Weekly food kitty money & maybe, grocery lists ?

Well, it's just he and I. Food kitty money set aside each week....is ...$60.00CAN. Covers food, and less often, toilet paper, kleenex, kitchen wrapping materials, dishwashing powder & laundry detergent.

This doesn't count going out occasionally for a meal/weekend lunch snack.

We buy primarily fresh foods. The packaged foods we buy (and not all time) are: some dried chinese foods, spices, pasta, phyllo pastry, some fresh juices...

And neither of us, make grocery shopping list(s) in advance -except if one of us wants to prepare a special dish/ meal...then the person will make an effort to get ingredients.

It works for us..probably because no children are presently living with us. Each of us know each others' palate but we are adventurous. So no need to consult in advance. We also individually buy here and there if each person alone, sees a good deal or can remember something that we are low/don't have, some groceries, every few days. Maybe 2-4 items are purchased each time.

We trust each other that we won't overindulge in overspending on 1 food item. We each come from family backgrounds where each of our mothers were immigrant and cooked up meals from nearly nothing.

My dearie also used to be a weekend farmer, so he tends to buy fresh produce and believes in supporting local farms. (Now I think I've concocted a man with hayseeds in his beard...this plus cycling.)

It does help we want (I said want) to be moving more consistently towards a healthy diet.

I can't go into a grocery store without a list. I'm a list maker for a lot of things. I keep a running list on the counter and I add to it as I go about each day. Some days the list only contains about 10 items or so. This last week it contained about 25. It's only my husband and myself at home. But, I buy a lot of the "Buy one get one free" sales and put the extra item away for my daughter and her husband. And, at Winn Dixie, they have a free coupon sale every week. If you spend over $25 you get up to 3 items free on their coupon sale list. I usually get those and put them away from my daughter as well.

I don't do a lot of shopping in the 'middle' of the store. I tend to stick to the outer aisles and keep to the fresh food areas. Dairy, meat, produce, etc. I do buy pasta and pasta sauce. And tuna fish. so I enter the middle once in a while.

We also have a dog and a bird, so we have to include shopping for them. Food, treats, toys, etc. I'm trying to buy my dog's food by the case, so that it's less expensive. Definitely buy it from Petsmart instead of the grocery store. This wee the grocery store was 18 cents higher. And, the company that makes my bird's food just increased their prices. Blaming it on the higher cost of corn. Sheesh. A bag that used to cost $9 now cost $12.

I do all the shopping for groceries and stuff for the house. My husband does all the shopping for electronics and computers. Any high cost items (usually more than $100) we confer on.

I don't have a set amount each month to spend. But I try to keep the costs down. Sometimes, it's "Stock Up" day so I go over my "suggested" amount. I try to hit the sales and stock up then. When toilet paper is on sale, I buy enough for a couple of months. The same with paper towels and laundry detergent. I have to save money where ever I can. One thing we will not run out of in my house - toilet paper. LOL

Funny---I just stumbled across this site which has grocery list you can print out, and other printables. Might be worth your time to print them out???

Anyway, I don't even know if they are free or have a cost associated with them, but you can check and see. I haven't gotten that far yet.

http://donnayoung.org/household/fullsize/kitchen/index.htm

I'm one of those who makes the list and then leaves it home on the kitchen counter!

Me too, I have to force myself to put the list in my purse!
Cindy

I usually buy the same old same old once a week. I always have the last grocery reciept with me. I give it the once over, to see what I have run out of. kind of like taking stock. I keep a counter list of 'run out of occasionally' items, like razors, dishwashing powder, cards, bubblewrap, etc.

chick

Quote:

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I don't do a lot of shopping in the 'middle' of the store. I tend to stick to the outer aisles and keep to the fresh food areas. Dairy, meat, produce, etc. I do buy pasta and pasta sauce. And tuna fish. so I enter the middle once in a while.

We also have a dog and a bird, so we have to include shopping for them. Food, treats, toys, etc. I'm trying to buy my dog's food by the case, so that it's less expensive. Definitely buy it from Petsmart instead of the grocery store. This wee the grocery store was 18 cents higher. And, the company that makes my bird's food just increased their prices. Blaming it on the higher cost of corn. Sheesh. A bag that used to cost $9 now cost $12.

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I never thought of the outer edges of store shopping vs. inner. Except if you want some dynamic spicing up of your dishes, you must go further in.

If I have time, I actually enjoy looking at some of the things which I don't buy but muse over what the ingredient is used for. And it knocks me out to see all the different brands of olive oil, balsamic vinegar...

In the diary area I would buy skim or 1% milk that lasts me almost wks. tofu, egg whites, soy cheese and occasionally low fat cottage cheese or sour cream. It's him that loads up on his fat-free yogurt. But yea, we use same stuff for yogurt sauces.

am excited to try this tub of hot Thai green curry paste. It's so much, it will last us for the next few months. Just a few large tablespoons for a super kick...

but getting back on topic... I'm often intrigued to see while standing in line, what people will buy with their food kitty. My choices on the conveyor belt look pretty staid (to me) but perhaps not to some others.