My Grocery Budget 2017 - September Update

September turned out to be a fabulous month and I attribute that to having a better plan, particularly with the meal prepping we've been doing.  I felt like I really had a good handle on things.  I was able to pick up the items we needed to complete the meals, buy fresh produce and stock up on sales and markdown items for us to have and use with future meal prepping.  In the long run this meal prepping may end up saving me even more money on our grocery bill.  How fantastic would that be?

Our nonfood items were comprised of fabric softener, bath soap, cat food, and facial tissue.  Not a lot this month.

Great markdowns!

I was able to stock up on cheese which I got on sale for 99¢ per package.  A really nice variety of sliced and shredded cheeses which will save me time as well.  I have lots of really good plans as to what I'll be using that in.  I also managed quite a few good markdown items, meat, yogurt, produce and we made a trip to the Franz bakery for bread, rolls and buns which pretty much finished filling up the freezer in our garage.  At Winco I picked up bulk spices and cornstarch to refill our jars.  Bulk spices save me a ton of money over purchasing them off the shelf.

It was also a great month for stocking up on meat and as a result our freezer is now very full.  I was able to pick up three very large beef pot roasts and two huge packages of pork ribs that were on sale at $1.99 a pound.  I was super excited about the price on those roasts, let me tell you.

Odds & ends for the week ahead

Here is what I got:

Groceries		$$$
Mandarin oranges (2)		2.00		Dollar Store
Croutons		1.00		Dollar Store
Seasoned fries		1.00		Dollar Store
Sprinkles		1.00		Dollar Store
Ranch dressing		1.00		Dollar Store
Milk (gal)		1.79		Albertsons
Bananas		0.88		Albertsons
Onions		0.44		Fred Meyer
Mushrooms		0.89	Markdown/Coupon	Fred Meyer
Green beans		0.99	Markdown/Coupon	Fred Meyer
Steaks		12.49	Sale/Coupon	Fred Meyer
Ice cream		2.50	Sale	Fred Meyer
Salad mix		0.84	Markdown/Coupon	Fred Meyer
Green onions		0.89		Fred Meyer
Plums		1.79	Sale	Fred Meyer
Nectarines		1.10	Sale	Fred Meyer
Bananas		0.93		Fred Meyer
Carrots		1.19		Fred Meyer
Red potatoes		1.79		Fred Meyer
Tomatoes		0.55		Fred Meyer
Lime		0.50		Fred Meyer
Mashed potatoes		0.87		Fred Meyer
English muffins (2)		1.38	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Bagels		0.99	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Bread		0.99	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Macaroni & cheese		FREE	Friday Freebie	Fred Meyer
Oreo candy bar		FREE	Friday Freebie	Fred Meyer
Potato chips (2)		2.83	Sale/Coupon	Fred Meyer
Parmesan		2.38	Sale	WinCo
Garlic		2.85	Bulk	WinCo
Basil		0.39	Bulk	WinCo
Cornstarch		0.50	Bulk	WinCo
Lettuce		0.89		WinCo
Romaine hearts (3)		2.43		WinCo
Grapes		2.19	Sale	WinCo
Bananas		1.03		WinCo
Tomatoes		1.31		WinCo
Squash		0.54		WinCo
Olives (2)		1.76	Sale	WinCo
Pesto		2.83	Sale	WinCo
Melon seed pasta (3)		1.03		WinCo
Peas & carrots		0.83		WinCo
Feta		3.00		Dollar Store
Crackers (5)		5.00		Dollar Store
Green olives		1.00		Dollar Store
Garlic		1.00		Dollar Store
Broccoli		0.39	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Mushrooms		1.19	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Bananas		0.81	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Stir fry veggies		1.99	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Bell pepper		0.88	Sale	Fred Meyer
Nectarines		1.04	Sale	Fred Meyer
Apples		2.18		Fred Meyer
Ground pork		1.42	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Ground pork		1.50	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Cheese (9)		8.91	Sale/ Digital Coupon	Fred Meyer
Tortilla chips		0.85	Sale/Coupon	Fred Meyer
Tortillas		1.29	Sale	Fred Meyer
Yogurt - qt		1.49	Markdown	Fred Meyer
Sour cream		1.50	Sale	Fred Meyer
Donuts		2.99	Markdown	Albertsons
Oreos		1.99	Sale	Albertsons
Clam chowder (2)		0.98	Sale/Coupon	Albertsons
Tortilla chips		0.98	Digital Coupon	Albertsons
Milk (gal)		1.69	Digital Coupon	Albertsons
Pot roast		7.52	Sale	Albertsons
Pork ribs		8.20	Sale	Albertsons
Pork ribs		6.22	Sale	Albertsons
Lettuce		1.29		Albertsons
Bananas		1.45	Sale	Albertsons
Grapes		2.36	Sale	Albertsons
Customer Appreciation		(5.00)	Digital Coupon	Albertsons
Pot roast		6.52	Sale	Albertsons
Pot roast		15.87	Sale	Albertsons
Tiki punch - 12ct		2.68	Sale	WinCo
Olives		0.88	Sale	WinCo
Tortillas - 25ct		2.48	Sale	WinCo
Spice packets (12)		4.72
Rice - 5#		2.22	Sale
Pink Himilayan salt		0.42
Black pepper		1.78
Bell pepper		0.48	Sale
Parmesan		2.38	Sale
Tomato		0.63
Lettuce		1.98
Grape tomatoes		1.18	Sale
Onions		0.55	Sale
Baking chips		1.88	Sale
Total		176.34

$176.34 ÷ 30 days ÷3 people = $1.96 per person per day!

New York strip steaks

A little bit over by I am totally okay with it since I used that extra to stock up on roasts and our meat for Christmas dinner too!  How did you do last month?  Any great bargains?

This budget month runs from September 1 through September 30

Our Morning & Evening Routines

A good morning routine gets your day off to a great start, in my opinion.  It has taken awhile for me to come up with the right one for us, but I think we have finally figured it out.  At least for now, anyway.

I start the day off at 5:30 when my alarm goes off.  I used to start at 5:00, but recently adjusted that when school started again because I felt I needed the extra sleep.  Amazingly, it has really made a difference.  I'm not dragging tail so much by the end of the week plus I seem to have more energy each day.

I make my bed first thing in the morning.  In fact, it is the first thing I do, the moment I get up, before anything else.  It has been a habit of mine for years now.  Then into the bathroom for bathroom duties, I won't go into that, wash my face, brush my hair and then put on moisturizer.

Next I head into the kitchen and put our lunches together while I reheat a cup of coffee in the microwave.  I try to make my coffee in the evenings as it is a great time saver and a pot will last me several days.  I run a little dishwater in the sink to wash up any dishes and wipe down the counters.  Then the coffee and I go sit with my laptop and I check emails and write for a bit.

When it is nearly time to go I head into the bathroom to brush teeth and apply deodorant.  Next up, I get dressed.  My minimalist wardrobe has been ideal.  I make decisions quickly and am dressed and ready to go in less than five minutes.

By this time the girls have come down, fixed their breakfast and are eating (I pack mine and eat at the office).  I leave for work and they finish up their dishes and clean up any mess.  The dishes are dried and put away, kitties are fed and let out, dishcloth and towel are deposited in the laundry basket, sink is shiny and they leave the house for school.

My youngest is home just before I am and then the oldest arrives within ten minutes unless they have afterschool activities which right now they do most of the time.  I start the evening by setting out a fresh dishcloth and towel.  I run a little dishwater in the sink and wash up my lunch dishes and then do my "chore of the day".  I can then write for a bit before picking up kids and then home to get supper on the table, which lately has been a breeze.

The girls take care of their chores and then we have supper.  They have the remainder of the evening for homework or whatever they choose (or a school activity if that is on the schedule like a concert or robotics).

We have a 9:00 curfew on weeknights and that has really been a blessing in a lot of ways.  I thought the girls would give me some grief over it, but instead they were really excited.  Shocked me!  At 9:00 there is no more TV, texting, phone calls, video chat, or online activity.  We shut it down.  We do our 15 minute walk through to put away and tidy up anything that needs attention.  At 9:15 we head off to get ready for bed.  Everyone has to be in their room by 9:30, including me, which at that point we each grab a book and read until we are ready to fall asleep.  My youngest loves this because she is a book nut and my oldest says it forces her to do her required reading for school and she's actually getting it done.  I love it because the house is quiet and I get to wind down after a busy day, enjoy a good book for awhile and then clear my mind for a good night's sleep.

Another thing we do is we all have scheduled shower days.  It took us a bit to get this one worked out so everyone was happy, but we did and now it isn't a big ordeal for time in the bathroom for showering or a fight over hot water rights.  I shower on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  The youngest takes Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings and the oldest has Monday, Wednesday and Friday Mornings.  That also leaves enough extra evenings if someone wants or needs an extra turn.  If it is your shower night we know we need to be in and out well before 9:00.  And in the morning we need to pretty much hit it first thing when we wake up so we don't hold things up for anyone.  Having finally come up with a workable schedule has brought a lot of peace to this household, believe me.

So that is pretty much it.  Nothing is so rigid or tightly scheduled that we don't have a little wiggle room, which I think is also important.  Especially because every day is different and you need to account for that.

Do you do anything like this?