Recently, my husband and I have reevaluated our budget goals and I am finding myself needing to be more budget-conscious and accountable. I'm back on my $65 weekly grocery budget for my family of four. This week, I thought I did especially well, although I did go over budget by $2.50 (*hey, not bad for my first week back at it!!*)
So many people tell me that it's impossible to get produce and meat and truly healthy grocery items when using coupons and staying on such a strict budget. Pooh! Look above: I got strawberries, bananas, onions, asparagus, grapes, cantaloupe, and two tubs of organic baby greens!! I got 3 lbs chicken breasts and 2.5 lb ground beef. I got a gallon of milk, 6 yogurt cups, 3 bags of shredded cheese, a box of Kashi cereal, 2 bags frozen veggies, and 3 jars of apple sauce! Also included in my total for the week were the toothbrushes, body wash, and Biore cleansers and pore strips...and a 24-roll pack of toilet tissue!!!
For all these deals I went to 3 different stores with my coupons and match-ups in hand: Price Chopper, Hy-Vee, and CVS. Honestly, it only took me an hour and a half to run to all three places. It really does help you save when you pick and choose what you'll buy at each store. The grocery stores are figuring on you being at their mercy for your WHOLE grocery list. They get you in there with a couple great deals (called loss leaders), and then kick ya where it hurts (your wallet) on all the other items.
If you take the time to look at the ads to get an idea of what's a great deal that week, then plan the week's meals around what's a great buy and what you already have on hand, you can keep your list to a minimum. This week I needed less than 10 items for my week's worth of meals. The rest of the things I got were just great deals! So I got what I needed this week and might need next week, and got some things for the stockpile. Now if the deals aren't too great next week, then I should have plenty on hand to pick from for next week's meals.
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