update: bimonthly grocery shopping failed

**ladykemma2** · 07-26-2009, 11:06 AM

time to tweak it. Try again. "Find a Way".

originally i shopped every other sunday. froze bread and milk to get through. it worked quite well, except for the five week months.

i decided last month to shop on the first and 15th of the month. the idea was to shop 24 times a year instead of 26 times a year. the extra two biweekly shopping trips a year were messing with my head and my budget and the sinking fund for it kept being diverted to murphy. Shopping on the 1st and 15th matches my pay checks.

here it how it went:

I did not get enough bread or milk, out of produce and still have a week to go before getting paid. Note to self: buy and freeze more bread and milk, "find a way" with the produce.

"find a way" is my new slogan.

i may yet go back to biweekly shopping.

edited to add: I'm LDS and have about 500 pounds of dried milk in #10 cans in my storeroom. yuck. i don't mind evaporated or parmalat milk.

**ladykemma2** · 07-26-2009, 11:31 AM

update: just cracked open a can of the "provident pantry" brand of dried milk in a #10 can. not bad. it's much better than the dried milk the church provides.

i hear "morning moo" is good.

**NikoSan999** · 07-26-2009, 12:23 PM

On the produce part...maybe on your shopping days pick up a little extra each time and do the dehydrating thing like so many on here do or just slice and dice and put in freezer. After a while you might have enough of a "build up" to carry you thru. Just a thought. I used to get paid twice a month and it sucked.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-26-2009, 12:26 PM

I can't do without biweekly shopping. It's the only thing that keeps my budget in check. We still get times where I need to pick up things, but I think that's more due to my own failure at making a comprehensive list. It ends up costing us in the end.

**ladykemma2** · 07-26-2009, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

I can't do without biweekly shopping. It's the only thing that keeps my budget in check. We still get times where I need to pick up things, but I think that's more due to my own failure at making a comprehensive list. It ends up costing us in the end.

i am wondering if it will costs more in the end too

**savvy_sniper** · 07-26-2009, 12:47 PM

It might help if you keep track of every thing you purchase AND use for a month or so - how much, how often, etc. It really sounds like you need a better idea of how much and how often you use things so you can do a better job of purchasing the correct quantities.

Also, since you don't like or use that powdered milk, maybe you can trade it for something else, sell it, etc. It does no good to have a stockpile of things you can't use/don't like.

**ladykemma2** · 07-26-2009, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by NikoSan999

On the produce part...maybe on your shopping days pick up a little extra each time and do the dehydrating thing like so many on here do or just slice and dice and put in freezer. After a while you might have enough of a "build up" to carry you thru. Just a thought. I used to get paid twice a month and it sucked.

good thought! i have a lot of canned and dried veg and fruit (LDS food storage).

this is the issue: the fresh produce is for my house bunny rabbits. they WILL eat canned peaches, dried apples, and they yum down applesauce. i am thinking, as we brainstorm, that timothy hay pellets mixture and canned fruits might carry me though.

**ladykemma2** · 07-26-2009, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by savvy_sniper

It might help if you keep track of every thing you purchase AND use for a month or so - how much, how often, etc. It really sounds like you need a better idea of how much and how often you use things so you can do a better job of purchasing the correct quantities.

Also, since you don't like or use that powdered milk, maybe you can trade it for something else, sell it, etc. It does no good to have a stockpile of things you can't use/don't like.

the church recommends that you keep it on hand for DIRE emergencies. more than half of it is the provident pantry brand, which i just discovered ain't bad!

**ladykemma2** · 07-26-2009, 12:58 PM

i am wondering if biweekly might be better and just "suck it up" and buy extra bread and milk during the 5 week months.

"make do" 4 times a year rather than all year.

hmmm.

at the moment my opinion of bimonthly is that it is inconvenient and may be unnecessarily frugal.

the upside is that it is making me clean out and use the odd box of rice-a roni or whatever in the pantry. there is less waste.

**savvy_sniper** · 07-26-2009, 01:13 PM

If you are a member of any freecycle groups, you can trying posting a wanted listing for produce people are going to throw away. You could possibly come across someone that would be able to supply you with produce for your rabbits on some sort of a regular basis.

I used to know a woman that had an arrangement with a local grocery store. They gave her a lot of produce and bread for her farm animals.

**joyofsix** · 07-26-2009, 01:20 PM

If you 'find a way' let us all know. I have experimented with bi-weekly shopping and shopping 2x month and can't seem to get it right. Our eating seems too variable.

**ladykemma2** · 07-26-2009, 01:24 PM

my science brain is going nuts. it can't wrap mind around how 14 days of food (biweekly) is any different from 15-16 days of food (bimonthly)

edited to add: it actually is having to cover extra month of food doing it the biweekly way. 4 exra weeks. confoozled.

**craftypam** · 07-26-2009, 01:31 PM

isn't bi weekly twice a week; I always get that confused

**NikoSan999** · 07-26-2009, 01:33 PM

As I said, I used to get paid that way also. I remember once it was like 20 days between checks for some reason. Don't ask why because I don't remember. I just know I'm glad mine wasn't the only paycheck cause I couldn't have done it.
You said the bunnies like dried apples. If you dehydrate a bunch and got a build up that would help. Maybe picking up a few extra cans of the peaches etc now to get a mini stockpile going for them and maybe try the twice a month at a later date after you have a backup bunnie food pile meanwhile keeping up the drying of and buying of new produce to keep it going. Am I saying this right? Be like having the bunnies very own stockpile and adding to it after you got it going.
Know what I'm trying to say but don't know if I'm being clear.
Just know it stinks.

**NikoSan999** · 07-26-2009, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by craftypam

isn't bi weekly twice a week; I always get that confused

Me too...biweekly is every other week regardless...bi monthly is getting paid twice a month..like on the 1st and the 15th. After the 15th you don't get paid again until the 1st of next month.
Real trip getting stuff paid and heaven help you if you forget something.
Sucks