Nine in your family! God love you. I’m in awe of people who can stretch a meal on a budget because I’m a numbskull when it comes to buying food on a budget. I shop every day (a holdover from the way all New Yorkers shop) and pick and choose what I want for dinner; a lot of times without caring about cost. A weekly shop confuses and overwhelms me. I also tend to go for organic which is a pocketbook KILLER. Then again, my husband hates leftovers and won’t eat anything that’s been in the fridge more than two days!
I have to plan meals around the twice a month paychecks. We have an Aldi’s nearby so I’m able to get the bulk of our groceries, some organic, at an incredibly reasonable price. I also do a monthly Costco/Sams run, depending on our needs. I try to avoid the big chain grocery stores because they’re just too much! If I go into one of them it is because they have some good loss leaders to get me through the door. I stock up on those occasions. I dream about the day when all the kids are gone and I can just grab what we need a meal or two at a time. :o)