How do you shop fornightly without missing something?

[punkbaby]

Stupid question i know, i have to stop the way i shop as generally i shop weekly but have to run down and get more things in the end of the week and its killing my budget!!

How do you shop fortnightly? How do you manage not to run out of stuff? Do you have a set meal planner for the week etc?

I find that vegies and milk i would need to shop weekly, but everything else i can get fortnightly i just want to know how to do it!

Love to hear your ideas please :) Ohh i bake my own bread daily to so i save there its mainly just milk and vegies that i need to do weekly the rest i am sure i can do fortnightly i just need to learn how!!

[SalTheGal]

I set out my menu for the fortnight so I know everything I need- most meals I try to base around pantry staples so that I don't have to get anything much too special (ie- I always have tin tomatoes, soup and paste in the pantry and mince in the freezer so i can do spag bol without having to remember to buy a premade sauce). I also generally have faves (such as the spag bol) which get done consistently every fortnight so that I don't have to be too creative.

This may sound totally anal (which I am so not!) and organised (again not!) but I also have a list in my pantry of everything that should be in there- itemised by shelf, so that I can quickly reference the list and match it to what is on the shelf, that way i can quickly see what I need. If I didn't have the checklist I would always miss stuff!

[mummeeto2]

I plan meals & make a list of everything. I always grab 3 or 4 3L milks to freeze, then I'm not running to the shops every few days & buying extra stuff I don't really need. I'm going to get a breadmaker soon so hopefully that will save some $$$. Fruit & veg I usually do weekly at the markets as it's heaps cheaper.

[punkbaby]

Nope not anal at all i understand why you would do it that way, i find when i shop i buy something that i already have 4 tins of already and dont really need IYKWIM

My dh is so fussy so its so hard to cook Maybe ineed to start a menu i just dont know how i would cope from doing a big and quick shop once a week to a big shop fortnightly LOL its scary!

[Chunkydunks]

i can't do the set meals thing. Drives me nut that I HAVE to have this meal on that day. Just can't get used to it. These days I wander roung the shops and check out the specials. From there I decided on meals and go from there. I don't have set meal so a lot of things are just vege and meat or stew sort fo meals. Oh and the basa fillets in the freezer save us money. We eat a fair bit of fish and these are good. They come crivaced in pairs and theres 8 in a bag. Where we can we also buy in bulk. At the start of the fortnight I work out what I have and build around that. it keeps us under budget most of the time. DHs sweet tooth doesn't though:laughing:

[MumOf4Monsters]

Good on you for baking your own bread! Does it work out cheaper? I only buy the cheap 99c bread but would love to try and bake my own.

I do up our menu plan each week for dinners, so i buy all ingredients that are needed.

I also work out what we will be having for breaky (usually either toast or cereal) and i make sure that i buy enough bread and usually 1 box of cereal to last the week. I also buy 3 x 3L cartons of milk (for dh) and the kids and i drink powdered milk. This would probably be helpful to you if you wanted to shop fortnightly as it does'nt spoil. It's also a bit cheaper depending on what brand you buy. I buy the coles brand and it costs around $4.50 and makes up 8L.

You could do your fruit & veg shopping fortnightly it just takes a little bit of planning.
I work out how many serves of fruit i will need for the week, for example - 6 of us x 2 pieces of fruit a day x 7 days = 84 serves of fruit. We will eat bananas first as they don't last long and leave fruit like oranges, mandarins, apples & rockmelon for later in the week/fortnight as they keep for longer.

Same with veges. I work out exactly what i need and you'll find that they will last 2 weeks. It's also good to plan everything, that way you have no waste.

I used to go shopping weekly and just buy whatever, i found that i would be throwing away a keeper full of fruit & veg because each week i would buy more. Now nothing gets wasted in my house. If the bananas are going brown, i freeze them, same for veges like brocolli, carrot, cauli, i freeze them too if i think they will go off before i get around to using them.

I also plan out the kids lunches and once a week i buy the bread and make up sandwiches and freeze them. It saves me sooo much time in the morning too.

I also buy a heap of yoghurt and freeze that. It keeps for quite a while in the freezer. I usually buy it when it is on clearance as it is ALOT cheaper.

It's all those little extras that add up and make a huge difference to your budget.

I would definately reccomend trying to plan your meals:yes: Try it for a week and you'll be hooked:thumbsup: you'll also save money, which is always a bonus!

Sorry...did'nt mean to :ecomcity:

[punkbaby]

Thanks for the ideas Mumof4monsters didnt even think of freezing the fresh vegies i really hate frozen vegies i tend to buy at the market but thats a good idea :)
I have started getting the long life milk lately and saved about 30 a week as i am getting it all at the supermarket not the milk bar so thats a big saving as thats one thing that we use far to much of!

My breadmaker is awesome, i spend one day a month making up snap lock bags of the mix and freezing it so its just a case of putting in the bread machine and adding water and its done. It costs me around 25 cents a loaf plus i can use the mix for rolls etc plus i also make up a few different mixes for scones and pizza dough too so its pretty useful.

I am trying to budget and i know that these short stops at the supermarket are killing it! I go down to spend 20 and spend 50 so i really want to stop doing that.

Mght have to hunt down some easy recipes now and cheap ones :)

[Lastcenturymum]

I had friends that did it, but I couldn't. Even hiding biscuits and cereal, it never seemed to last!

Meal planning (roughly) is a good idea and I have to do it more now as I can't just run down to the shops as easily now.

I have a friend who lives in Nigeria and she comes home to do a ONCE A YEAR shop for all her non perishables and it is shipped over in a container. One bedroom in their house was converted to a freezer and she gets fresh fruit and vegies at local markets once a week.

[Susan Mac]

I flat refuse to drink powdered or long life milk, because I spent 18 months in PNG where it cost the equivalent of $8 for a 2L bottle of milk, which only came in on some Fridays, so I was left without a lot of choice. And it tastes yuk.

I basically shop twice a week, with trips based around milk, bread and fruit and veg. I was really overspending on food doing this, but I've started doing some things which have really helped...

I have a diary where I write in each week what we are going to eat (I do weekly, but could do fortnightly). It usually changes for various reasons, but I can look back and see when we last had fish/vegetarian/red meat/chicken and what I need to plan for this week. I also keep track of what meat and meals I have in the freezer, becasue in the past I have ended up throwing things away becasue they have been in there too long.

I have a list on the pantry door with all the things we use regularly and on the first week of the month, and check how much we have of everything and replace anything that is finished or low.

I keep another diary in my handbag where I write down all the specials from the catalogues (which is usually only two or three things, like who has cereal on special!) The things i need which aren't in the pantry for hte meals I've planned, and things I've run out of unexpectedly.

I'm finding now I'm generally spending $100 a week not $150, and I really have unexpected things I buy.

oh, I also have those fantastic tupperware vegie box things. Everything lasts longer in there.

[fozzie]

Hey PB I've been looking at doing this but DH is paid weekly so I don't know if i would be able to I haven't done a full shop for a few weeks and I spent $315 today and that was without all our Meat for the week.:( We have wondered about a bread maker and if it would work out any cheaper as DH eats alot of bread. I'm going to keep my eyes out for one I think sounds good.

[Lastcenturymum]

A friend of mine's hubby did his sums on breadmakers and decided it was cheaper to use one. (He's a bit anal!:D)

Trap can be you eat more break because it is so nice, hence we never got one. Just too many high carbs, but with young kids I think this would be some benefit.

I used to make my own too, about twice a week. It was more for health reasons and was a heavy bread with malt extract, had an awesome flavour.

You know before breadmakers there used to be these courses you could do in learning now to make bread and they sold you all the tins and stuff! I never did one though.

[Mamalicious]

Argh now I want a breadmaker! Thanks guys!!! :p

[fozzie]

Me too i've just been looking on ebay.:D

[Benji]

I tend to buy things that I can make lots of meals out of.

For example, I will buy a enough mince to make a spaghetti bolognaise for one night and leave enough to make a lasagne. I also make a huuuuuuuge vege soup and keep it in the freezer for lunches towards the end of the fortnight.

I always have frozen vegies as back up for sides.

I haven't run out of food yet, but I still have to buy the odd vegie or a bit of fruit in between.

[punkbaby]

LOL LCM you know we went sick on bread for a few weeks then the novelty wore off, generally though i cook a laof and its gone after breakfast and the lunches are made we dont waste it which is great plus i can use it for scones mix, jams, damper pizza dough it really saves alot. The wierd part is i cannot eat bread from a supermarket now, i usually make a soy loaf but now that storm cant eat wheat or gluten (we are on a elimination diet) its going to work out well as its heaps cheaper to make wheat and gluten free bread than it is to buy :)

[RaryGirl]

I shop fortnightly .... and I try really hard to not go in between except for milk.

I plan the meals for the 2 weeks and try to buy in bulk and freeze things. We have a huge freezer, so I buy at least 4-6 loaves of bread at a time.

When I buy everything I bag it up in smaller serves ... either for the freezer or lunchboxes and everyone knows once they are gone there isn't anything till next shop.

The fruit is delivered once a week ... same goes when it runs out. I freeze alot of fruit in snack packs for school ... oranges, grapes, pineapple and watermelon are great frozen snacks. At the end of the week (when the next fruit box is due) ... I make up a fruit salad with the remaining fruit so no fruit is wasted.

I buy frozen vegies as I just don't think they last long enough in the fridge (well mine don't).

I suppose it helps that I hate grocery shopping ... so avoid the supermarket as much as I can. :laughing:

[Zada]

freeze milk saves those small trips that can end up expensive

[punkbaby]

Oh keep them coming :)

We dont have much of a freezer i am thinking that i might tell FIL he can get me one of those chest ones for my birthday seeing he asked what we needed at the moment we have the one thats on the fridge and i think thats where half the problem is.

if you freeze milk how long does it last when its defrosted?

[mummeeto2]

PB - once milk is defrosted it should last the same time as it would fresh. Generally the use by date is 8-10 days from the date you bought it, but ours is lucky to last 3 days before is drunk. I just find it so much easier to freeze a few bottles then defrost as needed. When you put them in the freezer allow a little room at the sides cos it expands as it freezes.

DH said we can get a breadmaker :smiliedance:. I'm going to cash in some fly buys points for gift cards & pay the extra to get one. I didn't have enough points to get one as a reward

[Susan Mac]

yes, it has occured to me since reading this thread that I could just buy two 3L bottles on mOnday and get another one Friday or Saturday if we needed it!

[Susan Mac]

oh, and I'd like to try a breadmaker, but I don't have the cupboard or bench space to store it!!!

[punkbaby]

oh, and I'd like to try a breadmaker, but I don't have the cupboard or bench space to store it!!!

My brother built me this cube like shelf, it has a funky roller door where my breadmaker sits, i just open it when i am using it then i store my kettle and tea and coffee on top we just put in an island bench a while back so we can clutter the other benches but the best thing about this is that its hidden and looks tidy :)

[Mrs Potts]

Some great ideas here!

One thing I've started doing that is great if I stick to it is to keep a magnetic shopping list on the fridge. If I use a pasta sauce from the cupboard I write it on the list, or if I use something that's getting low (like spreads, sugar, ongoing things) I'll put it on the list. It saves time on shopping days as I don't have to go through the fridge/pantry/freezer to see what's missing. If it's not on the list it doesn't get bought and we make do until next shop. Things like fresh fruit, bread and milk are always bought (they don't need to go on the list), but can't figure out how Tim Tams end up on the list... :confused::laughing:

[tyler's mum]

Anyone know how dear the stuff is to make bread???

[mum_I'm_hungry]

Our problem is yoghurt. I am always having to nip in to the shops to buy yoghurt. I hate it, but my husband and four-year-old and almost two-year-old must be drinking the stuff the way they go through it. Everyone talking breadmakers has got me wondering if anyone else has a yoghurt problem. Do you make your own? I've often thought about trying that kit thing...