so it's been a while since i last posted. my bad. since my last post though, we went grocery shopping twice online (which he can't stop raving about). is that cool or what? below i will put out the basics on how to make a list (he hates doing that part but loves eating the food), where to buy what, explain what lazy couponing entails, pros and cons of going to the store and using a grocery delivery service, and other stuff if i think of anything.
1. grocery list basics
plan out at least four meals with your partner that you eat regularly (for us that's peppersteak with jasmine rice, fettuccine with broccoli and texas toast, cabbage with salt pork and jasmine rice, corn on the cob with mashed potatoes and green beans) and write down their basic ingredients (bellpepper tomato butter soy sauce etc.). after this, check the kitchen for things you're running out of and write it all down. afterwards, i like to sort the things on the list into sections. my most recent list is as follows:
DAIRY: cheese, milk, yogurt, bisciuts
FROZEN: txs toast, pizza, hash browns, lasagna, blue bag frozen dinner, corn kernels, taquitos/burritos, corn cob halves
PRODUCE: lettuce, cabbage, tomato, bellpepper, tato salad, apples/oranges, potatoes, grapes
OTHER: tuppers, peeler, sponges, wipees, foil, razors, liquid laundry detergent, napkins, aloe gel, tampons, bottled water
PANTRY: italian seasoning, sun chips, work snacks, juice, rice, cornbread mix, applesauce, crab legs, ketchup, italian dressing, egg noodles
it doesn't really look like much, but it all adds up. a few things are better bought at the dollar store (texas toast, tuppers, foil, razors, napkins, italian seasoning, applesauce, ketchup, italian dressing and egg noodles) and stopping by there will save you a few bucks. i wouldn't suggest buying all the things you need from there, but they do have brand-name items (whenever milani or loreal comes out with something new i end up finding a few items there for a buck. just sayin).
2. where to shop
fortunately, we live less than a twenty minute walk from safeway, walmart and a dollar tree. unfortunately, i don't know how to drive and so it is difficult to carry sacks of rice and potatoes and jugs of juice fifteen to twenty minutes back home, so we either end up taking uber (an app-based taxi service) or i just end up getting a few things on the big sale day of the week. if you have a car, you will want to cross-check your list with where each item is cheapest and make a chart based on this. next post i'll show how to do that.
anyhow, my personal favorite stores are safeway, fresh and easy, whole foods, food maxx, target, walmart, and the dollar store. unless we're using a grocery delivery service, we only go to the stores that are in our area. what's best to do though, is to go to the cheapest store (food maxx or walmart) with the chart-list, and buy things from there first. if you see that x-brand chips are 3.99 at the cheaper store but 3.49 with a coupon at the next store over (and you still have other things to get at that next store), go ahead and get them at the next store. it may be only fifty cents, but every little penny counts towards a small treat you can get yourself when you are all done shopping for the week.
3. lazy couponing
for me, going through the ads seems like an absolute chore, until i see how much i saved (in the form of that treat i mentioned above). we don't get the sunday paper, but if you do, look through the little pamphlets that come in it. there are always several manufacturer's coupons in there that last through the month if not longer, and can be used in conjunction with store coupons. also, there are other blogs and sites that put out free printable ones. keep in mind that store coupons only last through till the next ad, which comes a week later. make sure to check the page with the daily deals (ours is friday). at safeway they're friday deal page has a $5 theme, so last time i went they had three mott's apple juices for $5. that's $1.67 each, folks. way cheaper than buying it on a regular day. i ended up getting two for less than the price of one. the power of spending twenty minutes to construct a list and look through the ads is something i cannot explain to you, but it is well worth it.
4. grocery delivery services vs. shopping yourself
so far we've only tried instacart. basically, you go to their website and click on the things you want, pay for them, and someone drops the stuff off at your door in colorful instacart reusable bags.
PROS: shop from the comfort of your lumpy couch, pick from stores you normally wouldn't spend the gas getting to (i'm talking about you, whole foods), ability to find specific things like flavor, scent, natural, organic, etc. easily, schedule your delivery time within specific hours (they'll call you when they're outside so you're not rushing to throw some clothes on), if the shopper can't find something you can have that item replaced with another, the shoppers have costco cards for those who like to buy in bulk (helloooo humongous cookie tin), you can find things you want that weren't on the list or that you didn't know you wanted
CONS: sometimes the shoppers might not be able to find some of the things you clicked on (leading to your utter disappointment and need to get up and still go to the store), you cannot use your personal coupons with this service, slightly elevated prices from the store price, not all the stores you like to shop from will be on the list of available stores to buy from, sometimes the shopper (if unexperienced) will get the things you told them not to get (we clicked bisquick, the guy said the store didn't have any and asked if we wanted aunt jemima and we said no, he got it anyways)
we all know what regular grocery shopping is like, so i'll just get to it.
PROS: talking to human beings (if that's your thing), spending money on tangible things (another one of those things), saving money with coupons, seeing the money in your hand so you get a feel for exactly how much you spent, the ability to look at the ingredients lists of two things and make a judgement call (do you really need those extra 27 sugar cubes' worth in your daily one-liter?), the handiness of picking out your own fruits and vegetables, finding things you forgot to put on the list (or that treat you keep forgetting to get yourself)
CONS: possibly rude customers/employees, standing in line behind someone with WIC, forgetting your coupons/list and buying random junk just to get back home, traffic on the way home when you've got frozen stuff in the backseat melting everywhere, (for us californians) forgetting to bring bags and paying ten cents each for another five bags to add to your collection of twenty plus at home, sick people, messy bathrooms, spills in the aisle, crying kids, disputing prices from the shelf, dragging the groceries from the car into the house (or the store to the house if you're walking)
the list goes on. if i had teleportation, i'd prefer store shopping only. a girl can dream. grocery delivery services are a helper, but can be a bit lacking when the store is out of stock. i advise you to try it out, and fo you out there who prefer the old-fashioned approach, please please go to multiple stores with coupons. you will save much more than you are now.
i hope this post was helpful and slightly informative to other recluses/partial hikikomori out there. feel free to leave comments or questions about anything. yes i do mean anything.
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