I had been doing so well with menus and shopping lists this past summer. I was meeting my weekly $75 goal on groceries. Then my mind went blank this month. I stopped planning meals ahead of time and ran to the grocery store whenever I needed (or wanted) something. The grocery tab has not been good and the meals have been even worse!
It's time to get back in the saddle and round up this mess. Luckily, I spoke to my mother-in-law by phone today and she gave me several meal ideas. I will work on a menu and grocery list today and do my big shopping trip either this evening or tomorrow. And when the money is gone, it is gone and I will need to wait until next Friday for any other grocery shopping.
It's amazing how you can spend so much more at the store and get so much less when you don't have a list to go by. I have been wasting our hard earned money on stuff that we craved instead of stuff that we needed. This week hasn't been as bad since we have been doing a bit of pantry cooking and using up what we had. I think we've spent about $40 for a week's worth of groceries to supplement what we didn't already have on hand. But I would honestly be scared to add up what our total for groceries has been this month. Let's just say that I'm glad that I don't have to. :)
Wish me luck this week as I get back on the right track!
If you are running low on cereal, Hy-Vee has that great deal again. Buy 6 General Mills cereal and get $10 off (with coupon) and get a $6.00 catalina at the register. I used coupons found on the internet and the 6 boxes cost me $3.00 and then I got the $6.00 coupon towards my next shopping trip. A big box of Cheerios was only $2.88 at our Hy-Vee.
ReplyDeleteI'm living out of our pantry and freezer to free up money for some extra expenses.
Love reading your blog. I look forward to it.
I do this too. I take out £50 and that's supposed to cover food, non-food groceries (toothpaste, tissues, toilet paper etc) and stuff for the baby (formula, nappies etc)
ReplyDeleteIt generally works and I have a little piggy bank where I put any let over money and that becomes my mad money, so it's a good incentive to save!
I don't have a set weekly grocery budget. Some weeks I spend less if we are still stocked with essentials and just need bread, milk, and fruit. Other weeks it seems like we are out of almost everything and my final tally is steeper. This past I did pantry cooking as well and did not got to the store once! It was nice to use up things that had been staring at me from the cuboard shelves for a long time. :) Our local grocery store is having some great deals this week, so tomorrow I am going to shop for our groceries armed with a detailed list and coupons to combine with the store specials. I have our meals planned out, too. What a great feeling! It is amazing how quickly money can burn a hole in one's pocket when you stop at a store every few days. For me, it boils down to poor planning, so then I forget an essential thing, then I end up leaving the store with several other items that we DID NOT need. Funny how that goes, isn't it? :) I will be curious to hear about how your shopping goes and what meals you will be cooking in your kitchen this week.
ReplyDelete--Dee