Nina's Soap

October has been the first month I lowered our grocery budget from $375 a month to $250 for our family of 5. We spend $224.54 in groceries as follow:

Week 3: we spent $67.99 on groceries

Food: $20.84 ($1.94 of non-food and $18.10 for food), Discount: $0.80

2-16 oz. Bread (Walmart @$0.60/ea.): $1.20, Discount: $0.80

1 gallon Peanut Oil (Walmart): $11.64

0.97 Lb. Jalapenos (Walmart $1.48/lb.): $1.44

2-2 % Milk (Aldi $2.11/gal.): $4.22

. Balloons (Walmart): $1.94

Fruit: $20.84

35.93 lbs. Apples (Hy-Vee $0.58/lb.): $20.84

Meat: $26.31

10 Dozens Eggs (Aldi $0.55/doz.): $ 5.50

12.32lbs. Pork Steak (Fare Way $1.69/lb.): $20.81

Apple was on sale at different prices and we purchased the ones that were at their lowest price including gala and red delicious.

Pork steak was on sale but not at the low price I like to stock up on. I like to stock up on it when it is on sale for $0.99/lb. However, it has not gone that low last year or this year. I like to have pork steak in my freezer. It is easy to thaw and cook for dinner.

There is a birthday coming, and I would fry some food. For that reason I purchased peanut oil. That is the oil I use for frying when I don’t have fat saved from roasted meat. I might use peanut oil in cooking and roasting instead of extra virgin olive oil and keep the olive oil for slight cooking and raw eating.

Week 4: $86.37 spent on groceries

Halfway through the fourth week, we made more purchases for the birthday celebration as follow:

Food: $71.24 ($61.63 of food and $9.61 for non-food) with a discount of $ 10.68

Shopping for the birthday celebration: $27.31

Cake (Walmart was $18.98): $9.49

Cookies (Walmart): $5

Donuts (Walmart was $2.97): $1.78

2- 4lbs French Fries (Walmart @ $5.52/ea.): $11.04

Other Food purchases not related to the birthday: $34.32

French bread (Walmart was $1): $0.60

Sugar 10Lbs (Walmart): $3.76

28-12 oz. Chocolate Chips (Hy-Vee on sale 10 for $10): $29.96

Non- Food: $9.61

Kid Shoes (Walmart): $9.61

Fruit: $15.13

26.66 lbs. Red Delicious apple (FareWay sale $0.38/lb.): $10.13

17.24 lbs. Bananas (Hy-Vee sale $0.29/lb.): $5

Chocolate chips usually are on sale in fall. Last year I purchased them around November for $0.99 /each. I purchased 24 bags. I have 3.5 bags left before this current sale. Last year I only purchased semi-sweet. This time, I stocked up on semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips.

One of our children celebrated her birthday. We blew balloons purchased in week 3 to decorate the house. The kids enjoyed blowing balloons. I cooked meals we ate. We gave her money for birthday gift. We celebrated her birthday without spending a lot of money. My husband and I took the day off to spend it with the kids and enjoy her birthday.

Week 5: $4.29 on groceries

Food: $4.29 with a discount of $7.65

3 bags French steak rolls (Walmart, $3.98/bag on sale for $1.43): $4.29

I am trying to stay below budget this month. So far my grocery expenses are as follow for the month of October:

Food: $114.53

Non-Food: $3.43

Kids: $13.29

Fruit: $46.01

Meat: $47.28

I spent a total of $224.54 in grocery in October. I set a new budget for our groceries starting October. That is $250 compared to $375 before. The $250 budget includes Food and non-food including kids expenses for $150, fruit for $50, and meat for $50. I put $125 in a saving envelop and didn’t spend it.

I take cash out for groceries which helps stay within my budget and save for sales.