Gail, Grandmothers and the Grocery Bill...

I've noticed a significant increase in readers ever since I listed my blog on gailvazoxlade.com/blog

I LOVE this blog, all about financial Q + A, life choices, forming good habits, etc. Many of Gail's shows follow the same budgets - between $100 - $150 per week for "food". Many of the couples on the show have gotten themselves into trouble because of restaurant overspending and none of us are immune to this.

About two years ago, I went through what I called my "grandmother phase". I started gardening, particularly with fresh herbs, I got heavily into using fresh local produce that was in season and I absolutely thrived on the satisfaction of feeding the extended family on nights when we would have everyone over, often sending them home with leftovers.

Stretching a grocery dollar sounds so retro... and when I was practicing law, it didn't seem like such an issue. I made great money doing what I loved, and paying extra for convenience was just something one did.

But my generation in particular has gone too far. Now, we don't pay for convenience once a month - we do it every week, sometimes every day.

Restaurants are convenient.
Pre-made dinners are convenient.
Take-out and delivery are convenient.

And they will KILL your food budget.

Yesterday, on a whim, Alicia and I were able to get the boys together for a swim. We were going to grab something at the pool, but they were closed on Mondays.

Power of advertising proves that the kid on the corner shaking the "Hot and Ready" Little Caesars sign works? I thought - OK, it's kids, it's pizza - lighten up Karen and grab an easy option. Her kids eat quite early, and at 6:15, and I wanted to keep everyone happy.

So two medium pizzas, THREE MINUTES and one free order of crazy bread later, I was BACK IN MY CAR! I was blown away with how fast they handed it to me, and it only cost $11.57. Convenient doesn't even begin to describe how fast this transaction happened.

No nutrition in the white bread pizza. Don't even get me started on the greasy cheese and slicky pepperoni. Having said that, there was a salad ready in the fridge, and I decided to enjoy the evening and the conversation rather than focusing on the food.

I was stunned still, as I put the boxes in the recycle bin. Eleven bucks, 3 minutes.

No wonder it is an easier option for many families.

Having said all this, my grandmother phase is still kicking in. Homemade pizza dough made in batches might cost only a dime or two, but it does take some time.

Meal planning to avoid that last-minute drive by feeding also takes time.

Erosion of our nutrition has long been justified by the convenience of these feeds. Moms and Dads work, drive, and run themselves crazy trying to do it all.

I feel that if anyone can put a roadmap together for a family to speed up the slowing down, it's me. If anyone can put a monthly shopping list together for meals that are healthy, fabulous and fit within the budget, it's me.

Give me a day or so to plan this, and I'm going to set aside Gail's budget of $125 per week for 4 weeks. Let's see if we can get to the end of the month without getting to the end of the money.