I have to admit I'm
quite proud of myself for making our big shopping haul last the entire month
without any extra trips to the store. We
had used up our entire budget on that trip and I was determined to stick to
it. Plus, with all of you encouraging
me, how could I not?
 |
| Trader Joe's |
Our nonfood items
were comprised of cat food, cat litter, facial tissues and toilet paper and a
few other odds and ends. I used two
digital coupons at $1.00 each and both items were on sale which helped me get
more mileage out of my dollars . Total
spent came in at $23.98. My budget is
$25.00 per month so I still have $1.02 left to roll over and use next month.
 |
| Fred Meyer |
|
Non-Food
|
$$$
|
||||
|
Snack size bags
|
1.00
|
Dollar Store
|
|||
|
Fabric softener
|
1.00
|
Dollar Store
|
|||
|
Shower hats (2)
|
2.00
|
Dollar Store
|
|||
|
Cat food (3)
|
2.37
|
Trader Joes
|
|||
|
Toilet paper - 6 ct
|
1.99
|
Digital Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
|
Tissues - 4 ct
|
2.99
|
Digital Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
|
Trash bags - 40 ct
|
7.99
|
Fred Meyer
|
|||
|
Cat litter - 25#
|
4.64
|
Walmart
|
|||
|
|
Total
|
$23.98
|
|||
 |
| Winco |
This month I did a
fair amount of investment shopping to replenish items we were low on like
twenty pounds of ground beef and several packages of cheese that were on
sale. After some pretty methodical
planning I devoted one Saturday morning to shopping for 2 1/2 hours to acquire
everything on my list. Then home to
repackage the ground beef and a large bag of cheese and get it into the chest
freezer in our garage. The beef should
last the better part of the year and the cheese for several months.
 |
| Albertson's |
Here is all of the
food I bought this month:
|
Groceries
|
$$$
|
|||
|
Baking powder
|
1.58
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Eggs
|
0.98
|
WinCo
|
||
|
Tortillas (2)
|
1.96
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Tomatoes (2)
|
0.47
|
WinCo
|
||
|
Coleslaw mix (2)
|
0.98
|
WinCo
|
||
|
Apples
|
1.56
|
WinCo
|
||
|
Potatoes - 5#
|
1.48
|
WinCo
|
||
|
Bell peppers (2)
|
1.16
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Onions (2)
|
0.57
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Oranges
|
3.40
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Frozen berries
|
1.78
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Frozen mango
|
1.78
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Tater tots
|
1.58
|
WinCo
|
||
|
Sour cream
|
1.78
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Cream
|
3.38
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Mashed potatoes (2)
|
1.76
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Parmesan
|
2.36
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Olives (2)
|
1.76
|
Sale
|
WinCo
|
|
|
Cottage cheese
|
1.79
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Milk - 1/2 gal
|
1.39
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Ground turkey
|
2.99
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Romaine
|
1.99
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Mushrooms (2)
|
3.38
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Spinach
|
1.99
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Green beans
|
2.79
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Green onions
|
1.29
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Bananas
|
1.52
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Avocados (6)
|
2.99
|
Trader Joes
|
||
|
Ground beef - 10#
(2)
|
39.80
|
Sale
|
Cash & Carry
|
|
|
Cheese - 5#
|
11.85
|
Sale
|
Cash & Carry
|
|
|
Feta (2)
|
2.00
|
Dollar Store
|
||
|
Garlic (2)
|
2.00
|
Dollar Store
|
||
|
Gnocchi (2)
|
2.00
|
Dollar Store
|
||
|
Peanut butter (12)
|
11.88
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
|
Salsa (2)
|
2.00
|
Albertsons
|
||
|
Clementines - 3#
|
2.99
|
Albertsons
|
||
|
Cheese (5)
|
4.95
|
Digital Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Pasta
|
FREE
|
Friday Freebie
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Larabar
|
FREE
|
Friday Freebie
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Chicken breast
|
7.02
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Italian sausage
|
0.99
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Salsa verde
|
1.42
|
Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Ham
|
1.99
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Almond milk - 1/2
gal
|
1.99
|
Digital Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Stir fry veg (2)
|
2.98
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Salad mix (2)
|
1.98
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
|
Total
|
150.28
|
$150.28 ÷ 31 days ÷3 people = $1.62 per person per day!
 |
| Cash & Carry |
I am very pleased
with how well we did this first month of the year. How did you do with your grocery shopping
goals? What great buys did you find?
This budget month runs from January 1
through January 31
Congrats on making the big grocery trip last.. Really good bargains..
ReplyDeleteThank you Judy! :)
DeleteYou did so well! It's reassuring having a back stock of items like your ground beef investment isn't it? I don't like running out of something and then having to go to the store and end up paying full price on it. Especially with OTC medicine when I'm sick and find it's past its expiration date or I'm out of it. I try to stay on top of the dates and make sure there is always enough for us.
ReplyDeleteD.
Like you I'm not fond of running out of stuff and having to pay full price either.
DeleteYou did great! I love to see what you buy and how you use it - it gives me great ideas. My month is winding down too and I am so glad I was able to put a good payment down on savings repay goal. I am still hoping to pay it off by my birthday in late April.
ReplyDeleteCandace thatis so great. Keep up the good work!
DeleteI continue on a pantry challenge, something I do every Jan, moving now to continue into Feb as well. I normally budget $300/month for groceries, and this monthly only, I tracked "taxables" such as personal care, paper/plastic, cleaning/laundry items to see just how much I spend (I already had an idea). I also set aside $100 for restaurant/take out for the month. 3 adults here. I spent $134.67 for food groceries, $20.40 on taxables including the tax, $53.21 on restaurant. A grand total of $208.59, saving me $191.41. I get my monthly income tomorrow, and from other areas I've been pinching back on, all savings will be split between an E fund and remodeling debt payoff. Goal met.
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic and I'm sure it feels really wonderful. Great work!
Delete