Shopping and Meals
By Fishmomma
@Fishmomma (11377)
United States
March 11, 2013 2:17pm CST
I know all of us need to shop for food and other items each month. Its important to read the ads to determine the best way to save money whether its go to one store and get everything to save on gas or visit several stores. I am finding because gas has gone up that its been better for me to change my shopping list and buy different brands when my family hasn't really noticed a big difference in how the product works and for how long its effective in some cases.
This weekend Albertson's offered Campbell's Chunky Soup for .99 a can. Its a price I haven't seen in a long time, so my husband and I went on the first day of the sale and there were only a few cans on the shelf. Clearly, others realized just how good the price was and it was even better with the $1.00 off coupon, so the cans ended up costing less than .99.
K-mart had a weekend sale also and all I needed to do was spend $3 and I would get $3, so a free purchase and the Ziploc Bags were on sale. I like to buy the big packages of meat and freeze the meat, so its just the right size for 2 people. Many times you get a better deal by buying in bulk. Figure out the price per pound and buy the best deal.
We stopped at Ralph's and found a great sale on the larger packages of lean ground beef, so I shaped the meat for future hamburgers and froze half of it. Now I have the meat for the crock pot and will be turning it on in a few minutes.
I like to figure out what we will eat for the week, as there are just 2 of us and we are eating less these days. I try not to have a lot of left overs, as both of us really prefer to have something different each day.
Do you plan meals for the entire week? Are you shopping at less stores because gas is going up in your area?
1 person likes this
10 responses
@marguicha (215147)
• Chile
11 Mar 13
I save a lot of money on gas, but my was of saving is cooking from scratch in quantities using my pressure cooking (it saves a lot of gas) and freezing the portions.
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
11 Mar 13
I use to do this a lot when we lived on the farm and all the children were home. It really saved us a great deal of money. I used to make my own ketchup and tomato sauce from the tomatoes grown on the farm. Everything was used and nothing was wasted.
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
12 Mar 13
I do like making tomato sauce and ketchup, as enjoy growing tomatoes. They are easy to grow and in my very warm weather grow quite fast. Tomatoes are one item that I'm so successful at growing can provide tomatoes for all of my neighbors.
Thanks for posting and I am going to start looking at pressure cookers this month. I have thought about buying one after my huge crop of tomatoes last year.
@marguicha (215147)
• Chile
18 Mar 13
I buy a kilo of dry beans, garbanzos or lentils, soak them cook them at the pressure cooker (no salt added) for 10 minutes and freeze all I will not eat that day. It saves gas from the stove and I can make several diferent dishes with the legumes. Minestrone is a favorite for almost all year around. I add whatever veggies I have, some pasta and a bit of frozer basil pesto (from my veggies).
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
11 Mar 13
Luckily, the grocery store is pretty convenient to our house so the price of gas really hasn't had a huge impact on the way that I do my grocery shopping. I mean I have discovered that I really like Save-A-Lot because their meat actually tastes better to me than the meat at Kroger and it is cheaper too.
In addition to that, in my quest to save money, I will also make a trip to Sam's Club once or twice a month and I will get the large packs of meat and will repackage it to the amount that we need for a meal for the four of us.
1 person likes this
@kimbers867 (2539)
• United States
14 Mar 13
I don't plan out my meals with one daughter in high school and one in middle school we are always running around.
When I can find some things that are on a really good sale, we stock up and put them in our freezer.
I have been thinking about going back to what my mom use to do when we were kids, just make the same 7 - 10 meals. You can name a day of the week and I can tell you what we had for dinner. LOL
If hubby didn't want a meal, the girls and I would be content on cereal, etc.
I know once the girls are gone, that is the route I am going. I am not going to stand up and cook every nite just for the two of us. Thank goodness hubby loves to cook as well as eat. To me food is overrated!
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
15 Mar 13
I remember the days of my Mom cooking in the kitchen and we did know what dinner would be way in advance, as she made certain meals on a regular schedule. You could count on mashed potatoes and she would make them without lumps all the time. Mine aren't very good. Right now, I'm ready to serve cereal once a week and my husband is fine with cereal, as I have a stack of boxes in the cupboard. Thanks for posting.
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
13 Mar 13
I'm hoping this summer to start shopping once a month, as we are putting in a garden. Today I was working on the weeds, which is a big task. Thanks for posting.
@sharlahodges (813)
• United States
13 Mar 13
I did not realized Albertsons had Chunky Soup on sale or I would had brought them since I had coupons.Oh well I will have to look for them another time. I usually decided what I have on hand and plan my meals with that and just add what I need to.
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
13 Mar 13
I like knowing Albertson's will accept internet printed coupons, which has more than once saved me time and money. Some weeks I don't get the paper clipped right away, so then I have to remember which week had the coupon I'm hunting for now. I have a couple coupon sections not clipped yet will have to get it done before the end of the month when I do a larger shopping trip. Thanks for posting.
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
13 Mar 13
I am always looking for a discount, as it means money is available to put in the bank each month. Its important to be prepared, as several years ago I was out of work and it took awhile before I was hired. Today its even harder to find a job. Thanks for posting.
@ElicBxn (63233)
• United States
12 Mar 13
Well, there are a very few things that we can only get at one store - yeah, they are all over town, but the only store that carries the item. They also have really good cookies...
The good news is that this store and an HEB are right across the street from each other. The first weekend of the month, I dropped the roomie off at the HEB and took the other roommate over to the other store to get what we needed from there. It is also close to the Sam's Club where we get some items.
We only needed a few times when we finally went off to Walmart, but there are just some items you can't get at HEB (sweat shirts for example.)
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
12 Mar 13
No HEB here sounds like a great store for saving money. No Sam's Club or Walmart, but do have a K-mart in walking distance and its one of the only ones anywhere near me. Several other cities in this county closed their K-marts, as they wren't making money.
The economy is being hit hard with people looking for ways to save money. I think its smart to shop with your roommates once a month getting items needed and saving money together. I know many people do save well at Sam's Club. I use to live in a city with the store. Thanks for posting.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
11 Mar 13
Well, a few years ago I did something smart for a change. I have a part time job and when they were talking about giving me a raise I asked instead if I could have a tankful of gas each week. They agreed and so if I am careful this tankful can last me a week. This was the best move I ever made as the price of gas has sky rocketed.
We don't have many bargains but I try to just be economical and cut down waste. Because most things are imported the price of say a Campbell's soup would be around nearly US$3 . So yiou can see the problem and we do not have couponing either. Sometimes there are specials so I stock up then and also try to buy most things wholesale.
when I buy meat I do portion control the same as you do. And yes, I do plan a menu most weeks but I am also flexible
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
12 Mar 13
Many of my local stores Campbell's Chunky Soup is over $3.00 a can normally. I'm in Southern California where many products are high. Cereal is the one that floors me the most with lots of cereal over $5.00 a box.
I think that is smart to get a tankful of gas each week. What a huge savings! I would have taken the gas choice also. Thanks for posting.
@Raine38 (12257)
• United States
11 Mar 13
I like to plan meals for the week, unfortunately I do not always stick to it as we tend to change our minds a couple of times. So I just make sure that our pantry and cupboard are stocked with the items that we always use when cooking meals. Of course I try my best not to overstock as I hate to have some food go to waste.
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
12 Mar 13
I always have extra food in my house, as never know when we will have a larger earthquake. Its a good idea to be prepared for store closures, as the stores here have closed for a day because of weather problems. Our Von's was closed for roof damage for more than a week. Thanks for posting.
@teotimoponcerosacena (1552)
• Philippines
12 Mar 13
We always do our shopping almost daily for the Supermarkets and stores are just a walking distant from our place. Shopping daily is applicable only to vegetables and meat but others we usually buy on a week budget it is much cheaper. We plan our meals sometime outside our home twice a month, you know one way of bonding and it's wonderful.
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
12 Mar 13
Its great to go out to a restaurant and my husband and I use the buy one get one free meal coupons. Many times we have enough food for the meal and leftovers for a future meal. I like having some time to actually talk and not be talking from the kitchen and miss part of the conversation. Thanks for posting.
