The grocery game challenge Dec 16-22, 2013 #3: Who does the grocery shopping in your house?
GROCERY SHOPPING IS AN EXPERIENCE
Not everyone enjoys grocery shopping but someone has to do the task each week or couple of weeks to make sure the house is stocked full of nutritious food.
If you are single or living on your own most often it’s yourself that has to do the grocery shopping alone unless you hire a grocery shopping helper or you shop in mom and dads pantry.
To be honest I’ve been grocery shopping on my own since I was about 18 or 19 years old and I never really appreciated the grocery shopping experience until I started to experiment more with recipes.
I had to learn how to grocery shop at a grocery store but the more times I went the easier it got especially after I created a meal calendar where I would write down what I wanted to eat all week.
I started travelling quite a bit in my twenties to different countries and was exposed to various cuisines which I wanted to create in my own kitchen.
That started my passion for good food with unique flavours from around the world and my collection of cook books that I would buy depending on what country I would visit.
For the most part I had always created a shopping list for healthy eating because I was never much of a sweets or convenience type eater. The only sweet these days that gets me fired up is brownies.
Since I was living on my own and bought my first house when I was young I had to budget my money and make sure that I created meals around what items I could find on sale. I know it sounds like a tedious task but you get used to it and you start to devise your own recipes by changing things up once in a while.
I also got involved with a program that helped me save up points to purchase items like CD’s and a new refrigerator at the time. I was always a deal seeker and revolved my grocery shopping around the deals.
I was no surprise when I moved to Canada that I was a bit anxious when it came to the grocery store because I wasn’t familiar with most products and the prices were right over my head.
Grocery shopping in Canada
I’ve been in Canada for about 6 years now and I’m confident to say that I can easily do the grocery shopping on my own which I have done in the past but we grocery shop as a couple.
Shopping for grocery items as a team makes us realize what we really need as opposed to what we want when we try to deviate from the list. It happens to the best of us but we try to keep each other on the same level when it comes to the grocery budget.
There are times when one of us will spot an amazing in-store deal that was not advertised which would have been missed. It’s also a great time for us both to collaborate on new meals we want to create and finding new ingredients to go along with those meals.
Generally speaking if you are looking for things to do with your spouse it’s simple and a great way to get to know each other.
I know some people might laugh at us enjoying grocery shopping together but for us it’s something we enjoy doing. Saving money is great but spending time with your partner even if it is at the grocery store isn’t so bad.
Who does the grocery shopping in your house?
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.
- The grocery game challenge Dec 2-8, 2013: How often do you go shopping for groceries?
- The grocery game challenge Dec 9-15,2013 #2: How not to miss in-store and unadvertised deals
Grocery saving tips
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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.
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Ultimate grocery shopping guide
Missed past Grocery Game posts? Catch up on all the latest grocery saving posts below!
- Let Your Coupons Expire And Save Money
- Welfare Food Challenge $26 Per Week In The Grocery Budget
- What A No-Shop Week Really Means
- Should You Buy It Now Or Buy It Later?
- Stock Up On Items When You Can
- The Cost Of Organic Food
- What Foods You Should Not Eat and Organic Gardening
- Knowing Your Prices Is The Key To Saving Money In The Grocery Budget
- Product Price Adjustments Don’t Miss The Savings
- Scanning Code of Practice In Canada (SCOP)
- How To Start Saving Money On Groceries In Canada?
- How Much Should My Grocery Budget Be?
- Top Ten Ways To Cut Your Grocery Budget
- Meal Planning For The Budget
- The Grocery Game Challenge and Our Grocery Budget
- Grocery Budget Saving Tips
- Food Shopping On A Budget
- How To Grocery Shop
- Grocery Store Self-Scanners
- Food and Vegetable Preparation
- Best Time To Grocery Shop
- Organic Food Costs
- Why Shopping Hungry Is Not A Smart Idea
- Are We Eating Too Much Food?
- Discount Days and Rewards Programs
- Getting Back On Track With Food Budgeting
- Why You Should Ignore Your Grocery Flyers
- The Low-GI Diet and Your Budget
- How To Track Grocery Expenses
- Comparing Prices With a Price Comparison List
- Why Too Much Salt Is Not Good For Us
- Shopping More Than Once Per Week
- Food Samples When Shopping
- Food Waste In Canada
- Go on vacation and save on groceries
- Grocery Store Activities For Kids
- Buying When There Is A Limit
- How do you like your bread?
- Holiday Baking On A Budget
- International Grocery Store Shopping
- Back To Basics More For Less
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: $3.97
- Total Spent So Far for December $59.14+$3.97=$169.55
- Total Over/Under spend this shop: $0
- Total Over/Under spend for the month $0
- Total Left to Spend for the Month: $165.58=$161.61
- Total Coupons Used This Month: $32.00
- Total to Carry Over Next Month: $0
- 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: We are off and away this week to spend a few days together on the road just because it’s been a long while for us. We picked up some milk for tea and coffee and have more than enough food in the house for our return.
Canadian Coupons Found
No coupons found this week as we did not go grocery shopping. Check back next week to see what we find. Post your finds as well in the comment section if you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
You can find all your store coupon policies here. If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.
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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