Grocery shopping Week 5

This was the final official week of my $20 weekly budget! Again, I went over. I have pictures this week though! Please ignore my kitchen floor, however. It desperately needs to be mopped, and I'm sitting here blogging, instead of doing it. How embarrassing! My final monthly recap can be found here.

Orchard Market:



5 lbs flour $1.49
- $.75 manufacturer coupon
toilet paper $1.49 (not pictured, it was needed!)
2 Tropicana orange juice $2.49 each
- $2.49 buy one get one free manufacturer coupon
1 gallon milk $2.50
- $1.00 store coupon
3 lbs apples $1.29
1 lb strawberries $1.50


Total spent: $9.10




Meijer:



6 Reeses dark chocolate $.74 each
- (3) free (buy 3 get 3 sale)
- (3) $.55 manufacturer coupons
2 dozen eggs $.88 each
1 can Manwich $1.00
- free item coupon
1 can ravioli $1.05
- free item coupon
1 jar Peter Pan peanut butter $1.99
- free item coupon
1 Healthy Choice frozen meal $2.98
- free item coupon
2 Sandwich Thin sandwich buns $3.19 each
- (2) $4.00 off manufacturer coupons (it just took off the $3.19, no overage)
1 Banquet frozen meal $1.00
- free item coupon
1 Marie Callendars frozen meal $3.00
- free item coupon
1 8.70 lb spiral sliced ham $12.01 (on sale for $1.38 a lb)
1 2 liter orange pop $.88 + $.10 deposit
Asparagus $1.34
10 lbs potatoes $1.49
1 box Orville Redenbacher popcorn $1.79
- free item coupon
2 boxes Chocolate Cheerios $1.99 each
- (2) $1.25 manufacturer coupons
1 4-pack cream cheese minis $1.50
- free item coupon

- $3.00 off $30.00 purchase store coupon
- $2.50 store coupon (husband got this for a bad experience)

Total spent: $14.13



My Meijer receipt differs a little from my total...I subtracted the Easter egg dye I bought, and the gum my son was buying with his own money. Neither of these come out of my grocery budget, but it's two days before Easter and I wasn't about to hold up the line with two transactions!!


Total spent for the week: $23.23
Total spent for the month: $113.14
Grocery budget left: - $5.15

Drumroll please....

I have done this week's shopping, and am officially at the end of my $20 weekly grocery budget challenge! I ended up going over by $5.15. I spent a total of $113.14 on all groceries and household (toiletries/paper products, etc) for my family of six since March 1. (I realize that does not add up to $100 for 5 weeks...I added in my Rite Aid rebate check for $7.99, since that originally came from my grocery budget).

Things I Have Learned:

It was not as difficult as I thought it would be. The absolute hardest part was walking away from some of the deals I found, and would normally stock up on. I did even manage to stock up on a few small things, even with this budget.

I have/had way more food in the house than I thought! I still have a half full freezer, and could go weeks longer. In my chest freezer alone, I still have 2 turkeys, a turkey breast, some ribs, 2 packages of bacon, one whole chicken, 2 packages of chicken breast, a pork roast, and a beef roast. Plus about 10 boxes and bags of various vegetables, some fruit, some hamburger buns, rolls, and bread, and even some treats!

Meal planning, and knowing what you have, makes a huge difference in your grocery bill! Make sure to use up the fresh produce first, before you forget about it and find it going bad. Have a plan for all the food you bring in the house. It's not a good deal if you end up throwing it away!

Make a plan for all leftovers, even if it's just a couple of tablespoons of something! Omelets, quesadillas, and soup are just a few ways to use up those little bits of leftovers! We've discovered some great new combinations this way!

Shop and Eat deliberately! What I mean by this is, if for instance one week you buy tomatoes for a salad, make sure you plan other uses for those tomatoes! Plan tacos or BLT's for another night.


All in all, I am satisfied with how the month went. I was hoping to stay under the $20 a week, but some deals just sucked me in. I haven't even touched some of the stuff I bought this month yet. I still have my bottle returns to take back, and am planning on those being my grocery money for next week. (I have $17-18 worth sitting in my garage!)

I will be sharing my Week 5 shopping, along with my new goals, later tonight!


And in other good news, we finally got our car back TODAY! 33 days in the shop, and we're now $2248.17 poorer. It came in under the original quote of $2500 though, so I'm happy! At one point, the quote was up to $2800! But we now have a completely new engine, and I am no longer stuck at home when my husband's at work! YAY!

Grocery Shopping Week 4

I have nothing spectacular this week...there were no fabulous sales, so we ate a lot of frozen veggies this week. I also have no pictures because my husband took my battery charger to work to replace it and has not brought it back!! (He works in a electronics store) I'm feeling pretty good about my $20 weekly grocery budget experiment! I have one official week left to go, and I still have a pretty full freezer and pantry! I also have not touched all my bottle returns (Michigan .10 cent deposit) and there's probably another $17-18 sitting in my garage. I pretty much suck at remembering to take them back to the store. Ok, on to my totals:

Orchard Market:

2 gallons milk $2.50 each
- (2) $1.00 off store coupons
- (2) $.55 off Country Fresh milk manufacturer coupons from last Sunday's Smartsource

Coffee $3.15

2.47 lbs bananas $1.46

3 lbs carrots $2.79

Total spent $9.30

Leppink's

2 Oscar Mayer bacon $1.97 each
- (2) $1.50 off manufacturer coupon

Broccoli $1.32 (was .99 cents a lb)

Lumberjack bread $ .87

Total spent: $3.13

Dollar General:

2 bags animal crackers $1.25 each

1 box graham crackers $1.35

Total Spent: $3.85

Total Spent for Week 4: $16.28


Grocery budget left: $18.08
Total spent for the month: $89.91

Check out more great shopping trips at Money Saving Mom, I Heart Publix, The Frugal Freeloader, Southern Savers, Saving A Bundle, the Coupon Saving Game, and The Thrifty Mama!

Grocery Shopping Week 3

So again, I was over my $20 weekly budget this week. I'm not going to beat myself up over it though, because I had a couple pretty rare coupons for meat and produce that were going to expire. I had a $4 off a $15 meat purchase coupon and a $1 off a $4 produce coupon that my husband found at Meijers. Bless his little heart, he's GREAT at finding coupons that people drop or leave at the register. I've trained him well. (Just don't tell him I used the word "trained"!) I also got back my Rite Aid February rebate check, so I'm adding another $7.99 into my grocery wallet. Here's my recap of this week's shopping:

Orchard Market:

Eggs $1.89
- $ .75 off store coupon

2 gallons milk $2.50 each
- (2) $1.00 off store coupon

4 1/2 lbs bananas $1.77

Total spent: $5.91
(I can't find my receipt since I wrote this down, so no picture of this one)



Meijer:


1.40 lb onion $2.19
3.69 lb pork roast $5.87
3.72 lb beef chuck roast $9.26
1 bag fresh spinach $1.00
4 Valley Fresh Steamers broccoli $1.00 each
- (4) $ .50 off one manufacturer coupon
2 boxes Brown N Serve sausage $1.00 each
- (2) free item (Meijer was having their 10 for $10 get the 11th free sale, these ended up being my 2 free items)
2 boxes Bagel Bites $1.00 each
- (2) $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
2 bags Dole salad mix $1.00 each
- $1.00 off two manufacturer coupon
3 Kellogg fruit snacks $1.89 each
- $1.50 off manufacturer coupon from Vocalpoint
- (2) $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
4 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios $1.99 each
- (2) $1.00 off two manufacturer coupons
1 Lay's potato chips $1.99
- $1.00 manufacturer coupon
14 Yoplait Yogurts $ .50 each
- $1.00 off 8 manufacturer coupon
- $ .50 off 6 manufacturer coupon
- $1.00 automatic off for buying 10
3 Goldfish crackers $1.00 each
- (3) $ .75 off manufacturer coupon
4 Chex Mix $1.00 each
- (4) $ .50 off manufacturer coupon
4 Betty Crocker potatoes
- $1.00 off two manufacturer coupon
- (2) $ .40 off one manufacturer coupon

- $2.00 off your next order coupon from a previous purchase
- $3.50 off a $45.00 order coupon
- $5.00 off a frozen food purchase coupon
- $1.00 off $3.00 cereal purchase
- $1.00 off $4.00 produce purchase
- $4.00 off $15.00 meat purchase


Total spent: $24.04



Total spent for Week 3: $29.95

Grocery budget left: $34.36
Total spent for the month: $73.63



For more great shopping trips, check out The Grocery Cart Challenge, Money Saving Mom, and Frugal Follies!

Grocery shopping Week 2

I went over my $20 budget this week. I'm not too worried about it though, because I was way under last week. There were a couple of things I had to get...toilet paper (for the first time since a fabulous sale in January!) and my husband needed deoderant, which he told me about at the last minute. My husband also went shopping with me, hence the fritos. I was happy to get out of there with just the fritos, I think he's worse than the kids! I have no pictures of the actual shopping, life was too hectic when I got home and stuff had to be put away!

Target:

2 boxes bandaids $3.64 + .10 tax
- (2) $1.00 off Target coupons
- (2) $1.00 off manufacturer coupons

Total: -.26 (yep! they paid ME .26 cents!)

Orchard Market:

2 gallons milk $2.50 each
- (2) $1.00 off store coupon

1 gallon chocolate milk $1.99
- $1.00 off store coupon

1 dozen eggs $1.69
- .75 off store coupon

Charmin Basic 12 big roll pack $4.99
ketchup $1.29
3 lbs apples $1.99
10 lbs russett potatoes $1.99
1 bag salad mix $.88
broccoli $2.21
2.58 lbs bananas $1.52

Total paid: $20.10



Meijer:

Excedrin $4.99
- free coupon!
3 bottles Frank's Redhot $.99 each
- (3) free manufacturer coupons from last week's paper
2 jars Taco Bell salsa $1.85 each
- $1.00 off 2 Meijer mealbox coupon
- $1.00 off manufacturer coupon from All You magazine
1 bottle Kikkoman soy sauce $1.56
- $1.00 manufacturer coupon from Kikkoman game
3 loaves Aunt Millie's bread $9.57
- $6.38 (buy one, get two free sale!)
3 Aunt Millie's hotdog buns $9.57
- $6.38 (buy one, get two free sale)
4 boxes Barilla whole wheat pasta $.89 each
-(2) $1.00 off two manufacturer coupons
2 bags Fritos $1.49 each
1 jar applesauce $1.79
2 sticks Right Guard deoderant $2.29 each
- $.50 off one Meijer coupon
- $2.00 off two manufacturer coupon
1 bag Dino bites frozen chicken nuggets $2.99
2 bottles Dial hand soap $1.00 each
- (2) $1.00 manufacturer coupons
2 packages Oscar Mayer hotdogs $3.00
2 bags Ore Ida tater tots $5.00
- $2.00 instant savings
- $1.00 off two manufacturer coupon

I also used:
$3.00 off a $30 purchase coupon
$1.00 off your next order coupon from a previous purchase
$2.00 off your next order coupon from a previous purchase
$5.00 off a frozen food purchase from a previous purchase

Total spent: $13.52



Total for the week: $33.36

Grocery budget left: $56.32
Total spent for the month: $43.68



You can find more great shopping trips over at The Grocery Cart Challenge, Frugal Follies, and $5 Dollar Dinners!

Shopping 3/05

I ended up needing milk today, and had to have my husband stop for it since we're down to one vehicle. I normally don't spend more than $1.50 a gallon, thanks to my very local grocery store. They have printable coupons all the time for $1.00 off milk, and they always have milk on sale for $2.50. B didn't have a coupon with him though, so we had to pay the full $2.50. I have no picture today, but I'm pretty sure you all know what a gallon of milk looks like.


Grocery budget left: $89.68
Total spent for the month: $10.32

The $20 a week grocery budget experiment

Out of necessity I have adopted a $20 a week grocery budget for our family of six. My budget is actually running through the first week of April, so today I withdrew $100 in cash, and put it in my grocery-only wallet.





Included in this budget is all food, plus all "household"...toiletries, paper products, cleaning supplies, etc. I am starting out with both my chest freezer and the one in the fridge FULL. I am well stocked on meat/protein, and have a fairly nice sized stockpile of canned/frozen veggies, fruit, pasta, cereal, etc. I have $16-17 worth of bottles to return (thanks to the Michigan 10 cent deposit!). I will add that to my grocery budget, since paying the deposit in the first place came out of my original grocery budget. Even though this month it's neccessary to keep our grocery spending as low as possible, I am actually oddly excited. I love me a good challenge.

I went shopping this morning for the first time this month (which is why there isn't $100 in the picture above!). I bought:

5 lbs apples $1.99
3 lbs carrots $2.79
1.04 lbs asparagus $1.55
broccoli $1.49

Total = $7.82





I *may* need another gallon of milk on Friday or Saturday, but otherwise, I'm done for the week!


Grocery budget left: $92.18

Tuesday's food and our grocery budget

I'm going to write a daily post of what exactly we're eating, and how we're doing on the $20 a week grocery budget. The grocery budget includes all food plus any household needs...toilet paper, soap, shampoo, etc. I'm starting with $100 because I'm also including the first week of April in this month's budget. I also have about $16-17 of bottle returns that will add on to that.(I'm in Michigan, with the 10 cent deposit) This is feeding 6 of us. Me and my husband, a 12 year old girl, a 10 year old boy, a 7 year old boy, and a 4 year old girl. The oldest 3 eat lunch at school, but I *think* they all have enough $ in their accounts for the month. I really should check that. Today I'll also add in what we had yesterday, since yesterday was the first day of the month. I'm also going to keep a running total of our grocery budget.

Monday:

breakfast - cereal and orange juice, plus applesauce for my son to take his meds.
lunch - tuna sandwiches, apples, carrot sticks, milk
dinner - Italian turkey sausage with green peppers and onions over whole wheat pasta and a tossed salad (the sausage will be free after I get my Jennie O rebate back!)
snacks - cheese and crackers, grapes, and popcorn
school snacks for the oldest 3 - granola bars and fruit roll ups

Tuesday:

breakfast - oatmeal and orange juice
lunch - leftover sausage, peppers, and onions, husband also took leftovers to work
dinner - grilled chicken breast, roasted broccoli and carrots, rice pilaf
snacks - apples, granola bars
school snacks - banana muffins I made over the weekend

Grocery budget: $100