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.

August Month End Budget Totals

I can't believe how quickly summer went but how long August seemed.  I spent more then I should have in the first half of the month from our monthly $160 budget but I was hoping to find lots of great deals for the rest of the month to stay under budget.  You can see below if you are interested in what I got for the whole month and stay tuned to the end to see how I did against my budget.

Below is what I got for the month including a picture.  I broke down all of my beginning of the month trips here and the rest of the break downs can be seen below.

Harris Teeter $0.01

Harris Teeter $23.64

Harris Teeter $16.71

Harris Teeter $4.89

Harris Teeter $8.81

Harris Teeter $3.16

Harris Teeter $1.85

Walmart $0 (used Gift Cards)

Aldi $3.64

Harris Teeter $15.71

Aldi $5.71

Harris Teeter $2.98

Giant -$0.06 (found quarter at check out)

Aldi $3.27

Harris Teeter $26.29

I went a little crazy with a few deals that were evic deals including the Capri Sun and the Ore Ida Tater Tots which I didn't have a coupon for but were $0.97 each ($0.25 Ibotta on Juice Boxes).  I grabbed the free Good Belly Yogurt but they rang it up wrong so I had to go to customer service to get money back.  I got the Sweet Tarts, Trolli and Carefree free after sale and coupon.  The loaf of bread was $0.89 and then I turned it in for $1 rebate from Ibotta.  I had to get shortening for the fryer and Aldi has changed to only carrying it seasonally so we were totally out.  I got the Smarty Pants vitamins because a friend recommended them and my son tried them and liked them.... and then I bought them and he hated them but I paid $7.49 after sale and coupon with $19 shelf price.  The Cottonelle was on sale for a good price so I decided to get it because the deals have been fewer so it was $3.87 per package or $0.32 per roll (and there was an $0.50 Ibotta).  I also got $0.10 any item Ibotta.

Harris Teeter -$0.75

I got the Taste and Tell Cracker Barrel for free.  I used the coupons for the Sweet Tarts and Trolli candy for free after sale and coupon so it is was supposed to be free but the one flavor of Trolli didn't ring up at the right price so I went to customer service and they gave me one free and fixed the pricing on the others so that I made a little money on this transaction!!

Giant $0.71

I got a catalina coupon for a free yogurt which was I excited to pick up because I like the lime one.  I got a freebie added to my card for free Nature Valley Crispy Wafers.  I got the free kid fruit for the mandarin orange.  I had a coupon for $1 off so I grabbed $1 of bananas and I thought that I was all set but another electronic coupon came off for the yogurt and it put me in the negative so I grabbed gum because I confused the cashier a lot already.  Then I baffled the new clerk by paying cash because she didn't know what buttons to press. Luckily I had exact change!  I turned in the receipt for $0.10 any item Ibotta.

Aldi $8.86 

We were out of both so I ran in to grab them when we were running errands.

Aldi $24.52

We were down south so I stopped with the whole family to grab some of the cheaper Aldi's things including chips for $0.75 each and the Pretzels for $1.04.  The cheese is $1.45 which is way cheaper then the Aldi's near us.  The stick margarine is $0.84 and the tub margarine is $1.35 which is close in price to our store but we were almost out.  We were almost out of milk so I got that at $1.99 which is close to our store price.  My son added in the sandwich cookies which he has been enjoying for his lunches for school. He also bought a half off pool petz floating pool toy which he wanted but I didn't include it because it doesn't count against the grocery budget.

Harris Teeter $11.20

I started buying my big transaction of things and realized that the cashier had scanned my card but the thing on the screen was surely not it and I had a ton of evic deals so I stopped him and paid for what went through already, making sure that the evics were all in the second half of the transaction.  I quickly went through my coupons and tried to make sure that I gave them everything which was hard because half of the things were in bags and I didn't see them but I figured it out by process of elimination on what was left on the belt.  I had him ring up one more pringles and the coupons and we were all set.  The Jose Ole were $2.99 each.  The Pringles were $3 total or $0.75 per can.  The Finish and the Philly Dips were free.  The peas were on sale for $1.50.

Harris Teeter $4.06

Take two with the correct card and everything went well.  My evic eggs were $.077 each.  The Tillamook cheese was $0.64 after sale and evic coupon.  I got free shampoo, Finish, bagels, bacon bits and Hi Chew.  I accidentally left the Philly Dip out but I only got one in the previous transaction.  There was a $0.25 Ibotta on eggs and $0.10 any item Ibotta.

Harris Teeter $2.75

I got the Gatorade for my husband and did an Ibotta for $0.25.  The Finish and the bacon bits are free.

Harris Teeter $14.49

I got more of the Pringles for my son at $0.75 per can.  I grabbed the Turkey because it was $1.99 after sale and coupon and I should have gotten more so I wouldn't have to buy it at Aldi later but I have had issues getting lunch meat too early even when the dates are far out.  The pumpkin tea is my mom's favorite and it is only available in the winter normally but they didn't have this flavor last year.  I turned in the receipt for $4 Ibotta on the tea and $0.10 any item.

Harris Teeter $9.46

I went a little crazy at the store but I added the free bagels, noodle bowls and bacon to the cart.  I added the Flipz pretzels as a special treat at $0.34 per bag.   The Cranberry Juice was $1.25 each when it was all done because there was an ecoupon that came off and coupons were overriden.  There was a new coupon to get $1.25 off Jif and Smuckers which doubled to $2.50 off so it ended up being $0.88 each and we were out of jelly.  There was a peelie on the Jif for $1 off 2 so I got two more for $0.67 each.

Harris Teeter $1.16

I got three more bags and they were super cheap and very tasty!!

Harris Teeter $28.55

The potatoes were evic price of $0.77 per 5 lb bag limit 2.  I also got the Coke for $2.47 limit 4 evic price.  There was a Taste and Tell on the Fruit Love free.  The Ocean Spray was $1.14 each after sale and coupon.  I got Cheez Its which were buy two, get three free and I had $1/2 coupon so they were $1.50 per box.

 

Total Retail $1,014.50

Total Savings $792.88

Total OOP $221.62

I knew that the budget was gone before the end of the month and I ended up going over for $61.62.  I have had a harder time getting deals lately and we were running low on a few things.  When I am over by that much, it makes it hard to point to one thing that went wrong this month.

I know that I didn't need to buy as much junk food but we spent a lot of time having picnics in August so that we could do things on the go and not pay for take out of eating out all the time.  We probably didn't need more soda either but it was a good price that was hard to pass on.

The only good part is that the monthly average is $168.93 for the year so far so I am not super far outside the budget.  We will see what the rest of the year brings but the coupons are getting more scarce locally so I might have to see what I can do or raise the budget that I have used for the last 10 years.

Eating Out

It was the last month of summer break and it was like vacation all month long to get the most out of summer.  My son had a gift card for Sweet Frog which we used over the summer to get free ice cream every time I went to physical therapy and we reached the end of the gift card and we paid for the rest out of my change purse but I don't remember how much it was but $0.46 is stuck in my head.  I got a coupon for a free cookie at Potbelly from the adult summer reading program so we stopped to get that and my son picked the chocolate brownie cookie which he didn't like but it was amazing and it was $0!!  

We went to the local movie theater to see a movie on $2 Tuesday so the three of us got tickets for $6 and we splurged on two buckets of popcorn because it was $5.75 for the first and $1 for the refill ($6.75 towards the Eating Out budget because movie tickets don't count).  

We got a gift card for a local restaurant so we got pizzas from there for dinner one night.  It was super yummy and gave us lots of leftovers and we spent $0.  We went to Domino's and got free bread twists and spent $0 after coupon from the library summer reading program. Pizza Hut was calling to us after after another busy day so we spent $12.72 on that and ate it at home.  

We went to Red Robin after a day out exploring Great Falls National Park and a nearby playground so we were starving after skipping lunch but used a gift card to spend $10.85 after that.  We had a tasty lunch/dinner meal.

I realized that we also went to Starbucks a few times this summer for cookies but we have lots of gift cards but I don't know when we went.  I had a $5 gift card from the adult summer reading program and many other gift cards from my son's birthday and other gifts so we haven't spent any money out of pocket on our special treats.  He also had a coupon for McDonald's to get a free ice cream cone from his summer reading program which he enjoyed with his best friend.

This was a lot of eating out and the most amazing thing is that we were well under budget for the month with all of these things because of some well used gift cards from Swagbucks, My Points, Birthday presents, Reading Programs and more.  It is great to get to enjoy the summer and only spend $30.32 for the month.

Middle of the Month Budget Update for August

I can't believe that the summer is at the end.  I felt like it was so short in July but now I am exhausted and ready for a little break.  We are only half way through the month of August but it really feels like we are a little closer to the end.  Also a little closer to the end of the budget then I wanted to be for the month but I got a ton of deals and enjoyed the summer even if there weren't any great stock up deals.

I budget $160 a month for all household goods including groceries, paper goods, cleaning supplies and anything that is used around the house.  I use sales, coupons and everything that I can do to stretch that budget to get as much as possible for my family for the month.  Below is the breakdown of everything that I got for the month and the picture of those items.

Harris Teeter $0.01

There was a sale and coupons so my son picked up these and paid only a penny.

Harris Teeter $23.64

I got free Cheesecake Factory pudding, Trolli candy, Boomerang Pot Pie, Philly Cream Cheese Dippers and Fruitlove Smoothies for free.  The Old El Paso tortillas were $0.25 each.  The Gushers were $0.49 per box.  The Turkey Hill ice cream was on sale for B2G3 free and I had an electronic coupon for $0.75 so they ended up being $1.85 each.  I got the Tyson's Chicken Fries for $3.99.

Harris Teeter $16.71

I got free Softsoap, Sargento Cheese, Trolli, Sweettarts, Fruit Love Smoothies, and Philly Dips.  The Fruit Gushers were $0.49 per box.  The Old El Paso Tortilla Shells were $0.25.  The Ocean Spray was $1.58. The Betty Crocker Chilled Treats were $0.50 after coupon and there was a $1 rebate on each box.  The Godiva was my big expense because I messed up the math but they were $2.99 each after coupon and there was a $1 rebate so they ended up being $1.99 but in my head I doubled the rebate...oops! Now I just have to make them.

Harris Teeter $4.89

I got free Softsoap, Trolli candy, Butterfinger bars, Sweet tarts, Blueberry Cheerios, and Sargento Cheese. The Ocean Spray juice was $1.58 and the Ground Chicken was $1 each.  Must have gotten a little overage on something because it was a little less then expected.

Harris Teeter $8.81

There was free Hormel bacon, Fruit Love Smooties, Philly Cheese Dips, Trolli Candy and Cheesecake Pudding.  I got three loaves of bread that were $0.50 and I got back $1 rebate which was a nice addition because this bread is tasty and saved me for having to make it for a few weeks so it was like a little vacation for me. The Cheerios were $0.84 each and the Perdue Chicken was $1.09 each package.

Harris Teeter $3.16

I got the Fruit Gushers to load up for school at $0.49 each and the Philly Cheese Dips were free after sale and coupon.

Harris Teeter $1.85

I got free Hi Chew, Philly Cheese Dips, Fruit Love Smoothie and Cheesecake Factory Pudding all free.  I got the Hamburger Helper for $0.50 each but there was some overage because I was under $2 so that was another great trip.

Walmart $0

Used Gift cards to pay for Goldfish and vitamins for my son and paid for almost all of the purchase except $2.06 for my husbands sunglasses.

Aldi $3.64

We were out of turkey for my husband's lunch and it hasn't been on sale at Harris Teeter so I grabbed the Aldi's turkey and some bananas for my husbands breakfast.

Harris Teeter $15.71

The Cheez Its were on sale B2G3 so I got 5 boxes and I had two $1/2 coupons so they were $7.98 for 5 boxes or $1.60 per box.  The Frosted Flakes were $1.24 per box which is more then I am used to spending but the best deal currently going on.  Windex for $1.50 after sale and coupon which I got just in case because it was  a good deal.

Aldi $5.71

We were out of milk and corn tortillas so I went to grab those and my son wanted the special ice cream sandwiches for his sleepover with his best friend so he got to pick them out.  We got a shopping cart and we put it back and then my son saw another one to put back and got an extra quarter which had him very excited!!

Harris Teeter $2.98

We were almost out of potatoes so I went to get a new bag and got the free Sweet Tarts.  I was hoping to get more but we ran out of time to go to another store.

Giant $0.19

We went to Dominos to order our free bread twists with a coupon from our summer reading program coupon book so we stopped at Giant to get the free Oat Milk coupon that I saved previously and saw another coupon for Sprout baby food which gave me overage so I got everything for $0.19 and I found a quarter on the self checkout station so I got all these groceries and actually made a profit.

Aldi $3.27

I ran in to grab turkey for my husband's lunch.   I was looking for a few other things but they didn't have it so this is all that I got.

Total Retail $471.16

Total Savings $380.59

Total OOP $90.57

It wasn't the best month but I got a ton of things that were a great deal.  I am hoping that there is another super doubles at the end of the month and a few other deals so that I can stock up on some other things and stay under budget.

Eating Out

We got a gift card for a local restaurant so we got pizzas from there for dinner one night.  It was super yummy and gave us lots of leftovers and we spent $0.  We went to Domino's and got free bread twists and spent $0 after coupon from the library summer reading program.  We have plans to go to dinner after an event when we are going to be out of the house but nothing else on the plan for the month so it is going to end under budget even if we add a pizza at the pool.