I am personally interested to know about other family's grocery shopping habits. How much do they spend? What do they typically buy? Sometimes I am astounded at what I see in other people's carts for a variety of different reasons. So I thought I'd share my family's grocery shopping habits, because maybe
YOU'D be interested, the same way I am.
We are a family of 3 and spend about $55 every week on groceries and toiletry items. Sometimes a little more and occasionally a little less. I generally don't do coupons, except for the ones that are located directly on the item. We eat mostly generic foods, and not that many prepackaged things. We eat meat, but try to do at least 1 meal per week with no meat. I plan out all dinners for the week prior to going shopping.
The prepackaged stuff I do splurge on includes:
- Crackers
- Cereal
- Granola Bars
- Baby carrots (I can't stand cutting carrots)
Otherwise my typical grocery trip includes the following:1 tub plain yogurt, 3 kinds of meat (ground beef, ground turkey, some kind of chicken- 1 of which usually comes from our freezer), Peanut butter, Block of cheddar cheese, Jelly, 1 jug of juice, Gallon 2% milk, unsalted butter, Dozen eggs, Pasta, Rice, Fruits and Veggies (what ever is on sale), Canned beans or dried beans, Frozen veggies (green beans and broccoli)
For toiletry items I also buy generic brand, and we usually use suave shampoo/conditioner. There are other different items that get added per week.
To sum up, here are the points I try to remember when grocery shopping (they make my life a whole lot easier):
- One: Don't shop when hungry. When you do (because we all do) go during a time when they give out free samples, then politely decline when asked to purchase the item
- Two: Make a week long list of dinners BEFORE you go grocery shopping. This way you don't miss anything for the week, and your dinners are set. This helps me to feel on top of at least one thing during the week, and I am not scrambling to get dinner on the table.
- Three: Be thoughtful when creating your dinner list. I try to plan out quick meals for days that I know I won't be home until late. This helps the week go smoothly.
- Four: Buy generic, just about everything! It saves tons of money.
- Five: Now this one may be controversial, but don't use coupons unless they are taped to the item at the store. From my experience most of the items that coupons can be used for at the grocery store are garbage anyway, and couponing takes precious time away from your life!
How do you do your grocery shopping? Do you have any tips?
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