Once a Month Shopping Tips From a Beginner

I am by far no expert as I have just started on my venture of OAMS, however I feel like as a beginner I can share what few things I've learned that have helped me.  Be forewarned this is a long post but hopefully you will find it helpful if you are getting ready to try OAMS.

The first thing I did when I started thinking about trying OAMS was google search it.  In doing so I found dozens of other blogs with statements of how they organize their trips, make their lists, menu plans, budgets, etc.  I read every one I could find to get the concept and tried to figure out what would work for me and my family.  As you will quickly find out, what works for one person fabulously may not work for you and your family in the least.  Most OAMS shoppers have deep freezers to hold their massive quantities of food as well as large pantries.  When I realized this trend while reading multiple blogs I started to get discouraged thinking because we lived in a 2 bedroom apartment with no deep freeze and limited cabinet space I wouldn't be successful.  This is not true.  You may not be able to stock up on a months worth of milk and bread without a deep freeze but you can certainly stock up on many other things with cabinet organization and thinking outside the box in terms of storing items.

I also read many people were doing the bulk of their shopping at Costco and Sam's.  I have never shopped at either so I went online and started to compare prices.  Turns out at this point they couldn't beat what I could find with sale prices and at my local Walmart.  So I started by making a list of items we use often and could buy in bulk, olive oil, veggie oil, flour, sugar, toilet paper, gallons of juice, oatmeal, brown sugar, powdered sugar, etc.  I then went to Walmart, Meijer, and Aldi and wrote down the prices and sizes of each of these items so I could find out where the best prices per size were and so I would know if a sale was actually a great price.  I found that buying a 25lb bag of flour or sugar at Walmart is not necessarily cheaper than buying individual 4 and 5lb bags at other stores, in which case the "in bulk" buying is pointless as I find it a lot easier to find storage for 4 individual 5lb bags of sugar than 1-20lb bag.  I keep my price lists in a notebook along with any other information I come across that might be useful, but I only use this notebook for OAMS info.

Buying the larger package is not always a savings.  My husband and I were recently at Walmart to get non-grocery related items when he informed me we were down to the last slice of cheese (he, of course didn't inform me of this before my OAMS trip and when I did my inventory days earlier we still had plenty).  So we went to the grocery section and he started to pick up the 24 slice package for $2.98.  I had bought this size just a week earlier and told him I had no desire to make another trip to the store in a week for more cheese so I picked up the large 72 slice package for $10.98.  When we started to make our way to the checkout I started doing the math: 3 packages of 24 slice cheese (72 total slices, the same amount in the large package I was planning on buying) totaled$ 8.94, and yet I was getting ready to pay $10.98 for the same amount of cheese. It was the same brand and everything so I of course put back the big package and bought 3 of the smaller ones.  So always make sure to figure up if your actually getting a deal by purchasing items in bulk.

I also started putting dates marked on masking tape on just about everything when I open something.  This way I know how long it takes us to run out of that item.  I keep this written down in my OAMS notebook as well.  The point behind this is so I won't run out of things mid-month and have to do a larger grocery trip than planned.  I will know we go through a bag of sugar in a max of 10 days, so if my main monthly shopping trip is planned for this weekend and I know we have 2 bags of sugar left in the pantry, I know I will have to buy at least 1 more to have enough for the entire month.  Waiting to run out of items before buying them when you're trying to do OAMS defeats the purpose of making a huge shopping trip at the beginning of the month.

I didn't actually have a "budget" for my first shopping trip as I really wasn't for sure how much we had been spending.  I knew how much I had been intending to spend, $120/month, but we were spending that entire amount within the first 2-3 weeks.  I was also using my own monthly "spending money" for small grocery purchases at the Dollar Tree and quick trips to the store which I wasn't counting in my monthly grocery spending.  This unknown is why I chose to pick a month we had a little more wiggle room with finances to start my OAMS.  We had run out of many of the basics and were very low on canned veggies, baking items, and meat, so I knew it would cost more than I would plan to spend.  I plan on keeping a detailed record of how much we spend throughout the month including our weekly  small trips so I will have a more accurate view of what our budget should be.

Before I even made my first trip to the store I made a list of every dinner, breakfast, and snack item I had ever made.  I saved this list to my computer for a quick reference when making out my monthly meal plans.  It will save you loads of time and it keeps me from repeating the same meals because my brain farts constantly and I can't think of anything to cook.  So when making my monthly menu I go over the list and start choosing what I think we should eat that month.  I also write down a few snacks and breakfasts so I don't forget to write down the ingredients on my grocery list and so I don't forget to make them.  I get very caught up in making sure I have everything I need to make multiple dinners that I forget Grant also needs snacks during the day and a home cooked breakfast a few times a week.  So it's a necessity to have these things written down on my meal plan so I know what I have the ingredients to make.

Every month when you are sitting down to make out your menu plan, look back at your menu from the previous month and enter in any meals you ended up not cooking for whatever reason.  Because of holidays and unplanned things I ended up not cooking at least a weeks worth of meals I had planned for November.  I immediately write these meals in for the month of December because I already know I have all the ingredients to make them.  This saves me on my grocery budget for the trip I'm planning and allows more wiggle room to buy bulk items or more meat.

If possible buy more than you need.  If your budget is super small, and sometimes depending on what we need and what unexpected events have occurred, ours is, then you may not be able to buy anymore than what you absolutely will use.  However even if you have an extra $5 you can buy extra of something.  I try to buy large bottles of veggie oil and olive oil even though I could buy a smaller, less expensive bottle to get through the month.  I also buy extra bags of flour, sugar, and brown sugar, along with extra meat than we will typically use.  I always buy the family package of meat and separate it into individual or meal portions.  In November I bought a family package of Chicken consisting of 7 boneless skinless chicken breast.  When I got home I did as I always do and cut them in half making 2 thinner chicken breast (which is more than enough for one person if we are eating marinated/grilled chicken).  So I ended up with 14 chicken breasts from the one package.  There is no way we can use that many in one month so they actually carried over into December and part of January.  This saved me from having to buy that meat and gave me extra meals to make without adding to my grocery list.

If you are planning on going to multiple stores to get all your months worth of groceries make sure you go to all those stores in the same day.  If you don't it will inevitably happen that something will come up or you won't feel like going to the store you put off and you will be lacking an ingredient you need for a meal that month.  There is nothing more annoying with OAMS than spending time making your list and meal plans only to get toward the middle of the month, get ready to make a meal, and realize your missing one ingredient.  I did this my first month (November) and swore not to make the same mistake again.

My biggest tip when starting your OAMS venture is to get real with yourself.  By this I mean, be completely honest about what you use, how much of it you use, and how quickly you use it.  Over the last couple months I have found myself doing what I used to do when I was shopping weekly.  I would think to myself, for example "we have half a bottle of veggie oil, I should put that on my list but my budget is almost maxed out and we can probably get through the month with 1/2 a bottle".  I used to put off buying things for the sake of staying in budget all the time with my weekly trips.  This is how you end up running out of all your basics and you eventually are forced to go way over budget in order to have basic ingredients to cook your meals.  It is better to possibly go over budget by a few dollars one month than to run out of multiple items and have to go over by $20+ another month.  I now keep a list on my fridge and whenever I notice we are running low on any food, spices, cleaning products, or toiletries, I write it on the list.  This will save you from having to do a large pantry inventory every month before your trip.

December Monthly Meal Plan

November went great with my first experience in once a month shopping and a monthly meal plan.  I absolutely loved knowing I had all the ingredients to make everything on my meal plan. not worrying if I needed to run to the store to pick up a last minute item.  The only hitch in my whole plan was an unexpected visit from my in-laws the weekend before Thanksgiving.  We decided to do an early Thanksgiving dinner with them since they would be returning home before the actual Thanksgiving day.  I hadn't planned for this meal and all it's fixin's so I had to do a much larger weekly shopping trip.

Now that it's December it's time for another month of meals.  Due to our Christmas plans and having so many family celebrations I figured up we would need 20 meals planned out for the month.  Because of how my husband's checks fall this month I wont be doing my large shopping trip until later and therefore I made a list of all the meals we didn't end up making during the month of November, but still have all the ingredients to make them, and added them to December.  This should get us through until my large trip.
Here's what this month has in store for us:

1.Potato Soup
2. Chicken fried rice
3. meatloaf with baked sweet potatoes and corn bread
4. breakfast: oatmeal with toast
5. leftovers
6. BBQ crockpot ribs with mashed potatoes and corn *bbq sauce recipe to follow*
7.Sausage bean soup (a leftover meal from the freezer)
8. pasta with turkey Bolognese sauce (leftover sauce from my freezer) and garlic breadsticks
9.breakfast: French toast with fruit
10. leftovers
11.grilled cheese with green beans and fruit
12. deer stew
13. black bean enchilada soup *recipe to follow*
14.Hamburgers with mac and cheese and corn
15. pasta with marinara sauce and garlic toast
16. meatballs with gravy and mashed potatoes and biscuits
17.chickenless spaghetti with mushrooms, peppers, and onions (I'm creating this recipe by adapting this Pioneer Woman chicken spaghetti recipe)
18. breakfast: homemade waffles with fruit
19. leftovers
20. Ham with fried potatoes and green beans

I didn't label this month's meals with dates because of the craziness the month of December brings.  Between holiday get-togethers, visiting family, Christmas shopping, etc I didn't figure there was any need to date each meal.  As long as I know I have the ingredients to make each of the items listed I'll be good to go.

Black Bean Enchilada Soup:
1 can rotel
2 cans (3cups if you make homemade) cream of chicken
2 cans (3 cups if you have homemade or boullion cubes) chicken broth
1 can (1cup if you make homemade) enchilada sauce
1 can corn
3t cilantro (if I have this I add it but if I don't I just leave it out)
1/2 onion chopped
1 can diced tomato
1 can black beans

sauté onions and rotel , diced tomato, and corn.  Mix rest of ingredients in soup pot and heat through.

*this recipe is one I created based off a Chicken enchilada recipe my cousin gave me a few years back.  My husband has decided he doesn't care for chicken much anymore and when I made the chicken version he pretty much refused to eat leftovers.  This prompted me to make a chickenless version by adding beans and diced tomato.

BBQ sauce for ribs:
1c ketchup
2T+1 1/2t brown sugar
2T+ 1 1/2t cider vinegar
1T+ 1 1/2t Worcestershire sauce
1T brown mustard (I've used regular yellow with good results)
1/2t pepper

Once A Month Grocery Shopping 1st Trip & Monthly Meal Plan

A little warning about this post, it's long, like really long, I just thought I should put it all in one instead of breaking it up into a few different ones, so enjoy:

In my dream world I would have gone on my big once a month shopping trip all by my lonesome and been in and out without questions or extra items "magically" appearing in my shopping cart.  Of course this is not my dream world so I assumed my son would be with me since my husband would normally be asleep when I go to the store in the mornings, and I was ok with that, then my husband happened to wake up early and decided he would go too.  This could be good or bad, but figured I should make the best of this "family time".  Plus I knew he would be a big help keeping Grant entertained.

I had a long list and 4 stores to go to in one morning.  The stores I shopped at were Aldi (which is where the majority of my items came from), Carnival Foods, Kroger, and Giant Eagle.

Here is my crappy cell phone pic of all our groceries:

The only items missing from this pic were the 5 dozen eggs, 5.26lbs ground beef, 5lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, 1qt half & half, toilet paper, dishwater detergent, and a large tub of margarine.

 

It took us 2 hours to go through all 4 stores, which was really surprising to me because it normally takes me about an 1 1/2-2 hours to do a weeks worth of grocery shopping at multiple stores.  So if this works out and we decide to continue with OAMS I will definitely be saving some serious time that I'd rather be spending with my family doing something fun, not grocery shopping.

 

In doing all my research of other people who do OAMS I was always curious what they ended up buying during their large monthly trip.  They always included how much they spent overall but it was hard for me to grasp what all they bought because most of their spending was much more than what I had planned to spend.   So I thought I would share a little run down of what I bought.  If this is not at all interesting to you, feel free to skip down a few lines lol.

 Aldi $56.83

• 1 bag pretzels (snacks for the kiddos) $1.29
• 1 box graham  crackers (snacks for kiddos) $1.39
• 1 grape jelly $1.59
• 1 ranch dressing $1.39
• 4 dozen eggs $0.99 each
• 1 baking powder $0.99
• 1 box corn starch $0.89
• 4 boxes stick margarine $0.75 each
• 1qt half and half $1.59
• 16oz shredded cheese $2.99
• 3 pkg tortilla wraps $0.99 each
• 1 small jar olives $0.99 (this was not an item on my list but an add-in per my husband)
• 4 cans generic Rotel $0.59 each
• 2 cans condensed tomato soup $0.59 each
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup $0.59
• 2.04lbs Bananas $0.42/lb
• 1lb bag mini carrots $0.69
• 6lbs onions $1.29 each
• 5lbs boneless skinless chicken breast $1.89/lb
• 2 loaves bread $0.85 each
• 1 pkg hamburger buns $0.89
• 1pkg hot dog buns $0.89
• 1 liquid dishwasher detergent $2.49
• 1-45oz tub margarine $1.89
• 2 boxes saltine crackers $0.95 each
• 1 box onion soup mix $0.79
• 4lbs brown sugar $1.19 each
• 1 large container oatmeal $2.29

Carnival Foods $35.02

• 5lbs+ Ground beef $2.69/lb
• 1 dozen eggs w/coupon $0.88
• 20lbs flour $1.49 for each 5lb bag
• 20lbs sugar $1.89 for each 4lb bag
• 2-46oz tomato juice $1.00 each
• 8lbs russet potatoes $0.98

Kroger $19.29

• 1 small pkg Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix Free with downloaded coupon
• 4 gallons Milk $2.73each
• 2-64oz bottles Sunny D juice
• 1 bottle Hawaiian Punch Aloha Morning $1.19 w/ downloaded coupon
• 2 boxes Barilla pasta $0.45 each with coupon
• 1pkg Eckrich hot dogs $1.00
• 2 banquet freezer meals (another husband add-in item)

Giant Eagle $15.20

• 2-32oz Coffeemate Coffee creamer $1.50 each with coupon
• 2-64oz Welch's juice cocktail $0.50 each with coupons
• 24 double rolls Angel Soft toilet paper $8.89 with coupon

Total Spent a little over $126.  I still need to go to the dollar tree for black peppercorns and a 2lb bag of tator tots.  However I know if I buy tator tots now they will be long gone before I need them for my planned meal.  The total of my shopping trip freaked me out a little because it's $6 over what I was budgeting for the entire month.  Of course as I mentioned before we were going over that budget by the second half of the month it just didn't seem like much because it was in separate purchases.

 

As you can see by the list above I didn't purchase many items with coupons.  There were some ok sales with coupons this week on items I could have purchased. In making my monthly meal plan and thinking about not only dinner meals but also at least 2-3 breakfasts (for the days I babysit), snacks, and a few lunch ideas for variety, I decided I would start making more things from scratch.  Items like biscuits, corn bread, muffins, quick breads, pizzas, etc, are all things I want to keep ingredients on hand for so I don't need the help of Pillsbury Grands or mixes to make them.  Since I'm a stay at home mom and it's getting colder out, which means I leave the house less, I might as well take full advantage of my time and do from-scratch baking and cooking.



Because we don't have space in our apartment for a deep freezer I was not able to buy enough milk and bread to last us the month so those items I will have to buy weekly in a smaller shopping trip.  I'm also a little concerned about snack foods.  I try not to keep much "junk" food like chips, Little Debbie cakes, candy, etc in the house.  For one I don't want the temptation for me to eat them but Grant and my Husband don't need them either.  I used to think Grant needed something sweet for snacks, where I got this in my head is beyond me, and I've come to the conclusion recently that fresh fruit, crackers, pretzels, and similar items are what I'm going to keep on hand and if he doesn't want them then he must not be very hungry in the first place.  As for my husband, I fully look for him to randomly buy the junk I try to steer away from but I'll just have to deal with that I guess, haha.

Before making my monthly meal plan I did an inventory of my pantry, freezer and fridge, writing down everything we had.  I tried to come up with as many meals as possible with just those items then I went through my cookbooks and made a master list of all the recipes we have eaten and like, as well as many recipes we haven't tried but that I've wanted to make.  I saved this list to my computer for easy access when meal planning.  Once I decided on the meals I wanted I wrote down what was needed for each one adding as I went so I would know what to buy.  It was by far the longest grocery list I've ever made.

Here is my Monthly Meal Plan:
November 2-8
Saturday 2-Sloppy Dawgs with potato wedges
Sunday 3-Chili
Monday 4-Chicken Quesadillas with Mexican rice with homemade salsa Tuesday 5-Biscuits & Gravy
Wednesday 6-Turkey Franks with mac & cheese & green beans
Thursday 7-grilled pork chops (freezer) roasted potatoes/corn/biscuits
Friday 8-leftovers

November 9-15
Saturday 9-deer roast (freezer)with carrots, potatoes, corn bread
Sunday 10-chicken Enchilada Soup
Monday 11-fried eggs/fried potatoes/biscuits
Tuesday 12-Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread
Wednesday 13-Meatloaf mashed potatoes/ green beans
Thursday 14-Chicken fried rice
Friday 15-leftovers

November 16-22
Saturday 16-Hamburgers with tator tots
Sunday 17-Tomato soup with grilled cheese
Monday 18-black bean tomato soup with rice and tortilla shells
Tuesday 19-Sausage bean soup (leftovers in freezer)
Wednesday 20-BBQ ribs (freezer), corn, corn bread
Thursday 21-Poor man’s steak, roasted potatoes, broccoli
Friday 22- leftovers

November 23-30
Saturday 23-chicken pot pie
Sunday 24-Deer Stew with biscuits
Monday 25-Onion/pepper omelets, toast, fried potatoes
Tuesday 26-Meatballs with meat gravy deviled eggs green beans buttered bread
Wednesday 27-Spaghetti with garlic breadsticks
Thursday 28-Thanksgiving
Friday 29-Leftovers
Saturday 30-Thanksgiving 2

I have my meals dated just to make it easier for me.  I'm not really picky about what we eat and when since I like all the meals I have listed, however if for some reason the meal I have written in for that specific day doesn't work for some reason I can easily switch the meals around.
There are a few things I have recipes posted for already and I included those links, I'm hoping I'll be able to post recipes for the other meals as I make them.

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 #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 #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.

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......

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.

 

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!

Pulled Pork BBQ & a Snack To-Go

Last night was leftover night.  I know it seems kind of strange to have leftover night on a Monday but I had some pulled pork BBQ left from Friday so I pulled a bag of Steamfresh Honey Roasted Corn from the freezer and canned pineapple and dinner was made.

 

I love pulled pork BBQ for a couple reasons. 1-because all it takes is a crockpot and some BBQ sauce. 2-leftovers are just as good as the first time around.

I actually still had too much leftover, about enough for 2 servings, so I froze it for a lunch on another day.

 

If your wanting a way to make a jar of store bought BBQ sauce taste a little more homemade, add some minced dried onion (about 1T), about 1 1/2T brown sugar, and a squirt or 2 of honey, to any bottle of sauce and let it simmer on the stove for about 15 minutes.  I use this trick all the time and it works like a charm.

 

Since I got season passes to the zoo we are headed there again this week.  I like making special little snacks to take so we are not tempted to grab the super pricey ones while we are there.  One of my favorite muffin recipes I found at Small Fry & Co for Brown Sugar Muffins.  I like making them into mini muffins and I've made them with blueberries and mini chocolate chips and they are scrumptious.

 

This batch I made 1/2 regular and 1/2 with mini chips.

 

Mmmm! don't you just want to eat the batter.

 

Are they cute or what?

I got 24 regular and about 20 mini chip ones out of one recipe.  Who needs Little Debbie and Hostess right?

 

And Bonus: these muffins freeze really well too so if you can't eat them all before they start going bad, throw them in a freezer bag and pull them out as you need them.  Just nuk them in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds and you have fresh warm muffins.  I like to keep some of these in the freezerto give Grant something different for breakfast.

 

I swear he would eat a dozen of these if I would let him.

 

 

Grocery Shopping Week 1 of the Challenge

It took me a little extra time this week to work every thing in I needed to get this week and still stay on budget. 
Here was the haul I brought home on my first trip (yes, there were 2 seperate trips needed due to a cranky 2 year old boy and a cranky 27 year old mom).

 

Meijer:  Spent $11.77

Had the best price on meat this week. Pork Loin 1.79/lb mine cost $7.98

Pure silk shave gel $1.59 coupon $0.70 doubled to $1.40= $0.19each (I bought 4)

3 Musketeer bar $0.50 coupon $50/2 doubled to $1.00=2 bars for free

1/2 gallons Meijer brand orange juice $1.50 each coupon 1.50/2= $0.75each (I bought 2)

Propel Zero water (not pictured) $1.09, I had a store coupon for 1 Free

Pampers Wipes 72count $1.99 coupon $0.50/1 double to $1.00=$0.99

Total $11.77 with tax and after coupons

 

Giant Eagle: Spent $9.87

I did 2 transactions for this store to take advantage of a Catalina that printed off at the register.

Transaction#1

Milk $2.00/gal (I bought 3)

Grapes $0.99/lb mine were $1.60

International Delight Coffee Creamer $1.67 coupon $0.55/1 doubled to $1.10/1 =$0.57(bought 1)

Colgate toothpaste $1.00 coupon for $1.00/1=free

New York Garlic Bread loaf $1.50 coupon $0.75/1 doubled to $1.50=free

Activia yogurt $2 coupon $1.00/1=$1.00 (I bought 1)

Dole Pineapple 8oz cans $0.89each coupon $0.75/2 doubled to $1.50 I used 2 coupons making the 4 I bought =$0.56 *buying these 4 canned pineapple printed a Catalina coupon with my receipt for $0.50 to use toward my next purchase

Transaction #2

International Delight coffee Creamer $1.67 coupon $0.55/1 double to $1.10 = $0.57

I used my Catalina from the 1st transaction of $0.50

Total for this transaction $0.07

Total $9.80 with tax and after coupons

 

Walmart: Spent $0.09

Almay makeup remover pads 15count $1.14 coupon $4.00/1 (I bought 2)

**my walmart allows me to use overage from my coupons to apply it to the other items I buy.  Most stores do not allow this.

flour $1.82

Sugar 4lbs (not pictured above) $2.26

Sauerkraut $1.58

$8.09 after tax and before coupons

I paid $0.09

 

 

Trip #2

 

Kroger: Total Spent $5.88

Kroger had a Catalina printing this week for participating General Mills products, when you bought 5 items you got a $5 Catalina for your next order.

 

Transaction #1

Tuna Helper $1.50 coupon $0.80/4 doubled to $1.60=$1.10 each (Ibought 4)

Chex mix $2.00 coupon $0.50/1 doubled to $1.00=$1.00

Crest toothpaste $1.00 coupon $0.50 doubled to $1.00= Free



 Total $5.40 & got a $5.00 Catalina off my next order

 

Transaction #2

Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix $1.50 coupon $0.75/2 doubled to $1.50=$0.25each

Suddenly Salad $1.99 coupon $0.50/2 doubled to $1.00=$2.98

Green Giant Veggie chips $2.00 coupon $0.50/1 doubled to $1.00=$1.00

Total $5.48 used the $5.00 Catalina from transaction #1, paid $0.48 and received another $5 Catalina for my next purchase

 

Trip #3

 

 

 

Kroger:

I used the $5 catalina from the 2nd transaction and bought the following:

eggs $1.79

potatoes $1.98

Beef Boullion cubes $1.79

Tortilla chips $1.00

Bread $0.80

I used the discount my sister gets for being a Kroger employer which takes 10% off any Kroger products you buy.  My total came to $6.63

I used my $5 catalina and paid $1.63

 



 This week was not a usual week for me as far as making multiple trips and doing multiple transactions at each store.  Normally I go to, at most 2 different stores, and try not to do more than 1 transaction.  This week was exhausting and I definately had to work for my savings, but I'm glad I stayed on budget.  Next week will be easier and less work hopefully.

 

Total spent for the week: $29.24

 

 

 

The $30 Grocery Challenge

A few months back I had a conversation with my cousin about budgets and grocery shopping.  I told her my grocery budget was around $30-$40 a week and her mouth proceeded to drop.  She told me she spends about $100-$150 a week for her family of four and did not understand how I spent so little.  To which I looked at her and said, "you can't spend what you don't have".  With my husband starting a new job after we moved here our income was cut by more than half and sacrifices had to be made.  I couldn't do much about our regular bills, they were what they were, but I could control what I spent on food.

It occured to me that most people probably spend at least $100 a week and the idea of dropping that bill down to $30 seems impossible.  Anyone I have shared my budget with automatically asks what kind of stuff we eat.  They assume with a small budget I'm limited to spaghetti, mac and cheese, hot dogs, and the like.  While I am all about some hot dogs and mac and cheese, this is not an every week meal for us, and is usually more of lunch than dinner.

So this is how the $30 Grocery Challenge was born.  Like many others there are weeks I go over budget by a few dollars or somehow justify spending extra on this or that.  There are weeks I "forget" to meal plan and by Wednesday I'm scrambling to figure out what the heck we are going to eat.  This challenge is to help me stick to my budget and challenge everyone else to decrease their grocery bill.  Maybe $30 seems impossible when you're spending $100 but maybe $60 seems doable.  If even that much of a drop makes you nervous, start by decreasing your bill by $10 a week.  So If your budget right now is $100, next week make your budget $90, then the week after that try $80.  Having a small grocery budget forces us to not buy all the snacks, and junk food.  It makes us conscious of what we are putting in our shopping carts and makes us second guess buying all the little extras that "look good" in the moment.  It also makes us appreciate the food luxuries like Little Debbies, sodas, and chips.  These, I'm sorry to say, used to be staples in my weekly grocery trips and can increase your grocery bill buy $10-$20 easily.  I'm happy to say (and my hips are too) they are not any more.  I only buy snack cakes when I have a coupon and can get them at a great price (nearly free), soda is bought for special occasions like cookouts and parties, and chips are in our cabinet only when I've scored some free salsa or chip dip, and even then I refuse to pay $3 a bag.

Seriously, it's physically impossible for me to put a $3 bag of chips in my cart.

So every week I will post my meal plan for the week, grocery shopping list and total after coupons to prove how much I spend and that it can be done, and the recipes I use (if the meal requires one). 

Here are a few tips on how I make it on a $30/week grocery budget, and how you can decrease yours:

#1 Meal plan-this is essential!  There are so many times in the past I did not meal plan and just went to the store, bought some food, and spent a crapload of money.  Only to get home, look in the fridge and realize there's nothing to eat.

#2 Have a variety of recipes.  After you cook the same thing for so many weeks you get bored and that's when you start to stray and spend more in order to get a variety.

#3 Use your freezer to the fullest.  I'm in love with freezer meals.  They are fantastic and such a lifesaver for a busy family.  I also stockpile meat when it's on sale.  I don't buy 10 lbs but I buy family packs of whatever is on sale each week, divide it into meal portions in freezer baggies and that way I have it for future meals and don't have to pay full price.  For years I have had a large deep freezer to take advantage of, now that we live in an apartment we are limited to a regular refrigerator freezer.  Even with a small freezer you can still take advantage of freezer meals so don't let that deter you.

#4 stockpile/couponing.  No I don't mean stockpile like the people on the Extreme Couponing show.  You don't need a basement grocery store or a whole seperate room full of food to stockpile.  When items are at their lowest, with coupons, I try to buy about 4-5 of them.  For example, Quaker yogurt bars were on sale a few weeks back for $1.79 a box.  I had a coupon for $0.75 off of 1 which at my grocery store doubled to $1.50 making each box $0.29 each.  So I bought 5 boxes.  Occasionally when there is a really great deal on an item I can get for free I will buy up to 10 but no more than that.  Space in an apartment is limited and I only buy this quantity of items for things we go through quickly like ketchup, rice,cereal, etc.

#5 Plan ahead.  Our local pool was not opening for almost a month when I bought the yogurt bars but my first thought was how great they would be to take with us to the pool, park, zoo, etc.  The same thought occured to me when I bought 4 cases of Capri Sun juices a couple months back for $0.75 each.  These are regularly over $2 so I was so excited to get them so cheap.  During the summer months they are a necessity in our house.  If I had waited until I actually "needed" them, I may have had to pay full price or not get them at all.

Are you ready to start saving some money?  Are you ready to stop spending hundreds of dollars a month at the grocery store?  Start this week, take on the $30 Grocery Challenge!