Friday 17 March 2017

My Grocery Shopping List March 2017

Almost every week I have someone ask me what I buy to feed my family.  I've also had lots of requests for my shopping list  / dockets.  Yesterday was my monthly shopping day so I've taken photos of my dockets and the groceries I bought.

At the moment my monthly grocery budget is $180 for the four of us plus our cat.  Hopefully when our financial situation improves I'll be able to bump it back up to $270 a month. Please keep in mind that our girls are not always home for dinner.  Jessica is at Uni and Megan's current job has her working over dinner a couple of times a week.

As you know,  during Sept - Nov I stockpile heavy,  bulky and non perishable items to last all of Summer and the holiday season.   I still have some of these items left to use.

Here are the shopping dockets so far for the month.  I'll keep adding photos of my shopping dockets as the month goes by.  My month runs from 16th March until 15th April keeping it in line with our credit card statements ( not that the groceries go on credit ).

Yesterday I spent  -

Coles $38.50

Aldi $53.30

I've put away $20 into the meat fund for when I see something on sale.  I'm hoping to get reimbursed from the freezer manufacturer for the loss of meat and food from last month.

This leaves me with $68.20 for weekly milk,  fruit and veg top ups for the next four weeks.


Aldi shopping

Aldi docket
Coles shopping

Coles docket

If you are wondering where the rest of the food is,  please keep in mind that I have a food stockpile.  When I grocery shop I'm stocking up on what I used last month so that my stockpile never runs low or runs out.

Here are some other points -

Herbs,  spices and dried fruit etc -  I made a visit to Hindustan Imports last week and stocked up on the usual herbs,  spices and ingredients to add to my bread.  I spent about $70 from the food slush fund and this will last me for about 6 - 8 months ( some things even longer ).

Snacks -   You might be wondering when all the snacks are.  The flour and sugar I bought will make many baking treats. At the moment we have corn thins ( like rice cakes ),  Salada biscuits and pita chips as savoury snacks.  We also still have an assortment of treats and chocolate from Christmas.   If our girls want extra snacks they buy their own.

Fruit and veg -  We are picking strawberries,  tomatoes and raspberries in abundance at the moment.  On Wednesday I bought a big bag of mixed lettuce leaves that will feed us for four meals.  As soon as our lettuce in the garden grows big enough ( about three weeks ) I'll be crossing it off the list.  I already have cucumber,  carrots,  apples and grapes in the fridge leftover from last week.  In the freezer I have lots of broccoli ( bought on a super duper sale ),  corn kernels,  beans,  celery,  strawberries and raspberries.  In the pantry I have enough potatoes for a week..

Dairy - I bought milk and sour cream on Wednesday and cream last week.  I'm making yoghurt from scratch and we still have a few 1 kilo blocks of cheese in the fridge.  We also have a few small tubs of icecream in the freezer to use up.

Meat -  I have a truckload of chicken fillets ( $4.99 kg ) and drumsticks ( $1.99 kg ) bought on sale late last year.  A few weeks ago I bought 3 or 4 trays of chops ( $7.99 kg ).  I have five legs of lamb bought last Spring ( $7.49 kg ).  I bought fish about 1 month ago ( $5.99 kg I think ). I have a few portions of ham, a couple of meals of sausages and about 20 + portions of mince plus  ready made mince meals ( pie meat,  spag bol etc ).

I did loose a freezer full of meat and other food about 5 - 6 weeks ago.  Due to this loss I haven't got as much meat as I usually would have.

Breakfast -  Darren and I eat my homemade bread as toast every morning.  I only have my homemade jam on the toast.  Darren has jam or tomatoes on his toast.  Our girls occasionally cook a breakfast of pancakes or eggs from our chickens.  We always have quick oats in the pantry to make porridge.  There's always yoghurt,  fruit or cheese and dry biscuits to have.

Spreads -  We've cut down on spreads due to our girls finishing school.. I have a stockpile of Vegemite,  peanut butter,  homemade jam and some honey.

Sauces etc -  We don't use a lot of sauces but have all the usual ones on hand.  I still have a few bottles of salad dressings bought on sale last Summer.

Drinks -   We don't drink coffee,  soft drink,  cordial,  juice or alcohol  We drink milk,  tea,  hot chocolate ( homemade ) and lots of water.  I have enough teabags stockpiled for the next two years.

Toiletries -  A have almost a year's worth of toiletries stockpiled.  If there's a half price sale I stock up.  I still have a six month toilet paper stockpile.

Cleaning -  I don't buy much in the way of cleaning products.  I buy ingredients to make soap laundry powder and Miracle Spray.  Anything else needed is bought at a half price sale and used sparingly.

I'll try to post my shopping dockets each month so you get a better idea of what I buy.

Top up shopping day Wednesday 22nd March


This was paid for from the food slush fund.


The apples are to be used in jam making.
Here are receipts and photos from my last two tops up -












20 comments:

  1. I have a pretty decent stock pile, and still manage to spend $200-$250 per week for our family of five human, 1 dog and 1 rabbit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe look at what you are buying. Do you buy brands, expensive ingredients, convenience foods, smaller packets etc etc. You don't need to answer that question but it might be worth thinking about.

      Delete
  2. I have four school age children, snacks can get expensive.I just started making pizza scrolls and freezing them as well as muffins and buttered raisin toast. I also freeze ham and cheese bread rolls. All these things are handy for busy mornings and rushing to sport etc. Fresh produce gets expensive but I buy whats in season. I have started freezing more things and making jam if I have heaps of fruit.
    Maybe with your shopping list you could put up that months menu?
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathy, I've only just started menu planning again. It's hard to write one when I don't know if the girls will be home. I will try to get one up shortly.

      Delete
  3. I always find I can learn things from how others spend their grocery budgets so thank you for posting your dockets. I have a small stockpile and I try to add something to it each week. I like that I can use items from it when I run out or need to come up with something quickly. I do need to expand it though! Meg

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just wondering why you buy the pantry staples such as flour and sugar from Coles versus Aldi?
    Marie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I buy flour and sugar from Coles to get the flybuys points.

      Delete
  5. I love my toiletries stock pile of shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, shaving cream, liquid soap, shower gel, toothpaste and toothbrushes, toilet paper and tissues, moisturiser and night cream - everything bought at half price.
    Those tomatoes are a bargain at .60c!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wendy... I just want to say thank you... for your generosity in showing us how you live Your Abundant Life...you are such a wonderful example and I am sure that many blessings come your way because of that. I hope so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou so much Heather. We might live on a low income but our life is rich in so many ways. We are truly blessed.

      Delete
  7. So diligent. Your run your home like a serious business - and rightly so. Very motivating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't have the luxury of running out home any other way. Still, I can account for every dollar spent and not a cent is wasted.

      Delete
  8. When i fill up my car for the week i also buy toilet paper to get my flybuys points,iam the only one who eats tuna so when this is on sale i stock up on them great for lunch box snacks thanks for the post very helpful
    Have a great weekend xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are so inspiring Wendy.

    I can not do a budget like yours because we do not have Aldi nearby, but I do shop the specials at WW/Coles and have a nice little stockpile. Occasionally we do a trip to Adelaide and that is when I do a big shop at Aldi.

    I agree with Mr Homemaker. You run your house like a business and stay strict to the cause.

    I love your tips, they are very helpful.

    xTania



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aldi is cheaper on some things or the same as Coles on others. Shopping no name and ingredients is the key to lowering the food budget.

      I'm sure you do a great job Tania. You do grow a lot too xoxo

      Delete
  10. Does your grocery slush fund come from regular budgeted grocery money? I have a hard time having anything leftover at the end of the month.
    Thank you
    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Michelle. I first started the grocery slush fund with holiday spending money that was left over back in 2011. I think I had $100 to start with.

      Over the years I've kept money in the fund using budgeted left over grocery money. Some months I can put in $10 and other months I can put in 440 - $60

      Maybe there is an area of your budget where you don't spend all the money ( presents for example ). You could start your fund with that money.

      Delete
    2. You do an outstanding job with your grocery budget. I have a hard time with $400 a month for 2 adults in California.
      Thank you for all the info

      Delete
  11. Hi Wendy,
    I have been using your advice and have been stockpiling for summer but also in general. How long did it take you to build your stocks to the level you have now?
    Julee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It might have taken close to a year to get my stockpile. Keep in mind I was only using the $300 a month to build my stockpile so I had to do it slowly.

      Delete

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