Thursday, July 17, 2008

Grocery Shopping

CouponMom told me that reading this article was some good, free entertainment. And since I'm all about some free entertainment, I read the article. I was definitely entertained, but mostly I felt confused. If someone gave me that much money to spend at the grocery store weekly, I don't know how in the world I could possibly spend it all. Even if I shopped at Whole Foods and Harris Teeter (2 of the more expensive grocery stores). Although maybe if food prices continue to go up, I could get close to spending all of it. The big difference is the lady in the article was shopping for 3 people, and we have 6 almost 7 people in our family. Now I'm not going to tell you what our weekly food budget is, but I can assure you that you probably spend more than us! And our food budget is supposed to cover household items as well. Sure, I wish we had more moolah in the budget; it would be fun to eat ice cream, chips, and soda more often. It would be fun to eat different types and cuts of meat. But I work with what I've got, and most of the time it's an exhilerating feeling to score "free" stuff at the grocery store. I've become a coupon freak. I'm also able to shop at multiple grocery stores since they are all on the same road within a few blocks from each other. Armed with my coupons and sales ads, I'm able to purchase fruits, vegetables, staples, meats, diapers, milk (and soy milk), bread, cereal, toiletries and a few extras and stay within my budget (most of the time) even with the rising prices. I sign up for free samples which allows me to put off buying certain items (like shampoo or deodorant) for an extra week. I make most everything from scratch (because it's cheaper that way usually and because then Eli can eat it). I read blogs that help me know when and where the really good deals are. And when friends give me produce from their gardens, I learn how to preserve it. I figure if God gave it to us, it's my responsibility to use it wisely. I don't consider myself to be a natural born "Susie Homemaker" or "Martha Stewart". I am very thankful I have friends and family that I can ask how to do things (like making pickles - eek!). And one day, when we have a bigger food budget, I will still compare prices and use coupons, because I've found out it's FUN!

I read a lot of money saving blogs, but if I could pick the top two, I would choose MoneySavingMom and Freebies 4 Mom.

4 comments:

pwnspace said...

I've been so pissed off recently hearing all the "horror stories" in the news about the hard economy - they're interviewing people who (SHOCK!) have had to switch from buying name brand to store brand (how do they go on living?! Is there even any nutrition in store brand food??)

For me its just always been a way of life to be frugal at the grocery store. We always look at the per unit cost and try to stay away from high margin items.

Of course I'm nowhere near as good as Mom was. I've decided that when the news can find someone who drinks powdered milk and cuts their OJ with water, then... well, I still won't feel bad for them, but at least I won't laugh at them either!

Liz said...

Yep, I learned a ton from Mommy. Especially about the price per ounce instead of just buying the cheapest container (sometimes the labels are wrong on the shelf, so it's always good to do your own math if it doesn't seem right). And it always helps to check the coupons b/c sometimes they will make the name brand cheaper than the store brand. It pays to be loyal to my wallet instead of loyal to a certain brand!

Anonymous said...

That's all great and everything Elisabeth. But do you really have to by bon bons on every grocery shopping trip? I'm sure pwnspace would agree there is no nutritional value in that. I'm just saying...








okay, okay, okay...i was only kidding. you can breathe now...

Kirby and Annie said...

She cut our OJ with water? I feel so.... diluted. Maybe the richness of the powdered milk made up for it...

Remember when we had to go shopping and buy enough food with $10 to feed the family for a day? Good times.