$38.37
dd
That's IT!! That's all I have left in the grocery budget and it's ONLY the 17th of the month!!!
I used to be a PRO at making the grocery budget - A PRO. But lately, I've been lacking and slacking on it. this area lately.
I used to be a PRO at making the grocery budget - A PRO. But lately, I've been lacking and slacking on it. this area lately.
dd
BADLY.
hh
So yesterday I decided to actually look and see how much money I had left to spend.
gg
Imagine my shock and my horror when I found that I only had $38.37 left!
gg
So I'm sending out a plea for any money saving tips that you can offer. I'm not sure it's possible to finish the month of in the black on this one but I'm going to do my best. HELP!!
fff
We need to eat, y'all.
ffg
(See this is where it would be great to have a cute little southern accent. It's just not quite right for me to say ya'll up here in the north! I just love you southern talking women!!) :)
ggff
So I'll say again - Help!!! :)
23 comments:
Hmmm . ..
I've just realized lately I've gotten in a bad habit of shopping generously the first week of a paycheck . . .and then we have to eat light the second week. So I'm working on finding balance too lately.
One thing I heard works well and have found to be VERY true is using the "do it yourself" checkout counters. It makes it alot easier to not add things as you see yourself approaching the limits of your budget.
It's alot easier to not buy something or to put it back when I don't have a turbo charged cashier ringing up my purchases. : )
I know the feeling! If you're like me, you have frozen meat in the freezer that you never get around to using because you always buy new frozen meat! (I don't why I do this...I hope I'm not alone!) :) In times of "crisis", I have dug into the deep freeze and found that I really could make it at least one week on meat that I all ready had. So I would check your freezer and really use what is in there.
Yikes...it makes me wonder what 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread actually costs...hehe!
Girl have fun with it. Have breakfast for dinner, eat cereal, and get even crazier have everyone pick "one" thing from the cupboards or fridge (crackers, carrots, olives) and then load it on the plates! Hey popcorn got me through many nights in college!
I know I am joking with you, but I also know the crazy stress this brings...so please know I am praying and I do KNOW God feeds His children!
I love you!
Nichole
looks like it's time to kick into poor college student mindset gear! and that can only mean one thing...lots and lots of ramen noodles! dude, $38.37 would buy you like 40 packages! plus you can make it lots of different ways...the traditional soup, just the noodles, the noodles with cheese. loads of recipes. and i'm sure your fam wouldn't mind at all eating the exact same thing w/ the tiniest bit of variation every night. mmmm...ramen noodles...cheap AND tasty.
This may not help this time around, but I just ordered a $30 box from angel food ministries.
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/hosts.asp
good for buying for others too :)
desperate measures.....enjoy your rice and pasta? soup and crackers? Sometimes I end up "borrowing" from next months grocery cash and promise myself to make up for it in coupons and/or cheap menus the following month. This may be a total no-no though as you are probably much more disciplined than I.
Okay this is when we play "clean out the pantry" I get creative with the food we have. One time I remember making mac and cheese, soup, and peas. Oh well it is what works and it gets your pantry cleaned out. This what I have been doing since June, I looked at cookbooks, etc and make a list of meals for the month. No certain order, just a list, I go to the store to buy half of items on the 30th and the rest on the 15th. By doing it that way, we spend about 400/month and that includes diapers, baby food,and personal products. I go to the store on a FULL belly and no kids.
We've lived on a tight budget for a few years now and I found that I stretch a meal best by splitting the pound of meat in half making it last for 2 meals and by using rice for a lot of meals. Rice is cheaper than noodles for me. I buy a HUGE like 20 pound bag at Wal-mart and add rice to burritos and other variations of "Mexican" meals (we call them Mexican, but they are Laura-fied). Try putting in some diced tomatoes and Ranch Style Beans with a WHOLE cup of uncooked rice (cook it before adding it to everything else) and 1/2 a pound of meat and chili powder. If you have cheddar cheese or chips or tortillas you can use them, otherwise just eat it with a fork. I find that my Laura-fied Mexican dishes are the most inexpensive ones that I have. I vary them by using Rotel some days and Salsa others in the same recipe for a totally different flavor. Some days I add a little cumin for a smoky flavor. Other days I just stick to the chili powder and garlic alone.
I'm from Texas and wanted to let you know that "y'all" is a contraction made from "you" and "all" since the "ou" is what is taken out, the apostraphe goes after the "y" not the "a"!!! :) :)
Okay Laura - that is too funny! I actually looked on Lysa Terkeurst's blog to get it right and still goofed it up!! (She had it right by the way, I just checked again!) I'm going to change it right now y'all!! :)
Search for vegetarian or vegan recipes, to limit expensive things like meat, milk, and eggs. If you do use meat, stretch it with lentils or beans, rice, and/or grated zucchini.
Don't buy packaged anything! Go straight to the bulk section, and get a bunch of flour, rice, etc. for making staples. :)
Stay away from pastas, canned foods, etc. They may be cheap, but you'll end up hungry. Go for nutrient-dense, filling items (ie whole grains- like rice, barley, millet, & whole wheat flour).
You can get an armload of fresh produce from a Farmer's Market very inexpensively, if there's one near you. (You'll get more food and more nutrition for your money.)
Here's an interesting "emergency menu" link: Frugal Meals .
Hillbilly Housewife has some cheap meal ideas too.
I have my weekly menu plan with links on my blog- perhaps some of those meal ideas would help?
Don't buy any "non-food" grocery items. Use rags instead of paper towels, and dishes instead of baggies.
Hope this helps!
Blessings,
Michele :)
www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com
Jami -
I second and third the ladies above! Our main fridge went kapoot about two weeks ago. We had to move EVERYthing to the back-up freezer. With NO space for grocery store purchases, I was able to stay away for 3 solid weeks, just eating what we had on the pantry shelves and in the recesses of the little freezer. We went to Costco today b/c we were finally OUT of our lunchtime staples, but I still could have waited one more day.
We did do breakfast for dinner and grilled cheese, JUST mac and cheese as the main vs. having it as a 'side' to a meat and a few mornings just had cinnamon toast - or p/b toast until we ran out of peanut butter...
My husband believes there could realistically be a reality show that forced families to live for a month off what's in the fridge and pantry and that we would all be amazed by what we were able to come up with.
Well, we did survive for 3 weeks without a trip (except to WallieWorld for some milk and a loaf of bread...)
Good Luck!
Girls you rock!!
I am pumped to try and stay on budget. Fortunately we do have some Ramon noodles in the pantry and actually a whole bag of chicken and some ham. I'll have to get milk and maybe bread but I do believe we have a fighting chance.
We even have 2 huge jars of Peanut Butter (one extra on accident). And some cold meat. Wow - I feel like we're stocked for months! :)
I will be updating at the end of the month!!! :)
I'd just chalk it up to having more kids! It's not gettin' any cheaper! haha
Go to your dash board and you'll see the option of the blogger updates explained. Then you'll go to edit and under layout, then add page element, it's there. It takes a while to add everyone but I had deleted all mine when I switched stuff around, so I did it that way since I had to anyway. I do like it- saves tons of time checking everyones!
It sounds like you are in need of what my husband would call a good date---cheap, fast and easy. LOL! Breakfast for dinner is always a hit, spaghetti goes over well and tuna is a good option. I HATE budgets, they just spoil all of the fun!! Good luck and if you need some recipes email me, I will see if I can help...
Budgets are so hard! You've gotten some great tips so far though!
To cut down on our grocery bill I've been making a lot more homemade things instead of buying packaged items. For breakfast I've been making muffins. I have a ton of rhubarb in my garden so I've been making the rhubarb muffins out of Renee's II. I'm not even a big fan of rhubarb and I like these muffins! If you want any rhubarb you are welcome to come get it!
Also, if you go shopping through Saturday Meijer has Kellogs cereal on sale for $1.88 a box!
Eating breakfast is a great way to stretch a dollar! I have a great puff pancake recipe in a 9x13 that will feed your family probably with some leftovers! Or make anything out of bisquick...pancakes or waffles...yummy!
Good luck!
Check out the website www.moneysavingmom.com. They offer great coupon and other general moneysaving tips!
Hey, just had to add one more comment that Duane mentioned last night. He said to help out in the kitchen in church on Sundays and you'll be sent home with enough sandwiches to last you at least a few lunches!! Good idea, I thought!
~Alissa
Hey Jami - funny that we posted about the same topic! I know this won't help you much this month, but for the future check out www.couponmom.com and www.mommysavesbig.com
Also, the Angel Food Ministries thing Hopefull mentioned is a God-send! You don't have to "qualify" for anything, and one month's worth of food kept us stocked for much longer.
When the budget gets tight for us, we always have a beans and rice meal that will last us a couple of nights. Also, we stalk the fridges at the local stores and show up in the morning a couple of days before the "sell-by" date on most of the milk to get it on manager's special.
We also mooch a lot. Helping out in the kitchen at church isn't a bad idea - all that leftover food has to go somewhere, and it shouldn't be in the garbage (which is where it ends up sometimes when everyone's too polite to claim it)!
Hang in there - we've been there more times than we can count and God has been faithful to see us through every time.
Love you,
Sam
I think you can totally get away with saying y'all. You are way cute enough. Maybe go to the store and say it and they'll give you free food.
I'm so no help.
it's amazing how long you can go without going to the store. ever since i started a budget, if i'm over budget...i just don't go. i might stop for bananas and milk...and if you don't have selfcontrol, get them at the convenience store. recently i've been planning a week of meals and not going for another 3 weeks.
don't feel bad if you do canned soup and pbj for dinner. it will be ok!! (although I do feel guilty everytime i do that!!)
also, i use the internet a ton for recipes...there are some great sites that you can just type in the ingredients you DO have.
My best tip is "only buy what's on sale." Except for milk (which is virtually never on sale in CA; it's kind of a law!), pretty much everything else I buy is on sale at some time or other. When it is, I'll buy 2 or 3 (maybe 4) of something (and freeze whatever isn't a pantry item).
I always make my shopping list from the grocery ads, going to 2 or 3 stores if necessary to get the best deals on things. (I find I spend a lot less by buying things at the best prices than if I have a menu in mind and need to shop specific items to fill it.)
When we need fruit, I don't "plan" on anything specific, I'll see what's cheapest. Fortunately, this is a good time of year for fresh AND cheap. (And year 'round, my policy is pretty much don't pay more than .99 for any produce unless it's a special occasion.)
Allrecipes.com, and other sites will help you find recipes that you can make with the ingredients you already have on hand.
I often stretch meat by making it into a skillet dish with rice or pasta and sauce (like 1/2 a keilbasa will feed our family of 4 by making a pot of Jambalya type rice).
Believe it or not, Target is often the best place for buying cereals and toddler snacks.
If you think you'll want to implement some changes for beyond this month, start a list of the items you use most often and watch the sales to see what the lowest price is. As time goes on, buy those things when they're near that low price and stock up a bit for the times you need it and they aren't so cheap.
With the ham and chicken you've got, it sounds like you've got a good foundation for a week or so. A little creativity and I'm sure you'll manage to make it through the month great.
It is not a great help for this month, but I would echo the earlier comment about
moneysavingmom.com
Read through her site (especially the CVS 101 on the side bar), give yourself 3 months at her system, and you will never turn back (or pay for shampoo or toothpaste again...greatly stretching the grocery budget)!
Grocery shopping used to stress me out! I was overwhelmed with my list and knowing that it would be challenging to stretch the money. Now it has become a game, and it has refined my thinking about money in general. I have always been pretty frugal, but now I am working at making every dollar count.
I have been able to "pay back" ourselves every pay period with the surplus we have in grocery money now, and I am able to give tons of our stockpile to other families and elderly.
just started reading your blog after seeing a comment on Cyndie's page.
would enjoy budget tips from you...how to get started...just the statement: we need to start a budget ... make smy stomach twist into knots ! but I sure would love to make my man proud...any tips to get started would be appreciated !!
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