A lot of my past grocery trips have been haphazard to say the best―probably more like careless shots in the dark, if I’m honest. That is no way to operate if we want to make the most of our grocery budget dollars. Having a plan is the quickest way to a successful grocery trip. And the plan has to start before we enter the parking lot of the store…..(no need to judge… I know it was a foolish way to go…..)
Starting with simplicity is the greatest asset to successful AND budget friendly grocery shopping. And we need to start waaaaaaay back at the meal plan phase. If you are like me, you are busy. You have a lot of things going on and thinking of what to have for dinner is exhausting and nearly crippling mentally if it is done on the fly. If we are going to be successful on our meal planning and grocery budgeting, we are going to have to keep it simple. Simple meals equals simple meal planning. And simple meal planning equals simple grocery list creation. It all becomes a lot more doable and a lot less stress filled when we keep it simple. (hence, the name….Home Made Simple!)
So here is step one―Create a database of 15-20 simple, tried, quick meals for you to choose from each week. I will give you my list, but your list is certain to be different (and better, no doubt) than mine. But, you will get the idea by seeing my list.
Notice that I have selected choices that are both easy to make (most are less than 30 minutes start to finish), but also budget friendly. There are no expensive meat only meals or specialty ingredients―just easy to find, easy to make crowd (read―family of 6) pleasers. Choosing easy to make and supply meals that are also easy on the budget well on your way to meal planning success! Easy Peasy!
Now that you have your master meal list, you’re ready to plan out your grocery list. This is going to be simplified because of the minimal ingredient meals you have to pull from. I suggest choosing 1-3 stores where you will shop. The fewer the stops, the better on the budget-especially if you have kiddos tagging along. We are always tempted to buy extras that are not on the list in each and every store we enter―they are VERY good at what they do―selling us all kinds of STUFF WE DON”T NEED!
Because the stores are packed on weekends, I do my shopping on Tuesdays. I try to keep Tuesdays open so that I am not stressed or rushed to be home by a certain time, although I also try not to linger in the stores―we do tend to take a while to do anything since there’s a baby along for the ride. Note: Wednesdays would probably actually be a better day to shop, since all of the stores begin their new ads on Wednesday, allowing the best chance to get the sale items, but Wednesday is a church night for us, so I try to keep them as at-home days to give Lane the best chance of getting through church without a melt down.
My normal weekly grocery trip consists of Aldi and either Sam’s Club OR Walmart. I never make a three shop trip. Very rarely will I stop at Publix to get two or three BOGO items, but I do not linger in Publix…they are friendly and courteous but NOT kind to a budget. I have combined grocery day with a special time with each of the teenage girls, as well. We eat lunch, then do the shopping. The time in the car and at lunch allows for us to catch up and talk about things on their minds. This keeps me from going to the store hungry, which can destroy a food budget―especially if you go to Sam’s Club with a growling belly. It also allows me to have a helping hand or two when the baby is fussy or sleepy, so this works out well for our family. The chances of you being in this particular situation is very slim, but you can work out the grocery shopping trip that works best for you. The main things you want to keep in mind are
1)Don’t go the the grocery store without a plan,
2)Don’t go to the grocery store hungry,
3)Don’t go to the grocery store when everyone else is there.
Print your grocery/menu sheet so that you can plan visually. Don’t try to remember the meals you plan to make…we have so much going on in our lives that if we don’t have a visual plan, we are certain to forget a majority of what we have decided on. Marking the current week’s choices on the sheet will help keep track of what ingredients you need for each meal.
The plan for the grocery shop begins in your pantry, fridge and freezer. What do you have left over form the previous weeks that can be used this week to keep the cost as minimal as possible? Make sure to use up any fresh produce that is lingering from last week―more to come in a later post and video about that (I have finally figured out how to eat all of our weekly fresh produce and it feels amazing!!!)! What meats do you have in the fridge and freezer that you can work into your menu this week? Canned items, dried beans, and other pantry staples that you have bought but not used are great options to build into the current week’s menu plan. Because we work from the same limited meal options, you will have no trouble thinking of what you can do with the items in your pantry, because you don’t buy specialty ingredients!
After you have used up some of your stockpile, choose the other meals to prepare this week by marking them with a highlighter or other method that works for you. Be sure you can easily see the selections. Then, go meal by meal and write the items you need but don’t have in the appropriate column of the grocery section of the sheet. Quickly imagine yourself making the meal to help you remember all of the ingredients―and don’t forget the condiments your family uses for each meal.
At this point I usually post the next week’s menu on a board in our pantry AND in my planner. I have a custom made planner that has a daily section to write what I plan to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which helps keep me on track and keeps it before my eyes daily. The large board keeps me from having to answer the inevitable question of “What’s for supper?” four times a day. Now, they know where the information is, and they can see for themselves!
Now that you have your list all done, it’s time for the actual shopping trip. As I stated before, go when the aisles won’t be overcrowded and your belly isn’t growling. Make it a game to see just how fast you can go through the store―the quicker you go, the less you linger around the stuff that isn’t on the list! The object of this game is to get in and get out with ONLY what you have on your list! I know you can do it and when you do you will be so proud of yourself!!! Maybe you can even stop by Culvers for a chocolate custard…or not…just a suggestion. 🙂
When you get home, put away your haul and celebrate your budget/meal plan success!! Next time, we can go over some really useful hints I’ve found to be GAME CHANGERS in the way I store and use food! I think you will find it helpful, too, so don’t forget to come back next week!
Until then, remember that I love you. And since life is hard, we should make home SIMPLE!