DINNER TONIGHT FOR ONE When I was single I really wasn’t a huge fan of going to the grocery store without a grocery list. I don’t know what it was but if I didn’t plan my shops I felt like I was wasting more time than I needed to. Not many single men want to hang out at the grocery store although 10 years later I don’t mind it that much. Most of my single friends at the time would rather eat at a fast-food restaurant or buy already prepared meals which never really excited me. I had my own house at the age of 21 which means I had a kitchen so I had no excuse to be spending money eating out all the time. Over the years I’ve come to learn so much about grocery shopping that leaving the house without a list is like shopping without cash or credit cards. I’ve also learned how much I should buy and what types of foods work best for the healthy meal ideas I was creating. I was an avid traveller when I lived in the UK so everywhere I travelled I bought a cookbook. I made it my […]
Ultimate Grocery List and Tips for the Single Shopper : The Grocery Game Challenge #3 Apr 19-26, 2015
How I Reduced Our Grocery Budget From $1100 To $600 In 6 Months
ABOUT OUR FAMILY We are on a very tight budget with food being the second greatest expense, preceded only by our mortgage. My husband and I have spent most of our family years raising our kids and figured we would have plenty of time to save for retirement. Retirement has arrived for my husband and is staring me in the face and we are trying to get our financial house in order. Our kids are the joy of our lives but raising 4 of them has proven to be costlier than we would ever have imagined. This is our story about how we are beginning to climb out of debt and onto the road towards financial freedom. It is never too late to take control of your financial future. My family is a single income family of 5 (two parents and three grown kids at home). Last summer, I sat bemoaning my situation (out of control debt and never enough money at the end of the month) and wondering where my money, which in theory should be sufficient to meet our needs, went. I am a professional person and make a modestly decent income, but through the wonder of the […]
How to Start Saving Money on Groceries in Canada
BEING FRUGAL IS HALF THE BATTLE With the cost of living in Canada getting more expensive by the day, grocery bills are on the increase more than ever which makes groceries a top expense in our family budget. For a lot of people, saving money on food is crucial and especially a priority for those who have large families and pets. Some people simply rely on coupons to put a hot meal on the table for their children and family. Grocery coupons go a long way to helping to cut down the cost of food and household items, but there are also several other things you can do to save quite a bit of money in this area. Combining the use of grocery coupons with effective meal planning is probably the most effective technique, and these are habits that can be learned just by making a few simple changes in your daily routine. Making some simple sacrifices in the way you plan, shop and cook your food can substantially decrease your grocery bill if you follow a few simple guidelines. Over the past couple of years I have worked towards making some simple changes to my shopping habits and now […]
The Grocery Game Challenge May 21-27-What’s Your Best Score?
No hockey isn’t the topic of this post and I truthfully have no idea how the game is played. Perhaps I should ask my readers for some tips on the great Canadian Sport and maybe visit a game one day in Toronto,Ontario. Yet Another week is upon us which means more money-saving in the grocery budget, so we hope. Let’s see how creative we can be with the rest of our budget. I think we’ve done well this month especially keeping away from any convenience foods. It can be difficult to do because we come to rely on quick meals but now we have to meal plan and think ahead. We now have chives, spring onions,rhubarb,lettuce and mint in the garden that we have been using daily. What else are we growing? We have tomatos, green peppers,radishes,figs,spinach,parsely,raspberries and swiss chard growing in our garden as well. Meal Planning I hope to blog about how we make our family meal plan shortly but for the most part we take into consideration sales,coupons, pantry items, freezer items and fresh veg. Obviously I’ll go into more detail but for now it’s a learning phase with us just like budgeting was the past few […]
