Better Budget Challenge #5
In this week’s Better Budget Challenge, Kacie has encouraged us to look at our grocery shopping habits and spending. I am pretty excited to read everyone’s entries, as this is one area I really make an effort in.
When I was single and clueless about money, I spent $100-$150 each week on food and household items. (I know! Even I can’t believe I did that!) I never looked at prices and bought a lot of garbage, like frozen dinners, to avoid cooking. I have always known how to cook (thanks Grandma!), but couldn’t fathom cooking for just one person, so avoided it entirely. My grocery habits were pricey, unhealthy and wasteful; often times I would buy things and then go out with friends and forget about the nice fresh fruit I had bought and it would all go bad.
After I was married, I began cooking and this lowered the bills a little, I still spent around $125 a week for the two of us because I never looked at prices or sales ads. That all had to change after I quit working and we had our first child. I had to learn the hard way how to shop for groceries more efficiently. Over the years my methods have evolved and changed as life has changed-more kids, new houses-but the basics have remained the same.
I use a combination of the “menu plan” and the “pantry plan” and this continues to work well for us. I plan a 2 week menu first based on what I have on hand and then looking at sales ads and coupons I can have a full menu plan with plenty of wiggle room to make quick changes. I like to “go with the flow” when it comes to cooking-I let everyone give their opinion on what we will have for dinner, I find everyone is more cooperative (read:kids) when they have some say in what is served.
I use a ton of coupons. Most coupons are for the pricier items, but I try to combine them with sales and double or triple coupon days and will stock up when prices are rock bottom. I do a coupon swap with a group of friends where we exchange our unwanted coupons and this ads to my savings big time. I also use several online coupon sites that allow me to print coupons at home.
The coupons really help with my pantry stockpiles, I rarely have to buy beef, but will pounce on a good deal for chicken or pork. Our deep freezer is always full, and this saves me incredible amounts of money and time, I never have to run out to pick up something for dinner, I can always whip something up with whatever I pull out of the freezer.
I use a price book to keep track of the lowest prices at all the local stores so I know when a deal is too good to pass up. When I spot a great price, I stock up and this goes for household items too, not just food. Because I use this “pantry method”, I use an average over the course of the month to determine my budget. For January, my average was $90 a week for a family of 6 (Ok, more like 3.5-we have 2 toddlers). This included the usual shopping items like eggs and milk and a lot of stocking up items as well. I anticipate this month will be a lower average because we are fully stocked in the freezer and pantry and I can’t see us need much more each week than the usual staples of eggs, milk, etc.
I keep an inventory of what I have on hand and a separate list of what I am low on or out of, so when it comes time to plan a menu, I don’t have to go on a search through cupboards and freezers. This makes my life so much easier, I get my list of items we are out of or low on, take out my sales ads, coupons and price book and plan the whole thing out. I usually only have to go to 2 stores( I find them to have the best deals in town by far and usually offer monthly triple coupons days, so why go elsewhere?), but will hit the dollar stores, Big Lots and farmers markets on occasion to see what deals are available.
My system works especially well for us because we are in such a rural area, going to the store often wouldn’t be cost effective for us. In fact, I try to skip an entire week (or 2) of grocery shopping every other month or so to use up some of my stockpiles and to save money. This makes for some creative cooking and can save us a lot of money.
I find that my shopping has saved us a lot of money over the years and I hope it will continue to do so in the future. I feel that the money saved is well worth the effort it takes to plan it all out.
How about you? How do you shop?
If you would like to join in on the Better Budget Challenge-check it out at Sense to Save
Topics: Finance & Money, Shop Smart |
February 11th, 2008
This is so through! I’m glad you’ve found a system that works for you and your family.
February 11th, 2008
Thanks Kacie! It has involved a lot of trial and error, but it is working well for us!
February 11th, 2008
[...] LJ at Mommy Gets Paid formerlly spent a lot on groceries ($100-150/week). She writes, " I had to learn the hard way how to shop for groceries more efficiently." The point is, she learned, right? She now uses a hybrid of a pantry plan and menu plan. She also knows her prices, and maintains a price book. She’s now averaging $90/week, and feeds two adults and two toddlers. Woo hoo! She has such a well-stocked pantry, that sometimes she takes a week or two off of shopping altogether. [...]
February 21st, 2008
Hey I found your blog through Kacie. It seems that we have some similarities in of frugal gracery techniques. Good for you on all of your savings. You can check out my post ont the topic at http://proverbswife.blogspot.com