Ya...sorry if some search engine brought you here because you wanted info on Once a Month Shopping. I'm writing to get organized.
So, now that we have a house, we have some BIG PLANS. Things didn't work out exactly how we had hoped for financially... don't get me wrong, we are doing so much better than we were for the last two years. Let me just say that building a house is rough. Oh, it starts out all great and fun, but it gets spendy, fast! And living in the RV, with a teeny, tiny fridge and all that... well, now it's time to try a new tactic. Anyhow, we have some business oriented ideas and plans, and that saying, "it takes money to make money" is fairly accurate.
I am going to try and squirrel away some money, something we were unable to do before. One area where I think I can improve is in my grocery shopping budget. I am not very good at grocery shopping. I hate it, actually. I hate it, AND I'm not good at it. Double whammy. I end up throwing food out, which is just a waste. Now that I have full amenities, it's time to bring on the food creativity. (Almost full amenities: both my blender and my crockpot are broken.)
So, I've been researching the whole "shopping once a month" idea. I was close before... I would go twice a month. When the grocery store is so far away, and it takes forever to get there, only going once a month would be a benefit. Plus, it would save me gas money! And honestly, the gas money I save would just to go my other car (the Bronco), for our family trips into the mountains and stuff. Love that gas guzzler!
I hope this isn't too crazy. I think I can do it. It's going to take some serious planning on my part. And some patience in the grocery store. I will have to find a balance between being super frugal in the store, clean eating goals, and not slaving away in the kitchen all day. I really want to get away from preservatives and ingredients I cannot pronounce.
Here is what I've gathered from the net so far:
1-Meal Plan for the Month
2-Inventory my food
3- Make a Grocery List
4- Portion Out Food When You Get Home
5-Use Your Freezer
I'm off to plan. First, shopping once a month. Next, maybe making a few of those freezer meals I've seen around! Let the saving begin!
Please update about how this goes. I used to be able to go every two weeks and spend $150-ish for our family of five (through price matching and limited coupon clipping), but lately I have just been busy and lazy and tired so I find myself having to stop at the store on my way home to pick up things I forgot or ran out of... it's pretty lame.
ReplyDeleteCarla, I will let you know how it goes. I'm still "planning," and having a hard time getting meals on paper. I plan for meals much better under pressure. And balancing Ryan's desire to eat no-low carb food with a frugal mindset + feeding kids and stuff...it's hard already, and I haven't even started!
DeleteI think I'm going to just plan out what we want to eat, and then try to adapt a portion for Ryan and myself (if it's a little high in fat/carbs, then I'll go for the lower carb version). Maybe I'll post the menu I come up with.
Now, if only I could come up with that menu... lol. Off to work.
check out justorganizeyourself.blogspot.com she has some good menu planning ideas.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cori! I will check it out. Right now.
DeleteHey- saw Zach last night at the fireside. He came up to me and said hi... he is awesome. Always has had a good attitude, but he is a good kid, too. All mature and stuff, lol. Good job, mom and dad!