The Two-Week Grocery Experiment: Introduction

Since our Kroger stores have closed--and they were the source of most of my great grocery deals--I've been re-working my grocery shopping strategies and trying a variety of things to see what works best with the stores and deals we still have left. When there's a will, there's a way, right? Sometimes it just takes some creative ingenuity and thinking outside the box!

I stretched our last grocery shopping trip out to last almost 10 days, so when I went shopping this week, I actually had $75 to work with, as opposed to the usual $40. (I only had $35 left from the previous week's grocery budget because I'd done a few transactions at CVS and picked up some ice cream on sale for a treat.)

This $75 was to last us for the next week and a half but I decided to see if I could buy enough to last us for two weeks instead. I've never shopped for two weeks in my life, nor have I ever spent $75 on one grocery outing (save for back in the days when I wasn't married yet and was doing the shopping for my parents and six siblings!), but I figured I might as well try it and see what happens.

While I have yet to see if the groceries I bought do indeed last us for two weeks, I have already noticed two things:

1) I spent less time buying groceries.

I usually spend approximately 30-45 minutes planning the weekly grocery trip including going through the sale ads, matching the sales with coupons, pulling the coupons, making my lists, and writing a rough menu plan. (I often don't write the final menu plan until I arrive home from the store as I sometimes substitute and make changes while at the store if I find an exceptional deal.)

My weekly shopping trip (usually hitting between 2-3 stores) normally takes me around 2 hours, including driving time.

Instead of doubling that time to shop for two weeks, I actually only spent around 45 minutes of preparation time and just under 3 hour of shopping time. So, I shaved off around an hour to an hour and a half of time by shopping for two weeks' worth of groceries.

2) I was able to stockpile more than usual.

I'm not sure what it was, but something about having $75 to spend gave me more wiggle room to stock up. For example, I found loaves of bread at Aldi reduced to $0.50/loaf. On our usual $40/week plan, I likely would have bought two--twice what we normally buy for a week. Instead, I was able to afford to buy six loaves which I stuck in the freezer and will likely last us for at least five weeks.

I also bought 5-7 other items I probably would not have been able to wing in our usual budget; I'm not sure why that was but I seemed to get more bang for my buck with more money to spend. I'm still pondering that phenomenon!

And do you know how much $75 can buy at the grocery store? I felt like I'd just become independently wealthy or something when I unloaded all those groceries onto the belt at the checkout stand! In the next installment in this series, I'll share what all I bought for $75. Stay tuned.

I've always said that shopping every week is likely the best way to maximize on sales and deals since store sales usually change each week. However, after noticing the time saved and my ability to stockpile more with two week's worth of grocery money, I'm wondering if perhaps that's not always the case. I'll tell you how it goes and what my conclusions are in this The Two-Week Grocery Experiment series.

How often do you shop? Do you think that shopping every week is the best strategy? I'd love to hear!

Comments

[Jamie]

I generally do the bulk of my shopping once a month.... canned goods, pantry items, household, etc, etc.... I make a once a month trip top the bread store and stock my freezer... buns (hot dog and hamburger) poboy rolls, french loaves, bagels, tons of bread...

I find my time is best spent with the one big trip/month... with 3 young kids I now try to do this trip without any kids.... although I have done it with 1,2, even 3 before LOL!

I started with CVS thanks to you about 1 1/2 months ago... This is helping tremendously!! I am getting my milk for free there and now working in a once a week CVS trip.... and scouting out other awesome deals!

[Melissa]

hello! i shop twice a month, which is once a paycheck for us (military). for the two of us i can get enough to last a couple weeks and only spend about $100. i need to work on saving money and coupons and stuff though. i could probably spend less if i did.

[Melissa]

hello! i shop twice a month, which is once a paycheck for us (military). for the two of us i can get enough to last a couple weeks and only spend about $100. i need to work on saving money and coupons and stuff though. i could probably spend less if i did.

[Bethany]

I usually shop every week under ideal circumstances BUT: I only buy what is on sale, and produce/milk. I buy enough of the sale items to last until the next sale, and a few extra. (www.hillbillyhousewife.com and www.frugalabundance.com have more detailed info on the "feast or famine" life) By doing this, I not only ensure I'm getting the best possible price on an item, but i always have a reserve of food in the event that for whatever reason, we need to cut the budget fast for a while.

[Jes]

I'm still learning the best way to shop, but the past few months I've been trying something new. My husband gets paid the last work day of the month, so I've been doing one big grocery trip the first week of the month where I go to SAM'S and get all my meat for the whole month, plus a few other things which last all month. Then each week I end up just needing milk, cheese, eggs, fruit and bread.

It's been working pretty good for us, it also cuts down on time spent shopping and planning.

[Kristie]

Crystal ~

The last month I have found myself buying enough to last 2 weeks too. At first it wasn't intentional. I had gone way over my budget to buy some meat that was on sale. Because I had already been able to stockpile quite a bit it was no big deal to skip a week of groceries.

This has happened to me 2 times in the last month or so. I also was beginning to wonder if this would be a better way of shopping for me.

Also, one other benefit is the savings in gas. I still run to CVS when it is worth it for me to do so.

Anyways I had to chime in on this one since I too have noticed some of the benefits.

Kristie
This Side Of Eternity
www.savingdollarsandsense.com

[Iva]

I used to shop every two weeks because that how my husband got paid. Now, since he gets paid weekly, I'm shopping weekly. I'm finding the whole adjustment of things very difficult.

[Mary Ann]

I like shopping every other week. For awhile, I shopped every week but it was just too much. And I didn't feel like I was able to stock up as much either.

I used to shop once a month which I do like because of the efficiency of it but I can watch sales better if I shop more often and therefore save us more money plus my husband likes that we have more variety when I shop more frequently.

[Sarah]

What I try to do is a monthly trip to Aldi, a monthly trip to Walmart, and weekly trips to Kroger and CVS. Aldi and Walmart are the cheapest places I have found in my area to get the nonperishables and freezer stuff, as well as Walmart having all those other things you always need, like socks and air filters. But Kroger has the cheapest eggs and organic milk, the best qualiity produce, and the other weekly deals. We do spend more than Crystal, with about $300 a month going to those 4 stores.

[Angela]

We too only shop every 2 weeks. Last April my husband changed jobs to where he is now only paid every 2 weeks. We take that day and I will spend around $100-$120 (prices are going up) for our family of 5...and that is for everything..meat,veggies, household supplies, school supplies (we homeschool) etc. We generally have coupons for eating out someplace "cheap" so this is the "twice a month" outing we have. More than likely our shopping trip will last for several hours and its either have the kids wait until 2 to eat...or use a coupon, meet my husband and have a nice lunch and grocery shopping day :) I have found that we have saved loads of TIME. When we shopped every week it was hours at every shopping trip. I don't think I spend any more time than I did before, I just only have to do it every couple of weeks. I used to do once a month shopping....that was an all day affair.

Angela

[Sarah]

I have a two week grocery budget. My husband gets paid bi-weekly, so we put cash in the grocery envelope every two weeks, though I don't necessarily shop once every two weeks or once a week systematically like you do.

I really like having 2 weeks at a time because it gives me more flexibility. I know that if I find a great deal the first week, I can spend a little more. It also means that if there's not much we need one week or no good deals, it can carry over to the next. Most of the time, though, I don't end up grocery shopping the first week, and then do a 2 week shopping trip the second week. Even though it's the same amount of money, I just feel so much freer having two weeks at a time.

[Tara]

I used to shop four weeks at a time until I had kids and I just couldn't do it without a big headache. So now I make a menu for every two weeks and shop for that. I usually still have to get milk, bread, a few veggies and fruits each week which I can do while the kids stay in the car with Daddy when we are out or Daddy gets them on the way home from work. And of course I go to CVS and Walgreens once a week too. I just hate taking the kids every week, especially in the summer, to the groecery stores.

[Dani Wegman]

We shop once a week, mainly because, we have very little storage room in the apartment we're in right now. And a smaller fridge. Which can barely hold a weeks groceries plus left overs.

So once a week works for us.

[Shawn]

I'd love to get feedback on this challenge after your first week -- if you feel you have run out of things and how you cope. That has always been my problem. In fact, it wasn't until I declared one shopping day a week that I started to drastically reduce my bill and not have to return to the store even once.

You have the greatest luck of anyone I know: I mean, .50 bread at Aldi? I've been there weekly for months and never came across that.

[Christine]

And you don't say how far you live from the grocery store,but you are also saving gas as well!

[Jeff]

My wife shops every two weeks for groceries. I do the CVS thing and go at least once a week. Right now, we are not at the $75.00 every two weeks, but the time and money savings are excellent!

[Heather]

I am so happy you were able to do so well at the store for less than twice the money you usually spend.

We're budget newbies, so I can't really comment where that is concerned.

I do 2 types of shopping.

1:
Going for what's cheap or free that week at drugstore/bigbox store and picking up milk/bread/whatever they have that I need. (The milk is the same or slightly more than the grocery store, but it keeps me out of the grocery store and away from more shopping temptation for the moment.
Besides, I need filler items so all my coups will go through. I'd rather do this than buy a 24cent pencil I don't need.

2:
Going to the grocery store because I need produce, meat, eggs. The food usually lasts longer than I'd planned, so I can't say that I go on a certain day of the week or at certain intervals. I go when those things need to be replenished or if there's a fabulous sale. And of course, I'm looking for the most reasonable prices/sales anyway.

Otherwise, I think I'd spend more. If coupon deals are available while I'm there, I'll pick them up. But I'm mostly there for what I have to have. And I'm there because I need things. Not because it's shopping day.
That's what works for me. I don't know how that would work for other families.

Since, as I said, we're still so new to budgeting,I'm still trying to figure out what we really do spend so I can set up a realistic plan.
For now I know we spend less when I don't feel I have to go to the store because it's on the schedule.

Oh... and we will be shopping farmers' market this summer. Maybe trying Angel Food ministries, too!

**H**

[Tiffany]

I've tried shopping for two weeks, but we go through so much milk and other perishables...and live so far from a store....plus we have a tiny freezer. So it doesn't work for us.

[Mindi]

I shop for perishables once a week. Everything else that we eat during the week is from our stockpiles (I have a large pantry and a large separate freezer). Then I usually end up stopping in to 1-3 other grocery stores during the week to replenish the stockpiles with that store's loss-leaders for the week. Since I plan those other visits around other errands that I need to run, I don't consider it a time/gas waster.

[Liz]

I shop after every payday (every 2 weeks).I try to stretch it even further if I can. The downside to the 2-week approach is that I almost always have to make a milk run in between grocery trips. I have 2 kids, one of whom is physically disabled, and going shopping with them is a PAIN! :) So I try to do it as infrequently as possible. I also find I end up with more in my stockpile when I go less often because the $ seems to stretch further.

[Kristen@recoveringfoodwaster]

I shop every week, only because it is really hard to get produce to last for two weeks! Plus, I do like to hit the weekly sales. I do thing going once a week is far preferable to going multiples times a week, though, which is what I used to do when I wasn't planning as well.

[Miranda]

I have been shopping every two weeks since I got married 8 years ago. I have tried to go once a week but it didn't seem to work as well. Even with meats it is cheaper when you buy in bulk. I think sticking with every two weeks I have been able to actually have extra after my $70 budget.

[Tonya]

I usually do a big grocery shop run one week and the next week I go out and just get some of the better sales to stockpile. I agree, I think having that extra money does give you some room to stockpile and get the great deals.

[Lori]

This is funny....I actually just went in the other direction, from every two weeks, to weekly, actually dividing my allowance in half and using half the first week and half the second. I did this b/c I was finding that my family was consuming most of what I purchased for the two week period in the first week - yikes! That was really shooting my plan!!! So I've been doing the split for a month or so now, and I can see that we have a steadier flow of food, as opposed to the feast and famine we were having. I guess it all boils down to doing what you have to do, right?
Blessings!

[Michelle]

I will admit that I am struggling with this very issue. I want to cut back to once every two weeks, but am afraid I will miss out on deals during the off week. Thanks for your sharing your experiment! I may have to get out of my comfort zone and give it a try.

[karen]

Your points for shopping evert two weeks are definitely worth pondering. The time savings is important especially if you are very limited on time. And your point of being better able to stockpile with a larger budget is logical too. I utilize a plan of doing a bigger shopping every two weeks and a sale/loss leader only shopping on the opposite week. This lets me go to the store with a bigger budget on the first week for stockpiling of great deals (or buying in bulk), but also not miss out on amazing deals that come up on the other week. I also try to always keep $20 tucked away outside of our normal budget just in case I run into a deal that I just can't pass up (not $20 weekly, just $20 in general that I slowly replenish if I use up).

[Momala]

Over the last 20 years of my married life I have tried many different plans for grocery shopping. For the last few years I have been shopping weekly, but I just recently changed to doing my major shopping 2x a month. I changed because I found that the more often I go to the store, the more extra money I spend (it makes sense doesn't it?) My husband gets paid on the 15th and 31st, so I take my grocery money on those days and do the bulk of my shopping. I still have to make extra trips to the store to buy more milk, eggs and produce (we go through at least 8 gallons of milk a week!)

I think this plan is saving me time and money.

[Selena]

I also only shop twice a month. I find that saves me gas, time and we do much better about "making do" with what we have if we only go to town twice a month. It's definitely a win-win for our family.

[Bonnie Walker]

I have recently started doing 2 weeks shopping trips as well. I am really just getting started with doing a better job of matching coupons and sales. But, even when I first started going 2 weeks and hardly used any coupons or payed attention to sales, my grocery bill dropped by about $25-$50 a week! Just by going every 2 weeks. I also saved alot of time since the extra planning and shopping time was less than an extra weekly trip. And it really works for me b/c my 2 toddlers hate grocery shopping, so now I can usually either go on the weekend, or if I have to take them, it's only every other week. The hardest part I find is minimizing my shopping in between the 2 weeks for things like produce and milk which don't usually last that long or I don't have room for 2 weeks worth in my fridge. I have the force myself to only buy the necessity's on that short trip.

[Michele]

I think one would do better overall costwise by buying things they need at the lowest price possible. (Think back to the Tightwad Gazette - she had price points for each item and if she met or beat that price she would stockpile). So, yes, having more money available to buy those things when you find them is probably a better deal. However, it's probably a bit harder to keep track of what you have. My thoughts are if you buy for a month out or longer, then you'd better have a month's worth of menus or you might end up with a lot of bread and no cheese. I think one would need to be super organized too - keeping detailed records of of what's in the freezer, pantry, etc. for future meals down the road.

[Lisa]

I shop weekly. However I keep a separate account for stockpiling. I have X amount for needed grocery items for the week, and X amount for stockpiling. The grocery budget stays the same, but the stockpile is always in flux because that money comes from various sources which are not from fixed income. When stockpile funds are higher than normal look out! Like you I feel like a rich woman! That's when the stockpiling really helps me cut down on the grocery account. The more I am able to stockpile, the less I spend on weekly groceries and the more I am able to put more money into the stockpile account (sometimes other accounts as well).

[Babsi]

Hi! I think what you've found with more cash on hand that you were able to take advantage of specials that you came across and stock pile. Perhaps on a different week the sales would have been as good or Aldi wouldn't have had the bread at a discount. Perhaps it would be advantageous to have small sum available for extra deals? I have a very hard time walking away from discounted deals I would normally buy anyway and in your example, you were able to feed your family bread for 5 weeks instead of just 1.
As for only shopping only once every two weeks, I would hesitate because there may be sales I would want to take advantage of. Also, I would be at the store anyway for fresh fruits and veggies.
I'm looking forward to the rest of your post.
Thanks for all you do!
Babsi

[Angie]

I have always heard people say that shopping every 2 weeks is a great plan. The problem I've never been able to get past is with produce. I wouldn't have any fresh produce at the end of the 2-week cycle. I like to have fresh fruit on hand for the kids. I'd love to hear people's advice on this part.

[Amy Miller]

I shop every week (usually every Monday morning) and spend roughly $75 per week for a family of four. I used to make my menus a week in advance and make my purchases at the store. Now, I find myself buying the sales and making do with what I have at home. I think this week, I will actually try to make a menu plan! When my dh and I were first married (15 years ago) I would take $100 and it would last for one month. I would shop once a month! My, how times have changed!

[Carrie]

I completely agree! Before I discovered moneysavingmom.com I was spending a fortune on groceries. Once I started using coupons and shopping sales, I was able to get our grocery bill under $60-$70, but that was only if I shopped for two weeks at the same time (and if I stopped letting my husband buy a DVD every time we went to Wal-Mart!). I've also had a few weeks where I spent $50 one week and $10 the next for fillers and sales!

[jamie kaufmann]

i too try to grocery shop every other week b/c the best store for us gives $10 off a $50 purchase every other week. we have no double coupon place that works better than that.

[Crystal]

I have tried both ways and have yet to decide which is best. It does save you alot of time and gas, but two of the biggest problems I have run into occasionally are #1 I do miss some really good sales and #2 My kids end up eating more "snacks" than they normally would and I find myself trying to hide some items to make sure the groceries will last 2 weeks!

[Kristen]

I definitely don't grocery shop every week. I typically shop every other week or in some cases every 3 weeks. Until our son was born I would actually only grocery shop once a month! Can you believe it??

I find that if I get a great sale week it will likely be that way across a few stores. When I stock up we are more than able to get through 20 days with what we have in the pantry. Sure, I'll grab a gallon of milk (but that goes with my CVS trips so I don't even really count that) or an extra head of lettuce since that usually doesn't last that long. But for the most part I can't "afford" the time each week to hit the grocery stores. I still work full time and so the weekends are dedicated to family time. I'd much rather be playing than grocery shopping... So that's how we do it!

[Mary]

I try to only shop every two weeks (basically because I loathe grocery shopping and putting it all away, etc) if they have an exceptional sale I may go once a week but not too often. It has become a game to me to see how long I can go in between grocery trips. My dh will stop and pick up milk or whatever if we run out so that helps out and we have our local meat market and veggie store within biking distance for me and the kids.

[Joy]

I shop every two weeks. It does give you more freedom to stock up on purchases. At this point in our lives we don't really need to go any more often than that.

If there's a great sale or something I may stop in just to purchase those items. It doesn't really cost much more in gas as I incorporate it into another trip that I'm already making (such as CVS).

[Andrea]

I shop weekly. I only stop at a store if there is at least 5 sale items I think are really good. Otherwise, I skip it and may not go back for weeks - which saves my time and money.

I think shopping every week allows more opportunity to stockpile sales, but I'm not sure if it's the best strategy - it just works for us. I do think it's good to challenge yourself constantly by trying to shave time off from your trip, being even more efficient in driving and shopping, and trying to spend a little less (where possible). Mixing things up occassionally can give you a different perspective, like you've shared, and your grocery trip can become a lesson to learn from!

[Mandy]

I just found your blog and LOVE it! I'm a homeschooler, teach Financial peace and have always considered myself thrifty and I just started couponing.

Until now, to keep grocery expences down, I've shopped every 2 weeks with a menu at Walmart only, this resulted in about $300/month for my family of 5. That's not too shabby. I've only been shopping with deals and coupons for a month or so and am still spending the same but getting SO MUCH MORE! I'm hoping in the next month to start reducing the budget and get it down to $200/month which will likely break down to about $75 for a "big shop" every other week and $25 on the off weeks to stock pile great deals and restock parishables.

Thanks for working so hard to teach others!
Mandy

[Jan]

I usually shop weekly- but about once a month I just pick up milk and bread and cat litter because I have stocked up enough. How do you get by with milk for 2 weeks? I have never seen 50 cent bread either! not even at the bread outlet store- they sell it for $1 which is a good deal here.

[rachel]

well I hit three stores-- target, walmart, and publix, so I usually do three trips a week... if I only have time for one.. it's publix :)

[Hannelore]

I shop every week for five reasons:
My kitchen is SMALL
We're a family of 7
We use alot of produce
We like variety
It's easier financially
I would like to be able to shop twice a month in terms of just being able to stay out of the hustle and bustle of the marketplace, but it is still necessary to get fresh items like dairy, bread, produce etc. At this point we have a budget of $150 a week which includes all household items. To double that in one lump sum would require some adjustment. I like going once a week to see what new things are on sale because we like variety. And my kitchen is small/I have no pantry space/my family goes through alot of food. I do think it can be helpful (even for smaller families) to get an extra freezer/fridge in order to stock up on things on sale. An upright is very user- friendly. Sometimes these can be bought used for as little as $50. In our case someone who was down-sizing gave it to us. Thanks for these questions-it actually helped me clarify why I do it this way. I started with 2 reasons and changed it to 5. Wow, you grew up in a family of eight? Boy would I like to talk to your mom for advice....and you as well.

[Laura]

I get the grocery/household money ($180 for 3 people, including toiletries, household items, etc.) at the beginning of each of each month. I have a separate wallet for this money, which is very handy.

I shop each week, picking up all the good deals. In addition, I go to the bread store one week and get enough for the month, I go to Save A Lot one week to stock up on things we might need, etc. This routine works really well for us.

[JessieLeigh]

I shop for our family of four once a month. We budget $200 for this one trip, but it is rare that I spend more than $150. The "leftover" cash goes in an envelope to supplement fresh milk, eggs, and produce over the month. We live a LONG way from town, so I pick up those perishable essentials either when we've had to drive there anyway or, in a real pinch, I could ask my husband to pick something up on his way home from work. Truth be told, though, I'm always so anxious to see him, I would hate to delay him with that kind of errand!

[Donielle]

With all the nice summer weather and having so many more things to do, like tend to my garden, I've also started to see if I could go 2 weeks between trips. I get our milk (raw) and eggs from a farm right down the road, so I don't really need to stock those items and can pick them up whenever. I've started trying to buy enough to get me to 2 weeks and my biggest problem so far is the produce. I try to buy some things that we'll need to eat right away and some for the next week, but we just tend to run out. Still figuring it out, but I think it's saving me time, and money as well!

[Ellen Trunnell]

At the beginning of each month I do one large grocery shopping for most of the non perishables (meat etc). Then I keep a list on the fridge of what meals I have the ingredients for. I often have 14 meals listed (plus I know I can always make grilled cheese or panckaes if one of those won't work forme). THen I go a couple more times a month to get stuff like milk and juice that I can't buy for a whole month. When I go on those smaller trips, I pick up any sales stuff that I can use the next month. I do not save the money like you do (although I could if I worked at it more), but I work part-time with kids and the less time shopping is worth some of the money to me.

[sara m.]

Wait a minute - you're telling us you've never ever spent $75 at the grocery store before? My average was $100 a week for 3 kids and 2 adults, until it got too expensive & I had to do a major budget crunch. Of course, that was without planning my menu ahead of time or using coupons. But still, we try to keep it at $50 a week now, but often end up closer to $60 or $70 if my husband shops with me :o) Keep in mind I have 2 boys...

Another thing - I didn't realize you bought packaged bread at all. Here I've been feeling guilty for feeding my kids bagged bread for the past week as we remodel the kitchen & cannot make bread! Now I feel better, thanks!

**************
Money Saving Mom here:

I think the most we've spent was a little over $50 one or two weeks when I was pregnant. When I'm in the first few months of pregnancy and terrible sick, my hubby takes over the grocery shopping and we up our budget to buy more convenience foods.

Call us crazy, I know, but we lived on so little when we were first married that $50 for a week of groceries was a huge splurge, we were often getting by on $20-$25/week back then. :)

And yes, I'm no supermom so please do not feel guilty for doing what works for you or what you've gotta do! :) We buy all of our sandwich bread--somewhat for convenience, somewhat because we like it better.

Glad I could make you feel better. :)