November Middle of the Month Budget Update

I work really hard every month to maintain a budget of $160 but it is getting harder every month.  With the newspaper not carrying anything but Smart Source coupons, the deals are harder to find.  The printable coupons seem to have a lot of deals so I print those but there is a limit of two per computer or ip address depending on the site so there isn't a lot of options to get more of the coupon.  I use sales, coupons and any means that I have to get the best deals and stock up.

When a deal presents itself, I have been getting all that I have coupons for which sometimes sends me over budget but I know that it will lower my budget in the long run.  It has also had me jumping at deals that aren't as good when I have the coupons like $0.25 pasta which before would have been way too expensive for me since we got a new coupon and deal to make them $0.09 per box.  It is hard to tell if the lower deals are coming back.

I have broken down all my trips to the store for the first half of the month with the amount spent and the items purchased below. There are pictures of each trip so you can see everything that I have gotten so far for the month.

Wegman's $2.03

I went to the store to get the $0.99 flour to stock up my cupboard because I used all of the flour in my stockpile.  I only had two 5 pounds of flour which is an all time low for me.

Wegman's $2.03

My husband got two as well when we were at the soccer party at Wegman's.

Wegman's $23.82

We were down to our last ground beef bag so I grabbed some and made a bunch of 1 lb bags for the freezer.  I got two more flour for my new stockpile for winter baking and a bag of marshmallows to make rice krispie treats.  My husband wanted to get popcorn salt for the big popcorn machine that we have been using because it works better then the regular salt.

Harris Teeter $13.09

There was a clearance on the ground beef which made it $1.99 per pound so I decided that I would make chili .  I also got some cube steak which we enjoyed for dinner that night.  The ramen soup was $1 per package of 6 and it one of the foods my husband wants when he is sick so I got two flavors.  I also got the pasta which were now $0.09 per box with the sale and new $0.75/2 coupon.

Harris Teeter $0.61

I got six boxes of pasta so excited to get them for $0.09 each.

Aldi $15.04 

Back to Aldi to get some things that we were running low or out of.  I went to one closer to the house while I was on the way home from Harris Teeter.  They had the same prices as the one that I normally go to for these items.

Harris Teeter $11.38

I got the sugar evic deal for $0.97 each with a limit of 4.  I got the $0.09 pasta to add to the stockpile.  I got some clearance pork chops for $4.64 and it will make three meals for us.  We enjoyed one right away and froze the others.  My favorite deal was the pancake mix made it $0.99 after sale and coupon and then there was a rebate for $0.75 on Krusteaz Pancake Mix and $0.25 any pancake mix and $0.25 any item so I got them both for free after rebates.

Aldi $4.48 

I went to the store to get the milk and decided to get two bags of marshmallows to make rice krispie treats.  On the way to the register, I found the pumpkins were clearanced for $0.50 so I decided to grab it to roast it and make pumpkin.

Harris Teeter $5.65

I went to get the Oven Bags because we need them for Thanksgiving and they were on sale for $2 and there was a $0.75 coupon so I paid $0.50 each package.  I also found hot sauce for $1.50 per pound so I got two because my husband wanted to try hot.  He decided it was a little too hot but I am going to mix it with the mild I already have and make a good medium heat. I got 6 boxes of pasta for $0.09.

Wegman's $3.04

I got two more flours to add to the stockpile at $0.99 each.  I also got three mac and cheese which were $0.33 each.  We enjoyed them and they changed the flavor again and my son is way happier with this new kind.  I am super excited because we have another food to add into the weekly diet for my son.

Harris Teeter $0.61

My husband got 6 of the pasta and couldn't figure out why I didn't him 6 coupons.  He read them and figured it out but I explained it at least three times.  Didn't know it was going to be so confusing to send him after 6 boxes of pasta but always good to fully understand the directions.

Harris Teeter $0.61

I went to the store to get more of the $0.09 pasta.

Harris Teeter $0.61

My son got six boxes of pasta and gave the cashier his change and bag and everything.  It is always cute to watch him check out even when he gets older.

Harris Teeter $0.41

I only had two coupons left in my stockpile and  I got the last four boxes of spaghetti.

Harris Teeter $0.61

I got my new papers and they had last week's coupons in them so I went back to the store to get more pasta!!  I love my stockpile super full with pasta so that I don't have to worry about it later.

Harris Teeter $0.61

I got some different kinds of pasta which were also $0.09.

Harris Teeter $0.61

 I have so much pasta that I had to rearrange the cupboards but love some $0.09 pasta. 

Harris Teeter $0.61

Last day to get the pasta deal so I went and got some more $0.09 pasta.

Total Retail $253.41
Total Savings  $167.56
Total OOP $85.85

I think that I got a lot this month including 70 boxes of pasta and 40 pounds of flour.  I also got a lot of meat which has been enjoyed and frozen to enjoy later.  Although I am over my middle of the budget goal, I think that these foods were all purchased at the very lowest price possible.  I made a bunch of pumpkin and chili to freeze to make more yummy meals later in the coming months.

Eating Out

We got Pizza Hut for $8.47 at the beginning of the month and enjoyed some yummy pizza.