March Month End Budget for Groceries and Eating Out

I work every month with a $160 budget for all my groceries and household goods.  I use sales, coupons and everything I can to try to stay under my budget and get everything that we need.  I normally have a lot of transactions with lower totals to get the most sale items with coupons to spend the least amount of money possible.  My shopping looks a lot different then a normal shopper because I am stocking up on low cost items and matching them with things in the house.

This month is a different month because we were quickly sent home from school and work and I had three (plus Grandma and Grandpa for a week after they left their vacation early) for all three meals of the day.  The great thing is that we have a ton of things in the house.  The bad thing is that I normally stop at the store while out doing other things and get a few things during the month.  I started a list when I knew that we were running low on things.  After about 10 days, I realized that we were going to have to hit the store and I tried to make the list as detailed as possible and broken down by store.  Check out what I got for the month and the cost breakdown of each transaction.

Harris Teeter $22.17

I went a little crazy with how much I was getting because I had a $5 coupon off $25 purchase.   I got free noodle bowls and Mission tortillas.  I got the Perdue chicken nuggets for $1.09 each and I bought 9 of them.  I got the Perdue Perfect Portions for $3.49 each.  The Nature Valley Granola Bars were evic special for $1.47 and I thinkg that I used a coupon for $0.50/2 so they were $0.97 per box.  I got the Fruit Gushers for $0.34 each so I bought 6.  The Scrubing Bubbles were on sale for $1.99 and I used a coupon to get each one for free.  Both the Nature Valley and the Scrubbing Bubbles gave me catalinas to use on the next transaction.  The great news is that they will double during the wonderful super doubles so I knew that I was going to get some free groceries.

Harris Teeter $7.66

I got free noodles, Stonefire Naan, Galbani Ricotta Cheese, Bic White Out, and one Mission Flour tortillas.  I got the Mission corn tortillas for $0.59 per package.  I got the Fruit Gushers for $0.34 per package.   My expensive purchase was my $2.99 packages of Jose Old Taquitos.  They are super handy to have for quick lunches.  I used my catalina to get this order super cheap and save lots.

Harris Teeter $0.03

I got a bunch of things super cheap like free Naan, Flatbread, and Mission Tortilla.  I got the Family Sized Cheez Its for $3 each after sale and coupon.  I got the Fruit Gushers for $0.34 per box.  I don't know what happened with the coupons because I thought I added them correctly but I wanted to use my catalinas to get them free but I had to grab a clearanced Kool Aid for $0.12 to get my total up high enough to use them.

Harris Teeter $3.88

I did the Johnsville Sausage deal where I got a catalina from buying two.  I also found the Hormel Snack Packs that were actually money makers of $0.31 each so they paid for some of the sausage.  I brought them home and immediately cooked them to make them into sausage sauce.

Harris Teeter $8.07

I went to the store to get some medicine for my husband because he decided to take some.  I bought two and left them in the front seat of his car at work in case he needed them before he got home.

I gave me a chance to get free noodles and free corn street taco shells.  I was at a different store and they literally read through every single coupon and didn't trust me on anything.  I had to show them where things were the same and different on the coupons.  The customer service person repeated a few times that they don't take copies and I told them that they weren't copies but prints.  The longest trip for the smallest amount of things that I have had in awhile.

Safeway $1.41

I went out shopping to get a bunch of things and sent the boys in the other direction to do some other things and my husband bought them doughnuts! Of course, he didn't let me know or I would have added the points for them to get them for free...so we have coupons to get a few more free soon.

 

Safeway $0

I went to get the new freebie that was added on my card even though I wasn't sure that we would use it.  The funny thing is that my husband took it out of the cupboard shortly after I bought it and it tasted just like Heinz so it was nice to have because we were running low on ketchup.

Harris Teeter $0

I went to the store to get a few things that but I only found these which were the weekend freebie.

Harris Teeter $0

I went back into the store to check out if I had the wrong chicken since the coupon didn't come off in the first transaction.  The coupons didn't come off because the first can was 10 oz and the coupon only applied to the 12.5 oz can.  This was the last one left!!

Aldi $7.61

I got a few things that we were running low on and a few things I wasn't sure about.

Safeway $1.19

I went back to use some free coupons from the Monopoly game.  I got two free waters, free blue cheese dressing, free french bread, free snack mix, free hot dog rolls, and free chapstick.  The Cheerios were on sale for $0.99 for one box and $2.50 for the second box.  There was a coupon for $1 off 2 boxes and I had $1 free groceries so I got a ton of things for a great price.

Lidl $29.53

I went to Lidl to get a few things that we needed and a bunch of things that would be great in our stockpile because I had a $5 off $30 coupon on the app.  I wanted to get the honey because it was on sale for $5.19 which is cheaper then my parents normally get it at Sam's Club and we were running very low.  We were out of cheese, eggs, oil and vinegar so I was happy to find those at a low price.  I got a bag of $0.99 carrots because I still had my bacon ranch dip that was tasty on the carrots last time.  The bite sized tortilla chips are my son's new favorite so I got three bags to put in the cupboard.  I grabbed the salsa because we haven't tried their brand yet and with all those chips, I thought we might need some.  The Cheese Puffs were a super yummy treat that my son and husband were very excited by but sad that I only got two bags while they were on sale for $1.  I told them now that I know that they like them, I can pick them up next time.  I was also excited to find the toothpaste my son likes but then I got home and I guess my husband had finally talked him into using the adult tooth paste flavors.  In case it doesn't work out, I guess I am covered.  It also printed out a coupon for $5 off $25 for me to use next time.

Walmart $0.39

I went to Walmart to get a few deals with the coupons and gift card, but things were already crazy.  The shelves were cleared and there were a bunch of things not there that were on my list.  I got a few money makers even though it wasn't what I wanted because I could use my points to get a gift card and then I turned this in for $12.08 in Ibotta rebates.  I figured that I could use the butter at least.

Safeway $0

I went to another Safeway so that I could find the free crackers and seasoning packet.  I forgot when I was in the checkout lane that I also needed to get the $25 gift card that we earned enough points for with all the Monopoly cards.  My son was super excited to get them all and earn enough points so that he could get some fun things for him.

Target $0

We went out of the house to try to find a few things because it was getting very serious and school announced it was closed and it looked like other places were closing too.  I went to get my son's vitamins but even though they were the only place that had them around, they weren't on the shelf when I got there.  The employee checked the system and couldn't find anymore.  I used points to get a gift card and my husband had another one from work so I had $50 in gift cards so I bought Frozen 2 to watch while we were stuck at home.  I also grabbed Tums for my husband because he finished his last one that morning so these were $2.99.  I got two bags of jelly beans just in case the Easter Bunny needed them and the stores are closed.

Aldi $2.40

I went to Aldi to get a few things but this store was kind of picked over and they didn't have much that I wanted.  I got a box of Rice Kripy cereal and mini marshmallows to make treats.

Harris Teeter $11.82

Since we were headed to a second Aldi to try to get the rest of the things on my list.  I got the $1.97 Turkey Hill ice cream with two for my son and two for my husband and myself.  I used my rain check for $0.77 Pringles cans because they are my son's favorite along with the ice cream.  I got the 5 items for $5 off but they were out of many of things that I wanted.  I got the 4 Cool Whips and one bacon.  There was a rebate on the bacon on Ibotta so I got $1 back.  We were super happy to have some yummy things in the house.

Aldi $19.27 

I got three bags of Chicken Fries which are my son's favorite food and what we needed if we were going to make it through.  He also asked for Ice Cream Bars and they had them at the second store too.  Sadly there were a few more things that I should have looked around for at the second store but I was focused on the few things on the list and getting out because it was taking so long to get to all the stores.  I wish I took a few more seconds to see because we really could have used more shortening and a few more things.

Aldi $43.31 and Lidl $28.14

I went to the store after we were sent home so that I could get the things that I thought would get us through at least a month.  My dad drove so I went shopping and didn't touch anything in the car.  It was a little stressful to be out in the stores when I hadn't been in so long but there was an amazing amount of things on the shelf so I left with a ton!!

I got three blocks of Mozzarella to make pizza through the month.  I got cream cheese either for bagels or another batch of baked potato soup and I am having a hard time deciding.  I got four big blocks of Extra Sharp Cheddar because we love our cheese.  I got 2 bags of pretzels and 4 bags of cheese puffs.  I got one pack of hamburger buns so that my husband could eat his burgers that were in the freezer.  I got an 18 count eggs so that we would have tons for baking and cooking ovver the coming months.  The last thing that I grabbed was a Cranberry Grape Cocktail so that we could compare it to Ocean Spray since we were out.  I got a Chocolate Bunny for an Easter Basket (shhh).

I went to Aldi and it was a little overwhelming with more people lacking the common courtesy of staying away from each other.  I got out of the car and left my quarter in the car and someone felt sorry for me and handed me one.  I obviously looked a little bit of a mess when I almost ran after my dad driving away.  I also lost my receipt somewhere in the process so I only remember the things based on the pictures and I made my own list/receipt so that I could remember and stuck it in the folder with other receipts. It was way too much but I wanted to make sure I didn't have to go back.  Everything was cheaper then it is normally so I assume that they lowered their prices to compete with Lidl across the street so it was a great opportunity to get $0.75 Nacho Cheese Chips and $0.82 Pretzels.  They were only out of the ice cream bars that my son asked for so I got mint chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate ice cream for the rest of us.

Harris Teeter $54.95

I mainly had to get ketchup, pancake mix and vegetable shortening.  Guess what they were out of??  Ketchup and Pancake Mix! I didn't take a picture when I came home because I only brought in the chicken and immediately dumped it in glass containers sealed in the fridge and thew out the packaging.  I also put the Wewalka pizza dough in the fridge after I wiped them down which was $0.84 each after sale and coupon.  I got one box of Penne because it was the last on the shelf and one box of Sea Shells which were $0.29 each and there was a rebate to make them a money maker.  There was a sale and coupons for the Quaker Chewy Bars but they were out of my son's favorite so I got a different one that I hope he likes.  Those allowed me to order a free beach towel on Quaker's website.  I got 6 packages of Kool Aid because we have used most of the ones from home already and they were on sale for 6/$1.  I grabbed one nearly full priced Ocean Spray CranGrape because we were totally out!!  I got two containers of vegetable shortening because I couldn't find any at Aldi or Lidl and we were totally out.  I got free Fudge Stripe cookies (YUM) with sale and coupon.  I also got dry roasted peanuts for $0.24 after sale and coupon.  Most expensive was the four cases of Coke products for $2.77 each.  I got one Harris Teeter brand ginger ale for $0.99 after sale and coupon.  The rest of the groceries sat in the garage to wait until it was safer to bring in the house.


 Total Retail $778.96
Total Savings $536.46
Total Rebates $14.48
Total OOP $228.02

I hope that you had a good month even though ours turned into a little bit crazy at the end of the month with our local schools closing on March 13th and closing for the rest of the year.  We couldn't figure out if things were going to get better or worse if we waited to get groceries so we decided to go out on March 25th and get enough to last us through the next month.  It was exhausting so it took me a few days to make it back to get the last few things we needed.  We are lacking in a few things that weren't on the shelf but happy with all that we got.  I have a monthly meal plan already for April so hoping to not shop much during the month.  I am going to try to clean out the freezers and see if there are other meals hiding in there because they are currently stuffed to the top and over flowing.  I knew going to the store that I was going to be super over budget but I was sad it was $68.02 over our $160 grocery budget.  I used the $33.82 from the eating out leftover so we were only $34.20 over our total budget.  I know that I am going to keep next month's total really low so hoping that I can make up for that extra money spent and then some! Working on a meal plan to see if we can last for two months (minus the lack of ketchup, lettuce and milk).

Eating Out and Take Out

We decided to get Pizza Hut and we used the rest of the gift card and a freebie of bread sticks that we had points for from their loyalty app.  We ended up spending $6.18 of our monthly $40 budget.  After things got more restricted, we decided that we would not get take out or delivery so I used the rest of the budget to get groceries including some fun stuff for special treats.  It left me $33.82 extra for groceries.