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Farm Kitchen:  Grocery Challenge 2009  |
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Pat in Tenn
Farmgirl in Training
19 Posts
Pat
Tennessee
19 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 06 2009 : 06:26:23 AM
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Alee,
Yes, we have both near by and I have a membership to SAM's. I go there maybe about every 6-8 weeks. I have a set list of items that I get there. I do not buy foods such as fresh meat there unless it is for a special meal coming up for a large crowd or something.
I mainly get items like cleaning products, trash bags, butter, and a few pantry items like spices, coffee etc.
When I go grocery shopping I start at the "Health & Beauty" dept if there is something on my list for this trip.
Then I head to the back of the store and start at the Dairy Dept. I pick up things like sour cream, eggs (when the chickens aren't laying)butter, milk and such. Then I go down the meat dept, bacon, sausage, deli meat and fresh meat.
FOr fresh meat I always buy 5-6 lbs fresh ground turkey (white meat), some chicken breasts, some cut of pork, usually pork loin chops, a beef roast or beef stew meat if it is a good deal.
I know that I have menu items to chose from for these cuts of meat. I will buy ground chuck for meatloafs, hamburgers and such but most everything else I use ground turkey.
After the meat dept, I head through Produce, then bread(if needed, I try to bake everything here at home). I then go up and down the rows for a few can goods and such. I end up at the forzen food last.
After I have covered all of the "outer side" of the store for fresh items (meat, dairy and produce) according to how much money I have left, determines how much I will buy in the middle. I get a few chip items and maybe snacks like crackers and such. I also have to consider how much I need for paper items and cleaners on that trip.
It keeps me in budget and I almost never spend more then the $200 each trip. ** I also keep a running total of my shopping as I place each item in my cart.
**I do have to get extra milk and a few items between shopping trips.
I hope this was not too much to post here.
Pat in Tenn
Born in the city but married to the country for over 22 yrs !
http://onlybygodsgrace.blogspot.com/
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/inhishands/ |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 07:01:30 AM
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| I'm getting behind. Went to Walmart last thursday. Picked up a few grocerys. Our walmart is not a super center so the groceries are limited. They had Helmans Mayo on sale for $2.49 a qt so we bought 3. Bought cereal and stuff. Spent $29.60. Then went to Braums (dairy store) and spent another $3.29 Great Granddaughter is staying with us this weekend so will probably have to buy more milk soon. Never did go to the groc store. Nothing in the sale paper that we use or needed. So I did pretty good for the week. |
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kofarmgirl
Farmgirl in Training
19 Posts
Kandra
Hedley
Texas
USA
19 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 09:43:55 AM
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| ya'll are inspiring me to do better on groceries also. we have a family of six. recently i invested in some milk goats and we are loving the fresh milk. Milk here is close to $4 a gallon. i also have chickens and I sell the extra eggs. We only have one grocery store here so I have to drive to Midland to go shopping at a wal-mart or heb. We are planting a garden this year and I know this help also. We do get beef locally for $700 a side. Is that good? Thank ya'll for all the ideas! Ya'll are great! |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 10:58:01 AM
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Pat- that sounds good! I like Costco and find that their meat prices are VERY competitive, though sometimes the local butcher shops can beat them.
Hi Kandra! Welcome to the challenge. For your beef side, how many butchered pounds is that? That is how you will know it is a good deal or not. If you really want to get picky you could count up how many types of meat you got. So lets say your prepared meat is around 500 pounds, and you get 50 pounds of ground beef. That is about 10% of the weight of your side. Then you could calculate how much your ground meat cost. $70 is 10% of $700 so your 50 pounds of ground beef cost you $70 which is about $1.40 a pound. As long as those calculations put you ahead of your local beef prices- then you did great! Also knowing where the beef came from is really important too- so you can consider that to be a bonus and maybe worth spending a bit more on the beef.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our blog: www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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GailMN
True Blue Farmgirl
471 Posts
Gail
Hutchinson
Minnesota
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 12:26:19 PM
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Hi Girls - may I join you in the challenge? I just finished 2 cups of coffee while I read through the 7 page thread. I have a page of notes and this is a prime time for me to begin. I generally make my grocery list on Saturday evenings since we receive our local grocery adds in a publication called the "Shopper" each Saturday. Then with the coupons in the Sunday paper, I generally can get some pretty good deals. My big challenge will be the non food items - I have been trying to be more "green" in my choices, but this can often mean more dollars. I have not set a goal in terms of dollars, but will do that and report on Monday. I also read through the Meal Planning Challenge thread - so many awesome ideas in that forum. I will be posting to that as well. Lara had a post on page 6 where she mentions red beans and rice and a kielbasa sauce, would you be willing to share the recipe? Fortunately I am not in a debt situation, but I did retire on June 1 of 2008 to assist my disabled husband in his care , I had planned to work a few more years, but it is more important that I be home with him. So this will help stretch my retirement income as well as prove many other benefits. I am still working my way through my pantry and freezer, finding all kinds of goodies that I purchased while I was working and never used. So 3 cheers to all of you and I know this accountability will make me more conscious of my choices and decisions.
Gail
Farmgirl Sister #506
A Smile a Day . . . |
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Pat in Tenn
Farmgirl in Training
19 Posts
Pat
Tennessee
19 Posts |
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Farm Kitchen: Grocery Challenge 2009 |
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Grocery Challenge 2009
