October Groceries Wrapup
So it’s been a month of the new $100 a week budget, and it seems if I give myself a little room, I spend less. At least this month. Odd. I look at our pantry and it seems pretty stocked, maybe not up to pre-budgeting levels, but there are plenty of all our staples in there, and our fridge and freezer seem to be doing okay, and yet, I spent significantly (~10%) less a week this month than last. I guarantee prices have not been going down, so maybe I’m just more disciplined now… or lucky. Only time will tell.
This week I spent $61.79 at Aldi and $18.44 at Walmart for a total of $80.23. That is almost $20 under my $100/week budget! I stuck pretty closely to my list, but did buy a few impulse items:
- $1.49 for lemonade drink mix (I am seriously craving something more than water)
- $1.79 for Ghiradelli’s brownie mix on sale… yum
- $0.85 for a caesar salad kit marked down 50% for quick sale (lunch today)
for a total of $4.13 or 5.1% of my total spending on impulse items. Almost under that 5% level!
I think one thing that has been helping the grocery budget is that I have been pretty successful at limiting impulse buys to sale or bargain items, which makes each item cheaper even if I am not buying less items. I also spread out big purchases over several weeks if possible: I bought about half of the items I need for Thanksgiving dinner today, and still stayed way under budget. My spouse’s employer provides a turkey so I just need to get fixings. I got gravy, potatoes, and stuffing today.
For the month of October, I spent an average of $91.87 a week (taking into account the week we were away as a “half budget” week, so I divided our total October spending by 3.5 weeks not 4 to determine that number). Last month we averaged about $103 a week so I did much better. I am going to set the November budget at $360, or $90 per week, and see how we do. This gradual stepping down is the way to go I think. At some point I’ll hit the number I just can’t get below and then I’ll know it is time to start examining the list instead of fighting the impulse buy war.
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October 28th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
I was reading an article somewhere this week (can’t remember source, sorry) that talked about the skyrocketing costs of food/groceries and how many of us middle-classers who live paycheck to paycheck are skipping meals to save money. They interviewed several SAHM types who said they were going without breakfast or lunch so they could buy more groceries for the family or make them stretch farther. Sad.
We’re also going on about $100 a week for our family of 5 and a dog—-the one thing that has taken a hit is my organic food preference. I’m really convicted about eating healthier and I still buy organic/local/fresh when I can, but not as much before the get-out-of-debt plan kicked in. I cannot afford $1,000 a month of groceries which I easily could have spent before.
The sad thing is, many of us are buying processed crap in a box or a can because it is triple-coupon and we can almost get it for free. The budget might feel good, but it isn’t healthy for us to do that all the time.
Balance. That is where I need to work on my grocery budget; keep it at $100 a week or under, and still not buy a bunch of processed junk and keep mainly fresh fruits/veggies/meats on our table.
October 28th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Great job! I’m over budget, but I decided to go the route of using the emergency fund to stock up. Given our current circumstances, I’m stopping that practice, effective immediately, and I hope to keep it under $100 a week for the month of November.
I was planning on having a huge extra expense for Thanksgiving, but my mom called today and offered to pay for the food if I make it all. Last year we paid when she was in a financial bind, and she wanted to repay the favor this year. That’s a huge relief.
October 28th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Congrats! That’s excellent.
Lynnae, isn’t it great how people do good turns for each other?
October 28th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Lindsey, we must have been commenting at the same time. Isn’t it sad that the unhealthy stuff is often much cheaper than the healthy foods? I try to strike a balance too. I just made the grocery list for tomorrow, and I was upset that there aren’t a lot of good sales on things I’m willing to feed my family this week.
Mrs. Micah, it is great. Not having to pay for Thanksgiving is a HUGE blessing.
October 28th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I’m single and I have a $50/week food/general grocery budget. I feel like I can’t go lower than that. I was talking to a friend today, also shopping for one, who has a $25/week budget, and I couldn’t understand how that’s possible. I think we figured out the difference is in the fresh fruits and veggies I buy. Yes, the baby carrots are ridiculously marked up, but when I bought regular carrots at $.75/lb, I just didn’t eat any veggie snacks. But I try to mix in the super-cheap (canned beans, canned tomatoes) with the moderately-priced and healthy, and it works out ok. I do wish I could get my budget down lower, but I find if I don’t have food I like, I succumb to the $9/meal takeout, which is worse than having a plumb grocery budget. Besides, in the long run, I’ve found that since I’ve started focusing on my health a lot, I’ve stopped getting sick and going to the doctor. I’m not sure how it works out financially in the short time, but I’m sure it’s in my benefit in the long term.
October 28th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Nice work!
I was looking at my grocery total today and I’ve gone over budget, though not too terribly far. I stocked up on a lot of sale items as well, which inflated my cost but will save me next month. I’m under $100 per week, but would like to be in the $50 - $75 range (only feeding two people here).
October 29th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
It is SO hard to keep the grocery budget as small as possible and yet stick to buying things you are happy to feed yourself and your kids. I think for me something that helps is I force them all to eat vegetarian on a regular basis (I’m a veggie lol) and I have given up some organic foods for their frozen counterparts. But there are some things I won’t give up, and at some point I think organic milk will be like half my grocery spending lol.
November 1st, 2007 at 8:01 am
I sooo know about the higher grocery prices….things are at least 25% higher where I live now than they were two years ago, and one of the major grocery chains has just gone out of business. No more double coupons now, either.:( We’re running $4.50+ a gallon (store brand, not organic), and it’s breaking the bank. Again. I used to use powdered milk from Sam’s, but they don’t carry the brand I used to use (their store brand, which was just MILK on the ingredients), and all the others have other things added; funky taste. Ick.
We go through a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and that’s the killer part of our budget. I’ve always used flash-frozen veggies, as opposed to canned, and find them to be significantly cheaper, as well as more healthful. Nothing added to them. Store brand vegetables usually run about $1/16 oz. bag; often on sale even cheaper. I recently found all types of frozen berries running about $1.50 to #2.00/lb, also; we go through a LOT of berries making smoothies for breakfast, so that was a gold mine. Much cheaper than fresh, and in smoothies, the texture doesn’t matter. I try to discourage cereal, toast, etc.
My daughter can’t take peanut butter to school when she takes her lunch, so we have to use soy butter or sunflower butter, which is pricier, but still lasts a while. And my husband and daughter often take leftover hot meals for lunch, planned-overs; my 9-year-old thinks a thermos of last night’s dinner beats a school lunch any day. And my husband has a fridge and microwave at work, and very few restaurants have re-opened yet near where he works, so taking his lunch is really his only option, as well. Still, the grocery budget has taken a hammering the last two years, along with everything else, and that’s where I usually find my most wiggle-room. Good luck, y’all!
November 1st, 2007 at 11:39 am
Groceries…. prices… ugh. It feels like there should be the most wiggle room there but it feels like there is… none. Bah. Hopefully we all find a little.