The Grocery Grumble

When I was in the last few years of high school, grocery shopping was my family "chore."  My mom disliked grocery shopping, and I loved it.

At the time, I loved it because it meant I got to DRIVE.  My other chore was chauffeuring my brothers to their various extracurricular sports & activities, so the particular chore of driving to go grocery shopping was fun because I was alone.  I could listen to my music, take as long as I'd like (within reason), and I got to borrow the family plastic (aka credit card).

Yes, that's part of it too.  I confess that I am a "spender."  My personality lends toward finishing projects all at once, so if you consider money as a project, I have a tendency to want to figure out how to spend it (and "finish" the project).  I think I've always liked grocery shopping because no matter how tight the budget got (and it's been TIGHT at times), I still got to spend money on food.  (Frugally, of course...but spending was spending!)  

I enjoy looking at all of the different options on the shelves and in the baskets and choosing what looks yummiest.  In our lean years, this task became both enjoyable and stressful.  I still liked being able to shop.  But the money adding up with each "beep" in the checkout aisle became incredibly stressful.  First, it was a fear of what my husband would think about the purchase total.  (I will add that he is such a nice husband, but he IS a saver.  And we historically haven't done much specific budgeting, which leaves things up for guessing.  And surprises.  And miscommunication.  What?  You've been there?  Ok, good--glad I'm not alone!)  

This past year, my least favorite part of my original Frugal Foodie endeavor (when I cooked up to a week's worth of meals for up to 10 families at a time) was grocery shopping.  First, there was the sheer amount of ingredients required.  (Pasta for 4 people...TIMES TEN.)  Then, there was the sheer terror that I would spend too much of what I had allotted, which would lead myself to lose money on my week's worth of cooking before I had even begun cooking it!  There were a couple weeks when I did break even or sink a little of my own money into the total, and I felt so defeated as I lugged everything through the doors of my house, unloaded all of the ingredients onto my tables and counters, and began the all-time-consuming task of meal creation...it was like I had lost before I even started.

Maybe you feel like that about grocery shopping.  Sure, you're not cooking for 10 families, but cooking for one is sometimes not much different.  The decision to go to four different stores in order to save the most amount of money versus going to one store and paying more for ingredients you know you could get cheaper elsewhere can feel like a lose-lose situation.  If you do decide to go the route of the least amount of locations, finding one store that carries every single ingredient can still be a lost cause...and seeing the total on the receipt can cause your stomach to drop.  Adding those "occasional items" to your list (dog food, laundry detergent, etc) can make your total seem to sky rocket.  Not to mention trying to get it all done with children in tow...(I avoid this at all costs).

Have I worn you out yet?

I have bad news and good news:

The bad news is that I am not the grocery genie.  If you hate grocery shopping, you will probably always hate it.  And even if you like grocery shopping, you might still find things to hate about it like I do.

The good news is that I have a few tricks to share, and I'll be writing about them over the next few days.  These are merely suggestions of things that work for me.  I hope you can pick & choose some things to try that might help you out too!  See you tomorrow for my first tip: YOUR GROCERY LIST.