To read more about my personal grocery shopping challenge for the month of October and to read about Week 1, start here. Scroll down to read about Week 2.
Yikes, I feel like this ship is sinking fast! I set a lofty goal of doing all of my grocery shopping this month for $175-$200. Well, folks, as you'll see below after Week 3's shopping I've spent a total of $182.65 so far. That leaves $17.35 for the rest of the month if I'm going to stay within my target range. Oh well!
The good news is that despite being over budget I am spending less than I normally spend each week on groceries and that is the ultimate goal. I'm also discovering through this exercise that I can reduce my monthly grocery shopping budget in the future if I'm faithful to be disciplined.
Someone asked last week about my strategy for reducing our grocery spending. I am certainly no expert at this and there are many, many folks out there who have this down to a science and do it much better than I do, but here is a summary of my strategy. First, I clip coupons. Faithfully. Every week. And, then I file them. Last year I set up an envelope system for filing coupons in detailed categories which keeps them organized and easy to find until I'm ready to use them. With the help of The Grocery Game (grocerygame.com), each week I check to see which coupons can be used on my grocery store's sale items to provide groceries at the rock bottom price. For example, last week No Yolks noodles were on sale for $.89 per package. I had a coupon for $.50 off 1 bag. Since my grocery store doubles coupons up to $.50 I was able to get the pasta for free!
This leads to the second facet of my strategy which is to keep coupons until the item is on sale then I use the coupon reduction on an already reduced price. Tide detergent is typically $7.69 but this week it was on sale for $4.99. Several weeks ago I clipped and stored a coupon for $1.00 off so I was able to get a jug of Tide for $3.99. I love Tide detergent but I will only buy it if I can get it for a price that is comparable to the other brands of detergent.
Third, when I spot a really good deal I stock up and store the items. Perishable items go in the freezer, pantry items get put away until they are needed. Last of all, I plan my weekly menus around what I already have on hand and what I can get for a really great price that week at the grocery store. My goal is to use my weekly shopping as a way to stock up on items we use and enjoy frequently as well as weekly items like milk, bread, produce, and cheese. Then I have a well stocked pantry and freezer so I can easily plan a week's worth of meals around what I have already bought at (hopefully) a really great price.
Week 3 Shopping Trip
Spent:
- $67.87 at the grocery store
- $4.90 at CVS
- $72.77 was my grand total for Week 3
- total spent so far this month -- $182.65
My best shopping deals:
- 1 bag of pasta, free!
- 1 jug of Tide detergent for $3.99
- 2 boxes of Cheerios for $2.00 each
- 2 pork roasts for $3.00 each
What I've learned so far:
- There are some weeks (like this week) when there aren't many great deals at the grocery store but I still have to buy food so I will inevitably spend more than I planned.
- Adding a can of seasoned diced tomatoes to a jar or can of spaghetti sauce will stretch it (and make it more flavorful). This is a tip my mom gave me and last week it stretched my meat sauce enough to make 2 pans of baked ziti -- one to eat and one to freeze.
*photo caption -- bananas for $.49/pound
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