As we enter a new phase in our lives, I have adjusted when and how often I shop for groceries. Our oldest left for college on August 25 and the other three started school on August 28, so my 4 week block started on August 26. My plan is to cut down on the number of times I go shopping and the money spent.
Shortly into the first shopping block, our local Aldi announced they are renovating the store and will be closed for 6 weeks. I had just added Aldi to the weekly rotation. Most likely, you are reading this after our local farmer's market season ended too. So, sadly, I will miss the incredibly large heads of lettuce, but my Saturdays are free. Most Fridays will be dedictated to shopping with an occasional trip on a Thursday. To further reduce our budget, I have reduced my trips to Whole Foods to every other week instead of weekly. The kids are having cheese sandwiches for school lunches that week I don't have ham.
My Receipts for the first 4 week block:
| Store | Week 1 (8/26) | Week 2 (9/1-9/2) | Week 3 (9/8- 9/9) | Week 4 (9/15-9/17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | $68.28 | |||
| Aldi | $47.83 | $23.61 | $22.40 | $5.87 |
| Shoprite | $60.34 | $62.35 | ||
| Whole Foods | $14.37 | $25.89* | $35.50 | $29.54 |
| Farmers' Market | $7.00 | $9.00 | $7.00 | $8.25 |
| Target | $2.66 | |||
| Trader Joe's | $67.85 | |||
| TOTALS | $197.82 | $58.50 | $195.10 | $46.32 |
This 4 week total was $497.74. Hurray! I am under budget by $2.26.
Block 2
| Store | Week 1 (9/21-9/23) | Week 2 (9/25-9/29) | Week 3 (10/6) | Week 4 (10/13) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | $23.78 (TH) | |||
| Aldi | $51.41 (F) | $39.50 (F) | ||
| Shoprite | $73.44 (F) | $14.98 (M) | $52.39 (F) | $22.95 (F) |
| Whole Foods | $40.60 (F) | $32.72 (F) | $16.70 (F) | $21.64 (F) |
| Trader Joe's | $60.44 (F) | |||
| Farmers' Market | $10.00 (S) | $8.00 | ||
| Target | $19.55 (S) | |||
| Total | $218.78 | $87.20 | $129.53 | $52.59 |
My Total for Block 2 was $488.10
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Costco: $71.37 is groceries but only spent $23.78 because I had the Executive Membership rewards check for $47.59.
I am underbudget by $11.90! Although I thought that number was only 3.90. I forgot we didn't go to the Farmers Market on week 2 and 3. So I had put $8.00 (what I normally spend) in week 1 and $10.00 (I actually wrote it down on the back of the Target receipt and its's was 9/23 not 9/30) in week 2's columns. It wasn't until I went to do the totals that I realized that I didn't go to the Farmer's Market on September 30.
Block 3 - $450 Challenge
| Week 1 (10/20) | Week 2 (10/27) | Week 3 (11/3) | Week 4 (11/10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldi (F) | Whole Foods(F) | Trader Joe's | Whole Foods |
| Costco (TH) | Aldi (F) | Shoprite | |
| Shoprite (F) | |||
| Target(TH) |
Totals So Far....
| Store | Week 1 (10/20) | Week 2 (10/27) | Week 3 (11/3) | Week 4 (11/10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | $72.07 | |||
| Aldi | $44.73 | $44.31 | $24.80 | |
| Shoprite | $72.22 | $51.07 | $31.28 | |
| Whole Foods | $51.34** | $8.58 | ||
| Target | $16.94 | $3.89 | $11.46 | |
| Trader Joe's | $24.80 | |||
| Walmart* | $6.28 | |||
| TOTALS | $205.96 | $101.93 | $111.54 | $42.74 |
Yes, Walmart is on the list. I normally don't shop there but was desperate for a Halloween costume for our 11 year old. I ran to Joann's to get buttons for our 6 year old's Mario costume and Walmart is across the parking lot. The clock was ticking on the perishable groceries in insulated bags in the car. I ran through the store to find a decent costume and saw the cereal aisle. I had a coupon for 2 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios and picked up two boxes. Although in my frenzied state, my math skills escaped me and did not get as great a deal that I thought. With the coupon, the per ounce price was $.145. I have paid less at Shoprite when there is a sale and I have coupons.
** I used a $20.00 gift card from Ibotta for Whole Foods on this trip.
While at Target, taking advantage of the buy 2, get one free sale on games, I picked up Earth Balance Spread since we were completely out and the price was cheapest this week.
$30.57 left for week 4!!
Unfortunately, I went to Target again this week to pick up printer paper that our artistic 6 year old found and cleaned me out. It is near ShopRite so I decided to pick up a few items that put me over my initial $450 budget for 4 weeks by $12.17.
Total Spent: $462.17
Block 4
| Week 1 (11/17 - 11/23)* | Week 2 (11/24) | Week 3 (12/1) | Week 4 (12/8) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aldi | Shoprite | Trader Joe's | Shoprite |
| Costco | Whole Foods | ||
| Whole Foods |
- This is Thanksgiving Week
Totals So Far....
| Store | Week 1 (11/16) | Week 2 (11/24) | Week 3 (12/1) | Week 4 (12/8) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | $63.80 | $34.34 | ||
| Aldi | $91.33 | $26.46 | $35.10 | |
| Shoprite | $61.98 & $15.18 | $40.04 | $32.87 | |
| Whole Foods | $41.40 | $34.04 | ||
| Target | $19.64 | |||
| Trader Joe's | $36.69 | |||
| Walmart* | ||||
| TOTALS | $196.53 | $123.26 | $180.21 | $32.87 |
Yes, I went to Shoprite twice during the week of Thanksgiving. I was picking up a perscription for another sick family member on Friday. Our local Shoprite is across the parking lot and was having a great sale on soup that I couldn't pass up! I was aiming for $500.00 budget this month since it including Thanksgiving. I reached my $500.00 goal but am a week short. I will be going over my budget this week because I have a total of $20.00 in free grocery coupons to use the week of December 3. I am on my last 5.00 off $30.00 coupon for Aldi that I received for going to the stores grand re-opening in Novemeber. I also have a $15.00 voucher at the local Shoprite that I received for buying $100.00 in gift cards the previous week. I used the gift cards to purchase Christmas gifts that were already on our children's wish list.
Ok, my budget is officially busted but not with frivolous add ons. I picked up our Christmas ham at Aldi. After years of buying the same at black forest ham at Whole Foods Market, it was time for a change.
Total Spent: $532.87
Block 5
| Week 1 (12/15)* | Week 2 (12/22) | Week 3 (12/29) |
|---|---|---|
| Aldi | Shoprite | Trader Joe's |
| Costco | Whole Foods | |
| Whole Foods |
| Store | Week 1 (12/15) | Week 2 (12/22) | Week 3 (12/29) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costco | $69.68 + $3.99 | ||
| Aldi | $55.93 | $61.57 | $61.01 |
| Shoprite | $60.16 | $24.26* | $39.94 |
| Whole Foods | $20.24* | $91.27 | |
| Target | $25.30 + $6.57 | ||
| Trader Joe's | $25.75 | ||
| C-Town* | $33.40 | ||
| TOTALS | $241.87 | $236.25 | $100.95 |
Totals for Block 5: 579.07
I redeemed an Ibotta $20.00 gift card that reduced the total for week 1 at Whole Foods Market. The local Shoprite was running a promotion during the holidays where if you purchased $100 of gift cards you receive a $15.00 discount on our next week's purchase. Also, I used my $3.00 credit from Downtime Dollars.
