| How I Saved My Family a Ton of Money Grocery Shopping by Sabrina Camacho This plan took a little preparation time and tweaking, but the final "product" (the savings in both time and money) made it WELL worth the effort! Step One: Sit your family down and all of you brainstorm your favorite meals. Include all the sides you like with each meal. For example: my family loves to have peas with their mashed potatoes. So, if we have mashed potatoes with, say, a roast, I'll probably be serving peas. The family also learns that corn is actually a starch, so we're not having potatoes or rice when we have corn. Etc. Keep working until you have at least 30 home-cooked meals that your family eats. Step Two: Divide the list of meals into four "seasons". Like, heavy soups and stews are normally good in the winter months, chef salad makes a great summer-time meal, that kind of thing. Remember you won't be wanting to heat up your kitchen with items in the oven if at all possible! Anyway, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Include in those seasons your meals you enjoy for the holidays and the "required" foods that are included at those times. For example: Spring (March, April, May) - Easter meal Summer (June, July, August) - Cookouts Fall (September, October, November) - duh, Thanksgiving Winter (December, January February) - Christmas, New Years Step Three: Divide each of those seasons of meals into four weeks, maybe even six weeks if you have enough meals listed. Try to vary your meals. Like, don't serve chicken breasts 3 days in a row, that kind of thing. Step Four: This step will very likely take you the most time. For each of these weeks, make a grocery list. Type them up on the computer. Include everything from soup to nuts. Include breakfast and lunch items. Include cleaning products you regularly buy. Include personal hygene products. Keep these lists on your computer, because you will print one out every week (and you'll be adding to it as things come up). Step Five: Print out the current week list. Cross things off your list that you DON'T need. Soon your cabinets will be streamlined, you won't have 8 cans of tomato paste taking up space in your kitchen cabinets. You won't come home with a second bag of carrots because "you just couldn't remember if you had any." Go ahead and print out next weeks list and put it on the refrigerator. Have family members CIRCLE items they need or see you're running low on. By the time it's grocery shopping day, you should just be able to update a few items and be on your way. Last Step: Shopping Day. I'm blessed. I have an Aldi and a large Bi-Lo right next to each other. When I shop, I go to Aldi's first and get everything I possibly can. Anything else on the list Aldi's doesn't carry - I get at Bi-Lo. For a family of four (2 of them teens), 3 meals a day plus snacks, cleaning products, personal-care items, and all, I spend less than $100.00 a week using this system. Now, I have a daughter that works at a Food Lion that calls me when they have loss-leader meats. My most recent "score" was boneless, skinless, chicken breasts for .63 a pound. I bought 32 pounds and spent $20.00! My freezer is full. |