So you can see my meal plan I was shopping with in the previous post.. We did change things up a bit before we went shopping.. We decided to go ahead and get cereal instead of making granola... And we also changed things up a bit with our Sunday lunches.. We had been planning on getting pizzas for lunch (depending on deals we can feed all 6 of us for between $16-$20, closer to $14 if we do Little Caesar's), but after working out a new budget, that was shut down.. We decided to buy fixings for pita bread sandwiches-which went over AWESOME and only cost us around $30 for the whole month, I haven't done the exact math yet. Although we did decide we could easily get a case of something sweet from Sams or cheap cookies from Dollar Tree to go along with and still keep the cost really low.
Now, we did have it a bit lower than this for the MONTH total, but then The Meat Lodge ad came in my email and they had bacon on sale for cheaper than anywhere else we can get it.. Now, that link is to their Facebook page because for whatever reason whenever I pull up the web page, I get a really annoying ad.. But they put their ads on Facebook. Anyway, their special for bacon came out to $2.79 a pound (for fresh, local bacon!!), BUT you have to buy 15 pounds at a time... So total for bacon was $42, but that's going to last us around 2 1/2 months, so completely worth it to pay a little more at a time. We also picked up some buffalo sticks for a treat while we were at Meat Lodge. Total was $57.49
Walmart... We had a bunch of coupons and a bunch of things we had on a maybe list, depending on what our total was from the other stores.. A few of those things we decided we just needed to get-for our sanity. We needed an everything killer (grass/weeds/sapling roots).. because our yard is in need of some major TLC.. So we went ahead and got that. We also needed some chemical ant killer, because these ants JUST WON'T DIE. I had a lot of clothes pins disappear on me, so we spent $2 on 100 clothes pins, and Andrew read 10 books, so he got to pick out a hot wheel. We're also trying out Damp Rid.. the refillable containers, the crystals to refill it are $10, the containers were $2.67 each, I bought two.. We can't afford a real humidifier right now, so this will do.. I hope. Walmart was $186.33
Oh the Farmer's Market! We stopped first thing at Sioux Falls Farmer's Market (right by Falls Park if you live close). They had an awesome selection including fresh local coffee and brick fired pizza ($5-$8 I believe) for a fresh made pizza, not too bad. Unfortunately I couldn't pay the price they needed for a lot of their veggies, so we weren't able to get much from there. Fortunately, I did find a stand that had good prices on green onions, so I grabbed green onions and honey there.. $22 at the Farmer's Market. Not our usual honey, but it was a good price and Dennis said it tasted really good-she let us sample it.
So... halfway through.. where are we at.. $265.82
We did get vitamins, peroxide, sterile scissors (baby birthing supplies) and another carpal tunnel wrist support (so I can weed eat again).. but all of those came off the HSA account, so they don't get included into this total.
So.. Here we go again...
We needed trash bags, coffee and ziploc bags at Sam's. The rest was all grocery.. Pork Chops we were able to get for a little cheaper as we were there before the crowds and got the "old" meat that was on sale vs the new cuts.. And presliced cheese was on the instant saver this month, so I could get the presliced instead of chunk and having to slice it myself (I hate that job lol). I believe the rest was normal grocery... Oh, we also bought white flour to help the flour cost...and to use just white flour with some things... like pizza crust...and cookies... and try to make my own crescent rolls one more time... We did buy a bunch of bread, yes, I know, this is why we bought a bread maker, but their hoagie rolls are awesome on the calories and yummy to top.. We much prefer their Kaiser hamburger buns (eating Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches) and pita bread. We spent $294.11
Now onto Aldi. Man, I love Aldi lol. I had taken gatorade off my list because of price.. I know, it's loaded with salt, but my blood pressure is pretty much non existent, so when we have days where I'm not able to drink much water, I need the extra boost and there's only so much water I can drink on Sundays, but they had a case for $9 so we grabbed it. We also decided that instead of buying our fries already made, we're going to do our own again. *whimper*.. But it saved us a good $10 in groceries. I can do this! Dennis did treat me and buy me a french fry cutter, we'll try that out Wednesday.. The reviews all said to make sure you get smaller potatoes.. so we did the smaller potatoes at Aldi, 10# for 3.49.. Fries are 5# for 6.98, so it will save us money, especially if the kids don't eat them lol. They did have Kerrygold in stock this month YAY.. and we did pick up an extra of those, because it's twice as much Walmart and it's butter so it freezes.. We also grabbed a container of mushrooms for homemade pizza and ingredients to make some homemade trail mix-honey roasted peanuts, raisins and they had small bags of m&ms for cheap-so those are an extra, but worth it. I was hiding them from the kids... but then I realized they have no idea was and m&m package looks like.... Is that sad? lol. Last month I just used baking chips, but m&ms won't melt before they eat them like baking chips do lol. Other than the diapers (180 for $21), the most expensive thing we bought at Aldi was Cold Cafe Bustelo, Cafe Con Leche-a 4 pack for 5.79. Finding authentic Cuban coffee up here is getting a little more common, and my husband LOVES it.. So we grabbed one box (four containers). The cans are tiny-he can drink it in two swallows lol, but it's cheaper than a coffee shop or the vending machine coffee and definitely stronger. Well, after all that rambling, total at Aldi was $159.54.
So.. that brings our total to $719.47... That's $180 per week for all six of us, including household items.. Or $30 a week for one person, for 3 meals plus a snack. Seeing it in total stings a bit. But I know there was $60 with just bacon (and buffalo sticks), we won't have to spend for a few months.. So that'll be $25 for next month.. and then depending on how is much, at least $12 less the month after that. So while it hurts with that huge total this month, it'll pay off next month.
We are trying to cut expenses as much as we can, while still trying to balance and have a few fun things here and there. We did end up getting $6 back from our savings apps (I'll do a blog post on all of those now that I'm starting to get payouts and know how they work), this month was definitely the biggest with those. Dennis always checks for coupons-though we've figured out you look for coupons online BEFORE you "clip" the digital ones on the apps. So a lot of things we were able to use double coupons... I know we saved at least $4 at Sams buying the cheese on instant saver, but it's not showing that on the receipt this time, and $4 on the pork chops. Our receipt from Walmart says we saved $9 with the paper coupons. We have to scan that receipt into a new saver website Dennis found.. As long as that works, we'll get another couple dollars back on the laundry soap.
But that's it for the groceries. Now begins the baking to have some easy lunches ready and the sewing for baby. I'm going to try some smaller pieces with the same sandwich and machine quilting before I start in on the baby's quilt. I've never done a design before (it's hearts I want to do), and I would love to do that.. But I'll be satisfied with just lines lol. I don't have the quilting foot or the quilting guide for my machine, so my lines not end up straight.. but I'll do my best.
Have a great week!!
~Tabitha
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