Moving out. Please help!

[PennyPincher]

Hi, everyone, I'm new here and am in desperate need of direction. I come from a home where there was never grocery shopping or use of coupons. I was raised by 2 yuppie dads who sneer at coupons and say "eww". Well, not really, but you get the idea.

Anyway, our day proceeds as follows:
- wake up, drink diet coke, go to work
-work, eat at restaurant, go home
-get home, drink diet coke, sleep

I mean seriously, we never eat here unless my step siblings are here and we order take out. It's just that rediculous.

So let's get into the meat of things...my boyfriend and I are moving into our own home next month. I use coupons for most of the things I buy because I'm obsessed with money and finance, debt, etc... So I'm familiar with coupon usage just not for well, food. lol My boyfriend said he's giving me grocery money and letting me "handle it". lol Which is probably good since he'd leave with a hundred bucks and come home with Mountain Dew, a Red Baron, Bubbilicious, and the change.

What do I need to buy to stock our fridge? How do I menu plan? He's a meat eater, I'm not crazy about meat. What do I set as our budget per week for food? I just need help help help!

[Niddi]

Since you aren't used to shopping or cooking yet you may want to start of slowly.
There are a lot of great menu plans on this site that people post. Look for simple recipes that don't use too many ingredients. You don't want to spend a fortune on spices that you may only use once or twice. The pantry list is great but may overwelm you right now. Find a cookbook at the library that has 5 or less ingredient recipes to get you started, you can always expand from there.
Buy items that you can use for a number of things, example: Italian salad dressing can be used for salads and also is a great marinade for chicken, you don't need 3 or 4 different kinds. Bisquick mix can be used for waffles, pancakes, buiscuits and some great basic meals (recipes on the box or go to website) so you don't need to buy a bunch of different mixes. Cream soups are great for lunch with a sandwich and can be used in many quick recipes.
If you start with cooking from scratch with a few basic simple meals you will avoid the trap of convienience foods which always cost a lot. It's hard to determine what your weekly budget should be until you get some staples on hand and figure out how many meals you will need to plan for each week. Planning out your meals for a week at a time will be a big moneysaver. Getting a crockpot and starting your supper in the morning and having it ready when you come home will be something helpful, some great dump recipes here and most of them don't require a ton of ingredients.
Don't worry, you'll learn as you go.

[lcove2000]

I would also agree that you should start slow. Buy a few different meats, chicken, steak, seafood, you probably don't need more than 1 lb of each kind to try them. Find out what your boyfriend likes and plan a few meals. Have some staples in your house too like bisquick and bread, veg. oil, eggs, milk, pb, pasta, rice, potatoes and whatever veggies and drinks you like. That should be a good start. after a little while you will start to learn more of what you need. Good Luck

[brchbell]

How often you plan for depends on how often you get paid! I only get paid on the 1st of each month so I plan for and shop only once a month. Hopefully you have money coming in each week. That way you can only plan for a few days at a time and makes it much easier to learn as you go. What stables to have on hand depends on how you cook. I would suggest flour, salt, baking powder, oil, eggs and milk. I make my stuff from scratch but lcove2000 suggested having bisquick which you can use to make pancakes and biscuits from that mix instead of making them from scratch. So it depends on what you will actually use. You'll figure that out in the first few weeks of shopping and running your household! Make sure to involve your boy friend! If he doesn't cook and doesn't want to learn then maybe he can set the table and then wash dishes afterwards! If he does cook or wants to learn then you can take turns cooking and cleaning up so one person doesn't get stuck with all of it!

there are tons of ideas and recipes on this site if you have the time to go browsing! good luck to you as you start your new life!

[Katie31]

When I moved out of my house I was clueless too. My family was very much of the grab some fast food or get it out of a can variety. I suggest always having: cereal, Milk, eggs, bread, jam/jelly, pasta, pasta sauce, oil, flour salt, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, pepper and some fruits and veggies on hand. I also tend to but chicken breasts and cook several at a time and then make several meals out of it. Chicken soup, on top of a salad, Enchiladas...etc. I usually keep a pound or two of hamburger in the freezer just in case.

Buy the fix it and forget it cookbook. It has lots of tried and true crockpot recipes in it and can be a real life saver. You just dump it in the morning and it's ready when you get home. Sometimes I make a double batch so I can freeze half and have a meal down the road that doesn't involve cooking. In fact any time I cook I make extra to freeze. Now when I make up a grocery list I usually plan on one one or two days a week pulling something out of the freezer for dinner. I also have single serving containers I freeze in and use this often for lunch.

I usually spend about $75.00 every other week. The first couple months of setting up house I spent a bit more then this. It takes a while to get build up your pantry and I didn't want to go crazy the first visit to the store. I do not like to stop at the store in between my bi-weekley shopping trips. I find when you make those quick stops you end up going way over budget. I just started using coupons when I joined this forum and that's been a big help.


Hope this helps a bit

[PennyPincher]

Originally Posted by Niddi

Since you aren't used to shopping or cooking yet you may want to start of slowly.<snipped for brevity>
Don't worry, you'll learn as you go.

Niddi, That's a really good idea! I also am intending on planting my own herbs. As soon as we get in and the dust settles that is. Thank you!

[PennyPincher]

Thank you all for your posts! I've got some great ideas and motivation.

[zxxiv]

Depending on you and your boyfriends budget, you may want to start slow. if you have any kind of discount grocery stores (Aldi, save-a-lot etc) in your area you should shop there for basics (condiments spaghetti sauces, noodles, vegetables, etc). that will probably be a large bill since you dont have anything. if possible, throw a house warming party and ask your guests to bring a useful household or food item. this can be a great way to stock up without buying all the necessities. when i moved out years ago it was rough, i lived on ramen for quite a while until i got comfortably situated. you may have some tough times but you will pull through. You will see that indepandance feels wonderful!!! Good luck!

[mos]

I agree with all of the ladies here...make a budget and take it slow, gradually building up your pantry. go to the pantry forum! many ladies have posted great lists on what to have in your pantry. good luck and let us know how it's going

[Virginia]

It has been a long time since I had an empty (start from nothing) pantry so I really had to do some thinking to come up with a list for you. If I were starting out with nothing, and I had to get everything from the store, this is what I think I would start my food pantry with:

flours (white and whole wheat and multi-grain)
corn meal
oats
rice (brown and white)
oils
vinegar
salt, pepper, herbs and spices
mayo, mustard and other condiments including syrup, jams and jellies
Baking Supplies: baking powder and baking soda, corn starch and yeast, cream of tartar,cocoa, baking chips and nuts, cinnamon, vanilla and other extracts
sugars (white, brown and powdered)
peanut butter and other nut butters
pasta (egg noodles, spaghetti, macaroni etc.)
powdered chicken, beef and vegetable soup base
canned beans and dry beans
canned tuna and other fish
canned meat
crackers
canned and dried Fruit
canned Vegetables
canned tomato products (diced, paste, crushed and sauces)
jello
tea
coffee

Canisters with tight fitting lids to put the dry goods in. A can opener. A good pair of kitchen shears (to open bags, etc.)

In a cool, and dry (out of sunlight) place I would put a bag of potatoes and a bag of onions and some garlic.

My refrigerator would get: fresh stuff--eggs, butter, milk and orange juice. Several different kinds of cheeses.

My freezer would get a good selection of meat and poultry (once home, before putting it in the freezer it would be cut up and divided into small bags of one or two serving size pieces).
Also, a good selection of frozen fruit juice concentrates.

I believe the best meals come from a collaboration of well-stocked freezer, pantry, and refrigerator.

(If I had the money to do it in one trip, I would. If not, I would add a little each week or each time I shopped). Only buy the items that you will use. Rotate items in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. A good rule to follow is First In, First Out.

This list would give you the ability to cook from scratch and to make your own mixes.

Hope this helps. Thanks; Virginia