If there is one area in our budget in which we could be more careful, I would say it's our grocery budget. Several months ago I would have said it's the amount we spend on dining out, but a busy toddler (and a cold winter) has remedied that for us, thankfully.
There were a couple of things that I've decided to implement to help us track and hopefully, spend less every week.
1. Use cash and bring a calculator. The calculator does slow down the process a little bit, but it helps me track how much I have in the cart. And the cash ensures I don't overspend.
2. Have a rough meal plan for the week. We get the circulars each week, and it's given me an idea of what we could make with what is on sale.
3. Have a cooking day. Last Sunday I made some soup, roast, and enchiladas, so that on the days I'm tired or running late, we don't feel the pressure to resort to pricier, unhealthy, convenience meals. The roast easily lasted us four meals. Plus, I'm not feeling so stressed about getting dinner on the table. Less stress = happy mom/wife.
4. Cook from scratch. We're pretty good at doing this - mostly for health reasons, but recent studies have reminded me why it's worth taking the extra time to eat whole, non-processed foods. It's not only cheaper and tastes better, but is so much better for you.
5. Buy what produce/meat is on sale. We have a tendency to spend a lot of fruits and veggies, which is better than the alternative, but I'm trying to be more efficient. Over the summer we froze some fruits and veggies, for soups/stews/chilis/smoothies. That has helped our budget too.
6. Stock up. Meat went on major sale here, so we stocked up.
7. Use what's already in the pantry and refrigerator. This is one of the things that we do that drives us crazy - we end up throwing good food out that we just didn't end up using. So we're clearing out our fridge and freezer, hoping to save some money and curb waste.
8. Eat more oatmeal and less cereal. Oh my goodness. It's so much cheaper and better than that boxed stuff. Another downfall of ours.
9. Buy in bulk - it's often cheaper. Plus it helps curb unnecessary packaging, which is yucky for the environment.
10. Have fun. Get creative and enjoy creating meals at home with the family, and the kiddos. Food should be enjoyed, and not stressed over, in my opinion.
Anyone have any other good suggestions for curbing the grocery budget? I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting here.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The Grocery Budget
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7 comments:
you know. all great stuff, girl! :)
the cereal thing is really hard to boot, esp when it was even a staple for a quick dinner before (i think we're both here).
for breakfast, i've been making a smoothy and then eating oatmeal or a granola bar (i haven't found a good chewie recipe- so i'm eating a kashi bar at this point- but i'd LOVE to make my own!). some days i make it real far, other days not so much and my tummy starts rumbling really early. :) oatmeal is the best- i grew up with putting in butter, cinnamon and milk, but i'm trying out other flavors. bananas, blueberries and sometimes even sweet potatoes! i'm amazed at how sweet and fulfilling fruit is for it.
Your list is pretty great! The only two things I would add to it is to use the same item in multiple dishes (like tortillas - chicken tortilla soup, breakfast tacos, and enchiladas) and eat meatless meals a couple times a week (if you don't have a nice store in your freezer).
I try to plan my meals based on things I need to use up in my fridge - each Friday or Saturday, I make up our meal plan for the week and make the grocery list (taking into consideration what is seasonal and cheap of course) and we don't deviate from the list. It's the only way I can keep my spending the grocery store where it should be.
(Blogger isn't letting me use OpenID right now, hence the Google identity.)
Kristin, I am SO with you on the cereal thing. I've also tried making some granola, and it's never turned out "just right".
I love oatmeal and smoothies. I normally do the banana/blueberry combo. The cinnamon and butter sounds good, though too...
Sweet potatoes? I'm skeptical. Share more, please. :)
Beth,
Great idea on the tortilla concept, and something I certainly need to work on.
Meatless meals are great, too. We did this a lot in the summer, and are hoping to get back into that again.
Hello Sheri!!
You are too good:) I love all the ideas on here. It is so hard when it comes to saving money on groceries. When I look at how much we spend, I can't believe how much money we are "eating":)
I do a similar thing too when it comes to making multiple dinners from the same food. It makes meat dishes last longer, if you mix meat with veggies, rice or pasta. Then you almost get three or 4 meals, plus lunches from the same "batch" of meat:) Oh, I just did this with Chili. We had left-over chili--not quite enough for an entire meal, so I make pasta, mixed in the chili, put cheese on the top, then put it in the over for 15 min. Good to go, plus lunch for the next day:)
Anyhow, you are doing a good job:)
Love you !!!!
Good idea, Ann! I have to admit that is one area that we're not so great at saving money. We'd probably be surprised at how much money we could save if we were more efficient with our food choices. :)
We do the cash thing, it most certainly does the trick! I like the meatless thing too, our favorites as a family are, quiche (although not always meatless, sometimes a little ham thrown in if we have it in the house) and Black bean quesadilas. The kids and the hubby both eat them right up. I like having a few recipes where the ingredients are flexible so that I can clean up what's in the fridge. GREAT blog entry, my friend!
Well, I think this is an area we all struggle with a little bit (at least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better).
I will have to make more of an effort to go "meatless" once or twice a week. Quiche is a great way to do that!
Thanks for all your help, Ladies!!
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