Amy, when Faythe was 3, we sang the song at church with the chorus "Yes, Lord! Yes, Lord! Yes, Lord! Amen!" So one day, I'm in the kitchen trying to get dinner, and I've got this active preschooler, running circles around my legs, singing at the top of her voice, "YES, LORD, YES, LORD, YES, LORD....AGAIN!!!" over and over and over! Well, at least her theology was correct, lol!
Dh is gone Mon-Fri for the next few weeks and I can't stick to a meal plan when he's not here. So I'll start at the end of Feb. I also think making a few of the meals on Sat or Sun would help me to, so all I have to do it pop them int he oven.
Krista, are you near an Aldi or Weis Market? I shop in Hanover, in south PA. Aldi will save you alot, and Weis is the least expensive store I know of after that. At Weis, last Friday, milk was 2-something a gallon.
Pa also has some great Amish and farm markets that are cheaper then the chain stores. There are also dent and seconds stores that I live in for my shopping with my size family.
I just went shopping - Paid $2.00 - 2% milk at Rite Aide, $.50 per loaf of bread - bought 10 loaves, freeze them (we have a bakery in our area, they have thier own stores where they sell bread for $.50 per loaf, and on Wed. they give you another 10% off. I couldn't believe eggs - $1.28 at Aldis!!! Way too high for eggs.
OhioGrandma we are paying 1.50 a dozen for eggs. 4.00 for milk and over a dollar a loaf for bread. Wish I could find it for 50 cents a loaf. This is what we are eatting this week. Monday: Chicken and dumplings Tuesday: Going to make Becky's upside down bacon cheeseburger casserole. Wednesday: we are having grilled fish with potates on the grill. Thursday: we are chicken breast on the grill with a salad. Friday: we are hambs. and homemade fries. Thats all I have for the week. Wow I can't believe I did it this week. Now I hope I stick to it.
Kris, I think the secret is not feeling that you HAVE to stick to it. Things always come up, and that's OK. But for me, just having it there makes life easier. At least it's not 15 minutes before dinner, and I still haven't a clue what to have, lol!
Kris, I don't know how you do it. I try and spend $400 a month on groceries. That is for 4 of us. With the other 2 boys, I spend an extra $200 per month. I sat down with the kids on Friday and planned out the meals, now I have to put them to what days to have what. That is next. I am too tired tonight to think about it, but I do know that on Sunday we will have spaghetti. I will be making 6 batches of it tomorrow. I love to cook ahead and freeze, just haven't had the time. I think I want to buy a home out in the middle of no where and have a milking cow, cows to butcher, chickens for eggs, and chickens to eat and then have a huge garden and put things up for the winter. I would make my dh go into the grocery store for all the other things we would need. Of course I still want the microwave, dishwasher, washer, dryer, heat and electric. I get tired of paying these prices for groceries and gas. I guess I remember buying bread - 10 for $1, milk for 50 cents, etc. I will stop whining now, sorry. I think it's crazy to pay these prices
G'ma, we budget $200 per tw0-week pay period for groceries. One of the biggest things you can do is to pay CASH for your groceries. (No, NOT check or debit card!) This REALLY DOES make a difference! I also write a list and STICK TO IT!!! We have five in our family.
I try to stay under $150 for 2 weeks (including things like shampoo, soap, toothpaste). I can usually do it, unless it's one of thise times that everything runs out at the same time. There are 6 in our family. We do not eat expensive foods though. No steaks, no fish (dh doesn't like fish). I try to stck to whatever meats are on sale (roast, pork chops, chicken are on sale frequently). The only problem is that we get tired of eating the same things!
I need to make meal plans. I swear I am the most disorganized food cook on the planet. I manage to get it done though, usually by about 5pm each night. I wish my shopping bill was as low as some of yours is. I think I spend right around $600-$700 a month on groceries but I'm working on bringing that down cause I'm teaching myself to cook one nights worth of food at a time instead of making enough for leftovers cause the leftover ususally become tossouts at the end of the week. The next few days we will be having left overs cause I have several big ziplock bags with soups in them that will be eaten. If anyone knows a trick to making a small amount of soup please let me know, freezing them doesn't help any here cause they never get defrosted to be eaten and after a while even freezer food has to go. I have two teenage boys who can eat all day long if allowed to and a daughter who likes to graze and a one year old who just wants what everyone else is having. Half the time I could care less if there is food in front of me or not. My husband eats one main meal at night cause he is gone all day working. I have to get his lunchmeat from the deli and I have started just buying the entire piece and having it cut up instead of having to go to the store every other week to get more. I did this the other day and it was $50!!! I try to do all my shopping at one time for the month cause it never fails if I go in for one things I come out with 50. I have been really working on that lately. Our milk is pretty expensive too and if the baby wasn't drinking it I would probably stick to evaporated milk as needed but the organic cost about $3 for 1/2 gallon and the other stuff is around $3.50 a gallon for store brand or about $6 for the brand name. Eggs organic/natural are about $2 a dozen and the others are about half that. I try to get more organic/natural foods cause I'm really worried about all the stuff being sprayed on, pumped in or otherwise being added into the foods we eat and when the government said it was going to OK cloned meat being added into mainstream foods (without lables), that was it for me. Organic/natural might be a bit more expensive but they are worth it to me cause I'm tired of being a guinie pig for scientist waiting to see when I'm going to sprout a child with a fourth eye so they can say "opps".
Yes! There's an Aldi right down the street from me. I go there ALL the time. I can't buy a lot of their stuff right now b/c of my recent Celiac diagnosis. BUT, I'm still going for milk, eggs, produce and frozen stuff. I used to go there almost exclusively. I haven't been in a while b/c I'm regrouping my thinking. BUT I will be getting back there soon! THANKS for reminding me. My friend and I are going to go to the Produce Junction that's about a half hour from here. They are GREAT (or I rmemeber they were before I lived in Phoenix). I remember we used to spend like $20 and come out with two big banana boxes of produce. We eat A LOT of fresh fruits & veggies here, so it's going to be really helpful if this one is a good one. i could see travelling a half hour every week or two to get stuff. If i remember correctly, they have an egg deal there too. The Weis isn't too close. We get their ads and I can see how cheap their stuff is. It's frustrating to get the ad and know we really don't have one too close. I may bite the bullet and try it out anyway. Hubby and I had a discussion about the food/menu/etc this weekend. We've been spending WAY too much $$ out. He's thinking if we can commit to eating out way less, he can increase the food budget to accomodate. SO....I will HAVE to menu plan. Well....I'm off to do school with the kids. It snowed a little last night and they aren't allowed to play in it until we're done schoolwork! LOL While they are working, I'm going to work on my menu plan. I'm also going to call my favorite deli and put in my meat and chicken order. (Hubby can't have ground beef - they sell me freshly ground chicken for 1.69 a lb as long as I order ahead - they even break it down into 1 to 1 1/2 lb packages for me.).
Unreal! I spend about $150 a week! What am I doing wrong. I stick to my list and plan my meals. When I go to Aldi's I pay cash...and I do spend less but not as little as you do. I have five in my family and a dog. I am still buying diapers and wipes and I buy dog food. I have not been using coupons lately though. If I could cut my grocery bill to $100 a week I would win wife of the year with my dh! lol. What are you guys eating??? Do you have a freezer or buy in bulk?
Ava Rose, that's what I have been wondering - how do you cut your grocery bill? I go to Aldi's and spend cash, but I do go to Marc's and Walmart for other things. Of course when I say my grocery budget - I also count laundry soap, dishwasher soap, all my taxables. Yesterday, I had to buy one of the boys 4 pair of school pants and that was $45.00. Any help will be great. As far as soup goes, I freeze it in small amounts, for lunch, I put one in the micro wave and eat it for lunch. That way you don't have to thaw too much, if someone else don't want it. I love soup, so it's perfect for me.
Ok, Ok, I will admit I buy organic milk. I also have to buy lactose free milk for my dh. I would make everyone drink that but it doesn't come in organic. I just don't think I can give my little one non organic milk. Am I crazy? Organic milk costs $3.29 a half gallon. Lactose free milk is about the same. I know that is expensive but we really use a lot of milk. A half gallon is about enough for the week. I also hate the taste of lactose free milk. I think I may spend too much on snacks and lunches. I spend no more than $10 a night on dinner. I say $10 because my family does like fish and some weeks that can be expensive. I also buy organic ground beef...that costs about $4.00 a pound. However, I only use one pound for spagetti. Normally dinners don't even cost $10, now that I think about it unless it is fish. Ok, ladies help me out here....what am I doing wrong. Say I am making spagetti....$1.00 for noodles, $4.00 for meat and $4.00 for sauce, and $3.00 for the veggies and stuff in the sauce. That is $11.00 but that lasts two nights. What do you ladies give as snacks and lunches? I know I am spending too much somehow. I just spent almost $200 on Saturday and that was for one week! However, we were down to empty cupboards and fridge. That is not a normal week.
Ohio Grandma....soup is a great idea. A can of campbell's is $1.19 here....making soup would be much cheaper. I have also made my own nuggets for cost purposes and health purposes. That saves also.
I also go to Marc's, but not Walmart. I don't like Aldi's. I also count soap, etc. Clothes are in a seperate budget catagory. Sometimes thing I need for school is paid for from my grocery money. For example, in science we xerox these little "books". I need the have the pages copied front and back, plus they need to line up right. So I do them at Office Max. I usually pay cash for that, and the only cash I have readily available is my grocery money. If we go out to eat (rarely) that comes out of grocery money, too. I usually buy meat in bulk. I usually pay $1.99 for boneless chicken breast and also for hamburger. I will buy 10 lbs. at a time and freeze it. This week, I plan on spending BIG money for a whole sirloin that runs $2.99/lb. They'll cut it up for me, and I'll freeze it. That will last me until the next time it's on sale...about 4-6 months. I also have several packages of venison in the freezer that was given to us. I stock up on canned fruit/pasta when it's on sale, and buy cheese/lunchmeat at the Farmer's Market, where I can get it for less than $3/lb. I try not to buy too many chips, etc., and rarely do I buy pop. We also tithe, so I believe that God blesses and stretches my grocery budget! Ava, have you considered diapers from Sam's Club? I use to buy their off-brand ones, and they were every bit as good as Pampers. Diapers can really bust a budget, but they're needed! And special diets can also kill a budget, too!
I rarely buy anything name brand, and that helps, too. There are a few things that I really think are better and occasionally there will be a good sale on the name brand items. It can make a good dent in your budget to buy off brands. I also shop at more than one place. I go to Save-a-lot for the staple items that are always cheaper there. I buy meats at Kroger or Sam's depending on what is on sale. Wal-Mart is where I buy things like cereal because it tends to be cheaper there. Our Wal-Mart always has a clearance section that has things marked pretty cheaply. I can usually get day-old french bread for .50. It's really about just watching what you spend.
