Speaking of saving on Groceries

[imcheap]

In addition to "Leftover Pizza", at my house we like to make "Leftover Wraps". Lots of fillings are good wrapped in a flour tortilla with a little cheese. We like meatloaf burritos. Heat a can of refried beans and warm leftover meatloaf crumbled into a little salsa. Wrap in a warm flour tortilla.

[Denise6333]

Right now my weekly budget for both groceries and "walmart" stuff incl soda and pets is about $125 we are a family of 6 though my oldest child is 8 and the youngest 12 weeks. Budget does include diapers and pullups.

I make a monthly menu, and base it alot on the sales that I have stocked up on and put in the freezer. I also find sticking to the budget is easier if I take cash to the store. I then olny have so much to spend. When I make out my grocery list I make a note of the rounded up price, I then trim off what I need to to keep with in the budget.

I clip lots of coupons and shop the sales. I live in a smaller town where driving from store to store is not to much of a hassle.

I have found with the juiice boxes it is actually less expensive for me to buy the boxes. We hardly ever drink juice, mostly water and milk, if I make up a container of juice it usually goes bad before we drink it where as the juice boxes keep. I stock up on them when they are on sale and I have coupons.


Even though I am a stay at home mom I still use my crock pot 3-4 times a week. I find that on top of cooking it works great to keep things ready to eat. I try to have mine casseole, spegetti what ever ready to go and in the frig by early afternoon or morning. I then put it in the crock pot aabout 3 hours before dinner too reheat adn keep warm, then when we return from gymnastics or other after school activities dinner is ready, even if it isn't something that should be cooked all day.

Hope this is of some help
Smiles
Denise

[sue witt]

Hello,

I went to the grocery store one day no list no nothing and when i got home i did not even have enough to fix dinner. Has that happen to you? So one saturday i sloved my problem i wrote down every thing i had in the house to eat and grouped it together veggies meats fruits and so on, i made notes to where everything was. I made notes on what i was low on what i was out of and what i wanted to fix. I also had some blank calendars and i planned menus on what i had INSTEAD OF WHAT I WANTED !!!!! I check the sale papers everyweek and i stock up that way, I keep a running list of everything i have so that way if i run low on something i know to start lookin for it in the sales papers. This is how my menus go, Sunday is always a special dinner i am following my grandma's tradition so i usually have a Meat and 2 veggies bread and desert. I have a veggie night a casserol night a pizza or pasta night and we try to have dry beans once a week. My meals are VERY cheap and just about everything i get is on sale. I plan my meals on Sunday night and i always do through my inventory and make corrections so i can keep my list accurate. I make homemade snackes for lunches and i try to cut down on everything. I dont feel deprived like most people would think i enjoy hunting for the bargain. I also take 10.00 a week and use only for stock items. I have only been doing this for a while and i had to take my extra bedroom and turn into a pantry because i ran out of room, you should see the looks i get when i buy 19 cans of speggti sauce they run sales here where you can get CAN speggti sauce like hunts or delmont for .48 cents a can, how is that for a bargain?

[Mrs. Bookworm]

Jackied,
Today I challenged myself to plan 2wks of meals. I logged them in on the monthly calendar that I keep on the fridge.

I made a grocery list, went to the store and cooked bulk chicken and ground beef to freeze. Labled what it was for so all I would have to do is look on the calendar and pull it out of the freezer.

Some of the meals are:
BBQ stir fry w/rice
Chili Cheese Dogs
Italian sausage pasta bake (already in freezer)
Burritos (taco meat cooked and in freezer)
Salmon Patties
Hamburgers (Patties made and in freezer)
Meatloaf Sandwiches (my families love sandwiches)
Breakfast Burritos

I designated Sunday to be breakfast for dinners since I either have to work or I sleep in.

I also made a list of different meals that I keep handy so that I can just choose my family favorites. If I get stuck than I have them pick at least to meals for each person.

I plugged in the easy meals on the nights that I work late or have BUNCO.

I usually spend about $250-$300 a month.
I use coupons. I usually go to my local store once a month that doubles my coupons

Well I am by no means the organized queen, but I am sure going to this a try. I have a family of 3 men in my family who refuses to cook for themselves. So with me working full-time, I am trying to make it as easy as possible for me.

Good Luck
Mrs. Bookworm

P.S. I have gotten a lot of tips from other posts on this site.

[LiveSimply]

I read on another board (I think) a tip from MelissaSue where she uses $10 to stock up on an item that is on sale. Anyway, since I have limited space and don't know if we would use the food before it spoils I do it a little differently. I use $5 to stock up on one sale item and the other $5 to stock up on another sale item. By using this method it seems that we have food all over the place and am setting food aside to donate to the local food pantry. Keep those sales coming, I'm enjoying this way of shopping. Hope shampoo keeps a long, long time.

[janet]

Hi Denise, I was at the dollar store yesterday and they carry disposable diapers. Never saw that there before. So check out your $$ store and see if they have any.

janet

[kavando]

OK. I too am in that situation of working and being gone from my house literally 12 hours by the time I leave in the morning and get home at night. A year or so ago I tried to get in to the crockpot 'thing'. I don't know if my problem was using the wrong recipes or what but I found that the meals were just not that great (dried out or something) when cooked THAT long. Most recipes seem to say 'cook for 6 to 8 hours'. You experienced ladies tell me if it was the recipes I was using or is being away 12 hours just too long to work well. I would love to have dinner ready when I get home. I get no help in the kitchen department and it is running me ragged. I just feel sure that someone out there can help. Thanks.

[jmohler]

Kavando bemoaned the fact that crock pot meals may seem dry or overcooked -
There is a new solution! I recently saw a timer that plugs into the outlet. The crock pot cord plugs into that. You set the timer to cook the food the desired length of time, after which it merely keeps the food warm until you're ready to eat. This may make the pot more useful for those who have to be away for extended hours prior to a meal. Look in kitchen shops, kitchen magazines or on line for it. I believe I saw it in a recent "Cooking Light" Magazine ad for their Country Store. Good luck.
Jan

[autumnmum 2002]

~ ~

Good afternoon ladies....

~ I'd like to put my two cents worth in.....if anyone is interested in manufacturer's coupons I have them! I began a coupon swap club last July, with the blessings of Amanada. (Oh, what a wonderful lady! She has let me into a world of pleasure giving.) I have a completely different way of swapping coupons, that has been thru trial and error, and finally I believe, that all the members are satisfied, and are making a great deal of savings. I invite anyone interested, to e-mail me (carolzap@webtv.net) and I will give you all the information concerning my coupon club. There is no harm in asking, and I do hope that any of you, would do so. We've grown to 91 members, as of today.

Here's hoping to hear from some of you.

[3msmom]

Ladies, I just have to say that I am impressed by all the great tips and ideas that you have given me. I am going to change the way I shop and cook for my family.

Keep up the good work!