Planning the Grocery Shopping for this Next Month

As it is now the beginning of a new month, I am preparing a master shopping list of necessary items. This will be a tighter month than previous ones, as I have depleted much of my stock of canned goods and long-keeping produce. In addition, March is a 31 day month -- more days to feed us all. On top of this, March is a birthday month for my two daughters. I have all I need to bake a cake, and I even think there may be ice cream in the freezer. I will still need some festive foods for the celebration dinner. It looks like I will need a plan to get though this month.

This is a basic list, there are no luxury items on this list.

1/2 lb cocoa powder

1 gallon vinegar

10 lbs apples

10 lbs oranges

45 bananas

10 to 15 lbs carrots

5 to 10 medium dozen eggs

10 lbs potatoes

3 peppers

3 bundles celery

a few heads of red and green cabbage (should be good deals on cabbage this month)

50 lbs brown rice

2 large boxes frozen spinach and collards

1 gallon soy or almond milk

4 or 5 gallons dairy milk

vegetable garden supplies
4 lbs raisins
2 lbs sunflower seeds
3 dozen flour tortillas
large package corn tortillas
whole chickens
lettuce (at the end of the month when the produce stand opens)
asparagus (at the end of the month, when the produce stand opens)

As I find deals on butter, meat and cheese, I will pick those up, too.  I will evaluate other "deals" as I find them.

How to Stick to a List

In addition to making my shopping list, I also spent some time, yesterday, planning how I would stick to a tight budget. I have a technique for this type of think-time. I brainstorm various ideas, and then after the brainstorming, I sift through my lists and formulate my plan. 

This is how I brainstorm:

I ask myself, "what can I do to make this happen?" Then, I randomly  list all the things that come to mind that I can do to plan for a tight month, even listing those items that I may not do after some thought. Here's my list.

• make a meal plan for all dinners
• make a suggestion list for all lunches
• bake and prepare lots of breakfast items ahead of time
• keep homemade bread in stock
• keep homemade treats in stock
• avoid buying luxuries/non-necessities
• take advantage of sales on milk, produce, meat and eggs
• use up pantry items, while waiting for better sales
• use oil instead of butter in most baking, save butter for bread, blend oil with butter for spreading, use olive oil for dipping/drizzling instead of butter for garlic bread or bread and butter with dinners
• use cream cheese for toast and muffins in place of butter
• make all of my own convenience foods for the month, by preparing ahead several dishes on weekend afternoons

Okay, so now I have a list. Next, I scrutinize the list, and put the items in order according to my estimated dollar savings, most to least.

• make a meal plan for all dinners
• make all of my own convenience foods for the month, by preparing ahead several dishes on weekend afternoons
• keep homemade bread in stock
• take advantage of sales on milk, produce, meat and eggs
• avoid buying luxuries/non-necessities
• keep homemade treats in stock
• use up pantry items, while waiting for better sales
• bake and prepare lots of breakfast items ahead of time
• make a suggestion list for all lunches
• use oil instead of butter in most baking, save butter for bread, blend oil with butter for spreading, use olive oil for dipping/drizzling instead of butter for garlic bread or bread and butter with dinners
• use cream cheese for toast and muffins in place of butter

These items are my stepping stones to meet my overall goal of reining in the spending for the month of March.  Having the list prioritized tells me what to focus on. Clearly, planning dinners in advance is something I value right now. Also, having pre-made meals ready and waiting for the week ahead is something that I think will help me save on groceries. The priority list is based on my needs for right now. Your priorities might be different.

With this list in hand, I can ask myself what I could do, today, to meet a stepping stone goal. Today, I can bake a large batch of whole wheat bread and some cookies. This priority list also means that if someone in the family offers help, I will know right off the top of my head, what would be beneficial.

Clarifying My List Items
In addition to making the lists, I often need to clarify some things for myself, such as defining list items. Maybe I need to define what those pre-made breakfast items should be, given what my ingredients on hand are. Or, what would be easy casseroles to make for the freezer over the weekend, given my on-hand ingredients. Or, what are my current luxuries?

I tackled that last question, and came up with this list: crackers, soup mixes, lunch fixings and take-out lunches, ready-made food items (unless on a great sale, like at Thanksgiving prices), prepared sweets, commercial bread, and candy.

Does this sound like extra work? It took me about 30 minutes, including thinking through some of my options. However, by making out this list, I stand to gain about $25 to $30 in savings on prepared foods or treats, lunches from takeaway places, and buying ingredients that I could make-do without. So, for 30 minutes of my time, a savings of $25 to $30, yields an hourly wage of about $50 or more. That's a pretty great wage, I think.

What's your takeaway from all of this? Maybe nothing. Or maybe, it might give you some ideas on thinking through your own budget woes. This brainstorming technique works for all manner of issues. You can transfer this idea to how to save for your next vacation, or how to lower your electricity usage, or how to make retirement more affordable. At the very least, having a typed out plan is comforting; every time the worry monster creeps in, you have an actual list that you can refer to, to allay those worries.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a peek into my mind and processes.

February 2017 Grocery Spending Journal

Silver white winters that melt into spring . . . okay now, so when does this melt into spring, here! Yep, woke up to snow, again.

Feb. 3 WinCo after an appointment in that area of town. I forgot to check my wallet for cash until I was in the waiting room for my appt. Yikes! $6 and coins. Luckily, I had a calculator with me. I tallied everything while I shopped, and made estimates on produce items. I bought 5 dozen medium eggs, for $4.48; 3 avocados at 58 cents each; 1 Roma tomato (for lunch that day), 21 cents; and 6 bananas for $1.25. Spent $7.68. As I was leaving the store, I counted all of my remaining coins -- 67 cents. I put my bag of groceries into the car and went back into the store to buy cocoa powder from the bulk bins. Spent 46 cents. (It is difficult to estimate the bulk items; and I didn't want to go over my 67 cents. What could I say -- "can you put 1 tablespoon of this back in the bin, please?") Total spent at WinCo -- $8.14

Next stop, Cash & Carry. They do take credit cards, so I had no need to keep a running tally while I shopped. I wanted the ground beef that was on sale for $19.90, but they were completely out of those 10-lb packages. Instead, I went ahead and bought the beef top sirloin, at $2.58/lb. It is a large piece that weighs 11.36 pounds. Yes, it is a lot of beef!! I have it in the garage fridge until I can cut it into 2-lb chunks for the freezer. Restaurant cuts of beef are sealed in airtight packaging, and keep for a couple of weeks, if refrigerated. I also bought 10 lbs of carrots; a 3-pack of celery; a 5-lb loaf of medium cheddar; 1 quart of soy milk; $1.58; 12.5 lbs of popcorn, $7.09; 1 gallon of vegetable oil, $6.59; 2 lbs of yeast, $6.97; 1 large head of green cabbage, $1.50; 1-lb box of cornstarch, 99 cents; and another 14 bananas at 47 cents/lb. At Cash & Carry I spent $75.02

Feb. 5. I needed gas, plus I had a coupon for a Freebie about to expire at Fred Meyer. So, off to get gas and run into the store. I actually had 3 Freebie coupons on my card that I could use. So, I picked up my can of soup (free), my Power Bar (free) and my box of Annie's macaroni and cheese (free). I also needed one loaf of bread to get us through 2 days until I could bake a large batch ($1.67). Total spent at Fred Meyer's -- $1.67

Month to date spent -- $84.83

Feb 7. Fred Meyer for Senior Day discount (I can't miss these opportunities). I need milk, and it's on sale for 89 cents/half gallon; I buy 10, the limit. Natural-style peanut butter is on sale for $1.50/15-oz jar; I buy 4 jars of chunky. (This goes on sale often enough, and I have some at home, still, so 4 jars seems like a reasonable amount for us. Four jars will last about 6 weeks in our house.) I buy three 8-packs of mixed meat hot dogs for 80 cents each. Hickory smoked almonds are on sale through this month for $4.99/lb (my price, w/discount, $4.49/lb). I still have lots of raw almonds, but smoked will be a nice change for snacking. I buy 1.45 lbs. I need alternative milk. I've been drinking almond milk. Today I find soy milk marked down for $1.25/half-gallon; I bought 2. The expiration date is in a week, but it should keep for a week beyond that date. I'll freeze one of the cartons to use later in the month. I found Pillsbury Cookie Mixes marked down to 42 cents/box; I bought 4 boxes. They also had cans of Pillsbury frosting marked down to 32 cents/can; I bought 8 cans. I'll be able to use the frosting on cakes this spring, summer and fall. I had a $10.83 reward from the fall reward's cycle to use. My total cost for today, $20.12

Month to date spent -- $  104.95

February 17. We are completely out of whole wheat flour. This is significant to our household, as we are accustomed to eating our baked goods made with about half whole wheat, half white flour. So I made a point of getting more ww flour today. I stopped at Cash & Carry, and dragged a 50-lb sack of stone-ground whole wheat flour on to the flatbed cart ($18.99). I also picked up 22 bananas, at 42 cents/lb (they worked out to 16.2 cents each), a 3-pack of celery ($2.33), a 25-lb bag of onions ($7.00), and a 10-lb bag of oranges ($7.73). The oranges are almost twice the price per pound that I prefer to spend, but I thought they'd be nice to have, now that we have gone through all of the orange juice. I'm okay with splurging when the foods are healthy. Total spent, $39.62

February 17. Also on my errands list was Fred Meyer, to pick up a prescription for my husband. While waiting for the rx to be ready, I used my 2 freebie coupons and got 1 Hershey's candy bar, and 1 container of Chobani yogurt, for free. And of course, I couldn't help but stop at the table of marked down Valentine's candy. It still seemed overpriced, except the bags of cherry-milk chocolate M&Ms, at $1.49/bag (the bags are about 9 ounces). I only bought 2 bags, in case they're not very good. I think that I'll save one bag till next year, and make sweet little bags of M&Ms for the Valentine's candies that I give the kids and husband. The other bag will be for cookies at some point. Total spent, $2.98

For the month, so far I've spent -- $147.55

I'm doing pretty well for grocery spending, this month. I had a surplus of $121.20 coming into February. When I add that to our monthly budgeted amount of $190, I have $311.20 to spend.

February 19. One daughter is going out of town for the week, for a theater thing. Most of her expenses will be covered; but $30 will not. I took $10 from the grocery budget and gave to her. That is roughly what I calculate for what I spend per person, per week, for food. Spent $10.

For the month, so far I've spent -- $157.55

It's now the 22 February. I am trying to hold out on spending any more on groceries for the month, in part just because it gives me a thrill to underspend, but also I really want to force us into using supplies in the freezer and pantry.  It's also good to just stay out of the stores during peak flu season.

Feb. 28. So, this is where the shopping month ends! I spent $157.55 for the month of February. I had $311.20 to spend, including the carry forward surplus from the month before. I have $153.65 left over! That amount will carry forward into March, and as March is a longer month, I will likely spend into it.

What I Bought

Dairy

5 dozen medium eggs
5 lbs of cheddar cheese
1 quart of soy milk
2 half-gallons of soy milk
10 half-gallons of milk (mixed 2% and whole)
1 small yogurt (freebie)

Meat

11.36 lbs beef top sirloin
3 12-oz packages of hot dogs

Produce

3 avocados
1 tomato
42 bananas
10 lbs of carrots
6 bundles of celery
1 head of green cabbage
25 lbs of onions
10 lbs of oranges

Pantry

.15 lb of cocoa powder
12.5 lbs of popcorn
1 gallon of vegetable oil
2 lbs of yeast
1 lb of cornstarch
1 can of soup (freebie)
1 box of macaroni and cheese (freebie)
1 Power Bar (freebie)
1 loaf of bread
4 15-oz jars of peanut butter
1.45 lbs smoked almonds
4 boxes of cookie mix
8 cans of frosting
50 lbs of whole wheat flour
1 Hershey candy bar (freebie)
2 large bags of M&Ms