Last year, towards the end of January I started to get the feeling things in the world we a little off and that it might be a good idea to stock up not only on groceries, but garden seeds and other essentials as well. And so I did.
And I continued to do so for the first few months of the year. And then, well, I never really stopped.
Pro Tip: ALWAYS GO WITH YOUR GUT.
General Store $6.27
When I started blogging, it was all about the coupons and finding the best deals and it didn’t really matter what I was throwing in my cart as long as I was getting it for free, or next to nothing.
These days though, the kids are grown and off doing their own things and our house no longer runs on sugary cereals, Oreo’s or the nutrition bars I was able to snag for pennies on the dollar.
General Store Salami Sub $9
No these days we’re all about quality. 🙂 And by quality I mean fancy cheese from Vermont, buying maple syrup from the person who tapped the trees, subs made from the owner at our local general store with awesome ingredients {as opposed to Subway or some place similar}.
We no longer run to the grocery store for a single item, and instead we keep a little post-it note on the side of the fridge for our shopping trips. Living in the boonies has been the best thing that has happened to us in a long while.
For the first 25 years of our marriage my husband would maybe cook a meal once a year. These days he’s in the kitchen more than I am. Slowing down, it’s pretty rad. Even if the food budget is a little higher.
The way I see it, we drive about 1/10th of what we used to so instead of filling our cars with gas and putting wear and tear on the car, we’re investing that money on more exciting things like bakery treats and cheese when we eventually do make it out of the house.
Yes we still buy a few convenience foods {hello Stouffer’s lasagna and man chips} but for the most part, we are sitting down together at the table several times a day over a home cooked meal that one of us made. Unrushed.
And to me, that’s a million times better than running from store to store chasing deals and immersed in the {often loud} consumer world.
Homemade quiche.
And meatballs with mashed potatoes!
And a beautiful tray of pickety bits.
Life. It’s so much better in the slow lane. And I have no intention of changing gears anytime soon.
~Mavis
P.S. Do you have any food goals for this year? Are you going to try to spend less? Eat more veggies? Eat less? Shop local? Condense your shopping trips? Do tell. I don’t know why, but I always find it interesting how people spend their food dollars.
- Total Spent in January on Groceries and Bakery Treats $15.27
Trava says
I’m still in the era of teens in the house but when looking at my shopping cart and putting groceries away I came face to face with how much prepackage convenience food I purchase. With the pandemic my kids are home doing distance learning and to make lunch easy while they do school and I work from home the habit only worsened!!! My husband is an essential worker and takes his lunch with him so even more of an excuse to buy the easy stuff that is loaded with chemicals and preservatives!! My biggest shame in all of this is that we live on an acreage where we raise our own beef, pork and chicken plus have our farm fresh eggs AND I plant a garden and preserve the produce but we seem to use less and less of it!!! This years goal is to eat more unprocessed food! I plan to make larger portions for dinner so there will be leftover options for lunch! Plus, if I don’t buy the junk they won’t starve….they’ll just grab an apple and some yogurt or a slice of cheese instead of a bag of chips….RIGHT????
Marcia says
Yes, that’s my plan anyway. We’ve started eating too many snacks too, with distance learning. I’m not buying snacks anymore. I hope.
Mary Campbell says
A significant change in our income stream means that we have reduced our monthly grocery budget from $180 to $120 per month. I expect that we’ll be eating mostly “in season” vegetarian and vegan meals to make that work. I’m grateful to have had years of experience being flexible with our meal planning and preparation and believe that although it will be challenging, it’s doable and will remain a healthy meal plan. 🙂
J in OH-IO says
Hi Mary, Please share what in season vegetarian and vegan meals you are fixing this month. It sounds like a heart healthy meal plan. Thanks for sharing your menu and any advice.!
Mellie says
One of my goals for this year is to be eating 80% local by the end of the year. I have wanted to try for years and we are finally going for it. However, that means I am spending $25 on a local chicken this week. That will be our only meat for the week. I am really excited by this challenge!
Dawn Harris says
I agree that slow is the way to go. 🙂 Ten years ago, I was going from store to store chasing deals on groceries and it was exhausting. As soon as my first child was born, I stopped all that. I simply did not want my children to think shopping was a big part of life. I embraced going to one store that had the best deals on things we typically bought, shopping online for non-perishables and bartering/trading with neighbors for home-raised food and haven’t looked back. Much happier to live life with this perspective than chasing every penny. I do still have a stash of razors I got for free ten years ago and they work fine. 🙂 Happy New Year to all!
Jeanie H says
We need to eat down our large freezers, pantry and refrigerator in anticipation of a move. I think that’s hard sometimes because it’s easy to just run to the store which is about 1/2 mile away.
Leanna says
Weekly grocery shopping changed drastically for us in March. My mom is 77 and we always went together to our Albertsons down the street. To keep us all safe I’ve been doing pickup from Walmart and Smith’s every week. The hubby searches for the elusive items on his way home from work. I would much rather pick out my own items and peruse the shelves looking for new items and ideas for meals.
Sue says
I am hoping to have a bigger veg plot this year, and to preserve a good bit of it to eat the rest of the year. And when we do buy, more local and in season. We already local source our chicken, turkey, pig, and lamb. Hoping to add beef to the list. I’ve never been much for prepared foods, but it is nice to have a couple on hand, for a change. (Thanks, ALDI for your frozen oriental meals in bags!) I do have a goal of organising my freezers this year, too.
Paula says
I always do an eat from the freezer and pantry in January and July of each year. I do supplement with fresh veggies and milk if needed. It really keeps from food wasting.
Mel says
Well, since you asked. Our food budget hasn’t changed too much, but where the money goes and when I spend it has changed considerably since the pandemic started.
1. We still get our CSA delivery each week for eggs and veggies and occasional fruit, but we don’t grocery shop each week and go every 3-5 weeks instead. This setup mostly saves money, but it means it’s harder to stay stocked on veggies. I want to get back to that, so I’m going to try to buy more long lasting stuff like beets and carrots for snacking to fill those gaps.
2. We switched almost entirely to local meat, and my goal is to continue that, but the meat is crazy expensive (e.g., $7 for one chicken breast), so we will have been eating and will continue to eat more eggs, beans, and tofu to offset the cost.
3. We buy more in bulk, and storage is an issue. I never bought more than what we’d use in a week before because we have no pantry. Now that we’re buying for several weeks at a time, I’m SO tired of having canned goods and whatever on every counter and running between rooms while cooking to grab stuff, so one of my goals for the year is to install a freestanding pantry cabinet to store everything until we can get around to adding a more permanent one.
4. We’re buying more food online. We never really did that before, but some bizarre things (like steel cut oats) have been hard to find in our stores, so we’ve had to order online. Some things are also hard to find in bulk locally (like flour), so I order those online. I found out our local bakery sells flour in bulk, so I might try to do that, but they are out of stock now.
Teckla says
Mel, you are far more organized than I am, but I feel your pain on this one! My cupboards and 1 free-standing storage pantry are stuffed, so the counter is cluttered. Thinking about getting a storage pantry for the garage for non food items, such as storage bins/less used cooking utensils, etc. that can be moved out there to make room for food that needs a more stable temperature environment indoors.
Would suggest each day–morning or evening, whichever works–taking a quick look at the day’s recipes/food plans and gathering all the ingredients on a tray in the kitchen for that day’s cooking, like chef’s do with their recipe ingredients. Fewer trips running here and there while cooking to get something that’s needed. Unless, like me, you forget one. LOL Really enjoy your posts; have gotten many excellent tips!
Mel says
The tray is a good idea! I’ve had an easier time since I reorganized the whole kitchen to prepare for the new pantry. Now my canned goods are in bottom cabinets away from the heat of the stove, my small appliances are on top shelves (easier than hauling them out of the bottom ones), and it’s just the baking stuff that is currently hanging out in my sewing room until the new pantry arrives. The counters are clear, which is so much better.
One of my goals is to also find versions of things like cupcake carriers that take up less space. The ones we have are so bulky that they live in the basement. So far, I’ve replaced our pie carriers, and the space savings from that alone is huge.
cathy says
I too felt that the world was a little off this time last year and really stocked up. I remember going out of the store with a loaded cart meeting someone I knew and them asking if I what I was doing with all those groceries. Well I am so glad I did! We never wanted for anything. I buy eggs from the farm down the street and syrup from the guy who taps the trees, etc. We have a little pantry back up and we keep a list for shopping on the frig. I do a big shopping once a month and buy fruits, fresh veggies etc when needed from a little locally owned surfine grocery. where you know the owner and their family.
Kari says
Having three teenagers in the house, all schooling remotely from home, has come with food challenges in our house. My boys, who are currently growing about an inch a month and both hit the gym and play sports, eat me out of house and home. I cannot keep enough food in the house. I find I keep lots of frozen pizzas and cereal on hand them to grab between the meals my daughter and I cook. It’s ridiculous. She and I both attend college, so time is limited for cooking. My goal is to be better with food prep so I have leftovers for the vultures to eat when they are hungry, and to avoid processed food more.
I, too, stocked up a bit more this year. Between that, higher prices, using grocery pickup, and growing kids, I went over on my grocery budget bu $1500!!! I need to reel things back in this year.
I’m always grateful for the clean slate of a new year. We’ve got this!!
Marcia says
We went over budget $2300 and my teenaged boy doesn’t even play sports. I also have an 8 yo. We are teaching the teen how to make homemade bread and buns in the bread machine. That’s something that is relatively healthy and cheap.
Mel says
If you need some ideas for alternatives to frozen pizza for the teens, I’d suggest:
-Frozen Sandwiches.
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11056/hot-roast-beef-sandwiches/
I have a little trouble getting these to heat evenly in the oven, so you might want to teach them to do a partial defrost in the microwave without foil first. They’re easy to assemble, so you could even have the kids stock them.
-Frozen Oven-Fried Pork Chops or Chicken Breasts
I use this breading: https://damndelicious.net/2012/07/19/oven-fried-chicken-with-homemade-coleslaw/
with this method
https://www.marthastewart.com/314062/breaded-pork-chops
You’ll have to teach the teens to use the broiler, but they’re very fast to cook straight from the freezer.
Kari says
Thank you!
GINGER says
Kari, I can relate. I have an 18 and 22 year old sons who are attending College online while living at home. I avoided frozen pizzas and alot of convient processed foods in the past, but this year with as much and as offten as they eat, cooking everything from whole foods has become time and labor wise unrealistic. Our dish washer was most days is filled 3-4 times a day from all the cooking. So my grocery bill increased over the year as I purchased more frozen pizza, burritos, breakfast sandwiches for the boys between meal eating. But my dishes went back down to 1-2 runs a day. I spend $950 a month niwsometimes more, previously before covid spent an average of $650. Close to 30% increase for convenience.
When my kids were younger I coupon clipped, carefully meal prepped and only spent $350-$400 a month for 2 adults and two kids.
Karen says
I sometimes cook the double amount of food and have enough for two days or freeze half for a later date.
Since waitressing in my teens, I always cut my grilled cheese sandwiches on the diagonal, looks more exciting that way!
Katie P NC says
will you add a button, now that you’ve truncated the posts, that lets the reader go back to the previous post? Or did I miss it on the page?
Mavis Butterfield says
Did you click on the Read More tab? That will allow you to read the entire story. I did that so the blog page would load faster.
Or do you mean the post from the previous posts? You can get to those by scrolling down to the bottom of the blog where the pages are numbered.
Holley says
Mavis, what’s your gut saying now? PLEASE share!!! I have stocked up more, too. But, my stores are starting to go down and I do NOT want to go inside a grocery store just yet. The last two Kroger pick ups were terrible. We waited over two hours for one and the produce was rotten. We tease about our “date night” in the Kroger parking lot!!! We made the best of it! I don’t know what to do!
Marcia says
Our food costs went up by $2300 last year due to a few things, mostly COVID related.
1. Less chasing deals. We were instantly working at home, no easy access to different grocery stores. We were (and are) shopping less frequently, and most often at the closest store that’s empty at 7 am.
2. Kids have been in virtual school since mid March. Both my kids got free school lunch because all students at their schools got free lunch. Now they are eating at home (it’s not worth driving to a school to get the lunch). They can eat!
3. My teenager has passed me up in height.
4. Snacks. To cope with COVID stress.
5. Local produce. We get two produce boxes a week and have added more on. So, that is like #1, not shopping around. I could get local honey at the farmers market for $15, and it’s $18 to add it to my box.
Our dining out/ takeout bill went up too, to support local restaurants.
However, we didn’t travel at all (still have airline credit to spend). We drive almost never. We put our YMCA membership on hold eventually. I’m about to cancel my wine club memberships too.
Goals for 2021: cut back on the snacks since this is a marathon not a sprint. That should save us some $. I tried instacart recently. I’m not sure if it’s for me, but it does seem like fewer unplanned items will be purchased. That might save $ too.
Cindi says
Last year we started sourcing as much food locally as possible. We purchased half a cow and 7 chickens from local ranchers. This year I’ve already reserved my beef for this summer and as soon as the chicken reservation form goes up, I’m getting ten. I have a source for local eggs and I put up lots of stuff from the farmer’s market, as well as expanding my own garden to grow more. I bought a grain mill and have been grinding my own whole wheat flour and baking bread. I found a source for local AP Flour and Pinto Beans! There are still lots of things I can’t get locally — dairy, for one. And we love our cheese. But this year we’re really focused on paying down debt, so I’m trying to shrink the grocery budget while still eating well. I believe we can do it. And I’m committed to eating less meat and more vegetables.
Annette says
What are those interesting looking chips along side the grilled cheese?
Ellen Bonanno says
I’d like to know too, please.
Mavis Butterfield says
Terra Chips. So good.
Hawaii Plann says
Oh, wowee, we destroyed our grocery budget in 2020, and not in a good way. Previously, my husband & I got free breakfast, lunch, snacks & drinks at work during the work week. We now work from home, so that’s all on pause understandably. That was a big hit to the budget, but we also had to change the way we shopped: Our local produce stand is the cheapest place for a variety of local produce (we’re in California) & it doesn’t really allow for social distancing. We couldn’t always find generics or cheap options, and bought more splurge items, particularly in the beginning. All told, our grocery budget in 202 was ~$400/month higher than before. That’s for 2 adults + 2 teen boys.
For 2021, my plan is to be more observant on how we’re spending our money, and to move to a monthly meal plan to see if it helps us control costs a bit better & reduce shopping trips. I’d also love to save time on menu planning & reduce waste. Fingers crossed.
Bonnie from GA says
This year has definitely been a learning curve. Our fairly new Aldi has been a Godsend. Most of the time they have had cheaper prices on meats, produce, can foods, etc. Example: Their honey wheat bread .95c Most items are not your name brands, but have comparable quality to name brands. I have found a few things that i didn’t like, but that’s rare. Sometimes their prices aren’t cheaper on a few things, but get it anyway, bc i don’t want to go to a lot of different stores. I get some things from the dollar tree. Hand soap refill 32 oz. I buy their pads. I am a single empty nester and buy their brand of laundry detergent. It works really well. I don’t have heavy soiled clothes, bc no children. I just buy bleach and oxy clean (not from DT) for stains. Dollar tree has good wash cloths 2/$1. I get a pack every so often. For practical purposes I only buy white wash cloths and towels so they can be washed together and you know they are all clean.
Annette says
Aldi is the place to shop if you really want to save money on groceries.
Rebecca in MD says
As vulnerable “old” people, my husband and I stay out of the stores as much as possible. We can buy pasture raised meats from a local farmer – – – at a premium price of course. I have been using Butcher Box also, which is all pasture raised meats and am very happy with the quality. I get a box once a month. If you are interested, you can use this referral code for a discount http://fbuy.me/qSsdY.
For fresh veggies I am using Misfits Market, which is all organic produce, and again, I have been very happy with the quality and getting fresh fruits and veggies delivered right to our door. If anyone is interested in giving it a try, here is a referral code that will get you a 25% discount on your first box COOKWME-DY7GWL. We get the “Madness” box which is enough fresh vegetables and fruits for two weeks for our family.
I make a once a month grocery shop (during vulnerable people hours) to fill in with ingredients I can’t get from these two sources. Overall, we are spending slightly more, but we are getting better quality and staying safe.
Julie says
Are any of those trees on your property maple trees? Tapping trees, collecting the sap, and boiling it down into syrup is much easier than I ever imagined.
Patty P says
We have been enjoying the chicken that we raised ourselves this year. It is so good that we are already planning our chick order for this coming year. We also have several pigs at various stages of growth that we will enjoy throughout the year (our pig from this spring is nearly gone…we are down to sausage and a few packs of bacon). We also are enjoying venison from this fall. The only meat we buy in is beef, and when we do we go to a local butcher shop that we trust.
We canned/froze several items from our garden/orchard this past summer, so are still enjoying those! We are planning to continue this (as we have done for several years). The work is difficult and hot at sometimes when preparing these items for preservation, but nothing beats opening a jar of pears you preserved in the middle of winter and being able to appreciate that time you spent to put it away!
The goats are on “vacation” in preparation for their upcoming kids (in February), so we are not on fresh goat milk at the moment…instead we buy from a local dairy for the winter months. Chickens are back in full egg laying mode, so I have plenty of eggs! I guess we really try to source much of what we eat from our own land or local farms. Yes, I still crave junk food and such, but that’s an occasional treat…
Bonnie from GA says
Aldi here in Georgia has been a blessing. They have most needed essentials for comparable or better than name brands for cheaper prices. And they aee not too crowded. I haven’t tried everything there were a only a couple of things that weren’t as good that i tried. Meats, produce, dairy, canned foods, etc. are mostly what i get. They have honey wheat bread for .95c There snacks taste good and cheap too. Dollar tree has been good for a lot of things like 32 oz liquid soap, 2/$1 wash cloths that i like better than the fancier ones you get from department stores. I like their toilet paper better than other brands and it is more on rolls. They have a good general purpose laundry detergent. I am a single person and get by with that with a little help with bleach and Shout for stain emergencies.
I also get pads from there….before all this covid 19 stuff happened, they use to to sell masks in a pack 10/$1. I wish i would have stocked up. Lol!
Bonnie says
Sorry, i repeated before, bc i thought i deleted it.
Margo says
I started a food storage pantry closet several years ago, and have only had to replace what we’ve used during the week. It helped when we couldn’t get groceries delivered or a time reserved for pickup early in the pandemic. We are both seniors in the high risk group living among the highest COVID rates in our area, so trips to the store for in person shopping are kept to a minimum. I place an order weekly with our local grocery and pick it up. I hate not being able to pick my own meat out, but remind myself that it’s only an inconvenience, not a tragedy. (Cuts down on impulse spending, too). I’m blessed to be able to do it. We go to an open air vegetable market once in a while, and an occasional trip to Sprouts for fruits and veggies. Been working on reducing our food and packaging waste and hope to continue decreasing it even more this year.
Bobbie says
We moved into a new home this August and I recently found a small butcher shoppe nearby. I bought our Christmas prime rib there MD it was awesome and local. My goal it to buy our meat from there, and try to support more of our farming neighbors. Added bonus: the butcher shoppe is often less expensive than the normal grocery store! I wasn’t expecting that at all….and they sell local eggs and other produce.
Elle says
We’ve eaten about 50% organic for a long time as well as personal care products and laundry detergent (no softener needed). In 2020, Like you, I decided we were going more organic and local regardless of cost unless it absolutely wasn’t available. Our CSA offered a spring share of 4 weeks and a winter share of 10 weeks in addition to the usual summer 18 weeks. It’s not easy to offer this in Zone 6B. Expensive? Yes. Worth every penny? Yes. They worked with some of their favorite Farmer’s Market vendors (because of course, Market didn’t happen this year). So we got fresh bread, fresh cheese, fresh eggs, fresh pasta, sauces, jams…a really nice variety of foodstuffs!
I also garden. 1. I make ratatouille and freeze. This nets pasta sauce for any dish (Italian spiced) and a healthy chili base (unspiced) . 2. I also make all our salsa. 3. And hubster’s blackberry patch netted 23 half-pints of jam-YUMMO! 4. I dice and freezer peppers, shred and freeze zucchini. 5. I have spaghetti squash and butternut in the garage.
Our area has a FB group called REKO. This has been a way for Farmer’s Market vendors can sell. We order online to their FB post each week, pay in advance, and then pickup at a designated area wearing a mask. It’s been fantastic.
I’ve not bought packaged/processed food for decades. Just too many chemicals for my comfort zone. I’m totally with you.
We used to eat out 3-4/week. Not in 2020. We’ve done takeout and a rare sitdown. We’re down 42% here.
So our bottom line? 2020 we averaged $863 a month for food and that includes any takeout, buying a ready-to-bake pizza, any takeout orders and the restaurant meals of Jan-March. This is down from $1009 in 2019. More $ for organics and less restaurant visits.
I used to drive about 5000 miles a year. 2020 saw just 3423 miles. Hubster has been work-from-home since late March. I haven’t looked at his odometer yet but minus that 90 miles a week I’m sure he’s very low mileage even though we drive up to the mountains at least monthly (250 miles roundtrip).
And overall our expenses are down 14% and that includes hubster buying a fancy 2yo SUV in April which we financed because the interest rate was too low to pull money from an investment account. His old one needed to be replaced.
Plan for this year:
–buy/consume even more organics
–consider my garden and what else can I do without needing a bigger freezer.
–make and eat more simple meals (I want to see if I can get hubster interested in pickety bits-of which I am a super fan and do when he’s absent a meal!)
–eat less and shed some of this post-menopausal weight (I turn 60 in May-yippee 🙂 Seriously, I’m happy!
I enjoy your blog post each morning. Wishing you a wonderful Monday! (I wish I loved to paint like you!)
Lynn Kay says
You are living my life and ain’t it grand! I moved to the middle of nowhere in my mid-twenties, married in my early thirties and fortunately to someone who wanted to be as far in the boonies as I did – and there we have been for all this time (25 years). I had the same eerie feeling about the end of January and stocked up a bit more than usual (we are frequent winter ice storm survivors, so being prepared is second nature). I’m glad you’re loving your Boonie-venture. It’s a grand time!
Annette says
Never heard of Gravy Master. Do you make brown gravy or something else?
Mavis Butterfield says
I wrote down Kitchen Bouquet on my list and Gravy Master is what our little country store had. 🙂 Worked just fine. Yes,
for brown gravy.
Linda Sand says
We live in a senior community where part of our rent pays for an average of one meal a day including starter, entree with sides, and desert. I have finally learned how to order those meals to get the biggest bang for our bucks. It is not unusual now for me to order one meal that will feed me for 2 1/2 meals. That has, in turn, lowered our grocery shopping costs. For instance, one day I will eat the Teriyaki salmon and ice cream for one meal, stuff the baked potato for another meal, and eat the chicken/rice soup for a third meal, still leaving me with a serving of cottage cheese. That day I only need to pay for one snack. And since I now eat a bowl of cereal with almond milk for breakfast most days that one day’s food order will last me for almost two days by which time I will have ordered another multi-course meal. That also means I can skip a day occasionally allowing me to order a more expensive meal the next day. I’m looking forward to a large order of chicken parmesan with mushroom soup on Friday.
Becky says
Totally agree with you on the quality of food. With most of us in the house now low carb (I’m keto – and thankfully it’s reduced rheumatoid factor by 30 points!) our meals are simpler. We still have treats, but most of the prepacked prepared food is gone. Happy New Year!
Karen says
This is a comment about books about Maine. I am listening to Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert. The reader has a wonderful Maine accent. I am only part way thru it but the style of writing reminds me of Olive Kitteridge and so I am loving it.
Susan says
I have a weird take on this year. We are older with health issues so have been doing a lot of picking up and delivery. I felt bad about spending money on delivery because sometimes there’s a charge and there’s the tip so the cost of groceries is higher. But then the other day when someone who was a delivery driver posted on my neighborhood group about his job, a light bulb went off in my head that I can’t see why it hadn’t happened before. If I get delivery I am helping support people who need the income right now. So I am going to do more delivery and give much higher tips. My budget will be out of whack but I can afford to help thers with their food needs.
Kristin says
Those meatballs look amazing! I would like to push my baking skills a bit this year. I’ve tried croissants before, but I would like to actually get good at making them…also improving my sourdough and pie crusts and tackling puff pastry.
Gigi says
I have heard that seeds are becoming hard to find this year. A neighbor said their usual place was sold out.
I just signed up for a 21 Day Mediterranean Diet Challenge, well because there’s not much else to do in January but try new recipes. https://www.olivetomato.com/
Hanna McCown says
I plan to help more with the cooking this year as I am healing and becoming more useful. I am also planning to eat more vegetables and less carbs. I’m always inspired by your meal pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Lori N says
My husband retired a couple years ago, and we always used to shop together. Since early March tho, we only do curbside or delivery, Smiths and Walmart primarily because they were early onto the bandwagon of curbside. Once our local Costco began offering delivery, we added them to our grocery roster. All three of those options have a minimum to do their curbside or delivery. Target has been a huge help because, at least locally here in So Nevada, they will happily curbside even if only one item (and at no additional charge). I’ve had times in our 42 years of marriage where I loved cooking…but now we both just want to go out and have fun. With the virus tho, we have gone back to cooking and eating at home. Ugh. This has been a lonely and isolating time.
Brenda Schilke says
Trying to eat as locally this year as possible. Expanding our garden, buying free range eggs from a neighbor, honey from another neighbor. Also making a challenge as to how many items I would normally buy can be replaced by making myself. For example, instead of buying granola bars, I am making my own energy balls. My goal is to replace 1 item a week. That was this weeks substitution and the energy balls are great. Not missing the store bought granola bars at all. We also have an empty nest, so we no longer need many of the things we used to buy.
Elaine M Standley says
In 2021 I am attempting to grow more of our veggies & what I can not grow, I will get from local farmers markets. I am buying lamb, pork, and goat from the small family owned farm next door. I will be obtaining chickens and next brain for eggs. Truly the only thing I get at the store is milk chicken and cheeses. No good local sources but I am on the lookout.
Susan says
This year I have vowed to b e more diligent in using the items we have rather than running to the store. Having two freezer / pantry months in January and June will hopefully get me going. Your move to someplace a little farther from the grocery store was very inspiring!
I would also like to be a bit more intentional about our garden, planting less of certain things thus leaving a bit of space to try some new things!
OregonGuest says
I also felt that things were off and starting stocking up on food, seeds and canning supplies for the “bunker” back in January. I figured hubby thought I was nuts, but he was on board when I told him he needed to start stocking up on ammo too. Budget? What’s that?
My plan this year is to try a CSA (only 1-2 options in our area). We buy mostly organic from the store and also have a garden, but I’m interested in the CSA, because I tend to buy the same thing over and over again. A mystery bag showing up weekly might cause me to try different veggies.
Suzan says
Most of the time it is just my mother and I for meals. Our fruit and vegetable bill is way up and along with other things. Sadly groceries are very expensive in Australia. A long time ago a decision that we would eat higher welfare and if that meant less meat etc so be it. However, my mother is always anaemic and requiring iron filled foods every meals as well as having iron transfusions. Truthfully even if mum ate huge amounts of meats she would remain deficient as her gut is shot.
Rynda Gregory says
Hi –
No need to post this if you don’t want to. I want to echo the many thanks people send to you about your blog. I have been reading it for at least 10 years. It’s crazy to think about that. I originally started reading your blog for the frugal ideas, then stayed hooked with all the gardening stuff. Yippee! I thought to myself “Wow, look at this amazing resource I found!” So, again thanks! And those words do not express my gratitude enough.
Also – I think about you and your health a lot. I am caring for my mother-in-law who is living with cancer. It’s a lot to manage – mentally and schedule wise. I’m glad you are in a peaceful place, with your HH. You deserve it. Cheers to looking out your window at the beautiful view – whatever the weather is. 🙂
Peace –
Margery says
I totally blew our food budget last year, mostly because if the store had it I got it because next time I went there might have been no chicken at all. I did learn that the kids do like pork, normally I don’t buy it because I didn’t think anyone liked it. But when it was the only choice I got some and the kids loved it. In March we went from having 4 people at home of which 2 of us normally ate breakfast and lunch at work as a work benefit to having 7 people at home eating. This year I am aiming to stay on budget, and menu plan. We currently have 4 adults at home and one teen, so everyone takes turns cooking. I post a blank menu and then they fill it in, and I make the shopping list from that. I make my shopping list based on Walmart prices, then I shop at Aldi’s first then anything that was cheaper or out of stock I get at Walmart. Thankfully they are in the same parking lot. I also get meat from Price Chopper when on sale and some bulk items at Sam’s.
Elise says
I have lived in a rural area 17 miles from the nearest services for 40 years. A well stocked pantry is a given but the past year I started working to extend the time between shopping trips by learning how to properly store those staples so I had control of when I did shopping trips. Milk, eggs, cheese, improving my meat storage and adding to frozen fruits and vegetables. I added freezer capacity, had TWO generators to keep those freezers going and felt on track.
By mid summer, despite Covid I had managed to acquire enough of those staples along with frozen vegetables to tide us over for at least two months with no outside contact. Most if it I did by ordering online and picking up from local stores, contact free. And then the wildfires came. We had to evacuate our small farm for 12 days. Utilities were cut, three freezers full of stores laid to waste, a garden primed to fill my frozen vegetable stores…all gone. Our home survived, fires coming from both north and south stopped less than a mile from us. We were very, very lucky.
Thanks to home owners insurance, a grant from our credit union and having a friend who pulled fruits from her own freezer to replace otherwise irreplaceable items, we were able to restock to a decent level of stores. As a side note, my beloved sourdough starter was left behind in the mad rush to evacuate our flock sheep and our companion pets. She managed to survive, unfed for 12 days. As a dedicated “everything from scratch” cook, the loss of my starter haunted me and apparently others…my neighbor who had acquired starter from me got hers out and carried it around feeding it while EVACUATED!!! Mine survived unfed…her name is now wIldfire.
Lisa says
My husband and I have three young adults. And with my husband working from home, I am making an additional meal where before, I would just snack thru lunch. I try to plan our meals, but sometimes we just want to go out and eat and we still end up blowing our grocery budget. My food goals for this year is to 1) pull out a least one item from the pantry per day and use it in a meal.
2) I am still working toward staying under the budgeted amount; $400 each two weeks. 3) I am trying to eat less bread, although I love bread with butter. 4) I am making one healthy food staple almost each day; we go thru food quickly and I like to provide a few choices. Today’s staple was lentils and rice topped with caramelized onions and yogurt. So good.