I Hate Grocery Shopping

I hate grocery shopping. There is too much stuff in those massive stores. I never know when I am getting a good deal- unless its on bacon. Stuff is never in the same place. There is too much to choose from. The list can go on and on. I just  hate it. I also hate wasting money and I can't stand clutter. To me, grocery shopping is the mash up of these two things. I go to the grocery store and just buy stuff, sometimes with meals in mind, sometimes to just get food in the house. Either way, I end up spending a ton of money and struggling to fit everything in the freezer and cabinets only to realize weeks later that there is a ton of food that no one has or will touch. Its just a big jumbled, expensive mess.

Since I am trying to get a better grip on my finances, I decided to employ a new method of grocery shopping that will eliminate 2 of my 3 problems with shopping. (1) Wasting money and (2) clutter. I still have to deal with actually going into the store -_- While watching an episode of House Hunters International, the American homebuyer in Amsterdam was in a tizzy about the fact that most of the flats that she looked at had only Dorm room-sized refridgerators. The realtor explained to her that most people don't need massive cold closets in their homes because they stop at the market everyday on their way home from work and pick up dinner. Although it took me 3 years to employ the tactic, I thought it was brilliant.

So last week, I made a vow to myself to cook dinner for 5 days and use the Dutch method to grocery shop- my designation, not theirs. If you know me and my attitude towards cooking, this is no minor feat.
So I started, and probably will continue, with very simple meals. I had to keep it realistic and attainable. Here is how it worked out my first week:

Day one- Chili (~$38.86 grocery bill. I also got Cameron's lunches for the week and some snacks)
Day two- Broccoli and cheddar soup ($6.42 grocery bill, only because I bought two, one for next week too!)
Day three- Baked tilapia, mixed veggies, and rice. ($4.37 for fish only. I already had the other stuff)
Day four- I cheated and went to McDonald's ($8.39 for a salad and two burgers)
Day five- I cooked a frozen pizza that I had already.

So by cooking four days this week -three days if you don't think warming up a pizza is cooking- and only buying what I was going to cook that day, I managed to spend $58.04 on groceries. For breakfast, we usually have the same stuff in the house- bacon or sausage, whichever is on sale-; eggs; hash browns; coffee. I also keep cereal, waffles, and honey in the house for my son's breakfast. For lunch, Cameron eats at school, usually a Lunchable, homemade iced tea, a fruit, and a snack; I eat leftovers or not at all. I also keep a box of oatmeal packets at work to eat. My poor husband usually eats leftovers for lunch, but he mostly fends for himself. He was single a long time so he fares well.  

Well that was my first attempt at the Dutch method of grocery shopping. I will be trying it again next week.