Friday, January 8, 2010

THE PLAN



Well, we are into week 2 of the new year and so far, I'm sticking to my resolutions better than I expected.  How is everyone else doing????  I'm working very hard at getting my menu and shopping lists organized so I can make ONE and ONLY ONE trip to the grocery store each week.  That sounds deceiving because I actually go to at least 3 different stores in order to get the savings, but hopefully it is all in one day.

I absolutely love Aldi's.  I save so much money there and 95% of the items taste as good as the brand names.  However, I always have to go to another store because I don't buy meat at Aldi's and there are a few other items I can't get there.  I usually go to Walmart and I hate to say it, but I really hate that store.  I have a huge list of reasons, but we won't go there.  I save money there - it is an "everything" store, so I hide my feelings and shop.  The other stores I frequent are the Super Value in Spencer and Festival Foods in Marshfield.  I usually hit these because they have the best meats and they usually have some pretty good weekly deals.

In the past, I have found that making a menu each and every week not only helps me shop and save money, but it makes me feel so much more organized.  I know each morning what I plan to cook that evening and I can make the preparations accordingly and not worry about it all day long.  I enjoy cooking so much more too, and it helps me stick better to my Weight Watcher's plan.   I think it all has to do with my Type A personality - lists, organization. . . .  

Anyway, I am trying 3 new recipes this week - 2 that I found on-line and one from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook.  I will definitely be blogging about these, Lord willing.  I know you are all on the edge of your seats! 

Last week I spent $112.31 for groceries and we ate very well.  My pantry is pretty well stocked for the most part, and our freezer is full of venison burger, so that helps a lot too.  I hope to spend less this week, but I doubt that I will - there are some good meat sales and I plan to stock up.   I hit some coupon sites each week too and that really helps, especially with frozen vegetables and cereals.  Click here if you're interested.  


I would love to hear how some of you save on groceries and how you plan your meals.  I really get in a rut after awhile, so I find it helps when I hear what other women do and some of their menus.


Have a great Friday!

Tracks in the snow

8 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see your recipes. I wish Dad liked chicken. You post such good chicken recipes! Since I cook for Mom and Dad it's so time consuming to make one meal for us and one for them after coming home from work. I don't make resolutions since I rarely kept them in the past. I do have goals...I want to lose another 40 lbs-I lost 55 last year, I want to read my Bible through this year and so far I'm on target, but it's early. I also want to write more notes of appreciation and encouragement...I read of a really neat idea several years ago and I'm finally going to try to do it!

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  2. Val, you really amaze me with how you take care of your parents and have a full time job!
    Wow- 55 pounds - that's fantastic. I'm still working on my original 15 - I keep losing and gaining, losing and gaining. I'm getting really frustrated. I like your goals for the year! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. I wish I could be this organized, Rhonda. I am nowhere near this level, but I admire you for that!! I do love Aldi's too since food is much cheaper there and just as good. I just said the other day that they need to make their meat department better. I do like their spiral hams and they are very reasonably priced. I read recently that if a family of 4 spends $125 per week, they are doing extremely well!! So you are doing amazing since you are spending much less with a family of 6. Will e-mail the soup recipe. Keep up the great tips. You inspire me to do better!!!

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  4. I love Aldi and I hate Walmart too!

    It sounds to me like you are doing very well with your budget-especially when you are cooking all those yummo meals for 6 people!

    Here's how I save money-

    I cook with free hamburger 5 nights a week. Mostly cheeseburgers with some weird side dish. Hubster eats at his mom's house on weekends-except sometimes he is hungry when he gets home-so I see if I can get away with feeding him a big bowl of ice cream or a can or two of ravioli (only Chefboyardee-we do have our standards). My child isn't home very often to eat. I can live on toast, cereal, eggs. But please-use caution if you try this method of saving money-because people may think you are pathetic. Hehe.

    But there is hope-I made stromboli last week, because of you Rhonda, and it was a success!

    Nice pics of the snow, by the way!☺

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  5. Holly-you crack me up! Yes, Dan will only eat Chefboyardee too. It tried the Aldi version, but he was not impressed. I'm glad your stromboli was a success. Did you make your own dough like Jodie or use the bread dough?
    Dawnie-I have tried the boneless pork ribs at Aldi before and they were good. I've not tried the ham. Hub will only eat Hillshire ham and now he's got me hooked on it too! I buy 2 or 3 when they go on sale at Easter and freeze them.

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  6. Frozen bread dough is the way to go!

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  7. Okay, since I am single, I save lots of money...or you would think. I probably spend around $40-$50 a week on groceries. I guess that would include other things needed besides food. Eating healthy is not always cheep. I do buy most at Aldi's...fruits, veggies, whole wheat bread, yogart, etc. Anything healthy I can get there I buy as it can be expensive in other stores. I do like their frozen chicken breasts. I'm not keep in their ground beef. I do like their premium lunch meats in the plastic tubs.

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