Another week of doing Groceries $40 for 4. I was able to stock up on some items but with unexpected events with family and friends I was not able to take the time I needed to shop the deals and stay within our budget. We are trying to eat up our perishables this week from the garden.  A lot of the items we picked up will be great for the upcoming road trips we have this summer!  Although I went over budget on the groceries this week I was still able to spend only the money in our grocery wallet because I had several weeks earlier this month I was way under budget.  I am rejoicing in the fact that I was able to pay for everything in cash.  We bought groceries for this week, upcoming road trips, and for making meals for family and friends who have recently been in the hospital. Below are my grocery shopping adventures for the week!

Dollar Tree Groceries:

• $4.00 at Dollar Tree for Fruit Snacks, Cheesy Whales, Ginger Snaps (we have a little one that has been known to get car sick and these help) and Ranch Flavored Sunflower Seeds (a favorite snack of my husbands for road trips).

Big Lots Groceries:

• $1.00 at Big Lots for Smore’s Chex Mix (one of my FAVORITES and was on clearance but not expired, it is only sold around the Christmas Holidays).

Bargain Food Groceries:

• $94.87 at Bargain Foods for 6 pack Lunchables, 2 boxes of Pepridge Farms Farm Colors Goldfish, 2 boxes of Twizzlers, 2 boxes of Oscar Mayer Ready Cook Bacon, 1 bag of Tator Tots, 1 bag of Hamburger Buns, 1 box of Keebler Grip (14 count), 1 box of Fruit Gushers (6 pack), 1 package Kroger Bacon, 1 box Hytop Dinosaur (6 count), 1 box of Variety Snacks (12 pack), 1 box of Chewy Granolas, 4 bags of Planters Cashews, 2 box of Annies Bunny Graham Crackers, 1 box of Annies Whole Wheat Crackers, 1 bag Ocean Spray Craisins, 2 bags of Jack Link Beef Jerky, 2 boxes of Ronzoni Pasta (16 oz each), Keebler Associate Snacks, 2 cans of Hytop Black Beans, 2 cans of Corn, 2 packs of Sunmaid Yogurt Raisins (6 count each), 4 boxes of Crisps, 4 pack of can Pears, 1 bag of Dried Approciots, 2 boxes of Kraft Mac N Cheese, 1 container Kraft Parmesian Cheese, 1 bottle Bertolli Olive Oil, 1 can Italian Cut Green Beans, 1 jar of Fred’s Pickles, 1 bag of Sugar (5 lbs), 2 mini boxes of Milk Duds, 3 Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce, 1 jar Hytop Salsa Medium, 1 bag of Cheese Cubes, 2 Toast ’em Poptarts (6 count each), 2 bottles of Apple Juice (64 oz each), 1 Applesauce (6 pack), 1 box of General Mill big Breakfast, 1 box Vista Duplex Cream, 1 loaf  Golden Baked Wheat Bread, 1 box Hytop Lasagna, 1 bottle Strawberry Jelly, 1 can Good & Fruity Fruit, 1 bag sunkist butter toffee Salad Almonds, 1 bag Chex Mix, 2 bags of Rice, 1 can Dubon Petite Peas, 1 can Fruit Cocktail, 1 can Hytop Refried Beans, 1 can Hytop Mushrooms, 1 bag Calidads Tortillas, 1 bag Flour Tortillas, 1 bag Flour Tortillas, 1 Hyptop Graham Cracker Pie Crust, 2 boxes of Quaker Granola Bites, 1 bottle Frys Blended Oil, 1 can Harvest Cooking Spray, 1 box Motts Applesauce (6 pack), 2 sets of Hytop Fruit Punch Drink, 1 Capri Sun (10 pack), 1 Cascadian Farms (6 pack), 1 Cascadian Farms (5 count), 1 box Hytop Instant Rice.

*A good number of items are not in the picture above because some items were used to make meals for friends or put away (thanks to the help of my sweet husband and two daughters) before I was able to take the picture.

This week I spent $99.87 on groceries.  Even though I went way over the $40 budget I was able to pay with the extra cash I had saved from previous shopping weeks.  Thankfully I was able to keep the amount within reason although I would like to see a little extra left over instead of doubling my weekly budget.  I am glad I didn’t go over the $100 mark even though I was VERY close!  Plus I hope to have more time soon to do more regular grocery shopping, but with unexpected events we were a little stretch for time. I am hoping that I will be back to my normal grocery shopping routine before too long.  This food should come in handy for our summer road trips and other fun adventures we have coming up!

It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks!  As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me.  I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too.  The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.

Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.