Budget update

Time to tally up what we've spent so far this week. We've had yet another change of plans for the weekend, and this time it may cost us, so what do I have left?

Spending so far:

• Acme: $61.25
• Mom's dinner out: $17.00
• Ice cream treat mid-week: $10.34

Total so far: $88.59

Left to spend: $11.41

To finish the week, we'll need: bread, milk, lettuce (maybe), granola bars and other trail snacks for hub's hike.

Can we do it? We'll see!

Week 1 of All You grocery challenge

This is week 1 of the All You Grocery Challenge from All You magazine!

I took care to plan ahead this week and try to get my spending as slim as possible. I left room for milk and bread runs later in the week, and other ingredients I might find I'm lacking (such as yeast and flour).

I've been grocery shopping once this week to my local Weis Markets and my total was: $47.18

I'll comment on my planning and challenges in a later post, but for now, here is my menu plan:

Breakfasts this week:

• cereal
• bagels or english muffins
• eggs (have some in fridge to use up)
• bacon (taken out of freezer to use in soup, so now I have to use up the rest)
  

Lunches:

• sandwiches
• soup
• salads

Dinners (I'll link in any recipes I used where possible):

• Monday: soup (homemade Ham and Bean), salad and bread
  
• Tuesday: salad, stuffed squash, and probably sandwiches for the kids
• Wednesday: grilled chicken, peas and beans from the garden, rice
• Thursday: turkey meatloaf, roast carrots and potatoes
• Friday: leftover night
• Saturday: soup and salad
• Sunday: penne ala "not"-ka

I found it!

Ah, that Acme receipt finally turned up, so I can post my spending summary for the week thus far.

In my second check-out at Acme on 5/31, I picked up

• 2 5-packs of Kraft Mac N Cheese
• 2 10-packs of Capri Sun Sunrise
• jar of mayonnaise
• 2-liter of A&W root beer
• half-gallon of Edy's Ice Cream
• 2 boxes of Eggo waffles

Grand total: $8.69

So this month so far (I'm counting 5/31 for June): $79.83

Acme shopping and deals for 5/31

I got up early this morning (before my son commenced vomiting, fortunately) and picked up some deals at Acme. Some were major luck... the person checking out in front of me didn't wait for her coupons from the printer, so the cashier gave them to me. I scored a coupon for $2 off the next purchase and a free Edy's Ice Cream! I made a second trip into the store to pick up the ice cream and more Kraft deals, but I've lost that second receipt, so until I find it, here are the highlights from my first check-out:

Bisquick - $3.69 less .60 coupon doubled = $2.49
Kraft MacNCheese - 5 packs were BOGO + each pack had a tear off coupon for a free box of Capri Sun orange juice packs, so I got 10 boxes of Mac N Cheese + 20 Capri Sun packets for $5.29! This also triggered a register coupon for $2 off my next order!
5lb Green Giant Russet potatoes - $1.49
Kellogg's Corn Flakes - $1.99 with a tear off coupon for $1 off fresh fruit, which I was buying anyway, so I used that toward bananas.

Typically I do my grocery shopping at a Wal-Mart Supercenter or Giant, but being early AM and my family in need of groceries this week, I didn't have a ton of time to plan ahead and shop around. Some items seemed extremely expensive to me.
For example, ground turkey was $4.79 for 1.3lb. I bought 1lb at Wal-Mart later today for $1.76.
Hard salami is a staple in our deli drawer as my husband packs a sandwich every day for work, and when it's not on sale at Giant, I pay $5.99 per pound. Today, I paid $4 for half a pound.

Lesson learned: Shop Acme for the deals, and stick to the other stores for other items!

Today's total: $71.14

Planning shopping for week of 5/31

Some thoughts on planning for the upcoming week:

• My hub and kids don't need to slim down at all, but I do need to shed some pounds and that's a major struggle in my planning. My son and I watched a few episodes of "Cook Yourself Thin" on Lifetime on-demand this week and a few recipes caught his eye: Stuffed French Toast Sundaes (probably too pricey for this week), Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (thinking about making a big batch of these to take for vacation breakfasts), and Spaghetti and Meatballs (have a stockpile of spaghetti).
  
• I made some homemade English Muffins this week and they were a hit! I would also try to make some bagels, again as something we can take along on a mini-vacation we're planning. So I need to restock flour, and possibly yeast.
  
• Whole chickens are BOGO at our local Acme this week, so perhaps I can work that in somehow. I have a great recipe for high-temp roasted chicken that involves using potatoes to soak up some of the drippings. Not calorie-friendly, but potatoes are also on sale, so it may be a good week for that.
  
• A few things to work around this week: Monday is our wedding anniversary (aww) but we probably won't go out, so maybe I could make something special at home; I do babysitting for a friend, and on those days when there's an extra toddler in the house, dinner prep is tough so need to make-ahead or make it super-easy; my Bible study group meets on Tuesday so I will eat with them, but still need to have something ready for hub and kids.

I'll do my grocery shopping tonight or tomorrow and come back with my receipt and meal plan!