Have you ever ended up somewhere and had no idea how you got there? Well, that’s what happened to me and my retreat from Once-A-Month Shopping.
Somehow I went from shopping once a month, to shopping twice a month, to shopping once a week. And with each step backward I took, I saw the grocery bill rise. But, I let it happen and even thought it was no big deal. I told myself it was because we were eating healthier, more organic items (and to an extent that was true), but then I felt the crunch (aka Buying a New Van) and knew the grocery budget was the first place that needed to be streamlined.
I went back to my Original Shopping List and reworked it, tightening up even more. Yesterday, I made a new Master Meals List and a new Master Grocery List and then went shopping to see what the savings would be.
Are you sitting down???
I had been spending between $150-$200 each week on groceries for our family of 7. Last night I spent $355 for the entire month!
Now, this is not the complete total because I will have to purchase eggs, milk, and some fresh fruits and veggies along the way, but WOW! I can hardly believe it! This totally renews my faith in Once-A-Month Shopping!
I also went back to shopping more than one store. I stopped doing this at my husband’s insistence during my last pregnancy. It was just too much for me to traipse around from store to store trying to save money. He felt my time and energy were more important than what money could be saved. But last night I decided to go to 2 stores: Aldi and SuperTarget (they are in the same vicinity and there is a better selection of organic at Target than there is at WalMart and our local Kroger store). I managed to fill only one cart per store (but I still had my handy dandy 11 year old in tow just in case!)
It had been quite some time since I’d been in Aldi and was pleasantly surprised at just how much of my list could be purchased there. I even got a good buy on some organic cereal that wasn’t on my list but that will definitely eventually be used.
At Target I found high fructose corn syrup free bread (I do buy some bread because there are days when bread making just doesn’t get done) for $1.49 on closeout and bought all they had (ahhhh, the joy of multiple freezers!) I also had a coupon for the organic chips I like there.
Now the real test begins…
Just how long will all this food last us? Can we make it until October 15th? How much more money will go into replenishing the perishable items?
I was very careful to make sure I had a solid list of repeatable meals for both breakfast and lunch and a nice array of dinner meals with room for eating out approximately once a week. So far I am very pleased with what I came up with and excited to find out if I really will see a difference in the bank account this coming month!
Once A Month Shopping Posts:
Introduction
Master Meal List
Master Grocery List
Shopping Day
Back to Once a Month Shopping I Go – this post
Amy @ Raising Arrows says
Angela,
Part of the trick was I *knew* I could spend less. Honestly, what I was doing when I was shopping more often was finding more things to buy. Yes, I had a weekly menu and shopping list, but I was always adding extras. Shopping monthly allows me to add extras without going overboard. It forces me to “make do” with what I have.
If you’d like to try it, I’d encourage you to take my list, rework it for your needs and see what happens. (That’s how I got started) You could definitely be right that you can’t spend less, but it might be worth it to try it. 🙂
Blessings,
~Amy
Angela says
It’s interesting how much less money you spend shopping once a month instead of once a week! Were you still doing menu plans and grocery lists when you were shopping more frequently? I shop once a week according to a weekly menu plan, and I’m not sure that I could spend any less than I am now. What’s the trick?!
Fruitful Harvest says
I need to tighten the shopping belt too!
I need to stay out of the stores!
I like to make a roast or chicken in the crock pot for meal #1.
For meal #2 take the left over meat and stretch it into a casserole. If I can spare(hold back)even a bit meat for meal #3 A veggy soup with a tad of meat!If there is not meat left by day 3 then I just make a bean soup…no meat!
I prep all my veggies when I get them home. Cutting them up,making them quick easy to grab! and less likey to rot in the fridge!
Thanks for the reminder….I don’t even know how much I spend! Sad I know. Its had to save if you have no clue what is being spent! I will start right now keeping better track!
Blessings,
Georgiann
*Mirage* says
Yay for saving money! 😀 I shop twice a month and hubby picks up the perishables on his way home from work on the off weeks. I also menu plan. I used to plan specific menus for specific days and it was NOT working for me at all. Not at all. I finally decided to just make a list of all the meals we use, buy enough groceries for all of them, and then keep the list in a protective sleeve on the fridge. I use a dry erase marker to cross out the meals as I use them so every night I can see at a glance all the options of what I have the groceries for. I’ve been doing it that way for a month now and I have not worked out the $ (hubby is in charge of the money and shops with me. I don’t handle any money except the kids’ clothing allowance.) but I can tell we’re saving a noticeable amount because we are spending only a little more per grocery trip but we’re going half as often! Plus when the total comes up, my husband doesn’t look at it anymore and then tighten his jaw and act grouchy the rest of the week. 😉 He’s happier and I’m happier. Plus with doing it the way I’m doing it, no specific days assigned to each meal, it’s SO much less stress for me. I used to look at the planned meal for the day and then panic becuase I didn’t have enough time to do that one, or wish I’d put a more complicated meal on a day I unexpectedly wound up less busy. This way I can look at the list and pick the meal that suits my needs for that day best. If I wake up feeling like chicken, I take out some chicken to thaw and we have chicken. If hubby or daughter requests something special, I see if it’s still on the list and if so that’s what we have. It allows me to be so much more flexible and yet still planned out so therefore stress-free! I am loving this system and plan on continuing to do it this way. I think I will take a peek at your meals list though and see if there’s anything on there we might like to try, if that’s okay? I try to have 2 try-something-new meals per month so I’m always on the hunt for new ideas! 😉
So do you have your meals planned to specific days or do you have a system similar to mine?
Amanda Sikes says
I also, once a month shop and I usually fall right around $300 for our family 0f 6. I love once a month shopping. I am interested and will be taking the time to see your master list and such. I am always looking for meal ideas. Now that school is back in seesion I am needing to find more breakfast and lunch ideas. T
Thanks for the great post. Now I know that I am not the only out there that does this routine.
HallMom says
I sent requests for your google docs. I used to do once a month shopping and am now down to once a week, but I know I need to change. i would love to see your menu and lists.
Amy @ Raising Arrows says
Christina,
This is exactly what I am doing…big shopping once a month and then going back again to get perishable items. I’m hoping to stay under $400 altogether. I was just thrilled (and a bit shocked) to see how much I was saving by not going for a full load of groceries every single week.
And thank you so much for your prayers…been missing that little girl.
~Amy
Christina says
Dear Amy,
Thanks for your comment on my blog. It meant a lot to me to know that you were praying for me and compassionate towards the ache in my heart!
I want you to know that I also think of and pray for you and your family often. Just yesterday I was thinking about sweet Emily and a sorrow for you welled up in my heart and I began to pray for you.
As to the once a month shopping.. my hard part with that is that we run out of milk and produce long before a month is up. We have gone from weekly shopping down to every 10 days and now down to every 2 weeks. I do BIG shopping once a month and in the middle I get more produce and perishables. Is there a better way to do it?
Michaela Dunn Leeper says
I had to re-comment as I typo’ed the other one pretty bad:
I need to get back to twice a month shopping. Unfortunately everything is so close here & there’s no traffic, so hitting the stores often has become easy. Not to mention, I’ve fallen out of the habit of menu making making & feeding my freezer. I could use the excuse that we’ve been sooooo busy this summer with new chickens, new rabbits, the garden & daycare, among other stuff, but really! Is there an excuse?