Groceries And The Month of May
I’ve been participating in the Grocery Challenge at Give Me Back My Five Bucks this month, and I set my goal at spending under $435 this month for my family of 4, considering we have 5 shopping weeks in May. Well, after 3 shopping weeks gone by, I have to say I am not doing well if you only consider that metric, and I am bound to go over by the end of the month. However, last week I found a great deal on the protein bars my spouse eats and bought him enough to last until October, which added $50 right then and there to my May spending. So, honestly, If I go over by less than $50 I think I will consider that a victory.
Before this week I was at $280.72 for the month. This week I spent $34.60 at Aldi, $18.10 at Kroger and $10.26 at Walmart for a total of $62.96. Which is well under my normal $85/week budget. The first week of the month I spent a lot more than my budget stocking up on a few things like meats and staples, so I knew that would be reflected eventually in my spending. I thought it would last week, but, last week, I bought a lot of stuff anyhow. That brings me to $343.68 for the month, which means I have $91.32 left for two weeks of groceries. I doubt that will happen, but I am going to give it my best effort. We will see. But I am happy with how I did this week at least! If I didnt buy 4 generic “lunchables” type meals at Kroger (I planned to, they were on a big sale) to try and tempt my son into eating normal food, I would have $4 more to spend… that was a failed experiment. :) Otherwise, the key to spending less this week was buying basics, staples, and nothing fun. No chocolate. 
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May 18th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Do you do GroceryGame.com? You can do a trial run for $1. I would advise you to clip coupons for a month before the trial. Not as fun if you don’t have the coupons to do the deals. Have you learned to shop at CVS for free? With only 4 in your family, surely you could slice that monthly expense! It’s difficult, but keep trying! Blessings.
May 18th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Hmmm. Sounds like you are a good candidate for a list. If you try, you can plan out everything you need on a list and stick to it. You can find all the deals while your at home looking at the paper ads. The tricky part is sticking to the list, it is no problem for me, but I know a lot of people can’t possibly go into the grocery store and only get what is on their list. Try asking your husband to shop for you, guys tend to not like shopping as much so they just get what is needed (list) and leave. Does take some planning though.
May 18th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
@ Lisa - I have tried and tried to do the CVS thing and honestly, I stink at it. Or my CVS stinks. They are constantly out of the really good deals by the time I read about them online.
I do get stuff there once in a while but I am not a good player. the only thing I am successful at getting super cheap is toothpaste for some reason. But we are stocked up on toothpaste for a loooong time now.
@David - I make a list. And I use circulars to make lists. My spouse is not a good shopper, he wouldn’t take the time to compare prices and would get stuff that is too expensive. I do buy things impulsively once in a while but I have mostly tamed that. I just spend a lot grocery shopping. I buy organic and free range stuff, I am picky.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I am trying to keep my grocery budget in line as prices rise and find I buy very little meat, some weeks none, now. I do buy fruit, veggies, cheeses and pasta and beans much more than before. We usually have one breakfast supper a week too…pancakes or waffles, fruit, eggs and grits and homemade gourmet pizza once every 2 weeks.
My 19 year old will be abroad soon for a month and I plan to see how little I can shop for myself, but eat well. That’s my challenge for June!
May 20th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I know how you feel. I’m also doing the challenge and I’m also almost sure to go over. Doubly frustrating since money is very tight just at the moment. But I can’t very well suggest that my hubby and 5 yo stop eating for a couple of days. And just writing about food is making me hungry. If I were to walk into a grocery store right now I’d be *dangerous*.
As I wrote this my 5 yo asked me if I wanted pizza, and how big a slice. Too bad it’s just pretend. The big problem right now is that I had a muffin and (decaf) coffee for breakfast this morning because I was out of my usual protein drink and my body is giving me heck.