Wednesday, April 6, 2016

March Month End Budget Update

My monthly for all household goods is $160 for our family of 4 including groceries, paper goods, cleaning products and anything else for the house.  I usually try to make a list of the things that I am going to look for during the month but this time I was not sure what I was going to be getting this month.  I even got a few posts up with all the deals during the month that I got but in case you misses them, here is what I got and what I spent.  Even though I bought a lot of treats, I think that I did pretty well getting in under budget.

There was on Aldi trip that my mom bought some stuff for her and stuff for us and spent around $30 so that was a nice cushion to add to the inventory without adding to the budget.  She can't stand when I take pictures of the food because she just isn't a blogger so I didn't get pictures of the food but I know that it included some more margarine tubs because my husband was overjoyed that they brought back the butter that he likes.... my likes to get anything that my husband wants/needs so we have 4 extra to last through the next few months.  Everything else that came into the house is pictured below.

Trader Joes $5.41

Waited forever to get more blue cheese because I could never make it to the store but then I realized that it might be the best solution for the horrible looking celery that I was so over priced at Aldi (which of course went on sale as soon as I got this).


Target $10.40

Used a $50 gift card that was a present and spend money on overage with lots of purchases including Easter basket items and some food for the pantry and medicine for all of our maladies. 



Aldi $17.05

Grabbed my bag of potatoes for the month and lots of grocery treats like tater tots and cocoa rice cereal.  We needed rice, baking soda, oil and popcorn chicken so those we easy decisions to get in the cart.  The most exciting was the old margarine might be back.  I bought one and my husband was so excited that my mom went back and bought him like 4 more later.



Harris Teeter $11.95

I went for sugar and got much needed tissues, shortening and more.


CVS $0.27
Candy for the Easter basket with the awesome CVS coupon and my mom paid for one of the transactions because she was totally upset that I was going to put $0.27 on my credit card.



Target $29.96

I also got a little cherry pie because I know that my husband used to love them as a kid.  We split it because it is almost 500 calories for one of those things!!  Good news is that it wasn't nearly as good as I remember so I don't think that we will need that for another 10-20 years :)



Target $32.14

Went for the Cranberry juice and was way more excited by the eggs at $0.49 per dozen!!  Grabbed Ritz and Goldfish for my sick little man both with Cartwheels too.


Harris Teeter $30.49

I was going to the store to get sugar mainly which was on my to do list all week.  Then I got the most awesome deal ever... $1.77 per 4 lb bag (limit 2).  Are you looking at the picture and wondering how I ended up with 6 bags??  I had a rain check to get them buy one, get one free so I paid $1.77 for the first two bags and $2.00 for the third bag and the other three were free.  I used three coupons for $0.65/2 (which doubled) so they ended up being $0.27 per bag!!!!! Love when rain checks work out!

I got another package of Lipton tea bags (shelf price $1.39) which had an electronic coupon for $0.40 off and I used a coupon for $1 to make it free.  I should get $0.40 back from saving star making it a money maker.  I got the Can't Believe It's Not Butter which was on sale for $2 each and I used an electronic coupon for $1.50 and manufacturers coupon for $1/2 so it was $0.75 each and I will get $1.50 back to Saving Star making it free.

The Smithfield Sausage was on sale and had meat clearance stickers on it so they were $1.00 for a roll.  I normally buy Jimmy Dean because there are sales, coupons and more but these were actually cheaper this time.  I got a few other extras including the Alexia Tater Tots (my husband's favorites) on sale and with coupon for $1.99.  The edamame was $0.87 so that is a super yummy treat some night when I can't get dinner on the table fast enough and we are hungry.  My favorite was the ricotta which was $2.49 so that I can make some lasagna with it and the sausage.  There was a deal on the Ocean Spray cranberry juice for $1.47 limit 4 so even though I had already grabbed 33 at Target this month, I figured that I would get these 4 since the price was even better than Target.

Not pictured because my husband put it away on the way in the house (thanks for carrying the groceries but I almost had a heart attack that I some how left it at the store after paying for it) is the two packages of Quilted Northern toilet paper.  The shelf said it was on sale for $6.99 but it rang up $7.85.  Instead of doing a price override, the nice person who was training my cashier gave me $2.00 off so they were $6.85 less $1/2 coupon.  It worked out to $0.53 per roll which isn't a great price but not a horrible price either.  I hate paying for toilet paper but we are now stocked up for another little while with 24 new rolls. 


Aldi $19.96

I just couldn't pass up the pricing on the produce this week because it was rock bottom.  I was going to get two bags of potatoes because they are on sale for $1.69 for a 10 pound bag and I only have 3 potatoes left in my cupboard from the bag I bought at the beginning of the month but I went a little crazy at the store when they brought me out a whole new pallet of potatoes and I grabbed three.  I also grabbed super cheap $0.49 baby carrots because I ate the previous few bags very quickly (last one was purchased by my mom and not pictured).  Yellow onions were $0.69 and so was the celery so I figured that I would cut a bunch up and freeze them because that is a really low price and ends would end up in stock.    Bananas were $0.18 per pound so the whole bunch was $0.50.  I also got some great looking asparagus for $1.29.  

I got a package of lunch meat so that I don't have to worry for the coming week for my husband's lunch.  We were out of milk so I grabbed that for $1.99 sale price.  I grabbed two packages of oyster crackers to make the seasoned crackers for my husband's lunch.  More special treats with chip to have with salsa for my husband and ice cream for my son.

I don't usually shop at the store on the weekends because I try to jam as many things into the week as I can so that I have the weekends with my family but since we were home all week sick, it was the best day for me to work in while my husband stayed home with my son.  There was a lady who left the quarter in the cart for me to use as she was returning the cart.  I said thank you so much and got my free cart.  I emptied the groceries into the car and this couple waited farther up the aisle and I wasn't sure what they were doing.  They waited incredibly patiently (cause I had 30 lbs of potatoes) and came over to give me a quarter and take my cart to use for themselves.  She apologized and told me that she didn't want to frighten me by coming up to my car.  Ummm, I have been out all day shopping so that is great that I don't have to walk all the way back to the store so thanks to all the nice weekend shoppers out at Aldi this weekend!!


 

Total Retail $354.10
Total Savings $199.47
Total OOP $154.63

There are so many things that I can get in a month and I really never know how it is going to fall but I bought over $65 in cranberry juice this month because of the great prices so I hope that my husband doesn't go through it all too quickly but if he drinks two a week it should last into the summer months but I probably can't get him to stretch it past July. 

How did your month go?  Did you get any deals that you haven't seen in ages?

6 comments:

  1. Dang, Alison, you got a KILLER deal on that sugar with the rainchecks! We totally didn't get the 19 cent per lb bananas down here or the milk for $1.99 so I'm jealous but good for you! I'm laughing at your husband's addiction to Ocean Spray juice because just the name Ocean Spray has always grossed me out so I can never bring myself to buy it. My mouth puckers just trying to say "Ocean Spray", LOL.

    I also chuckled when you thought you had left some of your groceries at the store! A few times Greg or my son helped me unload the car and were trying to be helpful by putting away the toilet paper and/or the cat litter but I didn't see that and they didn't tell me and I completely freaked out too! So now the rule is: if you're going to help me, just put all the bags on the floor next to the kitchen table and DON'T take anything out of them either until I can take a picture! They definitely shake their heads and think I'm weird but I don't care.

    Why would your mom care if you're charging something to your credit card? You don't carry a balance, right? I charge everything because I earn rewards. The mom and pop stores are a different story (and honestly, I charge everything there too but I usually don't really shop at mom and pop stores) but the large chains definitely factor in the credit card fees in their prices so it's not like you're stealing from anyone. I guess than in the end you got the candy for free... maybe you should take your mom shopping and just buy 1 banana at a time and attempt to charge it and you'll end up with a whole bunch of freebies, LOL.

    Great job, once again! You would have been so under budget if you hadn't stocked up on juice. It's amazing!

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    1. I would charge $0.05 to my credit card to be perfectly honest because we have all chain stores here. My mom uses cash for most everything and doesn't even use it for most grocery trips while I am pulling out the plastic. She is fussing with cash and I think that she has a made up number in her head like under $20 needs to be cash. I figure that I am clear with my lack of touching cash :)

      My husband has an addiction to cran grape juice but is very specific to Ocean Spray....nothing else will compare for him so I look for the deals and stock up. I will be so upset when they are gone but you would totally laugh because he took them all to the basement and put them on top of the fridge. It looks like we have a store down there!!!

      I am glad that I am not the only one because I sat down and downloaded the pictures and then freaked!!! I was already irritated for spending money on something that literally gets flushed so if I had spent all that money and left it at the store I would have had a meltdown!!! UGH!! He should have known better but I guess he passed the storage place on the way in so without the picture taking... I would have been thankful but goodness I almost had a heart attack!!

      Close to budget but totally stocked up on lots so got lots of value for the budget :)

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  2. You did FANTASTIC, Alison! I am in awe at all the groceries you got and the stocking up that you did for the amount you spent. HUGE HIGH FIVE and a pat on the back to you! The sugar deal was super as well as the tea, juice, sausage and other items. I would have gotten 3 bags of the potatoes too- potatoes are the best vegetable because you can do so much with them. :)

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    1. I make homemade french fries once a week so we totally go through at least one or two bags in a month. I went through the bag that I bought earlier in the month and only had three left. I have already gone through lots and I still had three 5 lb bags of red potatoes. I love potatoes and I think that it is one of those foods that we couldn't live without. I am super glad that we are filled up with lots of russet and red potatoes. I got two bags for the price of one because they are normally closer to $4 here. I was so happy with the deals and I should get a few more bags of sugar because I have already gone through at least two bags!! UGH! Thanks for all the kudos!!

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  3. My hubby and I love potatoes as well. He isn't keen on plain rice, but I can put a little into casseroles sometimes. My "don't buy" price is anything over $2 for a 10 bag. Those weeks I make use of rice casseroles and pasta dishes. I sometimes have some mashed potatoes stocked away in the freezer. Most of the time I can find my under $2 for 10 pounds. $1.69 a bag is just crazy. I love it.

    You did extremely well on your stock up items, saving you from having to buy them until the next great sale. Congrats for coming in under budget and with Easter holidays in the month. That's incredible.

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    1. It is hard to get the 10 pounds of potatoes under $4 here so I was super happy to get them so cheap. I know that we will be enjoying them a lot for the coming months. I think that it might last us two months but probably not a lot longer since the excess will have us indulging more often :)

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