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.

September Month End Budget Update for Groceries and Eating Out

What a month?!  I knew that this month was going to be a hard transition to virtual learning but I didn't go to the store for the first half of the month.  The great thing is that we still had things left in the house so there were tons of things to hold me over until I got the time to make it to the store.  I finally went on the 15th so I bought plenty of things to last us with the things that we had at the house.

Normally we have $160 budget a month for food and $40 for Take Out which means that we spend $200.  Since March, we have shifted to $200 for shopping and we were skipping take out.  I took the extra money to buy some special treats and to cover the additional cost of food during the limited availability.  This month I knew that we were switching back because we got a lot of Pizza Hut which was the main thing that my son was missing for the last 6 months. 

 Below are all the things that I have gotten for the month with the pictures and the amount spent at each store.  

Lidl $22.02

I went with my long list of things that I needed but the main thing was the tortilla chips that my son and husband have decided that they love.  I also got a container of whipped topping because we ran out of them and my son loves to eat them from frozen with his pancakes. The pretzels were on sale so I got two of them as well because they are way better then Aldi pretzels too.  I needed salt because we were running low on sea salt.  I figured that I should buy some normal salt to make the other salt last longer so I got two different versions that they.  Sadly, it was cheaper when I went to Aldi.  Oops! Eggs were on sale for $0.50 per dozen so I got two. I was totally out of canned tomato so I got what they had which was tomato paste and tomato sauce.  I got my husband some bananas which were yellow.  I got 6 bottles of Cran Grape for my son and husband.  I got a special Apple Cider for $2.89 for my son because it is one of his seasonal favorites.

Aldi $69.03

 I think that this might be the most that I ever spent at Aldi.  I got a frozen whipped topping which was also cheaper at Aldi.  I got two bottles of Cran Grape because they were cheaper there too but my husband said that he wanted to mix between the two flavors.  I splurged and got chicken pot stickers to make with fried rice. I got some tub margarine which was my backup.  I got two more backup Chicken Fries which is my son's favorite food (outside Pizza Hut). I got three packages of bacon which were $2.59 per package. I got another bottle of canola oil because I only had one in the cupboard. I got celery which we were out of. I got one container of sour cream to make dip and use in other recipes. I got one package of sausage which I cooked and made into a sausage lasagna. I got a head of lettuce which we like on chicken wraps and tacos and we use it for salads. I got my husband some bananas which were green so they would last after the ones from Lidl. I got three packages of pepperoni which we eat on pizza and for snacks and lunch. I got a package of hamburger buns because we liked having them and they were on sale for $0.59 but we haven't used them and I put them in the fridge so that they wouldn't mold. I got 3 bags of Nacho Cheese Chips and Ranch Chips which were $0.75 each. I got Mozzarella Cheese and Extra Sharp Cheddar for $1.25 each.  I got two salsas to put in the pantry.  I also got two jars of crushed tomatoes.  It was quite the haul for sure that when I was taking the picture I forgot to put the rolls in the picture!

Aldi $13.92

 I went to my second Aldi of the day to get milk because my normal one was out of it but the milk tasted funny to my family so we didn't actually use much except in baking so that was a bummer.  I got turkey lunch meat and stick margarine because my other Aldi was out of both of them.  Sadly the store charged me for 5 margarine and I only got 4. Bummer!

Giant $11.86

 I loaded a bunch of electronic coupons including a free Pepsi Zero which I had never had but it was pretty good. I got a free JoyBol but it didn't ring up correctly so I had to get money back at customer service but I haven't tried it yet.  I got two Cheerios and two Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I had one electronic coupon for $1 off and then I had two printable coupons for $1 off each.  They ended up being $1.13 per box which is way more then I would ever spend in the past but that is now a good price. I got Barilla Penne for $0.99 each and there was a coupon for $1 off 4 so they were $0.74 which makes them cheaper then Aldi so I grabbed them for the pantry.  Another way more then I would ever spend for pasta but it is currently the only kind that my son eats. I got the Gerber food for $0.35 each after printed and 2 electronic coupon.  I was having trouble finding green chilis for my tortilla soup recipe so I got some store brand tomatoes with green chilis in them instead.  I got a splurge for Ricos Nacho Cheese because it was on a shelf that said it was $1.25 but at the register it rang up $2.64.  I used it for our taco rice, enchiladas, and a few tasty snack.

Safeway $4.74

My main goal was to get Turkey Hill cookies and cream because it was the cheapest price around from my research online for $2.41 each.  I stopped at Safeway to get 4 Gerber which were on sale for $1.50 and there was an electronic coupon for $1.50 off.  They were $1.12 each. I got one package of blue lemonade Kool Aid for my son and husband to try. I got a free container of Organic Peanut Butter which I will be using for peanut butter cookies. I had another coupon to get free Kerrygold cheese and there was an additional $1.50 coupon that came off so I actually had a credit against other groceries. Another great bonus is that I still had some gift card leftover from the Monopoly game winnings.

 

Giant $0.09

I had a free electronic coupon for a Chobani drink so I only had to pay tax.

 

 Safeway $0.00

 There was a electronic coupon for free 10 lb potatoes.  I had to exchange one of the things that I got before that was the wrong one so I grabbed my free potatoes while I was there. We use a lot of potatoes so it was an amazing deal to grab those for free.  I had already used a lot of potatoes from Giant last month so they will be put to good use in the coming months.

I think that I did pretty well for the month.  I was going to try to go at the end of the month to go back but there wasn't enough time so I pushed it off.  I can't believe how quickly things go down when you stock the fridge and pantry.  We have done a great job with once a month shopping and although it isn't the best with saving money, it certainly saves a lot of time.  I can totally see why people stick to this method of shopping. There is still plenty of food left in the house to make the next month meal plan.

Total Retail $256.13

Total Saving $134.47

Total Rebates $2.35 (still pending $1.25 from Ibotta)

Total OOP $119.31

Eating Out or Take Out

We went to Pizza Hut at the beginning of the month to get pizza for us and my parents when we were visiting my parents.  We spent $21.60 for our two pizzas and we got a free pizza from summer reading for my son which we ate on the way to my parents house.  We went to Pizza Hut two days later to get another free pizza for my son's reading program while we were visiting other family.  Super interesting that all the coupons expired September 15th so we had to spend both the last months quickly.  Then we came home and got pizza with an order of bread sticks using our points for $10.60.  The total take out spent was $32.20.  It was good that we were under our $40 budget and my son got to have a lot of pizza!  It made for some easy travel meals too.

September Month End Reading Review

Everything has been a little different while we have been home on quarantine.  I have been doing a lot of reading but totally forgot to put up a summary of the books that I read each month.  In order to go backwards, I took all the books that I read and put them in the month that I posted the review for the book.  

The months might be off a little bit but at least these are the books that I read.  I feel like I might have easily missed book here and there but I know I read these for sure!  How has your reading been going this year?

January     8 

February   9

March    5

April      7

May      7

June    10

July    7

August   6

September  10

Total Books Read 69

Currently Reading:

I set a goal to read 100 books every year.  I am not sure if I am going to make it this year since I took on a lot of other responsibilities at home with virtual school.  I have 31 books left to read and three months to do it in!! Fingers crossed but either way I am going to be close!

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.

July Month End Budget Shopping and Eating Out

I wasn't sure how this month was going to go because we had vacation planned for the end so I left a little flexibility in case we needed groceries or more eating out while on vacation.  I have been over budget for May and June so I thought it was going to be the new way.  Couponing is hard to impossible to do now but I am doing my best at once a month grocery shopping where I get the majority of my groceries.  Although with the way that everything started, my shopping trip was at the end of the month and vacation was at the same time.  I was interested in seeing how this month went.

Below are all the shopping trips.  I was only out a few times this month but I got all of the things that we needed for the month.  I just didn't get much to stock up for the following month.  Check out the pictures and the totals of everything that I got for the month.

Aldi $29.74

I went to Aldi to get a few things that I thought we were going to need to make it through the month.  I got a few things that we needed like milk, lunch meat and new Jasmine rice.  My son has decided that he doesn't like either of the rices that we had before so we decided to try this kind and we are super excited to report that he likes it.  My son also declared that he would like apple juice so I got him some and he loved it.  I couldn't find the ice cream my son wanted so I got ice pops and cookies and cream.  I got a few things that were on the list for vacation like the cheese, lettuce, oil and a new garlic salt to take with us.  I also grabbed some more margarine to last a little longer.  I bought edamame and bananas because my husband has been enjoying them.

Target $1.68

I got gift cards to get a bunch of things to order online for pick up.  With the vitamins, I needed to add the Tums to get a $5 gift card back.  I wanted the coconut for the granola.  We needed more sunblock because we were running low on ours. It was a great experience for the Target pickup but we couldn't get everything online.  We had to go into the store to get a new swimsuit for my son but we found one that he liked when we sent him pictures.

Harris Teeter $19.54

I got lots of cereal that were all good deals with sales and coupons.  My son's favorite chips are the Sour Cream and Onion Pringles which were on sale for $0.97 so I got him four which brought cheers when he saw them.  I got a bunch of Kool Aid which should last us through the rest of the summer since the sale was ending and it was about half price.  I was excited to get the new Ortega powder that has 4 packages in the container and it was on sale too.  My favorite taco seasoning for ground beef tacos!!  I have tons and tons of Old El Paso but I don't prefer that on beef so excited to have the option back in the pantry.

Harris Teeter $9.13

There was a Turkey Hill ice cream sale so I grabbed four because I thought that was the limit...only I got home to find out that it was 5.  Oops!  There was a sale on Capri Sun for $2 and an evic coupon for $1 off so it was $1 and these are my son's favorite so I got them for vacation. I also wrote a quick message to Turkey Hill on their website and I got a bunch of coupons so I am super excited to say that next time I need to get ice cream, I will have lots of coupons to use.

Weiss $1.99

I went to the store on vacation because I forgot to pack emergency pads which I woke up needing the first morning of vacation!!   Downloaded the app and a coupon so that they were only $2 after the coupon for just about anything on the shelf.  Yeah for fast thinking even though I had poor packing.

Total Retail $159.76

Total Saving $97.68

Total Rebates $3.55

Total OOP $58.53

I had a very low spending month which was a huge change from the past few months.  The great thing is that we have tons of things in the house but I am always guessing on the things that I need to stock up on because they are going to be out of stock the next time I go to the store.  This month I didn't get a lot of stocking up done so I know that I am going to have a lot of things on the list for August so stay tuned to see how I do with once a month shopping next month.  I hope to be under budget again but I can't imagine that I can do it two months in a row.

Eating Out or Take Out

We got one pizza at Pizza Hut at the beginning of the month and used points to get free bread sticks and our summer reading Book It program individual pan pizza.  It was super tasty and we really enjoyed it.  I mostly enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to cook.  It was lot of food and we got to try the hand tossed and pan pizza together.  My son said he preferred the hand tossed.  Spent $10.59 out of our $40 budget so I was well under budget too with lots of leftovers to eat the next day.