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Sunday, August 2, 2009

grocery games, updated & then some

Ok, reeeaaal quick.

I'm not going to turn into one of those crazy grocery-savings-recipes blogs. Promise.
Even though I do read them.

However, you may have noticed the lack of internet activity because, well - we need to save the mula these days (by not having internet at home) and I'm attempting to do that very fervently with our groceries as well.

I had previously heard that $1000.00/month was very typical for a family of five.
So I made my goal $600.00/month.
Which means, I make my weekly goal $100.00/week to account for random trips & overages.
So, it's 10pm at night and I'm about to go grocery shopping. (I've spent two hours planning to make this trip!) Last week I did it for $102.00 and actually almost choked, I was so shocked. Tonight, I've got my list down and I've added it all up on our grocery store's website and I've got my total down to $98.76! WOOO HOO!

So, here's what we're eating this week:
(monday) chicken divan
(tuesday) beef enchiladas
(wednesday) chicken fajitas
(thursday) I'm leaving open for leftovers or something random
since my Dad & Judith are in town
(friday) tuna melts & steamed veggies

Since I'm doing super-low carb eating, I'll be eating:
lots and lots of spinach salad with chicken and sour cream (my staple)
frozen blueberries & light whipped cream
& a spoonful of peanut butter if I'm good!

For lunch, the babes will have:
turkey dogs
spinach quesadillas
pb&jelly
mac n' cheese
and leftovers!

All for $98. 76.
woosh.

update, update! I postponed my trip to this morning so I could have my
wits about me and got the bill down to $87.86.
(but I did forget the sweet potatoes)
Saving money on groceries may be my new obsession.

Someone asked for the recipes so here they are!
This week I'm using recipes from 5 Dollar Dinners, a blog that Kalle suggested.
Chicken Divan
Beef Enchiladas
Chicken Fajitas
& Tuna Melts

I actually don't use coupons (yet) because our grocery store doesn't issue store coupons. I clipped about six hundred coupons this weekend, but they were all manufacturer coupons - and mostly all for toiletries - no basic food items. The grocery store we use, Albertsons, doesn't issue store coupons but they do have amazing club card deals so that's what I scouted out online before I went shopping - then wrote down exactly brand to buy and what the highest I should pay per unit was, based off of the online prices.

Some tips/tricks I used this week:
- Bought frozen chicken strips instead of fresh chicken,
will cook it then shred/cube it for recipes (also saves time cooking)
- Bought Jiffy blueberry muffin mix for playdates
($.88 instead of like $3 for fancier muffins)
- Making my own cheese & enchilada sauces instead of buying them
- Using $.69 taco seasoning instead of buying cumin & chili powder
(two staples I'm out of since leaving New Beginnings)

ok, I promise I'll leave this blog alone for now!

9 comments:

Leigh said...

i love reading this kinda stuff and huge props for keeping the bill down. Gray is always crazy concerned about how our grocery bill will be when the babe(s) is/are home but honestly I can't cook for 2 to save my life so we always have tons of leftovers. Recipe planning for a week though is the one things I can't do at all, I try then by Thursday I have totally changed my mind for what I want. Right now my goal is to cook at home 5 nights a week then we have date night and a cheap night if we need it. If you do this every week I would love it!

Annie said...

Awesome, now you've inspired me to go do my meal planning.

Old Woman said...

coupon's girl...get coupons! buy the stuff that's on sale. i started this a year ago and have gotten it to where i can save $100 every trip....no joke. order the sunday only subscription to the local newspaper. its worth it! clip coupons with your morning coffee. when you get to the check out line you will feel the rush. you've inspired me to take it a step further.

indyhumes said...

Could you post what kind of coupons you are using and where you are getting your recipies?

Nicole said...

jess
so inspiring! for real i'm doing this the next time i grocery shop. also does it affect benjamin when you do low carbs? i did it for a week with magnolia & she hated me! but i really reeeeeally need to jump on that wagon asap!

kellycowan said...

let's chat more about this on thursday!

inthemiddleoflife said...

Hey girls, there's a Coupon workshop being held at our church this weekend (not sponsored by us, just using the building) and the website has a LOT of coupons and links to coupons on it. It is called Southern Savers, but there are some national and worldwide sites on there as well.
Go to: http://www.southernsavers.com/free-stuff/

Leigh said...

no don't leave it alone i love love love it! keep it coming. i have never been to an albertson's before but one of Gray and I's knew favorites is to buy the pizza dough at publix in the bakery section then make pizza with all the left over veggies from the past few meals. super fun and crazy easy. that equals an A+++ in my book.

suzannah | the smitten word said...

i love saving money at the grocery store--it's like a weird puzzle to me. i used to be really intense about coupons and store circulars, and buying stuff on sale with coupons. my store prints what you save on the receipt--i could get it up to $50 sometimes.

then i realized that even though i was "saving" a ton, i was also spending way too much on processed, convenience foods.

now, i usually go in unarmed, without the coupons or knowledge of sales, just to stock up on staples and fresh foods, and our food receipts are way down. but i don't beat myself up about buying some convenience-type things, because i know it saves us from buying expensive (and unhealthy) take-out.

this summer, my husband and i work (and eat) at a summer camp, and i mostly forget how to cook. we will be adjusting big time very soon!

meal planning is definitely the way to go (and i discipline i need to get back into!)