Once a Month Grocery Shopping-A New Venture

I have been trying for a couple months to figure out how to handle our grocery budget.  I have had the same budget for about 3 years.  The only problem is my son is growing, while he doesn't eat a lot of different foods (he's quite picky) he eats a lot of fruit, peanut butter sandwiches, milk, and juice.  I also started babysitting another 2 year old 3 days a week so the juice and snacks dwindle faster. I've been having a really hard time sticking within my $30 budget in part because of this, the lack of sales on basics, the increase in food prices, and stores in my area no longer doubling coupons.  It is desperately hard for me to "stock up" on basics like canned tomatoes, canned veggies, flour, sugar, etc, because it seems most of the coupons I've been getting for these items are internet printable (which means I can only print 2, which usually means I can only buy 2 or 4 of the item depending on the coupon). 2 cans of tomatoes will last me about a week and if I'm lucky 2.  So while I might get a fantastic deal on a few cans I don't actually get a huge stockpile that's gonna last me months on end til the next great sale, which is what I have been able to do in the past with couponing.

Milk has also been an issue in our house, making it even more difficult to stay within a $30 budget. We go through about 4-5 gallons a week now and when it's not on sale it's $2.79/gal, that's a max of $14 a week just in milk and when you're trying to work with only $30 and another $10 of it goes to meat purchases, and $2 towards 2 loaves of bread a week (Grant will pretty much only eat peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast), that leaves $4.  Definitely not enough even for this couponer to get everything else we need for a weeks worth of meals.

So I've been looking into changing things up a bit.  Since I have only been going over budget by about $30-$40 a month (so about $10 a week)  I know I don't need to change the amount of money by too much, it's just making that amount work for us without needing more.  I've been looking into once a month grocery shopping and the only thing that's been holding me back is  the couponer in me.  I've helped my mom refine her couponing skills, and taught my aunt how to coupon, it's like it's in my blood now.  I can't bear to pay for toothpaste and paying over $1.50 for shampoo physically pains me.  So naturally this part of me says once a month shopping will never work for me.  It says I will miss out on the great deals and rock bottom prices I typically look for.  I'm fighting that part of myself.

We have a baby coming soon and the idea of grocery shopping with an infant and a 3 year old sends me into a small anxiety attack.  Especially with the idea of how I shop now, meaning the 3-4 stores I go to in one morning.  Getting Grant in and out and keeping him satisfied through each one is proving to be more and more of a challenge.  My patience isn't what it used to be and I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that for both his and my sanity the 3 stores in a single morning, getting a handful of items, and spending hours making and tweaking menu plans and grocery lists only to realize I can't get everything we actually need with our previous budget, is not working and needs changing.  I've seen many woman with 3 and 4 kids at the store, and you are rock stars, I just don't have it in me.

I've been reading how other's do their once a month shopping and I'm trying to figure out how to make it work for me and my family.  I still want to be able to get those stellar rock bottom coupon sales but I want to have the luxury of shopping for the bulk of what we need all in one trip.  Naturally since we live in a 2 bedroom apartment with no room for a deep freeze (oh how I miss our large chest deep freezer) I can't buy enough milk and bread in one trip to last us a month, which means I will have to make at least a weekly trip somewhere to get milk and bread.  But that small 5 minute trip into a store is a lot better than the normal hour or two.  I have noticed my weekly lists have a lot of the same items on it and it's only recently I've decided I'm really tired of shopping for the exact same items every week when I could just buy enough in the beginning of the month to last us until the end.  In the past my attitude has been "maybe that item will be on sale or there will be a great coupon out for it and I can get it cheaper, so I'll just get one this week and cross my fingers for next week".  Buying bulk for the month is one thing that is really difficult to do with a small budget.  Obviously with $30-$40 a week to spend there was no way I could spend $15 on a package of 36 rolls of toilet paper, or $13 on a 25lb bag of sugar.  It was too much of a dent in the budget so I've been buying these items every week to two weeks depending on our use.

So my plan, cuz I always have to have a plan, is to start the beginning of next month by making a monthly meal plan.  I specifically chose November to start this venture because my husband happens to get an extra check so I figure if I royally screw up, we have a little more leeway financially to fix my mistakes.  I also want to start now so if this does work for us I have a few months to master it and get a system down before baby comes, that way my husband will only have to make a small trip to the store for milk, eggs, and bread (Lord only knows what he would end up buying or spending if I sent him to the store with my normal list). 
I have already written down the basics of what we go through in a month.  Those basics being milk, bread, eggs, flour, sugar, toilet paper, and juice.  I wrote down all the meals I've made in the past and a few I've been wanting to try.   I still have to take inventory of our pantry and freezer to find out what we already have and how many of those meals I can make with most of those ingredients.  I'm hoping the list of our "needs" for the rest of the ingredients, and our basics, will be within our budget with enough for some wiggle room for those fantastic coupon sales that pop up throughout the week.

I'm really nervous but hoping this will simplify my life a little, right in time for the holiday season, and eliminate the problem of getting to the end of the month and realizing I have all of $10 left in my budget to buy toilet paper, 3 gallons of milk, 2 loaves of bread, a dozen eggs, and 2 bottles of juice.  I'll let you know how it all goes.

Freezer Staples

There are a few things I ALWAYS try to keep in my freezer and I look for these items on sale or on manager special marked down.  Having these things always helps when trying to get by on spending less at the grocery store.  It makes it easy to throw meals together on the fly and makes it possible for me to have a tiny grocery budget.

1. bell peppers (red, green, and yellow) wash and slice them, put them in a freezer bag.  When you want to use them either thaw out the amount you need or defrost in the microwave.  They will be a little water logged but I just spread them out on a kitchen towel and place another towel over the top, press down to absorb the water then use in whatever recipe I'm making.
2. chicken or veggie stock.  I make my own chicken stock when I have bone in chicken breast or a whole chicken I need to cook.  I have a bag in my freezer for leftover veggie parts that I use to make veggie stock.  These include the pieces of celery or carrots you would normally cut off and throw away, corn ears (after I scrape the corn off and freeze it for future use), leftover pieces of onion, etc.  When I get about 2 cups worth of veggies I fill my pot with them and water, add a little salt and pepper and maybe a bay leaf and let it simmer for a while.  Separate the veggie parts from the liquid and freeze the liquid in 1cup portions.
3. veggies, any and all that you can fit but especially broccoli, corn, and stir fry mixed vegetables.  The broccoli and mixed veggies I like to have to make a quick stir fry.
4. blueberries.  I buy these in the summer when they are around $1.25-$1.50 a pint.  They are my favorite fruit to add to muffins, oatmeal, yogurt, or cobbler.  I usually try to have about 3 quart size bags of them in my freezer and that gets me through the winter until they start going on sale again.
5. Meat. In an ideal world I would have smoked sausage, chicken breast, ground beef, pork loin, pork chops, and beef roast in my freezer at all times.  Unfortunately this is rare.  I usually have 3 or 4 of these but not all.  The more variety you have on hand the less bored you will feel with your menu planning. 

A Weeks Worth of Grocery Basics

I think a lot about food, grocery shopping, and budgeting.  I'm always trying to get more for less out of my grocery shopping trips, trying to make the food we have go further and always trying to save more in our budget for other things.  Over the past few years of having a small grocery budget there have been many times where I had to come up with a weeks worth of meals with seemingly nothing to make them from.  Because of that I have compiled a list of must have items, if your grocery budget is tiny or you're trying to make it smaller this week to put money towards something else here are the things you should buy during your grocery trip.

Prices will vary depending on where you live and these are the prices if none of the items are on sale that week, at my grocery stores.

1. Potatoes $2.50
2. Pasta $1.00
3. Canned tomatoes $1.00 for 28oz can at Aldi
4. celery $1.19
5. onions $1.99 for 2lb
6. carrots $0.99 for 1lb
7. rice about $2.00
8. meat (chicken, beef, or pork, whatever is on sale that week)
9. eggs $1.68/dozen
10. bread $0.79 at Aldi

       Total before the cost of meat is $13.14.  You can usually find frozen chicken breast in a bag for about $7 if nothing is on sale.  Usually in my area you can get fresh boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.99/lb or less depending on the store.  This makes family packs of about 7 chicken breasts about $7.  I cut them in half at their width making myself 14 chicken breasts, more than enough for us.

When we lived in Tennessee, my husband's job depended a lot on the weather, if it rained he didn't work so we never knew how much money we were actually going to have at the end of the week.  Obviously we couldn't not pay our electric or rent so we cut costs where we could, groceries.  During those weeks I had this go to list in my mind. If it was on sale I would always buy boneless skinless chicken breast because I can use it in more ways than any other meat, but that's just me.

Potatoes of any kind, mashed, roasted, fried, wedges, homemade French fries, or baked.  I'd change it up each night but we ate a lot of potatoes.  If you have canned tomatoes you can add them to almost anything, pasta, over rice, or pour a can of diced tomatoes over a few chicken breast and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes and you have a yummy main dish.  I try to stock up on them every time they are on sale or I have a coupon, and keep various kinds, crushed, diced, whole, and tomato sauce.  Celery, onions, and carrots are the 3 items you can add to about anything to add flavor,  rice to make fried rice, meatloaf, chicken pot pie or chicken-less pot pie, throw them in the crockpot with a beef or pork roast and some potatoes, sauté them with chicken chunks and add to rice. 
Eggs were always a must because in the worst case scenario we could always have scrambled eggs and toast, French toast, or omelets with just cheese (if we had any) or whatever veggies we had in the fridge or freezer.  These basic items will get you through at least a weeks worth of simple meals.  Remember we aren't looking for a knock your socks off dinner for your in-laws, just some simple meals to get you through a tough week spending as little as possible.

Week #9 Grocery Shopping

This week there were so many great deals on produce I went a little crazy.  Not many things sound good to me these days and the ever present nausea makes it a lot more difficult to grocery shop and meal plan (which is why I haven't done it much lately).  Nothing really sounds good to me except take out, fresh fruit, and hot dogs.  So great home cooked meals of meatloaf and mashed potatoes have been set aside for hot dogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese, and anything else that doesn't keep me standing over as stove for an hour.  That being said, here's what I bought this week:

Bread $0.83

Hamburger buns $0.99

Hot dog buns $0.99

Yellow peppers (on clearance) $1.54

Chicken Breast (on markdown) $3.18 used a store coupon for $2 off any meat purchase= $1.18

4 1/2lbs Bananas @ $0.38/lb= $1.71

Ocean Spray juice $2.50 used $1.00 coupon= $1.50

Kraft shredded cheese $2.00

2pkg Eckrich Cheddar bacon links (part of the buy 7 get $7 off) $1.49 used $0.55 coupon that doubled to $1.10= $0.39 each

2 pkg Bacon $1.89 each

3pkg Hot dogs $0.79 each

2 Herbal Essence body washes $2.45 used 2- $1.00 manufacturer coupons and a $2.00 off any health and beauty purchase store coupon making them each $0.45.

Softsoap Foaming hand soap on clearance @ $1.49 used $0.35 coupon that doubled to $0.70= $0.79 

 

Not pictured: Angel soft toilet paper 6 roll $2.24 used $0.45 coupon that doubled to $0.90= $1.34

Watermelon $2.99

2lbs Grapes @ $0.99/lb =$2.00

Milk- I actually haven't bought any yet, that comes tomorrow since I was so beat after the grocery store and other stops I had to make, I decided one grocery trip was enough for one day.

 

Total Spent (before milk purchase) $25.94

 

With milk my total will be about $32 but since I purchased multiple toiletry items I give myself a little cushion.

Week #8- The Over Budget Grocery Shopping

Do you ever have one of those weeks where you feel like all the time you spend budgeting, couponing, etc is a complete and utter waste of time.  In total I spend hours each week sorting, clipping, and organizing coupons, checking the coupon websites, making my list, and adding and subtracting every way possible to keep everything within my tiny $30 budget.  I consider this part of my job of being a stay at home mom, making my husbands paycheck go as far as possible.  However this past week many things happened that made me feel like it was a waste, at least for this week.  So I don't have a $30 shopping trip to show you because I did what I never do, I went into the store with no list and didn't even keep a running tally of what I was buying.  I didn't go crazy throwing everything that looked good in my cart, cuz I just can't do that, but I ended up going $15 over  budget.

You see when I go to the grocery store I have a list with the prices, the coupons, the price after coupons, the total amount spent, and how many of each item I need to buy, and usually my total amount spent is within pennies of my $30 budget.  Meaning I spend every last dime with no room for adding last minute items.  My husband used to be really bad about coming with me and adding multiple items to my cart, things he "needed" but forgot to tell me about.  He's gotten much better now after me complaining  explaining how I do my list and how important it is to stay on budget.  Now instead of just putting things in the cart he points to things that are on sale (I've taught him well) and makes sure I see them, knowing he wants me to buy them.  Normally I just say "yea I saw that" and go on with what's on my list.  This shopping trip, because of the week I was having, I said screw it.  When he pointed at the Tyson chicken tenders that were on sale for $3.99, instead of saying my usual, I said nothing and just put them in the cart.  When the Gordon's fish fillets were right next to them, again I said nothing and put them in the cart.  I rarely buy frozen items like this because I would rather spend my budget on chicken breast, ground beef, or pork loin that will last longer.  I bought ice cream, which I don't think I've bought in about a year (it was only $1.50 with a coupon but I would normally pass it up anyway).  I have no menu plan for this week because again I've felt like my efforts are lost.

I've been doing a $30 grocery budget for about 3 years now, and I consider myself pretty good at making sure we have everything we need including meat, fresh fruit, veggies, and enough food for 7 dinners, lunches, and breakfasts.  There have been few times where I have went over budget by more than a couple dollars and I pride myself on that.  I know plenty of people who say they have a $100 budget and spend $120 or more during the week without batting an eye.  I'm just not like that, our budget doesn't allow it and normally I'm ok with it but when you have one of those moments where you feel like your the only one giving this budget your all, you figure what's the point?

That's where I'm at today.  I'm in a mood, and not a great one.  No worries because I know me and I know this coming week will be back to normal with the usual hours spent clipping, organizing, and making lists to stick to my $30.  I guess maybe everyone needs a break sometimes.  Maybe every one needs to get out of the norm for a day or so to get rejuvenated.

If not this is what I'm going to tell myself to make me feel better.

Week #7- Grocery Shopping

This past week I was a little disappointed with the lack of sales to combine with coupons, and meat sales, there were like zilch! Meijer did have a pretty good sale on their fresh produce so I decided to focus on that this week.  I love the summer for the produce sales and I try to stock up on what I can to freeze for the winter months when I would have to pay $5 for a pint of blueberries rather than the $1.50, I pay now.
I only had $24.50 to work with this week because I bought my weekly milk and dozen eggs last week at amazing prices.

 

4 Old Orchard frozen juices- $1.00 each

2 Heinz ketchup pouches $0.97 used a $0.55 coupon that doubled to $0.97 making them FREE

1 Sunny D- $1.00

1 Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning $2.39 used a $1.00 coupon = $1.39

2 Chobani Greek yogurt $1.00 used a $0.30 coupon that doubled to $0.60 making  them $0.40 each

1 Meijer brand canned tuna- $0.79

2 blue bonnet margarine quarters $0.75 each

1 French baguette $1.00

1 head of lettuce $0.99

3 Roma Tomatoes @ $1.29/lb= $1.10

Fresh Green beans @ $0.77/lb=$1.29

Green seedless grapes @ $0.89/lb= $2.08

8 ears of sweet corn= $2.00

1 large container of Meijer brand Quick Oats (not pictured cuz I forgot) $2.29

TOTAL: $20.23

 

 

This week has been a bit busy which is why this post is about 4 days late, and to beat it all I'm still not actually done grocery shopping and it's now going on Wednesday.  As the total shows I still have about $4 leftover, which I had intentions of buying bread, garlic, and shredded cheese with.  However since it's mid week and I'm beginning to wonder when I'm going to get to the store, this leftover budget will roll to this coming Friday's shopping trip if needed.

 

Since the menu plan for this week is off  the top of my head and not really planned (I have good reason trust me, just can't discuss it yet) I decided not to post one.  I did however use the French bread above to make some delish Italian garlic croutons, and we have had salad for multiple meals and snacks using them.  I froze 5 ears of corn for future use since I love stocking up on the fresh veggies in the summer to have that same flavor in the winter.  I also blanched and froze all the fresh green beans I purchased for future use when canned isn't on sale and I have none in my cabinet.

 

 

The fresh produce in my favorite part of summer grocery shopping!

 

Pioneer Woman's Tomato Soup

I am in love with this tomato soup.  I will never eat a can of Campbell's again nor will I make any other kind from scratch, Pioneer Woman has ruined me for all other tomato soups.  I don't use the Sherry she calls for because I never have alcohol in our house and I don't see the point in going out and buying some for one recipe.  I promise you will not miss it if you choose not to use it.

I don't normally have fresh herbs on hand, as I'm sure most of you out there don't, so I have used dried parsley and dried basil and the flavor is still there.  I don't measure mine but I probably put in about 1T parsley and 1-2t basil.
I have made this many times with the diced tomato but I guess I'm too used to canned tomato soup that is smooth, no chewing involved, and I think I prefer it that way as does my husband.  So this time I put in a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes instead of the diced and I love it twice as much, if that's possible.
My mom made fun at me for cooking a hot tomato soup when it's nearly 100 degrees outside but this soup is THAT good!  It's all year round good!

Menu Plan Week #6

I'm slowly starting to get back into the "cooking" around our house.  After being on vacation it seems to take a week or so to get back into the swing of things, not to mention other things going on but I'm ready for some good home cooked meals.

1. Homemade Tomato, Basil, and Mushroom pizza
2. Pioneer Woman's Tomato Soup (by far the best tomato soup I have ever tasted!) and grilled cheese
3. BBQ ribs, corn bread, mashed potatoes, and fresh peaches (my mom has a peach tree that started producing mass quantities of peaches so I hit the jackpot and started peeling slicing and freezing them)
4. Jambalaya
5. Breakfast
6. Turkey Franks (Jennie-O turkey franks are awesome and I'm not much for turkey dogs but I have to make the exception for these.  I could eat these in place of regular hot dogs and be just fine), mac & cheese, green beans
7. Leftovers

Week #6 Shopping- Grocery Challenge

Since we were out of town last week, and most of the week was consumed with unpacking, laundry, and getting back into our normal routine, shopping and menu planning were on the bottom of my list.  So we ate whatever I felt like cooking and whatever was easiest. 

This week we are right back to normal, and at first when I looked at the sale ads and coupon match-ups I was a little disappointed thinking the deals were not at all as good as I had hoped, but it turned out to be a pretty good week.

Friday morning shopping and here's what I came home with:

I hit two stores today Kroger and Aldi, and I didn't get my usual $10 worth of meat since there were no good deals on any and I refuse to pay more than I would normally.

 

2-Honey Nut Cheerios Crunch Medley $2.29 used coupon $0.85 that doubled to $1.70 = $0.59 each

2-Froot Loop Treasures $1.99 used $0.70 coupon that doubled to $1.40 = $0.59 each

2- Green Giant Veggie Chips $0.99 used $0.50 coupon that doubled to $1.00 making them both free

4- Bugles $0.99 used $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00 = $0.49 each (my husband likes these to take to work for his lunch)

1-Aloha Hawaiian Punch $2.29 used $1.00 coupon = $1.29

2- Canned Veggies $0.67 each since my sister works there we get a 10% discount on Kroger brand items making them $0.60 each

3- Gallons Milk $1.50 each on Manager's Special

1-Loaf Bread = $0.85

1-Hot Dog Buns= $0.89

1- Hamburger Buns= $0.89

10lbs Potatoes $2.99

2lbs Onions= $1.69

1-Tortilla Shells= $0.99

1lb Strawberries= $1.59

1 pint cherry tomatoes= $0.59

2 bags Carrots= $0.59

1 pint Mushrooms= $0.69

2- Canned Veggies= $0.49 each

1-Canned Diced Tomatoes= $0.79 each

 

TOTAL= $26.95 and I received a $2.00 catalina on a future purchase for buying 2 boxes of Cheerios which I had intended to used for 2 gallons of my milk but of course I got in line and completely forgot. 

 

 

Since I take all of my grocery money for the week from our first check of the month, if I find a great deal on meat, milk, bread, or eggs (the weekly essentials) I stock up for the weeks to come. I do not take money from future weeks for anything else.  I have found when you start doing this, the last week of the month inevitably ends up with hardly no money to spend.  When I went to the milk section of Kroger I noticed they had quite a few gallons marked down to $1.50 each!  Since we go through a minimum 3 gallons a week and the ones on sale had an expiration date of July 23 I knew they would last and I bought them up.  I ended up with 7 gallons, 3 for this week, 3 for next, and 1 for the week after that.  I took all but 1 of the manager special gallons, had I had room for more in my fridge I would have bought it too, but I'm so super excited about the savings.

 

 

Where I would normally spend on average $7.50 a week for milk, this week and next I spent $4.50,  saving $3.  To most $3 doesn't seem like much, and most don't probably wouldn't get a whole lot for $3 but depending on the sale and the coupons $3 can get you a lot when it comes to groceries.

 

The last of my $30 grocery budget this week will be spent on eggs and toilet paper.  Our Giant Eagle has a great deal on toilet paper and 1 dozen for $0.99 which of course I will be buying a months worth this week because they are usually $1.68/dozen.

 

I'm really fortunate to have so many grocery stores so close together so making multiple stops (even though it's not my favorite thing to do) is easy and doesn't cost a lot of extra gas money since I'm not having to go out of my way.

 

Week #5 Grocery Challenge

We have been down south on vacation for the past week and just got home.  A trip that should have taken about 7-8 hours, took us 11.5 hours.  I was not a happy camper but it felt so good to walk through our front door.  Because we were out of town I didn't do a meal plan last week and I have yet to do my grocery shopping this week.  Normally my routine is to grocery shop Friday morning, since we weren't home last friday my plan is to go shopping in the beginning of the week for the essentials, milk and bread, then wait until friday to do the rest of my shopping. 

I have already started compiling my list and printing coupons from coupons.com that match the sales this week.  I missed out on quite a few good deals last week but we had a great time visiting family.  Now it's just time to get back into the swing of things and our normal daily routine.

So if you are waiting for the Challenge this week (and I know so many of you are) , I will be keeping you in suspense a few days longer.

Hope you all had a good 4th of July holiday!

Week #4 Grocery Shopping-$30 Challenge

The meat for this week I already bought during Week 3 here.  So this week the budget leftover after the meat purchase is $20.  There were some good sales this week and alot of them to use coupons with, which I love.
It seriously bums me out to check out at the grocery store and not use any coupons.  It always seems like I bought a little of nothing and spent my whole budget.
It took me 2 hours yesterday to throw out expired coupons, print the ones I needed, clip all my new ones, make my list, and matchup my coupons to my list.  It is mornings like those that make me want to quit couponing, then of course I take a look at our grocery budget and I quickly realize that I can't quit.  I was super excited about this weeks trip because Kroger was having a great buy 10 get $5 off sale with many items I had coupons to match.  I always get my best coupon information from freetastesgood.com.  She is in the Ohio area so most of the time our sales match up really nicely.  There are exceptions though.  It seems at least once a month I plan for this great deal I have read about online, so sure that it's going to work, I make my list based off of this great deal and then it doesn't work.  Last week it was the bologna I thought I was going to get  a $2 catalina when I bought it, but the catalina didn't print and the store manager couldn't find anywhere on the website that there was supposed to be a catalina printing.  Needless to say, that week my trip didn't turn out as planned.

This week was one in the same.  I saw a great deal and catalina printout that was supposd to be for Bayer Aspirin.  They were $2.19 each, you buy 2, use a $4.00 off of 2 coupon and pay $0.38 for both, then get a $3 catalina printout.  It was a moneymaker!!  I was super excited and had planned on buying 4 and getting 2) $3.00 catalinas paying for my milk purchase.  However they did not have the smaller bottles of Aspirin and it was not a moneymaker with what they had in stock.  So no deal.  I was bummed.  All the other items were on the buy 10 get $5 off so if I eliminated 1, I would lose all the sale prices on everything else in my cart.  It was a lose lose so I ended up going $2.63 over budget.  I told my husband how aggravated that made me and he just laughed and said "Lisa, it's $2.  It's not a big deal."  Regardless I worked really hard to keep myself within budget and then to go over, it's like my work was for nothing.

Ok enough rambling and complaining, here's what I got this week:

 

4 containers of KoolAid drink mix $0.99 used 2) $1.00/2 coupons and paid $0.49 each

4 containers countrytime lemonade mix $0.99 used 2) $1.00/2 coupons and paid $0.49 each

1 Reynolds wrap foil 75sq ft $3.29 use $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.00 and paid $1.79

7 containers Reynolds cupcake liners $0.99 used $1.00/1 coupon and they were all free

3 boxes Reynolds mini cupcake liners $1.09 used $1.00/1 coupon and they were $0.09 each

2 bags frozen green gant steamers$ 0.99 each

2 boxes multigrain cheerios $1.99 each used 1) $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.50 making one of them $0.49 and  got a catalina printout or $2

2 boxes Trix cereal $1.99 used 2) $0.60/1 coupon and paid $0.80 each

1 box Hershey's Cookies and Cream cereal $1.99 used $0.75 coupon and paid $0.49

2 boxes Oatmeal Crisp $1.99 each used $0.75/1 coupon and paid $0.49 each



6- 1/2 gallons of milk on managers special for $1.00 each
1/2 gallon Turkey hill lemonade $0.75
Welch's Juice cocktail $2.09 used $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.50 and paid $0.59
Flour $1.42
Coffeemate Creamer 32oz 2.49 used $0.55 coupon that doubled to $1.10 and paid $1.39
Jennie-O Turkey Franks $1.99 used $0.55 coupon that doubled to $1.10 and paid $0.89
Beechnut baby cereal $1.58 used $0.75 coupn that doubled to $1.50 and paid $0.08 (we don't have an infant in the house anymore but I have multiple family members with who just had babies that can get good use out of this and we all know how expensive babies are and every little bit helps when you're a new parent)

Total Spent- $22.63 ( I did 2 transactions using the $2 catalina from the cheerios to pay for 2) 1/2 gallons of milk, making them free.

Even though not getting the great deal I had planned is frustrating I'm really satisfied with my loot I brought home.  The lessoned learned here is to not base your list and total out of pocket spent on a catalina or deal you haven't seen for yourself in the store.

Breakfast Pizza

I love Pioneer Woman's cook books & have been wanting to try her breakfast pizza recipe for awhile now.  So the other morning I decided to give it a go.  I have been using a Garlic pizza crust recipe for a couple years now and its good but I thought I would try her recipe and see if there was a difference.  So I combined the yeast and warm water letting it sit for about 10 minutes.

 

 

Here is where I changed the recipe up a little.  She only had to add salt, I decided to add garlic salt and italian seasoning.  I didn't measure, just threw some in the bowl.

 

Mixed it with the paddle attachment.

 

 

Spread it out on a baking sheet and used a fork to make holes all over the crust so it doesn't bubble up.

 

To make sure it was crispy I went ahead and put it in the oven for about 5 minutes.

The "pizza sauce" is actually salsa, I didn't have any regular jarred salsa so I whipped up my own.  Pioneer Woman has a recipe for that as well, using canned tomatoes.  I, of course, didn't have all the ingredients she called for so I used her recipe as a base.  I'll have that recipe in a future post.

 

 When I decided to make this pizza I had visions of the fantastically gorgeous photos I would have to share, then I kind of burned the sausage and no such luck with the photos.

I used breafast sausage but overcooked it on the stove, which made it burn in the oven and next time I probably will just leave the eggs off.  My husband wasn't crazy about them (probably because they ended up being a little over cooked) and I liked the pizza without them.

You could definately make this a veggie breakfast pizza as well and it would be just as delish.

 

I will be making this again, but without the burned toppings.  I was surpised with how good this tasted and  I actually don't know why I had any doubts about the flavor, being as how I haven't had one Pioneer Woman recipe I've tried not be good.

Pizza Buns

When I was a kid my mom used to make these with leftover hamburger or hot dog buns.  It as simple as can be, just top the inside of the bun with your pizza sauce, cheese, and any pizza toppings you want.  Bake them on a baking sheet @ 350 until the cheese melts (about 10 minutes), and your lunch or dinner is done.

                               

What I love about these is everyone can put their own toppings on, so they are perfectly portioned personal pizzas.  My son loved them as much as I did as a kid.

To make your own pizza sauce:
1-8oz can tomato sauce
1t oregano
1t basil or 2 basil leaves
1/2 t garlic salt
1t minced dried onion
1t olive oil

simmer on the stove for about 10 minutes and top your pizza crust with your yummy sauce.

Menu Plan Week 3 -$30 Grocery Challenge

This week is going to be an easy one when it comes to meals for a few reasons.  1-We just finished the Relay for Life and I'm still not fully recovered, meaning the lower half of my body still aches, ALOT. 2- Our family reunion is this coming weekend and I'm planning on making a Maxwell shirt for Grant to wear.  3- The 4th of July is next week and I enlisted my sewing skills to make yet another Maxwell shirt (4th of July themed of course) to wear to the fireworks.  So I'm not over exerting myself on meals this week, so the preparation will be short, the cleanup will be quick, and I will have no excuse to not finish my projects.

Now on to the meal plan for the week:
1. Tuna Helper- I love Tuna Helper and I've made it from scratch quite a few times but I love to have the boxed mix on hand for quick meals when I'm busy or just feeling lazy.
2. Hot dogs and Kraft Homestyle mac & cheese
3. Pizza Buns- these simple little pizzas take me back to my childhood and daycare days, and Grant loves them.
4. Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwiches with potato wedges
5. Leftovers
6. Breakfast
7. Veggie stir fry with brown rice

One day I'm acutally going to get this meal plan up on Sunday like I keep planning on doing.  Until then......

Week #3 of the $30 Grocery Challenge

This week was a little more difficult to fit in grocery shopping since the Relay for Life is coming up and I have been up to my waist in a mile long to-do list.  I did however make 2 stops, the first was a store I don't normally frequent but they have awesome sales on meat sometimes.  This week it was a 2 day sale, Tuesday and Wednesday, so I took 2 weeks grocery money (the $10 a week I reserve for meat) and stocked up because the sale was too good to pass up.  With the way we budget I take our grocery money for the month out of 1 check at the beginning of the month.  Then I split it into $30 per week and try not to spend over that per week.  The only exception being when there is a fantastic meat sale.  So since I stocked up on 2 weeks worth of my meat purchases the following 2 weeks budgets will have a $20 limit.

5 lbs ground turkey @ $1.99/lb= $10

2 New York Strip steaks @ $2.99ea= $5.98

4 lbs Pork Ribs @ $0.99/lb =$3.99

12pk hamburger buns $1.00

1 lb strawberries $1.50

3 lbs Grapes @ $0.59/lb= $1.70

Sunny Delight $1.00

2 Butterball Turkey Bacon $1.29 used $1.00/1 coupon and paid $0.29ea

Toal $25.75 ($10 of the meat is technically from next weeks grocery budget)

 

Did you notice how the strawberries are almost gone and the juice is opened too? My little guy wouldn't wait for the pic to be taken.

 

 

Sugar $2.58

Dozen Eggs $1.29

1 pint blueberries $1.50

Hot Dog buns $0.89

Tuna $0.69

3 gallons of milk (not pictured) 2.51 each

Total = $14.48

 

Total spent for the week (not including the $10 worth of meat that is for next weeks groceries) $30.23

 

The Best Homemade Waffles

I love homemade waffles.  There is no better breakfast food and I eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I first used a recipe I found in my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook, but it was a little more bland in flavor than I wanted, so I changed it a little bit, cuz you know that's what I do.

 

1 3/4c flour

2T sugar

1T baking powder

2 eggs

1 3/4c milk

1/2c melted butter

1t vanilla (I just pour some in so there's probably more like 2t in my batch)

1/4-1/2t cinnamon (this is what makes these waffles so darn good!)

 

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon together.  Make a well and set aside.

In another bowl beat eggs slightly, stir in milk, butter, vanilla.  Add to flour mixture.  Stir to combine, the batter will be a little lumpy.  Use a 1/4 measuring cup and pour batter into waffle maker.

 

Now, once your waffles are cooked, add butter and syrup and eat.

 

 

Meal Plan Week #2

#1 Spaghetti with garlic bread (I scored some New York garlic bread at Giant Eagle about 3 weeks ago for free with a coupon!)
#2 Pizza Pasta Box Mix

#3 Meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
#4 Grilled chicken and baked potato
      We had this as part of a cookout for Father's Day using the Mountain Dew marinade recipe:

2cups Mountain Dew

1cup soy sauce

1/2cup olive oil

1/2t garlic powder (I have also slice 1 garlic clove and put it in when I've been out of garlic powder.  It works just as well

Let chicken marinade in this overnight.  I've used this recipe dozens of times and everyone I've served it to raves about how delish it is.  The chicken always comes out super moist and even though the combinations of ingredients in the marinade sound kind of disgusting together they make for one tasty piece of poultry.

 



#5 Breakfast
#6 Leftovers
#7 Frozen Pizza (Jack's pizza I bought this week with a coupon for $1.00!)

Grocery Shopping Week 2 of the $30 Grocery Challenge

Here is week 2 and while last week seemed to take me extra time in the stores with the multiple transactions and multiple stores, this week has taken me extra time in the list process.
This week Meijer and Kroger are having similar promotions.  Meijer is having a Buy 8 get $8 off, Kroger is having a Buy 4 get $4 off.  Both of which are fantastic sales the problem I had was narrowing my list down to fit into my small budget.  There were so many fantastic deals I could have went over my $30 in the blink of an eye.  However I was good,  I kept things in check and narrowed my list down.

KoolAid Jammers- $0.99 used a$1.00/2 coupon paid $0.99 for 2

Skittles $0.50 each used a $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00=2 for free

Dove Chocolate bars $0.50 each used a $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00=2 for Free (I bought 4)

Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese $1.29 used a $1.00/1 coupon=$0.29 (I bought 2)

Miracle Whip $2.49 used a $1.00/1 coupon=$1.49

Philly Cream cheese $0.99 used $0.50/2 coupon doubled to $1.00=$0.99 for 2

A1 steak sauce $1.99 used $0.55/1 doubled to $1.10=$0.89 (I bought 2)

Kraft Cheese Singles $1.49 used $0.50/2 coupon doubled to $1.00=$0.99 each (I bought 2)

Jack's Frozen Pizza $2.50 used $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.50=$1.00 (I bought 2)

Delifresh Lunch Meat $1.49 used 2-$1.00/2 coupon=$1.00 each (I bought 5 and received a $4 Catalina Coupon printout at checkout)

Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs $0.99 coupon $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00 (I bought 2)

Mott's Fruit Snacks $2.00 used $0.75 that doubled to $1.50=$0.50 (I bought 1)

Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage Links $1.68 used $1.00/1 coupon=$0.68

Nutella $2.49 used $1.00 coupon=$1.49 each (I bought 2)

Oscar Meyer Bologna $0.99 (I bought 3 and was supposed to get a $2 Catalina printout but aparently  that offer had ended without me realizing because I didn't get the printout and the customer service people couldn't find any information about it)

 Total=$23.38

**I used the $4.00 catalina that printed from the Delifresh lunchmeat purchase to buy

Angel Soft Toilet Paper $4.99 used $0.55/1 coupon that doubled to $1.10=$3.89

and Bread=$0.85 

Total=$4.99 (with tax)-$4 Catalina= $0.99

 

 

Pampers Wipes $0.99 used $0.50/1 coupon that doubled to $0.99 making all 5 I bought Free!

Cascadian Farms Cereal $1.99 used $0.85 coupon that doubled to $1.70 = $0.29 (I bought 2)

Smart Balance Butter Spread $1.59 used $0.50/1 coupon that doubled $1.00= $0.59 (I bought 2)

Juicy Juice $1.88 used $1.00/1 coupon= $0.88 (I bought 2)

3 Gallons Milk =$2 each (these were on sale at Giant Eagle)

2 lbs Grapes $0.97/lb

Total=$11.46

 

Total Spent at both stores = $35.83

 

The total was supposed to be $33.83 because I thought I would be getting a $2 Catalina for the Oscar Meyer Bologna which was going to be used to pay for the 2lbs of grapes I bought.  Whenever I need toilet paper or lots of toiletries I give myself no more than $5 wiggle room.  What is the reason for this you may be asking?  Well lets face it, its hard enough to buy enough food to get by for $30 but when you add toilet paper, laundry detergent, cleaning products, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc, it can be near impossible to not go over budget.  Another reason for the wiggle room is that I don't buy toiletries every week and the only thing I buy regularly is toilet paper, which depending on the sale and the week I can usually make it fit into the budget.  I make my own laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, cleaning products, and buy my shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, etc when it is at the lowest price possible and buy enough to last me 6 months to a year.  So when other people are spending $4/bottle for shampoo, I normally pay $1.00 or less.  Deodorant I don't pay more than $0.25 for women's and $0.49 for men's.  I never pay for toothpaste, and shave gel is not more than $0.49 for men's and $0.20 for women's.

 

Once you start couponing and start a small stockpile you will get a feel for the sales and what items you can get at certain prices.  I know I can get deodorant for under $0.49 so I don't buy it unless it's at that price.  When it is on sale I buy 4 which lasts me until the next time it's free or at the price I want to pay.  That's how you start saving the most, by stocking enough of the item to get you through until the next sale when the item's at the lowest price.

 

If you coupon for nothing else, which would be crazy might I add, coupon for toiletries.  These are the items that can take up the bulk of any budget during any given week and contributes nothing to the bellies of your hungry family.

 

Sausage and Sauerkraut

I love easy throw together meals and smoked sausage and kraut is 1 of my favorites.  2 of my grandparents are southern and therefore I partly grew up on southern cooking and let me tell you, I don't know if there is any better.  My Mamaw used to make sausage and kraut on a regular basis, always with some good ol' mashed potatoes, so cooking it now is like a trip down memory lane.

 

All I do is put a jar of partially drained Vlasic kraut in a pan or pot, add some sliced smoked sausage or Lil' Smokies and let simmer for about 20 minutes.  Whip up some mashed potatoes and you are set. 

That's what Rachel Ray and I call a 30 minute meal.

 

 

 

Start Couponing and Start Saving

Couponing is one of the main ways I keep my grocery budget at a mere $30 a week.  I have been serious about it for the last year and have gotten pretty good, if I do say so myself.  I have yet to figure out how to get $500 worth of groceries for free but I also don't know what I would do with all those groceries anyways, so I thought I'd share just a few things I've learned.

Every couponer has their own way of doing things.  If there's one thing I have learned it's you have to do what makes sense to you.  I started out with a little accordian folder.  That got old really fast and I quickly switched to a binder with baseball card holders inside.

 

This was the only thing that made sense for me. I've seen other's use shoe boxes, accordian files, and even suitcases. Do what works for you.

 

I don't carry my binder with me, into every store, every day.  Cuz that would be crazy.  Instead I carrry a little 4x6 photo album that I use as a small coupon organizer.  I have slots labeled with the names of the stores, with the coupons I need for each store in those slots.

I also use envelopes if I need to do more than 1 transaction.  This keeps me more organized in the store.  I have my list with what I'm purchasing in each transaction and put those coupons in the envelope.

 

Then those envelopes go in the store's slot.

For easy quick access.

 

When I've taught a couple family members how to start couponing one of the questions I got was "how do I make my lists?"  Well here is how I start:

1st I visit my favorite coupon websites for their store match-ups.  While looking at those sites I make a list for the store(s) I plan on shopping at, the items at the lowest prices, and the coupons needed (to make sure I have them).

Here is what it looks like:

After I have my list of the best deals and their prices after coupons, I start figuring out what I'm actually going to buy with my whopping $30.

I have a few websites I check regularly for coupon match-ups, here are my favorites:

freetastesgood.com - this site is by Joni from Extreme Couponing and she lives in Toledo, Ohio so most of the deals and prices she lists are relevant for my area as well which is why her site is the one I check most frequently.  This is the one I use to make my weekly shopping lists.

krazycouponlady.com- this site is by Joannie from Extreme Couponing but she lives in California so some of the stores she lists and deals aren't good where I live.  She does have great deals for magazines.  I've gotten Rachel Ray and Taste of Home for under $4 a year the last couple years.

livingonacoupon.com-this site is by Jessica from Extreme Couponing and she lives in Idaho.  Once again many of the stores and deals aren't relevant to my area but she does post coupons and other deals the other sites don't have.

These sites are how I create my shopping list.  I generally write down all the best deals and then go through to pick what I need and what will work within my budget for that week.  I have had to pass up some great deals because of my small budget and what I need for that week, but we have never done without any necessities.

I get the Sunday paper delivered to my house every week, but unless it is full of loads of amazing coupons I don't normally buy any more than the 1.  Instead I go to coupon clipping websites and purchase multiples of the coupons I need.  This also gives me the opportunity to get regional coupons that I didn't get in my paper.

thecouponclippers.com based in Florida, and I've had great success with them.  They do have a minimum purchase of $3.96 which can be annoying when you only want a handful of coupons.

klip2save.com based in Tennessee.  I love them because I get the coupons the quickest and they have no minimum purchase, which is fantastic.  I can order 5 coupons or 50 and it's ok.

weclipusave.com based in Tennessee.  They have their coupons up the Wednesday before they actually get in your paper.  Haven't a clue how they do this but they do.  They also sell the whole coupon insert.  I've never needed to purchase the whole thing but it's nice to know I could if I wanted.

Couponing is kind of like a learned art form.  It's quite a bit of information to take in but go to the websites and start perusing through them.  Print a couple coupons, take them to the store, and save some money.   It takes practice and like anything else, the more you do it, the better you will get.  Then you too can make your $30 budget work.  I promise once you start saving you won't be able to stop, it's seriously addicting!