Jig and Jog

When Travis and I first started dating, we ate out pretty frequently.  A lot of this had to do with the fact that my job at the time kept me late. A lot more of this had to do with the fact that we were both pretty lazy about cooking.  Then, I started a job at the front desk of a gym, and Travis started cooking a bit, and would bring my dinner when I worked the closing shifts (6pm-10pm).

Travis is a really great cook, I know I’ve said it before, but it’s true.  He’s great at pulling meals together and after dating for nearly four years I’ve picked up a few tricks

One thing Travis and I started doing a few years ago that has significantly saved us money has been meal planning.  Four years ago, before we were dating I went to a Pampered Chef wedding shower for a cousin, and another of my cousins talked about how now that she has kids, she plans all her meals and freezes soups and sauces.  At the time I thought “Oh my God. How boring!”  Yet, now, I can honestly say, she was so smart!

Every other week, we sit down and plan out two weeks worth of dinners.  We do this by choosing from foods we already have in the fridge, freezer or pantry, and also add in some of our favorite meals.  Sometimes it gets a little challenging, and we definitely get stuck every so often.  Once our meals are planned, we make a grocery list and include only what we need for each meal.  We then add if there are any additional items we need (i.e. toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant etc.) we throw those on there as well.

We don’t coupon as effectively or efficiently as we could, and it’s something we’re working on slowly, but surely.  We also tend to break up our shopping to Trader Joe’s and Ralph’s so that we can purchase items at the best cost possible.  Trader Joe’s tends to have better deals on most of our non-brand name items, and produce, as well as the Trader Joe’s brand items we love so much, and then Ralph’s is great for those items.

Today, I looked through the fridge, freezer and pantry and created a week of meals.  I was able to stop only at Ralph’s for everything I needed (plus a few extras. Oops) for only $43.  If I hadn’t purchased the extra items I probably only would have spent $30 for a whole week of meals.  They aren’t quite as balanced or healthy as I would really like, but I’m trying to eat down the supplies this week.  Payday is on Friday so I can get a little more creative next week =D  However, even if I’d gotten paid earlier, I think it’s important to eat what you have and not waste food.  I want to get better about that, because I realized we throw out a lot of food   It’s shameful because so many people in this country go hungry every day.

My goal for September, is to not let any food go to waste.

Other ways to save money in the kitchen:

Make large meals and take leftovers for lunches during the week, or freeze them for later!

Frozen veggies are great, healthy and inexpensive.  You don’t need to buy the fancy brand name veggies in any sauces.  The grocery store brands are just as good!

Speaking of brand names, most items can be replaced with generic or store brand items.  My rule of thumb is to try the store brand and see if I notice a difference in taste.  For the most part, we buy a lot of store brands, condiments, paper towels, shredded cheeses, pastas (although Trader Joe’s pasta is only 99 cents for a pound fyi).  There have been some items we’ve nixed, trash bags (the store brands tend to rip easily and make a big mess), freezer bags (but not sandwich bags).

Join grocery store clubs, we get coupons in the mail from Ralph’s every month, and earn points with each purchase which go toward more coupons.  Plus, because the card records data from our shopping trips, we tend to get coupons for a lot of items we frequently use.

When we first stopped eating out so often it was a little hard socially.  We really wanted to save money, so we cut back a lot.  To keep from feeling totally isolated, we have friends over once a week for dinner, and everyone brings something for the meal.  This allows us to see our friends without having spend an arm and a leg.  Don’t get me wrong, we still go out to eat every so often, but we’ve been able to save money and eat more healthfully doing this, and it’s been great for us.

Related Articles

• Stretch Your Dollars at the Grocery Store (lifescript.com)
• Freeze It! Budget Bootcamp #8 (betterinbulk.net)
• The Secret World of Trader Joe’s (franklinavenue.blogspot.com)
• Saving Money in the Kitchen (brighthub.com)