I'm a list maker. I mean, like, a hard-core list maker. I make lists of things that need to get accomplished, Calendar app fanatic, and have grown to love Siri so much for reminding me of so many important things that I would've never remembered had her creepy voice not reminded me.
In the 7 years the Amazing Mister and I have been married, I have gone to the grocery store maybe 4 times without a list. We end up coming home with Hamburger Helper, frozen pizza and 1 package of toilet paper on those weeks.
Grocery shopping usually includes a not so orderly trail of little blonde people. So, I need my list to survive. And not only do I need my list, but I need it to be organized. Having 1, and only 1, store that I frequent, I make my list according to the layout of the store. It makes my shopping experience so much more joyful to have everything- well the things I can control at least- to have everything all sorted out just right.
But with our family income being reduced a bit in the last couple of weeks, I had to get a little more resourceful in my shopping. Desperate to not enter the coupon game and visit 18 stores per week, I racked my brain as to what we could do to cut back. First, I would have to meal plan more than I already was doing.
Meal planning has been crucial for me to keep our menu lively and non-redundant. But this past week.. I really combined my awesome list making skillz with my menu planning skillz. I planned our week up and down, from breakfast, lunch and dinner to even the snacks. It's all my menu plan for the week.
I scoured Pinterest, the favored recipes already in the forefront of my mind, and recent sales ads for recipes. I clicked on a few grocery stores that are REALLY close to my house. (For me to visit multiple grocery stores, it would not be worth it for me to drive further than 6 miles from my home at this point. The gas spent in my typical "Soccer-Mom" car would not be worth the few bucks I would save at Grocery Store C that is 15 miles from home.)
And then I made my grocery list based on ingredients needed for said meals, snacks, and other household items. Simple enough. But I also based my selections between store A and store B based on which store had the lower price for the items I needed. As I made my list, I made sure to make note of how much each item would cost. (Of course, produce would be a rough guesstimation. However, I've bought nearly the same produce for so long and know the seasonal prices well enough to know the approximate $'s I would spend on it.)
This whole process took about 3 hours of my Saturday between the listing, the planning and the shopping. On a grocery budget that was already tight, without cutting anything off my normal shopping list, and no couponing... our family saved well over $30 in one week's worth of groceries. Well worth the hard work for those few short hours!
What are your tricks for the grocery store? How do you save a dime without losing your mind? Have any habits that help you out?
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Things you might not have known about me.
1. I'm painfully socially awkward. I sometimes have an almost panic attack on the way to church each Sunday morning. I definitely love my church and consider most to be as dear to me as my own flesh and blood. However, I cringe at what I may say to the poor new soul at church who has to hear me flounder through a horrific attempt at conversation. Those who have known me for a good length of time find vast amounts of humor in the quirky way I communicate. But bless those new people's hearts.. they just don't get me yet. And I'm a total mess of nerves just trying to make small talk.
2. I could probably eat Mexican food every day of my life for the rest of my life and never tire of it. Quesadillas, enchiladas, chips, salsa, tortillas, guacamole, nachos, rice, beans, chimichangas, burritos... let me count the ways I love you. I do. I really do love you. It goes without saying that I could probably also eat my bodyweight in tortilla chips in one sitting. Oh, the crispity goodness!
3. One of my prized possessions is my library card. I've loved to read as long as I can remember. Growing up in a family full of hunters, I spent most weekends (November thru January) of my childhood on the deerlease. I can remember packing a good 2-3 books for each weekend trip and almost always finishing all of them. As an adult, I visit the county library close to 3 times a month. And I feel like the hold system is 50times more awesome than any express check-out lane at any grocery store... ever...anywhere. It's like I'm a total VIP going in and getting the contents out of the brown envelope, scanning them through, and exiting the building in a total of 5 minutes.
3. If I could grow a garden, at least 90 percent of it would have to be cilantro. While cilantro can be found in many a great Mexican dishes, it still needs a category of its own. It's cilantro. Each Sunday, our church dismisses with a boisterous and jubilant version of the Doxology. With just as much joy as I sing that out each Sunday, I sing it out each time I pull that beautifully fragrant, leafy herb outta my produce drawer in my fridge. Hallelujah. Cilantro truly is a blessing from God.
4. My music playlist will never be as cool as my husband's. That handsome tall blonde man is to credit for any music of worth on my playlist. If not for him, you might have thought my iTunes belonged to some 14 year old girl. I'm thankful that he shares his great taste with me!
5. Johnson and Johnson baby products will be used on my children until they leave for college. Well, they would be if I have any say over it. Our oldest is 6.. the youngest is 2. Each child is bathed with the baby stuff each night and slathered in lotion after bath-time. I love the stuff. The silkiness. The way it smells whilst being used. And the way it smells hours later. Oh, and the way my kids covers and pajamas always have the faintest Johnson smell to them.
6. I will always be that weird lady you see at a stop light dancing unabashedly in the driver's seat. There's just something about a good song on the radio that makes me dance goofy. That, and my kids almost always find it entertaining. Well, that, and that, and that I will always be that goofy person sometimes dancing to the beat of my own drum. So glad there are forgiving words like "quirky" to describe people like me. Those words always sound so much more optimistic than "weirdo."
7. I catch onto every trend 10 years later. Pointy toe-d heels/stilettos were around a good 6-7 years before I had my first pair. Skinny jeans repulsed me the first few years I saw them. And I swear, everytime I say I will never own " (fill in the blank here) " that thing becomes the hottest, newest trend. A decade later, I join said trend and eat my ancient, dusty words.
2. I could probably eat Mexican food every day of my life for the rest of my life and never tire of it. Quesadillas, enchiladas, chips, salsa, tortillas, guacamole, nachos, rice, beans, chimichangas, burritos... let me count the ways I love you. I do. I really do love you. It goes without saying that I could probably also eat my bodyweight in tortilla chips in one sitting. Oh, the crispity goodness!
3. One of my prized possessions is my library card. I've loved to read as long as I can remember. Growing up in a family full of hunters, I spent most weekends (November thru January) of my childhood on the deerlease. I can remember packing a good 2-3 books for each weekend trip and almost always finishing all of them. As an adult, I visit the county library close to 3 times a month. And I feel like the hold system is 50times more awesome than any express check-out lane at any grocery store... ever...anywhere. It's like I'm a total VIP going in and getting the contents out of the brown envelope, scanning them through, and exiting the building in a total of 5 minutes.
3. If I could grow a garden, at least 90 percent of it would have to be cilantro. While cilantro can be found in many a great Mexican dishes, it still needs a category of its own. It's cilantro. Each Sunday, our church dismisses with a boisterous and jubilant version of the Doxology. With just as much joy as I sing that out each Sunday, I sing it out each time I pull that beautifully fragrant, leafy herb outta my produce drawer in my fridge. Hallelujah. Cilantro truly is a blessing from God.
4. My music playlist will never be as cool as my husband's. That handsome tall blonde man is to credit for any music of worth on my playlist. If not for him, you might have thought my iTunes belonged to some 14 year old girl. I'm thankful that he shares his great taste with me!
5. Johnson and Johnson baby products will be used on my children until they leave for college. Well, they would be if I have any say over it. Our oldest is 6.. the youngest is 2. Each child is bathed with the baby stuff each night and slathered in lotion after bath-time. I love the stuff. The silkiness. The way it smells whilst being used. And the way it smells hours later. Oh, and the way my kids covers and pajamas always have the faintest Johnson smell to them.
6. I will always be that weird lady you see at a stop light dancing unabashedly in the driver's seat. There's just something about a good song on the radio that makes me dance goofy. That, and my kids almost always find it entertaining. Well, that, and that, and that I will always be that goofy person sometimes dancing to the beat of my own drum. So glad there are forgiving words like "quirky" to describe people like me. Those words always sound so much more optimistic than "weirdo."
7. I catch onto every trend 10 years later. Pointy toe-d heels/stilettos were around a good 6-7 years before I had my first pair. Skinny jeans repulsed me the first few years I saw them. And I swear, everytime I say I will never own " (fill in the blank here) " that thing becomes the hottest, newest trend. A decade later, I join said trend and eat my ancient, dusty words.
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