Budget Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning

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jampss

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I got a pork picnic hunk at our local family grocery store for $1.59 lb. Thought that was pretty good. It's in the crock pot and will get lots of meals from that.
 
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Lori K

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Made a stop at a new Aldi that had just opened earlier in the week. Surprises of all surprises, they had NO bananas, something I've always been able to get there at the best price around. Half & half and their spread butter was the same price as always; flavored coffee was slightly lower, but not by much. EGGS were down to $2.33, lowest price I've seen at Aldi in months. Perhaps we've turned a corner. (It was not tagged as a grand opening special or anything, so I'm hopeful that price (or lower) is their new normal.)
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Perhaps we've turned a corner.
Wouldn't it be nice? My local shop looked like we were back to full blown Covid yesterday. Hardly any meat in the deli or fresh meat area, milk was low and a lot of frozens especially potato products still missing. Not sure what the reasons for the shortages are.
 

Minta

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In the past week stocked up on chicken from the meat market. 40lbs of boneless chicken thigh and boneless chicken breast for $60 each, stopped at BJ and stocked up on TP, laundry soap, snacks for the kids. Sticker shock for the frozen meatballs but still got them. Stopped at Aldis and stocked up on canned goods. All the canned goods around 50 cents a can except for the carrots., they were 88 cents a can. Need to go to Walmart as they have 60 count case of eggs for around $12, we go through a lot of eggs lol
 
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jampss

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In days gone by, I would have said a quiche would be a budget meal .... but this looks good and I may give it a try. It will be an expensive quiche! LOL


Sweet Tater Crust Quiche
 

Myron's Mom

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Grocery shopping was crazy this week shelves not that well stocked and the prices****. Lots of things I just didn’t buy. Plain old green beans, generic brand are .99 here. Was looking for a cheap ham, husband has been wanting breakfast bowls with ham. Thought they might be marked down after Easter- no, 4.69/lbs. Ran up to the little meat market, the exact same ham .99/lb. So I got one along with a cart full of other meat items. Somebody asked if I was having a party, I said no restocking the freezer, she looked at me like I had 2 heads. My cart wasn’t that full! Got pretty much everything repackaged and froze except for 10lbs of pork butt I’ll grind tomorrow.
 

halimer

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I think that on my trip I've been shopping in some high end supermarkets and have been frightened by the prices............but have had to pay them. Time to go back to the commissary and hope that the prices are better and that I can stock up on essentials reasonably at BJ's and Costco.
 

Holiday_Mom

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Here's my version of trying to see the silver lining in the rising costs: I've come to the conclusion [with the help from my doctor :rolleyes: ] that I need to go back to basics when it comes to food. This has been a hard move for me because I don't think I eat horribly. My body just can't process foods like it did 15 years ago. I'm moved the family to a more plant-based focused diet. We eat meat and dairy just not as much because of the price. [I'm always looking for sales but the sale prices make me go :eek:].

Most of my grocery money now goes toward fresh fruit/vegetables and frozen vegetables and protein like non-fat Greek yogurt, beans and legumes. The only snack foods we buy are saltines and graham crackers. We pop our own popcorn. We make our own tortilla chips, cookies, cakes, and tomato sauce. However, I am splurging on foods I never would have but for their health benefits: unsweetened peanut butter, chia seeds, flax meal, unsalted sunflower seeds and pepitas.

I'm also working on cutting down on the snacking after hearing this quote the other day. I'll paraphrase it: Snacking is not meeting a nutritional need. Snacking is meeting an emotional need. Never thought of it like that but it makes sense to me. Think I'll need to get some gum to deal with the " emotional snack attacks."
 

Lori K

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fresh fruit/vegetables and frozen vegetables and protein like non-fat Greek yogurt, beans and legumes.
Have you tried making homemade yogurt? I've tried it a couple of times, and each try gets better than the one before, and it's really pretty easy. Add your fruit -- fresh or frozen, just mashed up or lightly blended, and a little honey for sweetener, if needed. Whole milk works better than low fat, though. Just a thought to share.
 

PamelaG

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I am splurging on foods I never would have but for their health benefits
Ridiculous that eating healthy is a splurge, it's so the wrong way around!
 

Holiday_Mom

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Have you tried making homemade yogurt? I've tried it a couple of times, and each try gets better than the one before, and it's really pretty easy. Add your fruit -- fresh or frozen, just mashed up or lightly blended, and a little honey for sweetener, if needed. Whole milk works better than low fat, though. Just a thought to share.
Yes, I had a yogurt maker that I donated last year. :) It was great for just me but once I married and had kids, I never could keep up with making enough yogurt for the family.
 
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jampss

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Yesterday, a dozen eggs were $1.69 at Aldi's! Wow, never thought I would be excited about that. LOL They got to be just under $5.
 

Lori K

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Yesterday, a dozen eggs were $1.69 at Aldi's! Wow, never thought I would be excited about that. LOL They got to be just under $5.
We're seeing egg prices drop, too. My local small-chain store had an in-store special on large eggs last week for $0.99/dozen, limit 2. I had to do a double-take and then grab 2 cartons, LOL. Wish other dairy would start dropping.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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We're seeing egg prices drop, too. My local small-chain store had an in-store special on large eggs last week for $0.99/dozen, limit 2. I had to do a double-take and then grab 2 cartons, LOL. Wish other dairy would start dropping.
With everything still going up it is a blessing when you can get such a bargain. You can freeze eggs so if you find them at a good price that may be the way to go.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Things are still sky high here and no real signs of things slowing down.
I am still trying to come up with ideas for saving money and making my life simpler.
For example. I have 2 bathrooms, I have a antibacterial cleaning spray in each one. DO I really need two? Can I just have one and use it in both bathrooms?
Also face moisturiser. DH has one and I have one. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just purchase one that we can both use?

What other areas in the home could we simplify and cut back on?
 
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Ahorsesoul

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Things are still sky high here and no real signs of things slowing down.
I am still trying to come up with ideas for saving money and making my life simpler.
For example. I have 2 bathrooms, I have a antibacterial cleaning spray in each one. DO I really need two? Can I just have one and use it in both bathrooms?
Also face moisturiser. DH has one and I have one. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just purchase one that we can both use?

What other areas in the home could we simplify and cut back on?
I think having one in each bathroom or one for each person would be fine. With only having one to share you will not use less product. Now with cleaning spray you can add water to make it last longer. Or just use white vinegar to disinfect To save money.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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I think having one in each bathroom or one for each person would be fine. With only having one to share you will not use less product. Now with cleaning spray you can add water to make it last longer. Or just use white vinegar to disinfect To save money.
Diedra, you are right of course. We would still use the same amount of moisturiser whether we have one or two bottles.
I am trying to think of different methods of cleaning. There has to be a cheaper and more environmental product than what I am currently using. Some research is due I think.
 
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jampss

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I use vinegar and water for some things. I also buy a microfiber cloth that just uses water to clean from a young gal. It's called Norwex. It's online. I get their laundry soap as it doesn't make DS sneeze and it lasts forever.