The week went by quickly.  I have been fighting off a cold so I didn’t do as well bargain shopping throughout the entire week.  Thankfully I was able to find some amazing deals early in the week and was able to stock up on some candy to share with others (including the girls school) during some upcoming events and parties.  I was running low on shredded cheeses (a big no-no in our house) so I was able to stock up on it and other items this week.  Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

Ingles Groceries:

• $29.28 at Ingles for 1 bag Laura Lynn Bread, 2 blocks Laura Lynn Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 5 bags Laura Lynn Shredded Cheese, 1 box Margarine, 1 bag Ham Lunch Meat, 1 whole Chicken, 1 box Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix, 1 box Pillsbury Brownie Mix, 1 bag Laura Lynn Miniature Marshmallows, 1 container Fresh Lemons, 1 Sweet Yellow Onion, 1 bag Regular White Pitas, 1 bag Onion Pitas, 2 bags Deli Egg Roll Wraps, and 1 container Spinach Bites.  (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance including the meat, diary, and produce!)

CVS Groceries:

• $0.70 at CVS for 4 bags Oreo Mini Snack Packs, 2 bags Wonka Nerds, 2 bags Milky Way Simply Caramel, 2 bags Hershey’s Cookies N Cream, 1 bag Twizzlers Strawberry Twists Snack Pack, 2 bags Butterfinger Fun Size, 1 bag 100 Grand Fun Size, 2 bags Nestle Crunch Fun Size, 2 bags Whoppers Snack Size, and 2 jars Skippy Peanut Butter.  (My family will not be eating all this candy and sugar, but I was thrilled to get it since I have several upcoming parties and celebrations where I need to bring goody bags.  All the items were on clearance after the Halloween Holiday or on sale and will come in handy for upcoming events.  It was a great price on clearance items and none of the items expire until late 2012.  The Extra Care Bucks were a huge savings help.  To see more details about this shopping trip go to my CVS: Spent $0.70 and Got $3 ECB’s)

This week I spent $29.98 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 Halloween Clearance at CVS was pretty amazing and the items I picked up on will be beneficial for several different upcoming events so it was worth 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.