The Grocery Game Challenge Dec 2-8, 2013 #1: How often do you go shopping for groceries?

December 3, 2013

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SHOPPING FOR GROCERIES WHEN YOU NEED THEM

How often do you like to go shopping for groceries every month?

Supermarket shopping is one of the most tedious of all shopping trips for many people but it doesn’t have to be that way as long as you know what you are going in for.

A sample shopping list for us each week would include vegetables, protein, grains, dairy and then other things such as spices and flavourings for our food.

If you are a smart grocery shopper you know that you don’t have to buy the cheapest groceries or all processed foods for less just to fit a tight grocery budget either.

When I lived in the UK it was not uncommon for me to go shopping 2-3 times per week at the grocery store.

If you are sticking to a grocery budget and wondering what to get at the grocery store you don’t need to have a cheap shopping list as some might call it just to save money.

Some people find they save money if they shop more than once per week because they can find more reduced items or pink sticker items rather than leaving it to chance the one day they shop.

You may find that shopping more than once per week saves you money because your vegetables and fruits are always fresh and will get eaten up rather than waste in the refrigerator.

Sometimes what happens is that we might buy too much food and struggle to get through it all. So an extra trip to the grocery store might not be such a bad idea.

Now we try to buy groceries for a week and hope that we make it through until the next grocery shop or until the grocery money runs out. Some months we spend more than our grocery budget but sticking to it has been pretty easy this year except for the odd few times but we learned catching up can be difficult.

If we were to make a second or even third trip for more shopping it might be for items we run short on like milk or eggs. Back home, at least in my kitchen my refrigerator was the size of what you might call a beer fridge.

Needless to say I didn’t have much room for anything although I made it work as do many Brits and in my case I had no choice. Although I was a frugal shopper saving grocery money wasn’t a top priority as I really didn’t have the space to go overboard but what I realize now is those second and third shops all add up. My parents had a full size refrigerator because they had the space in their kitchen but not everyone does.

I remember when I came to Canada I was in awe how big my wife’s refrigerator was and how much she could fit in it. Even though I wasn’t really food shopping on a budget in the UK since I didn’t use a grocery budget at the time I still had watch my money and how much I was buying because I simply didn’t have the space.

I had to make sure that my grocery list worked for me in the sense that meal prep was easy to create with what I purchased each week. I was a creature of habit back then and loved cereal, milk, tortellini, pasta sauce, vegetables, sausages, fresh mozzarella, sardines, baking products ie: flour, yeast etc. and lots of yogurt.

These products were priced fair in my opinion for the most part but packed lots of punch for me because it kept me full and eating enough servings from all the food groups that I needed.

If you want to eat a clean healthy diet there are loads of healthy foods to buy at the grocery store or your local markets and if that means you have to shop often to get it fresh than that’s what you have to do.

To be honest I wouldn’t have been a good person to get food shopping tips from back in my younger years as I wasn’t much for variety at home but today that has all changed. Grocery shopping is one of the biggest expenses in our budget next to our mortgage each month so taking control of the foods we eat and how much we are spending has been a financial priority for us.

How often do you grocery shop each month?

December grocery game challenge posts

If you missed any grocery game posts for the month I will post the line-up for the month each week here in this section for you.

This is the first grocery post for the month of December which means we have a grocery game winner for November and that goes to

#4 Juanita!!

Congratulations Juanita…. and to all of you that took the time to post your shops…. you are my team of grocery warriors!

Grocery saving tips

Click, Save and Print. It’s that easy!

Free Money Saving Downloads are awesome lists that were created to get us on track to work towards reaching our budgeting goals and now we are sharing them with you.

I hope you take the time to get back on track and start the saving process in your grocery budget today.

Get organized with a freezer inventory, meal plan, shopping list, price comparison list and much more all for FREE.

NEW!! You can now download the Canadian Budget Binder Budget Spreadsheet in Excel…… Grab it while you can… It’s FREE! We use it to budget.. check it out!

Ultimate grocery shopping guide

Missed past Grocery Game posts? Catch up on all the latest grocery saving posts below!

Food food and more food

Yearly grocery budget for two: $2819.38

Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $235.00 or $78.33 week with one no-shop week per month or $58.75 for 4 weeks per month. (During the months with 5 weeks we just make it work)
Total Budget For December $235.00-$10.28 overspend= $224.72
Total Coupons Used this Week : $0
Total Discounts this Week: $0
Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
Total Rewards Points Used: $0
Stockpile Budget: $20.00 Used $0
Total Spent This Week: $122.43-$20 chicken stockpile= $0
Total Spent So Far for November $0
Total Over/Under spend this shop: $0
Total Over/Under spend for the month $0
Total Left to Spend for the Month: $0
Total Coupons Used This Month: $0
Total to Carry Over Next Month: $10.28 spent more than the budget in November
Total Spent To Date This Year: $206.95 (Jan)+ $160.77 (Feb) + (March)$169.62 + (April) $397.74+(May) $155.68 + (June) $216.01+ (July) $235.83 + (August) $182.35 + (September) $255.69 + (October) $196.64 + $245.28 (November) = $2422.56 (does not include stockpile budget)
Rendezvous Account: $65.38+$17.24 =$82.62<> This is money saved if there is any leftover at the end of a month of grocery shopping for a date night for the wife and I.
Weekly Overview: This is going to be a no-shop week for us since I am out-of-town and there is enough food at home for the wife to get by this week.

Canadian Coupons Found

Frequently Asked Questions

Grocery Game Challenge RULES:

Read the rules first and if you have any questions email me or comment on this post with your question and someone will answer you as soon as possible.

Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop?

No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have fans who post their grocery shop who live all over the world.

When does the Grocery Game close each month?

The Grocery Game Challenge closes at midnight of the last Sunday of the last post for the month. You can post your shops all month-long.

Does your Grocery Budget include health and beauty and laundry products?

Yes our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. We don’t mind stockpiling items that won’t be affected by expiry dates or have long expiry dates but not so much food any more. It’s just one way to help cut your budget to save money.

Where can I find Canadian Coupons?

Here are your latest Coupon Match-ups of the week including Checkout 51 from 25 Newspaper Inserts around Canada compliments of Save Big Live Better that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge.

What is an FPC?

An FPC is a free product coupon which means you can get a free product as described on the coupon.

How Do I Know what stores accept coupons?

You can find all your store coupon policies here. If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.

How Do I Grocery Shop?

I can tell you about grocery shopping and what we do in terms of shopping to save money and how it works for us. There are no wrong or right answers, just smart choices. Over time you will gradually learn where you should and shouldn’t go in the grocery store or at least how to say no, I’m on a budget I need to buy this or that.

You may also substitute items in order to stick to your budget to make it work. Nobody is perfect, heck we struggle with this t of our budget like many people do and this is why the grocery game challenge was created.

If you have just joined The Grocery Game Challenge get ready to dive deep into your grocery budget and learn just where you are spending, how much you are spending and what you are saving.

You’ve made a wise decision.

Welcome to The Grocery Game Challenge Canada!

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