Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Grocery Budget Update - April


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?



7 comments:

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My 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.

      Delete
    2. No 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.

      Delete
    3. I 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.

      Delete
  2. Thanks! I thought so too. This was a month for great sales and store coupons. We are really well stocked.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great month! Even with all the stocking up you did really well!!

    I 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. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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

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