Tags
cheap food, cooking from scratch, DIY, food budget, Freezer Meals, Grocery Budget, homemade, Homemade Bread, homemade food, make ahead meals, recipes
Last month we took a road trip up to Memphis to see my sister at her new place. We had a wonderful visit!! So much so that I didn’t wanna come home!! We did some sight-seeing, hung out at their great new apartment and had some awesome BBQ!! If the transmission of our car didn’t decide to die on us it would have been the perfect visit!! (The car is now in its grave in Mississippi…didn’t even have her a year…growl & grumble) While we were visiting my sister was telling me how she does her grocery budget and how she keeps it so low. And when I say low I mean $200 max a month LOW!!! Granted it’s only for two adults but hey…we’re only 2 adults here!!
Challenge on!!
So…I’m playing a game with myself this month – How low can you go?!?!?
How little can I spend on groceries and still have us eat relatively good?? Sounds like a worthwhile challenge!! Anyone else like saving cash??
So the first thing I realized is that I am going to have to make most everything from scratch. Not a huge leap from what we’ve been doing so no biggie. Seeing as you can literally make scalloped potatoes for pennies compared the box deal, even when it’s on sale for a dollar!! After checking out the sale ads from all the stores I also realized it’s worth my time to hit 3 different stores. I know most price match but I think it’ll take less time to go to the three stores than to try to get one to price match…maybe I’m wrong but it isn’t worth the aggravation to me.
My first stop was Costco. There are certain things I ALWAYS buy at Costco cuz it’s a much better deal. I just have to learn to only buy what I need…those coconut covered cashews are soooo tempting though!! And those little temptations at Costco add up quick!! Make a list and stick to it!! Some of the bulk items will last all month-long and others will last way longer than a month so next time I can get something different to fill my pantry. This month’s cart –
- Oats – $8.39
- Case of Diced Tomatoes – $5.99
- Onions 10lb bag – $4.79
- Chocolate Chips – $9.99 (not on the list but a MUST when making our own sweet treats)
- 3 Heads of Lettuce – $2.99
- 2 Pack of Peanut Butter – $9.99 (these 2 huge tubs will probably last me 6 months!!)
- 12 Pack of Apples – $5.49
- 2 Butters – $6.99 each (Some may say buying the Irish KerryGold butter is a splurge but if you’ve never had it you can’t know how much better it is than all that other ‘butter’)
- Carrots 10 lbs – $5.99
- 2 pack of Shredded Cheese – $11.99 (at least 2 months worth)
- 20 ct Tortillas – $4.89
$79.69 TOTAL
And to be fair and accurate…I did send Mr Man to the Wally for a few things until we could get to the Costco…
- Coffee Creamer (4) – $11.92 (I know!! This is a lot and it won’t be the last for the month but Coffee and Creamer are a must!!)
- 8 pack of frozen corn on the cob – $2.47
- Crappy Butter – $1.98
- Coffee – $12.98 (There will be another one of these this month too…)
$29.35 TOTAL
WOW… Already at $109.04 for the month… YIKES!! This might be trickier than I thought. I still have 2 stores to grab sales at too. Maybe I should just wait… I don’t know… Thankfully I had a good meat supply in the freezer to start off with!! But no more freezer meals left *sigh*
I think I’m going to make up a meal list from what we have on hand and then see if I really need to go back to the store for anything…
My sister gave me some great tips to stretch meals and even do some meatless meals (gasp) to go easier on the wallet… Any other ideas, suggestions, comments or recipes are welcome!!
With Much Love
❤ Kristy