Comments on: Grocery Spending and Menu Plan-2.7 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/ cheerfully living on less Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:57:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Alison in KY http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-2049 Alison in KY Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:30:58 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-2049 I was just wondering what seasoning/spices you use to make your fajitas. I've looked around a bit and it seemed like everything I've every seen involved ingredients I never have on hand. I want to know how to throw it together without alot of effort. TIA Alison in KY I was just wondering what seasoning/spices you use to make your fajitas. I’ve looked around a bit and it seemed like everything I’ve every seen involved ingredients I never have on hand. I want to know how to throw it together without alot of effort.

TIA

Alison in KY

]]> By: Kristen http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1780 Kristen Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:47:40 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1780 Maddie, re the fruits and veggies, I totally agree. I buy less than I used to, and I end up with so much less waste. And I'm really happy that my blog has helped you save money...that's awesome! My blog has helped ME save money too! I'm much more on top of my grocery spending now that I have to post it here every week, plus I'm saving a lot of money by not wasting food. So, I'm helping myself in the process of helping my readers! It's a win-win. :) Maddie, re the fruits and veggies, I totally agree. I buy less than I used to, and I end up with so much less waste.

And I’m really happy that my blog has helped you save money…that’s awesome! My blog has helped ME save money too! I’m much more on top of my grocery spending now that I have to post it here every week, plus I’m saving a lot of money by not wasting food. So, I’m helping myself in the process of helping my readers! It’s a win-win. :)

]]> By: maddie http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1714 maddie Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:27:34 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1714 Until I started to grocery shop weekly, I, too, would have thought this was not enough food for a family for a week. However, I now realize that we go thru 4 gallons of milk a week, not five...and I was shocked that the 30 flour tortillas I bought lasted an entire month! We eat a lot of cereal for breakfast, and my teenage boys eat it for a snack as well. We also eat a lot of quesadillas, but I guess more like 30 in a month, not in a week. We also have fruit and veggies every day. However, once again, until I started to shop weekly I did not realize that we could get by with less and thus throw less away. Also, I buy big bags of frozen veggies and green beans so those will last a couple weeks at a time. I appreciate your blog so much Kristin! It is so inspiring! Obviously, I have to spend more on food, etc. than you (my kids are bigger!) but I think that your goals are reasonable and doable...and in fact, I have managed to squirrel away about $120 every month since starting to budget better and shop weekly. Until I started to grocery shop weekly, I, too, would have thought this was not enough food for a family for a week. However, I now realize that we go thru 4 gallons of milk a week, not five…and I was shocked that the 30 flour tortillas I bought lasted an entire month! We eat a lot of cereal for breakfast, and my teenage boys eat it for a snack as well. We also eat a lot of quesadillas, but I guess more like 30 in a month, not in a week.

We also have fruit and veggies every day. However, once again, until I started to shop weekly I did not realize that we could get by with less and thus throw less away. Also, I buy big bags of frozen veggies and green beans so those will last a couple weeks at a time.

I appreciate your blog so much Kristin! It is so inspiring! Obviously, I have to spend more on food, etc. than you (my kids are bigger!) but I think that your goals are reasonable and doable…and in fact, I have managed to squirrel away about $120 every month since starting to budget better and shop weekly.

]]> By: Kristen http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1709 Kristen Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:19:46 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1709 Oooh, good job!!! Parties can really blow a grocery budget if you're not careful, but $13 is very good. Oooh, good job!!! Parties can really blow a grocery budget if you’re not careful, but $13 is very good.

]]> By: Stacey http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1708 Stacey Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:45:54 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1708 Great! Thanks so much for your speedy reply! Yes, you and I are very much alike when it comes to how we look at this matter. I really appreciate your perspective - and, as in all matters, how open and honest you are about sharing. Oh, and just for you, I did an Amy Dacyczyn-like cost break down of the party fare I served last night. :) I fed a crowd of 8 adults and 3 kids for $13! I was very, very pleased! You can read about it at my blog. :) Great! Thanks so much for your speedy reply! Yes, you and I are very much alike when it comes to how we look at this matter. I really appreciate your perspective – and, as in all matters, how open and honest you are about sharing.

Oh, and just for you, I did an Amy Dacyczyn-like cost break down of the party fare I served last night. :) I fed a crowd of 8 adults and 3 kids for $13! I was very, very pleased! You can read about it at my blog. :)

]]> By: Kristen http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1707 Kristen Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:32:58 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1707 Oh yes, please do feel free to ask pointed questions! As long as you're not being mean about it, I can handle some criticism(at least, I'll try...criticism is probably at least a little bit painful for everyone!). Your question is a good one. Before I met my husband, I was more the type to lose the forest for the trees(in fact, I'm thinking about doing a post on that topic). Left to myself, I'd probably go to frugal extremes, but he has helped to mellow me out a bit. Because of him I've learned to splurge every once in a while, and I think I live a more balanced life now. Because I budget $80-$100 a week, and I've been at $80 or under for almost every week this year, I have some extra money in my budget to play around with, and we'll use that money for the seafood. Since we do takeout, it's a lot less expensive than a nice restaurant seafood meal would be(it'll probably cost $35-$40), and that's just not a huge deal in the long run to me. I wouldn't do it every week, but once a year is totally do-able. We do the wish money thing too, except we call it "fun money". Birthday money, money from side gigs(like when I play for a wedding), and other money like that goes into our fun money accounts. My husband spends all of his right away, but I currently have $100 in my fun money account. lol Oh yes, please do feel free to ask pointed questions! As long as you’re not being mean about it, I can handle some criticism(at least, I’ll try…criticism is probably at least a little bit painful for everyone!).

Your question is a good one. Before I met my husband, I was more the type to lose the forest for the trees(in fact, I’m thinking about doing a post on that topic). Left to myself, I’d probably go to frugal extremes, but he has helped to mellow me out a bit. Because of him I’ve learned to splurge every once in a while, and I think I live a more balanced life now.

Because I budget $80-$100 a week, and I’ve been at $80 or under for almost every week this year, I have some extra money in my budget to play around with, and we’ll use that money for the seafood. Since we do takeout, it’s a lot less expensive than a nice restaurant seafood meal would be(it’ll probably cost $35-$40), and that’s just not a huge deal in the long run to me. I wouldn’t do it every week, but once a year is totally do-able.

We do the wish money thing too, except we call it “fun money”. Birthday money, money from side gigs(like when I play for a wedding), and other money like that goes into our fun money accounts. My husband spends all of his right away, but I currently have $100 in my fun money account. lol

]]> By: Stacey http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1706 Stacey Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:16:19 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1706 Since a few are asking some pointed questions, I will pose mine: How do you figure getting seafood take-out into your weekly budget? Are you planning to use a gift card or does it get covered by another account, say "entertainment"? I ask, especially, because this question came up for me this week: When I've spent all the money I've designated for the budget, what do I do when I am considering going over it? I had met my budget of $80 for the week, but then I realized yesterday that I'd like to have some ice cream for the kids who were coming over for a party with their parents. I decided to take the $4 for the 1/2 gallon of Breyer's out of my "wish" jar. My husband and I both keep a jar that we fill with money that comes from "unexpected" windfalls like when I sell some clothes to a consignment shop or he gets money for his birthday. We see that as money that we can spend completely at our own discretion - me for a pedicure with a friend or he for getting a beer out with friends. I know the spirit of following a budget for you and me isn't about "sacrifice" - it's about spending thoughtfully, especially if it will make possible other things we'd like to do, like taking a trip to the beach. I'm just wondering how you are reconciling this matter this week, in particular, and for the future, in general. I can get so wrapped up in the "challenge" that I think I can lose the forest for the trees, so I'm really looking forward to having your perspective on this. :) Since a few are asking some pointed questions, I will pose mine: How do you figure getting seafood take-out into your weekly budget? Are you planning to use a gift card or does it get covered by another account, say “entertainment”? I ask, especially, because this question came up for me this week: When I’ve spent all the money I’ve designated for the budget, what do I do when I am considering going over it? I had met my budget of $80 for the week, but then I realized yesterday that I’d like to have some ice cream for the kids who were coming over for a party with their parents. I decided to take the $4 for the 1/2 gallon of Breyer’s out of my “wish” jar. My husband and I both keep a jar that we fill with money that comes from “unexpected” windfalls like when I sell some clothes to a consignment shop or he gets money for his birthday. We see that as money that we can spend completely at our own discretion – me for a pedicure with a friend or he for getting a beer out with friends. I know the spirit of following a budget for you and me isn’t about “sacrifice” – it’s about spending thoughtfully, especially if it will make possible other things we’d like to do, like taking a trip to the beach. I’m just wondering how you are reconciling this matter this week, in particular, and for the future, in general. I can get so wrapped up in the “challenge” that I think I can lose the forest for the trees, so I’m really looking forward to having your perspective on this. :)

]]> By: Kristen http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1705 Kristen Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:22:12 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1705 That's funny timing, Gail, because I was just looking in my fridge yesterday and thinking that very nearly the whole thing was taken up by produce. lol We don't ever eat vegetables for breakfast, this much is true. However, at lunch we eat yogurt smoothies(make with homemade yogurt, frozen strawberries(which are very nutritious), bananas, and fresh spinach(which is exceedingly healthy). We also eat baby carrots at lunch sometimes, and my kids like to eat grape tomatoes as a snack. I looked back at one of my old dinner plans(I think it was two weeks ago), and on Monday we had a spinach salad, Wednesday our main course was a romaine salad, and on Friday we had a salad. When I make our salads, I put in cucumber, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and greens, so we get a fair amount of variety in there. This week(and last, I think, if I remember right), we're heavier on the fruit, but I think that fruit is really nutritious too. Then too, some of our main courses have lots of veggies in them. My tortellini soup has tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and carrots in it, the fajitas we're having this week have grilled vegetables(onions, and green and red peppers), and so on. That said, I think that we could stand to eat more vegetables(and fruit), and so as I said when you commented on this previously, I'm trying to get into the habit of incorporating more fresh stuff into our diets. We are a really healthy bunch...all of us are at very healthy weights, and we are hardly ever sick(in the last three years, I think we've only been to the doctor once for something other than a well-checkup). Heather-are your kids older than mine? Mine are all still fairly young, and they're not huge eaters either. My husband and I don't have enormous appetites either, so we probably go through less food per capita(haha) than a lot of other households. That’s funny timing, Gail, because I was just looking in my fridge yesterday and thinking that very nearly the whole thing was taken up by produce. lol

We don’t ever eat vegetables for breakfast, this much is true. However, at lunch we eat yogurt smoothies(make with homemade yogurt, frozen strawberries(which are very nutritious), bananas, and fresh spinach(which is exceedingly healthy). We also eat baby carrots at lunch sometimes, and my kids like to eat grape tomatoes as a snack.

I looked back at one of my old dinner plans(I think it was two weeks ago), and on Monday we had a spinach salad, Wednesday our main course was a romaine salad, and on Friday we had a salad. When I make our salads, I put in cucumber, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and greens, so we get a fair amount of variety in there.

This week(and last, I think, if I remember right), we’re heavier on the fruit, but I think that fruit is really nutritious too.

Then too, some of our main courses have lots of veggies in them. My tortellini soup has tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and carrots in it, the fajitas we’re having this week have grilled vegetables(onions, and green and red peppers), and so on.

That said, I think that we could stand to eat more vegetables(and fruit), and so as I said when you commented on this previously, I’m trying to get into the habit of incorporating more fresh stuff into our diets.

We are a really healthy bunch…all of us are at very healthy weights, and we are hardly ever sick(in the last three years, I think we’ve only been to the doctor once for something other than a well-checkup).

Heather-are your kids older than mine? Mine are all still fairly young, and they’re not huge eaters either. My husband and I don’t have enormous appetites either, so we probably go through less food per capita(haha) than a lot of other households.

]]> By: Heather http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1703 Heather Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:28:07 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1703 I agree with Gail about the vegetables, but have never had the nerve to say anything - LOL!!! Also, whenI look at that amount of fruit I wonder how that is enough for 6 people for a week. There are only 4 in my family and we would be throught that fruit (with the exception of all of the bananas) in about 2 days. I agree with Gail about the vegetables, but have never had the nerve to say anything – LOL!!!

Also, whenI look at that amount of fruit I wonder how that is enough for 6 people for a week. There are only 4 in my family and we would be throught that fruit (with the exception of all of the bananas) in about 2 days.

]]> By: Gail http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/02/grocery-spending-and-menu-plan-27/#comment-1701 Gail Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:06:12 +0000 http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/?p=1198#comment-1701 I'm stuck on the vegetable factor! As a mom, I look at your menu plan and it is seriously lacking vegetables. So many good nutrients and antioxidants come from veggies! That's my two cents worth for the day. I am impressed with your tenacity for pre-planning for shopping and meals. I still will sometimes impulse buy. Getting better about it...but every now and then those store signs and displays get me! LOL! I’m stuck on the vegetable factor! As a mom, I look at your menu plan and it is seriously lacking vegetables. So many good nutrients and antioxidants come from veggies! That’s my two cents worth for the day.
I am impressed with your tenacity for pre-planning for shopping and meals. I still will sometimes impulse buy. Getting better about it…but every now and then those store signs and displays get me! LOL!

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