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Sunday, January 1, 2023

Grocery Shopping December 2022


Dec. 7. WinCo. 2 gallons milk ($3.27 ea), 3 12-oz packs bacon ($2.98 ea), 4-lb bag oranges ($3.98), bananas (58 cents/lb), 4 avocados (48 cents ea), large pack corn tortillas ($2.58), large bag frozen turkey breakfast sausage ($5.90) Total spent --$31.75

Dec. 9. Fred Meyer 1 jar decaf coffee, $4.99

spent for the month so far --$36.74

December 24. Yes, I went grocery shopping on Christmas Eve. This was not in my plans. However, we had a snowstorm followed by a big freeze. Our county doesn't plow very many roads, so we can't get out safely for several days following a storm (small sedan, no SUV, no 4WD). So this was the very first day it was possible to drive in about a week. Anyway -- went to WinCo. There were some foods we wanted for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day meals, plus we needed more produce and milk. I bought 2 gallons whole milk ($3.17/gallon), 2 8-lb bags oranges ($5.98/bag), 2 lbs baby carrots ($2.48), 2 lbs mandarins ($2.98), head of cabbage (78 cents/lb), 4 avocados (48 cents each), 2 bunches bananas 58 cents/lb, frozen egg rolls ($6.01), frozen stir-fry peppers and onions ($1.82), dinner rolls ($2.28), croissants ($5.48). Total spent -- $46.93.  The mandarins, baby carrots, egg rolls, stir-fry peppers, dinner rolls, and croissants were our special holiday foods this year.

Gas was $3.89/gallon this morning.

spent for the month so far -- $83.67

December 30. Needed to shop for New Year's Eve. I went to Walmart, as they're about the closest store, and I really only needed a few items (didn't warrant driving all the way to WinCo). I bought a 4-pack of chicken egg rolls ($2.98), frozen sesame chicken ($6.48), 3-lb bag mandarin oranges ($3.98), and a 5-dozen box of eggs ($9.11). What really seemed surreal to me is the milk cooler was near empty and the eggs had a limit of 2 packages per shopper, whether they were small packs or large. Walmart's egg price was a good one compared to Fred Meyer. When I checked FM's price on 5-dozen boxes of eggs, it was $12.29, locally, or $16.29 in the city limits. I spent $22.55

Grocery Outlet is just across the street from Walmart. I popped in and found Adam's Natural Peanut Butter for $7.99/80 ounce jar. I bought 2 jars. Spent $15.98.

One daughter came with me to the store. She was looking for treat and snack foods for herself. She found a bunch of bargains at Grocery Outlet -- granola bars at 12 cents each, single serve package of M & Ms for 10 cents each, 6-oz bags breakfast cereal for 25 cents each and more. I don't buy these sorts of foods because I get frustrated by how quickly they disappear in our house. But I'm glad she found these bargains for herself. I'll bake some goodies for the family, and I'll feel better about how quickly they disappear. I can't explain why it bothers me to have a bag of chips disappear in an afternoon more than to have a batch of homemade brownies disappear in an afternoon. That's just me.

Gas was $3.69/gallon today.

Total spent for the month -- $122.20.

what I bought

4 gallons milk

36 oz bacon
bag turkey breakfast sausage
5 dozen eggs

20 lbs oranges
4 bunches bananas
8 avocados
2 lbs baby carrots
1 head cabbage
5 lbs tangerines

frozen eggrolls, 2 packages
frozen stir-fry peppers
frozen sesame chicken

80-ct pack corn tortillas
dinner rolls
croissants
160 oz natural peanut butter
1 jar decaf coffee

Most of what I bought this month were holiday foods. The frozen entrees are expensive and not part of our regular grocery shopping. But we enjoyed them, they made holiday meal prep easier for me, and it was less expensive to combine frozen items with homemade stuff than getting takeout for Christmas Eve and/or New Year's Eve. The package of croissants was huge. So instead of just leaving the remainder in the pantry after Christmas brunch to be snacked on during the week, I froze several to have for New Year's Day brunch, too. Doing so made spending $5.48 for the croissants seem not so extravagant.

I did my grocery shopping with all cash this month. Doing so kept me more accountable while shopping. I really did think through where I most wanted to spend my cash. And for a change, I lumped our holiday meals into the grocery budget. In previous years, I've had a separate holiday meal budget that was in addition to the grocery one. So I think we did well for our spending. I have one more month of low grocery spending to make up for stock-up spending in late summer, then I'll bump back up to a "normal" of around $225 to $250 per month. 

Happy New Year! 2022 is complete, and we're onto new adventures in this life.


11 comments:

  1. You did well, as always! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Cat. Happy New Year to you and your family!

      Delete
  2. Even with the high egg prices, I have seen limits on eggs everywhere. Used to be that I would only see that when there was a sale. I know what you mean about not liking food disappearing quickly. I used to occasionally buy lunch meat when my kids were home that would be gone almost instantly. It was too expensive for that to happen, so peanut butter sandwiches it was.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My family must be afraid of me. Most foods in my house don't disappear in an unpredictably fast manner .... except for cereal. My son loves to snack on that and when he's home, he gobbles it up. I feel like it's a healthier alternative than a lot of foods that he could be snacking on, so I allow it.

      Just got back from a quick grocery trip to Meijer and Aldi. Meijer had hamburger on sale for $2.99/pound so I bought a couple of packages of that (3# packages) and Aldi had oatmeal for, I think, $2.49/carton, which is a really good price these days, so I bought 3. I also bought a package of 12 chicken drumsticks from Meijer for 99 cents/pound. I find myself watching for deals on meat lately and stock up when I can.

      Happy New Year to everyone!

      Delete
    2. Hi Live and Learn,
      I hadn't seen lists on eggs since spring of 2020, when everyone was cooking at home and using lots of eggs. Limits were always something I associated with a sale, until now.

      Lunch meat would disappear quickly, here, too. I buy it occasionally for special lunches, like on birthdays or a family picnic. I also will buy it for an easy dinner for myself when I'm extremely busy or just after a very busy period. Otherwise, it's peanut butter for us, too. Happy New Year, Live and Learn!

      Delete
    3. Hi Kris,
      Cereal goes quickly here, too. I tend to agree with it being a healthier snack, though. We pick and choose our battles, don't we? I do buy very bland store-brand toasty o's. They are so uninteresting to my family that 1 box will last about a week. And I make granola for the cereal jar regularly. Most of the time, when we want a cereal breakfast, I make oats or cream of wheat/rice.

      Great deals of the meat! I'll be watching for sales on meat, too. Happy New Year to you and your family, Kris!

      Delete
  3. When we had little kids at home any kind of food would disappear quickly especially cereal. Then there was a time that kids grew up and they didn't eat cereal much anymore. Some had tummy issues from milk and almond milk wasn't around yet. Now none of my kids buy cereal as adults and I don't eat it either anymore. Today, no kids live at home and baking treats just don't get eaten so I often just skip it or give it away. My grocery budget has taken a nose dive (in a good way) but I feel for those trying to feed families with such high grocery prices. I still will attempt to lower my spending since I still have a full pantry and freezer. This month, I will try to only buy fresh items and no buying of good deals.
    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      Groceries and fuel are the two cruelest areas of inflation. For lower income families, the cost to heat homes, fill gas tanks, and eat square meals use such a large share of their incomes. I feel for those feeding large families, too. At least for myself and our family, we all eat less than we used to, even my daughters (no more growth spurts).
      Happy New Year, Alice!

      Delete
  4. You just amaze me how well you km manage your grocery budget and still eat such a well balanced and varied diet! Well donr!
    I am different with the spices than in the comments. I would rather buy varied spices, albeit cheaper ones and do w/o other things. We don't like b km and foods and are much more satisfied if our foods are flavorful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Was on a different device..hard to type. We don't care for bland food...we like it very flavorful. So for us, some money is well spent on seasonings. I do grow several herbs. The husband grows garlic and onions, which really help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Linda,
      Seasonings are a great way to save on groceries. Very basic foods (even rice and beans) can be made very tasty with a good dose of the right herbs and spices. You've got the right attitude.
      I grow several herbs and buy spices either from bulk bins or in large institutional sizes to save money on seasonings. My onions did poorly this year, but my garlic did well.
      Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year, Linda!

      Delete

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