Lists

During my career I had the pleasure  of working as a systems administrator for an office furniture manufacturer.    I worked in a glass box and had to be picture perfect everyday because salesmen give tours of the facility to show the furniture.    The good news is that I had state of the art furniture and a very pleasantly decorated office.   The bad news, was that my hair, nails and wardrobe had to be sophisticated too.  

I digress,. One of the perks was that we got to go to seminars on a host of topics.   Management school was one of them.   One of the "tools" they taught was a prioritized list.  It's a simple concept that works well. If I don't have a list, I can ditz the day off and not accomplish much.    A list keeps me focused.    Looking at my list , I can prioritize by what can be doing itself while I do other things and what needs to be done first.    Peeping dinner is usually one of the first things.   Putting things to soak, or getting the wash in would probably be second.  

Another theory I saw and tried years ago, was to list everything that needs to be done on index cards. Get a recipe box and dividers and shuffle th cards so that everything that needs to we done, weekly, monthly or yearly has a place in the box.   You pull that days cards and pick a day for the monthly and yearly chores.    That was a little too ridgid for me,   I do make it a point to wash the hood screen on the dishwasher in the first of the month.   I usually pick a day to clean and pick the thing that is shouting NASTY !    LOL.  


I have a list on my meal plan sheet of things that I usually buy.  --dairy and veggies.   I cross off anything that we don't have and out them on the other side of the sheet in the to buy column.  

This is really easy if done on the computer. - still not hard if you do it by hand .

I have a spiral notebook ( small) that I keep by the computer desk.   It's really handy for jotting down telephone messages and other notes, and I use it to write to do lists.    Giving each a number was the drill  in management school, but these days I can do it in my head.  

Obviously, things happen that derail your plans.....a sick baby, e,regency babysitting, flooded garage.....etc.  

In other words.    (&($(& happens.    


Groceries on the cheap is looking at the "put the meal on the table train" from  a different perspective. 
The emphasis is on purchasing good shelf stable or frozen food  for a RBP in quantity - enough to last you until ot goes on sale again or to keep a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you  use  on a weekly basis. 

This means that instead of shopping daily or weekly for just the things you need to cook your meals for the week. You go to two stores and buy :
1) a protein that is a RBP - enough to make that meal for x number of days. (I.e.: if you eat it once a week, buy enough for 4 meals.)
2) produce and dairy you will need to fill in the meals for the week. 
3) a stock item, if you need to and it is on a RBP - enough to fill in to your self imposed stock level. 

You often are paying 1/2 price for your food.   This allows you to put well-balanced meals on the table consistently on a four dollar a day per person budget.   You spend more time on the locomotive ( planning and shopping ) end of the train, and less time in the caboose ( kitchen j) by cooking more efficiently. 

 Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on 4 dollars a day, spending more is not difficult and you still get more nutrition for your buck.