Saving on Groceries

With prices going up every day (or so it seems), we’re trying to pay more attention to what we buy. Unless there’s something I really need, there are just some things I will not buy. There are things I will buy whether they’re on sale or not. A few weeks ago, I found “cotton candy grapes” at Aldi. They were not on sale and were more than I would usually pay but they looked interesting so I bought them. They were delicious but not something I will buy often because of the price.

We aren’t going to go without but we are being more careful.

Every week, I make a menu in advance. In the past, if there was something Vince had asked for, that would go on the menu. If there was a recipe I wanted to try, that went on the menu. A couple of weeks ago, I changed the way I do things.

1. I’m only buying groceries every 10 – 14 days.
2. I rarely have anything on my list.
3. I printed up this sheet and I write down on it everything I buy that will be used until I go to the grocery store again.
4. When I get home, this list goes up on the fridge.
5. As I use something, I mark it off the list. That way, I can see what hasn’t been used and make sure everything does get used.

It will be at least 10 days before I go back to the store. The cabbage, broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes are enough for at least two meals. Like I said, we will have some kind of beans at each meal, along with a salad.

As far as salads, there’s enough spinach and Romaine for several salads, enough avocados for eating on sandwiches and making guacamole. I have lettuce growing so we can have tossed green salads several meals.

There’s meat in the freezer or canned so we’ll see how long this kind of planning works.