Budget: How I Grocery Shop

In March I talked about how I meal plan. Did you get a chance to read it? If not, head there NOW! This post about how I grocery shop will make so much more sense after you read how I meal plan.

Okay, now that you know how I meal plan let’s get into how I grocery shop. Read all the way down to see my grocery shopping video overhaul for March 2020.

How I Grocery Shop

After I have made my monthly meal plan I make a huge shopping list. I include everything that is needed for all of my dinner meals. Well, as much as I can. Some produce or dairy will not last that long.

If I have something I need in my pantry or food storage then I usually get it from their first. I will either buy a replacement to stock back up in my food storage or know that I will stock up with the next case lot sale.

I buy all the dry, canned, frozen, or non perishable items that are needed for the month for all my dinner meals. This way I have the liberty to cook almost any meal at any given time.

This also makes my first grocery trip more expensive then the rest. That’s okay! For me, anyways. We have a set amount of money allotted to our grocery fund each month. I keep a track of how much I spend in my notes on my phone.

This helps me to know what I have spent, when I spent it, and how much is left for the rest of the month. For me, this has worked much better then giving myself the same amount of money each week to spend on groceries.

Why?

Well, I spend much more at the beginning of the month because I am buying most of the ingredients for a month worth of meals. Remember this is how I can make any meal I want during the month or change things quickly if we are not feeling what was on the meal planning board.

Then when we are running low on items I will go to the store to get what we need. Most likely this is items like: milk, eggs, bread, fresh produce, and things that are on sale that we need or that I want to stock up on.

It was also hard for me to grocery shop for a months worth of meals and stay within a certain weekly budget. It was too stressful for me. And why would I want to make this any more stressful? No, thank you!

Different Stores

Are you the type of person that goes to the same store no matter what? Or are you the person that has a few stores and goes to where the deals are? I’m more of the latter.

I have two main stores that we usually shop at: Walmart and Smith’s. Why? Well, Walmart consistently has cheaper prices. And now that Smith’s takes Visa again they have some awesome deals and sales, cereal anyone??

We have a Sam’s club membership. We love to get gas, bread, tp, and tissues there. I try to not go too often because I could spend WAYYYY too much there in one trip.

My other favorite store is Rancho Market. I’m not sure if it is just a local Utah store. But, my goodness they have some really awesome produce prices. And I have found that their produce is better then some “fancy” grocery stores. What could be better? Great prices and good quaility!

This is How I Grocery Shop

At the first of the month I will usually go to Walmart to get the big bulk of everything I need for a month’s worth of meals. I will go to Smith’s when they have a great sale or deals going on.

The Rancho Market is not super close to us. So I try to get there when we are going to either of our parent’s houses or somewhere close by. I try to go at least twice a month. We can get pretty well stocked up for about 2 weeks at a time with produce.

I will usually hit Sam’s club when we need bread, tp, tissues, and/or gas. They have these incredibly yummy soft pretzels from their “food court”. So good! It’s hard to walk by and not want to get one.

Check out this video of my grocery shopping trip at the beginning of March. This is when I got the bulk of my meal’s for the month. Remember I also “shop” from my pantry and food storage first before I buy everything.

So, how do you grocery shop? What tips or trick do you have that could help us all out?

And sharing is one of the best ways you can help support me! 🙂 Please feel free to share this on any social media and in the pins on Pinterest. Thanks a million!! 🙂

Xxx, Steph