Saturday concepts.

Grocery shopping.

Needless to say, you should go to the grocery store with a plan.   I shopped yesterday inbetween physical therapy and picking up granddaughter from school.   This meant that I had more time than usual.   The more time you spend in a store, the more money you are going to spend.   It is orchestrated that way.  The bigger the cart, the more you feel the need to fill it up.   I didn’t have my normal bags that clip on the cart.   They are well worth the cost,  an alternative would be the ones made out of what we used to call  oil cloth. Fill the bags, put the food on the conveyer belt and put the food back in the bags.  In addition, we have had checkers remark that the bags make their job a lot easier.   They aren’t lifting bags and we have hit and cold bags.

My plan was to get fruit and veggies that were a good price for the week and look for butter and diced tomatoes,   We use a lot of both and I always keep a stock.   There is less saturated fat in a tablespoon of butter than there is in a tablespoon of coconut oil.   November should be a good time for any baking supplies to go on sale.   Winco has a whole wall of pumpkin everything.  Name it, it’s there.

Soon, the new crop of vegetables should have hit .and canned goods from last years crop should go on case lots.   There is still over a year on most cans for a pull date.   It’s a good time to stock. Last year I got corn , green beans diced tomatoes for .39 because safeways also had a basket coupon for 10.00 off of fifty dollars.  I made sure that I stuck to my fifty dollars.

Diced tomatoes have been a dollar a can even at the grocery outlet,   Winco has them for .58 so I have been adding six  cans a shopping trip.   Hopefully I will find a case lot.

Adapting your meal plan to include what you can find that is a good price is an easy way to reduce your food budget.   I found acorn squash for .39 a pound at Winco,   It’s a dollar elsewhere.   It’s good nutrition and easily baked in the microwave.  Microwave for a few minutes after you poke it with a fork a few times so it won’t blow up.  It makes it easy to cut in half .  Then scoop out the seeds and fill with a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Yum.

Pork roast was well under two dollars a pound,   We didn’t buy any because I bough loins last week, but it would be a good purchase of you needed meat for the week,   You can cut off part of it onto stew meat.  Stew cooks in 35 minutes in the insta pot.   It’s an easy hearty meal.

Roasted pork and acorn squash and a vegetable would be good too.

Taking advantage of vegetables and fruit on season and incorporating them into your meals can make a dismal four dollar a day budget look a whole lot more appealing.

Peppers were a dollar each.   Chicken fajitas comes to mind,   I use red peppers a lot on anything that is too white..you eat first with your eyes.

Grapes  were a buck last week, lettuce was a dollar at Winco, nuts  are in the bulk isle, add chicken and have chicken salad,

A hole bag of croissants were featured inexpensive  and ham and turkey were also within reason.   What a treat for lunch,  you could also use them with some chicken salad the kind that is chicken and mayo based.

I picked up stove top stuffing for 1.98 for a two packet box.  Adding apples and Craisens and pork chops that have been browned on the stove and baking it off is a good meal and not to time consuming.

If you spend more time  shopping and planning, and less time efficiently cooking, you will be better off with your budget and still have time for you other life.

Premade pizza crust was 3.49 for two and a coupon for a dollar off if you bought two PACKAGES.  That makes the crusts 1.50 each,   It is only .19 to make a crust, but in a pinch, or for a fast lunch, that is still really cheap alternative, even considering fake and bake,

Huge container of salsa was 1.98.  Chips were 2.28.  That makes nachos a good alternative for a Friday night movie dinner.

I saw cheese for six dollars a pound.  My buy price for cheese is two to two fifty a pound,  I can usually find it, but not if I were to buy one bag at a time.   Grated cheese has a good refrigerator life and you can freeze it with success.

Cake mix was .88.  Cake mix has been as much as 2.76.   Same cake mix.  Same brand.

Buying the same things every week.  Just what you need without cost observing is not going to cut your food bill.   Would I buy 10 bags of chips. No, if I bought ten bags of chips, they would eat ten bags of chips.   The only bags of chips I buy is tortilla chips.   For an occasional chips and salsa, or to have nachos for dinner or as a condiment for taco soup or chili.

Studies  say that 50 percent of a average market basket is snacks and drinks, cut the snacks and drinks, and you have saved a bundle.   Coffee, tea, and vegetable juice is it here.   Anything else
comes out of an entertainment budget.  It makes how much you are spending on garbage more
visible.

You can do this, it’s just about changing habits, the reward is better food and you s gay within a limited budget.