Grocery Shopping, Meal Planning and Paying in Cash..oh my

When we were a dual income with a family size of two grocery shopping had no rules or limits. However in the last three months we went from a family of two to a family of 3 and sometimes 4 and one income so there has to be rules and limits.

Ever grocery shop and think you got it all only to realize that none of the stuff equates to meals? Well, this would happen to me several times and I would feel like I had nothing and race out to the store. Ever set a limit for the total amount of purchases only to go over and use your debit to cover purchases?

So I have made changes to my shopping techniques.

So first thing is first, I create a meal plan with common ingredients nothing worse than running midweek for some exotic ingredient.

The game plan for this week:

• Jambalaya- chicken, shrimp and sausage 
• Pot roast with potatoes
• Baked Chicken, rice and beans and steam veggies
• Spaghetti and Turkey meatballs (turkey because I found it bogo)
• Salmon, potatoes and steam veggies

This will keep me on track and under our budget of 80 bucks. Now that I have a working list, let's talk snacks.

I don't buy package cookies, cakes and prefer to make my own. I can usually buy the mixes cheaper and it seems better for you.

The only snack I splurge on is ice cream and I mean GOOOOOD ice cream.

Again for veggies and fruits I go to the local farmers market and this is a huge savings. I have a steamer so I can steam all my veggies. I learned how to make my own apple sauce so again I have saved on paying for packaging.


For Beverages, cleaning products, cheese and the like, I have to go to walmart to get the savings.


So I was able to do it all within my budget of 80 dollars this week, plus the coupons helped meet this goal.

Bottom line: I am no expert at grocery shopping but I am learning a few tricks of the trade and at the same time feeding my family quality food.