Groceries

An old friend of mine IM'd me to see how the job search was going for Brian. That led to a discussion of the things we had cut back on. We talked about the gym, goals of not buying anything new, etc. I mentioned to her that I had managed to feed my family of 6 this week on a budget of less than 125.00. She asked how, and I told her I used to browse my circulars for their adds, but now I use http://www.southernsavers.com/ . It works for me, I live in the south. I plan my menu (NEVER did that before) and have easily cut 300.00 a week for groceries down to 125 or less, AND managed to make the girls stop and think about snacks before they just randomly eat out of boredom. I wasn't convinced that printing coupons was worth the time, until I saved 84.00 one week on groceries. I'm not a woman carrying a binder in the grocery store yet, but give me time, I may join those ranks yet. This week's budget went toward dinner items, school lunch stuff, and fruits and veggies.

One thing I've noticed about this whole coupon thing though is how much I DON'T buy anymore. I'm really trying to stick to the idea of cooking from scratch as much as possible, and considering packaging when I buy so many of the coupons are not what I am buying, but I managed to find a few things every week, and then max out on printing them.

One thing I wished my grocery stores here did that I used to use in Washington were the dry bins. I used to shop at Poulsbo Market, in Poulsbo Washington. I LOVED that store. I could bring in my own bag, and get as much dry good as I needed. It might be pasta, or flour, or beans, or whatever. It made sense to do it that way, and with my determination to cut down on packaging, I'm bummed that none of the stores around here do that . I've also cut back on plastic containers in the pantry - I use mostly glass, and try to get everything out of cardboard as fast as possible (we get moths otherwise).

Just so you don't think I'm skimping on meals, here is what we are having this week:
Sunday: beef veggie soup (my lunch for the rest of the week - some veggies from the farmer's market), and homemade bread
Monday: big salad night, deviled eggs
Tuesday: roasted chicken, rice, and broccoli (again, stocked up with b1g1 deals from the past)
Wednesday: spaghetti (easy, stock up on pasta, and sauce attempted from this summer)
Thursday: pork chops, mashed potatoes (both b1g1 free deals) and corn from my summer stash
Friday: leftovers

These are practical tips as well, if you're interested: http://www.owlhaven.net/2009/10/03/living-where-grocery-costs-are-high/

Owlhaven also just published a new book called family feasts on 75.00 a week, and if she can do that with 10 kids, I can get my bill down with 4. Pop over there and check her out. www.owlhaven.net