Creating an inventory.

How to eat for less has been covered a few times, but I'm going to put my personal spin on it.

When I was first married, I was given $200 to feed 4 people a month. 2 of those 4 were teenagers. I managed to do this by knowing what I had in my cupboard, "shopping" there first and then buying bulk as much as possible.

Here are some easy steps.

1). Sit down and think up 30 meals you like. This is the HARDEST step to do, but if you start asking everyone, you'll do it. They don't need to be "cheap" ideas either. I"ll show you why later.

2). Do a shopping list for those 30 meals. Figure out what you would need to have in your house for the full month to cook those meals. Make sure you combine everything together (you would need 12 eggs for the whole month for all meals, not 1 egg for this one and 2 for this one {this is why you can do the more expensive meals, also}). See a trend starting?

3). Now, create an inventory of what you would need to keep in your house to cook those meals. Plus, you need to add breakfast meals (see Raisya's earlier post on what you can make for an inexpensive breakfast) and lunch. These 2 meals do not need to be different every day. You can have a "French Toast" day, "Pancake Day", "Eggs and Ham" day, etc. Just choose a week of these meals. Keep the "Cereal Day" to one day a week. Pound for pound, boxed cereal is too expensive to eat daily. Times these meals by 4 (plus 2 days) and add them into your inventory.

4). Now that you have your inventory done, it's time to go shopping....BUT....leave your checkbook/cash/credit card at home. This is a price comparison shopping trip only. Choose 1 "Megamart" type store and 1 "Wholesale" type store that you would shop at. Don't choose a place that's not going to be easy to get too or that you wouldn't normally shop at, as this will defeat the purpose. It will work. Do not be surprised if you find prices are cheaper at the Megamart sometimes. People assume that "Wholesale" is cheaper, but not always. Bulk is not always cheaper either. Take your typed up inventory (oh, did I tell you to type it up, in nice little columns?) and put the price from each store for each item.

5). Now, in the comfort of your home, pick where you're going to buy things.

6). Plan 2 weeks worth of menus from your 30 days list. It is ok to serve the same thing twice during that 2 weeks. I know you're only doing 2 weeks and I've been talking about keeping an inventory for 30 days. This is where buying in bulk comes in. You see Pork chops for a really great deal. You only need 6 for 1 meal in the next 2 weeks, but you buy 18 for the price of six. Go home, seperate into Meal-sized packages and viola! You have 2 meals you can "shop" for at home.

7). See what you have in your house (ie, do an initial inventory). Plan your shopping lists. Shope at Home FIRST! Again, this is where bulk shopping comes in.

NOTE* When you are first starting out, don't try to put a full inventory in your house all at once. Unless you've won the lottery! You can slowly build, as you shop your list.

8). The next step is vital. EAT BEFORE YOU GO SHOPPING! A good meal, with dessert. Do not be hungry!

9). While you are shopping, be aware of what things cost at the other store. Sometimes, the Megamart may have a good deal, and you'll know it is because you've got the Wholesale price infront of you! Don't be afraid to buy something at the "wrong" store, if you find it for a better price.

10). Stick to your menus! Pull out any meats a few days ahead and thaw in the fridge. If you plan on doing that Sunday and Thursday, you won't forget and you won't be faced with dinner time and no meat thawed.

A few notes. I've not mentioned anything about eating out. I think it's pretty obvious that this should be avoided. That is included in your food budget and since eating out is usually 10 times more expensive per meal, this could get costly quickly.

Avoid all stores during peak hours and during hours they are sampling things. That leads to impulse buying. Middle of the day, Sunday afternoon or Early morning are great times to shop.

I've also not said anything about taxables. Cleaning, personal care, and paper products are usually included in the food budget and it's wise to figure out how much you use of them, price compare and buy in bulk when you can.

I also didn't mention coupons because they are usually brand specifc and with this type of shopping, you can't be brand loyal. If you price compared Brand A because it was the cheapest, but Brand B is suddenly 50% off, then you are going to buy Brand B! If you find a manufacturer's coupon and a store coupong that would lower the price to very low or nothing, then go for it, but that just seems like a lot of work to me.

That last sentence is funny, I know, considering how much work I'm asking you to do. Set up does take time, but once the system is in place, it makes life so easy. Menu planning is easy because you have 30 planned meals to choose from. Shopping is easy, run your inventory, see what's getting low, know what you need to get and what needs restocked. Go shop and watch your grocery bills come down.