Shopping anyway you can.......

yesterday, I had to do business in Bothell.   This week, we have gone to Fred Meyers on Sunday, QFC on Tuesday, and grocery outlet on Wednesday.    No store had a large expenditure.   Fred Meyers was a planned trip, that is, we went there and there alone.    The other two trips were on conjunction with other errands.   It makes no sense not to take advantage of an already scheduled errand to add the grocery store.  It saves gas.    In total, I have spent very little this week.   I bought grapes at QFC, the other stores were more expensive and lesser quality.    The grocery outlet netted :

1. Cereal, fiber one with extra protein and almonds and craisens .99
2. Rice 
3. Taco kit .99
4. Sliced cheese
5. Tortillas 
6. A bag of peppers for 1.50.   Total 13.00

I saved more than I spent.   This is an unusual week.  There were no ads, and the only way to get the best of the stores is to go to the best of the stores.    Grocery outlet is not a store we go to on a weekly basis.    I do business in. Bothell once every four to six weeks and I co-ordinate the trips to save gas.   

My planned trips for the two chains this week was to be Winco and Fred Meyers.    I'll do Winco  when I go to the doctor since its on the same neighborhood to finish with a few perishables that are cheaper there.    

The trick is to only buy what you are almost out if, and not to impulse  buy.   I'm still on track for the budget, but I have got everything cheaper than if I had just gone to a store and purchased what we needed.   I spent 46.00 total between the three stores.    

Having ads would have helped, but with the shake up on the food industry here, it's the best I can do. The bottom line is that the house is full of good food and we are eating well on less than 75.00 a week.    Last night we had a vegetable bean soup that had no fat except the little olive oil I used to sauté the vegetables. --and olive oil is a good oil; it increases the good cholesterol levels. 

Planning meals and eating a variety of meats and proteins gives us the luxury of having beef once a week or so and not having too much trans fats.    It also helps to stay at a three to four ounce portion of meat when you eat it.     

  

Grocersies on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro spective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.