Grocery shopping is one of those household tasks that you either love or hate. I happen to love it. It plays to my Type A tendencies, I get to head to the store with my list in hand that happens to be organized by the store sections and cross things off. It is the ultimate to-do list completion. As much as I love grocery shopping, my goal is to shop smartly and save money when I can.
Of course I look for sales, stock up on things like toilet paper and paper towels at Sam’s Club, and use coupons when I can. The hard part about coupons is most of them are for processed foods. I don’t see many coupons for broccoli, soymilk or avocados.
I head into the store with a list of exactly what I need. There are always things that somehow magically make their way into my cart but for the most part we buy what we need. That list is based on my meal plan for the week and items for breakfasts, lunches and snacks. I aim to spend $50-$100 a week for 2 of us, depending on how much I am buying and if I need any meat.
Fortunately I have full freezer of venison (that Scott processed and froze from the hunting season) that I substitute for beef (like in tacos) and I usually buy a whole chicken, breasts or thighs and freeze what we don’t use.
My plan this week:
Monday: Tacos, chips with homemade guacamole and salad
Tuesday: Chicken provence and an apple crisp
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Leaving for Washington D.C.
Friday-Monday: Washington D.C.
Breakfasts for me are usually pretty similar and I choose from, protein shakes, fruit, Greek yogurt, oatmeal, and a handful of almonds. Lunches are leftovers, salads, snack plates with deli meat, veggies, fruit, cheese and nuts.
This week was a little lighter than normal but I knew I could pick up a few basics and stretch those into next week. We hadn’t been to the store in a week and a half and I knew we couldn’t get by without going. Monday after work I headed to Aldi with my list in hand.
My List:
Chips
Cereal (this is what Scott eats for breakfast)
Almonds
Tortillas
Taco Fixings
2 Cans Diced Tomatoes
2 Can Diced Tomatoes with Chilies
Potatoes
Apples
2 Other Kinds of Fruit (Cuties and Strawberries)
2 Avocados
Spinach
Butter
Soymilk
Eggs
Shredded Cheese
Greek Yogurt (2)
Total Spent: $39.17
I was hesitant to really shop at Aldi. I started just buying a few things because I wanted to make sure the quality was as high as I wanted it. I was very surprised at how high the quality was and that the prices were so low. They do have a pretty decent selection of organic produce and the rest of the produce is the same “brands” you see at any other store.
A few comparisons
Diced Tomatoes: $.59 cents at Aldi vs. $.79 to $.99 at the normal grocery store
Tortillas: $.99 cents at Aldi vs. $1.69
Avocados: $.39 cents each vs $1.50
Strawberries: $1.29 vs $2.99
Still not sold? All of this food for $39.17!
Aldi isn’t paying me to write this post, they probably don’t even know about this. I wanted to share because it is a recent find to me and the savings a pretty significant. This may create more trips because you can’t find everything there but if I have to go to Sam’s once or twice a month and an extra trip or two to a normal grocery store I am willing to do that to save so much on food. Is it all organic or from name that expensive store, no. But does it need to be? When I see people who have a smaller family post about spending $150+ a week I do a double take. That is a lot of food and potentially a lot of waste. And I look at most of those things are whole, unprocessed food. Sure there is some cereal and chips in there but I am very much an everything in moderation person.
What are your grocery shopping/budget tips?