So less than two hours ago, I updated about my $50 grocery-food budget goal to be used for the next two weeks. Well, I failed. I know, I know -- I'm terrible. Why even make goals if you don't meet them? But I think I did pretty well, considering this the first time I really tried to be prudent. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I am one of those people that shops sans list and throws anything into the basket that looks good, but I definitely am not like a few of our friends that are able to stick to a $50 (usually less!) grocery budget every week. Honestly, I don't know how they do it. J. and I have scrutinized our grocery store spending so many times, but the things we are buying aren't crazy, and generally we aren't very wasteful...
In spirit of one of our
friends, T., who blogs weekly with the theme "Thrifty Thursday," I decided to account for our purchases this week similar to her style.
BOGO Items
Whole Fruit Fruit Bars (Black Cherry) $1.80
(2) Publix Oven Roasted Turkey Breast (sliced deli meat) $6.19
(2) Mueller Pasta $1.43
(4) Wishbone Dressing $5.22
(2) Thomas Everything Bagels $4.49
Athenos Crumbled Feta $2.25
ON SALE Items
Sargento Shredded Mild Cheddar (2 C) $2.50
Publix 2% Provolone (sliced deli cheese) $2.50
(2) Sweet Vidalia Onions $1.39
(5) Mangoes $5.00
Watermelon $4.99
FULL PRICE Items
Publix Spinach $2.49
(5) Bananas $1.50
Arnold Sesame Buns $3.49
Santitas White Corn Tortilla Chips $2.00
4-Grain Eggs (dozen) $2.69
Pineapple $4.99
Red Bell Pepper $2.19
Jalapeno Pepper $0.10
Edys Fruit Bar (Strawberry) $4.65
Arnold Wholegrain Oatnut $2.15
Total Savings $31.15
Total Spent (after tax) $64.65
Thoughts:
I was really excited about the Whole Fruit Fruit Bars being BOGO -- I had just mentioned to several coworkers that I have been craving these type of fruit bars. When I got to the store, however, I was disappointed to see that this brand includes high fructose corn syrup in the bars; Edy's brand, albeit more expensive, does not. I splurged and also purchased the more expensive (almost 4x the price!) brand in addition to the BOGO item. On the topic of HFCS, it's very disappointing that so many manufacturers of bread include this ingredient! It seems ridiculous to have to spend almost $4 on buns for our Boca Burgers, but Arnold is the only brand carried at Publix that offers a non-HFCS options. Other areas I splurged in: watermelon, pineapple, and Mueller pasta. I myself am not a melon fan, but I know my husband likes them. It's been so dreadfully hot out that I figured cold fruit would be very refreshing. We always stock up on pasta since it's an easy base ingredient for many recipes. I was planning on only buying one box since our pantry has several others right now from previous BOGO sales, but they had these delightful corkscrew-shaped pasta that I just had to buy.
At any rate, I only went about $15 over my budget. And this is our spending for the next two weeks of meals (plus the bagels/bread will last us longer than two weeks). Woohoo!
How do you save on your grocery shopping? Does anyone do comparison shopping? Buy in bulk? Coupon?
