I need to keep a constant stock of items to avoid extra trips into my favorite discount grocery store in the next town. Most pantry items in my hometown store are just too expensive to get (sometimes a three dollar difference!) After reviewing my grocery receipts and pantry for a month, I devised a shopping list on my computer that lists everything I use in my home, broken down into general categories like Produce/Fresh; Frozen; Pantry; Office; Toiletries/Household.
I saved it on MS Word, and before I go shopping I do an inventory, then open my list on my computer, "delete" what I do not need to buy, and print out the list. When I close the program, I choose NOT to save the changes, so I always have the complete list. Stuff that needs to be purchased at a specialty store is italicized, and if I have coupons, I highlight the item and keep them with my list, so I don't forget them. The list is very easy to read, and I have extra room to write down notes or unexpected items (like car parts!) It takes a little time to set it up, but the time and gas I save from forgetting an item is very valuable!
By Kelly
This page contains the following solutions.
To save time and trips to the grocery store, I have a master list of everything I keep on hand. I keep it folded and stuck in a coffee cup in the kitchen cabinet.
To keep an eye on your budget and create an instant shopping list, keep your grocery receipt from your previous trip. Put a tick mark beside each item you need, and list any additional items on the back.
Everyone probably knows that it is helpful to put a shopping list on fridge so that you can make note of what you have run out of. Another good idea is to put a list on the inside of your cupboard or panty where you store dry goods.
We all know sticking to a list is the key to saving money. I live 11 miles from town, so I keep what I call a 'running list' all the time.
To keep from over buying at the store I always make a list the night before buying groceries. My husband and I do it together, we make sure all staples are covered and the meat and the veggies. We then check all the non food items and write them down.
Keep a list of what you usually buy at the store and print it on the computer. You can make several copies at a time. When you get ready to go to the grocery store just glance through and check off what you need.
I use a system that I learned while I was a restaurant manager and by the nature of my job "had" to control food cost.
Tape a piece of paper on the inside of the cupboard. Divide it into spaces for lists: cleaning supplies, canned goods, bathroom, other.
I have one of those clear see- through magnetic frames; the kind that pulls apart half of the way as you insert whatever picture you might like. Well instead of a picture, I put a blank piece of lined notebook paper in it.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Links to sites that offer free printable grocery lists. Post your favorite links.
Hi MommyKelly,
I looked for the list that I had usded from years ago. This isn't the one that I had originally, but it should work for what you need. I hope this helps.
Sincerely, Doreen from Pa
MommyKelly, I don't see the list from the prior post for comparison to the one I've found; did you get it? I'd like to see it myself. Anyway the list I've found I really enjoy and edit often. It can be found at http://www.familytime.com , go to the tabs at the top of the page and click on shopping list. (the whole site is worth checking out). Hope this helps.KCRC
Just a thought, you can in less than a half hour make one yourself and save it to your computer!
images.google.com/
:)
www.clevermoms.com/
They let you select items in a checkbox and then print out only what you selected. I just copied out the whole thing and wrote on a few things to modify it to my family's use.
I have this one and really like it. It does everything I want it to and it was free to download. You might want to check it out. It is easy to use and prints out the way I wanted it to.
http://www.homeplansoftware.com
The Shopping List The Item List The Category List
Starting a New List Using the Items List Using the Category List
Opening an Existing List Editing the Item List
Saving the List
Printing the list
Editing the Shopping List
Hi Kelly! Try http://www.womansday.com They have some great printable lists. I love the grocery one!
Also, I did a general search(typed in grocery list) and got a bunch of links.
Good luck!
http://www.printablechecklists.com is awesome! lots of lists for EVERYTHING! enjoy!
Tami
Thanks to everyone who helped me get one step closer to beeing organized mommy Kelly from wpg
I need a printable shopping list layout/template please. I've been on the computer for half an hour trying to save time from making one myself.
Thanks,
mommykelly from wpg
To save time when trying to decide what to cook, print out a master grocery list (you can find one here: <www.womansday.com/
By Jessica
www.tickedlist.com/
*Printable shopping lists
*Shows total spent each month
*Remembers past items for future lists
*Can be view on your phone to save paper
Highly recommend it!
I'm a single guardian with a little brother to take care of and I am also going to college. It is ust the two of us. We have a decent budget of 150-200 bucks to spend a month for food. Lately, I've been lazy and we have just been eating microwavables, mac and cheese, speghetti, rice w/ (eggs, spam, bacon, etc), and sandwiches....
this depends upon what you already have at home to work with also.
And what types of meals you like and such.
I have a family of 6 with 2 teens, and 2 under 2 years old!
For our basic week we have:
speghetti and a salad
chicken and rice and a veggie
Sausage and Mac n cheese and mixed veggies
Beef n Broccoli stir fry type thing
Chicken with pasta and a veggie.
Weekends are so hectic, we don't really have sit down meals. But I keep quick things around like hotdogs and microwavable meals and sandwich makins.
So, I guess you need to start with a menu, before you create a grocery list.. and make it things that you both like and will eat and that are easily made.
http://www.savingdinner.com
grocerylist and menu
1 week free trial ... works great, very inexpensive preperation for great
I always make sure I have fresh vegetables as well as a few frozen choices so I can serve 2 at each supper. I also make sure there is fresh fruit available each day. Applesauce is nice and not very expensive. I buy a whole chicken and cook it up and get many meals from just the one chicken, making sure I freeze what I will not be eating within a couple of days. Turkey can be treated the same way and makes many varied meals. It is currently recommended that people eat many different fruits and veggies each day, about 1/2 cup each. I wish you the very best and I hope this helps, along with other ideas and suggestions.
make a list of what your little bro likes to eat in the protein, veg and carb areas.
Select one from each list and make it for dinner.
You could also ask him to help you decide what would be a good lunch, breakfast, dinner and write them down for sample menus. Just remember that a green and yellow veg should be served with dinner and that processed food is usually loaded with sodium and preservatives.
You could plan to get 2 meals out of one cooking session by serving the protein on Mon. and Wed. and just having different veggies.
Or turn Mon. meatloaf into an addition for Wed. chili. Turn Tues. baked chicken into Th. chicken salad. Little shortcuts like that make meal planning easier. One you have a two week menu worked out, you have done the hard part.
You could divide each day of the week into a protein.
For example:
Mon. beef, Tues. poultry, Wed. vegetarian, Th. soup, Fri. fish, etc.
I'm proud of you!!
I first check my grocery ads and see what's on sale and adjust my list accordingly. I keep a piece of paper on the fridge and each time i use up a staple i put it on the list so i don't forget. Here are a few simple and inexpensive tasty meals.
Hamburger with Beef Gravy
In a skillet cook 1 lb ground beef - cheap's ok.
Add onions if you desire. When cooked add 1 can beef gravy with enough water to just make it the consistency you desire. Add 1 can/frozen pkg cut green beans. Heat until hot.
Place over cooked, fork mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice already cooked.
Hamburger with Tomato Soup
Cook 1 lb hamburger same as above. Add 1 or 2 cans tomato soup as you please. Add 1 can/frozen pkg whole corn kernels. Heat till hot. Serve over potatoes or slices of bread even. Some mix elbows in it for a spaghetti like meal.
Chili
Cook 1-1/2 hamburg in skillet. Onions if desired. Add 1 lg. Can crushed tomatoes, 1/2 uncooked rice, chili powder to taste. Simmer until rice is cooked. If its too thin add some tomato paste. Too thick add a little water. When suits you put in 1 lg can kidney or white cannilenni beans with juice. Heat till hot again. Eat like this or cook elbow macaroni and serve it over that. Serve with salad or another veggie or piece of fruit.
Boiled Chicken
Cook one frying chicken in a pot into which you can just fit it in. Add enough water to just cover it along with 2 cubes of wyler's chicken bullion cubes (only wyler's brand)
Bring to boil, simmer till chicken is really tender and soft. Make sandwiches for more than one meal. Cook potatoes over which the juice is placed (yummy) and chicken on side. And veggie or salad.
Homemade Hash
Boil potatoes (about 2 lbs). Crush in skillet with potato masher. Add 1 or 2 cans of corned beef (not the already cooked canned corn beef) make sure you pull apart somehow the corned beef as it must be distributed amongst the potatoes pretty evenly. Add a little milk. Cook on med heat till pretty well browned. Not enough milk add little m ore. Too much milk - pour off and cook some more to dry it out some. Don't forget to add salt and pepper while its cooking. Serve with fried eggs and toast. Yummy. Ps i should have said the corned beef is in cans usually near the canned meats and its usually in a rectangular can that has rounded edges. Clerk will show it to you.
Macaroni and Cheese
Cook 1 lb elbow macaroni as directed on box. Pour off water when macs are almost done and rinse in hot water. Layer 1/3 macs in bottom of bowl. Sprinkle evenly on top one 8 oz pkg of shredded cheese. Add 1/2 of remainder of macs. Again add evenly one 8 oz pkg of shredded cheese. Add rest of macs.
Pour milk in until it comes to about one inch from the top. Sprinkle bread crumbs lightly on top of cheese to form a nice brown crust. Cover with foil and cook in preheated oven of 350 till it starts to bubble and cheese and milk have melded together. We love extra sharp cheddar and monterey jack cheeses mixed together and then spread. We like lots of cheeses. Experiment. Can add 1 one pound can of formed ham that's been cubed into the macs and spread evenly before starting to place in bowl. So much better. Serve with salad.
Macaroni Salad - Basic Recipe
Cook and drain 1 lb macaroni. Rinse with cold water to cool. Add 1 can/frozen. Pkg peas and carrots after draining the juice. Add mayonnaise to taste. Additions: add can of tuna fish or sliced hard boiled eggs for protein, or other veggies as desired. Chopped celery is good. Easy to do and tasty
Potato Salad
Cook about 2-1/2 lbs potatoes and at same time cook about 5-6 eggs till hard boiled.
Dice real small one onion (optional) dice 3 celery stalks. Easiest if potatoes are cubed about one"by one"before starting in cold water. When potatoes and eggs done peel eggs while real hot (use rubber gloves) crush with fork like for egg salad or with pastry blender (easier) - add to potatoes while both are really hot and mix a little bit. Add mayo while hot and mix well. Add onion and celery and mix a little bit. Be sure to be adding salt and pepper while mixing to your taste. If you have extra hard boiled eggs, peel and slice on top of potatoes. Best if let to cool over night in fridge to allow all flavor to permeate. Some people don't mind potato skins and don't peel. Up to you. If you do not cube potatoes before hand, you must cut them up while real hot. I don't advise this.
Beef with Onion Soup Mix and Tomato
In oven proof cooking dish, metal or glass, rectangular or square and not too big, place one envelope of onion soup mix. Add I can tomato soup on top. Place sliced pieces of beef (about bite size or little larger) on top. Cook in 350 degree oven till all tender. Serve over bread, potatoes, rice or noodles. Serve a veggie or salad.
I hope this helps you. Took me a real long time to type this and I know you will appreciate it. Right?
you should join many_mouths_to_feed group on yahoo groups. we have been discussing this and their have been some wonderful tips and recipes. I am going to put a couple of recipes on here for you to try. I am on a budget of 260 a month for two adults and a teenager.
taco mac n cheese
pound and half hamburger browned and drained
2 3/4 water
you may want to cut these recipes in half for just the two of you though in my house we love leftovers.
one and half to two pack taco seasoning
4 ounce velvetta cheese cut into cubes
2 cups elbow macaroni
mix browned and drained hamburger, water, taco seasoning in skillet bring to a boil, pour in macaroni and turn to medium low. cook till macaroni soft, about 10 minutes. then put in cheese stirring occasionally till melted.
Bacon Baked Chicken
4 slices bacon
4 chicken breasts, deboned
1 pint sour cream
2 10 3/4oz cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wrap uncooked bacon slices around deboned chicken breasts and place the
breasts in a baking dish.
Mix sour cream and soup and spoon the mixture over chicken. Cover dish
with foil and bake for 1 hour.
I just joined Flylady.net and three weeks later my house is respectable and I am planning my menus and having much more luck with my shopping, buying enough for a week at a time. My menu for the next week is:
Spaghetti Bolognese
Chicken & bacon pasta & Veg
Steak stir fry
Bubble & Squeak topped Cottage pie
Salmon, rice & veg
Sausage beans & mash
Roast pork
Hope this gives you some ideas, I've found loads of great recipes on the web recently e.g. Trout with Tomato Sauce, Tomato and vegetable Stew, stuffed marrow. About.com has some great recipes too.
hi, i found this site that might help: www.betterbudgeting.com/
good luck to you!
My niece hit hard times recently and she was brought food by a local church member.
This member bought a ton of food from a Angel Food Ministries site for $25. There are many distribution sites in the US. One is right up the road from me.
They also have specials in addition to the monthly menu. This month is either 8-8oz Rib Eye steaks or 18-4oz chicken cordon bleu for $18 . You must buy the $25 lot, though.
This should be enough food to get you through a month with the addition of ramen noodles and pbj sandwiches.
www.angelfoodministries.com/
Be blessed!
Thank you very much!! You all been very helpful! It really means a lot to me.
-thanks
i've decided to go with hamburger helpers, mac n cheese (variations), homemade hash, chicken variations with rice, cereal, curry, sandwiches, spaghetti, lasagna, and chicken wings.. which will now be the standard in this house... any objections... then they can cook/starve.
Thank you all very much!
Try http://www.savingdinner.com . The author is a nutritinist and my family loves the book. You can also order a menu program from her that is excelent and low cost. The food tastes great and she includes shopping lists with the menus. You can also get a free sample from the website to test drive it before you would buy it. I recommend it to all my friends and family.
I had a family of 5 until my 3 kids grew up and married, we use to eat a home cooked meal 3 times a day because I was a stay at home mom, [one or two would walk home for lunch every day] so I came up with this recipe for FAST.
Take Campbell's vegetarian soup, and a can of water for each can of soup, put it on to boil for a few minutes and throw some uncooked Hamburger meat in it, cook til the Hamburger is done. add salt and pepper to taste and you have a delicious meal in minutes. I always form my hamburger into patties when I get it and place Freezer paper, wax side up against the meat, between the patties, this way they will pull apart easy. the meat can be put in the soup while it's still frozen but you have to break it up into small chunks [however you like it].
A few months ago there was a "master" weekly (or maybe monthly) grocery list on this group that listed what items are on sale and which staples to stock up on when; using this plan, you can drastically reduce your grocery bill. Now, I cannot find the list on thriftyfun.com; anyone know where it is, or how to shopping this way? Thank you!
Hi Glenda!!! I don't know if this is the one you're looking for but it sure looks like a great idea and so organized: www.thriftyfun.com/
Set aside $5 a week to buy the specific items each week. You will have a kitty set aside that you put the $5 in and you can't touch it for any reason but to buy the food storage item for that week. Put in the remaining change back into the kitty. Some things in the beginning are going to be cheap and then later will be more expensive. In order to pay for the expensive stuff later you need to keep the leftover money in the kitty. Weeks 38 and 44 you will have "off" to replenish the kitty.
Week 1: 2 cans tuna fish, 2 boxes salt
Week 2: 5 boxes of Macaroni and Cheese, 4 cans tomato soup
Week 3: 3 cans mushroom soup, 1 2.5 lb peanut butter
Week 4: one bottle 365 count multi-vitamins
Week 5: 4 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lb powdered milk
Week 6: 1 bottle aspirin (500 tablets)
Week 7: 1 100 lb container wheat
Week 8: 1 5 lb powdered milk
Week 9: 1 5 lb honey
Week 10: 4 cans tuna, 4 boxes macaroni and cheese
Week 11: 1 10 lb sugar, 1 box salt
Week 12: 4 cans mushroom soup
Week 13: 1 bottle 365 count multi-vitamins
Week 14: 1 100 lb wheat
Week 15: 1 box macaroni and cheese
Week 16: 1 5 lb honey
Week 17: 2 cans tuna, 4 can tomato soup
Week 18: 1 10 lbs sugar
Week 19: 1 100 lbs of wheat
Week 20: 2 10lbs of sugar
Week 21: 1 10lb powdered milk
Week 22: 1 can mushroom soup, 1 10 lb sugar
Week 23: 1 can tuna, 4 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lbs sugar
Week 24: 1 10 lbs sugar
Week 25: 2 cans tuna, 2 cans mushroom soup
Week 26: 1 100 lb wheat
Week 27: 3 10 lbs sugar
Week 28: 1 10 lb sugar
Week 29: 1 10 lb powdered milk
Week 30: 2 10 lb sugar
Week 31: 1 can tuna, 3 cans mushroom soup
Week 32: 1 can tuna, 4 cans tomato soup
Week 33: 1 100 lb wheat
Week 34: 2 cans tuna, 1 box salt
Week 35: 1 10 lb powdered milk
Week 36: 2 10 lb sugar
Week 37: 4 cans tomato soup, 2 boxes salt
Week 38: Stash $5 in the kitty
Week 39: 1 100 lb wheat
Week 40: 1 10 lb powdered milk
Week 41: 3 10 lb sugar
Week 42: 2 cans tomato soup, 1 10 lb sugar
Week 43: 2 cans tomato soup, 2 cans mushroom soup
Week 44: Stash $5 in the kitty
Week 45: 1 10 lb powdered milk
Week 46: 4 cans tomato soup, 4 cans mushroom soup
Week 47: 1 10 lb powdered milk
Week 48: 4 cans mushroom soup, 1 10 lb powdered milk
Week 49: 7 cans of tomato soup
Week 50: 7 cans of mushroom soup
Week 51: 2 10 lbs sugar, 1 box salt
By the end of the 52 weeks, you should have:
700lbs of wheat,
240 lbs sugar,
40 lbs of powdered milk,
13 lbs of salt,
10 lbs of honey,
5 lbs of peanut butter,
45 cans of tomato soup,
32 cans mushroom soup,
15 cans tuna fish,
10 macaroni and cheese dinners,
500 aspirin, and
730 multiple vitamins
They suggest adding 6 lbs of dried yeast and 6 lbs of shortening and this should be enough to sustain 2 people for a year. For every 2 people you have in your family add $5 more and double or triple the amount of whatever you are buying that week.
I looked over your list, which sounded like a very good idea...but after taking a closer look, you have allocated .33 (1/3) pound of sugar per person per day and about a pound of flour per day. How do you use all these items should the occasion arise?
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I have a very limited of money to spent on groceries. Since I buy most of my food from Save-A-Lot, I have saved my receipts each week.
