This month I
concentrated on school lunch stuff and stocking up some things for our winter
ahead. I purchased meats on sale and from
the markdown bin to add to what we already have in the freezer. I also took $50 in addition to our regular
grocery budget to purchase items the girls can pack in their lunch each day. Those things include individual packages of
chips, crackers, cookies, fruit cups, juice boxes, granola bars and Pop
Tarts. Yes, I stepped outside my norm
and did the busy mom thing and my girls are super excited about it.
Our nonfood items
were comprised of sandwich bags, cat litter, cat food, toilet paper and a
bottle of laundry detergent I picked up at Walgreens on sale and with a coupon
for 99¢. I came in at $33.45 over my
regular $25 budget which puts me at -$7.45 for the year so far.
Our regular
groceries included lots of fresh produce, lunch meat, meat, a few extra lunch items
(when my $50 ran out) and some dairy items.
I stalked up on canned goods and pastas too. I used a lot of coupons, digital coupons
downloaded to my rewards cards and shopped the sales and markdown bins as much
as possible. Here is what I got:
Groceries
|
$$$
|
|||
Jasmine rice - 5#
|
3.99
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Olive oil
|
5.99
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Almond milk (2)
|
2.98
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Raspberry jam
|
2.99
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Green olives
|
1.99
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Olives (6)
|
4.74
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Blueberries
|
0.99
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Blackberries
|
1.49
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Angus beef hotdogs (3)
|
5.97
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Parmesan
|
1.49
|
Sale
|
Grocery Outlet
|
|
Bananas
|
1.14
|
Albertsons
|
||
Yogurt (12)
|
3.00
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Spaghetti (2)
|
1.18
|
Store Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Linquine (2)
|
1.18
|
Store Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Sugar - 4#
|
1.99
|
Store Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Tomato sauce (4)
|
1.00
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Taco seasoning (4)
|
2.00
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Cake mix (4)
|
3.16
|
Store Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Ground beef
|
9.39
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Pork ribs
|
6.03
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Crab
|
1.99
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Customer Appreciation
|
(3.00)
|
Digital Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Hotdog buns
|
0.69
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Cheese balls
|
0.49
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Coleslaw mix
|
1.39
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Salad mix
|
1.39
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Apples
|
2.74
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Red onion
|
0.84
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Plums
|
3.40
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Bananas
|
1.68
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Kiwi
|
1.00
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Tuna
|
0.29
|
Digital Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Whipped topping
|
0.64
|
Digital Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Tater tots
|
1.79
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
French fries
|
1.79
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Almonds
|
5.19
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Lunch meat (2)
|
3.98
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Milk - 1 gal (2)
|
3.58
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Sliced cheese (2)
|
3.76
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Chips - 32ct
|
6.99
|
Sale/Digital
Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Pasta (4)
|
2.76
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Yogurt (12)
|
2.98
|
Sale/Digital
Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Swiss
|
1.00
|
Markdown
|
Albertsons
|
|
Cheddar (2)
|
2.50
|
Markdown
|
Albertsons
|
|
Ground turkey (2)
|
3.38
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Lunch meat (2)
|
2.50
|
Markdown
|
Albertsons
|
|
Bananas
|
0.93
|
Albertsons
|
||
Customer Appreciation
|
(3.00)
|
Digital Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Onions
|
0.35
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Mushrooms
|
0.99
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Bananas
|
1.04
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Bell pepper
|
0.99
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Apples
|
3.70
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Zucchini
|
0.44
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Nectarines
|
1.48
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Tomatoes
|
1.74
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Romaine
|
0.99
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Bread
|
0.49
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
WW Hamburger buns
|
1.29
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Flour - 10#
|
3.29
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
WW Flour - 5#
|
3.99
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Ground pork
|
1.83
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Sour cream (2)
|
1.00
|
Sale/Digital
Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Cottage cheese
|
0.75
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Cream cheese (2)
|
1.96
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Oat bread
|
1.07
|
Sale/Digital
Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Sandwich buns
|
0.99
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Hotdog buns
|
1.25
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Pasta sauce
|
1.00
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Tomato sauce (2)
|
0.98
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Lettuce
|
1.44
|
Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Cilantro
|
0.50
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Stir fry veggies (2)
|
2.98
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Mushrooms
|
0.99
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Zucchini
|
0.69
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Nectarines
|
2.13
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Coleslaw mix
|
1.39
|
Fred Meyer
|
||
Bananas
|
0.53
|
Markdown
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Grapes
|
2.32
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Tortillas
|
1.29
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Tortillas
|
1.49
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Corn Tortillas
|
1.49
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Kind bar
|
FREE
|
Friday Freebie
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Powerbar
|
FREE
|
Friday Freebie
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Tortillas
|
FREE
|
Coupon
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Ice cream
|
1.99
|
Sale
|
Fred Meyer
|
|
Mac & cheese (4)
|
2.96
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Mac & cheese (4)
|
FREE
|
Overcharged/refunded in FULL
|
Albertsons
|
|
Mayonnaise (2)
|
3.98
|
Sale/Coupon
|
Albertsons
|
|
Cereal (2)
|
3.38
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Frozen veg (5)
|
4.40
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Weiners (2)
|
1.99
|
Markdown
|
Albertsons
|
|
Lunch meat (2)
|
2.00
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Bananas
|
1.68
|
Albertsons
|
||
Corn (4)
|
1.00
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Grapes
|
2.29
|
Sale
|
Albertsons
|
|
Lettuce
|
1.29
|
Albertsons
|
||
Total
|
$ 192.17
|
$192.17 ÷ 31 days ÷3 people = $2.07 per person per day!
Still higher than I
would like, but overall not bad. How did
you do last month? Any great bargains?
This budget month runs from August 1 through August 31
Great job.. not a bad overage,considering you had to buy school lunch stuff also..Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Judy. I'm okay with it. Hoping for a better September budget. :)
DeleteVery impressive! I am an impulse shopper which leads to excessive shopping.
ReplyDeleteThat can be tricky. There are so many temptations, aren't there?
Delete