Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

The week packed full to the point of over flowing on most days.  I was trying to mainly just keep my head above water most days this week.  Thankfully I was able to find some deals early in the week and was able to stock up on some items for upcoming Holiday celebrations.  Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

Ingles Groceries:

• $32.88 at Ingles for 1 bag Laura Lynn Bread, 3 bags Laura Lynn Shredded Cheese, 4 blocks Laura Lynn Sharp Cheddar, 1 box Go Gurt Yogurt Tubes (8 count), 1 bag Laura Lynn Splenda Sweetener, 1 can Canola Cooking Spray, 1 bag Laura Lynn Mini Marshmallows, 4 boxes Blue Bonnet Margarine, 2 bags Idahoan Bake Potatoes, 1 can Heavy Whip Cream, 2 containers Planters Creamy Peanut Butter, 2 boxes Laura Lynn Cream Cheese, 1 bag Celery, 1 can Laura Lynn Pumpkin, 1 bag All Purpose Flour, 1 bag Dixie Granulated Sugar, 1 box Powdered Sugar, 1 box Brown Sugar, 1 box Pilsbury Funfetti Cake Mix, 1 container Cool Whip, 2 cans Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Chili Peppers, 1 bag Red Delicious Apples, and 1 Yellow Sweet Onion. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance including the diary and produce!  I used several coupons to help bring down the total on this shopping trip and it was still a little higher than I like it to be, but with all the Holiday Celebrations we needed to stock up on some items.)

Walgreens Groceries:

• $3.93 at Wlagreens for 2 packs Austin Peanut Butter Crackers (8 count), 1 pack Austin Cheddar Cheese Crackers (8 count), 1 jar Lindsey Green Olives, 2 gallons Milk, 1 can Wasabi Almonds, 1 can Butter Toffee Peanuts, and 1 can Peanuts. (I used a $3 off 10 coupon since it was a new location, a couple Register Rewards, and coupons to help pay for these items).

This week I spent $36.81 on groceries.  Even though I only a little under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on several items.  The items at the new Walgreens new us were pretty good it was worth it to stock up the pantry at those prices.  I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!

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.