I don't
know about you but the first month of 2014 has gone by pretty dang fast! This past month I bought A LOT of groceries
and A LOT of stock up items. We ate
really well too. Lots of fresh fruits
and vegetables, delicious homemade soups, a few casseroles and delicious pasta
dishes. It was a scrumptious start to
2014.
I began
our month with $125.oo plus $8.11 left from last month for a grand total of $133.11. I spent $145.13 and will rollover the
negative balance of $-12.02 into next month's budget. Because this last week in January I got a
jump start on my February shopping our starting total will be $112.98
Our
non-food spending came in at $20.97 (of our allotted $25 budget) for a 16 lb
bag of cat food, two boxes of facial tissues and two bottles of laundry
detergent (loss leader at Walgreens for $1.49 each), a bottle of fabric
softener, a bottle of dish soap and a lint roller. Sales, coupons and a stop at the dollar store
helped keep these expenses to a minimum.
This is
what I bought for groceries this month:
|
|
$$$
|
|
Spinach
|
|
1.48
|
Sale
|
Sour
cream - 16 oz. (2)
|
|
1.56
|
Sale
|
Chile
dip
|
|
0.68
|
Store
Promotion
|
Scallions
|
|
0.50
|
Sale
|
Tomatoes
|
|
0.91
|
|
Orange
juice - 1/2 gal
|
|
1.25
|
Store
Coupon
|
Milk -
1/2 gal (2)
|
|
2.50
|
Store
Coupon
|
Parmesan
|
|
2.09
|
|
Mushrooms
|
|
1.55
|
|
Tortilla
chips (2)
|
|
1.50
|
Store
Coupon
|
Soy
sauce
|
|
1.88
|
|
Bacon
|
|
2.88
|
|
Cheddar
cheese - 2#
|
|
5.89
|
Sale
|
Ground
beef - 3#
|
|
5.99
|
Sale
|
Pasta
(2)
|
|
1.03
|
Store
Coupon/Coupon
|
Canned
tomatoes (4)
|
|
2.00
|
Store
Coupon
|
Oranges
|
|
2.01
|
Sale
|
Eggs -
doz (2)
|
|
1.98
|
Sale
|
Soup
(2)
|
|
FREE
|
Gift
Card
|
Clam
chowder (5)
|
|
3.95
|
Sale/Coupon
|
French
bread (2)
|
|
1.00
|
Sale
|
Milk -
1gal
|
|
1.77
|
Store
Promotion
|
Scallions
|
|
0.54
|
|
Bagels
|
|
1.27
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Bread
(3)
|
|
4.00
|
Store
Coupon
|
Tortilla
chips
|
|
1.00
|
Sale
|
Cheese
soup
|
|
1.50
|
|
Tortillas
|
|
1.39
|
|
Chili
paste
|
|
2.49
|
|
Olives
(2)
|
|
1.98
|
|
Lettuce
|
|
0.88
|
|
Cole
slaw mix
|
|
0.98
|
|
Mixed
veggies
|
|
3.49
|
|
Butter
(2)
|
|
4.00
|
Store
Coupon
|
Orange
juice - 1/2 gal (2)
|
|
2.50
|
Store
Coupon
|
Tomatoes
|
|
0.94
|
|
Onions
|
|
0.57
|
|
Chuck
roast - 3.5#
|
|
9.45
|
Sale
|
Peas
& carrots
|
|
0.79
|
|
Broccoli
cuts
|
|
0.79
|
|
Pudding
cups - 3 pkgs.
|
|
2.24
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Mini Donuts - 2 pkgs
|
|
2.00
|
Sale
|
Sour
cream - 16oz. (3)
|
|
3.00
|
Sale
|
Cream -
pint
|
|
1.99
|
|
Oranges
- 10#
|
|
2.50
|
Store
Promotion
|
Tuna
(2)
|
|
1.00
|
Store
Promotion
|
Garlic
bulb
|
|
0.34
|
|
Bell
pepper
|
|
0.58
|
Sale
|
Green
onions
|
|
0.44
|
Sale
|
Tortillas
(2)
|
|
2.00
|
Sale
|
Cheese
- 2#
|
|
4.99
|
Store
Coupon
|
Tea
bags
|
|
1.19
|
|
Cereal
|
|
2.32
|
Store
Coupon/Coupon
|
Sugar -
4#
|
|
1.99
|
|
Apple
juice (2)
|
|
1.96
|
Sale
|
Lettuce
|
|
0.26
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Peanut
butter
|
|
2.99
|
Store
Promotion
|
Honey
|
|
FREE
|
Store
Promotion
|
Mixed
veggies (2)
|
|
3.00
|
Sale
|
Bananas
|
|
0.76
|
Sale
|
Oranges
|
|
2.50
|
Sale
|
Milk -
gal
|
|
1.77
|
Store
Promotion
|
Ham -
whole boneless
|
|
6.21
|
Markdown
|
Ramen
(10)
|
|
1.25
|
|
Potatoes- 10#
|
|
1.48
|
|
Sirloin
steaks (5)
|
|
7.45
|
|
Eggs -
doz
|
|
0.98
|
|
Weiners
(2)
|
|
1.00
|
|
Ice
cream (2)
|
|
3.98
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
$ 145.13
|
|
I marked all my "stock up" items in red. I am pretty pleased with the purchases I made
and the fact that we enjoyed some really great meals this month.
How
were some ways you saved money on groceries this month?
I enjoyed oranges several times this month because the prices here were so low and I stocked up on potatoes for a while for the same reason. Early in the month I was able to purchase baking items including white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, canned pumpkin and dried figs at 75% off. Chopped pecans and sliced almonds were discounted at over 50% off. I love those after holiday sales! This week I was able to get Starbucks Holiday Blend coffee at half off. It's still pricey, though, so I only bought one.
ReplyDeleteI see you got some FREE honey. What a great score!
Sounds like you got a lot of great bargains. I wish I could have scored some of those baking deals, especially the nuts. I'm really enjoying my oranges though.
DeleteJanuary really did speed by, eh? I swear it was just Christmas yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYour grocery totals are amazing!
I know exactly what you mean. Thanks for the kudos. I have too much fun with grocery shopping. I'm such a geek. :)
DeleteYou do so well. I think it really helps listing what you buy and keeping the receipts and going over them. Great tips.
ReplyDeleteIt sure helps me a lot. Thanks Debby!
ReplyDelete