Considering My Field

Proverbs 31:16

"She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."

Going to work outside the home is not really an option for me and my family at this time. We've considered the possibility for several reasons, but our answer from God is always the same, "not right now". Even though I can't bring in extra money I thought, "why not try to reevaluate where our money is going now and make sure we are getting the most bang for our buck?" Eliot isn't the only one who can work out new savings plans :)

I've started with groceries and honestly, it's as far as I've gotten. I hope to brainstorm in the coming weeks and work out more, but for now...We are a family of four and our grocery budget includes formula for one and diapers for two. Yikes. One can only imagine how that works out... So last week I sat down and made a list of the top ten things I buy every week. Milk, eggs, ground beef, snacks for Harris and bread were on that list along with a few other things. I then decided to go do some price comparisons. We've been going to Publix since we moved here because it's across the street and I honestly didn't know how to get to Wal-Mart. I chose to go to Publix, Wal-Mart and a store called Aldi. I loaded up my kids and my list and away we went.

I was BLOWN AWAY at how much I had been paying for things at Publix. Now before the Publix army attacks, please hear me out: I LOVE shopping at Publix, it is a pleasure. However, at this stage in life, budgets are more important than my kid getting coloring books and a sweet lady chasing us down with cookies.

Aldi outdid Publix AND Wal Mart on our items. Like, big time. Just by purchasing our "Top Ten Items" at Aldi instead of Publix, we will save $40/month. Just on those ten items. That's not including all the other stuff I buy.

Aldi is a discount grocery store so there are a few things they do to make their food cheap. All of their food is off-brand so if you're picky about name-brand stuff you're out of luck. They don't provide any bags and they only have a limited staff working. You have to insert a quarter to a machine to get your shopping cart, but you get it back when you return the cart. This prevents them from having to hire people to gather carts. Their basic goal is to have as little overhead as possible. I'm ok with going without a few things to save money!!

Now, my goal is not to promote a certain grocery store. I would just like to encourage anyone reading this to take some time to find the best deals for your family! I'm not a Coupon Queen, it's just not my thing. I can't find a job making more money, Harris and Chandler pay what they pay and that's not changing. I can only get creative with what I have. I can CONSIDER my own "field" before I buy it!

So where have you found the best deals? How do you save money on groceries? Share your ideas!!