Step 1: Sort Stuff
Step 2: Organize stuff into meal plans
After sorting through the canned and boxed goods, it's time to organize the food into meals, not one of my areas of expertise. I can have a freezer full of food and still make cheesies (tortilla's & cheese, quesedillas) or eat pancakes for dinner, it's just what I do. I need to remind myself that I can do hard things, I will now chant, "making a meal plan is fun to do, fun to do, fun to do..." Here are some ideas of easy things to make with ingredients we all have (maybe).
10 meals on 10 dollars
cheaper meal planning
nutrition.gov : recipes and tips for thrifty and healthy meals
Step 3: Clip coupons and shop frugally
Since most of our monthly bills are fixed, grocery shopping is the one area that I can cinch my spending. So much of my food is buried in cabinets and storage shelves of clutter (no longer cluttered). I often will go to the store and purchase duplicates of items of which I already have plenty. I rarely go shopping with a meal plan or list and never with a coupon. Regrettably I am an impulse buyer, a visual purchase maker of the worst kind. I often run to the grocery store 3-4 times a week because I have forgotten something. Each of these admissions are gigantic No No's in frugaltopia. Some of my friends are able to spend between 60 and 80 dollars a week on their grocery bills (to feed a family of 4)so why can't I. More tips to come on shopping cheap but for now;
safeway cupons: although it's still probably cheaper to shop at WinCo
10 secrets to grocery shopping on a budget
Step 4 (optional, but not for me): Make the drudgery visually appealing:
Grocery list maker
menu plan is printable click on image to enlarge, save and print
4 comments:
So I love this idea of sharing your saving and organizing ideas and stuff. Here is a good one from a friend of mine. I do similar things with Frozen Turkey and Pork. I watch turkey and when it is on sale I buy a bunch of it, in the little tubes and freeze it. For Pork I buy a giant Pork Loin at Sams or Costco, and then slice it into Pork chops and freeze 2 or 3 per bag. Perfect to pull out of the freezer put some marinade in the bag and let it thaw overnight, for Dinner tomorrow.
James and I were both raised by very frugal parents, so we know the techniques. But, I can empathize with your reluctance. It's hard to put the techniques into action when we have been living in such a consumer-based, materialistic society (esp. the OC!).
I had to laugh when I looked at the 10 meals for 10 dollars link because I realized that I have used 8 of the 10 in the past week or so! Last night was grilled cheese and tomato soup! Our poor kids! At least they don't have to drink powdered milk like we did though.
You know another huge way to save is on breakfast. If you're feeding your kids cereal a lot it can get really expensive. A big container of Oatmeal is really cheap and lasts forever. And don't be afraid to buy the no-name brand if it's less than Quaker because it's the same stuff!
wow, this is REALLY inspiring. I'm definitely coveting your organized shelves, that's the first step, right? Hopefully it will actually spur me to action.
well done. I think I'm going to love this! Your shelves look great....and you have some food storage! You're leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of us!
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