Sticking To The Grocery Budget

One of the keys to the success of my minimal grocery budget is that I am constantly replenishing the items that I use.  Despite the fact that there is a lot of food in my house I know that I need to replenish the items I am running low on or use a lot of to make sure I’m not stuck running out and at risk of going over budget later down the road, either to replace those items or make an unplanned purchase. 

My current budget is $100 + $25 to stockpile sale items.  I also budget $25 for non-food items such as toiletries, cleaning supplies, pet food and litter, etc.  It will be more important now than ever to make sure I am successful every month at staying on budget and keeping my pantry full. 

As we all know planning is key to success so I got busy with a meal plan, did a food inventory and created a subsequent shopping list.  I dropped the kiddos off at school and hit the grocery store for my “big monthly grocery trip”.  I know I may be weird but I love to shop for groceries. 

After all was said and done I was able to get most of the items on my list plus an extra pantry item.  Canned chicken that was on sale and I had a coupon for $1.00 off.  Final price for 2 cans came in at $1.72. 

I also got my frozen skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.59 per pound so I bought two packages.  That was my ? mark item.  I was only going to buy them if I found them for a really good price.  And I did!  That will make a lot of meals for us. 

Funny thing.  I’ve noticed at this particular grocery store is that the 5# bags of flour are less expensive than the larger 10# bag.  If I buy 2 of the 5# bags at $1.54 each or $3.08 for both it is much less than the $3.54 they charge for a 10# bag.  It pays to do the math! 

Name brand spaghetti was on sale this week and I found I could get 2 of the 2# packages for $3.56 where a 3# package of store brand pasta was $3.18.  I got an extra pound of pasta for 38¢.  Love it! 

Current totals:

Food = $77.13                                                Non Food = $22.41 

This week’s meal plan is as follows: 

Sunday – Tuna casserole, green beans & tossed salad

Monday – Egg salad sandwiches (have to use up those Easter eggs) & tossed salad

Tuesday – Tacos, lettuce & tomato, cheese, salsa

Wednesday – Soup, salad & bread

Thursday – Spanish rice, corn, tossed salad

Friday – Pizza, spinach salad

Saturday – Lasagna, garlic bread, tossed salad 

Leftovers will get used up for lunches and breakfasts will be cereal, fruit, eggs, toast or pancakes. 

I’m going to do weekly menu plans and then I’ll get back on track with my monthly meal planning again in May.  In fact, I am already working on it. 

What is on your plate this week?