Yesterday was Grocery Shopping Day

My baking supply and condiment pantry looking good with full canisters and restocked baking supplies

Yesterday was my monthly shopping day.

I made up my shopping list, using my usual method of deciding what I needed to buy. I went through the pantry, fridge and freezer to see what staples were running low. I like to keep about three months worth of staples on hand all the time, using my shopping day to replace what has been used from the stockpile.

This month I made my shopping list using the Aldi online shopping list. I love that it has the unit price, the item price and adds it all up for me - I know to a cent how much I'm going to spend at Aldi. As I only shop at Aldi and Coles for the bulk of the groceries (and the Coles list only had 3 items on it, easy enough to scribble on the bottom of the printed list) it was really easy.

Off Hannah, AJ and I went. Hannah went to Coles for me while AJ and I whizzed around Aldi.

But this month it wasn't as easy as it normally is.

For a start there were empty spots on the shelves. That meant items I couldn't buy, and that frustrates me no end (and why I love my stockpile - they just get put on the list for next month). Then I noticed that two of the items I wanted had different shelf prices to the price on my printed-just-before-I-left-home shopping list, and those differences were not in my favour.

The items in question by the way were tuna and grated cheese (and yes I know I could buy a block and grate it myself, and I do, this cheese was for a specific purpose). I circled those items on my shopping list and kept them back when we unloaded onto the conveyor.

Before they were scanned I asked the woman on the checkout about the difference in price between the website and the shelf. Now all credit to her, she asked how I knew they were different prices, took my word that I'd printed the shopping list straight off the Aldi smarter shopping website that morning and adjusted the price, all the while apologising for the inconvenience.

She dealt with the problem perfectly and I'm still a devoted Aldi shopper.

My point in mentioning this is check your prices. Whether you get them from your price book or straight from your supermarket website it really does pay to know your prices. If I'd just had a simple shopping list and hadn't bothered to check prices I'd have paid an extra $5.60 on my shopping!

That may not sound like much, but if that happened every month it adds up to $67.20 - almost a week's grocery money!

And in case you are curious (I know some of you are because you email and ask) the Aldi shopping cost $184.27 and the Coles shopping cost $25.63, leaving $110.10 for milk and fruit and veg top ups in August.

We are eating the veggies from our garden and freezer so I'll only need to buy fruit and perhaps potatoes.

I didn’t need to buy meat this month. The freezer is full of meat, chicken and fish bought last month, using the slush fund, when Tasman Meats had some really good specials. There is enough meat in the freezer for three months.

I did restock some groceries we have run down (tomato soup, tuna, baked beans, spaghetti, dishwasher powder) to bring them back up to three months worth in the pantry, using up the meat portion of the grocery budget.

I really enjoy doing the grocery shopping. I get a great deal of satisfaction seeing the canisters full and the shelves stacked with food, knowing that I can feed my family even if things do go pear shaped.

Today is Shopping day

I just love these 6 rules for food - they fit perfectly with the Cheapskates way of living.

I love shopping. Looking at new things, trying them on, umming and aahhing and ooohing over the colour or fabric or style (or price :o). But that's not the type of shopping I do today.

Today is grocery shopping day. And it's an epic adventure that starts early in the morning, before I take Hannah to school.

I like being a stay at home working mum, so I need to keep an eye on our spending and our family budget so that I can stay a stay at home working mum. One area of our budget that I can control quite easily is the food and grocery shopping. I know that I have $350 to spend each month and that's it. I can go under (not often but I try) but I can't go over. Ever.

Going over budget means that some other area of our spending has to suffer and that's not good. So I have a grocery shopping plan that I've developed over the years that works for me and my family.

Back to early on a Friday morning: while the kids and Wayne are getting themselves up and dressed and fed I'm searching through the dim, dark recesses of the pantry and the barren icy wasteland that is our freezer and fridge  to see what we haven't eaten and what I need to buy. I put what I find on my shopping list. If it's not on the list it won't get bought so everything has to go on the list.

I work with two shopping lists - one for spring/summer and one for autumn/winter. We tend to need the same basic groceries all year round, with a few seasonal variations (more pineapple in summer, more rice and rolled oats in winter) so making up a new shopping list is easy - I just print off the list and then tick the items I need to buy.

I'm not one for fancy menu plans but I do like to have an idea of what dishes I'll be cooking during the month (and you can see my monthly meal plans in the Member's Centre) so I usually scribble them on the back of the shopping list.  This next month we'll have
*cream cheese patties and vegetables,
*tacos,
*a roast chicken dinner,
* steak and salad,
*roast beef with veggies, 
*chicken & mushroom spaghetti 
*fish cakes, wedges and salad

I haven't worked out what else we'll be having, but the freezer is full, the pantry will be full this afternoon and there are plenty of herbs, spices and other fillers on hand, there are even some veggies in the garden.

There is not much on the shopping list this month food-wise. The only thing apart from topping up the dairy and fruit and veg that I need to buy is fish. Everything else is already on hand, just waiting to be turned into a gastronomic delight.

After I've written up the food requirements, I check cleaning supplies and toiletries. And the toilet paper stash. Wayne has an inexplicable fear of us running out of loo paper so our stash never gets under at least two twelve packs. In twenty-four years we have never, ever run out of loo paper but it's his pet fear so I humour him. One of the kids has just opened a twelve pack so loo paper is on the list.

By now it's time to take Hannah to school and hit Aldi. I try to get there as early as I can so I can have a quick look at the markdowns and see if anything tickles my fancy. And because I can get a car park reasonably close to the store,  not that I dislike exercise or anything, but those trolleys are just too hard to control when they are full.

After the supermarket it's the greengrocer. Our local has the loveliest fruit and veggies and on Fridays he always has bunches of lovely fresh flowers that look so nice on my dining room table. It's actually a local orchard that does a roaring trade in fruit and veg and is good for bulk buys and has a wonderful organic range too.

Then, if meat is on the list (and the specials are good) the butcher. I won't be visiting the butcher for a little while, I did a bulk shop on Sunday at Tasman meats. I spent $187.72 and have 67 meals -  that's just $2.79 a meal for the meat component and enough for two months - I am very happy with that. I managed to get legs of lamb, mince, chicken fillets, steak, corned beef and roasting beef so we'll have plenty of variety. And no one will go hungry or miss out, I plan meals so meat, fish or chicken is the side dish and vegetables make up the bulk of the meal.

After all that it's usually close to lunchtime so home I trot to get it all lugged into the kitchen and put away.

One little thing I do that has saved my bacon many a time is check each thing I put away off my shopping list. This double checks that I bought everything on my list and that I brought everything home. I can't tell you how many times I've arrived home and put everything away only to realise the soap is missing or the crackers aren't in the cupboard. If something is missing I can call the shop straight away and arrange to pick it up later.

If I have been super efficient I have time to sit down with a cuppa and a sandwich to update my spreadsheet before it's time to go and get the Hannah.  And that's my once-a-month Friday shopping day.

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Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet

The hardest thing when sticking to a grocery budget is knowing when you’ve reached it! I have a simple spreadsheet with all the usual grocery items I buy listed and how much each costs, and before each shop I mark off each item I need and then check the total. This gives me a good idea of how much my shop will cost before I even get to the store. I also print the list off each shop and this becomes my shopping list. It takes a little time to get it started but is a great help once it’s up and
running.

Contributed by Mirella

Platinum Members can download the Cheapskates Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet from the Member's Centre.

Know Your Biggest Monthly Grocery Expenses

Do you know which grocery items you spend the most on at the supermarket? How much more do you spend on them than other items? How many do you buy a month? If you don't know the answers to these questions, it's good to take the time to find out. Start by writing down what you believe your biggest expenses are and then spend the next few weeks tracking the quantity of each item you purchase and how much you spend. You can use our Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet to help you keep track.

After a few weeks of tracking, you'll start to see your biggest expenses. Some you may have expected, but some may surprise you! Once you know what your biggest grocery expenses are you can determine whether you need to be spending so much on them and look for ways to trim the cost.

Get Prepared and Slash That Grocery Bill

Take the time to write up a grocery list and go through the supermarket junk mail. Start this week by being prepared with enough food to make quick meals at home. Take the time to walk through the supermarket to compare brands and prices. Make notes on the back of your shopping list so you can update your Price Book when you get home. You can easily save $20 or more each week by shopping the sales at the stores. As soon as you've put the groceries away, update your Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet. Seeing just how much you are spending in each category can be just the thing you need to rein in the food budget.