Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Groceries from CVS, Walgreens, & RiteAid It was my first week of doing my new cash budget system – Groceries $40 for 4. Although it has been a learning process the week has gone pretty well so far. Since this my first week am I still testing the water and we continue trying to utilize the food we already have in our pantry and freezer. Here is my grocery spending for the week:
- $1.61 at Walgreens for 2 cans of Mandarin Oranges and 1 can of Mushrooms
- $7.96 at RiteAid for a gallon of Milk, 2 packs of Cheese, 1 container of Sour Cream
- $3.72 at CVS for a 24 pack of Bottled Water and 2 boxes of Popcorn
Groceries from Ingles and CVS! - $1.98 at CVS for another 24 pack of Bottled Water (Jake should be set for a little bit!) & Free Mike-n-Ikes Candy!
- $10.00 at Ingles for Strawberries, Oranges, Tangerines, Onion, Seafood, and Apples.
Groceries from Aldi's - $14.06 at Aldi’s for Pineapple’s ($0.99 each), Salmon Fillets, 2 Cheese Packages, Cucumber, Bananas, Cheese sticks, and Celery.
It was our first week of the challenge – Groceries $40 for 4 and we spent $39.33 so we were very close to going over. I was disappointed to see RiteAid’s milk spike up this week, but thrilled to get the 24 packs of water for $1.98 as well as some fresh fruit and veggies on sale. I used some coupons, bought clearance items, and utilized weekly ad discounts to help save us a little extra on our grocery budget. Since it was my first week I was testing the water and hope to do better next week now that we have replenished our fruit and veggie drawers. We’ll see how I do!
I hope 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. I hope by taking the extra time to watch my grocery spending it will allow us to feed our family, enjoy life, 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.
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of February 16 – 22, 2011
Here are this weeks deals at Save A Lot. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Hillshire Farms (Beef, Polska, Smoked Sausage) – $1.99
Use $1/2 coupon from 1/23 Red Plum (Expires 2/28/11)
$1.49 each after couponFast Fixin’ Chicken – $4.00
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Mr P’s Pizza (Supreme or Pepproni) – $0.59
Fisher Boy Fish Sticks – $0.99
Use $0.75/1 printable coupon from Fisher Boy
$0.24 each after couponOcean Market Fish Fillets – $0.99
Morning Delight Buttermilk Biscuits – $0.39
Home Churned Spread – $0.99
Fairgrounds Sliced Meat – $0.50
Armour Lunchmakers – $0.99
McClary’s Singles – $0.99
Deli Pride Sandwich – $0.99
Household
Luster Facial Tissues – $0.99
Ajax Liquid Dish Soap – $0.99
Pert Bath Tissue – $0.89
Produce
Red and Green Grapes – $0.99 per lb
Cantaloupe – $1.49 each
Vine Ripe Tomatoes – $0.99 per lb
Grocery
Frito Lay (Doritos, Cheetos, & Scoops) – $0.89
Maruchan Ramen Cups – $0.79
Red Gold Tomato Sauce – $0.50
Hungry Jack Specialty Potatoes – $1.00
Betty Crocker Hamburger or Tuna Helper – $1.00
Del Pino’s Canned Pasta – $0.69
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix – $0.39
Portside Chunk Light Tuna – $0.53
Hargis House Vienna Sausage – $0.37
Hargis House Chili with Beans – $0.99
Hargis House Chili without Beans – $1.29
Sundia Fruit Cups – $0.89
Caskey’s Cream of Mushroom Soup – $0.59
J. Higg’s Classic Saltine Crackers – $0.89
J. Higg’s Cheese Bit Crackers – $1.49
Coburn Farms Hot Chocolate – $1.19
Portmann’s Tartar Sauce – $1.39
Kool-Aid Bursts – $0.99
Vista Sandwich Creme Cookies – $0.99
Chef Karlin Potato Pouches – $0.79
Ravella Swift Mac – $0.69
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Recipes)
I am now wrapping up week number 5 in my No Grocery Shopping challenge! It has been a fun adventure for our family as we continue to find ways to make the food in our fridge and pantry stretch! Some of the recipes over the last few weeks have been a huge hit in our family for years while others were different. We are always looking for ways to create healthy meals that everyone enjoys without wasting the food we have in our home.For those who have been emailing me about what we’ve been eating here are a few of our low budget main dish recipes:
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole
I came up with this recipe a couple years ago when I was trying to use up some leftovers in the fridge. It has since become a favorite at our house. The neat part about this recipe is that it can be easily altered based on the ingredients you have in your refrigerator. We usually have a stock pile of Wacky Mac because we use double coupons at Ingles, Bi-Lo, or Publix plus we get extra money back from Upromise eCoupons which makes most of our purchases of Wacky Mac free plus some overage. Dairy products are regular staples in our house so it makes this recipe fairly easy to make anytime.
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole
The neat part about this recipe is that it can be easily altered based on the ingredients you have in your refrigerator. It is a simple recipe that is almost impossible to mess up.Servings: 8Equipment
- 9x7 Pyrex Casserole dish
Ingredients
- 12 oz Wacky Mac Veggie Noodles (Any shape pasta can be used, but the girls love the mixed shapes and colors of Wacky Mac)
- 1-2 cups Milk (depending on how rich you want it, powder milk works too or add a touch of sour cream to increase the richness)
- 1 cup Velveeta Cheese (cubed)
- 1 tbsp Butter or Margarine
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese (I use up the partial bags in our fridge so it is usually Cheddar, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Colby, etc..)
- 2-3 cups Water (You want 4 cups liquid, if you add more milk, reduce the water)
- dash Salt, Pepper, and Garlic to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add all the ingredients above except the water to a casserole dish.
- The water will be different based on what you add to your casserole. Add enough water to cover the noodles and stir everything together.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees. After 15 minutes of baking stir the casserole than continue baking for an additional 45 minutes. The top of the casserole will be crunchy (everyone’s favorite part) but should not burn.
Notes
I have also been known to cut of cheese slices or put in a couple spoons of cottage cheese. It really is a “use up the leftovers” type of Marconi & Cheese Casserole! If you want you can add a cup of fresh or canned tomatoes that tastes great too.Chicken Pot Pie
After several days of cooking we will often use the meat and vegetable leftovers in the fridge to make a Pot Pie. Our favorite is the Chicken Pot Pie, but we have made several variations of Beef and Ham Pot Pies as well. You can often get Store Brand Pie Crusts on sale or clearance for a great price if you them on hand use those otherwise the recipe below includes how to make your own pie crust with a few basic ingredients.
Chicken Pot Pie
A family favorite, chicken pot pie is a simple way to use up the remaining chicken that doesn't taste like a "leftovers" meal.Servings: 8Equipment
- 9 inch pie pan
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cups Crisco Shortening
- 1 tssp Salt
- 5 tbsp Water (cold)
Filling
- 1 to 2 cups Cooked Chicken (use leftover or canned Chicken)
- 1 to 2 cups Cooked Vegetables (use leftover or canned Veggies)
- 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together the ingredients for the crust until the dough is formed, split the dough in half.
- Roll out half of the pie crust (add more flour if necessary). Place half of the pie crust in the bottom of a 8 or 9 inch pie pan.
- Stir together the Chicken Pot Pie filling ingredients. Add the filling to the pie pan.
- Top with remaining pie crust. Roll the edges of the bottom and top crust together. Cut a few slices in the top of the pot pie, (I usually will do a smile face or Christmas Tree or heart just for fun. The girls are always looking to see the design on the the top prior to eating it.)
- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Check halfway through and if the crust is getting too dark put a piece of foil over the top to keep it from burning.
Pasta Night
We will often have a “Pasta” night which is a quick and easy meal that our family enjoys. It is one of our “meatless” meals. Many times Pasta nights consists of cooking:
Poor Man's Pasta
Don't let the name fool you. This is a simple staple that is quick and easy to make, yet still a comforting favorite.Servings: 4Cost: $3Ingredients
- 4 cups Elbow Noodles
- 1/2 tbsp Butter or Margarine
- Grated Parmesan Cheese (aka. "Shaky Cheese")
Instructions
- Cook the noodles, drain and add the butter. Sprinkle Shaky Cheese over your noodles and enjoy.
Notes
I add veggies and fruit to round out the meal. It is quick, simple, and inexpensive.Spinach Chicken Casserole
This is another one of those quick recipes I threw together to use up some extra chicken we had in the fridge that was a hit with the family.
Spinach Chicken Casserole
This is a quick "throw together" meal that tastes great and feels like it should have taken more time.Servings: 6Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups Cubed Chicken (or you can use 2 to 3 frozen whole Chicken Breasts)
- 1 can Spinach
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 4 oz Sliced Mushrooms (Optional: Canned works best)
- 2 slices Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 cups Rice (uncooked)
- 2 to 4 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour the 2 cups of uncooked rice and water if necessary into a casserole dish. Add the Chicken on top of the rice.
- Mix together the Spinach and Cream of Mushroom then add it on top of the Chicken.
- Spread the sliced mushrooms over the spinach mixture.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
- Add the cheese on top 10 to 15 minutes before the casserole is done.
Veggie Beef Soup is another one we put together with items we have on hand.
Along with the main meals we have a fruit and vegetable. We still have chicken and beef weekly as well as fish every couple of weeks to make sure everyone is getting the nutritional meals they need.
I will continue to share with you the challenges and successes so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. As I extend this goal into at least the first part of February I hope to have the opportunity to share more about what we are doing to make it stretch! Let’s see if we can finish yet another week of the No Grocery Shopping challenge!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Continued)
Now that we are through January 2011 you may be wondering how I did with my No Grocery Shopping Month Challenge. I did a lot better than I anticipated, but still had a hiccup or two. Thankfully no one starved or went hungry in our house during my challenge. We even hosted guests for a few meals! It took a little extra planning on my part to cook meals from items already in the pantry and fridge, if we didn’t have something we did without it or found a creative way to make it out of what we had at home. The amazing part is the entire family was supportive of my goal even if that meant a slightly altered menu. The only comment I received from one of the girls that indicated they noticed was “Mom, did we eat up all the leftovers in the fridge because it looks a little empty?”Here is the complete list of groceries I purchased in the month of January:
- 6 gallons of Milk
- 1 loaf of Bread
- 1 package Ground Hamburger
- 1 package Cube Steaks
- 2 Yogurts
- 1 container French Onion Dip
- 1 container Cottage Cheese
- 1 package Flour Tortillas
- 1 box Kellogg’s Toy Story 3 cereal
The total spent on groceries for this month was $27.95 including the tax. Milk was by far the most expensive part of our expenditures for the month of January adding up to $18.93. We had an extra expense of $1.50 from the Kellogg’s Toy Story 3 cereal that did not meet my criteria. Leaving only $7.52 for all of our other grocery purchases for the month of January which I bought last week.
The food I bought had to meet the following criteria:
- FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
- Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
- For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.
I have decided to continue with this challenge. It has been wonderful not having to go to the grocery store every week for anything other than milk. Our pantry still has plenty for us to eat and our freezer is fairly full. So I am going to continue with this challenge into February and see how much longer I can make it stretch.
One of the questions I have been asked is – What are we eating? Do we have recipes for these meals? To answer those questions I will be sharing a little more about what we are eating and recipes in a later post.
I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I am excited to be extending this goal into the first part of February! It has been great learning to say “no” when at the grocery store to extras and being creative with we have at home.
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Update)
We are now well into week four of my no grocery shopping challenge for the month of January 2011. It is time for me to give you an update so you can continue to keep me accountable. Last week was an easy one for us because we were not at home, my husband and I had the privilege of going on a cruise with extended family and the girls were staying with friends. We did take food over with the girls but we didn’t have to buy any essentials or perishable items while we were away.Before leaving for vacation we ate the leftovers and most of the perishables in our refrigerator. This week was the first time this month I had to pick up several perishable items. Other than a gallon or two of milk a week we have been doing really well. So far we have purchased 5 gallons of milk for the month of January. Thankfully all the groceries I purchased this week were marked down except for the gallon of milk I paid $2.99 for at Save A Lot. Here are the groceries I bought this week at Save A Lot | Rite Aid to restock the perishables in our fridge:
- Ground Hamburger – $6.39 markdown to $3.18
- Cube Steaks – $3.14 markdown to $1.59
- 2 Yogurts – $0.50 markdown to $0.25 each
- French Onion Dip – $1.29 markdown to $0.64
- Cottage Cheese (24 oz) – $2.25 markdown to $1.12
- Flour Tortillas – $0.99 markdown to $0.49
I spent a total of $7.52 including tax. By only purchasing the markdown items I was able to save over $8 on the perishable items we needed for our family. With the exception of the french onion dip everything would meet my criteria of a necessity for our household. Every home has different perishable items they need to keep in stock; meat and diary fit into that category for us (within reason), although, I have been trying to cut down on the amount I purchase to make sure we really do use the items already in stock. Fruits and veggies are ones I would consider necessary too (in moderation), however, we are still using up the ones we had from several weeks ago as well as those we froze from the garden this summer. The french onion dip is one I felt the most “guilty” about buying but since it was $0.64 for a large container and we are going to a Super Bowl party outside our home it technically falls under my criteria of “for Someone Else outside of my household” (I may be stretching that criteria a little). Even though it was a good bargain and it is for people outside of my home I probably could have made something from scratch with the items already in my pantry.
I am hoping these will be the last items we have to purchase for the month of January (with an exception to milk) and maybe even into February if I am really lucky. These groceries should last at least a couple weeks when we put them together with the food we already have in our freezer and pantry! So far I haven’t done too bad with the challenge. I have had to pass up on a couple really great deals, but the point is to use the items in stock before buying more.
I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
