Re: How Much Do You Spend On Shopping Each Week?
Originally Posted by
Lion Queen
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I'm the same, I shop when I need stuff too. It varies how much I spend week to week but I suspect we spend far too much. Not sure I dare keep a tally LOL
I don't know about anyone else but my biggest (what is the appropriate word for someone who knows exactly how it should be done, should be doing it, tries to do it but after a couple of days, forgets about it or doesn't make the proper effort?) I can only think of one - lazy madam!!
What I am talking about is the fact that I have a huge American size Fridge/Freezer that looking at it, could probably hold a quarter of a Tesco aisle (well, that's what I thought when we first bought it after our trusty little Indesit fridge/freezer gave up the ghost after many years.)
Now, as most of us have been informed, a freezer not fully utilised does not work as well as a full freezer. I forget why, sigh, age thing again, so of course, the first thing we did was to ensure it was stocked nice and full, which was fun. Same with the fridge side, wonderful to be able to use all of those shelves and allocated spaces for lots of wonderful foods and beverages.
However, after a month or so of stocking and refilling as we used foodstuffs from the freezer, the novelty wore off.
I am a profuse user of ziplock freezer bags, so if I had bought say, 4 haddock fillets and used 2, I would take the remaining two fillets, write on the ziplock the date I bought them, what fish they were and put them back in their bag into the freezer, fully intending to use them again within the same month before ever buying any more fresh fish.
The problem with me is that I start out with every good intention. I mentally plan the meals for every day the following week, check the food that I have in the freezer before doing my shopping list (so it doesn't cost so much) but I fail miserably. I either forget to bring the meal out from the freezer to the fridge for the next day or when doing my shopping, just think- Oh, that will be a nice meal and buy it, completely ignoring all those meals still sitting there forlornly in the freezer! I never double-buy the same thing, I just seem to think of a nice meal and go ahead and buy it.
It seems since we have retired and I have all day to make new and different recipes, I have become less frugal and have a ''Oh, I'll definitely use that from the freezer next week'' attitude, but nonchlantly continuing to buy new fresh ingredients. I confess to my utter shame (when I think of all those starving people in the world), to even occasionally throwing away some foodstuffs that have either reached their freezer shelf life or when looking at it, no longer appeals to me as a meal for us. Lord help us! I never had such a luxurious thought when young with a large family.
Am I alone in this guilty sin? Does anyone else not behave and use food in the freezer first for what it is meant to be there for, store food ready to use? or are you like me, know it is there but out of habit, or because unlike when I was working and had to plan meals diligently, now buy fresh
before using frozen,when we know we shouldn't?