Hummingbird Homemaking: Grocery Planning and Shopping

Throughout the week, I write down what I need from the grocery store in my three ring binder (I have different sections, one is my "to do list" for that week, one is for "weekly grocery shopping", one is for "azure standard" list, one is for my "buy when on sale" list etc.)

For example, this week I have the following on my list:

3 oz cream cheese (I have a recipe that I want to try)
curry powder
potatoes
brussel sprouts
crackers (waiting for them to go on sale)
pickles
small sour cream
white beans

On Tuesday afternoons I get the paper with our ads. I look through them - one time only - writing down what what I'm going to buy at the two stores we get ads for. Grocery stores generally try to lure you into their store with some fabulous loss leaders.

Easter is coming up so there will probably be items on sale having to do with Easter (ham, potatoes, eggs, baking items). At Safeway this week I see the following on the front page:

Wed spiral hams
Thurs 8 pounds of oranges for $2.49
Fri 2 liters of Pepsi $.69
Sat Bacon
Friday-Monday only Cantaloupe $2.00
Frozen Pizza
12 packs of Pepsi
Chicken wings $1.99/lb
Carrots $1.00/lb
Lettuce/Spinach $1.00 per bag

The sale amounts are probably really good for those items. The only way to know for sure is to have a price book.

I don't usually go to the store on Thursdays, but in this case I might pop into the store right after I drop my kids off at school. We are hosting Easter dinner this year so I will be buying a ham at some point, but I'm not too worried about finding a good price on a ham. So after looking through the Safeway ad I have on my Safeway list:

Oranges $2.49
Leaf Lettuce or Romaine $1.00
Yams $1.00/lb (stocking up on these - will probably spend $10)
Organic apples $1.00/lb (if they have any and we need them)
Bananas
Total cost: $18

Now for my favorite store here in town. They are the old time mom and pop store - smaller carts, BEST customer service, small aisles, etc. Yes, some items cost more money than our local Walmart, but I am choosing to support them. Plus, sometimes things are actually cheaper there. Oh I still go to Walmart occasionally, but if I can, I enjoy going to Lueders so much more.

Look at that, hams are on sale...not sure if I'll pick one up or not.
Wow! Peanut butter $1.39 (I usually pay $.10 per ounce) this is actually less than that. Unfortunately there is a limit of 1. Even if we didn't eat PB I'd buy it to donate to the food pantry.
Smart Chicken leg quarters $.99/lb (regular price $1.49/lb) I'll buy a lot of these, not sure how much yet. With the warmer weather, we BBQ a lot so this works better for me than buying whole chickens from the local Hutterites (yes, I could cut them up myself, but UGGGGG. I've tried that and it's just not happening again for a while). Haven't been able to order from the Hutterites in about 10 weeks and I'm just dying for more of their honey!
Lookie at that - pickles are $1.99
Cantaloupe $.69/lb (is it getting to be cantaloupe season?)
Pineapple $3.00 each (not sure if I'll get one this time or not. We absolutely love them and I haven't seen a better price for months and months)
2 pounds baby carrots $1.99
Apples are on sale as well

I always know what I'm getting from Safeway right away. Lueders takes me a bit because that's where I buy everything I need even if it's not on sale. After I figure out what I need from Lueders then I add up how much cash I need to have on hand ($20.00 per week plus anything I'm stocking up on like chicken). The day I go to the store I re-write my list so it's fresh in my mind. Then, I write down approximately how much I'm going to spend per item (ie. bananas $2.00) and get a grand total per store.

This process might seem complicated or too time consuming, but now that I've done it many many times it doesn't take long at all. Going through the ads one time and one time only saves a ton of time! I rarely use coupons so that doesn't take much time at all.

In the "pantry" we have plenty of sausage, bacon, burger, veggies, fruit, oats, beans, butter and baking items.

Today is Thursday - I wrote that post on Tuesday. My best advice today is:

Do as I say, not as I have done.

I used my DEBIT CARD this week. WHAT?!? I haven't done that in months and months. Not sure what happened there,I guess I let other non-important things take priority over my planning time.

Lueders I spent $30 (debit card) mostly meat stock up and a few extra things for Easter
Walmart $5 Bananas and sour cream Leuders only had green bananas and I needed them last night for smoothie night, which we didn't end up having because of many reasons.
Safeway $13 milk, oranges and other fruits and veggies
Lueders (again) $4 for eggs and peanut butter that was on sale.