May Month End Budget and Eating Out

I can't believe how quickly the month goes by but here is another month where I was trying to limit our trips to the store during this stay at home order.  I am trying to adjust to the new normal by not exposing my family to germs as much because we are still on the rise here.  We have decided to not doing any eating out so we are adding that to our normal $160 grocery budget and that moves it up to $200 budget for the month.  Sadly, other then cooking at home and using what we have, there aren't a lot of ways to save money now.

The first time out was Target, Harris Teeter and then Wegman's so it was one store to the next and got a few things at each with the things we were missing and things that were on sale.  The next time out was getting chicken on sale on the next day so I actually did two transaction because I went to the car and said this is silly, I should get more and I went back in and did.  My third splurge trip out of the house was to Trader Joe's which was a little silly but I had a gift card and we love the potstickers and edamame when we are having fried rice so I grabbed those things and a few others with our gift card and only spent a few dollars.  The fourth trip out of the house was two Harris Teeters in a row.  The fifth trip was my big stock up at Lidl and Aldi across the street from each other.  The sixth outing was Giant and Harris Teeter.  I was disappointed that I went to so many stores but it is still less then I normally do so at least I am partially there on planning.  Hope that I get a little better in the coming months.  Fingers crossed!!

Target $1.65

I used the rest of my gift card from my husband's work and then I also got another one with points so that I didn't have to spend a lot of money.  I got a bunch of things that I could with the gift cards.  The coconut was for me to make my granola and it was on sale for the same as Harris Teeter but I could use my gift card.  I got Cheez-Its because my son really wanted some even though they were crazy priced.  I also got him the granola bars that he loves and there was a coupon for them so they were the same price as they would be at Harris Teeter but I got to use the gift card.  We were out of the Gerber Bananas so I grabbed 6.

Harris Teeter $12.58

I was at the store to get chicken and they were out.  Luckily they had some of the other things that we "needed".  I got four gallons of ice cream and three yogurts.  The ice cream was super picked over but they had ones that we liked and I was super excited.  I got some Kool Aid which has been a favorite drink while everyone has been stuck at home.  I got the Fudge Stripe Cookies that were free with the coupon.  I got another shortening because I used up one so this is my backup.  There are two pictures because the refrigerated things went in first and the other stuff did not.

Wegman's $23.69

I went to the store to get meat and there was none there.  I got two bags of bread flour because we are close to out and I didn't want to run out.  I also got a bag of vital wheat gluten which I haven't had in awhile but it was $6.49 which is crazy high priced but everything else was sold out.  There was on box of Big Chewy bars on clearance so I grabbed that for $1.97.  We needed mac and cheese but there was a limit of 2 so I decided to get the case because the pricing works out about the same and I only bought one box and got 12.  I grabbed white rice because they haven't had it at Aldi in a long time so I got it before we ran out.  This was a beautiful picture in the garage where I unloaded all the groceries so you get to see the bikes in the background.

Harris Teeter $31.21 and $24.13

I went to the store to get the chicken that was on sale for $1.79.  I bought three packs.  I found a bag of potatoes which they were out at the other Harris Teeter.  There were out of peas and we are running low so I got corn even though we have corn already in the freezer.  I got a few Kool Aid packets.  I used my last coupon to get another yogurt.  My husband likes gum when mowing the yard so he wanted it because he was out.  The best deal was the Hormel snack packages because they were a penny money maker each.  I used the cheese on sandwiches and more.  The crackers went into the cupboard because we didn't eat them all.  I used the turkey on my husband sandwiches and the salami I cut and fried to have on salads.   On my way to the car, I called my husband and he talked me into getting three more packages of chicken so I decided to go back in and get three more packs (and there were no limits and they were a great price).

Trader Joes $3.11

I had a gift card that I wanted to use up for Trader Joe's and I had a few things in mind to use so I decided to go first thing in the morning and grab them as quickly as I could to stock up on more fun things that we haven't had in awhile including the edamame, potstickers and chicken and beef mini tacos.  We also needed blue cheese which we normally get at Trader Joes because it the most flavorful blue cheese!! Bonus of Dunkers which my husband asked for which were $4.99 each so I won't be agreeing to that anytime soon!!

Harris Teeter $25.61

I went to get a few things but mainly the ice cream special which they had no ice cream.  I got lettuce and potatoes because they are cheaper price here then Aldi or Lidl.  I got two ears of corn because I was excited that it was in season but they were $0.33 each so I didn't get a bunch.  I got another bag of chicken because it was on sale for $1.79 per pound but I had bought 25 pounds last time.  I decided to cut up what I needed for the meals for the week and then boil the rest and shred to make enchiladas.  I got some frozen peas because there was finally stock of frozen veggies which was good because we were almost all out.  I also got to use a coupon to get some Rice Krispies to make some treats later and it made the box cheaper then Aldi and Lidl.

Harris Teeter $4.04

This was my second Harris Teeter in the day to get ice cream.  They didn't have the flavor that I wanted to get but I decided to get the flavor my son would still enjoy.  They only had two cookies and cream so I got those and took a picture in the checkout lane.

Lidl $57.53

I went a little crazy and got a ton of things on my list.  I was most excited about the large blocks of cheese because we have been enjoying them.  They only had one block of mozzarella so I grabbed it just in case they didn't have any at Aldi.  I got lunch meat because it has lasted longer then the lunch meat we used to get from Aldi and it was cheaper.  I got provolone cheese because it was on sale for $1 even though I don't have a plan for it.  I got celery because it looked good and I didn't know if Aldi would have any.  I got two packages of bacon that were on sale because we wanted to have some this month.  I got one whole chicken and cooked it up shortly after for a yummy dinner and used the leftover meat for fried rice and pizza and still had more to put in the freezer.  I tested a smaller bottle of their ketchup last month and we liked it so I got the bigger bottle.  I got one package of Kool Aid because my husband wanted Grape even though it was twice as expensive at Harris Teeter but I didn't know when I went there.  There was a sale on ice pops which I almost bought at Harris Teeter but thought I could find cheaper and got them for $1.79 instead of $2.50.  I got three bags of marshmallows to make some Rice Krispy treats with the cereal from HT.  I got one more tortilla chip and two pretzels because they were on sale for $1.  I also got my son a package of double stuff sandwich cookies and boxed brownies for two of our treats this month.  I got my husband hot dog rolls and Lidl Cran-Grape.  My most expensive purchase was the 4 cases of soda but they were $2.75 which was actually cheaper then HT so I was excited and they have tons in stock.

My disappointing purchase was the corn because we had some right away which was fine but I got 10 and the rest was going bad so I cut it off and used the parts that were still good in other meals.

Aldi $45.50

I checked off everything off my list that I got at Lidl and went across the street to Aldi to get the rest of the things that we needed.  It is always hard to know what store is going to have things and what stores might not.  I had to get chips at Aldi because Lidl was totally out of Ranch and Nacho cheese which were top of our list.  I got two jars of salsa because the boys said that they liked Aldi better.  I got a container of mustard because there was none in the pantry and my husband has been using it on soft pretzels so even though I can't tell what is in the one we have, I know it is going to run out soon.  We have never tried Aldi ketchup but we liked the Lidl ketchup that we tried so we are going to try this one and have a taste test.  I also got another garlic salt as backup because we just opened the last one in the cupboard.  I also got a lot of cold food there since it was my second stop before heading home.  I got ice cream, two tubs of margarine, four packages of stick margarine, two eggs, two blocks of mozzarella cheese and milk.  I also got three packages of pepperoni because my husband and son ate all the pepperoni that we had last month.  They also had a few sales I was looking for like zucchini for $1.49 and  strawberries for $1.19. I grabbed one more bag of my son's favorite Chicken fries even though we have a few bags because I just don't want to ever run out and not be able to get them.

Giant $6.25

I saw the weekend deals at Giant which included corn on the cob which were 10 for $2 and I got 10 but totally didn't take a picture right away so we already ate a bunch.  This corn was way better then anything else that we had enjoyed so far!!  The other weekend deal was Cheez Its for $1.99 per box.  I printed out four coupons for the Cheez Its so they were $0.99 per box.  There was also a freebie on my account for yogurt so I got that too.

Harris Teeter $13.43

I went to the store to get the rest of the soda for the family since there were limited flavors at Lidl when I got the other four cases.  They were totally out of Diet Coke so I was excited that I bought that at Lidl and kind of wish that I bought more but I bought 2 Cherry Coke and 2 Grape Fanta.  I also wanted to get the free oat milk because it saved me a few times last month when baking bread so that I didn't use the milk that my son drinks.  I also got two salsas because they were on sale and I had a coupon so they were $1 each.  I can use them in cooking if the boys don't prefer them because they were the restaurant style which we haven't had before.

Total Retail $512.02

Total Savings $263.29

Total Rebates $0.50

Total OOP $248.23

I was over my new adjusted budget by $48.23 and I knew it although I was really under budget ($90) for last month.  I knew that getting so little was going to catch up with me and it did.  I got what we needed and still shopped the best that I could.  I know that we actually have food this month that will get us all the way through next month.  I have a meal plan in place and I hope that I will be able to keep out of the store. 

However, I did got out to the store 6 times this month which was a little more then needed since we made it with three times last month.  The hard part is stopping me from shopping sales because I have done it for so long and trying to stock up on things at a low price.  I would like to say that I will try harder next month but I guess we will have to wait and see.  I am not sure what the right balance is to get the things that our family wants and needs and balancing the budget.

I know that we have a lot more creative times ahead with summer coming since it is so hard to cook and bake in the hot summer months.  We are also running low on all our baking supplies with only three bags of sugar and three bags of flour in the stockpile.  I also only have the two bags of bread flour and very few chocolate chips and I just opened my last honey. 

My husband likes to point out that with no hair cuts for the boys, no filling up on gas since March, all camps and classes cancelled, and everything else shut down that we are really totally saving money.  But those are different budget items that don't normally affect the budget but it kind of does now when I go and by soda and double stuff sandwich cookies because I want my son to have something fun to eat since I have to tell him vacation and camp is cancelled.  I have a feeling that is going to come in handy soon when I have to get more things next month #QuarantineBudget!! 

How have you guys been dealing with everything?

Eating Out 

We haven't spent anything on eating out this month because we decided as a family that it was safest and easiest if we stayed at home as much as possible so eating out budget was $0.