Grocery Shopping.. and recipes!

My husband brings home a decent amount of money. Plenty for us to live on, as well as some splurges. My reason for budgeting our household supplies so tightly is that it's the one area of our life where I do have some flexibility. Most of our other expenses are a set amount. We love to go visiting family, we love our electronic gadgets, and we love me being able to stay home with Liam. So, here we go. This will be sort of scattered, but I'm struggling to give this list of tips form.

I budget $200 per pay period for groceries, household/cleaning supplies, stuff for Liam, and hygiene products.At my next shopping trip, I'll itemize a list to show what we bought, and how we'll use it- as well as a general meal plan. I don't plan meals really. I keep a constant supply of certain things in the house and wing it when I buy other stuff. (More on that in a later post.)

Occasionally, we do go over- and that's why we also have a 'discretionary' budget. That's for movies, eating out, extra gas, birthday gifts, etc. I also dip into that budget for grocery overages.

Part of the reason I do that is because I'll see a great deal on something we use regularly and snap up as much as I can. I'll buy 20lbs of 'reduced for quick sale' beef or whatever and freeze it if I have the room. Even if that's 2 months worth of meat, at the low price it allows me wiggle room in my budget throughout that time.

I NEVER buy things we don't use a regular basis- even if they are on sale. For example, it takes us 6 months to use a bag of white flour, so buying a bunch just because they're on sale and will save me a dollar isn't saving me anything when they just take up freezer space I could use for other things.

Here's the way I cut our food costs as low as they are:
Payday- Pull your budget in cash. I cannot overspend if all I have is the cash in my hand.
List- Make your grocery list, and then rewrite it by priority.
Shop- Use a calculator. Keep track of what you're spending so far. When you hit your limit, stop putting things in your cart. I promise, your bottom listed things can be substituted.


A CHALLENGE:
Go look in your cupboards the night before grocery shopping. Either make a list of everything you have in your fridge and cupboards, or just pull it all out and set it on a table/counter/clean floor. Start creating meals with what you have on hand. When you've paired up everything you can, see what's left. Then make a list- using up those ingredients before adding new things. A few times a year I do this- and find we can often skip an entire shopping trip- or more. I took us 3 weeks on only spending about $40 to supplement what we had in the house. Try supercook.com . You input what you have on hand, and it shows you recipes with those ingredients.

A PLAN:
If you're here, you're wanting to reign in your grocery spending. Start with the basics. You don't need filet mignon. You don't need steak. Cheaper cuts of meat can be just as delicious if prepared well.

1- Buy your food in bulk. At Wegmans, we pay $1.99/lb for both boneless skinless chicken breasts and ground beef.  Take it home, and portion it up. A portion of meat should be about 4oz. per person, or about 25% of the entire meal if meat is the only protein you're using. We pack it all into baggies and freeze. Buying the 10lb bag of cheese and freezing it in quart sized bags can save about 50-60% per pound! Same with pepperoni and many other things.

2- Buy frozen produce. Frozen produce is often fresher and cheaper than what's in the 'fresh produce' section. Frozen produce is usually processed immediately after being harvested, whereas "fresh" produce often gets picked too soon and is often left to ripen on trucks during transport. The alternative to this is local farm markets which often have very reasonable prices. Look into markets in your area, as well as co-ops. 50% of your meal should be non-starch veggies and that last 25% starch (potatoes, bread, pasta, rice, etc.), plus a serving of either dairy or fruit.

3- Learn to stretch your pennies. My meatballs and burgers are up to 50% breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. I only use 80/20 beef. (Fat is essential to EVERY meal! Fat is what makes you feel full, and keeps you feeling satisfied. Additionally, 80/20 beef makes for a much moister meatball or burger.) Taco meat can be made using 1/2 meat and 1/2 lentils. I love the texture and flavor. 2-3 nights a week, find other sources of protein outside of meat. There's hundreds of ways to use beans, and even a homemade mac and cheese packs nearly as much protein as a piece of meat would.

4- Minimize your use of convenience foods. For health reasons alone, this is a good idea. But, the cost savings are substantial too. I'll be posting a lot of easy, FAST, recipes in the following weeks. (Note: I do use pre-shredded cheese. At Wegmans, it ends up cheaper than the bricks if I buy a huge package.)

5- DIY. I use a lot of chicken stock for various things. And I always make my own. Here's how:
First, I save all my veggie scraps- skins, peelings, the ends of celery, skins and end of onions, pretty much any scrap that isn't a potato. Then, I save every chicken scrap- bones, skin, fat, wing tips. I even save the carcass if we get a rotisserie chicken. All of that goes into a gallon size freezer bag. When I have two full bags, I make stock. Everything goes into a 12qt stock pot, which is then filled to a inch from the top with water. I also toss in about 2T each of pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Then I simmer it, uncovered, all day- adding water if I need to. By the evening, it should be about reduced by half. I let it cool, then shove the whole pot in the fridge. In the morning, I scrape the fat off (and save it for flavoring mashed potatoes and other dishes) and see the texture of the stock. It should be like Jell-O. If it's not, throw it back on to boil for a few hours. If it is, heat it just up to liquid, then strain it over a colander into another bowl/pot. Toss the veggies and chicken scraps and then portion and freeze the stock. This can work for chicken, beef, or even veggie stock. It's literally using garbage and providing a base for soup, stew, gravy, sauce, etc.

6- Be conscious of what you're buying. Check the sale flyer if you want- but DO NOT buy things just because they're on sale. You don't need to eat garbage or buy 30 liters of soda pop. I don't check the sale paper, nor do I use coupons. I simply prioritize our list and buy what I know we can afford. There's an issue in my area (and others I'm sure) of kids passing out in school- usually in the last half of the month. These are food stamp kids with parents who buy crap and not enough food to last the month. So they end up having their school lunch as their only meal. They're starving and end up getting sick and passing out at school. Typical food stamps for a family of 4 are more than my monthly budget to cover ALL household expenses, and we've never come close to running out of food.

7- Meal plan. Some people will benefit from meal planning. There is software all over the internet, but I prefer the pen and paper method myself. Again, take stock of what you have and build meals around that. Then make a list based on what you're lacking. Do your best to provide wholesome meals for your family. Your children don't need sugary overpriced cereals or granola bars as a snack. Some colored sugar sprinkled over crispy rice or corn flakes is just as fun, and oatmeal raisin cookies are cheap and fairly nutritious, not to mention a great way to exercise math skills and give them something to do.

8- Substitutions. Let's say you want to make a recipe that calls for an expensive soft cheese to be melted in- like fondue. Did you know that you can substitute cream cheese for just about any soft cheese in a fondue? Then adding a few spices can make it seem completely intentional. Instead of $10 worth of soft cheese, you used a $1 brick of cream cheese. I find that I can usually make a substitution for just about anything. I've stopped buying milk because it goes bad before we use it. For baking or whatever, I keep dry and evaporated milk on hand to whip up if I need it.

8- Don't deny yourself. Here's what I mean:
We rarely eat steak. It's overpriced and a piece of grilled chicken or a fabulously spiced burger is just as yummy. But, we saw some chuck eye steaks reduced to about $7 total, and we had some extra money, so we bought them. Last night I browned them up and then braised them for 3 hours with some red wine, water, celery, onion, garlic, carrots, cauliflower, and spices. Wit the veggies, we probably spent $9 total and it'll be 2 meals. That's $2.25 per person per meal. Still about twice what I normally end up with, but not at all bad for a special meal. If you have leftover money, treat yourself to a nice cut of meat, or some new ice cream flavor, or a new pair of shoes. ;-) You deserve a reward once in a while for saving money for your family.



Each post, I'll toss out another tip. For people in my local area, it may be store specific so you know where to go.

$6 Taco Mac & Cheese (Feeds 4-6)
1/4lb prepared taco meat ($.65 with taco spice)
3c. shredded cheese of your choice ($2.75)
2T cream cheese ($.25)
3T sour cream ($.35ish)
16oz elbows/rotini or similar ($2- Dreamfields Brand)

1. Cook and drain pasta- but leave in colander.
2. In pasta pot, mix the remaining ingredients and cook on low until cheese is melted and everything is warm. Taste and season to your tastes.
3. Add pasta and stir it up.

Optional: Top with salsa or other taco fixings.

For us, this is either 2 dinners, or a dinner, two lunches, and a snack.


NEXT POST: How to feed a family of 4 with 2 chicken breasts and $5. =D