Grocery shopping is my favourite

Do you love grocery shopping? I do. I really do. My friends have been joking with me for more than 10 years, now, about how if I could live at Superstore, I probably would. I LOVE grocery shopping, but I've come to learn that not everyone shares my joy.

For a lot of people, grocery shopping is one of the most dreaded of all household chores. (For me, that's definitely washing my car. Noooo thank you to that). And, while I have always loved spending time cruising the aisles of the grocery store, it wasn't until I was in my fourth year as a stay at home mom, and facing the impending arrival of my third child, that I really started to be mindful about my habits at the grocery store.

Sure, I looked for sales, and stocked up on stuff that seemed like a good deal, but I was constantly getting home and realizing I had forgotten an ingredient for the meal I was going to make, or that I already had 14 cans of diced tomatoes in the pantry from the last time I stocked up on a good deal. Not to mention all the produce and lunch meat I was throwing away after finding it wilting or molding or otherwise festering in a forgotten corner of my fridge.

Even so, I still thought I was doing a pretty good job with grocery shopping. I was, and still am, committed to feeding my family wholesome, healthy foods, and any time my husband would bring up the notion of making and sticking to a grocery budget or reducing our spending, I would get instantly defensive and tell him that I was only buying the things we needed.

It wasn't until I finally agreed to sit down and make (and stick to) a grocery budget for our family, that I realized how much money was going to waste because of my grocery habits. It was really eye opening. I actually had no idea how much money I was spending each week on groceries. I would just go to the store and buy what we needed, because, well, we needed it. I just figured that if I was only buying what I needed to feed and care for my family, whatever I was spending was what the grocery budget just had to be.

In the last year, I've made some small, purposeful changes to the way I approach groceries, and it has made a huge difference for our family! We've reduced our grocery budget to $260 every two weeks for our family of 5 (and yes this includes diapers), and as a result have been rewarded with more financial freedom in other areas of our life. My fridge is rarely full of mushy forgotten food, and the stress of "what am I making for dinner?" every night has all but disappeared.

If you are someone who doesn't know how much of their money is going to the grocery store each month, or who dreads grocery shopping, or is tired of throwing away unused food, or is simply looking for ways to reduce their grocery bills, I can help! Follow along for tips and tricks, and if you'd like to hear about my grocery 101 workshop, send me a message!