Monthly Grocery Budget.

[Outpost JWB]

Good idea lazy gardener! I set aside $50 for fruit, vegetables, bread, milk & such. Then this morning, I got a coupon for free loaf of bread. Good til the 14th! I'll let you all know how much, if any of that is left or how much over I go.

We also are blessed to have a few gift cards for restaurants from Christmas gifts. Therefore, we will be eating out a meal once, or maybe twice a week.

Jesusfreak 101, I absolutely am NOT including animal feed in mine......still in denial. Maybe that can be something I work on next month. Lol!

 

[DuckLady]

I just signed up for a 30 trial of Plan to Eat and imported my favorite recipes and planned out what I want to make for the next 2 weeks. It makes your shopping list for you. I printed mine out and am heading to my pantry and freezer to check off what I have. Then based on what I don't have and what I don't want to buy before heading to The Big City on the 18th, I will change my plan around.

I love this stuff.

If anyone is on Plan to Eat, you can share recipes in the friends function! My username on there is DuckLady.

 

[donrae]

Looks like the $1246 is my total. considering approx $150 of that was birthday and holiday special meals, I think an even $1000 is doable for us. I'd thought about trying to see how low we could go, but I'm not feeling stocked up quite enough yet to do that. So, I'm just going to purchase as I normally would, but stay under budget.

I am going to be a bit more organized this month. Before I got sick I did menu planning and it worked well for us. I'm going back to that, a week at a time to start with. I'm also going to be more mindful about what veggies I purchase and actually planning when to use them, to minimize waste. Pre-chopping things like broccoli or cabbage could happen also.

Okay, menu through the 9th...
peach bbq chicken thighs, carrots/salad, corn muffins
pork steaks rice a roni peas
one of my previously prepared chicken crockpot meals from the freezer
Mexican bar (basically nachos for the carbers, taco salad for the low carbers)
pork roast with carrots, mashed taters
tilapia rice salad
lasagna
chicken broccoli casserole
beef and veggie soup. Some biscuit or muffin to go with.

I don't get paid until the 3rd, so fresh veggies are slim pickings this weekend. I'm also trying to be more mindful about shopping in season for veggies. Ideally I'd have a nice stash of home canned veggies on hand, but that didn't happen last year so we're relying on store bought veggies for pretty much everything. I have a small cold frame that has some lettuce growing. It looks like I can harvest enough for a salad for Honey and I at least, the boys would rather have carrots.

I also bought a fair amount of snack type food last month--crackers, etc. I'm going to cut way back on those and go with home made muffins or similar things instead. Two of the boys are pretty good fruit eaters, but I may try cutting up apples and such to tempt them more. Apples and peanut butter were my staple snack growing up, and it can sure fill you up nicely. I don't want to really structure the snacks, just have good options for them. Course, that means I may have to hide my bag of chips from them

.

 

[lazy gardener]

I want to find a few good recipes for home made crackers. Face it... cravings for salty crunch are pretty universal. If I can come up with some recipes that are easy and will meet that NEED!!! that will save some money in the budget right there. During the pre-Christmas advertising hoopla, hubby and I bought $100 of gift certificates to our favorite restaurant. Each $50 included a free $15 card. So, that's quite a pay back right there. Those should easily see us through most of the year. We get to have a date... sans kids, and not feel like the budget is getting kicked too bad in the process.

 

[donrae]

I've never really tried to make crackers except a low carb type. maybe that can be our adventure this month, trying cracker recipes!

 

[lazy gardener]

That sounds like a challenge if I've ever heard one. Ok readers. The challenge is on. Let's see some home made crackers.

 

[N F C]

I'll join in on the cracker challenge! I love to bake and DH especially loves salty snacks so this one is right up my alley. Going to have to do some recipe hunting and testing...

 

[donrae]

The nice thing about having a menu plan is, once I look at what I have on hand, my actual grocery list is pretty small

. And surprisingly enough, my check came in last night. Honey's on call tomorrow, so if he has to go out and see a patient I may go shopping tomorrow. I try not to take him, he ruins my flow bless his heart.

 

[GodofPecking]

There have been attempts to start farmer's markets in the area but they fizzled (more vendors than customers...we tried it one year with excess garden produce).

Don't call it a market, call it a swap. Instant success. There are also freebie ones where 'too much produce' is given away. People with a tree of fruit or anything like that bring it along and give it away and take home lots of different things. Every small business that prepares food, from bakeries to restaurants have unsold excess food they would rather give away than throw away, talking SMALL business here. If you let them know and demonstrate to them that you will turn up like clockwork at the right time after close of business, they'll be happy to load you up with more than you can ever use, with which to share.

Quote: you can use old fridges for nesting boxes as chickens nest in cavities same as woodpeckers and burrowing owls. They cost nothing and are perfect for extreme weather. cut a hole in the bottom and put it on it's side or back.

It's nice to be in the boonies but it's nice to be able to buy things when you want them.

Shopping to a list is the best way to save the most money. The secret is that you can add anything you like to the list and go shop for it when you make the trip to town. Because you do not live near the shops, you're in heaven because there is no endless parade of useless crap that jumps into your shopping budget which you really do not want 5 minutes later. Give thanks for living remotely because it makes you rich.

Trying to catch up...

Wal-Mart 14.97
Safeway 7.99
Rays 21.93
Wal-Mart 20.96
Rays 40.63
safeway 9.98
Wal mart 24.56
rays 30.96
cash and carry 41.90
Albertsons 19.48

now at 731.39. Sounds like an awful lot. Not even halfway through the month....

You're doing it all wrong, westerners are too willing to be fleeced and robbed when they go shopping. Find out where immigrants live and shop. The best things at the best prices come in shops where you can't read any of the labels. I kid you not. Take a chance and go to some of these shops and buy a few things. You'll be surprised.

Anything that is advertised is not worth buying. Golden rule.

 

[DuckLady]

The nice thing about having a menu plan is, once I look at what I have on hand, my actual grocery list is pretty small

. And surprisingly enough, my check came in last night. Honey's on call tomorrow, so if he has to go out and see a patient I may go shopping tomorrow. I try not to take him, he ruins my flow bless his heart.

I just did that with my list. Out of over 90 ingredients needed for 2 to 4 crockpot meals a week planned in January, I only need 9.

My hubby tends to sabotage my budget if he goes shopping with me. But that is what the "Stuff I Forgot to Budget For" line in my budget program is for.