End of the Month Budget Update for February

I took a look at the numbers from last year and February was my no spend month.  I was going to do the same this year but we spent most of the year at the bottom of the budget so I figured that I would still get all of the deals and things that we needed.  My budget is $160 for all household goods for a month so here is what I got.

Aldi $15.48

I was going to the store to get the red potatoes that were on sale for $1.19 for a 5 lb bag so I decided two.  We have really enjoyed them to have diced hash browns on the weekends for breakfast and some nice breakfast for dinner meals.  Probably could have bought another one and we would have still used them because we love diced hash browns!!  We only have a few potatoes to take us over to March.  We were out of milk, stick margarine and chicken (which was on sale for $1.49).  I grabbed a lime for $0.25 because I decided that I was going to make lime chicken tacos with some of that chicken.  My son picked out the marshmallows as a special treat for himself.

Aldi  $8.95

My husband went to the store to get a few things on the list and as always it came with its challenges because they didn't have my son's chicken fries and the celery was too expensive.  We needed turkey lunch meat for my husband's sandwiches for lunch.  The bananas were on sale pretty cheap so he went through them and picked out the "prettiest" ones (his words- not mine) and he had some for breakfast and left me enough to make banana bread and one more for the freezer so that I had enough bananas to make another loaf of banana bread in March.  He also grabbed some popcorn chicken so that I could make his buffalo chicken for dinner for the coming month.

Harris Teeter $50.70

I went to get the Quaker Granola bars and went a little crazy with the deals.  There was a deal where if I spent $25 on certain items including the Quaker Granola Bars, Quaker Oatmeal, and Frosted Flakes, I got $5 off instantly.  I wasn't sure if it was before or after coupons or sales.  I decided that it was a good deal so I got 6 boxes of Quaker Oatmeal at $2.00 (after sale and coupon).  I grabbed four boxes of granola bars for $1.97 each or $7.88.  I got Frosted Flakes for $1.50 per box (which is way more then I would normally pay but all for my cause and cheaper then more oatmeal).  It was $22.88 after sales and coupons and I got the additional $5 off so all 12 boxes were $17.88 or $1.49 each.  Not the best deal to chase after but the pantry is certainly packed now.

I used a rain check to get ketchup because we were totally out (and it is a major food group for my son) so I got them for $1.49 after rain check and coupon.  I used another rain check for the Texas Pete Hot sauce so it was Buy 2, Get 3 Free but I could use coupons like I was buying 10 so I got $5 off and ended up paying $2 for all ten of them!!!  I also used a rain check for the Yoplait GoGurt for my son and I had no coupons so I was looking forward to getting an Ibotta rebate which for some reason it wouldn't go through!!  UGH!  Tried twice and they have bad customer service with no help.

I bought Smart Balance butter with coupon for $2.09 each because the butter that I bought before was not a hit so we were totally out.  We also needed milk so I got it here for $2.99 and put in a Ibotta rebate to get $0.25 back.  We have been going through a lot of eggs so I grabbed them at $1.57 and there was a $0.25 rebate from Ibotta.  We also wanted to get lettuce for tacos and it has been high priced at Aldi recently so I got it for $1.69 here and got a Checkout 51 rebate for $0.25.

There were a few great deals.  I had a money maker on Gerber Graduates oatmeal for a profit of $0.46.  There was another money maker on the Beyond Dog Jerky for $1.01 profit.  The Lipton tea was $0.01 money maker and I might get money back from Saving Star too.  I got Hamburger Helper for $0.25.  I got the Daisy Sour Cream for $0.89 and got a Ibotta rebate for $0.50.  I finally was at the store to get the freebie from Saving Star for the York Peppermint Patty so I should get the $0.99 back for it soon.

There was a little splurge to get a few things that we didn't need. I bought a little bit more chicken for $1.99 per pound so this was $5.61.  I got the mozzarella cheese for $2.99 for a 16 oz block.  I also bought some Franks Red Hot for $0.59 each which was a huge splurge for the brand my husband likes best when I just bought 10 other hot sauce but it was a good price.

I was really surprised when they told me the total but who knows what I did.  I got a lot of food and used a lot of rain checks to save even more money.  I guess that this is what regular people feel like when they go grocery shopping but it was a little bit of a shock to my system.



Aldi $9.99

I stopped to grab the chicken fries which my husband didn't get and always has a problem with.  We were out of parmesan cheese so I grabbed that too.  I got four packages of stick margarine to stock up to do some baking. 

CVS $2.74

I sent my husband on a mission to mail the taxes, drop of my prescription, take my son to the library to do his reading, and pick up my prescription.  I guess too many trips in CVS made it hard to not bend to the pressure but they bought a box of hot tamales and sour patch kids.  Both are mostly gone!!  I was a little sad but we were well under budget so it was a splurge but not a failure (right Nathalie?)

Aldi $13.71

I took one more trip to Aldi because we needed turkey lunch meat.  I saw a box of popcorn so I grabbed three more because we have used so many of our popcorns from the stockpile and they are "seasonal" at Aldi so took the chance.  I grabbed saltine crackers which is great because my husband has almost finished it because he has been eating soup to try to get over his cold.  I also got some more oyster crackers to make my seasoned oyster crackers for my husband's lunch next week.  We were running low on pepperoni so I got a package of it at the end of shopping.  I went to check out and the lady in front of me said that the grapefruit were really great.  I grabbed one for $0.29 and turned in the rebate for $0.25 from Checkout 51 so it was a great bargain.

Total OOP $101.57

I was under budget for the month so I got lots of things that I needed and a few things that we wanted.  We had a lot of baked goods that I made through the month and lots of home cooked meals from the fridge, freezer and pantry.  Not a lot of things from this month ended up stocking the cabinets but the Frosted Flakes, Oatmeal, Granola Bars, and margarine.  I also cut the chicken into 9 meals between the two different purchases which we already ate three.  Mainly lots of hot sauce!!!

How did you do this month??