I've had an epiphany. And it came just at the right time. I get so tensed up about our groceries and trying to spend less and less and stay within our means and save money, and cut here and there, and still eat healthy, etc. Every other Thursday I feel the pressure building and spend more time than I should on the computer or pouring over cooking magazines and cookbooks next to spread-out sales ads, trying to figure out how to get a cart of groceries for $5 (that's a little over-dramatic but I'm making a point). I've written my budget and rewritten it. I've tried cash and returned to debit card. I've tried going to 5 stores to get sales (waste of gas and really hard with a 2 year old) and also just staying at one or two. I've clipped coupons (my in-laws, who get our mail b'c we live on their property, always misplace my coupons and i get them too late, or I don't have a car available and miss out on the last day I can use them, or I don't have the money left from groceries to buy the things I got coupons for) and bought full-price. I've made weekly menus and extensive grocery lists, crossing every item off as I throw it into the cart, only to get home, put it all away and make completely different dishes with the ingredients throughout the week. I've gotten to the end of the month and realized I had no laundry detergent, no soap, no shampoo/conditioner, no deoderant, shaving cream or razors (for DH), and had to buy all of that at once, eating up a huge amount of my budgeted grocery amount. And I realized something. I have the wisdom to know good prices for groceries (paying $4.99/lb for chicken isn't a deal) from comparing prices so extremely the past year. I know how to throw a meal together with minimal and weird ingredients that's not only filling, but DH raves over (somehow it's always the dishes I've made with random leftover ingredients I found in the back of the pantry). I've realized as of late that if I buy less, I force myself to use the food in my house better (stretch meals, etc). I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to go to Aldi's and buy things I know I'll use in general meal making: chicken, pork, beef, tomatoes, onions, pasta, sauce, fruit, veggies, stuffing, bread, deli meats, eggs, oil, etc. (trying to get the most bang for my buck, of course) I'm going to check at Sam's Club on pricing/unit for household and personal goods, and if it's cheaper, I'm going to make a trip there and buy what I need for the next month(s). DH is wanting to lose weight and has asked me to help by limiting the amount of food he eats, so doing that will help stretch fresh veggies and more healthy foods. Let's see how it goes. I've been so sick of feeling the stress and pressure from all of this, and DH tells me it shouldn't be such a big deal - that I'm competent enough to do this so I shouldn't feel this kind of pressure. And I agree -- God has given me confidence and wisdom to take this head on, and I shouldn't worry (which is what I do when I freak out trying to make it work by myself and my own calculations).

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~~Amanda~~ Mommy to Elijah (3), TTC #2

I am a bit of a worrier too. When I get stressed about the budget I often repeat to myself "Consider the lilies" (from Matthew 6 ~ my favorite passage about worry).

I've recently attempted a new way of shopping which has really been working for me too. For the last three trips I've only bought what's on sale (along with the regular stuff like milk that's never on sale). But when I keep an eye out for the specials and try and just buy those, I've found my total bill has really gone down. Not sure if this helps. But I know it was a refreshing change for me.

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I agree with you. I tend to buy way too much food thinking I'll make a special meal with it or I need it to 'stock up' then it just goes unused and I have to run to the store to buy other stuff.

There really is a rather short list of items that I have to buy over and over again. Everything else is fluff.

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

I think it is a science and it has to work with your lifestyle. I don't menu plan ever unless someone says can we have _____ for dinner and then I look to see if I have it, if not make plans to buy needed items. I think everyone needs to find the niche.

allgirls

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allgirls, mom to 3 girls

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

After all that planning I bet you probably make the same types of meals your family enjoys over and over again. I know I do. So you probably just need the same types of ingredients each grocery trip. I think you will be very successful at this!

Its just my two kids and I but I gave up trying to plan menus and to buy groceries accordingly. I just stock up on the things we always use. If I see a good sale on something or something I know I have a coupon for and will use I'll grab it. Occasionally I have a craving for a particular meal and I'll get what I need but that is rare. I also found it easier to keep track of the good deals when I always get the same things.

I am laughing as I read this, flybygrace, because I wrote a stressed out post last week talking about how I was spending too much shopping the way you are going to try, and I felt like I really needed to menu plan. Well let me tell you how that worked out for me. I made a BIG list and planned everything out, even went to WalMart which I despise (and their produce was pathetic as usual), thinking I would save a bunch of money, got to the check out and you aren't going to believe what my total was. I am almost embarrassed to say, but it was $289! For the week's groceries!!! I did buy a lot of cleaning stuff, laundry stuff, and tp, but I added that all up and it was around $50 worth of stuff, so I still spent over $200 on food. I hardly bought any snacks too, just one big bag of pretzels and a bag of tortilla chips and some ice cream. Obviously I still need to fine tune my system!

Kathrynhannah, I can't wait until I get my More With Less cookbook in the mail. I need it. I think it is going to take me a while to get this down, but if I can buy things on sale and make stuff with it and maybe make extra to freeze, then hopefully eventually the expenses at the grocery store will level off a little.

I honestly think that we all stress over how our grocery budget is when we need to cut back spending somewhere- that is always what we are told when we need to come up with extra cash! Another thing is when unexpected bills come up and you don't have the extra cash lying around- we will see how much groceries we can get with $20.

IMHO- your choices in Aldi's and Sam's are a great idea- especially what you are looking for (household at Sam's and food at Aldi's). You can get great prices on prduce at Aldi's- watch out for the junk food though- any time I go there- we usually end up with $20 worth of junk food (which in Aldi's money is about 2-3 bags of groceries!)-well that is usually when my DH comes shopping with me! Actually- I will be going there in 2 weeks for our grocery shopping- so I have extra cash to set aside for new school shoes!

I used to do exactly what you were doing and it was so stressful and I spent too much time, energy and money.

This is my system, I have 20-25 recipes that my family loves and I rotate those according to what is on sale. By doing this I know exactly what I will spend at the grocery store and I know a good deal when I see one since I buy the same things frequently.

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DS-16
DD-12
DD-4
DS-2

I don't even make a list anymore. I used to do the exact same thing, pouring over lists and trying to make special meals. Now I keep a stock of can and dried beans, cream soups, spaghetti and egg noodles, and bread. I then just buy ground beef and chicken. I can then round it out with whatever we may be running low on. I only have $140 a month to work with, so I must use it wisely!

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