I went way over budget this month and I don't feel even the
slightest bit bad about it either.
Mainly because I have managed to really stock our home well with good
nutritious foods and because the sale of our little washing machine gave me the
extra funds with which to do it.
I began the month
with a 31¢ deficit. Now I have a deficit
to carryover of $52.26. That’s okay
because I should be able to whittle that away in the next few months without
too much trouble.
 |
| My big stock up item this month. |
Our nonfood items
came in a $25.82 for toiletries purchased at the dollar store, shampoo and
conditioner, tissues, cat litter, cat food and a case of toilet paper I bought
on sale and with coupons for only $7.18.
As you can see I went slight over this month here as well but I had
plenty of carryover from previous months to easily cover this.
Here is the list of
all the food items I bought last month:
Groceries
|
$$$
|
||
Bacon (4)
|
7.96
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Canned veggies (8)
|
2.00
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Tortilla chips (2)
|
1.60
|
Sale
|
|
Tomatoes
|
0.86
|
Sale
|
|
Radishes
|
0.50
|
Sale
|
|
Green onions (2)
|
1.09
|
Sale
|
|
Frozen peas (2)
|
1.86
|
Sale
|
|
Frozen peas & carrots (2)
|
1.92
|
Sale
|
|
Sausage links (2)
|
3.76
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Poptarts 12ct. (2)
|
4.96
|
Sale
|
|
Olives (4)
|
3.92
|
Sale
|
|
Ramen (25)
|
4.60
|
Sale
|
|
Pasta - 7oz. (3)
|
0.96
|
||
Tea bags - 100ct.
|
1.50
|
Sale
|
|
Frozen french fries
|
0.95
|
Sale
|
|
Frozen tater tots
|
1.35
|
Sale
|
|
Frozen ravioli
|
2.47
|
Sale
|
|
Frozen tortellini
|
2.47
|
Sale
|
|
Popcorn - 2#
|
1.40
|
Bulk Bin
|
|
Pepper
|
2.05
|
Bulk Bin
|
|
Peppercorns
|
3.19
|
Bulk Bin
|
|
Garlic Powder
|
0.90
|
Bulk Bin
|
|
Rice crispies
|
1.93
|
||
Steak
|
3.86
|
Coupon
|
|
Ice cream cones
|
1.20
|
Sale
|
|
Baking powder
|
1.48
|
||
Gelatin (5)
|
2.30
|
||
Gelatin
|
0.66
|
||
Applesauce
|
1.58
|
||
Applesauce
|
1.67
|
||
Honey - 24oz.
|
5.68
|
||
Tomato sauce (4)
|
2.32
|
||
Canned tomatoes (8)
|
4.64
|
||
Pinto beans - 2#
|
1.67
|
||
Kidney beans - 1# (2)
|
2.18
|
||
Chow Mein noodles
|
1.66
|
||
Hoisin sauce
|
3.22
|
||
Store Promotion Coupon
|
(1.00)
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Orange juice (2)
|
1.98
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Sour cream (2)
|
1.98
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Chips (2)
|
2.56
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Ice cream (2)
|
4.00
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Lettuce
|
0.43
|
Coupon
|
|
Coleslaw mix
|
0.53
|
Coupon
|
|
Carrots - 1#
|
0.59
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Onions
|
0.49
|
Sale
|
|
Broccoli
|
0.70
|
Sale
|
|
Mushrooms
|
1.50
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Apple juice
|
0.99
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Cranberry juice
|
2.57
|
||
Salsa
|
1.50
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Flour - 5# (2)
|
2.54
|
Sale/Coupon
|
|
Pasta - (4)
|
3.16
|
Sale
|
|
Vegetable oil
|
1.97
|
Coupon
|
|
WW Hamburger buns
|
1.69
|
||
WW Hotdog buns
|
1.69
|
||
Cayenne pepper sauce
|
1.00
|
Dollar Store
|
|
Milk - 1 gal.
|
2.09
|
||
Bananas
|
0.58
|
Markdown
|
|
Strawberries - 4#
|
5.00
|
Sale
|
|
Apples
|
2.19
|
Sale
|
|
Oranges
|
2.44
|
Sale
|
|
Avocados (2)
|
1.34
|
Sale
|
|
Cereal bars (6)
|
4.68
|
||
Tuna - 48 ct.
|
18.72
|
Sale
|
|
Ramen - 48 ct.
|
5.76
|
Sale
|
|
Eggs - 1 doz.
|
FREE
|
Store Coupon
|
|
Broccoli
|
1.51
|
Sale
|
|
Lettuce (2)
|
1.98
|
||
Raspberries
|
2.99
|
||
Blueberries
|
2.59
|
||
Mushrooms
|
1.29
|
Sale
|
|
Bell pepper
|
0.89
|
||
Cauliflower
|
2.21
|
Sale
|
|
Cucumber
|
0.69
|
||
Tomatoes
|
0.63
|
Sale
|
|
Yogurt
|
0.49
|
Markdown
|
|
Total
|
$ 177.26
|
$177.26÷ 30
days ÷3 people = $1.97 per person per day!
I bought a lot of stuff! How did you save money on
groceries this month? Were you able to
find some good sales and stock up on anything?
You did great! One of my goals this year is to buy a small freezer, my husband thinks it is a bad idea because of the heat factor here in Arizona so I will have to get all my facts together before I try to buy one. I really think it would save us a lot of money. We had one in Oregon and I was able to stock up when the stores had great sales.
ReplyDeleteMy aunt has one and she lives in Mesa. She's had it forever and says she wouldn't be without one. I can't imagine it being a problem unless you experience frequent power outages. I love mine and it doesn't us much power to run which is really nice.
DeleteNo not long power outages. My husband thinks it would not be cost effective since it would have to sit in a hot garage with no insulation. I wonder, has your aunt figured out how much it increases her electric bill? He thinks $40 a month? I rather doubt it but then again I can't prove I am correct.
DeleteI see his point. Hers is in her laundry room. Not sure what is costs her but she is pretty thrifty about her power usage. If it was a power hog she'd ditch it.
DeleteThanks! I thought so too. This was a month for great sales and store coupons. We are really well stocked.
ReplyDeleteGreat month! Even with all the stocking up you did really well!!
ReplyDeleteI went over my budget in April because I found good deals on meat, which is exactly what I was hoping for in May, so I took advantage and stocked up. Now I don't have to look so hard for meat deals in May. I know of a couple of local stores that are having customer appreciation sales in May and that usually turns out some really good deals on items we use. I am happy that more of my May budget can go towards those sales if I spot something good. :)
Thanks! I was really happy with everything I found and I think we have some "grand re-opening" sales coming up as a lot of stores in the area are remodeling.
Delete