August Month End Budget Update of Grocery and Eating Out Spending

August is a long month for whatever reason but mostly because I know that next month is going to be difficult with school starting back up and everything virtual.  It is going to take a long time to adjust to the new schedule and trying to get my son on and off classes with the right links so I won't be able to shop during the day like I have been doing.  I have been doing once a month shopping so it is normally leaving the house early and hitting three or four stores to get everything we need for the month.

Aldi $57.13

This was my first and main shopping trip for the month.  I went to Aldi first because I thought that the prices there have been lower recently because it is right across the street from the new Lidl that opened so they lowered their prices to stay competitive.   The great thing for me is that means that I can stock up on a bunch of things that we need for the month at a lower price. I got our 4 Cran Grape, Apple Juice, and Milk for drinks.  I got two bags of nacho chips and two bags of pretzels.  I got four stick margarine for baking with through the month.  I got sour cream to make ranch dip and use for cooking.  I got 4 Mozzarella cheese blocks and 8 Extra Sharp Cheddar blocks.  I got some veggies with carrots and lettuce.  I got some meat with two bacons, two turkey lunch meat, and 2 pepperoni.  I got two veggie shortening to use for greasing pans and in the fryer and super glad that they are back at Aldi.  We got two bags of mini marshmallows to make some Krispy Treats through the month.

Lidl $7.27

I went to get a few things that were still on my list that I couldn't get at Aldi. We have really taken to their tortilla chips and their ketchup.  The chips are super thin and crispy which my son and husband can't live without.  The ketchup has turned into our replacement to Heinz since it was tough to find during all the shopping limitations.  It is super tasty (and close to Heinz after our taste test comparison) and way cheaper.  We also got the name brand brownie mix which is pretty cheap at Lidl for our monthly desserts. I also decided to grab the yellow corn meal because we are almost out of our bag from Colvin Mill and all of them in the pantry and we have been enjoying weekly corn bread.

Aldi $13.25

I didn't get a few things so I went to the other Aldi to find the missing items. The first Aldi didn't have my son's spreadable margarine or his chicken fries.  Super glad that the second Aldi had them because life would be super limiting without his favorites.

Wegman's $50.66

I might have gone a little crazy but I got my ground beef for the month which is a huge expense at $22.62.  But I was totally out of bread flour ($2.99 each) and out of my favorite Wegman's Unbleached flour since I just used my last one from my  November stock up.  The sale price in November is $0.97 per bag and it is $1.49 now when they have it in stock.  I obviously under estimated what I was going to need for the year or else we have been using a ton of flour....which is highly possible.  Last I added a case of mac and cheese because we have been eating one a week which means that we would be out soon and this would last around 3 months. I got a bag of salt potatoes which was a fun summer treat but it lasted us three meals.

Walmart $0.40

I went to the store to get a few things that we needed and I got a gift card to spend less money out of pocket from Swagbucks so that I would use my points to pay instead of cash.  It was great because I had a few extra things in my cart in case it wasn't high enough but spent the whole gift card with the taxes.  I only had to pay $0.40. I decided to get an emergency toilet paper which is crazy expensive without sales and coupons so the gift card helped me feel better.  I got glue sticks for virtual school which my son insists he doesn't need but they were on the supply list.  Also got one Gerber because it was the only one on the shelf.  Some coconut for the next time I make granola to put in the pantry.  I got my deodorant because they are no longer carrying it at many of the stores I got it at so I am trying out the new scent before stocking up again.

Giant $9.04

They had an amazing sale and I couldn't pass it up because there was a 5 lb bag of potatoes for $1.47 and the potato prices have been going up and up. We use about 15 pounds of potatoes a month between the french fries, hash browns and baked potatoes.  It is great to stock up on them at a low price and get even better quality potatoes than we normally can at Aldi.  I got 6 bags which is 30 pounds.

Harris Teeter $49.37

I went a little crazy but there was a sale on chicken so I bought all the chicken that they had.  I marinated and grilled two containers which I diced and froze so that we can have them with meals easily.  We did one package last time and we really enjoyed having them to grab for fried rice and pizza so that they were quick and easy to pull the complete meal together.  Then cut and processes the other three to freeze in bags to use for meals in the upcoming months.  There was a great sale on cereal so I got the evic price and then used a coupon.   I got free milk with the cereal promo and free oat milk from my evics.  I got free yogurt from evics.  I also grabbed another head of lettuce because we like our lettuce!!

Aldi $6.05

I went to get a few things that we had run out of because I just figured out that the lunch meat is going to last us for 8 days per package so we need at least 3-4 to make it through the month but I am always worried it is going to go bad.

Harris Teeter $15.22

I stopped at the second Harris Teeter because we really needed Grape Fanta but there was none at either store so I grabbed the soda that they had since the sale was ending and I wasn't going to go to another store to check.  I think that many people have said that they are going to limit the number of sodas produced because of the limit of the metal for the cans.

Giant $4.31 

I stopped at another Giant to get the few things that I forgot and a few more potatoes because I thought I needed more.  I loaded a coupon to get a free yogurt and then $1 off of 2 Gerber which made them $0.85 each.

Harris Teeter $3.03

Although I was super happy to get this deal, it wasn't something we truly needed especially over budget but it is my son's favorite dessert treat to have after dinner.  I wrote a note to Turkey Hill to let them know that we love their ice cream and they sent a bunch of coupons.  The ice cream was on sale for $1.97 each limit 4.  I got 4 of my son's favorite and then used four different coupons to get all of the ice cream for less then one carton!  He was super happy to see those come home that he didn't even mind helping me with the groceries.

Total Retail $461.43

Total Savings $245.70

Total Rebates $0.20

Total OOP $215.53

Although I was over budget by a little bit, I don't think that I did that badly.  I probably could have skipped the soda but it is our biggest splurge of quarantine.  We got lots of things that we will be using for upcoming months.  I also think that September shopping is going to be put off because of the holiday and school starting.  Here is hoping that we have everything we need to make it through until the next big shop.

Eating Out

We decided that we would get Pizza Hut which got cheers from my son.  He is enjoying getting back to take out even though we are only doing it about once a month.  We spent $10.59.  I guess we have lots of fun to look forward to when we get to go more then once a month.