To
say our cupboards were bare would have been an understatement. We moved in with very little and had to start
from scratch. But now they are filling
up and that always makes me very happy.
Especially as we gear up for winter and high monthly heat bills.
My
goal was to restock and get as much as I could for as little as I could
spend. I think I did rather well all
things considered. There were several
items on my list I had to go without because the prices were just too high. Primarily that was beef. With the exception of a package of frozen
hamburger patties, I pretty much didn't buy any, especially since lean ground
beef has been running nearly $5 a pound!
Finally toward the end of the month I found some packages of extra lean
ground beef in the markdown bin and I bought three of them.
I
jostled the menu plan a little and substituted pork or poultry where I could
and things turned out rather well. We
enjoyed some delicious meat less meals too.
I
blew the budget on our non food purchases coming in at $44.36. Still not bad considering everything I bought
and was able to stock up on. In
preparation of winter and cold season I picked up 10 boxes of tissue, one was a
box of lotion tissues and I had a friend grab me a case of toilet paper at
Costco while he was there. Additionally,
I bought cat food, dish soap, toiletries, hand soap, cleaning supplies, coffee
filters and dryer sheets, most of which came from the dollar store.
I
have a long list of the groceries I purchased to restock our pantry and freezer
so bare with me. Nearly everything I
bought was on sale and I maximized my savings by adding coupons to sales items
whenever I could. My goal was to keep it
under $300 this month.
I
think I did pretty well:
|
Chopped clams (3)
|
|
2.37
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Cake mix (4)
|
|
2.00
|
Store Promotion
|
|
Crackers (3)
|
|
5.00
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Crackers
|
|
1.25
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Pasta (2)
|
|
1.00
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
BBQ Sauce
|
|
0.79
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Cranberry juice
|
|
0.88
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Green beans (2)
|
|
0.98
|
Sale
|
|
Creamed corn (2)
|
|
0.98
|
Sale
|
|
Bread
|
|
1.28
|
Sale
|
|
Taco shells
|
|
1.00
|
|
|
Corn tortillas
|
|
0.88
|
|
|
Flour tortillas
|
|
1.38
|
|
|
Corn dogs - 16ct
|
|
3.48
|
Sale
|
|
Hamburger patties -
20ct
|
|
11.98
|
Sale
|
|
Frozen meatballs
|
|
1.98
|
Sale
|
|
Pot pies (4)
|
|
2.72
|
Sale
|
|
Margarine
|
|
0.78
|
Sale
|
|
Oatmeal (2)
|
|
4.84
|
|
|
Zoom
|
|
1.98
|
|
|
Smoked sausages
|
|
3.48
|
Sale
|
|
Brown sugar
|
|
1.38
|
Sale
|
|
Chicken breasts - 3#
|
|
5.98
|
Sale
|
|
Raisins
|
|
1.72
|
|
|
Pop Tarts (2)
|
|
2.96
|
Sale
|
|
Salad dressing (2)
|
|
3.00
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Fideo (2)
|
|
0.64
|
|
|
Orzo
|
|
0.35
|
|
|
Pasta (6)
|
|
4.68
|
Sale
|
|
Eggs
|
|
1.37
|
|
|
Ramen (6)
|
|
1.08
|
|
|
Non stick spray
|
|
1.97
|
Sale
|
|
Baking chips (2)
|
|
4.16
|
Sale
|
|
Tater tots
|
|
1.34
|
|
|
Flour - 5#
|
|
1.57
|
Sale
|
|
Sugar - 4#
|
|
1.68
|
Sale
|
|
Parmesan (2)
|
|
3.96
|
Sale
|
|
Tuna (12)
|
|
8.28
|
Sale
|
|
Wieners (2)
|
|
1.56
|
Sale
|
|
Soy sauce
|
|
0.98
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Teriyaki sauce
|
|
0.98
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Ketchup
|
|
0.88
|
Sale
|
|
Butter
|
|
2.88
|
|
|
Bean & bacon soup
|
|
1.78
|
|
|
Lunch meat (3)
|
|
3.96
|
Sale
|
|
Spaghettios
|
|
1.22
|
|
|
Enchilada sauce (2)
|
|
3.56
|
Sale
|
|
Graham crackers
|
|
1.58
|
Sale
|
|
Peanut butter
|
|
2.88
|
Sale
|
|
Olives (3)
|
|
1.81
|
Sale
|
|
Sauce packets (10)
|
|
4.50
|
|
|
Green olives
|
|
1.81
|
Sale
|
|
Rice - 5#
|
|
3.14
|
Sale
|
|
Canned tomatoes (6)
|
|
3.48
|
|
|
Asparagus soup
|
|
1.58
|
|
|
Cream soup (3)
|
|
2.50
|
|
|
Nestles Quik
|
|
6.78
|
Sale
|
|
Fruit cocktail
|
|
0.98
|
|
|
Tomato sauce (4)
|
|
2.32
|
|
|
Lettuce
|
|
0.78
|
|
|
Spinach
|
|
1.78
|
|
|
Veggie mix
|
|
3.98
|
|
|
Coleslaw mix
|
|
0.98
|
|
|
Potatoes - 3#
|
|
1.98
|
|
|
Bell peppers (2)
|
|
1.16
|
Sale
|
|
Carrots - 2#
|
|
0.98
|
|
|
Celery
|
|
1.48
|
|
|
Tomatoes
|
|
0.70
|
Sale
|
|
Cucumber
|
|
0.38
|
Sale
|
|
Onions
|
|
1.62
|
|
|
Bananas
|
|
0.90
|
|
|
Pineapple slices
|
|
0.98
|
Sale
|
|
Pesto
|
|
1.98
|
Sale
|
|
Honey
|
|
3.08
|
|
|
Gingersnaps
|
|
1.32
|
|
|
Hotdog buns
|
|
0.75
|
|
|
Hamburger buns
|
|
0.75
|
|
|
Mushrooms
|
|
2.18
|
|
|
Brownie mix
|
|
1.08
|
|
|
Mapeline
|
|
3.05
|
|
|
Pork chops
|
|
2.19
|
Markdown
|
|
Pork chops
|
|
2.68
|
Markdown
|
|
Pork chops
|
|
1.68
|
Markdown
|
|
Leg quarters
|
|
2.75
|
Markdown
|
|
Leg quarters
|
|
2.97
|
Markdown
|
|
Italian sausage
|
|
2.99
|
Markdown
|
|
Hot Italian sausage
(2)
|
|
6.00
|
Markdown
|
|
Turkey ham (2)
|
|
4.06
|
Markdown
|
|
Eggs
|
|
0.88
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Nutella
|
|
1.99
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Ice Cream (2)
|
|
3.00
|
Store Coupon/Coupon
|
|
Pop Tarts - 48ct
|
|
7.99
|
Store Coupon/Coupon
|
|
Cereal (4)
|
|
5.32
|
Store Coupon/Coupon
|
|
Cheese - 2# (2)
|
|
9.98
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Ground turkey
|
|
2.54
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Lettuce (4)
|
|
1.76
|
Sale
|
|
Cinnamon rolls
|
|
1.00
|
Sale
|
|
Pasta (7)
|
|
5.53
|
Sale
|
|
Yogurt - 32oz
|
|
1.39
|
Markdown
|
|
Bread
|
|
1.33
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Butter (2)
|
|
4.00
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Chicken
|
|
4.86
|
Markdown
|
|
Chicken thighs
|
|
4.27
|
Markdown
|
|
Chicken
|
|
1.95
|
Markdown
|
|
Ground pork sausage
|
|
1.75
|
Markdown
|
|
Ground beef
|
|
2.71
|
Markdown
|
|
Ground beef
|
|
2.75
|
Markdown
|
|
Ground beef
|
|
2.68
|
Markdown
|
|
Milk - 1 gal.
|
|
1.88
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Baking chips (3)
|
|
5.37
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Sliced turkey
|
|
1.99
|
Markdown
|
|
Sliced turkey
|
|
1.99
|
Markdown
|
|
Salami
|
|
1.99
|
Markdown
|
|
Potatoes - 10#
|
|
0.99
|
Sale
|
|
Mushrooms
|
|
0.99
|
Markdown
|
|
Sausage breakfast links (5)
|
|
5.00
|
Sale
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
$
293.40
|
|
Items
in red are stock up items and should last for a long time to come. I plan to go back to my regular shopping
routine and budget in October and throughout the remainder of the year.
Did
you find any great deals at the grocery store this month?
