This month, I’m documenting everything that has to do with groceries. If you missed Part 1: The Plan, click HERE. My goal is to spend less than $400 this month, $360 to be exact. Ryan said if I spent $360 or less, he would WILLINGLY get rid of his junk. I love my hubby, but he likes to hold on to things and will SLOWLY de-clutter, but it’s like pulling teeth. So I’m very motivated to stick to $360.
First of all, here is my MENU PLAN for the week (click on link for recipe):
Monday: Meatloaf, okra, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes
Tuesday: Meatloaf sandwiches (using leftovers), chips
Wednesday: Baked Spaghetti, corn on the cob, salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Kitchen closed (eat out)
Saturday: Crock pot potato soup, salad, homemade bread
Sunday: (lunch out after church) & Sandwiches w/ leftover soup for dinner
Dessert: Carmelitas (I plan on making these or something similar this week).
Here is my GROCERY PLAN OUTLINE…I take this to the grocery store with me to shop.
(Top) is BEFORE I shopped & (Bottom) is AFTER I shopped…still have to get peppers, apples, and turkey at Sprouts.
As you can see, I decided not to get the salad (couldn’t find), waffles (decided to make and freeze), and cream of chicken (remembered I had one). I also added strawberries at the store since they were a good price ($1.68). I also got the Great Value brand of hazelnut spread since it was almost $1.00 less and actually had more natural ingredients than Nutella did. I wanted to make sure the GV brand wasn’t some substitute with weird ingredients for Nutella, so I looked on the back and was surprised to see it had natural vanilla, instead of a artificial vanilla. We’ll see on the taste (B is the main eater of this, so I’m sure he won’t care).
Important Note: Do you see the little box on the side that says “Super Bowl”? Those were some items I needed yesterday at the store, but they weren’t counting towards our grocery budget. For items like these, we categorize them under our “Entertainment” budget since it was to entertain with (we had burgers with my brother and his wife). I make separate transactions if I’m buying different items that belong in different categories (for easy budgeting).
*Update: Spent $7.78 at Sprouts and $7.69 at Walmart for a few things we needed. Total bill for week 1 is updated below.
Have you gone grocery shopping yet? How did you do?
Ahh grocery budgets are the hardest! No kids yet and I already have a hard time sticking to our budget for just me and my hubs. I LOVE to cook, so that definitely works against me when I have a hankering to cook something we don't have the ingredients for. Working on it…and I love the idea of having your husband give up something if you stick to the budget. That sounds just like us! He is a hoarder (gets sentimental about silly things – like t-shirts and old soccer cleats…we have every single pair he ever wore – seriously) and he's also a stickler about budgets. Hmm…my wheels are turning! 🙂
I decided to join you on your challenge this month since my grocery bill mysteriously went up about $50 a week last month. Today I went to four places, but using your tips I only spent $115 – for two weeks of groceries! Amazing. That includes 2 weeks worth of formula, and food for all four in my family. Shopping with a toddler and infant isn't too bad, but I'm pregnant with number 3 (3 under 3!), and I have no idea how that will work 🙂 I'm excited to see how the rest of the month goes.
I definitely need to jump on the challenge. We spend $1000 on groceries a month. With three kids, all three take there lunch to school every day plus snacks and dinners it's absolute craziness. We shop for two weeks at a time at Walmart with ad matching and coupons here and there. Any tips on cutting costs??? I could use any help I could get 🙂