Are people like me able to do grocery budgets?

[rdevine10]

I find its much easier to go by a monthly budget as well. I do 2 big shops a month and 2 quick (milk & some produce) shops a month.

We dont eat a lot of processed food. Make your own in bulk & freeze- ie: I do this for things like muffins. It takes nearly the same amount of time to make 2 dozen muffins as it does for one. Freeze in portion controlled freezer bags- grab a bag & voila- breakfast or snack for school for the kids.

I go by my shopping list and I dont cheat! I dont like warehouse stores as they are usually more expensive as it will go bad before we use it. I like Aldi for certain items- Trader joes for others.

For a family of 4- one gluten free, one dairy free (not the same person) we spend between 600-800 a month. And, we are are eating pretty healthy stuff- 95% plus not processed foods. (And no I dont have a ton of extra time to cook, but making in bulk & freezing really helps!).

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Great tips, thanks! I love the supplementing the lo mein idea. If I can do really well MOST of the time, I'm going to be really happy. Once in awhile if I fall off the prep wagon, I'll be okay. I was shredding my own cheese for awhile, but I LOVE freshly grated cheese and was eating while I shredded ha ha! But may look into that again. I'm not for sure going to buy the shredded cheese today at Costco. I'm going to look at the weight and compare with the brick cheese price at the store. I can even get my kids to help with shredding. Eating what we have and what I've bought in itself is going to help my budget! Really bad what we throw away sometimes because of poor planning or just not going through the frig to see what needs eating. Thank you for posting!

I shred my own with a handy little tool called a "salad shooter." It takes less than a minute to shred a Costco block of cheese. It comes with various attachments so I also use it to make a Baggie full of cracker slices of cheese. It can shred/slice all your veggies as well. Worth it's weight in gold. Btwn what I save using it to make hashbrowns and shred cheese, I paid for it in less than a month or two of grocery savings. Here it is on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000Z6JJG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1401115473&sr=8-1

 

[mermaidwannabe]

redevine10 - good to know you can do gf and df on 600-800/mo! I've shied away from freezing things because then I ended up throwing them away since they didn't get used in the freezer - obviously poor poor planning and keeping up on things, but I have an organized way of doing leftovers in freezer now that I will check regularly. Thanks!

disneymagicgirl - I have a Cuisinart that has a cheese attachment, but it's so cumbersome - still, shredding in a minute sounds so great. Thank you for the salad shooter link. I see those things and wonder if they really work. I love how small it is compared to my Cuisinart that is way back in my cabinet. Good grief, I need to do a complete overhaul of my kitchen!!

By the way, now I'm onto trying to make a budget for things like shampoo/conditioner, and with 3 girls who have really long hair I'm wondering if you all CVS it, go to Costco for big containers or Walmart? I do use coupons on those types of things and have generally been trying to see sales at CVS where I get rewards.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

redevine10 - good to know you can do gf and df on 600-800/mo! I've shied away from freezing things because then I ended up throwing them away since they didn't get used in the freezer - obviously poor poor planning and keeping up on things, but I have an organized way of doing leftovers in freezer now that I will check regularly. Thanks!

disneymagicgirl - I have a Cuisinart that has a cheese attachment, but it's so cumbersome - still, shredding in a minute sounds so great. Thank you for the salad shooter link. I see those things and wonder if they really work. I love how small it is compared to my Cuisinart that is way back in my cabinet. Good grief, I need to do a complete overhaul of my kitchen!!

By the way, now I'm onto trying to make a budget for things like shampoo/conditioner, and with 3 girls who have really long hair I'm wondering if you all CVS it, go to Costco for big containers or Walmart? I do use coupons on those types of things and have generally been trying to see sales at CVS where I get rewards.

I used to do the coupon game, drug stores, etc. Now I just get personal hygeine at Costco. I find that buying the ones with a pump helps the kids waste less. One pump is plenty to do hair...mine is long. The kirklands brand shampoo and conditioner is great!

The salad shooter is not big at all. And cleaning is a snap. The main part with the motor doesn't get washed so all you do is snap off the attachment and put in the dishwasher. Put the motor away and your done! Several times when we have had overnight guests, they see me use it and order one on the spot.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

I used to do the coupon game, drug stores, etc. Now I just get personal hygeine at Costco. I find that buying the ones with a pump helps the kids waste less. One pump is plenty to do hair...mine is long. The kirklands brand shampoo and conditioner is great!

The salad shooter is not big at all. And cleaning is a snap. The main part with the motor doesn't get washed so all you do is snap off the attachment and put in the dishwasher. Put the motor away and your done! Several times when we have had overnight guests, they see me use it and order one on the spot.

Good to know, thank you!!!

 

[estherhead]

The meat at Aldi is really good IMHO. And it goes on clearance too. I've had great success with finding deals and having it be great. Especially with the little pork tenderloins.