Urg- this was one of those weeks that I made a few stops which I try hard not to do and everything just added up so fast. Fortuntately all the stores are very close together so it is pretty quick to hit them all on my way home.
Here is my shopping trip for this week plus the menu plan:
Safeway: $22.53
3 Lucerne Sliced Cheese $1.99each
Fresh Express Salad Mix $2.50 (this was free with a Just 4 U Coupon)= Free
2 Powerade $.69 each
1 Vitaminwater $1.00- used $.75 catalina coupon from prior trip= $.25
Open Nature Hamburger Buns $1.99
3 Fage Greek Yogurt $1.00 each
Organic Orange Juice $2.99
French Bread $1.99
Lucerne Half and Half $1.20 (personal price from Just 4 U)
Hormel Lunch Meat $2.49- used $.50/1 coupon= $1.99 (not pictured)
3 Buddig lunch meat $.59 each (not pictured)
Total $22.53
*The Buddig and the drinks went to some homeless kids in front of the store.
I meant to get some Just 4 U deals as well but somehow nothing was working for me so I scratched it all and I will have to go back another day to try again.
Sprouts: $40.55
3 pints blueberries $.99 each
3 lbs of Strawberries $1.50 each
Wyman’s Frozen Raspberries $2.00
(3) Van’s organic waffles on clearance $2.29- used (2) $1/1 Van’s coupons= $4.87 for all 3
Organic Celery $1.99
Cherries $2.95
5lbs Clementines $3.99
Eggplant $.88
Organic Carrots $1.69
Organic Tomatoes $1.99
Bananas $2.15
Raw Almonds $3.59
Chicken Breast-2 packages $11.49 total (almost 6 lbs)
Total was $45.06. I used a Sprouts gift card that was 10% off awhile back so I figure I really spent $40.55.
I went to check deals for the blog today otherwise I wouldn’t have made this trip to Target.
Target $21.19
(2) Evaporated Milk on clearance $.61 each
2 Boca Burgers $2.99- used $1/2 coupon= $2.49 each
Haribo Gummies $1.00- used $.30 coupon= $.70
Au Jus $.99
Salsa $1.99
Bagels $1.24
International Delight Creamer $1.79- used $.75 coupon= $1.04
(2) Laughing Cow Cheese $2.79- used $1/2 coupon= $2.29 each
Organic Eggs $3.84 (Target is the cheapest I can find for organic eggs and they have not had them in stock for weeks so this was exciting to me.)
I made this stop on Friday- I actually wouldn’t have gone to Raley’s this week except they have a post office inside and we had packages to send off anyway.
Raley’s $13.64
Organic Milk $5.98
Raley’s Parmesan Cheese $3.99- free with coupon= Free
Sans Sucre Baking Mix $4.79- free with coupon= free
Oranges $2.78 (we already ate most of them)
Organic Potatoes $2.50
2 Hormel Pepperoni at $1.19- used $.50/2 coupon= $1.88 (not pictured)
Popchips $1.50- used $1 coupon= $.50
Embarrassingly, my husband seems to have already eaten the pepperoni. I almost never buy it and there is a $1/2 coupon in the 1/15 SS so I will probably grab another few packs for $.69 each. That is a great deal.
The grand total was $97. I try to spend $50 per week on groceries but the last 3 weeks I have not spent the entire $50 so I did have about $25 extra in the budget.
I am going to see how things go but we might need to bump our budget up again to maybe $60. I am noticing a lot of price increases on things we regularly buy (like the organic milk and organic eggs have gone up). My girls are going through a growth spurt right now and eating a TON all the sudden. They will easily eat one pint of blueberries with oatmeal in the morning and then 1 lb of strawberries will be just one afternoon snack between the three of us… so we’ll see how it goes for the next 2 weeks and decide.
And last but not least, here is the menu plan for the week:
Chicken with Pepperoni Marinara Sauce and Spinach Salad
California Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries
Smoked Paprika Chicken and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Grilled Steak Salad
Crispy Chimichangas
BBQ Chicken Calzones with Grilled Broccoli
Tiffany T says
About 6 months ago I had to raise our budget from $150/month to $200/month, but that was when my daughter switched from formula to milk and started eating more than just baby food. However, now I am with you, I might have to add a little more cushion to the grocery budget too. Glad to hear we’re not alone over here. I just haven’t been all that excited about the deals the last 6 months or so and everything we consume weekly has definitely gone up in price … oh well, what do you do?
tereza says
I have noticed as well that prices for organic stuff goes up. But I have found that our grocery store marking down all diary, cheese and meat on sunday morning. My kids are waking up early and I do not work on Sundays so I do make my shopping now on Sunday. Yesterday I have got organic half galon milk for $1, greek yogurts $.25for cup (i had coupon $1/4), deli grilled chicken 8z $2; real mozzarela cheese 16oz $4.99; dole 100% jucie half galon $0.50 Shopping markdowns let me stick with budget.
jenny says
You must live in CA, because I shop at Safeway and Sprouts too! 🙂 Love your blog!
Tiffany Bullman says
I think I have read that you don’t go to Costco but Organic eggs are about $6 for 2 dozen.
Charlene says
Yeah I think the milk would be cheaper there too but I just don’t like the hassle of Costco ;). I think for .84 difference it is probably not worth it right now but I might need to become a member again in the future. I am thinking about it :).
Shannon says
Charlene, We have found Costco helps save us money for our family. Its obviously buying in bulk, but the prices are great and reliable. A flat of bottled water is $3 (nice for lunches, outings, diaper bag, anywhere you don’t know if you’ll have access to filtered water like at home), 10 lb of organic carrots $6, 1 lb organic baby spinach for $3…. and they are regularly adding more organic options, which I love. We like the large bag of organic broccoli and bag of organic corn for the freezer!
Charlene says
Shannon, I like Sprouts but they are in the same parking lot as Costco :P. I have heard the prices on organic meats are the absolute best at Costco so I may take a look there. When I used to shop there they did not have any organic whatsoever and that might have changed.
Amy says
Ooohhh….I LOVE Costco!!! I drive to Roseville once a month to stock up on organic foods. They have tons of stuff and the prices are really great. The thrifty mama has a huge list of organic items they carry, FYI 🙂
KB says
If you’re on Recycle Bank, there is a $5 off $40 for Sprouts!
Charlene says
KB, I have used those a bunch of times. I usually make a note about those coupons in the weekly deals as well but thank you :).