Grocery Shopping on a Budget!

We are all trying to save money, either we don't have enough and are living pay check to pay check, or we want something special like a vacation or a car etc, there are always reasons to try and save money, I love saving money, it means more "fun money" for me and my family! Our grocery budget for the month is and always has been 200$ and we only keep good foods in our house, the odd time we buy junk for a treat, but for the most part it is all great groceries, feeding a family of 3 (plus company) on 50$ a week has it's challenges, but they are fun challenges, so let's get started! You can adjust your budget to your size family too, I know it is so much cheaper to eat junk all the time, and eating right has it's challenges financially, but it is worth it! My shopping list for the month (or bi weekly if you like) starts with the sale flyers, if you don't get the sale flyers where you are they have them on the internet as well and they are super helpful in planning your grocery list! We eat what is on sale, I plan my meals around what is on sale, not the other way around. This way I can buy fresh meat when it is on sale, I buy extra and freeze it individually so it is ready for my meals. If something isn't on sale we will almost never buy it, unless it would be something like potato's which would be necessary for us in a month, I sometimes will go to 4 or 5 stores and hit up the sales at all of them, review the flyers and see where the best deal is offered, this does take a lot of time, but in my case I have more time then money and I would rather invest time in saving money! An example of my shopping list for 2 weeks would look something like this, Grocery List Pork loin 8$ chicken 8$ ½ cup cashews 3$ Harvarti Dofino 200g 4$ coupon makes it 3$ Fresh Express Bagged salad 1$ each x3 = 3$ Water nestle 2$ each x3 = 6$ Juice Safeway Apple Juice 5 for 5$ x 2 = 10$ Juice boxes 4 for 5$ Milk 8$ Eggs 6$ Whipping cream 3$ Fruit for crepes peaches 1.49 per lb 3$ Oranges .97 cents per pound 5$ Gala Apples 3 pound bag 2.97$ Cheese Cracker Barrel 700g 7.94$ Olive Oil 4$ Heart Healthy Margarine 5$ Flour Robin Hood 10 kg 8.99$ total 99.91$ this will give us everything we need to follow our meal plan for the next two weeks, if the total comes to more than 100$ for two weeks I knock stuff off, little extras that we really don't need so I can stick to my budget. The only reason there isn't more listed is cause the items i need on top of these are already in my pantry and cupboards or freezer, from previous sales etc, like if you look at the list you won't see, vegetables or beef (for example) but that is only cause we have lots left over from previous weeks and sales. At the end of our budget we usually take a bit of extra cash and split it between Joe, Kenzie and I, so let's say there was 60$ extra once all bills are paid and everything is taken care of we would take that cash whatever amount it may be and split it between the three of us evenly, this will only work if you also give you kids their own share otherwise you will end up spending "your money" on your kids, cause it is so much fun to shop for kids, and as parents we always put them first, but this money is about you! So for example Joe will take his 20$ and he will spend it on anything he wants, (usually fishing and hunting supplies) or a Big Buck magazine and sometimes junk food :) I love when we do this, this money is just for you, it is not meant to be saved or for anything else but you, and it forces you to spend money on yourself, cause your worth it! For once it's not about what the kids want or need, or even your partner for that fact. So I usually spend the money, on new a new shirt or maybe make up or whatever I want, remember to have all your bills paid first, the last thing you want is the guilt of buying something when you didn't have everything else paid, that shirt won't feel so sweet when you hydro is cut off! LOL! Just kidding! And Kenzie's money is always fun to spend too! If she is in need of some new clothing item this would be a great time to get that, (tights or pants or new socks) or if she has had her eye on a new movie (but now that we have Netflix we don't buy movies, and we don't usually buy toys for her either, she has lots and she gets lots for her birthday and Christmas, kids have too many toys lol!) I might also use her money to buy her something fun like cheese strings, she loves cheese! Sometimes the extra money is larger and we still split it evenly and buy bigger things like, a power tool for Joe, a tablet for Faye and a new toy shelf organizer for Kenzie. I totally encourage all of you to do this, we have so much fun doing this, and after a long 2 weeks of working hard and staying on budget it is nice to reward your self for sticking to the plan! Good luck with your grocery shopping and sticking to your budgets!