Grocery shopping and grocery lists
Do you like to write grocery lists? Check out this site solely dedicated to grocery lists (what will they come up with next, I wonder?) Thanks to Cheryl for the link.
For all you who are in charge of most of the grocery shopping at your house, tell us about it! Do you grocery shop once a week? One store or more? Do you plan a menu and write a list or do you just go to the store and decide what you're hungry for while you are there? Do you have a system for menu-planning? Do you go shopping by yourself or with your children?
For all you who are in charge of most of the grocery shopping at your house, tell us about it! Do you grocery shop once a week? One store or more? Do you plan a menu and write a list or do you just go to the store and decide what you're hungry for while you are there? Do you have a system for menu-planning? Do you go shopping by yourself or with your children?
posted by Crystal Paine at 1:39 PM
28 Comments:
I made a binder like everyone else.
I shop once a week.
I spend about $50-60 every two weeks.
I have a list of meals that can be made from about 10 different ingredients.
Jessica: Do you only spend $50-$60 for everything and that is all organic? I though you had said you mostly ate organic. We spend about $25-30/week on groceries and household supplies (such as detergent, etc.) but we do not eat all organic. I'd love to know what your list of meals with 10 ingredient is. Would you care to share? I'm always looking for new ideas.
you'd have to give me time to assemble everything, but with the exception of a few items, almost everything I eat is organic, at least as far as produce raw ingredients, and boxed meals (pastas and macaroni and cheese). I'm also lucky in that my bf and I are not big eaters, to the extent that we have to make ourselves eat. I also get a lot of free produce, because there is always extra/surplus at the health food store, and I am on good standing with them.
Keep in mind also that the figure does not represent household costs (detergents, soap, shampoo, cat food, etc, and us going out once a week, as well as Sunday Dinner with my parents)
most of my recipes come from vegcooking.com
another big help is vegetarian cookbooks written for young couples and college students.
I use The Grocery Game. I use the list they give me and load up on stuff at the grocery store. Then I make my meals from what I have on hand, that I have gotten for super cheap, thanks to the Grocery Game.
Typically I go once a week, since that is how often the sales change. But there have been a few weeks lately that I haven't really needed anything (and haven't had the space to store any more food LOL), so I haven't gone. I usually go on Sunday nights on my way home from Bible study. I prefer to go alone, but I've taken all 5 dc with me from time to time, when my dh is out of town (which is often).
I go to Costco about once every 2-3 weeks while my older 3 are in AWANA. There I pick up anything that I'm needing that hasn't been on sale at my Grocery Game store. Typically I buy things like bacon, ground beef, bananas, or anything else that I'm really needing.
I USED to make menus and then shop accordingly, but I've learned that that's one of the most expensive ways to do it. So I stopped. LOL.
We go shopping every other Tuesday. Typically I gather the sale papers and then make the menu based on what's on sale (like if cheese is on sale I'll do things that call for alot of it). I always look through the freezer and cupboards first too... to use up what may've been left over from the previous two weeks.
We spend roughly 250.00 every two weeks for a family of 6. We use to eat very cheaply... hardly anything 'nice'. But since daddy can afford it we generally have a nicer dinner and breakfast every day.
Mama and I go shopping alone.
I definitely make a menu and love writing out grocery lists and shopping. I would be lost without a menu and taking stock of what is needed and filling the cabinets again is lots of fun. :) Oh... the 250.00 also includes ALL house hold items. Medicine, vitamins, shampoos, etc. etc. that's not all just for food.
I have menus made out for every week of the year. They are in pencil so I can change if we are not in the mood. My menus are very seasonal. I shop twice a month, because that is how we get paid. I shop at the military commissary. I go alone. My older daughter watches the littles. I will occassionally buy the loss leaders from the local stores. I buy a few items from Wal-mart and several items from Sam's. I usually spend about $600 a month for everything. And I cook from scratch. My husband works 3 minutes from home, so he eats lunch at home and he and my oldest son are very big eaters. So I probably spend more than some. My oldest son works on a ranch/farm so we do get a lot of free produce and that is very nice.
I have found for me that if I don't have a menu or a specific list I spend WAY to much money!!
I make out the week's menu every Sunday afternoon for the coming week. We shop every two weeks, and spend around $125 for a family of 5. We shop at Aldi's primarily, but I will get a few things at Super Wal-Mart if they are available. We pretty much buy the same amount of meats and I just vary what I fix because I personally like variety, though my husband doesn't mind the same thing. A majority of our meals are made from scratch, but a few aren't, such as mac and cheese, or ravioli. I utilize some of the "tuna helper" type meals, too, when it's a busy day and I need some of the forethought taken care of.
How do you guys do it? (Crystal and Jessica)
I can't seem to get my grocery budget below $50/wk, and that's shopping sales and lots of non-brands...very little organic (which I would love to do for all the produce, eggs and meat).
BTW, I only buy 1 or 2 at the most kinds of meat a week, and usually what's on sale.
Jessica, how do you go about getting the surplus produce? Do you go to the store at a certain time of day, etc?
Erin,
The best way to do this, is find out their delivery and stock days. Sometimes they are eager to get rid of stuff that is near the end.
Again realize that I eat like a bird, and am hardly ever hungry.
I have a feeling that I eat a LOT more than Jessica. :) I am hungry basicaly all the time since I'm nursing Kathrynne almost exclusively (we are still just slowly introducing foods to her-- she doesn't get hardly any nourishment from them yet) so I'm definitely eating for two! It surprises me how much I can eat and still be so hungry and not put on weight!
Anyway, we used to be able to spend about $17-20/week on groceries and everything else (paper products, etc.) for the two of us. We stuck to really basic stuff and I also coupon-shopped (My mom is an expert at this and taught me well.) At taht point in our life, I had time, not money. So I would spend about 20-30 minutes planning the menus and figuring out the best deals with my coupons. I would often save 70-90% of my grocery bill by using coupons. For instance, my bill would usually be in the vicinity of $50-60 at one store and, after coupons, it would be down to $10-$15. One time, they even owed me money after they got done taking off all my coupons!!
Now that I have a lot less time and more money to work with and a much more voracious appetite, I just write out a grocery list gauging it to be around $30/week. I know what all of the prices are on everything in my head so I use that as my guide.
Remember that prices vary for different parts of the country so that plays a factor, too.
Have you read Miserly Moms? That really helped me. Cut back on everything you can cut back on, stock up on the loss leaders, make a price book and memorize it, and shop at more than one store, if possible. Figure out what the biggest chunks of your budget are being spent on and see if you can cut back on this.
Of course, if you have $50 to spend on groceries per week, I wouldn't worry about it, but I know that you are trying to cut back, so that's why I'm saying this!
Erin, I just re-read your post and was wondering, could you post a typical grocery list and menu for you and your husband and maybe we could give you ideas? Don't feel like you have to, but if you are really wanting some help and ideas in this area, I'd be glad to try and help. :) I do have quite a bit of experience with frugal living and budget stretching and know that plenty of others here do as well.
Heather, how many are in your family?
Sigh. Aldi. Oh to have an Aldi nearby or even in my state. LOL!
We spend about $525/month on a family of 7, and while that is all food, it also includes cokes and a few "fun" things. So I could get it lower I'm sure. Oh, I could also get it lower if my newspaper actually had decent coupon sections. Argh. :-P
Crystal,
We only have 5 in our family. I know our total is high, but that includes everything including diapers. My husband and son have very high metabolisms, so they eat ALOT! The doctor encouraged them to eat between 4000 -5000 calories a day. That is probably what they eat. Anyway it's late and I am probably giving you far more info than you wanted! Sorry! ;o)
I grew up with some of the heartiest eaters around, so don't apologize about that! All of my family is very active and hard-working, so they can eat a LOT-- especially my brothers!
We use cloth diapers and so we save a lot of money by doing that. Some dear friends of ours purchased an entire supply of everything we would need to use Fuzzi Bunz diapers and so we were richly blessed in that regard. We've not noticed an increase in our bills because of using cloth diapers either, so we save at least $40/month by using cloth, plus, Kathrynne's working on potty-training so she doesn't use a whole lot of diapers either. We also save a lot of money because I nursed her exclusively until she was about 8 months old and now, if she eats anything, it's table food because she has no interest in baby food whatsoever. She's been an extremely economical addition to our family.:) I've been the one that's been eating more -- but I guess that's a bit her "fault." :)
Does anyone use coupons you can print out from online? If so, what sites do you use?
Crystal, thanks for making me not feel bad! ;o) I really wanted to use cloth and nurse but we had such short notice about our little one, that we were not able to. Our next little ones we will.
The commissary does not accept printed coupons from online, so I won't be able to help.
We have a family of 6 and our budget is extremally limited. I do not know really how much I spend exactly, but we eat very plain and simple.
We spend maybe $25 a week on food, household stuff included. I use disposible diapers though, but the cheapest ones! I am not a very brave soul! I also have a 3 year old that should be potty trained and isn't yet and I will spend less on diapers! I spend about $30 a month on diapers apx.
I shop by sales. I do not use coupons much as I don't usually buy the foods I find coupons for. If something is not on sale, I do not buy it. I wish we had a Aldi's close too! Those are so nice!
I get the sale ads out, look at them and my cookbooks and plan meals with what I have already too.
When I had my last baby people gave me a baby shower/grocery shower which was really nice, but I still have stuff I use from that! I just used up a can of chicken breast someone gave me. I made chicken quesadillas yesterday and today the rest went into a stir-fry.
My boys are eating more and more! And I know what you mean about nursing! Anthony is 15 months old and has just started eating solid food regularly, but is still nursing frequently. I can eat more then I ever did in my entire life! I am never hungry otherwise!
Martha,
Can you post what you would buy for only $25 that could feed a family of 6 !? Wow! I'd be very interested to know!
We generally spend between $600.00 and $800.00 per month for a family of ten.
I usually shop once a month and head out weekly for produce, milk, etc.
My husband is a huge eater and so am I now that I am expecting. My husband is 6'1" and 200lbs. He is like a bottomless pit!
We both usually write out the grocery list and he does the shopping. He does the shopping because there is a Super Wal-Mart where he works. We probably spend about a 100$ a week on groceries (this is just a quick estimate.) This includes diapers and meat. We have meat with every meal. Usually it is chicken. I do a lot of different things with chicken legs and breasts that last awhile. We also get hamburg. ( I spend the extra money for the leaner stuff.)Hamburg goes a long way in recipies like Shepard's pie or other casseroles. I also do a lot of things with potatoes because they are filling and cheap. I make chicken soup by scratch and have been having rolls or bread or biscuits with every meal. I also make my own pizza which is better than the grease you get at takeouts. I recently have started to cook Italian recipies which I love. My husband introduced me to flavor when we were married and I haven't looked back. (I use a lot of garlic. :))
100 dollars a week may seem like a lot to some people but we buy a lot of fruit and foods that I have a craving for.We are also settled in our own home and my husband has a pretty good job.
One thing we saved a lot on is when we switched from formula to cow's milk. Formula is so expensive! Milk is another thing we spend a lot on. We buy a gallon every other day. I wish we had more land so we could get a cow.
I used to eat like Jessica. I was hardly ever hungry but when I'm pregnant I am starving which is new this time around because last pregnancy I couldn't keep anything down ever.
Zan,
We seem to go through a ton a milk as well. Last week it ended up being a gallon a day.
I don't mean to change the subject but is anybody doing anything different this winter to save on heating fuel? I couldn't believe our oil bill the other day. We are trying everything to keep this drafty house warm this winter. Anybody have an opinion on peller stoves?
-Zan
We live in upstate New York with a Super Wal-mart down the street and a Tops next door. If I want more variety, I'd have to drive an hour just to get there. I found out that Wal-mart will match any price from another store within a 50-mile radius(no buy-one get one free or % off though)on the exact item, as long as you bring in the ad. So every Monday, I take the circulars, find the best prices and make up a menu from that. I have also been stocking up my pantry for the winter, so there's always a little extra set aside for that as well.
My dd (3 yrs old) has autism, so that really restricts what I buy because she's on a gluten/casein free diet. I rarely buy anything pre-packaged and cook from scratch almost exclusively. Although I make my own gluten free bread, we rarely have sandwiches and usually eat leftovers from dinner.
I usually spend around $80.00 per week, including diapers and just about everything else. Both my kids have sensitive skin, so the cheap brand of diapers isn't an option and neither is potty training at this moment for dd. We also stock up, for dd diet, at a natural foods store in Vermont every 2 months.
Zan - We had a pellet stove about 4 years ago, when we lived in MA, so prices may have changed. It was $350 per ton, delivered. We are in the process of building a house and that very question came up, but we decided to go with a wood stove, because we'd get the wood from clearing the lot and if we ever run out, around here, wood is $65 per cord. Hope that helps.
Martha! I want to know what you all eat. I need to take lessons from you. Maybe you could post about it on your blog and let me know and I'll link to it.
Since it's just me and fiance, I probably don't have any major contributions to the grocery convo... we do all the coupon and list-making you all do; I also make everything from scratch, am friends with gardners to get excess produce during summer, and do my own canning. We also don't buy sweets or soda. I calculate cost per meal, and try to keep the cost under $1 per person, per meal (the inspiration to do that was from one of Crystal's posts waaay back a few months ago). :)
*Zan, you crack me up! I was laughing so hard over this: "I wish we had more land so we could get a cow." By the way, I'm going to post on some of the things we're doing to save on our heating bill this winter, so check my blog in the coming week. I can't promise it'll help, but I hope it does.
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