Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping and Price Matching (Oh MY!)

On more than one occasion, people have asked me how I do my shopping and manage to stay on or below budget almost every time. Well, I have a system. It's not rocket science or anything, but it certainly helps out. In fact a friend of mine is coming over this weekend to learn. I figured I should prepare since I'm a little nuts and thought I'd share with everyone at once. Now to tell you how I guess I should start with the why.

After my son was born, my husband gave me the option of staying at home or going back to work. First let me say I am so thankful he gave me the option. I know that some couples don't get the option and I am so happy I've been able to spend so much time with my little guy.  However, 2 weeks after he was born he developed a milk allergy and I was no longer able to breastfeed. Also he was on a soy formula which is much more expensive than the dairy versions. We held on and pinched what we thought we could but we were struggling. (as I'm sure most can relate) My husband came to me and said we either needed to BOTH be working or I had to find a way to make ends meet. I started crocheting baby hats and trying to sell them online but that didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. I tried ruffle scarves too but to no avail. So, I went to Pinterest (you know, my favorite website) and started looking for frugal ways to change up what I had. I started with laundry soap. I have been making it for 3 years now and I know that change alone has saved us a ton. I also made my own household cleaners, shower cleaners, dishwasher detergent, etc. Some worked, some didn't. I didn't let that discourage me though. We also set ourselves on a pretty strict budget. My husband gave me $200 a paycheck ($400 a month) to feed the 3 of us. Some weeks were great, others I cut pretty close. A couple of times I've even been over budget. Thankfully, never over about $20 though. My husband constantly sings my praises to anyone that will listen. Especially his coworkers and friends. It's almost become a competition with us. I love surprising him.

A few months ago one of his coworkers told him of a new website that lists all the local ads and Walmart will price match them. I made my grocery store list, went to the website and wrote down some of the things I was going to buy with the new prices. I was very nervous at first, but it worked. The first time I saved about $40. The next time I saved $70. I was on a high. A savings high. (There are some times I don't do as well as others but it all depends on the sales. I do try to stock up if the prices are good and I have extra budget.) On the website I use, they also link coupons if they are available. I currently don't own a printer so I miss out on that extra savings but if you do, then you can save even more. Well, I suppose I've chattered enough. This is my system. (note - we are currently eating a low carb/diabetic diet, since I have recently been evaluated as pre-diabetic. Don't want to take any chances! But you will see a lot more produce and less pastas,breads, etc. Trust me that this works with ANY diet and ANY lifestyle as we just moved to this "diet" and it worked before and STILL does!)

First I plan what meals I want to make the next couple weeks (and I check the calendar to see how many I need to plan for until the next paycheck) and it looks something like this. (although usually it's handwritten.)

After that is done, I write out EVERYTHING I need for that recipe. Even things that I know that I have. The only exception is things you always have like salt, pepper, milk, butter, etc.(It will all make sense very soon, grasshopper) When it's done, It looks kinda like this.

Then I make a tally of how much of each thing I need.  I know it kinda looks like alot but that list will get much shorter here in a second.

After all that, I take my list to my fridge, freezers, pantry, etc. and cross off everything I already have. That way I know exactly how much I need of each item and nothing gets forgotten. After all that, It looks something like this.

Ahh. Much better. I take this list and make up my grocery list. I usually keep a list on the fridge of things we are low on or out of so I just combine the lists and poof! Grocery list is done. Well, mostly. (note - when I make my grocery list, I put in categories, it helps me not miss things and make 20 trips around the store. Also when you see the tally marks, it doesn't mean just one chicken breast etc. It is one meal's worth. So for us, it's 2 large or 3 small. Same thing with veggies. Also when making my final list - It only gets tally marks if it's more than one that is needed.)  

Next, if your state is listed on Pricematcherz then go on there and write what you need or print the whole list or whatever you want. Normally what I do is write really small next to my list item the price. I can't really do that on the typed version without completely giving me a formatting headache. Some Walmart stores want you to have the ad but I usually just have the website on my phone and it's worked for me. Do not be ashamed to price match. The Walmart employees I have come across are typically very patient with me and don't question me. It's just silly to pay full price!  (Some people have had trouble though so it might be worth buying a paper. You'll make up the cost in sweet sweet price match savings!)Anyways, this is my method, I hope it was easy enough to follow. If you have any questions please message me on here. I'm also on Pinterest and Facebook if you would like to contact me there. Have a wonderful day!

xo-Lisa