• Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    Groceries from Save A Lot | RiteAid

    It has a whirlwind of weeks this year from traveling, school, work, volunteering weekly, and so much more.  The first few weeks of the year I did the No Grocery Shopping Challenge in order to use up some of the items we had in stock in both our refrigerator, freezers, and pantry.   It really well and we made it a little over 7 weeks which I was thankful for since it was my goal to make it at least a month.  Now that we are starting to get lower on some items I decided it was time to start our regular weekly $40 for 4 grocery budget again.    I even remembered to take pictures this week so I could do the post for you! 🙂

    Jake has been in Charleston for some work meetings, so we are looking forward to spending time with him this weekend.  I did manage to get a lot of projects done (just not necessarily things that I planned to do).  Do you ever have weeks like that?  Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

    Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:

    • $18.45 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 3 containers Fresh Strawberries (marked down), 1 container Fresh Mushrooms (marked down), 3 Mountain Dew 2 liters, 1 gallon of Milk, 1 box Pillsbury Fudge Brownie Mix, 1 can Canola Cooking Spray, 1 container Cool Whip, 1 bag Sandwich Bread, 1 bag Kiggins Cereal, 2 cans Sliced Pineapple. (Everything I purchased at Save A Lot | RiteAid was either on sale or marked down.  All the produce was marked down as low as 99 cents as you can see from the bright green and orange stickers.)

    Groceries from Ingles

    Ingles Groceries:

    • $24.66 at Ingles for 1 bag English Muffins, 1 container Yogurt (marked down), 1 container Chip Dip (marked down), 1 package Ground Beef (marked down), 1 package Pork (marked down), 1 bag Red Delicious Apples, 1 container Blue Cheese Crumbles, 1 bag Bananas (marked down), 27 packs Wylers Red Koolaide, and 1 bottle Pepsi Next 2 liter (free after coupon).  (Most items were either marked down or on sale with an exception of the blue cheese.  I got the Blue Cheese as a special treat for my man since he was away working all week, couldn’t help spoiling him a little bit! 🙂 )

    This week I spent $43.11  on groceries.   I went over on the budget this week, but thankfully it was over by only $3 dollars.   I was happy to get some produce deals and stock back up on a few items we were needing to replenish in our fridge and pantry.  Hopefully next week we can come under budget and March will be a good month for us!

    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.

  • Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    It was a blast having the girls shop with me and to have extra time together last week, but I must say I am glad to have Jake back.  I did manage to keep myself very busy while he was awhile so the week flew by quickly.   I am back to my “normal” schedule this week.    Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

    Groceries Ingles and Save A Lot | RiteAid

     

    Ingles Groceries:
    • $16.10 at Ingles for 4 gallons of Pet Milk (marked down to $1 each), 2 Peach Tea, 1 Nectarine Juice, 1 bag Bananas, 1 container Tomatoes, 1 container Oranges / Grapefruits, 1 loaf Bread, 1 bag Snow peas, and 1 container Pork Filets,  (I was excited when the “milk” man marked down the already marked down milk to $1.00 each, I got 4 gallons and froze three of them when I got home.  Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down or on clearance including the produce, meat and milk!)
    Save-A-Lot |RiteAid Groceries:
    • $11.59 at Save-A-Lot | RiteAid for 24 pack Bottle Water, 1 pack Brown and Serve Rolls (12 count), 1 Cheddar Chex Mix, 1 box Toast Em Strawberry, 1 package Deli Ham, 1 package Roast Beef, 1 package Chicken Breast, 1 package Carrots (2 pounds), and 2 cans Pillsbury Biscuits.  (All the items purchased were on sale this week, for more information and coupon match-ups go to our  weeklySave-A-Lot page)
    Groceries from BiLo

     

    BiLo Groceries:
    • $5.51 at BiLo for 1 bag Southern Home Wavy Potato Chips and 1 gallon Milk (BiLo still has the best prices on milk on this side of town.  I picked up the chips for a snack for our Community Group.  Plus save $0.05 per bag for bringing my reusable bags.)

     

    Groceries from CVS
    CVS Groceries:
    • $0.75 at CVS for 4 bags Flava Puff Nacho, 1 bag Flava Puff Hot Party Mix, and 6 canisters Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips (I was able to get ALL of these items marked down on clearance for 75% to 90% off plus I used a $2.00 ECB coupon!  I should be good on chips for lunches the next couple weeks.)

    This week I spent $33.95 on groceries.  Even though I was a little under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on several items.  Thankfully I had extra wiggle room this week to help on future grocery purchases.  I hope that next week is an even better week and we can come under budget.  I was THRILLED to get milk for $1.00 a gallon (milk averages between $3 to $4 and this brand is close to $6 per gallon normally.  Thankful for an opportunity to stock up on several other items!

    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.

  • Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    It was my fourth full week of doing my new cash budget system – Groceries $40 for 4. This week I was able to get quite a few items with my $40 budget thanks to clearance items and coupons! Although it has been a learning process the last few weeks this one went pretty well. It is always a learning and growing progress for our family. We are continuing to utilize the food we already have in our pantry and freezer. Below are my grocery shopping adventures for the week!

    RiteAid Groceries

    Grcoeries from RiteAid:

    • $2.16 at RiteAid for Cake Mix (25 cents), Hamburger Dinner (25 cents), Onion Spices, Ground Cinnamon, 2 Tomato Juices (25 cents each), Individual peanut packs, Combos, and two free Easter Candies.  Plus I used an UP Reward towards the purchase.
    FREE Mushrooms at Walgreens!

    Groceries from Walgreens:

    • $0.00 (FREE) at Walgreens for 4 cans of Geisha Mushrooms (used the Walgreens Coupon Insert and Register Reward to pay for the mushrooms! Can’t beat free!
    Groceries from Bi-Lo

    Groceries from Bi-Lo:

    • $36.52 at Bi-Lo for 4 gallons of milk (froze 2 gallons), 1 pack of Cheese Crackers,  2 Slow Cooker Packs, 2 Applesauce Packs, 1 Loaf of Bread, 1 box of Uncle Bens Rice (on closeout), 4 bags of Individually Wrapped Chocolate Covered Raisins (on clearance for 75 cents each), 1 bag of Chickpeas, 2 packs of Pasta, 2 packs of Cheese Sauce Mix, 1 jar Raspberry BBQ Sauce (on closeout), 4 bags shredded cheese, 2 bags sliced cheese, 1 package of fresh Chicken (99 cents / pound).  I used several store and manufacturer’s coupons plus I had a coupon from Bi-Lo for $5 off the entire purchase which helped bring the amount down below $40.

    It was our fourth week of the challenge – Groceries $40 for 4 and we spent $38.68 thankfully we did better this week .  I was able to stock up on some great dairy items this week – Milk (even froze 2 gallons), Cheese (which freezes well too), Chicken (enough for 2 to 3 meals for our family) and snacks for after school!  I am still trying to work out all the details of how to make the budget most effective for our family and I think some weeks have been easier than others.  I used some coupons, bought clearance items, and utilized weekly ad discounts to help save us a little extra on our grocery budget.  I hope to do better next week!  We’ll see how I do!

    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.

  • Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    RiteAid and Walgreens
    It was my third week of doing my new cash budget system – Groceries $40 for 4.   Although it has been a learning process the last two weeks this one has gone pretty well so far.  I have to admit, honestly, this week we stocked up on some good deals on special treats and items for road trips for the family.  It is always a learning and growing progress for our family.  We are continuing to utilize the food we already have in our pantry and freezer.  Here is my grocery spending for the week:
    • $2.29 at Walgreens for 3 boxes of Sugar Free Jello Pudding and 1 M&M Cookie (see picture below)
    • $9.99 at RiteAid for a 3 Mountain Dew ThrowBack (12 packs) and 1 free Diet Pepsi (12 pack). Jake really likes the Mountain Dew Throwback and recently I have been having a hard time finding it even on the shelves so we stocked up this week.
    Mommy was a softy since the girls were home from school on Monday and helping me run errands. I bought the girls a giant M&M Sugar Cookie that was on sale for 50 cents. Brina and Karlie were more than happy to share the monster cookie! =)

    It was great having my two little helpers along for a ZoobaLoobaDoo errand!   The errands were not quite as “efficient” but they did help and were super good during the trip!

    SaveALot | RiteAid and BiLo

    Groceries from SaveALot | RiteAid and BiLo:

    • $8.14 at SaveALot | RiteAid for 2 gallons of Milk, Popcorn, and Sugar Free Candy
    • $5.54 at BiLo for 2 packs Eggs (Dozen each), Gatorade Orange, Gatorade Fruit Punch, and Fresh Cabbage.
    RiteAid, Dollar Tree, and Winslett

     

    Groceries from RiteAid, Dollar Tree, and Winslett:

    • $7.99 at RiteAid for 3 (12 packs) Mountain Dew Throwback and 1 free (12 Pack) of Diet Pepsi (We are not Diet Pepsi drinkers, but since it was a free item we have reallocated it to someone who does!  I wouldn’t have done this deal again but  I had 2 – $1 off coupons for Pepsi products so the packs were less than $2 each).  Jake should be set for quite awhile after this week’s stocking up on the Mountain Dew throwback!!!
    • $3.03 at Dollar Tree for 3 bags of Sugar Free candy
    • $2.00 at Winslett’s Produce (a family store with fresh produce)  for 2 bags of Gluten Free White Cake Mix (we have several friends with Gluten allergies so this comes in handy for hosting and sharing)!  The bags were marked down to $0.99 from $4 each!!!

    It was our third week of the challenge – Groceries $40 for 4 and we spent $38.98 so we were close to going over again, but thankfully we did better this week .  I was able to stock up on some items for my man this week; Mountain Dew Throwback, Gatorade packs, and Sunflower seeds are perfect for traveling!  Do you think I missed him a little bit while he was gone on a work trip, ha!?    I am still trying to work out all the details of how to make the budget most effective for our family and I think some weeks will be easier than others.  I used some coupons, bought clearance items, and utilized weekly ad discounts to help save us a little extra on our grocery budget.  I hope to do better next week now that we have replenished Jake’s drinks!  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.  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.

  • 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.