 |
| the finished trick-or-treat bags |
Oct.2 Big grocery shopping day. I checked prices online for both Fred Meyer and Walmart, thinking I would just shop at one of the stores. But there were deals I wanted at both stores. So I went to Fred Meyer first, then Walmart right after. The two stores aren't super close to each other, but driving to both and home makes a loop, so I was okay with the small amount of extra gas.
First stop, Fred Meyer -- I went straight for the dairy section, hoping to find milk on markdown. The only "milk" product marked down was a half-gallon of pumpkin eggnog, exp date 10/6, $2.39 (reg. $4.69). I'll freeze what we don't drink in small containers later this week to pull out a little at a time this fall. I didn't buy any other milk here, as I knew milk was less expensive at Walmart. Next stop the egg cooler. I had a coupon for eggs and even with coupon, they were so much more expensive than Walmart. So I didn't buy eggs here either. I swung by the clearance aisle and picked up 2 small containers of colored sugar crystals for cake and cookie decorating, 1 blue, 1 red, 39 cents each. These keep forever, so I know we'll use them eventually. Next I hit the meat aisle. Whole chickens and chicken thighs were 99 cents/lb. I bought 5 whole chickens and 2 large packs of chicken thighs. I may go back in the next day or two and pick up another couple of chickens and 1 more pack of thighs. This is a good price for meat for us. I had a coupon for a free bag (any variety/size) of Private Selection frozen vegetables (the premium store brand). After considering the different kinds, I chose a 16 oz bag of edamame. We'll enjoy this added to stir fries and fried rice. Total spent at Fred Meyer -- $50.57. I also bought trick-or-treat candy, but that doesn't come out of my grocery budget, so I don't include it here.
Second stop, Walmart. I had planned on being in and out as quick as I could. I quickly found 5 bananas (58 cents/lb), 2 gallons 2% milk ($3.27 ea), and 1 60-count large eggs ($7.72). I spent the next 20 minutes searching for sliced pepperoni. I even asked an employee for help finding it. She took me to the spot with other pizza fixings, but the pepperoni there was the expensive kind. I knew there were more choices somewhere in the store. So I searched and searched. I finally gave up and went to the meat section to buy Italian sausage to cook up for the pizza. I picked up 3 lbs of the sausage, turned around, and there staring at me were a bunch of different packages of sliced pepperoni. I put the sausage back and grabbed 2 mega packs (21-oz each) of Great Value pepperoni ($7.68 each). Total spent at Walmart -- $30.69
spent for the day -- $81.26, that's more than I spent in the entire month of September!
October 5. I didn't go back for more chicken at Fred Meyer. My freezer is too full. If I see a price of 99 cents/pound again for bone-in chicken, I'll buy more then.
October 12. You know that eggnog I bought on markdown? I wound up freezing part of it, my family drank part, and 1 1/2 cups lingered in the fridge. A week past the expiration date I thought it was probably on its way to not so great to drink. I made a batch and a half of eggnog scones with that last bit of eggnog. Problem solved. This large batch made 24 scones. I'll freeze some of them to bring out later.
October 18. No car last week or this week. It's getting some body repair after an accident caused by my daughter in September. I've had a couple of moments when I thought "gee, we could use some such and such. I'll just run out and pick it up." Only to then realize there's no car and no possibility of a car for a while longer. Oh well, I'm saving money by not going to stores. And my shopping list grows . . .
October 24. We have the car back (no, it's not fixed -- long story). Due to a poorly performing pumpkin patch, I decided to go buy some pumpkins and squash at the produce stand on the highway before it shuts down for the year (in one week). WinCo is on the way, so we (one daughter and I) stopped there first. All of their pumpkins were out in front and the large Jack o'lantern types were priced at 28 cents a pound, pretty great price for this year. All of their squash and sugar pie pumpkins were much more expensive, between 99 cents/lb and $1.49/lb. We decided to not get pumpkins just yet, but check out Country Farms (produce stand) price first. We did go inside WinCo because I had other things to buy in the bulk bin section. I bought some Parmesan ($4.98/lb), wheat berries (79 cents/lb), 3 gallons of milk, 2 for drinking/cooking, 1 for yogurt-making ($3.27 each), 4 cans of black olives (98 cents each), and some trick or treat candy from the bulk bins. I don't include the trick-or-treat candy in my budget. Those come out of a holiday budget. I spent $16.52.
We drove down the street (about 2 blocks) to Country Farms where, to my surprise, big pumpkins were 50 cents/lb (compared to WinCo's 28 cents/lb). Their sugar pie pumpkins, which are denser, meatier, and less stringy than Jack o' lanterns, were 79 cents/lb (compared to WinCo's at $1.48/lb). So I bought 6 sugar pie pumpkins. While waiting to check out, the lady in front of me had a huge cabbage for making kraut. I know this stand sells kraut cabbages for much less than regular green cabbage. So I hunted around to find them and picked up one of the smaller kraut cabbages (9.66 lbs). These were priced at 39 cents/lb (compared to the green cabbages priced at 79 cents/lb). I also perused the marked down bin and found a bag of 3 green peppers for $1.29. I spent $21.33 at the produce stand.
Back up the street to WinCo where I chose 4 good-looking Jack o' lantern pumpkins at 28 cents/lb. I spent $9.83. I prefer sugar pie pumpkins for oven-roasting cubes of pumpkin and use Jack o' lanterns for making pumpkin puree for baking and soup. You can roast cubes of the cheaper pumpkins, but they are a tad stringer than the sugar pie ones.
Total spent today -- $47.68. Spent for the month -- $128.94
Both WinCo and the produce stand are on the drive to rehearsals and shows for my daughter. She has a rehearsal on Thursday and may make stops to pick up an extra pumpkin or two (the less expensive ones) and another head of kraut cabbage.
While I was paying for the 4 Jack o' lantern pumpkins at our second stop at WinCo my daughter walked over to Dick's. Dick's is a Seattle area walk up burger place. There's no seating inside, you walk up to the window to order and folks either eat in their cars or take their burgers some place else. My daughter bought 1 hamburger and split it with me. A single hamburger is $2.30 at Dick's. They discount this burger by 10 cents if you get it plain. They charge for what you get, meaning if you want ketchup, they charge extra for that. Dick's is more expensive than McDonald's, but I like that their employees are paid well for fast food -- beginning at $20/hr and $25/hr after a 12-week (I believe, but not certain) training period. They also provide free health insurance for all employees. So, I just like this place and how they run their business. But I'm not a fast food burger type of gal, so we don't go there very often. Anyway, my daughter paid for my half of the burger. Sweet daughter.
October 26. My daughter was going to Value Village, so I tagged along so I could go to Walmart (right next door) and save gas for a second trip to this center. The only food items I was planning on buying were ketchup and decaf (I also bought OTC meds and toiletries). The tags on the shelf indicating price per unit are sometimes wrong, so I used the calculator on my phone to find the best price per ounce on the ketchup. I bought a 64 oz bottle for $2.98 and a jar of decaf instant coffee for $3.93. Total spent -- $6.91
Total spent for the month so far -- $135.85
October 28. I got this panicky feeling of stockpiler's remorse earlier this week. I began to feel like we could never use all of this produce before it spoiled. So, I told my daughter not to pick up extra pumpkins or kraut cabbage.
Our grocery spending for the month of October ends with $135.85.
I spent more in October than in September, but both months are lower than my budgeted amount to spend ($275/month). That's because we stocked up on pantry staples in the summer, going way over my budget for several months in a row. I will need to be under budget for November, December, and January to compensate for summer stock-ups. I hope we can do that.
Just to note -- I buy very little convenience snack foods. When my daughters get a hankering for chips, commercial granola bars, jerky, or the like, they buy their own. My husband and I do snack, but our snacks are mostly homemade foods, like muffins, toast, popcorn, leftover pizza, spiced apple compote, granola, pan or oven-fried potatoes, sandwiches, etc. Everybody gets what they want and are willing to pay for. Both daughters also like to treat us to extra snacks from time to time. This week we have a box of store brand pop-tarts and some Target brand mini candy bars courtesy of both daughters. When I'm making lunch for the household, I try to make it a filling one, so that we snack a little less.
what I bought in October
