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Grocery Shopping and New Goal

December 16th, 2011 at 05:49 pm

I went to the grocery store last night. I had budgeted $150 and spent $190. I really didn't need that much but it seems that whenever I go to the grocery store I can't help myself from buying what we don't need. I didn't get any junk food though so that is a plus. Maybe I should up my budgeted amount. Any suggestions on how I can keep from spending so much at the store(not coupons or anything like that...have tried and take too much time for the amount you save.) I think it is because for so many years I didn't budget for the grocery store and I wasn't able to spend money on groceries. I am in a better place now so I tend to spend more.

I have made a new goal, not financial though. I am going to try my best to lose 1 pound a week. I think I can do it. I have started taking my thryoid medication again so that should get under control. I also bought oatmeal to have for breakfast at work. I plan to wein myself off the dr pepper I have every morning. Get a large now, will reduce to med and then to small. I will attempt to drink more water. I also plan to walk on the treadmill as much as I can tolerate. My shins start hurting after I have been walking for about 5 minutes. I know that will get better as I build up my resistance. I have got to do something...I am outgrowing my clothes and not in a good way. I need you guys to cheer me on.

11 Responses to “Grocery Shopping and New Goal”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1324058072

    On my sidebar is a link to myfitnesspal.com. It works great for tracking calories and exercise. We could be friends on there! Just let me know if you sign up.

    I think those are great goals. Did you know you only need to be deficient 3500 calories per week to lose one pound? That is 500 calories per day that you either need to exercise off or reduce in food intake. Less Dr. Pepper will help!

  2. North Georgia Gal Says:
    1324058454

    I signed up. My user name is asikes60. Haven't really looked at it too much, but so far it seems that it will help me.

  3. ceejay74 Says:
    1324058708

    I don't have any advice about the grocery store; just here to commiserate. I really really want our grocery/household budget to be $700 per month but we're constantly struggling with it. Every time I think we're going to catch up, we need to stock up on some expensive items and we fall back behind. Even with menu planning, we can never seem to stick to budget.

    I get annoyed with my family, but it's as much my fault as theirs; the only types of fruit I really like are expensive, and my nondairy versions of cheese, sour cream etc. are expensive too.

    I should just up our monthly budget, especially now that we have diapers and wipes on it, and will have more diapers and wipes and possibly formula next year. But I'm stubborn! We got an Amex card that gives 6% statement credits for grocery purchases, and I used to take that money and put it toward debt or other things, but now I'm going to fold it back into the grocery budget and see if that little bit of help will enable us to stay within budget.

    I like your goal! I've finally gotten back to a weight I'm happy with, but I need to keep an eye on it or it'll creep back up. So I'll be cheering you on!

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    1324059295

    I sent you a friend invite. I think it could be a good tool to set a goal, and to know how many calories you should be eating for your weight and your goal.

  5. Mary Ann Says:
    1324060426

    I totally understand about the grocery budget. I can't sem to go to the grocery store without spending at least $100.00. It's crazy. I am seriously going to try my best to stay under $100.00 per week from now on.

  6. DeniseNTexas Says:
    1324063436

    How do you pay for the groceries? Do you use a debit card or what? What works for me is to take cash and leave any and all cards and checkbooks at home! If I do that, I can only spend what I have with me. If I have $125 for two weeks of food, I take no more than $50 or $60 with me on a trip. That way I can't go too crazy and it keeps me from overspending. I don't know a better way to do it for myself and it works.

  7. snafu Says:
    1324063717

    While they tell us food prices have increased 4%, it's more like 7% and some items are up over 10%. I hope you're not buying non food items at the grocery store. Those are their highest profit margin items, they have high mark-ups. Try getting non-edibles t a discount store, Dollar type store or with a bit of planning loss leader/on sale.

    Our biggest saving came from meal planning. It's important to have a pen & paper as you sit down to watch your fav TV shows or talk on the phone. With grocery store flyers use commercials to note loss leaders from the 2 food stores you frequent. It's a time vs money trade-off. I go to a couple of ethnic food stores to buy rice, noodles/pasta and some fruits because those have long shelf life and are so-ooo much cheaper.

    If flyers feature cuts of meat that are unfamiliar, www.cooks.com is just one of thousands of on-line sites. The current protein/meat serving considered healthy is merely 4 oz. If making a roast or larger cut, you need a 'make-over' plan. How will you use the leftovers?

  8. snafu Says:
    1324064462

    Pt 2: A list of 'plan-overs turns roast beef slices into Stroganoff for example. Left over chicken becomes delicious stew and dumplings with almost no effort.

    Finally, if you use brand names, try switching anything that bakes/cooks to house brand. For example, if you use ketchup to make sauce, it can be the cheapest container. Sometimes you need to do the math, how much per unit is often shown, how much per serving is important, sale priced chicken breast can be cheaper as there is no skin, no bones, no waste and fast, fast, fast.

    Convenience, pre-packaged food is full of chemicals and salt, not as healthy as you imagine. Have you checked out how much sugar is in your fav soda? Perhaps it can be your reward for your exercise time.

  9. LuckyRobin Says:
    1324083931

    I've found the single most effective thing is shopping with a list. Even without flyers, sales, and coupons, if I tell myself I won't buy anything that isn't on the list, 90% of the time I am successful at that. 9% is if something is on an extremely good sale such as meat marked down for fast sale like the time they had whole chickens for $3 each. And 1% is for donuts, because I'm not perfect. But seriously, the list cuts things down so much.

  10. frugaltexan75 Says:
    1324090213

    Good for you not buying junkfood - that's my biggest downfall when grocery shopping. Frown My other one is buying food that I *really* plan to use (such as broccoli or asparagus ...) and then end up being too overtired to even contemplate doing anything with it til it goes bad.

    Maybe something you can do is make your shopping list from top priority to bottom priority. Keep track of how much the bill is as you get things from the list, and then stop when you near your limit. Then just make do with what you have til the next time you have a budgeted shopping trip. (This is something I need to do!)

  11. baselle Says:
    1324358339

    Second, third, fourth Lucky Robin's suggestion: list. Another thing I do is I do not wander the aisles, especially the ones in the center of the store. I get what's on the list and bug out. To start off, you might what to write the aisle that your items are on and zoom to those spots. Also, check to see if your grocery has the loss leader ads online. You want to check those in the privacy of your own home.

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