Shopping for a month

I decided that I needed another overhaul of how I cook and buy groceries. A few years ago I read this book:

It had really good advice which of course I had already heard a bunch of times but had never really paid attention to. They basically teach that you should buy a months worth of groceries at a time. They are really hard core and spend about $350 at once and never go back to the store. If they run out of fresh fruit, they start eating their canned ones, etc. They freeze milk, etc. They are a little extreme. So I tried my version of it a few years ago and noticed that I really was saving money. At the time, I was also getting 6 newspapers a week just for the coupons, and so I was also able to get a ton of stuff for free in addition to everything else (I really miss having a Fry's food store nearby!). I had a pantry full of food that didn't cost me very much at all.

But then life changed, I had Darci, we moved, I stopped using coupons as much, and just fell out of the habit. My food supply has since dwindled to an incredibly small amt, and with the economy how it is and everyone - not just church people - stressing the importance of having at least a 3-6 month supply of food, I thought I need to do something again. And then the other day at the store I saw that book again and I thought, I should do that again.

So, I am doing things a little bit different, but still basic principle. When I used to plan out meals I would assign them to a particular day, but it would always get messed up. So this time, I picked out a bunch of meals and just listed them, also listing which cookbook they were in so I could find them easier, leaving a few days for leftovers or eating out (which we never do, but maybe someday my husband will surprise me and take me to a restaurant...). The night before, I look at the list and decide what I want to cook the next day. This is important because some of the meals require beans soaking overnight or something like that. Here is what my list looks like - I definitely don't take the time to worry about it looking professional....but I did scan a copy in case mine gets thrown away, I know what I had planned.

Then on the back side, I list all my ingredients. I don't list the ones that I already have a good supply of on hand, just the ones I need to buy. I also try and pick a variety of recipes where some use fresh veggies and some don't because veggies don't last all month. That list looks like this:

Then I went to the store and got everything on my list. I spent $230 and have about $20 left to spend at Safeway. So that is $250 for nearly everything, including ziploc bags, dog food, etc. I figure I will have to spend $20-$25 per week for extra apples, milk, bread, and misc stuff, like last minute ice-cream cravings. I am also going to make bread a few times and freeze it to have every now and then. So that will be about $350 for everything. Hopefully. When I get home, I do need to spend about 30 minutes or so and repackage the meats into smaller portions and freeze them.

Usually I budget $500 a month on groceries/eating out, and spend somewhere between $500 and $600. I know, I am a great budgeter, right? So now I should have $150 to $200 leftover that I can spend on extra pantry items or days that I really want something else or for things I forgot.

It really did work the last time I did this, so I hope that it will work out this time. It's much easier to go to the store for just 2 or 3 things each week instead of a whole cart of things, especially when I'm usually dragging 3 of the kids with me. I have found that Walmart has the best prices in this area. I never shop at Bashas or Safeway unless they have a good sale and then I just get those sale items there, and get my other things at Walmart, even though I hate the checkout lines there.

Wish me luck!