Farmer's Markets
This weekend, we went to the farmer's market. I love going to the farmer's market. It's a chance to get outside and I've been going for a while, so I'm familiar with the format and the ware at each stall. I frequent certain stalls and I'm getting to know some of the vendors.
Today, I spent a total of $23. What did I buy?
Bunch of broccoli
Cauliflower
bunch of green onions
bunch of kale
bunch of bok choy
3 green pluots
large bunch of Thompson grapes
3 lunchbox size Fuji apples
4 large beefsteak tomatoes
celery
3 large onions
Not a bad haul and all of the produce was either organic or pesticide-free (according to the vendors). I had enough fruits and vegetables to last us the entire week. I usually buy certain fruits and vegetables, but sometimes something inspires me.
I then planned my menu for the week. Usually, I buy certain vegetables and they are staples and I can usually work around what I buy. This week, I was inspired by the bunch of kale. Since the weather is getting colder, I thought that I should make some sort of soup or stew. I'll need sausage.
Now I needed to get meat. I'll need to get some pork chops, ground beef or chicken, chicken breast and some sausage. I've had bad luck with the sausage at Whole Foods, so now where will I get some good, fresh sausage for my soup or stew?
Showing posts with label food expenses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food expenses. Show all posts
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Post Restructuring Cash Flow Review - Using Coupons and Store Loyalty Cards
How will I tackle the food expense? How will I lower it? Should I start using coupons?
I have to admit. I was not a regular coupon user. Whenever I went to the store, I typically just stocked up whenever I saw a good deal on a product that I typically bought. I was a creature of habit and had bought enough of some products that I knew the sales cycle. For instance, whenever pasta sauce was on sale (like 2 for $6), I knew that should take advantage and buy a few jars of sauce.
After the restructuring, I was wondering whether I should look more closely at coupons.
Use Coupons?
Should I start using coupons more frequently?
I have never really been a big fan of most coupons found in the newspaper or sent to our home. They were for products that I didn't use and I thought that these products were generally overpriced. Occasionally, I would see a coupon for a product and take the time to actually cut clip them, but then I'd forget about them whenever I was at the store.
Store Loyalty Cards
Besides the creep factor from giving a company insights into my purchasing decisions, I find that store loyalty cards save me quite a bit of money. I guess there has to be some give and take to get a deal. I shop regularly at Safeway and there are too many deals that are available to club members that are not available to non-members. Also, I found that if I registered online, I could sign up for "just for U" digital coupons that give me discounts on products that I typically purchase and some other special ones as well.
I think that getting a store loyalty card is only worth it if you shop there frequently enough and where you buy things you actually need. I have enough cards in my wallet, I don't need any more and there has to be a compelling reason for me to use another card.
Also, like anything, you don't get a deal if you don't actually consume or use the product. One problem with shopping at most stores is that I'm constantly bombarded with "deals". I've learned not to get tempted. Unless the special is on a product that I need and/or typically use, I just walk on.
I have to admit. I was not a regular coupon user. Whenever I went to the store, I typically just stocked up whenever I saw a good deal on a product that I typically bought. I was a creature of habit and had bought enough of some products that I knew the sales cycle. For instance, whenever pasta sauce was on sale (like 2 for $6), I knew that should take advantage and buy a few jars of sauce.
After the restructuring, I was wondering whether I should look more closely at coupons.
Use Coupons?
Should I start using coupons more frequently?
I have never really been a big fan of most coupons found in the newspaper or sent to our home. They were for products that I didn't use and I thought that these products were generally overpriced. Occasionally, I would see a coupon for a product and take the time to actually cut clip them, but then I'd forget about them whenever I was at the store.
Store Loyalty Cards
Besides the creep factor from giving a company insights into my purchasing decisions, I find that store loyalty cards save me quite a bit of money. I guess there has to be some give and take to get a deal. I shop regularly at Safeway and there are too many deals that are available to club members that are not available to non-members. Also, I found that if I registered online, I could sign up for "just for U" digital coupons that give me discounts on products that I typically purchase and some other special ones as well.
I think that getting a store loyalty card is only worth it if you shop there frequently enough and where you buy things you actually need. I have enough cards in my wallet, I don't need any more and there has to be a compelling reason for me to use another card.
Also, like anything, you don't get a deal if you don't actually consume or use the product. One problem with shopping at most stores is that I'm constantly bombarded with "deals". I've learned not to get tempted. Unless the special is on a product that I need and/or typically use, I just walk on.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Post Restructuring Cash Flow Review - Food Expenses Revisited (School Lunch)
I had done a review of our food expenses for the month, and I had
neglected to include one category. School lunches. We were a very busy
household and one thing we did was buy hot lunch for both of our kids.
This saved time and the kids seemed to actually eat their lunch whereas
whenever I made lunch for them, most of the food came back.
Here's an updated table of our food expenses for the month before the restructuring and the month after.
Wow - we were spending a lot on food each month. That's all I could think - Wow.
School Lunches
As I reviewed our expenses, I thought that I should try to make lunch for my kids rather than have them eat hot lunch at school. I looked at how much I could potentially save by making lunch. A lunch consisting of a sandwich with peanut butter and jelly (or one made with turkey and/or salami) and multi-grain bread, a fruit strip, juice and another snack or fruit would cost around $2-$3/lunch. Lunch at the schools generally cost between $4-5/lunch.
Was it worth it to make lunch?
I would be saving between $1-2/day. But, what were the costs? Time. Waste.
We were still busy in the morning and it takes time to make lunch. I was taking time away from other things that I needed to do. Get kids breakfast, get them dressed, brush their teeth, organize their materials for the day, and then get ready myself.
Also, during the Summer, I made lunch for the kids every day, and they didn't eat much of the food that I prepared. I worried about whether they were getting enough food and energy for the day and I worried that we were just wasting food.
Ultimately, we decided that it would be easier and better to just let the kids continue to get hot lunch at school. It saved time and they enjoyed it. The school lunches weren't like the ones we had when we were kids. They were actually healthy and there was variety. We gave certain parameters for lunch. No candy. Milk at least 2 or 3 times per week. Fruit was a must. They should only get what they thought they could eat.
Also, to balance out the cost, maybe I would make lunch once or twice a week.
Here's an updated table of our food expenses for the month before the restructuring and the month after.
Before
|
After
|
|
Groceries
|
$580
|
$340
|
Eating out
|
$350
|
$100
|
School Lunches
|
$184
|
$184
|
Total
|
$1114
|
$624
|
Wow - we were spending a lot on food each month. That's all I could think - Wow.
School Lunches
As I reviewed our expenses, I thought that I should try to make lunch for my kids rather than have them eat hot lunch at school. I looked at how much I could potentially save by making lunch. A lunch consisting of a sandwich with peanut butter and jelly (or one made with turkey and/or salami) and multi-grain bread, a fruit strip, juice and another snack or fruit would cost around $2-$3/lunch. Lunch at the schools generally cost between $4-5/lunch.
Was it worth it to make lunch?
I would be saving between $1-2/day. But, what were the costs? Time. Waste.
We were still busy in the morning and it takes time to make lunch. I was taking time away from other things that I needed to do. Get kids breakfast, get them dressed, brush their teeth, organize their materials for the day, and then get ready myself.
Also, during the Summer, I made lunch for the kids every day, and they didn't eat much of the food that I prepared. I worried about whether they were getting enough food and energy for the day and I worried that we were just wasting food.
Ultimately, we decided that it would be easier and better to just let the kids continue to get hot lunch at school. It saved time and they enjoyed it. The school lunches weren't like the ones we had when we were kids. They were actually healthy and there was variety. We gave certain parameters for lunch. No candy. Milk at least 2 or 3 times per week. Fruit was a must. They should only get what they thought they could eat.
Also, to balance out the cost, maybe I would make lunch once or twice a week.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Post Restructuring Cash Flow Review - Expenses (Food)
Now that I did a review of the expected income, I now had to do a review of the expenses, fixed and variable so that I can see if there is a gap.
I had listed some fixed and variable expenses.
Fixed:
Variable:
Target: Food Expenses
One area that I targeted was food. While food was an essential expense, it was an area where I felt I could control the extent of the expense. I did a comparison of food expenses before I found out that I was affected to my run rate afterwards. The results were quite eye-opening.
I didn't realize that I was spending close to $1,000 per month on food! The groceries came from a variety of stores depending on what we needed. I shopped at Whole Foods for some basic organic items like fruits, vegetables and meat, Trader Joe's for some specialty items that we enjoy and can't find anywhere else, Safeway for some basic things, 99 Ranch for the ethnic items and the local farmer's market. Since I worked full-time, I was so tired at the end of the day that it was hard to think about cooking, so I think we ate out instead. While I tried to plan a menu each week, we ended up not eating a lot of the food that I bought and we wasted so much food. I felt so guilty about this, but I always had good intentions.
To buy or not to buy organic
After the restructuring, while I had to take a hard look at expenses, I still felt that some areas were not worth the compromise. Since we had small children, buying organic was a must, such as with milk and meat products. I was willing to make do without or do with less if it meant buying organic milk, for instance. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out a list of the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides (and should be bought organic) and those that are the lowest in pesticides. I generally use this as a guide to figure out what I should buy organic.
One way to control food expenses
Some use the envelope method to allocate how much should be spent on food each month, but I chose to get a gift card that I could reload. That way, I could put down how much I wanted to spend per month at that particular store. This was one way to control the expense and also keep track of my run rate for that particular store for the month. It was too hard to keep track of the overall food expense when everything went on the credit card and I wasn't disciplined enough each month to do an analysis at the end of each month and break out and calculate all of the food expenses.
Eating out costs went down
One other thing that I noticed was the amount spent eating out went down significantly. This was not surprising. I had more time now. I had more energy now. While some healthy meals could be found at restaurants, it's not the same as cooking at home. I could control how much oil, salt and fat was put into the food. Not only that, but cooking was always an enjoyable experience for me. It was almost like therapy. Cooking is a creative process from picking all of the elements, putting them all together so that it all tastes good.
While we still ate out a bit, it wasn't a regular occurrence anymore. My kids seemed to miss it a bit, but when we eat in, we have more time. We now have time to go to the local park or go out for some treat like frozen yogurt.
I had listed some fixed and variable expenses.
Fixed:
- Mortgage
- Daycare/Preschool
- Gas/Utilities
- Taxes (property and income)
- Food
- Insurance
Variable:
- Credit Card bills for daily and other expenses such as clothes, dining out, services (TV), and entertainment
- Savings - retirement, college and other
Target: Food Expenses
One area that I targeted was food. While food was an essential expense, it was an area where I felt I could control the extent of the expense. I did a comparison of food expenses before I found out that I was affected to my run rate afterwards. The results were quite eye-opening.
Before
|
After
|
|
Groceries
|
$580
|
$340
|
Eating out
|
$350
|
$100
|
I didn't realize that I was spending close to $1,000 per month on food! The groceries came from a variety of stores depending on what we needed. I shopped at Whole Foods for some basic organic items like fruits, vegetables and meat, Trader Joe's for some specialty items that we enjoy and can't find anywhere else, Safeway for some basic things, 99 Ranch for the ethnic items and the local farmer's market. Since I worked full-time, I was so tired at the end of the day that it was hard to think about cooking, so I think we ate out instead. While I tried to plan a menu each week, we ended up not eating a lot of the food that I bought and we wasted so much food. I felt so guilty about this, but I always had good intentions.
To buy or not to buy organic
After the restructuring, while I had to take a hard look at expenses, I still felt that some areas were not worth the compromise. Since we had small children, buying organic was a must, such as with milk and meat products. I was willing to make do without or do with less if it meant buying organic milk, for instance. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out a list of the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides (and should be bought organic) and those that are the lowest in pesticides. I generally use this as a guide to figure out what I should buy organic.
One way to control food expenses
Some use the envelope method to allocate how much should be spent on food each month, but I chose to get a gift card that I could reload. That way, I could put down how much I wanted to spend per month at that particular store. This was one way to control the expense and also keep track of my run rate for that particular store for the month. It was too hard to keep track of the overall food expense when everything went on the credit card and I wasn't disciplined enough each month to do an analysis at the end of each month and break out and calculate all of the food expenses.
Eating out costs went down
One other thing that I noticed was the amount spent eating out went down significantly. This was not surprising. I had more time now. I had more energy now. While some healthy meals could be found at restaurants, it's not the same as cooking at home. I could control how much oil, salt and fat was put into the food. Not only that, but cooking was always an enjoyable experience for me. It was almost like therapy. Cooking is a creative process from picking all of the elements, putting them all together so that it all tastes good.
While we still ate out a bit, it wasn't a regular occurrence anymore. My kids seemed to miss it a bit, but when we eat in, we have more time. We now have time to go to the local park or go out for some treat like frozen yogurt.
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