July Week 1

2 bags French Steak Rolls 24 was $3.98/bag: $2.39/ bag (a saving of $1.59/bag)

Night Light: $2.86

Ice Cream: 2 gal @ $3.88/ea.: $7.76

1% Milk, gal (Aldi): $2

Yellow Corn 6 for $1 (Fresh Thyme Store): $2—Discounts $4

2 bags Frozen Peas 32 oz. (Walmart): $1.94/bag

4 bags Unbleached Wheat Flour 5Lbs. (Walmart):$1.22/bag

We purchased Steak rolls to replenish our stock in the freezer. I make sandwich meal one day a week. Therefore, we need to have on hand 4 bags of the French steak rolls for the month. One bag has 24 rolls in it. They usually cost more than $3. We purchase them on sale to avoid paying the full price when we need them for sandwich. We paid $4.78 and saved $3.18. I stored them in the freezer. To use the rolls I lay the frozen rolls in a single layer on a baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degree F for 6-10 minutes.

The kids’ night light needed to be replaced so we purchased another one from the food budget.

Ice cream was on sale at Hy-Vee grocery store for $3.88 a gallon. We purchased two and kept them in the freezer. That size of ice cream costs more than $4 at Aldi and more than $5 at Walmart, and definitively more than $5 at Hy-Vee itself. It is a high quality product and service grocery store in my area and the price is higher than super Walmart. I only shop there where items I stock up on are on sale. For July 4th celebration, we purchased ice cream at Aldi at their regular price of more than $4. When ice cream went on sale at Hy-Vee, we purchased two and kept them in the freezer. When my husband and I celebrated our anniversary during the second week of July, we served one of the ice creams we purchased at Hy-Vee. During the second weekend of July, we went to work in our community garden. We removed the fences and posts. It was challenging and it was very hot that day. At the end, my husband suggested we purchased frosty at a fast food store since we needed to shop grocery after the hard work. I reminded him that we have another gallon of ice cream in the freezer and we could just drink water at the fountain at Walmart, shop groceries then go home to eat the ice cream we have. He agreed on that. At home, I didn’t cook lunch that I have in mind. I served some of the fruit we purchased during the grocery shopping; along with watermelon we purchased a week prior, leftover sheet pancake, and Ice cream. It was our lunch. That ice cream at home saved us from spending more than $4 on frosty for all 5 of us.

Yellow sweet corn was on sale 6 for $1. The original price was 3 for $1. My husband purchased 12 ears. At home I removed the husk and removed the kernels off the cobs. I froze in two gallon zip bags, 6 corns by bag. That was my third time stocking up on corn this year.

The frozen peas and the flour were part of my grocery list for the month of July but I didn’t purchase them during that trip.

Our grocery shopping at the end of the July week 1 cost us $16.40 at Walmart with a discount of $3.18, $2 at Fresh Thyme with a discount of $4, $7.76 at Hy-Vee, and $2 at Aldi. We spent a total of $28.16 from our food budget.

July Week 2

2% Milk, gal (Aldi):$2.59

3 bags Mandarins (Aldi): $2.49 ea.

1 Lb. Strawberries (Aldi): $0.99

8.93 lbs. Organic Green Grapes (Fresh Thyme): $0.99/ lb.: $8.84 Discounts: $26.79

8.06 lbs. Peaches (Walmart): was $1.68/ lb.: $0.75/lb. discount: $0.93/lb.

3 Cantaloupes (Walmart) was $2.28/ea.: $0.99/ea. discount: $1.29/ea.

 

During the second weekend of July we did grocery shopping based on what on sale that week. It was mainly fruit we shopped.  From the fruit budget we spent $8.84 at Fresh Thyme with a total discount of $26.79, $9.45 at Aldi, $9.02 at Walmart with a discount of $11.37. I don’t know the original price of mandarins and strawberries at Aldi. So I didn’t calculate their discount. From our fruit budget we spent a total of $27.31 with a total discount of $38.16. From our food budget we spent $2.59 at Aldi that  week.

We ate the grapes within days. The peaches were stored in the fridge and the cantaloupes in the basement. We have not eaten the peaches or the cantaloupes the week that followed. We enjoyed the grapes, strawberries, 1 bag of mandarin, and watermelon. It is the end of the third week of July and we have 2 whole watermelons left. We ate half of the strawberries and the grapes for lunch the day we purchased it. I used some in egg, green, and fruit salad the same evening. We ate the rest of strawberry and grape the next few days. I rinsed them in vinegar water and kept in the fridge for ready to eat snack for my family while I am at work.

 

July Week 3

½ gal 2% Milk (Hy-Vee): Was $2.27: $0.99 Discount $1.28

Red Seedless Grapes (Hy-Vee): $0.79/lb.: $21.62

1 gal Ice Cream (Fare way): $3.88 discount $1

We purchased 4 -1/2 gal of milk for a total of $3.96 with a discount of $5.12.

 

We purchased 27.37 lbs. of red grapes at Hy-Vee for a total cost of $21.62. I don’t know their original price. Therefore, I didn’t calculate the discount.

At the end of week 3, my husband spent from our fruit budget, $21.62 and from our food budget $7.84 with a discount of $6.12.

Our purchases during July week 1, 2, & 3 cost us $38.59 in food budget and $48.93 in fruit budget. We have a total discount of $13.3 in food and $38.16 in fruit. The shopping we did right at the beginning of July is not included in the total.

Cooking from scratch works for me and allows me to save money on food. The money saved is used to stock up on food and non-food items. I have quick meals recipes I make during the weekday, meals that take 1 hour or less to cook from scratch. With the unbleached flour purchased at the end of the first week of July, I made chocolate chips sheet pancakes for dinner  twice during the three weeks, I made corn breads, sourdhough pizza, ground beef wraps (egg rolls) by making the eggroll wrappers from scratch, and chocolate chips cookies. With the fruit and eggs purchased on sale and the greens from the garden, I made salad for lunch and dinner and served with French steak rolls also purchased on sale.