when you go to the grocery, do you buy the ingredients for the weeks meals or just throw a bunch of stuff in..?
your cart? when you get home do you ever find that you dont have the necessary items to make anything? everyone in my house eagerly awaits the sale a...
your cart? when you get home do you ever find that you dont have the necessary items to make anything?
everyone in my house eagerly awaits the sale ad so we can see whats buy 1 get 1 that week.
Grocery shopping for me is a big production.
During the week, I keep a running list, adding to the list, anything I’m soon to run out of. The day the market adverts arrive, I sit down, and plan my dinner menus according to what’s going on sale, and what I already have on hand and need to use up. Then I sit down with my coupon file, and pull any coupons that match items I need, that will be going on sale.
The hope is that I can get everything at one market. Mostly that is the case. But fortunately, my two favourite markets are across the street from each other. If I have to go to two markets, I pack a cooler in my trunk, with a few Blue Ice blocks, for the foods that need to be kept cold.
I have a big freezer, so I cook, portion out, and freeze a lot when things are at a really great price. I can also have a home cooked meal on the table while others are still standing in a take-out line. I seldom come home with any impulse buys other than produce that looks especially fresh, or artisan breads (cheese breads are a weakness). I do a big shop, every 10-14 days, with a produce/dairy/bread run a couple times in between. I used to shop weekly. But since I started shopping this way, not only is it more convenient for me, but I’ve slashed my grocery bill by about a third.
well we totally just grab stuff and we dont plan what we eat everyday but if there is something that we want that week we get the ingredients. mostly since we are on a tight schedule we have watever night one night a week
I only buy whatever is on sale that week, and yes, I almost always find that I can’t scrape together a decent meal with any of it.
Pasta and brussel sprouts anyone?
you mean plan the weeks meals and buy for them??!? go make a grocery list like aunt jenny, but thursday better not turn into spaghetti night like at pop’s.
don’t forget to put 4 cartons of pall malls and 3 pounds of folgers coffee on the weeks list….
we try to get stuff for meals for at least two weeks. but since we have different diets we just chuck stuff in and hope for the best.
Meal planning by the week (or more) saves money on fuel also. I always make my shopping list by knowing what I will be cooking. Silly to need to make a run to the store for one or two items.
As someone else said, I keep a running list of stuff I need. Then when I need to shop I pick the stuff from the list that I need immediately for the actual grocery list. I shop about 5 days a week, even for 2 or 3 things so they’ll be fresh. Anything that I have a coupon for I put a star by it so I remember to use the coupon. Our grocery bill has gone from $500 a month to $200 a month by shopping more often and sticking to the list. My only splurge is picking up an Eating Right frozen dinner occasionally when it’s on sale.
We shop by a list once per month. Sometimes we need to pick up extra bread during the month.
Yeah. No, I work off a list, but it’s usually just the usual stuff that we keep around… not often planning dinners *until* I get home and see what we’ve ended up with. And yes, it drives me insane when I get home after having spent $80 and have nothing for dinner. But…. because I’ll often forget what I was thinking or what looked good and therefore got put in the basket ~ as soon as the groceries are home and unloaded, I’ll jot a bunch of notes on a (sorry sugaree) postit and stick it to the fridge. That way when it’s dinnertime I will be reminded that I was thinking spinach salad, for instance, this week. Really helps cut down on the science projects at the bottom of the produce drawer, ya know?