT very day! Was curdled within 2 days.
Last night I bought chicken breasts- use or freeze date the very next day.

This seems new to me. I've always taken it for granted I have at least several days.

Really need to remind myself to check the dates- and pull from the back.

Have you noticed this???

Annie
 

missjane

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A new thing I have been noticing just recently:
I have gotten home with items that are expiring within a day of purchase.

Dairy products- you usually have several days.
I bought half and half and it was expired THAT very day! Was curdled within 2 days.
Last night I bought chicken breasts- use or freeze date the very next day.

This seems new to me. I've always taken it for granted I have at least several days.

Really need to remind myself to check the dates- and pull from the back.

Have you noticed this???

Annie
I haven't noticed it, but I've always been a date checker. I read (was it here somewhere?) that delayed shipments are coming in and that has caused the increase in outdated items.

There are charts you can look up that give guidelines about how long things are still useable after the date.
Also, there's a difference between "best by," "use by," and "sell by."

"Best by" means that is the last day that a product will be at peak quality. After that date, the quality of the product begins to go down, but it remains safe for consumption.
"Sell by" is also a quality issue. It's more for grocery store use to know when product were placed on the shelf, but also indicates when the food will begin to decline in quality.
"Freeze by" may indicate safety, but also quality. To maintain the peak quality of the food, freeze it on or no more than a day or two past, to maintain peak quality.
"Use by" usually indicates safety, not quality. It's the last day the food should be consumed. Use discretion when choosing if you'll use a food after that date. At the least, freeze it by that date.

Obviously, if a food tastes, smells, or looks bad, don't eat it, but also, if the texture is different don't eat it. More people get food poisoning but the mishandling of food in their own home than outside. Make sure your refrigerator is cooling properly. Transport your food home under the correct conditions - take a cooler with you if you need to. Even in the store, shop for shelf stable/dry foods first, followed by refrigerated foods, and finally frozen foods. When you get home - frozen foods put away first, followed by refrigerated, then shelf stable foods. This is a biggy...thaw things in the refrigerator (that's why menu planning is helpful), in cold water, or in the microwave, not set out all day in the sink.

If you're shopping in a "super store" like Walmart Super Centers, shop the non-food side of the store first, so you're not hauling around your cold and frozen food while you shop for toilet tissue, dish soap, a new shirt, etc.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Here we just have 2 dates.
"Use by" which is on most fresh produce/dairy etc. The same as you, it means use it by this date or very soon after (the next day would be my limit). After that it is going to be no good and possibly cause illness.

"Best before" this means that the product is best if used by this date but will not (in most times) cause any issues if consumed after this date. We rarely take too much notice of best before dates of items in our pantries etc.

The supermarkets here will mark down items that are reaching their use by or best before dates. These can often be bought at significant savings. I look for the yellow markdown stickers and feel I am winning when I get a lot of markdowns. The best time to get these markdowns are at the end of the afternoon/early evening when the shops are wanting to reduce their stock.
 

AnnieClaus

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Jane-
I wondered if delayed shipment means items that are put out at the stores are near or at their expiration date.
Canned goods don't really worry me- unless they are very expired.
What worries me more is meat.
And my half and half. LOL!
Curdled half and half- Bleh!

Annie
 

missjane

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Jane-
I wondered if delayed shipment means items that are put out at the stores are near or at their expiration date.
Canned goods don't really worry me- unless they are very expired.
What worries me more is meat.
And my half and half. LOL!
Curdled half and half- Bleh!

Annie
Annie, I suspect that half and half was mishandled at some point, before you bought it, because normally, it's good for about 10 days after the date. I buy and use it often, too! You're right...yuck!

I've found a difference from one store to the next about how long things last after the date. I'm pretty sure it has to do with how quickly items are transferred from transport into refrigeration and how closely the refrigerated storage temperature is monitored and regulated.

We've found dairy products bought at Walmart don't maintain their quality as long as those we buy from Super 1, a subsidiary of Brookshires.
 
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jampss

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Wow. I haven't been a date looker .... I will be doing that now. Thanks all!
 

Lori K

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I've noticed that a LOT with yogurt and cottage cheese. For milk and half & half, I'm seeing more of the "ultra pasturized" showing up on the shelves, with extended expiration dates. But, I'm still checking dates left and right, cuz $ is too tight to waste on something expired.
 

halimer

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It hasn't happened to me often, but I have returned items that had an expiration date on or very near the day I bought it.
 

missjane

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DH and I went to Walmart this morning. I was going to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They were $3.48 a pound!! :eek: What happened to $1.98 a pound? Needless to say, they stayed right there. I'll wait for sales. I like to use them in casseroles and soups that call for chicken. I have leg quarters in the freezer. I'll just use those.
 

SmackDabFarmGirl

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I dint tend to use much dairy milk, though there are times I prefer that. I buy usually oat milk. It lasts for months in the fridge, and that's sometimes as long as it takes me to go through a half gallon. I'm looking into whether I want to learn to make it myself, or if that's just going to be one more thing cluttering up my kitchen.