Middle of May Budget Update

My monthly budget for all of our household goods is $160 which includes all our groceries, paper goods, and anything else for the house.  I use sales, coupons and anything else that I can come up with in order to stretch our budget as far as I can.  Some months there are sales that are hard to pass up and I end up with a lot of something and other months I end up exactly what we need.  This month started with a trip to Aldi which probably should have happened last month but I didn't have time.

Check out below what I got and the breakdown of my shopping trips.  I might have overspent for the beginning of the month but I got a ton of treats and things that will get us through the month.  Check out the sales below!!

Aldi $27.61

I had a doctors appointment near the cheaper Aldi but I ended up only saving on the cheese, milk, nacho cheese chips and tortillas because the other things seemed to be the same price to the more local Aldi.  I guess saving a little always helps and these were all things we were out of.  I got two boxes of sugar cones for our summer vacation and they went straight into the box with the food set aside for vacation.  The rest went right into the pantry, fridge and freezer to start using.

Harris Teeter $3.58

I went to the store to get free lunch meat, Hormel Bacon and Ortega taco seasoning.  I was looking for  Cheez It deal but I only had enough points to buy one coupon from Kelloggs Family rewards but there was a new printable on the Snap'd so I got $8 off the cheez its and they were buy one, get one free so they were $2 for all of them.  I also bought the Ricotta for $1.49 so that I could make lasagna.  I got $3.10 back in Ibotta so it was almost free after the rebate.

Harris Teeter $1.67

I went to the store after physical therapy and before I had to be to pick up my son.  I didn't have a long time to look around but they were out of the lunch meat and the bacon so I got only the Oreos but it was a super amazing treat!

Harris Teeter $16.88

I got ground beef which ended up super cheap which I put in the freezer.  The Quaker Chewy Granola Bars were on special (limit 4) for $1.47 each.  The lunch meat was free and so was the Hormel bacon.  The Flatout tortillas were $0.24 after sale and coupon.  The Jose Ole were $2.99 after sale and coupon instead of over $6 per box.  They are a great time saver to have in the freezer for lunches and dinners.

 

Harris Teeter $20.10

I went to get the freebies but they were out of some of them so I got the free Ranch seasoning mix.  I got the nuggets cheaper then I thought I would when I looked at the recipt.  They are shelf price of $4.19 and I got them for $1 each after sale and coupon so it was amazing.  I put some in the freezer and used some right away but it ended up being cheaper then Aldi nuggets and I like them even better.  The whole chickens were super expensive normally but I got clearance ones and used coupons so one was $5.55 and one was $4.78.  I made one chicken and we got two meals out of it and cut the rest up and put it in the freezer so it was still a good deal.

Harris Teeter $25.84

I went a little crazy at the store but I got the free Ranch seasoning packets and the freezer meals.  The Ricotta was $0.50 each.  The Magnum ice cream was $1 each after sale and coupon.  The Jose Ole boxes were $2.99 each.  The biggest splurge was the suntan lotion which was $3.99 each (way better then the $10 shelf price but still a big cost to get us ready for the summer).

Harris Teeter $2.19

I grabbed the free Ranch seasoning and the $1 Magnum Ice Cream.  These ice creams are amazing and we have enjoyed them!!

Harris Teeter $3.85

I got the free frozen meals, rice pouches and ranch seasoning.  I got the Kool Aid because we were out of my family favorites and they were on sale for 6/$1.  I found a peelie on the roast beef to get it for $1.33.  The Apple and Eve juice was free and there was a rebate that I turned in for $1.10 on Ibotta.  There was another Ibotta for the pizza which gave me back $7.50 but it wasn't there when it wasn't there when I first bought it.  Total $8.60 rebates so this one is a money maker.

Harris Teeter $0.08

These were free and I only paid tax.

Harris Teeter $3.65

I went to the store and I dropped it off  at home before heading to the next store.  I got two more $0.50 Ricotta, $1 Magnum Ice Cream, $0.89 Chilly Cow (there is a second box underneath it) and 4 free Ortega seasoning.  I turned this in for a rebate for $2.10 on Ibotta.

Harris Teeter $11.12

The worst trip in ages to the store with a lot of deals.  I got free Ranch seasoning and Dial soap.  I got $1 Magnum ice cream and $2.99 Jose Ole taquitos boxes.  I got the Softsoap deal which was $3 off 3 and I had a coupon to get the items so that it was $0.48 for all three- two hand soaps and one shower gel.    I went to the store with a friend and we managed to freeze up two registers.  They were completely frozen and we had the manager who seems to get upset and flustered quickly and two newbie cashiers.  I took all my coupons and items over to self checkout and checked everything out myself.  I got the same manager to put in all my coupons.  Checkout took over an hour and my friend was still trying to do her first one again when I was done.  Not all things are always smooth but it is so hard when the manager can't fix things in a timely manner.

Harris Teeter $1.95

This was my son's transaction and he was excited to put his items on the belt, checkout and use his coupons.  He got free bacon and $0.89 ice cream.  The rebate reset and I go $2.20 back so it was a money maker.  He was happy to get some fun ice cream treats.

Harris Teeter $0.11

This was my transaction and everything was free after sale and coupons so I only paid tax.

Total Retail $508.32

Total Savings $389.69

Total OOP $118.63

I think that I spent a lot of my budget but I was really excited about getting the Ranch seasoning, Hormel Bacon, turkey lunch meat and hand soap for free. I also got a lot of meat, pizza and taquitos for quick meals.  My family is most excited about the massive amount of ice cream we currently have which is a great way to start the summer months.  I have $41.37 left for the rest of the month's budget.  I am hoping to use a few gift cards to stretch the end of the month and end up under budget.  I guess we will see what other deals are coming for the end of the month to see if I make it work.

Eating Out

I think that this has been a crazy month so far.  I used the rest of a Burger King gift card to get a hamburger so I paid $0.33 out of pocket so that I could go straight from physical therapy to the book fair at my son's school.  We got Pizza Hut for my cousins and our family before going to Fun Fair at school for $22.25.  My cousin bought Chinese food the next day so we didn't have to pay for it.  We went out to dinner to Cheesecake Factory and split the bill so we paid $55.82.  The total eating out was $78.40 for the month which is well over the $40 budget for eating out.  I wish that I did better about using gift cards but the Cheesecake Factory was a last minute plan but I still should have bought gift cards when I knew to lower our out of pocket.  We are going to try to not spend any more out of pocket for the month eating out.