I've been asked lately about saving money on grocery shopping. I have a method that keeps our grocery bill lower than most families of four that I know. It takes a little time and some planning, but when done it works out every time. It works so well for us that I can save around $150-$200 every month that I do it. No exaggeration.
Here's what I do. I grab scratch paper and a pencil and begin:
1. Look over your calendar for the next 2 weeks.
What do you have planned for the next 2 weeks? How do these thing affect your meal planning? For instance, every Wednesday night we have Awana at our church. We have to be at the church by 6:15. That means everyone needs to be fed and that Lumpy and Mo-Mo will need to have time to change their clothes before we go (why do I always make spaghetti when we're in a hurry and Mo-Mo is guaranteed to smear it in his hair and pour it in his diaper?). With this in mind I try to plan quick, easy meals that all the kids like; so no one is sitting playing with their food instead of scarfing it down and getting out the door. I also plan for every night of the two weeks even if I know that we will be eating out on Friday night. I do this in case someone gets sick, the car breaks down, or HuHots burns down - having a back-up plan saves money. If we do go out to eat and have an extra meal left over, it gets rolled over to the next 2 week plan.
2. Go through your pantry, cupboards, freezer and refrigerator.
The very first thing that you need to do is to go through the food that you have on hand and start planning meals with it. If you have ground beef, spaghetti sauce and noodles you have your first meal. Continue to find complete meals. Write down the meal on a list (see picture below). Continue to go through your food, writing each meal down until you have finished completed meals. I sometimes gather the items that I need on the counter so that I'm not using the one can of spaghetti sauce multiple times on accident. Once you have complete meals done, start looking for parts of meals. Maybe you have some ingredients for BBQ Meat Balls, but need to pick up an onion. Write down the meal that you're planning on having and the items that you need.
3. Pick other meals to fill in the gaps.
After all that planning you may find that you have come up with the ingredients (or at least some of the ingredients) for 12 meals. You'll need to plan on 2 more meals to fill in the gaps. t I try to pick ideas that might have some sort of carry over. For instance, a whole watermelon will last 3-4 meals at our house. Around here a watermelon costs $4. That's fresh fruit for a family of 7 at $1.33 a meal. Not bad. Another idea would be to pick meals that would need potatoes as a side. Potatoes are inexpensive and filling. Not to mention there are a hundred different ways to prepare them.
4. Shop using your grocery list.
You took the time to make the list out. You searched even the deepest darkest most cobweb covered corners of your pantry to make this list. You might as well use it! Try to shop when you're not hungry and when the kids aren't tired and are least likely to throw fits. You know what I mean with both of these tips. If your hungry everything looks better and buying more of it sounds like a good plan. Also when your child has a melt down in aisle 5 you will grab anything in sight to fill the cart up and make a get-a-way.
In general be legalistic about sticking to the list. You can make exchanges (swap apples for oranges) and you can subtract items that you decide you really don't need... but no add-ons. And when I say swap items I mean items of similar prices too. No swapping your store brand hot dogs for a 4 lb. bone in ham.
5. Write your plan down.
I will typically make a hand-written calendar showing what I plan on serving for each meal each day. Something a long the line of:
Monday:
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: PB & J, Chips, Carrots and Dip
Supper: Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
I will then post it above my stove. I am not very legalistic about what day we eat what meal, because some Mondays I won't feel like meatballs. The exception would be meals planned for days like "Awana Wednesdays"... those I protect fiercely. As we eat a meal, I cross it off the calendar.
5. Stick to the plan.
When I get to the final days of the planned meals I find that typically these meals are left because they're the ones that I'm the least excited for. Or they take the most work. I have to fight the urge to run to the store and pick up Mac & Cheese to make it easier on myself.
I also have to remember to stick to the plan in a wise manner. If I buy something that will spoil over the course of 2 weeks I need to eat that meal early on so I won't be in a bind towards the end of the two weeks. Wasted food is wasted money.
6. Stay out of the grocery store.
One reason this plan will save you money is because you're not going to be buying items you don't need on a whim. An extra trip to the grocery store will cost you extra gas. It will also give you an extra opportunity to buy items that you don't really need ... like 4 boxes of brownies, ice cream to go with the brownies and chocolate syrup to go on the ice cream for the brownies that you don't need! One way that we have found that helps keep us running to the store is by buying milk for the two week period and freezing what we won't use right away. Just make sure that you pour some out before you freeze it. Once it thaws give it a shake and you'll never know the difference.
This plan has served us well for many years... when I do it. Some of you who use coupons can add that in to the meal plan easily. For those of you who live locally I would also recommend using bent and dents like Carter's Discount Groceries or Yoder's. I generally go to Carter's before heading to the grocery store. Again, stick to the list and try to buy only what you need.
So how do you get your grocery on? What tips and suggestions do you have?
Here's what I do. I grab scratch paper and a pencil and begin:
1. Look over your calendar for the next 2 weeks.
What do you have planned for the next 2 weeks? How do these thing affect your meal planning? For instance, every Wednesday night we have Awana at our church. We have to be at the church by 6:15. That means everyone needs to be fed and that Lumpy and Mo-Mo will need to have time to change their clothes before we go (why do I always make spaghetti when we're in a hurry and Mo-Mo is guaranteed to smear it in his hair and pour it in his diaper?). With this in mind I try to plan quick, easy meals that all the kids like; so no one is sitting playing with their food instead of scarfing it down and getting out the door. I also plan for every night of the two weeks even if I know that we will be eating out on Friday night. I do this in case someone gets sick, the car breaks down, or HuHots burns down - having a back-up plan saves money. If we do go out to eat and have an extra meal left over, it gets rolled over to the next 2 week plan.
2. Go through your pantry, cupboards, freezer and refrigerator.
The very first thing that you need to do is to go through the food that you have on hand and start planning meals with it. If you have ground beef, spaghetti sauce and noodles you have your first meal. Continue to find complete meals. Write down the meal on a list (see picture below). Continue to go through your food, writing each meal down until you have finished completed meals. I sometimes gather the items that I need on the counter so that I'm not using the one can of spaghetti sauce multiple times on accident. Once you have complete meals done, start looking for parts of meals. Maybe you have some ingredients for BBQ Meat Balls, but need to pick up an onion. Write down the meal that you're planning on having and the items that you need.
 |
| Not exactly the highest quality picture the world has ever seen, but you get the idea. |
3. Pick other meals to fill in the gaps.
After all that planning you may find that you have come up with the ingredients (or at least some of the ingredients) for 12 meals. You'll need to plan on 2 more meals to fill in the gaps. t I try to pick ideas that might have some sort of carry over. For instance, a whole watermelon will last 3-4 meals at our house. Around here a watermelon costs $4. That's fresh fruit for a family of 7 at $1.33 a meal. Not bad. Another idea would be to pick meals that would need potatoes as a side. Potatoes are inexpensive and filling. Not to mention there are a hundred different ways to prepare them.
4. Shop using your grocery list.
You took the time to make the list out. You searched even the deepest darkest most cobweb covered corners of your pantry to make this list. You might as well use it! Try to shop when you're not hungry and when the kids aren't tired and are least likely to throw fits. You know what I mean with both of these tips. If your hungry everything looks better and buying more of it sounds like a good plan. Also when your child has a melt down in aisle 5 you will grab anything in sight to fill the cart up and make a get-a-way.
In general be legalistic about sticking to the list. You can make exchanges (swap apples for oranges) and you can subtract items that you decide you really don't need... but no add-ons. And when I say swap items I mean items of similar prices too. No swapping your store brand hot dogs for a 4 lb. bone in ham.
5. Write your plan down.
I will typically make a hand-written calendar showing what I plan on serving for each meal each day. Something a long the line of:
Monday:
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: PB & J, Chips, Carrots and Dip
Supper: Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
I will then post it above my stove. I am not very legalistic about what day we eat what meal, because some Mondays I won't feel like meatballs. The exception would be meals planned for days like "Awana Wednesdays"... those I protect fiercely. As we eat a meal, I cross it off the calendar.
5. Stick to the plan.
When I get to the final days of the planned meals I find that typically these meals are left because they're the ones that I'm the least excited for. Or they take the most work. I have to fight the urge to run to the store and pick up Mac & Cheese to make it easier on myself.
I also have to remember to stick to the plan in a wise manner. If I buy something that will spoil over the course of 2 weeks I need to eat that meal early on so I won't be in a bind towards the end of the two weeks. Wasted food is wasted money.
6. Stay out of the grocery store.
One reason this plan will save you money is because you're not going to be buying items you don't need on a whim. An extra trip to the grocery store will cost you extra gas. It will also give you an extra opportunity to buy items that you don't really need ... like 4 boxes of brownies, ice cream to go with the brownies and chocolate syrup to go on the ice cream for the brownies that you don't need! One way that we have found that helps keep us running to the store is by buying milk for the two week period and freezing what we won't use right away. Just make sure that you pour some out before you freeze it. Once it thaws give it a shake and you'll never know the difference.
This plan has served us well for many years... when I do it. Some of you who use coupons can add that in to the meal plan easily. For those of you who live locally I would also recommend using bent and dents like Carter's Discount Groceries or Yoder's. I generally go to Carter's before heading to the grocery store. Again, stick to the list and try to buy only what you need.
So how do you get your grocery on? What tips and suggestions do you have?
Meal planning has been key for us! I found it really helped knowing the meat was thawed and ready to go when I got home from work. It usually didn't matter what was on the menu because by the time I got home and started making it it sounded good anyway!
ReplyDeleteI find that even on nights that it still doesn't sound good, that by the time it's done and on my plate I'm satisfied just knowing that by sticking to the plan I've saved our family money. It tastes a lot better when you know you've done the best for your family!
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