I am going to try and make a series of
posts about our money and time saving tactics we have adopted to help make our
family run smoothly. I guess it also involves the balance of my life, hence the
reason for the blog :) I will add posts about our daily routines, freezer food adventures
ideas, and other incredibly fascinating things for other Moms (sorry, Dads).
For the past couple of months, we have
gradually changed our lifestyle to eating less processed foods, and more fresh
and organic (when possible). We switched Matthew to organic formula about 2-3
months ago. It’s a fact that organic is more expensive than conventional, but
the higher the demand (from us, consumers), the lower the prices will get.
Also, there are many more coupons for organic foods now, including produce.
Keep in mind to always compare the organic price and the conventional when
shopping if you feel overwhelmed or uncertain by the prices. Sometimes it’s not
that much more to go organic. For example, grapes this week are the same price
(1.99/lb) for organic and conventional at Sunflower. Organic blueberries and
strawberries are $1.00 more.
Here is a peak into our weekly grocery
list. I looked up the ads online. Every week we purchase the staples: milk,
yogurt and produce (and Matthew’s formula). I keep bread in the freezer so we
hardly buy it. We also keep meat, veggies, and some pre-made meals in the freezer. And, of course, ice cream (yum!).
Sunflower
Grocery
Annie’s Fruit Snacks $2.99
$0.75
Q = $2.26
Bulk
Organic raisins $1.99/lb
Garbanzo beans $0.99/lb
Produce
Organic blueberries $2.99
$0.75
Q = $2.26
Organic strawberries $2.99
$0.75
Q = $2.26
Organic seedless grapes $1.99/lb
Organic Avocados $0.99
Organic Mangoes $0.99
Organic Girl Salad Mix $3.00
$2.00
Q = $1.00
Organic Romaine hearts 3 pk $2.50
$0.75
Q = $1.75
Meat
Chicken breasts 40% off
Safeway
Activia 4 pk $1.88
$1.00
Q = $0.88
Raspberries $0.99
Plums $0.99
Bananas $0.57/lb
Fry’s
Oikos Greek yogurt $0.88
$1/2
Q = $0.38
Ken’s Salad Dressing $0.88
$1.00
Q = Free ($0.12 MM)
Shamrock Farms Organic milk
I try to stay under budget of $60/week.
Sometimes we stay way under, sometimes we go over (if meat is on sale, or we go
to Costco). It evens out to around $60/week. Of course, that is not including
formula and diapers. I keep a separate budget for those.
