I have tried a few different ways of shopping.
When the twins were babies, I would do my shopping weekly. That was nice, but I found I spent more money because I wasn't really planning too well. At that time, I was working and we went out to eat a lot more.
Once we moved to Michigan two years ago, our shopping habbits changed once again. Here, there are no double coupons and food is much more expensive. I had to really reevaluate how to shop and where to find deals. Aldi has been such a lifesaver!
After we moved into our house a year ago, we joined Costco and I have changed how I shop yet again. I try to do one large trip a month and supplement small weekly trips for milk, fruit, and any great deals I find. Since the girls are eating so much more food now, we really need to shop in bulk.
The day we go shopping, I have a list, coupons and everything I might need all ready to go. This includes snacks if the girls are with me and I make sure all of the Mperks I might need are uploaded to my account.
On my list, I make sure every item with a coupon is marked. I used to organize my coupons in an accordion file, but I have switched to the binder method. I'm adding a post about that later this week!
We usually make three stops: Costco, Aldi and Meijer. I like that order because I usually have the least amount of items to buy at Meijer. Costco covers the big bulk items, Aldi covers the stock-up pantry items, chicken and produce and whatever we have left is at Meijer. Yes, this takes about 3 hours but I am basically done for the month!
If the kids come, Ricky is great at keeping them moving. They love to get their free cookie at Meijer and a hot dog at Costco. Hey, whatever keeps them happy!
This method has been such a lifesaver! I have found that I can plan meals easier and having a stocked pantry is such a time saver. I will admit, by the end of some months, I have run out of a few items. But that is what All Recipes is for! I use the simple ingredient search and I can find new meals to make in minutes.
How do you shop? Did it change drastically after having kids?
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2 comments:
I always wonder how you do it with 3 girls, I find it extremely hard with just 2 - people are always looking at me like I'm crazy pushing two carts!
And I love the AllRecipes ingredient finder too! It saves me at least once a week!
For our big trips, I always take Ricky with me. It's supposed to be family time, but it ends up being Ricky keeping the girls entertained while I frantically try to keep my list in check and coupons organized. I really should start going alone...it would take half the time! At Meijer if we are lucky enough to get a kids cart we just need one, but otherwise it's 2, even at Costco. So annoying!
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