Some Thoughts on Rising Grocery Prices

A good friend recently mentioned on Facebook that while getting ready to prepare their taxes, she discovered that their family was spending much more than she had imagined on groceries. She was asking what other's grocery expenses are and was receiving nice responses and advice. I started to reply there, but realized that I tend to ramble and the reply would probably be very long. So I decided to respond here.

First, I'd like to point out that you probably already know everything I'm about to write. I'll post that our average grocery bill ranges from $100 to $130 per week ($400 - $520 per month). I can sometimes get it down below that if my pantry is stocked, but with all of our recent moving (and the fact that we're in temporary housing right now), the pantry is bare except for the items necessary for that week's meals and snacks. Also, our bill tends to be higher than a lot of the "queens of frugality" who post their $45 per week grocery bills online because we buy local as often as possible and "clean" meat is usually at least twice, sometimes three times more expensive than grocery store prices (but I believe its cheaper in the long run, and definitely worth it).

If you have recently looked at your grocery expenditures and wondered, "what happened?", here are a few thoughts. In the last 18 months or so, prices for basic items like bread, milk, flour and sugar have gone up quite a bit. I used to be able to get 5 lbs of flour for $1.00 every day, and less if I watched for sales. Now its $2.50 every day and $1.50 on sale in our area. Bread used to be $1.50 and now its $3.00 for 100% whole wheat. These are just a few examples. Prices for almost everything have gone up.

Before prices went up, our groceries averaged $80-$90 per week. With prices on most items doubling (or tripling), our weekly grocery bill would be closer to $160-$180. We've kept it lower with a few strategies. The strategies with the highest impact, in my opinion are 1) plan a menu for the week, 2) shop for groceries weekly, and 3) cook a few quick and easy meals to freeze for those rushed evenings when cooking is not an option. This requires some organization, but it can be done in just a few hours a week. When you plan your menu, you can take into account your family's preferences so that your more particular family members will have something they like at every meal. Our menu plan includes breakfast, lunch, supper and snacks, and a little cushion of a few extra items (in case the kids are hungrier than usual or their hungry friends come over a lot), so that we can try to get everything we need in one shopping trip. With a written plan, its also easy to make a grocery list based on this plan. I just jot down everything we need to make each meal on the back of my menu plan, then transfer over the items we need to buy onto a list based on the layout of the store (so that I can hit each isle only once - I tend to add impulse items if I stay in the store too long). If I can plan well, and not forget anything, I can usually get all of our shopping done with one trip, which saves us a ton of money (and time, not to mention frustration - the boys are not eager or willing shoppers). If I do forget something, I end up at the store, spending $30 or more (for the one missing item and a bunch of impulse purchases). Shopping weekly, groceries cost our family less than $130, but if I shopped daily, at $30 per shopping trip, we'd spend $210 or more a week.

Cooking a few extra meals to freeze can also be easily done if you simply double a recipe and freeze half for later. I like to do this with lasagna, especially, but it works nicely with lots of other meals, too. It takes almost no extra time to do this and saves lots of time later. I also like to have cooked chicken in the freezer to quickly heat and eat for the kids when one of them doesn't like what's being served for supper (one of my kids is extremely picky and has texture issues and a high gag reflex - we encourage him to try everything, but also respect the fact that there are just some things he cannot eat).

The Zoo

The kids and I took a ride yesterday to a galaxy far, far away (felt like it anyway, lol) to visit the zoo. Here are a few pictures.

This adorable little guy ran over to the food and seemed to pose for the picture. What a cutie.

Right here, the oldest is telling the youngest about how he knows the giraffe is a mammal. School is everywhere :o)


In this one, our oldest has made friends with a prairie dog. So cute.

Nice catch little penguin :o)

"Mom, I'm Bored"

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Pictures from Military Park Outing

Our boys are military fans, especially the youngest, so they really enjoyed our trip to a Civil War Military Park yesterday. Here are a few pictures.


They enjoy pretending to take part in a battle, but thank God we didn't live through that time where kids as young as my oldest son accompanied the military to serve in other areas besides infantry.
See the sign? Yes, I did have to tell them, a few times, not to climb on the cannons. What is it about cannons that just screams, "climb on me"?


It has been really eye opening to live near some historic Civil War sites. The town we moved to is right in the middle of an area where many important civil war battles took place. The boys and I have been reading books about the civil war from the library and wandering around the military parks absorbing all we can about the history of the area. It has been such an amazing experience for them and for me.


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Bzzz Agent Campagne: Palmolive Pure and Clear

I have had the opportunity to participate in a Bzzz Campagne for Palmolive Pure and Clear (pictured above in our new kitchen) and I have to say that after using it for a few weeks, I'm totally hooked. I love this stuff. It has a nice fragrance, but not an overpowering one, plus it works! And I love that it is not filled with yucky chemicals that might leave a residue on our dishes. I have 5 samples and 5 nice, high value coupons of Palmolive Pure and Clear to give out. If you would like a sample and coupon, please leave a comment on this post with your name and email address and I'll email you to get your mailing address.

Menu Plan Monday - 4/13/09 - The "I'm Back Edition"

Life "got in the way" of the blog for a while (a move, a lay off, a "surprise" surgery and another move), but now I'm back and plan to try to post at least a few times a week. I decided to jump back in with Menu Plan Monday (Check out Organizing Junkie for lots of menus). So, here's our plan for the week:

Breakfast:
Baked Oatmeal - 2x's
Waffles with yogurt and cherry sauce 2x;s
Eggs, Bacon and grits 2x's
French Toast

Lunch:
Leftovers
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches

Snacks:
Strawberries
Grapes
Blueberries
Carrots and ranch dip
Herb cheese on crackers
Her bread dipped in olive oil
yogurt
cheese cubes
banana nut bread

Supper:

This week, I asked the guys to each plan a meal (and the kids will help prepare their meal).

Monday
(N's Choice) Muffaletto's on homemade bread (these are soooo yummy!) with a green salad and strawberries

Tuesday
(A's Choice) Boiled crabs (with bacon, he said, lol), boiled potatoes and half ears of corn with grilled asparagus on the side (you should see that kid eat asparagus! You'd swear it was candy.)

Wednesday
(B's Choice) Meatloaf with steamed broccoli and a salad

Thursday
Crockpot BBQ ribs and tomato basil soup

Friday
Fish tacos with chipotle mayo and fresh fruit

Saturday
Asian Salad (any leftover protein on a bed of lettuce with chow mein noodles, manderin oranges, sunflower seed and bottled asian sesame dressing).

Sunday
Grilled chicken sandwiches with yummy grilled mixed veggies (red pepper strips, asparagus, squash, cauliflower).

We are also going to make a practice cake for A's birthday which is coming up in a few weeks. He wants a cake shaped like a tank (curse you, "Ace of Cakes"). We'll see if I can pull that one off. I'll try to post a picture if my ego can take it, lol.

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Snow Day

Here in the deep, deep south, snow is very uncommon. Yet, we awoke this morning to find a blanket of white on the ground. Here are a few pictures:

This is out of the upstairs window.

Here is A, enjoying the snow at 6:00 am. You can see the flakes still falling.
Here is N with a giant snowball. This picture was snapped seconds before he threw it at me, lol.
Here is their snowman.

I had hoped to get pictures of some of the area wildlife in the snow, but none were out. Not even the cat was willing to walk out in the snow. I guess they chose to live here to avoid the snow :o)