Sticking to the Grocery Budget – Blessings Multiplied

I am back on schedule with sharing my grocery budget for those who asked if I was continuing (thanks for checking on me). While the girls were out of school for the Holidays and Jake had a few days off work I decided to take a break from posting my Groceries $40 for 4. I did stay close (I went over by a little bit) to our target budget but did not take any pictures since my priority was spending time with my family during the Holidays. Now that school and work are back to normal routine I plan to share regularly with you. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

Groceries from Ingles, Walgreens, and KMart

Ingles Groceries:

$30.04 at Ingles for 3 boxes Fiber One Blueberry Yogurt, 4 boxes Fiber One Key Lime Pie Yogurt, 1 box Laura Lynn Taco Shells, 1 bottle Eggnog, 1 container fresh Portabella Mushrooms, 1 container fresh Black Eye Peas, 1 container fresh Raspberries, 4 packs Laura Lynn Sharp Cheddar block cheese, 4 bags Sargento Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, 4 bags Sargento Shredded Mexican Cheese, 1 box Laura Lynn Oatmeal, 1 head Caulifornia, 1 head Lettuce, and 1 bag Coleslaw. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance. All the produce was marked down to $0.99 cents, the yogurt was marked down to 50 cents, and all the cheese was on sale! We should be stocked up on cheese for awhile, somehow we manage to go through a lot in our house!)

Walgreens Groceries:

$3.58 at Walgreens for 2 gallons of Milk (the milk was on sale for $2.79 each and I used a $2.00 coupon)

KMart Groceries:

$3.00 at KMart for 12 pack A&W Root Beer (on sale and a special treat for my husband since he works so hard to provide for our family I decided it was worth the “splurge” for him.)

This week I spent $36.61 on groceries. Even though I was under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on some items at the same time plus it allows me a little extra to spend next week if I find a great deal. I was thrilled to stock up on produce and diary items as well as other great fridge & pantry items this week. 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.

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!

Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4