On Saturdays, I share my menu plan for the upcoming week along with a photo of my groceries and a tally of my spending. My goal is to spend $100/week for our food, toiletries, and cleaning products. I’m currently in the midst of trying to buy more local, sustainably-produced food while sticking to my budget. Can it be done? I don’t know, but I’m going to try, and I’ll share what I learn as I go along.
I shared on Facebook a week or so ago that I was really feeling the need to streamline my grocery shopping routine and that I was considering cutting back my shopping to every other week.
I figure almost everything is worth at least a try, so this week I planned out two week’s worth of meals and shopped accordingly. I think I’ll have send Mr. FG on a milk run sometime this next week, and I’ll probably have to pick up some produce too, but for the most part I’m going to try to not shop for two weeks.
Also, this is the first week where I’m trying to keep to a $75/week grocery budget in order to make up for my local beef purchase. So, I had $150 to work with when I went shopping.
I spent $61.63 at Aldi, and $66.85 at Weis. I also saw that Chex was on sale at Superfresh (4 for $6!), so I printed a $1 coupon from Coupons.com
and stopped by to get 4 boxes for $5. It’s hard to find non-sugared cereals on sale, so I considered this to be worth the extra stop. That sale just started yesterday, so if you have a Superfresh near you, you have plenty of time to take advantage of that sale.
And you know what I realized when I stopped off to get the cereal? Life is getting easier. Several years ago, an extra stop would have been too overwhelming to me, but it’s really not so bad now. Everyone can walk (at a decent pace, even) and everyone can buckle and unbuckle themselves except Zoe (her carseat buckle is too hard for her to undo).
Anyways, back to groceries. In addition to the shopping mentioned above, I also bought a $6 package of nitrate-free bacon at the local organic store.
So, my total thus far is $139.48, which leaves me $11 for a milk/produce supplementation trip.
It’ll be interesting to see how this works out. I’m thinking that in addition to saving me time, there are two other possible benefits to shopping less frequently. For one, I think this might help me to clean out my fridge more thoroughly, since new food will only be coming in every other week, and I also think this might save me money because it’ll reduce my ability to impulse buy. I’m pretty good at sticking to my list, but I do sometimes throw things into the cart that are not on my list. Now I’ll only be able to do that every other week, and that will probably be good.
On to the menu!
Saturday
- We had pizza last night because we’re having a date night tonight, thanks to my sister and her husband
Sunday
- And same for Sunday night (except the pizza part). Lucky me!
Monday
- Grilled cheese sandwiches
- Chicken Noodle Soup
Tuesday
- Beef au Jus Sandwiches on French bread
- green salad
Wednesday
- Roasted Chicken with gravy
- Whole Wheat Rolls
- green beans
Thursday
- Fiesta Chicken Casserole (a new Cook’s recipe that I’m trying)
- fruit salad
Friday
- Eat-in date night for us, leftovers for the kiddos
Today’s 365 post: Happiness in a Pot
Flamingo Mama
Saturday 6th of November 2010
I am laughing out loud! Laughing because of this post....It's been quite awhile since I've stopped by (27 posts later)...I've taken a blogging break.
So anyway...I've shared before that we are so similar in grocery spending and planning...this day is the EXACT same day I shopped for the 1st time doing a biweekly routine! I've had the EXACT same feeling lately...that I need to streamline my shopping. I had no idea you were feeling the same way! Very cool...I'm anxious to see how it works for you. I'm shopping everyother week for my menu and the off weeks I do my stops at off shoot stores where I pick up good deals.
BTW...my blog is coming. I ended up dropping my WP account. I so hope you got to keep the credit from dreamhost! I did it as a result of the Relevant conference...felt God telling me to back up. So I'm just starting on blogger. Long story...but feeling a weight lifted.
Nancy
Monday 1st of November 2010
I hope you find the bi-weekly shopping to be easier for you and the family. I did mine yesterday for the next 2 weeks. I love it when my cabinets/fridge/freezer are full -- so many options!
Kathleen
Sunday 31st of October 2010
When I was growing up we did grocery shopping every two weeks, and my dad's military paycheck had to stretch to feed a lot of mouths. I didn't discover the "luxury" of being able to shop in our neighborhood grocery store, and more than once a week or two, until I started college.
Good luck!
ArdenLynn
Sunday 31st of October 2010
I shop every two weeks. It works well for me because I buy in bulk and I have very limited shopping time. Then if there is a day I am able to sneak out to shop I can devote that time to thrifting not the grocery store. I would love to hear more about date night. When dh and I devised our new budget we cut out all our date money. That was a major mistake and I'm going buggy without some time alone with my guy and a few treats to look forward too. I would love some input on how to fix this problem cheaply.
Carmen
Sunday 31st of October 2010
ArdenLynn - Hubbie & I set aside Friday nights as our "date night" every week, but usually stay home. We make a conscious effort to eat dinner together and have quality time playing cards or a game, chatting or watching a movie together. It's very cheap! Unless you do this every night already (we can't as bedtime needs to be earlier due to an early rise for work), it's still special to have this set time together, after the kids are in bed.
Other things we do to minimise costs when going out, is a babysitting swap with a couple of close friends. With zero babysitting costs, you can enjoy free activities together in mild weather (walks, picnics etc), or go to a bar for a cheapish drink that you make last a while, or maybe you could splash out occasionally going out for dessert after eating dinner at home.
Hope these ideas help. The most important thing is to have fun, quality time together.
Jenny Achuthan
Sunday 31st of October 2010
Fresh OJ, or at least the kind that's not-from-concentrate, is ridiculously expensive. I grew up on the concentrate stuff, but prefer to buy the fresh kind. We just don't have it around ALL the time. I don't think OJ, or juice in general, is a that great a go-to drink anyway. I was diabetic while I was pregnant and could see my numbers skyrocket after even a small glass!
So other than my "sometimes we have it, sometimes we don't" strategy, I also encourage the kids to cut it with some water (or bubbly water for fun) I find it to thickly sweet anyway and the kids enjoy making their "spritzers"
Like fresh parmesan cheese, as opposed to the stuff in the green can, for me, some things are just worth it in the taste dept. I just cut back in how frequently I buy stuff like this.
Kristen
Sunday 31st of October 2010
Totally agree about OJ...everyone in our house (except for me) has just a small glass at breakfast and that's it. Mostly, we drink water....that's our go-to drink, and the price is very right. lol