Grocery Shopping Challenge - part 2

Well, although I whole heartedly want to be successful with this grocery shopping challenge, I failed to take into account that yesterday was my toddler's 2nd birthday.  Ouch.  The groceries I purchased last week sufficed for our family, but I hadn't thought about my parents and siblings coming for the holiday weekend for the birthday celebration.  Nor had I decided what to do about Harrison's party cake and/or decorations.

I figured I would try as best I could to use what I had on hand and purchase as little as possible.  My mom and her husband came Saturday morning.  The rest of the crew showed up Saturday afternoon and evening.  My mom purchased most of the groceries for Saturday evening's meal in honor of my birthday, which was a few weeks ago.  That was a life/money-saver.  Thanks, Mom!!

Everyone was here Sunday and the menu for the day looked like this:

Breakfast - eggs and toast, juice and coffee
Late Lunch around 2:00 - grilled porkchops, baked potatoes, baked beans, salad
Dinner - leftover buffet

I did have to buy some groceries.  Here's what we got.  I didn't have a meal plan or a good list, so I tried to do it in my head while I went.  Not a good idea.  I got everything at Dillon's and purchased the Kroger brand when I could.  This is food for the weekend and next week.  I know I'll have to go back for milk, bread, eggs and butter at some point.

Milk - 2.59

1# hamburger - 1.53  (saved $1 w/Plus card)

Pork chops - 7.52 (buy 1 get 1 free, saved $6.92 w/card)

Pork loin - $7.44 (saved $3.74 w/card)

Ramen noodles - $1

Mac n cheese - 2 @ .39

Saltines - .88

Sour Cream - 1.16

Fruit loops - .99

Peas - .63

Elbow macaroni - .78

Baked beans - 1.59  (saved .06 w/card)

Crisco - 2.55

Grean beans - .63

Peanut butter - 1.29

Powdered sugar - 1.75

Mustard - .89  (saved .10 w/card)

Dried pinto beans - 2.19

Hotdog buns - .88

Hamburger buns - .88

Eggs - 1.59

Total w/tax - $41.06

I also made a last minute trip to Wal-Mart before the party for a few party things, Wilton food coloring and candy to finish decorating the cake.  That total was around $18

So, the total for the weekend and hopefully most of next week is right at $60.  Still not too bad, considering I've fed more than just our family and had a birthday party.

Taking The Challenge

Owlhaven has become one of my favorite blogs. Mary is taking the month of September to focus on spending as little as possible. Her family includes 9 adopted children from all over the world and she is going to try to spend only $75 each week for groceries. Of course, she's challenged the rest of us to step up and join her.

I've been trying to curtail the grocery budget for a while now, anyway, so I thought this might be fun. I've actually been doing pretty well the past few weeks, but I'm going to try to do even a little better for the next month.

Before we moved, I was in a habit of grocery shopping on Fridays, which I like. However, our routine is different now that we are in the new house and homeschooling. We've also taken on a different approach to budgeting, so the Friday thing just isn't going to work for now. That's ok.

We've decided to alot X amount of dollars per pay period for each of our expenditures, which includes groceries. We'll be paying with cash only. No debit cards. It's incredible the psychological effect cash has vs. the debit card, even though I know the "cash" is coming right out of my checking account when I use the card. I'm completely stingy with the greenbacks.

Doug got paid today, so I went grocery shopping for the week. Honestly, I wanted to spend less than $50. I didn't make it, but only overspent by about $8. That's still not bad and much better than what we've spent in the past. Here's what I got from Food 4 Less (I really hate the multi-store approach):

Not pictured: a gallon of milk

Gallon of milk - 2.78

Trix yogurt - 2.58 (I HATE this yogurt, but the kids go nuts for it. I'm thinking of making my own. We'll see.)

Coffee Creamer - 2.06 (I know I could live without it, but I really want to enjoy my new deck & need the creamer for the great coffee I'm going to have on these great mornings)

Honey Buns - 1.28 (Another splurge. Should've left these at the store)

Smart Chicken Breasts - 5.07 (Could've bought cheaper, but really would prefer organic. This is my compromise)

Cheerios - 2.68

Coffee - 2.98

Mushroom Soup - 1.24

Chicken broth - 2.87

Hot Dog Buns - .76

Apple Juice - 1.16

Green Beans - 2 @ .48

Sliced pineapple - .98

Alfredo Sauce - 2.98 (Jackson won't eat the red sauce.....what's a mom to do?)

Toilet paper - 4.78

Hot Dogs - .98 (Doug's choice for lunch. He doesn't seem to care about the nitrites...ugh)

Broccoli crowns - 4.11

Peaches - 2.21

Grapes - 2.12

Spinach - 1.98

Bag of onions - 1.38

Celery - .98

5# bulk carrots - 3.25

Baby carrots - 2.28 (Seems redundant, but the kids LOVE the baby carrots)

Raisins - 1.58

TOTAL WITH TAX - $58.33

I went over the $50 goal, but considering I got a few extras I'm ok with that. I could've been under $50 if I'd left the coffee & creamer, yogurt, honey buns and made Jackson suffer with no alfredo. A few of these things will probably last into next week, so maybe I can make up for it then.

Frugal Family Fun Blog

Hey, I just found this blog called Frugal Family Fun Blog and think I'm going to like it alot. Thought you might like it, too. She's doing a giveaway for some eco-friendly cleaning products, which I'd love to try. I'll let you know if I win!

Along the frugal line of thinking, I think I'd really like to try sewing. I don't have a machine and honestly, I'm not even sure what I'd make. It just looks like fun and I've seen some stuff that is so darn cute. I would like to maybe make some curtains and put the kids' names on their walls somehow. Don't know, though. Like I said, I don't have a machine. I think I'll start checking Craigs List. Maybe I could get a good deal.

Food & Fun Friday

I realized this morning as I was catching up on my blog list and finding great new ones, that I had forgotten my Food & Fun Friday post. I have a good excuse, though. We definately had a fun Friday, as we were going full-speed from the time we opened our eyes.

We had great friends from out of town spend the night Thursday night. Carter had gone camping with his Nana in Branson, after we spent the afternoon in Silver Dollar City with said friends. So, Friday morning we woke with company, but minus Carter. When the friends left mid-morning, the remaining boys and I headed back to Branson to reclaim our Carter.

We ended up going back to Silver Dollar City with Nana. We spent the entire afternoon riding and eating (which completes the Food & Fun theme for the day - lol) before we headed back to Nana's camper. Doug drove down after he was off work and played a round of putt putt with the kids after dinner.

However, our plans to reclaim Carter were blundered when both older boys wanted to camp instead of come home with mom and dad. So, Harrison came home with us and we will hopefully reclaim Jackson and Carter this afternoon. I'm thinking that after today, Nana will see to it that I have my sons back.

So, we had a Friday full of fun and lots of good food!

The menu plan for next week looks very similar to last week's plan. Because Doug showed up at the beginning of last week with several steaks that I wasn't planning on, we grilled those and ate leftovers a few times. Most of the groceries I bought for last week are still in the fridge or pantry. I'll just have to restock the milk, bread, eggs and butter.

Blackberrries & Rice

I know, you were thinking this was going to be a post about a wonderful new recipe I found. Sorry. However, this information could save you a few bucks, so read on!

My Blackberry found its way into the backyard the day before yesterday. I'm sure it got there by way of Harrison, my beautiful toddler whose picture I posted in the post just prior to this one. He's a great little guy and already has a fascination with electronics. lol

Apparently, he carried it into the yard and dropped it. I had no idea as I was going on about my mommy business. That particular day, we were mostly inside because we were being blessed with intermitant thunder storms. Yes, that's it. There were storms and my Blackberry was in the yard, unbeknownst to me.

Long story short, I found it in the early part of the evening when I was out taking a look at my garden. I was not a happy camper. This is my only phone, as we had the land line disconnected last summer. It was only six months old. I just got it in December, when I signed up for my new plan with Sprint. I did buy the protection plan when I got it, but should have known that water damage is not covered.

While I was sulking, a friend of mine walked in the back door. She told me to take the cover off and put it in a bag of rice. So, I did. I figured I didn't have anything to lose. I left it there overnight.

The next morning, it worked!! The condensation under the screen was gone and it powered up just fine. At first, not all the keys and functions worked. I could only dial calls by actually typing in the numbers and I could receive calls. It took about an hour or so, but eventually everything returned to normal!! Yea!

Now, I have no idea how long it will last, but for now it's working like nothing ever happened. So, if you have a water issue with your cell phone, give the rice a try!

Downsizing Gifts

Last Christmas, we decided to make some changes in our gift giving and receiving strategies. As part of our effort to downsize and reduce clutter and "stuff" in general, we asked our family members NOT to give our kiddos the standard gifts. Up until this past year, the kids have gotten tons of cool things, mostly toys and clothes. Don't get me wrong, we were very grateful and thankful for the gifts we received, which mostly came from loving family members.

However, we were accumulating way too much stuff, including clothes. So, as Christmas approached last year, we asked our family to give our kids experiences instead of toys or clothes. I gave them a list of possibilities I thought we might enjoy as a family. We were given season passes for everyone to Silver Dollar City and a membership to the Dickerson Park Zoo.

We have thoroughly enjoyed both and are still using our passes to create wonderful family memories.

For their birthdays, Carter and Jackson were both given a Mad Science Camp. Jackson chose "Rockets and Robots". His camp was last week and he loved every minute. He was able to learn about robots the first part of the week and then about rockets the last part. He even got to build a model rocket and bring it home. He doesn't want to launch it yet, so we are keeping it safe for now. He's already talking about which science camp he would like to go to next.

Carter's ecology camp started this morning. He learned about what dirt is made of, and they started a seed sprouting experiment. He was happy to get to go to class where Jackson was last week.

Thank you so much, Aunt Kaye, for the great birthday gifts!

Here is Jackson with his rocket.

I love this and I think most of our family is happy to be contributing to the kids' list of experiences instead of putting money in toys that get lost and broken in a few days or weeks. It's a much better use of their resources and our time. Since we are officially homeschooling now, we'll be counting these experiences toward our schooling hours when it's applicable, also.

Things on our list of possibilities include: show tickets (special performances, plays, concerts, etc.), passes to fun places (zoo, pool, theme park, museums, etc.), summer camps and fun classes.

Laundry Downsizing

The one thing I have done recently that has truly made our daily lives more simple is downsizing. I started with the clothes, because I felt completely overwhelmed with laundry.

With three kiddos and two adults it seemed as though the laundry was always in a huge pile somewhere. In fact, there were multiple piles of clothes in all stages of the laundry process. Usually at least one pile of dirty, loads in the washer and dryer, clothes waiting to be folded and the folded ones which hadn't been put away. All these clothes laying in piles and we still had clean clothes to wear!

I decided that we just had too much. Most of it came as hand-me-downs that were in good shape or friends getting ready for garage sales. It was in good condition and a good buy, so I bought! Even though it was a good price, it was still too much.

I went through everything and kept only 5-6 play outfits for each child and 4 dressier outfits per child as well. They basically have a play outfit for each day of the week and a nice outfit for church. They can wear the dress outfits once a month to church and also for other outings that require them.

I also got rid of a bunch of towels. Each family member now has two bath towels. One to use and one to be in the laundry. We use them for a couple days before they go into the laundry, also, which helps out. At one point in time, there were so many towels that I had a load to do almost every day.

It has been such a blessing! The laundry is so much more manageable. I can now do all of our laundry - even if most everything is dirty - in just 4 loads or so. This is a great improvement!

Grocery Shopping Success!

Well, I did it! I'm really excited that I set out with a very specific plan and accomplished my goal. the kids behavior in the store was a little less than desirable, but the bill was well under budget. The grand total was $40.66. This includes three meals a day for a week plus snacks and a couple extras that weren't on my list. Yea!

I did go to two different stores, but I still completed the entire trip and made it back home in about an hour.

At the bread store I got:

Syrup - 1.89

100% whole wheat bread - 1.00

Whole wheat English muffins - .75

French bread - 1.00

Bread Store Total = $4.81

At Aldi I got:

Boneless-skinless chicken breasts - 5.49

Bag of carrots - .99

2 cucumbers - .98

Apple juice - 1.39

Blueberries - .99

2 pkg broccoli crowns - 1.98

3# bag of apples - 2.99

Red seedless grapes - 2.98

Bing cherries - 1.49

Instant mashed potatoes - .87

Cereal - 1.69

Salmon - 3.99

Milk - 2.22

Kitchen trash bags - 6.29

Aldi Total = $35.85

I have to say that it was a little difficult to stick to the list. I added a few things because I forgot to put them on the list. I feel really good about it. A week of meals for under $50 is great for us!

Food & Fun Friday

Most of the blogs I've been reading regarding grocery shopping do their planning and shopping on Mondays at the beginning of the week. That doesn't work so well for me. I want a stocked fridge for the weekend, which is when I like to cook for friends or just have special meals for us. Monday is the beginning of our homeschool week and I want to be disciplined enough to get right to the school schedule without worrying about the menu or groceries. So, I've designated Friday as our menu planning and shopping day. I'm calling it 'Food & Fun Friday' because I hope to be able to shop in the morning and do something fun with the kids in the afternoon. We'll see how it goes.

Today we are not going to worry about the fun activity because we've been very busy all week and everyone here just needs a rest. The activities will be more applicable when our homeschool schedule officially begins.

My grocery project over the next two weeks is to use up everything I possibly can from the pantry. We are moving at the end of the month and I don't want to pack and move food if I don't have to.

Here's the meal plan for the next week.

1. B - rice

L - PB& J

D - spaghetti w/zucchini from the garden and garlic bread

2. B - pancakes and eggs

L - beef roast w/carrots and mashed potatoes

D - leftovers

3. B - Oatmeal

L - Baked chicken w/zucchini and rice

D - Ramen noodles

4. B - Malt O Meal

L - Carrots & Apples w/peanut butter

D - Smothered burgers w/mashed potatoes & broccoli

5. B - Eggs & cereal

L - Ramen noodles

D - Salmon & grilled veggies

6. B - Rice

L - Grilled cheese & apples

D - Leftovers

7. B - Oatmeal

L - PB & J

D - Chicken strips and tater tots

Snacks: grapes, bananas, home-made Kool-Aid popsicles

I'm headed out to shop now. I'm hoping to spend less than $50. I'll let you know how it goes.