I’ve got it figured out, I might as well blog about it, right? 🙂
(Click picture for more menus!)
Monday – It was going to be lasagna, but, um, I kinda fell asleep on the couch with Benjamin. So it’s TUNA MELTS.
Tuesday – Chicken Noodle Soup. (We had roast chicken last week, so this meal is pretty much a freebie.)
Wednesday – Tamale Verde Skillet. This is a new meal. I sell Pampered Chef and my husband likes to go through the new Season’s Best cookbooks when they arrive and pick out his favorite newbies. This one was his must-have of the season. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂
Thursday – Roast Chicken. Yes, I know. We had it last week. But I’m in the middle of trying out several variations. And they’re all so EASY and CHEAP and produce lovely LEFTOVERS. I just can’t help myself. We have roast chicken once a week.
Friday – Josh’s dad (Pop Pop) is going to be in town on his way to some pastoral meeting and has arranged to TAKE US OUT TO A REAL, LIVE RESTAURANT. Should be fun.
Saturday – Well, this was going to be tuna melts, but… well, now it’s lasagna.
Sunday – We try to have a crock pot meal every Sunday because we like a big meal after church. This week it’s beef tips on noodles. Easy as pie (actually easier – doesn’t require a crust.) and one of my husband’s favorites.
What are you eating this week?
Let me know how the tamale turns out. If it is good I would love the recipe
Hey, I really ove your site and I’m getting intrigued by this whole CVS thingy…
But, I’m just wondering how all this works since I’m just starting to REALLY budget menu and cooking and all. Does the above $40 a week only count dinners, not breakfast, lunch and snacks? I spent $180 at the grocery yesterday and this was for 6 dinners (dinners usually last us 2-3 meals since we’re family of two adults and one 13 month old), snacks, lunches, basically all that we eat (barring milk or fruit runs, if we run out) for two weeks. I’m thinking that is pretty good for a 2-week period, esp. since we eat mostly organic produce. BUT, the bar has been notched and I’m wondering if I’m missing the boat here. Sigh.. this is hard work!
Diana, I have a hard time keeping to even a $50 budget, and that was without fresh fruit or produce. That also includes going to 4 different stores. we’re a family of 2 adults and 1 18 month old, a good weekly grocery budget for all meals and snacks is about $75/week. Most of the time the first week of the month we spend way more, because we’re out of everything in the house, then the last two weeks we spend about $30/week. It averages out to $75/week though. I know people feed bigger families for less, but I haven’t figured it out yet either! 🙂
oh, one other thing about our menu, we eat meat in 8 out of 9 dinners, (we have 3 meals on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.) My husband is a picky eater and will not go for casseroles or half the stuff that Beth can feed her non-picky, good eater husband. She’s really lucky, and that is another way I think other people get away with spending less money.
Diana –
It definitely takes practice! The $40 is mostly for dinners, fruit, and baking supplies. For lunches, we usually have scrambled eggs, omelettes, pancakes, leftovers, toast (my 2 year old is not into meat!), all of which are very cheap. (Oh, and always a fresh fruit or veggie!) We don’t really eat snacks around here. If my little girl is too full for dinner (which happens very easily!) then mommy and daddy don’t get a very relaxing meal!
In fairness of full disclosure, we do get WIC (which stands for Women, Infants, and Children) since my husband is a student and we are living off his teaching assistant salary. That provides us milk, cheese, juice, cereal, tuna, dried beans, and eggs. However, these are things I could easily either reduce (we don’t need 2.5 gallons of milk a week!) or eliminate (we eat enough fresh fruit that the juice isn’t that necessary) and most of which is very inexpensive. However, my husband wants us to continue, so I am content with his decision.
So that being said, I suggest shopping the deals (see the store fliers that come in the mail/newspapers), the “manager’s specials” on produce (I got $0.99 bag of oranges at Kroger’s today!) and see if you have an Aldi’s near you (their whole chicken is $0.69/lb!) Take baby steps (reduce your bill by $5 one week, then when that starts to come easily, reduce it by another $5.) My goal is $35/wk. 🙂
Another tip would be to check out http://www.moneysavingmom.com. She is VERY useful in pointing out deals at various stores. She has a weekly budget of $35 for groceries/toiletries. She’s the one who inspired me! She has some excellent introductory posts on CVS shopping. Once you get the hang of that, you’ll find you don’t spend anything on toilet paper/toothbrushes/shampoo/soap anymore! THAT frees up a nice chunk of change right there.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!
Thanks for the advice/encouragement! I think one problem is that I’m shopping for a two-week period; I think focusing one week at a time while help me see the results of my sleuthing and frugal shopping a bit better. I have gotten some good deals at our Sav-A-Lot, wish we had an Aldi’s, but not yet (my parents have one in my home town and love it). Again, one of the issues is finding good deals on organic produce/meats/dairy–expensive. However, I am starting a price book and checking out several stores for comparision. Sooo…I should be able to spot a good bargain when I see it. Plus, in a couple more months I will sign up for the local organic co-op which provides fresh-from-field organic products at reduced prices.
Thanks again–really, I am so encouraged and get many great ideas from you guys and all the blogs out there. To think that a year ago I didn’t even pay attention to my grocery bill, so I’m on the way up.
Diana
And PS Jes, I can’t imagine the challenge of putting meat on the table more times than not. I’m fortunate that my husband is, gradually, starting to see the benefit of vegetarian options (different tastes, more economical, and healthier). However, he drinks about 2 gallons of milk a week by himself. I love milk too, but it’s expensive unless you find a deal.
Thanks again!
All I can say is WOW!!!! You guys are my HEROS!!!!! I knew I spent a lot at the grocery store, but now I’m feeling like it’s a bit out of hand, when I see that you guys can shop for $75 and below! I need to tighten it up!!! Thanks for the inspiration. I’m going to try to be better about cheaper menu planning. (P.S. We are also meat eaters… and organic eaters, which is much more expensive as you know. Another factor is that I have two young kids 3mo&18mo, and I just can’t grocery shop at more than one store!) Thanks so much for the post! (And challenge!)
Oh, forgot 2 answer your question, what we’re eating. Mon we had crockpot Pot Roast & veggies. Tues (today) we had Wheat Spaghetti & Bolognese Sauce. Wed BBQ Chicken & Broccoli. Thurs Stuffed Bell Peppers. Fri Beef Stroganoff Sat leftovers Sun either Stir Fry or French Toast Casserole (we love breakfast for dinner! But then I have to get some veggies in at breakfast!) I don’t know my weekly expenditures because I don’t make it to the store often enough, but I went yesterday and spend $318! I’m so embarassed to even say what we spend per month, I usually only shop twice per month. We really really need the money, so I have my work cut out for me. Sorry for long posts! I’m excited to work on this! (That’s a lot of commenting for a new ‘reader’! lol hope u don’t mind!)
70-75$ a week here, too, for 2 adults & 1 child. We buy our free range/ organic meat directly from the farmer, a side of beef at a time. Hopefully in a few years we’ll have our own cow & be able to save a little more on that.
I grocery shop once a month. I go to Aldi with the baby. Mr. B. gets everything else at Meijer. We go to the farmer’s market twice a month or so in the winter. We do have to make extra runs sometimes for perishable items, but we try to make do with what’s in season.
We eat a bean-based dish at least once or twice a week, and a soup-type dish once a week also. I also a grow and preserve a lot of our food. Free range chicken is $$ so we only get them once in a while. Thinking of raising our own, if we can handle the processing!!
We splurge on 3$/dozen pastured eggs, and eat about 6 dozen per month. I make big meals and we eat leftovers. Mr. B. makes almost all our bread products.. he is a star at all things floury.
This week for dinner: (I often only make 4-5 dinners a week, leftovers other times)
Tacos
Hamburger-vegetable soup
Curried lentils with stewed tomatoes and rice pilaf
Beef brisket sandwiches
White beans and italian sausage
Lunches are generally leftovers. Snacks are cheese & crackers, fruit, hummus, yogurt & granola (I buy plain yogurt in big tubs & make the granola) and whatever homemade goodies I made- desserts are made about twice a week, sometimes 3 times if it was a small one. Breakfast = oatmeal, eggs, english muffins, pancakes, and waffles.