February Month End Spending for Groceries and Eating Out

 We have a monthly budget of $160 for groceries and $40 for take out. We have found that if we save on eating out that it is nice to splurge on some things for the grocery budget. The two budgets are interconnected for us and it is easier to manage them together. I make sure that I work as hard as I can to be under $200 for the month on both.

Normally, I shop sales and use coupons to stretch my budget the farthest. It has been harder during the pandemic because we have limited time in stores and more limited deals. I have been going to the store mainly once a month and getting all of the things for the month. It is tough with my son doing virtual learning at home and needing help which limits when I can leave the house. I have enjoyed having the stockpile of supplies in the house but things are getting low now so it will be interesting to see what shopping is going to look like in the coming months.

Below are the things that I got at the store during the month with a picture and description of all the items that I have gotten. It also gives you all the prices that I spent on the items and my totals.

Target $42.04

 

I put in an order online at Target because they discontinued my son's favorite vitamins and we needed a replacement so we got the Flintstones Sour Gummies. We also found out that they just discontinued his Calcium Vitamins and they were only available at one local Target.  My husband ran out and grabbed them at night so that I wouldn't have to get it during my busy shopping day.

Harris Teeter $45.67

 

I went to Harris Teeter and got lots of fun things which had coupon deals and sales.  I got Quaker oatmeal for my husband because he was out of the one that was his favorite and it was on sale. The Cheez Its are my son's and husband's favorite snacks and they were on sale.  I got the Capri Sun because there was an electronic coupon for $1 off and it is one of my son's favorites so $1.89 seemed like a good price. I grabbed Pringles for my son because they are his favorite chips which he ate very quickly after he cheered after I brought them home. I got two bags of 8 lb potatoes so that we had 16 pounds for the month which we used all of through the month. The Heinz Ketchup was on sale for $2.50 and if you bought $10 then you got $2 off so it was $2 a bottle which is the normal sale price and we didn't have any in the pantry and we have been using Lidl ketchup through a lot of pandemic because it is closest to Heinz that we have found.  My family can't tell the difference (although my husband claims to but we switched back and he hasn't noticed). I got a can of Rico's Nacho cheese which we enjoyed last month to dip with chips and it was on sale for $2.00. We were out of our favorite Ortega taco seasoning and it was on sale for $2.99 for the big jar.  I have found that I can use 3 tbsp instead of 4 tbsp and stretch the seasoning farther. I had a coupon to get the Lipton tea for $1.44 so that I could make my daily iced tea. The yogurt was free after electronic coupon. I got the Tums for my husband because we were out and I got Act for my son to rinse with his braces.  Both were on sale and I used coupons. I got a Suave Shampoo for my son for $0.50 after electronic coupon and sale.  I got the evic eggs which were $0.77 a dozen and I got three. McCain potato products were on sale for $2 and there was a buy one, get one free coupon so they ended up being $1 each bag.  I also got a $0.99 head of lettuce for the month. Mission tortilla shells were $0.97 after coupon so I got two packages for my husband. The last deal was the Dum Dums which were $1.14. The best part of this is that I got an electronic $5 off $30 purchase and then I used a competitor coupon for $5 off my purchase too.

Aldi $8.23

I went to the store to grab ice cream bars because they have been hard to come by and I got two jars of salsa because my son has decided that he only like Aldi salsa and not the Lidl salsa that I just purchased. My husband also said he wanted more crackers even though he still had most of a box left but I grabbed it because it was only $0.75. He still hasn't touched the other crackers so it is still sitting in the pantry.

Lidl $14.10

I went to Lidl and grabbed a free chocolate bar for my birthday bonus on my Lidl account. I used a coupon to get the tea bags for $1.09. I got three bags of Cheese Puffs which were on sale for $1.09 each.  My son loves these tortilla chips so I got 2 bags for $0.92 each. I got the apple juice for $0.95 because my son had already finished the one in the fridge and it is only $0.95 at Lidl. I got the penne pasta for $0.75 each. The Goldfish were still in stock from the earlier sale for $7.49 and a favorite of my son's too.

My husband was out of turkey lunchmeat because the one that I had gotten from Lidl before was bad when he opened it even though it was well before the date.  There was such a horrible fight to get the turkey lunch meat for free because the cashier didn't know and the manager had to come over and still didn't know what to do.  I eventually got the free lunch meat and my money back but it wasn't the best experience and certainly harder then Aldi exchange.

Aldi $21.89

I went to get the celery because it was on sale for $0.65.  I went to the other store on the other side of town and it wasn't on sale for the same price so I had to go to my normal store to get it for $0.65 each. The sugar was something we needed and it was $1.93 for the 4 lb bag and we needed 2 bags for the month. I got the gallon of skim milk for $2.41. I got a bag of white round chips because they were $0.79 so I thought we would try them again. I got one honey mustard because those are hard to find and only $0.89. I got one package of turkey lunch meat.  I got my husband hamburger rolls so that he could have some of his frozen hamburgers which he has been enjoying on the store $0.59 rolls. We were out of the other pot stickers and they don't have these often and they are $3.99 and my husband loved the dipping sauce in this package last time. I got another container of store oreos for my son and myself for $1.29. Then we always need more cheese and Aldi is a bargain at $1.25 a block which is an amazing deal.

 

Safeway $0

I went to the store to get this because it was free after coupon.  I actually couldn't reach it because it wasn't pushed forward so I had to ask one of the employees to reach and grab it for me. I like to use this in bread and baking when I don't have other milk so that I don't use my son's milk.

Harris Teeter $57.22

I went a little crazy at the store and I knew that I was going to be over my grocery budget when I went but I was on a mission to get a bunch of things and save lots of money.  The Coke products were on sale for $2.47 limit 4 so I got some soda for all of us. The chicken was on sale and we were running low so it was on the top of my list to look for.  Bonus is that they were really stocked up so I got 4 packages which was a little over 20 lbs. In the back hidden behind the chicken is the HT Penne which was on sale for $0.49 per box so I got them to see if my son would like them and he did so I will be looking for that sale since I haven't gotten free coupon pasta in a long time. There was a sale on frozen veggies so I got them for $0.77 each. I got the Cabot cheese for $1.50 after sale and coupon. The HT Margarine was on sale for $0.49 so that was less then Aldi so I grabbed 6 packages. I got 20 pounds of potatoes because the 5 pound bags were on sale for $1.99 each and they looked better then the 8 lb bags that I have been buying at nearly the same price per pound. I got another head of lettuce because we were running low. I got the big bag of rice for $1.50. Hidden behind the rice is a two pack of Philly cream cheese which I got to enjoy on homemade bagels and it was $1 per package. I got a bag of Cheetos for free with coupon that I got in the mail so we did a taste test comparison and my son was the only one that preferred it over Lidl. I got two boxes of Barilla Orecchiette pasta for $0.59 which is the tasty like home made pasta so I thought it would be nice to have. I was happy to use a $10 off $50 coupon that was in the newspaper that I saw before I left the house.

 

Total Retail $382.02

Total Savings $192.87

Total OOP $189.15

I was over the grocery budget by $29.15 but totally under my eating out budget so I was still happy with my crazy spending this month.  I also set myself up for a great month next month with the stuff that I got at the end of the month. I know that I didn't make the healthiest purchases this month but those are often the months with little take out to make sure every one in the house is super happy. We have been making lots of things at home like bread, rolls, bagels, muffins, quick bread, cookies, cakes and more so that we always have more things then are pictured here and lot of food in the freezers.

I am super excited that we finally cleaned out the freezer so we have tons of space to rearrange things and get a better idea of what we have.  I found a few applesauce and banana containers to make bread with and tons of pumpkin puree that I have made in past years. We did eat a lot of our chicken broth with recipes that I have made and not replaced because we haven't had a lot of whole chickens to make more broth. I was super glad to get the updated inventory to do the monthly meal plan. Ready to make use of my new cleaned out freezer to easily find things...okay I can always find things but no one else can so I am the only one to go down and get things out. Yeah to a clean freezer!!

Eating Out/Take Out Budget

We only got take out once this month and we had a gift card so we spent no money to get one pizza from Pizza Hut which is my son's favorite.  We got it one night that I was exhausted and didn't want to make dinner so my husband kindly picked it up and we really enjoyed it with one free Book It Pizza and one large pizza.  It has been super fun to get the Book It pizzas to enjoy a little deep dish pizza with the hand tossed we normally get. We will be getting another one next month when we go to get pizza.

October Month End Budget for Groceries and Eating Out

 October was a really long month.  I realize that it has 31 days but I mean it seemed to go on forever.  I  had been doing a really good job at once a month shopping where I got everything for the month on one big day of shopping but that normally takes me an entire day.  I would get a small trip to get milk and lunch meat later in the month but September messed up that processes with school starting.  I started off with the smaller trip and then spent the majority of the money on the second time. It was amazing how quickly the month was over when it seemed to take so long.

Below are all the things that I got for the month and how much I spent. I got 25 lbs of potatoes (which might have been a lot after the last two months of potatoes purchases). I got lots of meat with13 lbs of ground beef, 21 lbs of boneless chicken, 4 lbs of bacon, 2 lbs of turkey lunch meat, pepperoni, and ground sausage. These are all expensive purchases and my totals feel high but I also feel like I have a ton of food for the coming months. 

Giant $8.43

I went to the store to get the weekend specials.  There was another sale on 5 lbs of potatoes for $1.47 so I bought another 15 pounds. There was a sale on lettuce for $0.88 so I grabbed one since we were almost out of ours.  I also got four packages of Gerber baby food. 

Aldi $29.51

There was another amazing sale on yellow potatoes for $1.29 for a 5 lb bag so I picked up another 10 pounds of potatoes. I might have a problem getting this many potatoes but we really do love our potatoes. I got rice because although we had Basmati, Jasmine and some from Wegman's but my son has declared that he only likes the kind from Aldi.  I got two more packages of bacon at $2.59 a pound. I couldn't pass them up in case the price went up. I got some sausage which was $1.49 per pound and I am actually a little sad that I didn't get more for the freezer. I got a bag of Honey crisp Apples and a bunch of bananas. I got another package of Parmesan Cheese because ours was almost empty.  I got 4 blocks of Mozzarella cheese because I thought we were low but I was wrong because I had plenty but that just means that we have more for next month.  I got a bag of potato puffs because I used all of the tater tots in the freezer through quarantine.  It became a favorite for my son I grabbed a bag to taste test from Aldi. I had no idea if we were out of pepperoni so I got another bag. I got milk and 2 dozen eggs.  It was a lot of groceries to make sure that we had enough for the month.

Harris Teeter $18.10

Turkey Hill Ice Cream was on sale for Buy Two, Get Three Free so I went to get five.  There was also a great deal on Quaker Chewy Bars which we were $1.47 each. While I was there, I also saw Black Cherry Kool Aid which has been discontinued at the other stores so I grabbed some. I also got my free taste and tell drink.

Safeway $1.14

I got an amazing coupon which I wanted to use for $5 off $5 in groceries so I decided to get my son some Cheez-its which were $5.99 for the family box so I only paid $0.99 plus tax. He enjoyed it but ate it in less then a week!

Giant $0.56

 I got a free can of Pepsi with the Friday Freebie coupon that was loaded on my card. I had another coupon to get $0.50 off Duncan Hines Cake Mix which was on sale for $1.00 so it was $0.50 plus tax.

Aldi $12.95

I went to Aldi because we got a bag of chicken fries and they were gross per my son.  I returned them and got the money back and they were out of chicken fries.  I got a replacement kind which my husband and I think taste amazing but my son doesn't like. Since I was already in the store, I grabbed Cran Grape, White Vinegar, Bacon, Margarine Sticks, Margarine Tub, Honey Mustard Salad Dressing and Bacon. We didn't need more bacon but I wasn't sure what we needed.

Safeway $0

I got another freebie loaded to my card for peanut butter.  I figured that it was great for cookies and it was amazing.

Safeway $0.81

I got another $5 off $5 coupon and a price reduction for $5.69.  I decided to use my Kellogg's Family Rewards points to get a $1 off coupon. I also got one package of Gerber baby food.

Giant $0.55

Another great deal with free Crush soda from my Friday freebie coupon and $0.50 off the Betty Crocker Cake Mix which was $1 so I got it for $0.50 plus tax.

Wegman's $40.69 + $2.44

This was my crazy splurge for ground beef because they finally had 80/20 which is a lot cheaper then the 90/10 so I bought two packages which will last about 13 weeks because I put it in 13 bags in the freezer.  Flour was on sale for $1.19 for 5 pounds with a limit of 2 so I got two. I did another transaction with two more because the cashier said it was fine.

Harris Teeter $36.31

This trip was to get the weekend evic Pringles which were $0.47 after sale and coupon and they are my son's favorites. I also grabbed the $1.79 chicken which I thought I was going to get two packages but they looked pretty good so I got four.  There was a coupon for $5 off $30 purchase which also came off that I wasn't expecting so that was awesome.  Sadly they were out of the Heinz Ketchup deal so I didn't get to buy those and they still aren't offering rain checks.

Walmart $0.02

We were almost out of sugar so I went to see if they had the 25 pound bag and they did so I grabbed a gift card to pay for it with my free points.

Aldi $15.10

I got two pumpkins at $1.89 each. Splurged on cookies for my son because I found the double stuff ones which I haven't seen in months.  I got 6 blocks of Sharp Cheddar because we were running low.  I got a container of skim milk since it was my last trip to the store in the month even though we weren't out. They were out of lunch meat, chicken fries and something else that was on my list but I just didn't have the energy to hit another Aldi and Harris Teeter and I had food that had to get into the refrigerator so I ended my shopping day after my 6th store. I am grateful that we have a lot of options in the area but it is also exhausting to chase after all the deals in one day.

 

Walmart $0

I went to the store to get a new bike helmet for my son because I ordered it  online and we waited patiently.  It was over two weeks of waiting for it to leave the FedEx facility.  I checked daily and it wasn't happening so I set up a FedEx account because it said it would tell me more information.  Nope nothing! I finally found the link to complain to Walmart and they were super strange in the online chat but decided it was lost and they provided a refund or reship option.  I decided I just didn't trust them and there was stock in the local store so we went the next day and got a new one the next day.  I got a gift card on My Points to pay for some Peppermint Ice Cream for my husband.  The rest of the gift card went to our non-food purchases which I don't count into our budget. He really enjoyed it!

Aldi $16.87

I knew that I was at the end of my budget but things have been so hard to find at the store and I haven't been able to get chicken fries for months so I was down pretty low with what we had in the freezer so I grabbed three. Our budget needs to be flexible in these crazy times and I know that I was low last month so there was wiggle room. I also got some bananas for my husband's breakfast.

Lidl $9.02

I had to stop to get lunch meat because Aldi hasn't been carrying the lunch meat that my husband likes.  I talked to someone that works there and she said that they were replacing the pound containers with these little 8 oz packages that were nearly the same price.... well that is twice the price so not for me thanks!  I stopped to get two packages there and there was plenty.  I also decided to grab two bottles of Cran Grape because I thought me might be running low on the Lidl one. 

Safeway $0

I went to the store to get the freebie of the pizza that was added to my card.  We were pretty excited to have the convenience food which we got to enjoy together for lunch.

Total Retail $407.36

Total Savings $214.86

Total Rebates $2.46

Total OOP $190.04

I was initially disappointed that I was over my $160 budget. Looking back at what I got, I know that I got tons of things to use for months to come. Shopping is still difficult here with stock issues and higher prices which is hard when we switched to once a month shopping. I ask the person at Harris Teeter about the ketchup and he says try back tomorrow which is not going to happen but in the past, I totally would have gone back.  I could have gone to another Harris Teeter but I had already been to 5 or 6 stores in one day already so I just couldn't do it and I had frozen things to get home. It is so hard for me to shop sales like I have been doing for the last 12 years and I actually got a lot of sale prices this month so I am counting this as a win.  I was $11.24 over my total budget so that is not too bad (see eating out information below to see why I blame the pizza)! Also grateful to have used two gift cards from My Points which I have been working really hard on since Swagbucks has gotten so hard to save a little more on the budget.  How are you doing with shopping and budgeting?

Eating Out or Take Out

Our big splurge at the end of the month was to get Pizza Hut.  We decided to go with two pizzas so that we would have leftovers to eat before or after Halloween celebrations.  It was great to have the quick meal around the busy time.  We spent $21.20 which is under my $40 take out budget but I certainly spent the extra money with the grocery shopping.

Month End Budget for June Groceries and Eating Out

I normally have a monthly budget of $160 for groceries and $40 for eating out so during this time we decided to go with $200 for groceries and skipped eating out.  Prices have gone up so much so it was much needed.  Also without the ability to shop sales and use coupons to get the lowest price, there is an increase in the amount things cost.  In addition, we are getting more treats because we are stuck at home so we are all getting something a little special to enjoy and look forward to.

We have been trying to go to once a month grocery shopping which has been an adjustment but I think that this month was getting way closer to accomplishing.  I went out to the store on three different days stretched in the month so I wasn't out too often but I had a few different stores to go to in order to get the things we normally use. 

Harris Teeter $34.84

I went to the store because I saw some sales that I couldn't pass up and I decided to  grab Turkey Hill ice cream because my son loves it.  I got cereal with the printable coupon and sale.  I got two containers of eggs.  I got key lime yogurt.  I grabbed a bunch of tropical punch and grape Kool Aid.

Aldi $8.31

I went to the Aldi that was close to the Harris Teeter but the stock was horrible and the costs were so much higher so I decided to drive all the way to the other Aldi to get the other items while I was still out.  I did get two sugar and two flour and one bag of pepperoni.

Aldi $24.91

I went to my second Aldi of the day and grabbed the last items that I needed. I got two more flour but they were out of sugar.  I got two bags of pretzels and my son's favorite Ranch chips.  I got a container of oats and bottle of oil to add to the stockpile.

Walmart $45.51

I decided to order online for grocery pick up at Walmart for a few things that I haven't been able to get at other stores.  Super great because I got my son's favorite granola bars which I haven't been able to find for months. I got the Kool Aid flavor that is discontinued at a bunch of other stores and is my son and husband's favorite.  I also got another pack of ice pops because we were out.  I got a 25 lb bag of sugar which I built up my muscles with pouring into my container.  Sadly, they took the flour out of the order so I didn't get any flour.

Wegman's $31.34

Since we were in the area, I went to get ground beef.  I think that I was so surprised that they had only 90/10 ground beef and the price was super high that I didn't even stop to think that I also needed to get bread flour or the flour that I didn't get at Walmart so I only got meat in this purchase which we made into 7 meals to enjoy for the next month. I did remember that we were almost out of lettuce so I grabbed a head when I was walking through produce.

Lidl $67.64+ $2.95

I was ready with my once a month list of all of things that I needed to get and I was on the hunt for everything that I could find.  I was super excited to get most of the things that I wanted and needed while going through the store.  My new list to try to shop once a month really helped.  I had all of the items and amounts listed and got to find most of them. I got two dozen eggs, bacon, 7 mozzarella cheese, 3 large cheddar cheese, celery, turkey lunch meat, blueberries, 2 ketchup, can of pineapple, jar of salsa and carrots.  I bought a lot of treats including 4 tortilla chips, Lidl Oreos, box of brownie mix, vanilla wafers, Crispy Rice, 3 bags of marshmallows, 2 bags of ice pops.  My husband and son decided that Lidl Cran Grape juice was good enough so I got 6 of them to last through July.

I had to go back across the street because I needed the cream and there was a bigger and cheaper container there so I went back and also grabbed another bag of marshmallows because I got a second package of Crispy Rice at Aldi so I needed them to make more Rice Krispie Treats!!  I am sure that you can't see everything in this because I piled it in the garage before cleaning it off and bringing it in the house.

Aldi $50.58

I went to Aldi second to get the items that were left on the list.  There was a sign for the potatoes to get them cheaper then they have normally been so I grabbed three bags but the cashier had to override the price.  I got white rice because my son isn't loving the Wegman's rice we got last time.  I got zucchini which was done by pound instead of by package this time which was a little of a surprise.  I got a package of bacon because more is always better.  I got and two more dozen eggs and three mozzarella because they were cheaper at Aldi.  I got three packages of pepperoni because we have been using lots of them with pizza and more.  I got another package of Crispy Rice so that we could make more treats.  I got two bags of pretzels and three bags of Ranch chips.  I got one salsa and one Cran Grape to do a taste test against Lidl brand.  I got one gallon skim milk and one half gallon whole milk.  I got an extra bag of Chicken Fries which is my son's favorite.

Giant $10.02

I stopped at the store to get the corn on the cob for 10/$2 which is a favorite and a few deals that I found online.  I saved the coupons on my card and I decided to get Cheerios and Oat Crunch Cheerios which were on sale for $1.99 and there was an electronic coupon for $1/2.  I got the Juicy Juice juice boxes which were on sale for $2.50 and there was $1 electronic coupon and I two $1 coupons from the newspaper so it was $1 for each one.  I also got 2 Gerber bananas even though they weren't on sale and I didn't have a coupon because we were out of them.

Lidl $3.97

I had to go back because the Aldi receipt rang up incorrectly so we had tried the Vanilla Wafers so I went back to get three boxes.

Total Retail $529.45
 Total Savings $249.38
Total Rebates $1.10
Total OOP $278.87

I know that I was way over budget this month but we have a ton of things in the house so we are really set for a little bit even though I spent $78.87 over budget.  We are only low on ice cream, milk and lunch meat so I will have to go to the store to get those things and a few more I am sure.  My son also wants apple juice so adding that to the list.  It has been a tough few months for the budget with everything going on.  I think that I have finally adjusted to shopping less and it is an interesting new way even if it does cost a little more.  

Although those expenses have gone up, most other expenses have gone down.  I just filled up my car with gas for the first time since March for almost 4 months on the same tank of gas.  I normally fill up every 6 weeks so this is obviously a lot less.  We are doing a lot of walking around and only going out a few times a month.  We are also getting all our haircuts at home instead of going out.  How are your expenses and spending going?

April Month End Budget Update and Eating Out

Normally, I start this section with a statement that our family has set a $160 monthly budget for food and household goods for our family. I shop sales and use coupons and anything else that I can do maintain our monthly budget.  I make most of our bread and treats at home so that we have lots of food to enjoy. This month has definitely seen the rise in creative cooking and making things from the freezer and pantry to make the most out of everything we have.

However, our stay at home order has brought a lot of thoughts up that aren't things that I normally spend a lot of time thinking about.  Do I spend too much time at the grocery store?  Now we are trying to reduce the times out of the house so I have been trying to put in more thought to stocking up on the things that we need to last longer which I thought with a little planning, I would be able to do.  Have you tried to shop less often?  This once a month shopping trip goal is hard to do!!

If someone asked me how many times I went to the store, I would have to say that I have a lot of quick trips and a few bigger or longer trips in a month.  I didn't think that it was way more then other people went to the store.  I have come to wonder if people who say they go once a week really only check out at one store so they have four receipts for groceries for the month.

In the last three months, I went 18 times in January, 25 in February and 23 in March.  Going back and looking for 2019, I averaged 19 check outs every month.  After thinking about it, this doesn't mean that I have gone to the store that many times because many times I do more then one checkout for rebates and to use different coupons but I was amazed.

Check out what I got this month below with the price and the picture.  I think that you will see a lot less trips for the next few months but I am going to have to work a little harder on my planning for what we need.  My biggest problem is that I need to focus on the fact that we are going to be spending a lot more money on groceries because 20 trips to the store isn't going to happen to search for the lowest price and stock.

Giant $20.06

I went to the store to get ketchup because it was on sale and we were out which is a big issue in our house.  I try to stay aware of what we have in the pantry and when we are running low but I guess I missed someone taking the last few out because we were down to no ketchup.  I had been to a few stores last month and not had any luck finding any in stock.  I decided that while  I was there that I would pick up my son's favorite chips because they were on sale (still crazy high pricing).  I also got my husband and son's favorite cereal (way more then I ever spend on cereal and one is missing from the picture because it already got broken into and the box recycled). I also grabbed a Cran Grape because I walked by it on the way to the chips and it was on sale (for more then I ever pay but we were almost out).  Forgot to look to see if they had carrots in the store because I hate the way the store is arranged because I come in to the store in the middle and I was wearing all my protective gear and trying to fit all my stuff in my hands and not use a cart.

Target $0

used Gift Card (my husband got at work)

I went there to see if they had any clearance jellybeans.  Yup, this is what my life has come to!! My husband and my son were out of jelly beans and what would be a normal pop in trip with other errands turned into trying to find parking and figure out how I could walk up the escalators with no hands and then walk around the whole store to get to the back without passing out for heat exhaustion with my mask on.  I got barely on sale jelly beans and decided to do self checkout because they only had two registers open and I forgot to enter my phone number for my cartwheel or scan anything for that matter.  Super bummed because of course there was a discount but do you know how hard that is to do with gloves?  Used a gift card and walked away with candy so going to call it a win.

Safeway $0

used Gift Card (earned from Monopoly game)

I went to the store to get ice cream because it was on sale there and I had the gift card we got for free with our points.  Well, the ice cream aisle was empty but I managed to get a few other things that I had coupons for to get free.  I added a few other things into my cart that I thought my family might enjoy with my free gift card but making sure that I left enough for the ice cream at another store.

Safeway $0

used Gift Card (earned from Monopoly game)

I stopped at the second Safeway and they have some of the ice cream but most importantly, the one that my son wanted.  I got three and one mint chocolate chip for all of us to share.

Lidl $37.90

I went with a long list to try to get at Lidl and Aldi which are across the street from each other.  This was the first time that I have had to stand in line to get into the store because they are limiting the number of people in the store.  It was a fairly quick moving line with larger stickers on the ground where to stand and there was an employee at the front cleaning carts so that we could have a clean one when got to the front.  I was glad that they had lots of stock and my very small cart was over flowing with things...mostly junk food.  I got some refrigerated stuff that got wiped down and brought in including three big blocks of extra sharp cheddar cheese, two blocks of mozzarella cheese, two dozen eggs, a package of pepperoni, a package of lunch meat, and head of ice berg lettuce.  I left all the other food in the garage for 5 days because we didn't need them right away.  I got 9 different bags of chips, box of brownie mix, box of penne, graham crackers, bottle of ketchup, crispy rice cereal and two bags of marshmallows, and clearance jelly beans.  I forgot to write down the juice that my husband had liked and I didn't go into the last aisle so totally didn't even see it but I was happy with what I got.

Aldi $52.83

I went to Aldi and waited in a much longer line with so many people and there were no marks where to stand so you had to hope that other people kept their distance.  I had gone through the list and crossed through the things that I had already gotten and made sure that I kept my eyes out for anything we might want or need.  I went a little crazy stocking up on things we use to try to last a month.  I think that was because I really didn't like the line and I don't know how often I am going to be able to do that store.  For freezer stuff, I got three bags of chicken fries and two boxes of ice cream bars (not pictured because I think my husband put them in the freezer first).  For the refrigerated items, I got milk, 2 dozen eggs, baby carrots, two mozzarella cheese, shaky cheese (as it is known in our house), 5 packages of stick margarine, two tubs of butter and sour cream.  I got potatoes because we were almost out of all those ones that I picked up at the Lidl opening.  I got minced onion because I was out for awhile and keep forgetting but I finally added it to the list.  I got 5 bags of chips (in case all the ones that I bought at Lidl weren't enough).  The graham crackers were purchased to compare to the Lidl ones so that my son and husband could pick their favorite ones.  My husband also wanted bananas so I got him two.  I am certainly going to try a different time next time I have to go and maybe a different location but it was well stocked and I got a ton of things.

Total Retail $225.85
Total Savings $116.84
Total Rebates $0.75
Total OOP $108.26

Moral of the story is that I am not ready for once a month shopping but I did try to plan out my trips for the best.  I only three trips out this month.  I didn't plan enough or add things to the list this month like I did last month.  I am going to put the list on the fridge again and add things when I think of them or use them up.

I have planned out my monthly menu plan using the things in the house but I don't often think about the other small things because I normally pick them up during my other shopping trips so I have to put more thought into ingredients in baking and other products we might need for breakfasts and lunches.  I am working on it but I think that three trips out of the house isn't that bad in comparison to previous months.  I stayed well under budget but didn't actually get anything to help in coming months so this low budget will catch up with us in the next few months.  How are you doing??

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.

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.