Background: I've had many people email me about my grocery shopping and how much I spend. Grocery shopping is usually a high budgeted amount for families. We have been in many phases during our marriage. We've been on the $50 a week budget when that was all we could afford but luckily we are in the stage where we can spend more and I am not as stressed out about staying under the budget. So.... yes I spend more than I should ......
My confession: I go to wal-mart and sometimes I don't even have coupons. If I won the lottery I would shop at Central Market every week .... no coupons ... oh and their personal chefs would cook my meals.
- Spend $120 - $150 a week ($150 is my budgeted amount) Yes I can do better and I hope to. I am not the perfect frugal grocery shopper but some other bloggers have inspired me.... keep reading.
- I shop at Wal-mart every Friday morning ( This is a nice swanky new one always super clean and the same lady checks us out) but.... I am thinking about switching to Kroger because of all the online bloggers showing their savings.
- I do clip coupons out of the Sunday paper ...well most of the time unless I am lazy
- Wal-mart will price match other stores ad's so I browse and circle the items in a purple marker for the cashier with the item .... if I remember
- Meal plan and itemize the grocery list ... we pick the meals based on what the family wants not what is on sale. I do this every week never go to the store without a list!
So .... I enjoy reading the blogs where they spend so little and get a ton of stuff at the grocery store! Here are a couple of my favorite super savers! Hat's off to these ladies.... you have inspired me
- Frugal and Fabulous - Yes our blogs have similar names we have laughed about that. Lindsey is a master of bargain shopping and finding great deals
- Jane and 4 Girls - This lady has an annual budget of $800 for her grocery's. I am always amazed at her finds. Fun reading!
- The Grocery Cart Challenge- she spends $60 a week for a family of 6.
- The New Frugal Mom - she has a great feature Let's go Krogering. Check it out! This lady makes me want to shop at Kroger again. I think I will give it a try next week.
Yes these bloggers make me think.... I could save more. I sometimes wish if only they could come help me shop maybe just maybe I could save a little more. You can see I do splurge on my groceries. I admit I am not the perfect frugal person but, this is my weak area and I hope to improve and share my improvements. Any tips ????
One more thing... one of my blog readers Say It On a Sign is giving away a free custom sign. Go enter to win!
6 comments:
Jen, you sound like me. I think when you put yourself out there and call yourself "frugal" as we have, people expect you to be the most frugal person ever. Well, one person's frugal is another person's wasteful...you know?
I am by far the most frugal of my girlfriends...what does that say about me or them? It says that in my circle, I'm frugal. In your circle, I may be a spend-thrift. It's all relative, I say. Do what you can and that's life.
Some people will go to several stores to save money. I go to one store and then another for my meat. The meat market has excellent quality and to me, it's worth it. I do shop at Kroger. I think it compares to Walmart in price but I like that it is not so huge. I cross reference with their weekly adds and I do clip coupons. The grocery game is helpful to match coupons with the adds to get the most out of the coupon. But there is a science to it and you really need about 3 months on the minimum to start seeing the payoff of your efforts. We eat out sometimes. It's worth it to me after long days. Like you, our budget has changed over the years as has our spending. Part of life, in my opinion. I like your blog as I think you are quite frugal but realistic. Sometimes it's worth it to splurge!
If I won the lotter I would shop at fancy food places too, lol...but then slide back into my coupons ways.
For me it is a game to see how much I can get for free or cheap.
Jen, it takes a lot of courage to be honest about your spending. Life has it's ebbs and flows -- all of us have times when couponing and deal gathering is just overwhelming or impractical.
;)
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Marianne @ The New Frugal Mom
Thank you all for your wonderful comments!
LOL Confession is good for the soul right? I like getting good deals but I don't stress myself out about it. If we were living on one income, my budget would be lower. Well, I say budget, but I have never really set one. I feel like if I spend between $50-$75/wk I am doing good and I usually manage to spend only $50 plus occasional eating out.
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