Showing posts with label once-a-month shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label once-a-month shopping. Show all posts

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Monthly Grocery Shopping in Pictures!

   I have blogged in the past about how I only shop once a month.  I have been asked a lot of questions but one people keep saying is "I would love to see that".  Well, here you go.

once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Groceries on the bed
     This may not look like a lot of groceries but mind you, this is a KING sized bed and it is full from side-to-side and end-to-end.  I drive an older Mercury Sable and my trunk and back seat were full and I had to call my mother-in-law to meet us at the store because I had no more room in my car.  We filled up her trunk also.  I usually am not able to get this much but I found a LOT of sales.  I spent the exact same as always but got more (We live on a strict budget).

once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Baking supplies

     These are the baking supplies I buy for a month.  Some months I buy more of one thing and other month's I buy less.  I actually ran out of brown sugar and powdered sugar last month so I bought 2 bags a piece this month.  I also bought a 25 lb. bag of flour and a 25 lb. bag of sugar this month.  Again, I usually do not buy that much but after all the good sales I found, I had extra money and I like to stock up when I can.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Cabbage and leaf lettuce.

    I know that looks like very little produce but we do have a garden.  We also do our own canning and dehydrating so we did not buy much produce this month.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Canned goods
    This is the canned goods we bought this month.  That is mainly soups, etc.  I did not buy any canned veggies this month.  I could not find any on sale and we have plenty still on the shelves.  If I had found some on sale, regardless of how many I had back stocked, I would have bought more.

once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Cereal
     We bought a total of 7 boxes of cereal.  I have one little one that does not eat omelets, breakfast burritos, breakfast quinoa, etc. so he eats a lot of cereal for breakfast instead.  Please do not write me and complain about the sugary cereals I purchased.  We try to eat healthy but if he won't eat it, I am not going to waste my money.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Cheese
     There are 2 bags of mozzarella shredded cheese and 6 bags of shredded cheddar cheese and one pkg. of sliced cheese.  We use a lot of cheese in the baking that I do.  Cheese makes everything better.  :-)   I have at least 5 other packages of shredded cheddar already in my freezer because last month they had them 50 cents a bag (yes, you read that right) and I bought a BUNCH!


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Potato Chips
    Again, I know potato chips are not the healthiest thing to buy but we do not eat them as a snack.  I have MS and we eat soup and sandwiches for one meal a day and I let everyone have potato chips with their sandwiches.  I bought 6 bags to last the month.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Crackers...
     We do eat a lot of soup, yes, even in the summertime so we need crackers.  I bought 4 boxes of regular crackers and the oyster crackers are for when I cook chili.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
French fries and hashbrowns
      I use hashbrowns in a breakfast casserole and the french fries in a supper time casserole.



once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
The meats
     This is the meat I bought for the month.  Four packages of lunchmeat for our sandwiches.  Two whole chickens, lots of round steak (we make steak fingers, etc.), it was on sale.  I bought those packages you see on the left middle for $2.00 or less a package.  Three packages of sausage (on sale for $1.98 a pkg.) and misc. other things.  The corn dogs were an added purchase because of all the sales I could buy a treat for the family.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
    Yes, I bought a lot.  Fifty-four boxes in fact.  They had these on sale again this month for 3 boxes for $1.00.  How can I pass that up?!  Add them to the ones we bought last month and did not eat all of we now have 92 boxes of the stuff.  They taste good and make a great side dish.  If we eat one a day, then we have enough for the next three months.  Good shopping I think.  (Yes, the store still had plenty when I left.  As I already said, they had these on sale since last month so people have had sufficient time to buy some if they wanted some).  Normally even generic brand costs 2 for a $1.00 so this is an awesome purchase.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Juice
     Five bottles of juice and 2 things of grapefruit juice.  I normally don't buy grapefruit juice but these were on sale for 50 cents each.  Naturally, I bought 2 of them.  Not our favorite to drink but a coffee cup size for breakfast will be a nice change. I give my boys one glass of juice a day so these should last a month.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Milk
     We normally do not buy soy milk but the store had these on sale for 50 cents a piece.  They are one quart size so basically just $2.00 a gallon.  WAY cheaper than regular milk.  Even if everyone in the house does not like the taste, I can still use it in cooking, etc.  There were actually 3 more of the Silk Milk that is not pictured here.  So I bought a total of four gallons.  We freeze our milk to last the month.  I have 2 more boxes of milk still from last month, another gallon in the refrigerator and 2 more in the freezer.  We also keep powdered milk on hand in case of emergencies.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Misc. stuff
    This is a shot of misc. items.  Peanut butter, creamer, spices, beans, etc.  You get the idea.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Potatoes
    We are Southerners and love our taters.  The smaller bags of small, new potatoes were on sale for 99 cents a bag.  I still have 5 lbs. of potatoes left over from last month.  We did not get too many taters from the garden this year so have to supplement it.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Rice and quinoa
     A 5 lb. bag of rice and a bag of quinoa.  We use rice for burritos, side dishes, breakfast, etc.  The quinoa  I use to make breakfast quinoa.


once-a-month shopping, grocery shopping, grocery list, how to shop just once a month, frugal blog, frugal living,
Ronny and Scooby Snacks
   My son was THRILLED that I bought him a box of "Scooby" snacks.  We had a little extra and he helped so much at the store I couldn't deny him this purchase.

   BTW, I realize that this is a lot of processed food but I am disabled (with MS) and am currently not able to make my own bread and cook properly.  If and when my health improves, I will go back to buying things differently.  Please refrain from harsh comments...

    Thanks for allowing me to share with you!

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Pinterest


Other blogs you may like:
A Wise Woman            

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Shopping

    How often do you go grocery shopping?  Would you believe me if I said I only grocery shop once a month? Seriously, I do.  If you want to see what one month of grocery shopping looks like, click here.  I know this way would not work for everyone but it works for us.  I have found that shopping once a month saves me not only time but also money.  I make out a list (yes, it is usually 3 pages long) and I stick to my list almost to the "t".
     How do I do this?  Easy.  I have a weekly breakfast and supper menu and we pretty much stick to it.  For example:
Breakfasts:
Sunday:  French Toast Casserole
Monday:  Pumpkin pie in a bowl or Homemade instant oatmeal
Tuesday:  Sausage & egg casserole
Wednesday:  Apple Muffins (two times a month) and the other two times is Biscuits & Gravy
Thursday:  Pumpkin pie in a bowl
Friday:  Sausage & egg casserole
Saturday:  Pancakes or waffles & sausage

Lunches:
Sandwiches or left-overs and homemade TV Dinners (fend for yourself, basically)

Supper:
Sunday:  Roast (two times a month) and Rotisserie chicken (two times a month)
Monday:  Enchiladas & mexican rice
Tuesday:   Chicken fried rice
Wednesday:  Spaghetti & garlic bread
Thursday:  Mexican pie, Mexican Lasagna or Taco Pasta
Friday:  Pizza & salad
Saturday:  Tater Tot casserole

     The "Pumpkin pie in a bowl" I make up just once a week.  I make up enough for Monday & Thursday and for snacks in between.  It is very filling and very nutritious..  Same thing for the "sausage and egg casserole".
     The majority of the things I make is homemade and made from scratch so it is very economical.  My meals usually cost under $1.00 a person to make.  The only really expensive meal is our Sunday supper but I like to treat my family at least one day a week.  The biscuits, our bread, tortillas, even the pizza dough I make.  Same for sauces--all homemade.
    By having the same menu, I know exactly how much of each staple and food item I will need for a month.  I also know the approximate cost.  That way if I find something on sale, that allows me a little extra "cash" to play with.  Or in other words, I might buy some potato chips or ice cream as a treat for the family.  Or a soda pop.  No, we do not usually drink "pop" in our home.  Our kids drink kool-aid, milk or water.  Even our teenager.  No complaints.  :-)
     Well, I explained why we do not need to buy bread during the month.  Because I make my own bread.  But even when we did not make our own bread, we just bought enough for a month and froze the rest.  Same for milk.  I buy powdered milk and we use it in all recipes and cooking.  The 2% milk we buy we use for drinking.  We buy enough for the month and freeze it and pull it out when I need it.
   I find that only going to the store once a month, I save money by not impulse buying everytime I go to the store, etc.  So, how often do you shop?


Update on Ronny & Memorizing Memory Verses

As most of you know, Ronny is autistic. He is now 21 and besides being autistic he is also suffers from agoraphobia.  I am now bedbound due ...