Once-a-Month Grocery Shopping - Part 1

Let’s face reality; teachers don’t make an exorbitant amount of money.  Most of the teachers I know live on tight budgets. 


Through the years, I’ve had to make some choices about the best ways to stretch my hard-earned money...just like you’ve had to do, too.  Several years ago when my children were little and I had only been teaching for a few years, it seemed that it was harder and harder to stretch those dollars.  We also had a dream to one day build a house and be able to afford to move out of the trailer we were living in. 


There was no way to cut our “fixed” expenses, such as our mortgage, car payment, etc.  One area I felt I could really control was our grocery budget, so I decided to start grocery shopping only ONE time a month.  I wanted to see how “LOW I could go”!

STEP ONE

A few days before going to the grocery store, make a list of everything in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.  You may need to spend some time organizing everything.  By keeping similar foods together, it is easier to know what you have.  After you have completed this, make a list of all of the items you need to purchase to remain “stocked up”.

Once you have a master list, it will help you know which items you purchase on a regular basis.  Most people use the same ingredients over and over with little deviation.  For me, there are only a few times, such as holidays, birthdays, or other special occasions, when I purchase different items.

According to how many items you have, this may take you several hours or even a few days to complete this first task.  However, it is VERY important that you know what you have as a starting point.  Part of my problem before using this method was that I would buy things I already had because I was disorganized.  Not only did this lead to wasteful spending, but food would sometimes have to be thrown out because it would no longer be edible by the time I “discovered” it. 

Put those items with the closest date to expiring in the front so that you will use those items first!  Becoming organized will help keep you from wasting food.  Throwing away food is like throwing money in the garbage, and you would never do that, would you?

What are you waiting for?  Well, maybe it’s a ready-to-print master list.  If so, I’ve got you covered!  Click on the picture to download and print.


Spend some time this week discovering what is in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.  

Click here to read your next steps to save money as you begin grocery shopping in a whole new way.

Helping you save money and stretch those dollars is just 



See you soon!

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