took dh grocery shopping with me

[rainbabies]

bad, major, huge mistake. i can usually spend about $150/week. this includes dog food, cat food, litter and diapers. well, mr. fancy pants who thinks we could save money by getting...*gag* boxed, canned, and frozen foods decided to "show me how to shop cheap". HUH! at the check out line, the total came to about $205. i just and he said wow, how do you do it on $150/week???

we came home and unpacked and this is now what i have in my freezer and pantry. fish sticks, chicken nuggets, buritos, pre made pancakes and french toast. in my pantry. pasta, pasta, and more pasta, box meals, ** chef boyardee, generic granola bars and a bunch of other crap.

when i would go by myself, i would have bananas, grapes, cucumbers, strawberries, apples, watermellon, meat from the deli and from the meat section, cheese, bagels, yogurt.... frozen veggies and some snacks.

now i have all this crap in my house, that the kids have never even seen before....and a checking account short $55.

[DCJenn]

Well, when he's starving for something nutritious...tell him he'll have to wait until next payday.

My husband was like that a Trader Joes. They have tons of cool stuff that is healthy, but he never found any of it. Instead we'd have 15 different kinds of expensive candies, some funky sauce that wouldn't be used for years and the high fat yogurts...or some other combination of wierd, expensive and/or fattening.

Jenn

DH does better than I do because the man can stick to a list. But who is there to thank for late night snacks? Moi! And his meals are a little less inspired but also less expensive.

Sylvia, that is funny. Except being short $55 and not having the food you normally like to eat.

[Tenacious_D]

It's the complete opposite at home. I am the one who somehow overspends and gets the absolute worst things at the store.

One year, my parents came to visit DH and I in college for Thanksgiving and I was responsible for buying the turkey. My dad had blood pressure issues and specifically asked for things without too much sodium. Guess who bought the flavor injected turkey I was banned from food shopping for a few weeks after that episode. I just can't seem to do it right and DH likes it so it'll stay that way until he gets to residency...then we will just use Fresh direct and I'll have him select the items online

[ellie]

Re: took dh grocery shopping with me

he said wow, how do you do it on $150/week???

Sylvia, that is amazing to buy all that stuff on $150/week!! You must share your secrets.

[planet]

That's the last time he goes with you!! You do an amazing job at feeding your family well on a tight budget!

[Vanquisher]

Re: took dh grocery shopping with me

he said wow, how do you do it on $150/week???

Sylvia, that is amazing to buy all that stuff on $150/week!! You must share your secrets.

Our food budget is about 100 a week, but I don't buy pet food or pet supplies of any kind.

The #1 absolute best way I have discovered to cut down the amount of money I spend on food is to meal plan. Stick to my list! I also shop at Walmart and Costco/Sam's Club. A girl has to do what a girl has to do. I meal plan for 5-6 meals at a time. There is overlap in ingredients (produce) and less waste this way. I plan 1-2 nights for leftovers or quick meals a week. Little Ceasers by my house has drive-thru pizza for $5. I can't beat that on a lazy night or call night, so we do that a couple times a month.

[Stella]

We went to Sams the other night and I got a 6 pack of peppers (2 red, 2 yellow, 2 orange) for $5.88!!!! They are normally $2.69 EACH at the grocery store. I was so excited! We made kebobs last night with them... oooooh yum!

Should I be embarrassed that peppers make me this excited?

[rainbabies]

Should I be embarrassed that peppers make me this excited?

yeah, my dh in his bachelor days ate lipton noodle packets for a meal. all he could afford at the time was spaghetti and the noodle packets. he also ate almost three meals a day at mcDonalds. he would stop on his way to school in the am....on his lunch break from class,and the on the way to work in the late afternoon. honestly....i dont know how he could physically stomach that. ::

when he would come to my house he would eat all my food....the yogurt, chees sticks, turkey, fresh fruits and veggies. poor boy....thought he had died and gone to heaven.

oh, so i made one of those *gag* boxed betty crocker meals last night. i had cucumber slices, mixed veggies, and biskets on the side.....my baby dd ate everything....ds took about two bites of the potato ham cheese thing, but ate everything else and other dd REFUSED to even open her mouth to try that slop. i even dipped it in ranch...which usually works for everything. all i had was a biscut with butter and honey. dh wasnt home to "enjoy" the meal, so i put a plate to the side for him. when the kids went to bed he finally ate. i asked him how he liked it. he said, "i dont know what that orange stuff was, but i ate it". later on he made a reference to dinner again....i said...but honey, i thought you liked it...."no, i said i didnt know what it was, but ate it...never did the word like come into play"

and to quote dh on our shopping trip this weekend....after i said the kids wont eat this stuff..."well, i guess they're going to have to learn arent they"....yeah honey, you better learn too.

[KCwife]

when he would come to my house he would eat all my food....the yogurt, chees sticks, turkey, fresh fruits and veggies. poor boy....thought he had died and gone to heaven.

My DH had beer, ketchup and tortillas the first time I looked in his fridge. He also gained 50 lbs our first year of marriage.

[Stella]

when he would come to my house he would eat all my food....the yogurt, chees sticks, turkey, fresh fruits and veggies. poor boy....thought he had died and gone to heaven.

My DH had beer, ketchup and tortillas the first time I looked in his fridge. He also gained 50 lbs our first year of marriage.

SO eats ALL my food! The cheese, the peppers, the pepperoncinis, the deli meats, the Triscuits, the fruit, the Haagen-Daaz and basically everything else that is expensive. He has water, liquor, RC Cola (blech!), and cheese blocks. And the first thing he does when comes over is head to the fridge. I buy the good stuff for ME - Hellooooo? We're not married yet! Maybe that'll be his motivation...

[Vishenka69]

I don't really budget grocery shopping, but for the most part I buy whatever is on sale that week. This way we get variety, I don't spend tons and it's the path of least resistance. Planning, couponing, going to 3 different stores is just too much work. I learned that stocking up during sales works the best. As long I have some grains and meat in the freezer, I can make a meal. Although I realize that it's hard to eat more veggies without doing grocery shopping every week.

[MrsC]

DH and I always go grocery shopping together. We pretty much do everything together. It takes twice as long as it should because he checks the prices on EVERYTHING. If there isn't a good price per lb on the meat, he'll leave it there, saying we'll get it somewhere else and we generally end up paying more in another store. I have tried making lists but we never stick to them. It doesn't help that we have different tastes in foods.

[PrincessFiona]

DH always spends much more if he goes shopping...and also brings home junk. Then when it comes time to make meals, we don't really have anything to make a solid week work and we have to go back to the store again and again.

I have switched to shopping online. I was hesitant but now am addicted. Our grocery store waves the $5 delivery fee if the order is over $50 and we get next morning delivery.

So....I order 1x/week online. I keep a list of the stuff we need when we run out like grocery bags, toilet paper, etc and then plan my meals before ordering.

I end up saving a lot because I'm not parading through the store smelling the food or doing impulse buying.

kris

Most of the summer, meals have been an afterthought and not well planned out.

So...instead of a New Year's resolution, I've got a back to school resolution. Get back to once/week shopping with a list and meals planned out for the whole week. Makes dinner time easier and saves money. Probably healthier too.

Thanks for the nudge!