I went grocery shopping this morning. It's the end of the month, I'm about out of cash for groceries until the first. This morning's shopping was at WinCo, where they only accept cash, debit, and checks. I don't carry a checkbook with me, and I don't have a debit card. So I have to bring cash to shop there. I brought all of the cash I had in the envelope at home.
I also needed to stop and get gas with some of that money. I could charge gas, but I would be paying a higher price per gallon if using credit. So I bought $20 in gas on the way to WinCo.
I had counted how much cash I had on hand before leaving home. But I wasn't making a strong enough mental note on the amount, just that I had enough to buy a week's worth of groceries for us and get $20 in gas.
Once in the store, and seeing some of the prices on foods, I was motivated to add up the cost of what was in my cart and count the cash in my purse several times. I knew it would be a squeaker. I even used my calculator and the in-store scales to calculate how much my bulk items would cost. I swapped out some cheaper brands here and there. But I also bought a couple of more expensive versions of items on my list, because I felt the quality would be better. With those particular items, quality was a value for us. I didn't get the breakfast sausage that my husband requested, and I didn't stock-up on the applesauce that was on sale. I knew the final total would be tight, based on the amount of money I thought I had in my purse.
As I placed foods onto the conveyer belt at the checkout, I purposely left a few items to the very end. These were the things I felt we could most live without. My plan was as the cashier rang items up, and I could see the subtotal along the way, I would cut-off the purchases when I thought we'd exceeded the amount of cash I had with me.
I felt a sigh of relief when I could see that the total was below the amount of cash in my purse. As I pulled out the bills to count out to the cashier, I realized that there was a $20 bill stuck to another $20. I actually had $20 more than I had thought!
I paid for my groceries and met up with my husband in the car. At that point, I related to him everything that had transpired with the cash in my purse and the cost of the groceries, and that I had skipped his breakfast sausage. I asked if he would still like that sausage. At first he said not to bother. But then I told him I would use that $20 to take advantage of the sale on applesauce and canned tuna, and go back into the store anyway. Of course, at that point he was thrilled to get his sausage and said "yes."
So, I unloaded my paid-for groceries and pushed the cart back into the store. I was able to buy 2 more cans of tuna, 4 more jars of applesauce, my husband's preferred pork breakfast sausage, and as a bonus, a bag of my preferred turkey breakfast sausage.
Even though I had that extra $20 in my purse the whole time, it felt like I'd been blessed with $20 extra worth of foods for my family for the week.
I'll have more grocery money in just a few days, but I won't get back to WinCo for another 2 weeks. By that time, the sale on applesauce and tuna may be over, and I might have missed my opportunity to stock up on those items.
I don't know if any of you grocery shop on a strict budget, either imposed by your planning or by shopping only with cash. But judging by some of the comments from you, here, at least some of you will relate to my sigh of relief when it turned out I had more cash on hand than I had thought and could purchase everything and more on my list.
That's such a great feeling to find extra cash in your wallet!
ReplyDeleteI know, Tina! I was thrilled. I'm so glad you can relate.
DeleteI admire your tenacity! These days, if something of great value to me is on super sale I just buy as much as I can comfortably store at home. Never regret it. Like tuna in olive oil for $1 a can!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Tuna in olive oil at $1/can is a fantastic price! I'd be stocking up, too.
DeleteI almost hate to admit this but we were so incredibly frugal when we had three young children and one income and a big garden. I only bought the necessary items in the store and grew everything else. We're in a different place right now. No garden because the home we live in is really shaded and there are lots of wildlife that love to eat everything I've ever tried to grow (even in pots) so I have given up on that. The different place is that we don't eat as much as we used to but so many recipes make larger portions that I can share with my kids (none live with us anymore) but I can buy differently meaning something in smaller quantities but that costs more. We have to move through pantry and freezer items as well before they become inedible.
ReplyDeleteAlice
Hi Alice,
DeleteWe shopped very carefully and frugally when our kids were younger, too. Simply a necessity. Different times, different choices is how I see it. You're wise to focus on using your stored foods, so they don't lose quality in long storing.
After a tense shopping trip, carefully calculating every penny, how fun it must have been to find that extra $20!
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI felt I'd won the lottery! I was so glad to be able to buy everything on my list after all.
It can feel exhausting to shop as I always have an extremely tight food budget and it's just so challenging. This may sound weird, and I do not mean to or ever want to offend anyone ever (!!!!) but as I am very strong in my spiritual faith I literally pray before I enter a store and ask God to guide me to the best choices. I find He answers me every time. We have 2 salvage type store here and they are the only reason we survive! ;) Just today the grapes were 3 pound boxes for $1 and romaine three heads for $1. I take cash like you and buy only the cheapest options. Many times I'm adding it up at the check out and leaving things at the end we could do without like you said. It used to be almost fun but recently I find food shopping stressful. Grateful for what are able to purchase though! I wish we had a Winco!
ReplyDeleteI love this.
DeleteHi Amanda,
DeleteI'm not offended in the least by you sharing what you do, and how it is tied into faith. It sounds like you were guided to some very good bargains of nutritious foods.
Maybe it's the stress for me, too. I find grocery shopping very tiring, different from a few years ago. If the price on something isn't super high, the stock is lacking. For example, the stores that have dropped their price on eggs are frequently now out of eggs. It's stressful and tiring to have to make decisions on the fly constantly in the store, because a price is high or they don't have what I'd intended to get. It's times like this that I remind myself that what I do is work.
I wish you had a WinCo in your area, too. I am glad that you have two salvage stores to shop in. Although you can't count on inventory in a salvage store, you can find some wonderful surprises.
I bet you felt like you won the lottery!
ReplyDeleteThat was it exactly, Kris! Only I won the lottery without buying a ticket, even better!
DeleteWe are very lucky. Both of us are retired, our home is paid off. We have no car payments and only owe a small amount from helping our kids with college. I use my credit card for all food and groceries and pay off the card each month. We are very blessed and I know it.
ReplyDeleteHi. Cheryl,
DeleteI work at counting my blessings. In other places, these "basic" things, like paid-for housing, no car payments, lots of food in the house, are viewed as luxuries. I feel blessed, too.