Monthly Grocery Shopping, is it possible??
I was asked to share about my monthly grocery shopping experience. To start let me back up about two years ago. I was a mother to four kids ages 2,3,4 & 5. Shopping trips were a disaster. I remember sitting in my van after the trips were finished, totally drained. I would think to myself, there must be a better way.
Around that same time, we started the Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. I began to look for ways to cut back, so we could start paying off debt. I found that if I kept our meals simple and repeated them several times a month, I could buy in bulk and shop for an entire month.
I started in February of 2015. Since we get paid every other week, I make the meal plan last for two paychecks (four weeks.) I start by making a list of simple meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I need seven different dinners. For breakfast and lunch I can have less because we can repeat them more often. Once I have a list made, I take a blank calendar and write in the dates. Then I add the meals to the calendar. I keep it simple and repeat Sunday's meals for all the Sundays, Monday's meals for all the Mondays and so on. The reason I do this is for several reasons: so I can buy in bulk, save money, keep the stress down and it is easy to remember.
Once I have it all on the calendar, I start my shopping list. The list isn't too hard to make because we repeat meals every week. When the next month comes, I change the meals up.
So the number one question is: What do you do about perishable items that don't last long? Well first of all, I try to look at the expiration dates on these items and I buy the latest dates available. If milk will expire, I freeze it (a little tip, open it and pour 1/2 cup out before freezing because it expands when frozen). It does take a few days in the fridge to thaw. Eggs last a long time usually. I try to pick fruits and vegetables that last longer like, apples, oranges, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, etc. If I do buy more perishable items that I can't freeze, I plan them earlier in the month.
When we first started this, we were on an extreme budget. I limited myself to $400 a month for all groceries and toiletries. We kept that up for over a year and it is still my target. Now that we've paid off our debt, we can spend more if we need to. I'll admit that sometimes that first year I did go over my budget.
I still make my big grocery trip once a month, but I do budget a little on the second paycheck of the month for unexpected grocery needs. Life is full of surprises and you never know if you'll need something else later in the month.
This last year I have started buying many things online. I discovered Jet.com (similar to Amazon.) I buy diapers, flour, shampoo, protein powder, etc. on that site. Shopping online helps keep my shopping cart less full on my big grocery shopping day.
So where do I shop? I love Aldi. I try to shop there first. If there is anything that they don't have, I go to Walmart or another grocery store. Shopping at Aldi makes it easier to stay on budget. They have wonderful prices.
Do I bring to kids with me? Although I love making this trip alone, many times I do have to bring the kids. I just make sure I have a plan and I try to shop as quick as possible.
Do I ever get off the schedule? Yes, I do. But as soon as I do, I try to remind myself that if I stick to it, I don't have to go back to the grocery store for awhile. That alone is a huge motivator to stick with it.
So what do our typical meals look like?
Sunday
Breakfast: cereal/kids, shake/us
Lunch: eat at Grammy's
Dinner: chili
Monday
Breakfast: oatmeal/kids, omelet/us
Lunch: Split Pea Soup (Hulk soup)
Dinner: Spaghetti
Tuesday
Breakfast: grits/kids, shake/us
Lunch: PBJ sandwiches
Dinner: potato soup
Wednesday
Breakfast: cereal/kids, omelet/us
Lunch: tomato soup
Dinner: chicken bake
Thursday
Breakfast: oatmeal/kids, shake/us
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: beef stroganoff
Friday
Breakfast: grits/kids, omelet/us
Lunch: PBJ sandwiches
Dinner: chicken tortilla soup
Saturday
Breakfast: pancakes
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: hamburgers
**for lunch Jason usually eats leftovers from the previous dinner
I hope this is helpful to those who read it. I'll admit that sticking to a plan like this is hard sometimes. But it has been a huge help to us. I hope it can do the same for you.
Around that same time, we started the Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. I began to look for ways to cut back, so we could start paying off debt. I found that if I kept our meals simple and repeated them several times a month, I could buy in bulk and shop for an entire month.
I started in February of 2015. Since we get paid every other week, I make the meal plan last for two paychecks (four weeks.) I start by making a list of simple meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I need seven different dinners. For breakfast and lunch I can have less because we can repeat them more often. Once I have a list made, I take a blank calendar and write in the dates. Then I add the meals to the calendar. I keep it simple and repeat Sunday's meals for all the Sundays, Monday's meals for all the Mondays and so on. The reason I do this is for several reasons: so I can buy in bulk, save money, keep the stress down and it is easy to remember.
Once I have it all on the calendar, I start my shopping list. The list isn't too hard to make because we repeat meals every week. When the next month comes, I change the meals up.
So the number one question is: What do you do about perishable items that don't last long? Well first of all, I try to look at the expiration dates on these items and I buy the latest dates available. If milk will expire, I freeze it (a little tip, open it and pour 1/2 cup out before freezing because it expands when frozen). It does take a few days in the fridge to thaw. Eggs last a long time usually. I try to pick fruits and vegetables that last longer like, apples, oranges, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, etc. If I do buy more perishable items that I can't freeze, I plan them earlier in the month.
When we first started this, we were on an extreme budget. I limited myself to $400 a month for all groceries and toiletries. We kept that up for over a year and it is still my target. Now that we've paid off our debt, we can spend more if we need to. I'll admit that sometimes that first year I did go over my budget.
I still make my big grocery trip once a month, but I do budget a little on the second paycheck of the month for unexpected grocery needs. Life is full of surprises and you never know if you'll need something else later in the month.
This last year I have started buying many things online. I discovered Jet.com (similar to Amazon.) I buy diapers, flour, shampoo, protein powder, etc. on that site. Shopping online helps keep my shopping cart less full on my big grocery shopping day.
So where do I shop? I love Aldi. I try to shop there first. If there is anything that they don't have, I go to Walmart or another grocery store. Shopping at Aldi makes it easier to stay on budget. They have wonderful prices.
Do I bring to kids with me? Although I love making this trip alone, many times I do have to bring the kids. I just make sure I have a plan and I try to shop as quick as possible.
Do I ever get off the schedule? Yes, I do. But as soon as I do, I try to remind myself that if I stick to it, I don't have to go back to the grocery store for awhile. That alone is a huge motivator to stick with it.
So what do our typical meals look like?
Sunday
Breakfast: cereal/kids, shake/us
Lunch: eat at Grammy's
Dinner: chili
Monday
Breakfast: oatmeal/kids, omelet/us
Lunch: Split Pea Soup (Hulk soup)
Dinner: Spaghetti
Tuesday
Breakfast: grits/kids, shake/us
Lunch: PBJ sandwiches
Dinner: potato soup
Wednesday
Breakfast: cereal/kids, omelet/us
Lunch: tomato soup
Dinner: chicken bake
Thursday
Breakfast: oatmeal/kids, shake/us
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: beef stroganoff
Friday
Breakfast: grits/kids, omelet/us
Lunch: PBJ sandwiches
Dinner: chicken tortilla soup
Saturday
Breakfast: pancakes
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: hamburgers
**for lunch Jason usually eats leftovers from the previous dinner
I hope this is helpful to those who read it. I'll admit that sticking to a plan like this is hard sometimes. But it has been a huge help to us. I hope it can do the same for you.
*UPDATE*
8/30/19
I wrote this post over 2 1/2 years ago! Since then unfortunately we did slack off a little. But now we are back at it, trying to raise finances for another adoption.
There are a few things I want to add to this post...
1. Now I have Wal-Mart pickup service and it has made shopping so much easier. I don’t have to get the kids out of the car and I can know exactly how much I’m spending. There are no more panics at the register when I see that I’m going over budget. Because of this service, I’ve totally stopped using Jet.com. But I do sometimes go to Aldi still.
2. Since I can’t get a lot of produce, I buy lots of frozen veggies to eat with our meals.
3. To keep from using up all our groceries too soon. I divide a lot of things and freeze them. Example: I divide all the chicken into four bags. I know that I can only use one bag a week. I also do this with other meats, cheeses, bread, etc.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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