Tuesday, January 30, 2018

My Grocery Budget 2018 - January Update


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



8 comments:

  1. Congrats on making the big grocery trip last.. Really good bargains..

    ReplyDelete
  2. You 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.

    D.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like you I'm not fond of running out of stuff and having to pay full price either.

      Delete
  3. You 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.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is fantastic and I'm sure it feels really wonderful. Great work!

      Delete

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