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Status Report No. 3: July 2012 Edition

A few notes on what's worked and what hasn't.


Groceries. Aldi has its drawbacks. I can't get everything I need there, it can be really crowded at times, and a few of its foods (eg., canned ravioli) just aren't as tasty as other brands, but without fail, I spend less when I shop there. For someone like me who has trouble mastering the art of extreme couponing, Aldi does a good job of trimming the grocery expenses. I'd still like to trim it more, but I think that will require some more creative meal planning. Status: Some Money Saved.


Meal Planning. I began establishing a menu and then shopping to the menu a few years before my daughter was born, so this is nothing new. However, lately I've been trying to change up what I fix so that I make more foods that can be done in bulk. This way, I'll have leftovers for another day and leftovers for frozen dinners for when my husband and I are at work. I'm still experimenting with this, but so far, I think it really is saving us money. I've also being trying to buy more fresh produce rather than canned. This seems to be a money-saver, too, but I can't swear to it. Mostly I do it this way so that I have a little more control over what's in our foods. This would probably be better if I bought all organic, but I don't. Organic just costs too much, and it's not available at Aldi (unless, of course, I just keep overlooking it.) Status: Some Money Saved.


Check back Wednesday for an update on my budgeting efforts.
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