Grocery Shop Once a Month

Do you spend every Sunday afternoon at the grocery store? We used to spend our entire Sunday afternoon grocery shopping, but now we only grocery shop once a month. We got our weekend back and you can too! It takes some planning, but isn’t any harder to do than going every week.

The site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Revive EO Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Once a Month is Enough for Me

We used to live 45 minutes away from the grocery store. Not only did it take time to drive there and back, but there was also the shopping to do. It was taking up far too much time for us to do it every weekend. After hitting Sam’s Club, Aldi, and Walmart we lost an entire day of our weekend. Eventually this got moved out to every two weeks, which I still found to be too frequent. So we decided to only grocery shop once a month. That turned out to be just enough for me.

Pin it for Later!

How to Grocery Shop Once a Month

Make a meal plan.

Before hitting the aisles, make sure you know what you’re there to get. If you grocery shop once a month, then you need to make a meal plan for that month. Otherwise you will end up with random ingredients that do not go together to create a meal.

Shop your own kitchen first.

Once you know what you want to eat for the month, you need to go shopping in your own kitchen. I will actually make the shopping list first, then go through the freezer and pantry. As I find what I need, I mark off the items. This is the only way my mind can keep track of what we need and what we already have for each meal.

Grab a cooler and shop bags.

Now that you know what you need at the store, it’s time to go shopping. We always take a cooler because it takes awhile to shop for a month’s worth of food. That and nobody likes melted ice cream.

Why Grocery Shop Once a Month

Save big money.

With fewer trips to the store, you’ll have fewer opportunities to shop hungry and make impulse purchases. I can not walk out of a store with just the one item I went in there to get. There are always distractions, sales, and shiny things.

Time is precious.

I’ve never met anybody that loves spending their precious free time doing the grocery shopping and putting all of the food away. Instead of spending four Saturdays a month doing so, try just one. Now you’ve got an extra three days per month.

Food security.

When you grocery shop once a month, you are forced to stock up on certain items. This provides your family with some food security. Oftentimes, I will purchase several month’s worth of an item simply because one package lasts that long. Rice, oatmeal, flour, and butter are all great examples of that.