April is here already and it seems like time is flying by!
In February my employer closed down and we waited 10 weeks to find out if I would get unemployment. Right when I was laid off I slashed our budget down to bare bones- including our grocery budget from $50/wk to $30/wk. I thought it would be extremely painful but I am proud to say we did very well on $30. Thanks are mostly due to Safeway’s need to give me free groceries. I did go over by $7 for the month which I blame on Walgreen’s tempting Huggies deal.
For April my unemployment is rolling in and we are a little more comfortable now. I decided to increase the budget to $35/week as we are having lots of house guests this month and as I want to take advantage of the gorgeous farmer’s markets.
I had to cram extra trips in at Safeway to take advantage of the $10/50 coupons I was lucky enough to get before they expired (thank heavens as this week is another stinker for deals) so I planned to spend the bulk of my budget early in the month. I have also been stockpiling like crazy in prepartion for baby #2 due in early May.
I currently have $92 left in this month’s budget (out of $140) and we are stuffed to the brim! My freezer and I are going to have a serious conversation as I have a great Kashi waffle deal that I will be taking advantage of this week. Otherwise I am pretty sure I can virtually skip next week – except a small trip to the Farmer’s Market for produce.
I have my weekend Target, Wags and Walmart shopping breakdown coming soon and neglected to mention a quick Costco run for cheddar cheese, mozzarella, 40ct tortillas, hamburger buns and hot dog buns that totaled $16.45 and a Target run for dish soap and kitchen sponges for $3.05.
So I spent just under $50 already, which was my weekly budget just a few weeks ago and feel like I have enough food to last for months. I would encourage you guys to challenge yourselves too- you might be surprised!
Stay tuned this month as I will be posting our financial update as well as an article on Farmer’s Markets vs Grocery Store pricing.
How did you do that so cheaply at Costco?! I need details!
I wrote a pretty long winded Costo article here
http://myfrugaladventures.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-i-shop-at-costco.html
But basically my trick is not to get a cart. It forces you to stick to your list as you can only hold so much for so long.
My receipt has vanished but it was something like this:
2.99- 40 ct flour tortillas
3.59- 32oz Mozzarella
4.59- 32oz cheddar
and a giant pack of hamburger and hot dog buns were around $2 each.
The tortillas and mozzarella in particular are a steal.