Thrifty Mom In Boise: My Grocery Budget 2018 - March Update

This going to be a bit of a different type of grocery update because this month I had two budgets. You may recall me mentioning at the end of last month I had some money left from receiving my income tax refund. Well, after much thought, I decided to use it to stock up on groceries.

Winco haul

Anytime I feel things in my life are a little precarious, like my health, my job, the economy, etc. I feel that urge to get my house in order. Just in case. And while things here at home are stable right now, you just never know. Anyway, I was feeling that urge. So I went with it.

Fred Meyer

I gave myself an extra grocery budget of $200! Just food. And I stocked up buying items on sale, using coupons and trolling the markdown areas of each store I went to. It was pretty amazing all that I was able to get, let me tell you. When I sat down to list my expenses I really surprised myself with my super shopper abilities. Ha, ha! 😎

I didn't even spend it all! But I got dang close:

*Groceries - Part I*	$$$

Pot roast	5.99	Sale	Albertsons
Pot roast	4.72	Sale	Albertsons
Pot roast	6.87	Sale	Albertsons
Steak	5.67	Markdown	Albertsons
Asparagus (2)	6.00	Sale	Albertsons
Sugar - 4#	2.49	Sale	Albertsons
Tortilla chips	1.50	Sale	Albertsons
Frozen potatoes (3)	7.50	Sale	Albertsons
Onion rings	2.50	Sale	Albertsons
Mushrooms	1.89	Markdown	*Fred Meyer*
Mandarins	2.99	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Salad dressing	1.49	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Salad dressing - 2pk	1.99	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Lettuce	0.99		*Fred Meyer*
Lettuce	0.99		*Fred Meyer*
Carrots	1.19		*Fred Meyer*
Bell pepper	0.69	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Onions	0.99	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Bananas	0.99		*Fred Meyer*
Lemon	0.79	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Blueberries	3.77	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Tomatoes	1.40	Sale	*Fred Meyer*
Chicken breast	6.13		*Fred Meyer*
Bell pepper (2)	0.96	Sale	*WinCo*
Bacon	6.98		*WinCo*
Eggs - 5 dozen	5.08		*WinCo*
Canned tomatoes (4)	2.32		*WinCo*
Tomato sauce	0.94		*WinCo*
Tomato sauce (4)	1.04		*WinCo*
Parmesan	2.36		*WinCo*
Spaghetti	1.56		*WinCo*
Cool whip (2)	1.76		*WinCo*
Whipped topping	2.48		*WinCo*
Cream - 1 qt	3.48		*WinCo*
Cream cheese (2)	2.34		*WinCo*
Sour cream	1.18		*WinCo*
Flour - 10#	2.42		*WinCo*
Stevia - 1#	4.21		*WinCo*
SF Hershey syrup	3.47		*WinCo*
SF Gelatin (4)	3.12		*WinCo*
SF Pudding mix (6)	4.21		*WinCo*
Strawberries	1.98	Sale	*WinCo*
Olives (3)	2.64	Sale	*WinCo*
Salsa	1.58		*WinCo*
Tortillas (2)	2.36		*WinCo*
Chipotle peppers	0.96		*WinCo*
Salad dressing	1.33	Sale	*WinCo*
Ice cream mix	2.99	Sale	Cash & Carry
Whipped topping	2.08		Cash & Carry
Salsa	4.57		Cash & Carry
Seasoning sauce	1.89		Cash & Carry
Crab	2.99		Cash & Carry
Green peppers (6)	2.79		Cash & Carry
Lettuce - 5ct	3.88		Cash & Carry
Cheese - 5#	10.47	Sale	Cash & Carry
Pickles	1.00		Dollar Store
Green olives (2)	2.00		Dollar Store
Minced garlic (2)	2.00		Dollar Store
Wheat bread	1.00		Dollar Store
Feta (2)	2.00		Dollar Store
Snack rolls (3)	3.00		Dollar Store
Vanilla extract	1.00		Dollar Store
Turkey breast	4.36	Digital Coupon	*Fred Meyer*
Turkey breast	4.00	Digital Coupon	*Fred Meyer*
Turkey breast	4.57	Digital Coupon	*Fred Meyer*
Turkey breast	4.44	Digital Coupon	*Fred Meyer*
Turkey breast	4.88	Digital Coupon	*Fred Meyer*

Total	196.20

Five turkey breasts at 88¢ a pound!

Five turkey breasts! Five! I'm the most excited about that score. I marked all of my stock up items in red and the rest of this list ended up being part of our regular meals this month. But then I still had my regular grocery budget for March sitting there so about mid month I started shopping again. And tomorrow I'll share with you everything else I bought and it includes some more stock up items too! Yay!

10 comments:

memeMarch 29, 2018 at 7:56 AM
that is a great haul. I think that was a terrific use of your tax refund
Anne in the kitchenMarch 29, 2018 at 10:08 AM
That is a boatload of food!
AnonymousMarch 29, 2018 at 11:02 AM
I hear you in regards to getting your house in order. I do the same thing as you, that's what got me to declutter my home. Feeling organized does wonders when things are feeling precarious, just like you say. It's kind of like what women do after they've had their first child: "nesting." A well stocked pantry and medicine cabinet, and gas in the car (we live in earthquake country!) give me some peace of mind and a sense of stability.

You do have super shopper abilities! I'm always amazed at how much money you save with food shopping.

D.
DebbieMarch 29, 2018 at 11:44 AM
And yet another way you and I are alike. I do the same thing. Stocking up on food when I feel the urge to has saved our budget and allowed us to eat well so many times. Yesterday I stumbled across a great marked down deal on center cut pork chops and bought the 2 family packs they had. I divided them up into 5 meals and froze 4 of the packages and cooked the other ones up for dinner last night.
JeannieMarch 29, 2018 at 6:48 PM
I agree with "D". Whenever I am worried, I put gas in the car and get groceries. I makes me feel more secure knowing I can either run or hide and eat. Hiding and eating is usually what I prefer to do.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

Your kind comments are always appreciated. I love hearing from you.

**Note: Comment Moderation has been turned on due to spam.

Thrifty Mom In Boise

Thursday, March 29, 2018

My Grocery Budget 2018 - March Update - Part 1!

10 comments: