My Shopping Trip August 18, 2008

So my tally between Publix and CVS for the below items came to exactly $46.00 (and I got $7 worth of ECBs from CVS to use for next week’s trip). Retail would have been $101.53. I still have some produce in the fridge, but it leaves me with some cash to buy some fresh fruits and veges later in the week and to get some formula from Walmart. This week we’re having roast chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, pumpkin and peas; breaded tilapia with herb rice and honey-glazed carrots; pot roast with ratatouille; and spaghetti with a fresh tomato marinara.

As you can see, today I stockpiled organic bread, stain remover, crayons and beef tips. The beef tips serve really well as “fast food” – I like to keep easy to prepare foods like this on hand. That way, when we’re in a time crunch, I can just go to the freezer and grab something that we stockpiled at a ridiculously low price. At Publix this week, if you buy the Hormel Roast for $6.99, you get the Publix version for free. It turns out that the Hormel Roast had a 55c off coupon on it, so I got both for $6.44 (essentially $3.22 a piece, much cheaper than handing over $30 for some mediocre Chinese takeout).

I’ve set an $80 per week grocery budget and have been doing well sticking to it. By “grocery budget”, I mean all food items, diapers, formula, medicines, paper items, etc., and I’ve been able to include fun things like cosmetics, coloring books and crayons in to that amount. It’s interesting to me that we’re spending an average of 65% less on groceries than we did just a few months ago, yet we’re actually eating better. Grocery shopping has also gone from a very stressful experience to something I actually look forward to. It’s a game now and I love seeing how much I can get for so little!