How do you stay on your food budget?

Subject: How do you stay on your food budget? Thu 22 Feb 2007, 10:27 am

I work with a lady that will say as she leaves each day,,,,,"Well tonights salad night,,tonights chicken night,,meatloaf night....."
Ugh!!!!!! Drives me crazy!!!!!!! affraid

Then I thought maybe thats how she stays on budget,,each night same food,Mondays chicken,,Tues is salad..etc"..this wouldnt last in my home I am so sure of that,

,do you all do that?

Moderator Age : 27 Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 1976

I do not do that...allthough I do make a weekly menu and TRY to stick with it, sometimes it does not work, but I try...

kim

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Thu 22 Feb 2007, 2:59 pm

I make a weekly menu also but it changes every week.
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Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Thu 22 Feb 2007, 3:00 pm

I plan my menu at least a week in advance and I make a list of what we need to prepare ... I check the sales papers and if there is something really good I include it on the menu.
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Gayla

"They take great pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost so little."

---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Thu 22 Feb 2007, 4:11 pm

I like doing that also Gayla,,,,its easier for me to plan based on the sales,,so we dont get into a rut,,,have no idea how the lady I work with can do the same ol same ol each night,,UGH!!

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Thu 22 Feb 2007, 6:01 pm

My mother in law had specific meals for each day of the week when my DH was growing up. The same thing every Monday, Tuesday etc. I think that is why my DH became a chef! Laughing

I don't know if she did it to stay on a budget though.

We try to create new menus each week and use what we find on sale at the market.

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Fri 23 Feb 2007, 4:29 am

I used to do the weekly menu based on store sales but it kinda fell by the wayside some time back!
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~ By sowing frugality we reap liberty, a golden harvest. --Agesilaus ~

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Fri 23 Feb 2007, 11:45 am

planning makes so much easy - I leave my self a note to remind myself to set something out of the freezer.
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Gayla

"They take great pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost so little."

---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Sat 24 Feb 2007, 6:17 am

It was nice when Todd and I had several dishes in the freezer- we would just set something out and that's what we had for dinner that night. We had about 8 different dishes, and he normally cooks on this days off during the week.

But now, we are out of all of the basics. He made a huge pot of "stir fry" and a huge pot of turkey & dumplings and has the containers in the freezer. I am planning on making a menu this weekend and go to the grocery store to make the additional meals needed to keep the freezer(s) full. We are so busy during the week, it just makes it difficult to come home and cook. We wouldnt eat until 7:30 each night if that were the case!

Todd got me several CD's with recipes on them for Christmas - I have only looked at one so far. They have over 5,000 recipes on each CD. They are really good resources if I'm looking for something new for dinner.

So to answer your question, we do not do the M,T,W,Th,F list ... but we do have the same stuff over and over every week and a half or so.
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Very Valuable Member Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 456

this is such a sore spot in my house...my kids say we eat too much pasta, but we only eat it once or twice a week! It's cheap & easy!! They just don't understand how hard it is to plan for food for an entire family. My two older boys always claim there is never enough food in the house(yet they're still alive aren't they? LOL!)...so I guess I don't stay on a food budget.(I do,but I don't)...I probably do not allow enough money in the food budget, because I will plan meals,preferably easy,and relating to whatever's on sale...but then there are snacks(my family are BIG snackers!) I really have a hard time planning for two straight weeks worth of food. I can't wait til it's just me & hubby on our own!! Mad

and I really hate to say that considering my family is my life...but it DOES stress me out.
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Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Thu 08 Mar 2007, 10:01 pm

I been updating our menus healthy and different for the change in season.. Had it all made out then my DH announces to me hey honey lets have meatloaf tomorrow and those yeast rolls you make ... so guess what we are having tomorrow .
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Gayla

"They take great pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost so little."

---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Moderator Age : 27 Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 1976

We are not able to eat as healthy due to our food budget, thanks goodness Spring is coming!

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Fri 09 Mar 2007, 10:59 am

Cheapy,
Your boys are the first ones I've ever known to say we eat too much pasta! Most kids like it better than anything else. What do they like to eat? Sometimes we forget to ask and when we do find out it's a simple solution to the problem. Do they ever go shopping with you, know what the food budget is and why there is a budget (hint; answer should include the cost of supporting their interests like sports)? This happened to me over Jr High school clothes years ago, when finally I explained to my wonderful step son that I was going to spend X amount on his school clothes he chose to go with the more expensive brands but fewer in quanity. He knew this would mean more work for him as he also did some of the laundry chores, but he never complained since it was his choice. Maybe your boys could help out with some prep work on cooking , like peeling potatoes or chopping veggies if they want something other than pasta. It's also some together time for you and them. Michael is now married and is the primary cook and child care giver as his wife works days and Mike works nights.
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Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Fri 09 Mar 2007, 6:47 pm

Monthly bills are paid first and then we budget for gas and food and any other needs. We only take the allowed amount to the grocery store when we shop. We do not plan menus (I plan meals the night before), but we do make out a shopping list and stick to it. We shop once a month at four stores (Big Lots,Kroger,Wal-Mart and health food store). We know which store has the best price for each item. Fresh items such as produce and milk are bought again halfway through the month. We live on a very low income, so we do maintain (and use) stock-up food and health/beauty. That way if necessary we can just shop at home.
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MARY

Subject: Re: How do you stay on your food budget? Fri 09 Mar 2007, 7:07 pm

Needs must...as they say GentleRain...you seem to be very organized and doing a great job on limited resources Smile

Good onya!!!
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~ By sowing frugality we reap liberty, a golden harvest. --Agesilaus ~