Another month of spending more than I intended. While I don't feel I was panic-buying this past month, I was definitely emotional-spending. I bought a lot of treat foods and just generally didn't care (all that much) that I would be spending more than I had planned. However, I can also see that almost half of my shopping covered 3 holidays, 1 family party, and our now continuing Friday pizza & movie nights. My household budget allows an extra amount to cover holidays, in addition to the grocery budget.
In addition to party, holiday, and treat foods, there are certain produce items that I like to buy for my family this time of year, and I'm willing to spend a little extra for them, such as the clementines and avocados. What is conspicuously absent this month/this season is a turkey. And I'm not feeling all that sad about it. I have to admit, the bratwurst were pretty delicious this year.
I shopped twice this month, both times at Walmart, three weeks apart and spent a total of $189.45. In addition to what I bought, I am also heavily (very heavily) leaning on my stock-up pantry for November through February. Our fridges, freezers, and pantries remain very full. I'll shop again sometime in mid-December.
Here's the breakdown of all of my November grocery purchases:
Some of these items I ordered specifically for Thanksgiving. (obv. I bought more than needed just for the holiday and plan to use at other times this month and next)
1 pack bratwurst sausage for Thanksgiving, $2.96
1 pack bratwurst buns, $1.98
spicy mustard, $1.27
3 bundles of celery, $1.26 each
4 cans cream of mushroom soup, 50 cents ea
2 10-oz bags frozen mushrooms, $1.98 each
pint whipping cream, $1.98
I bought the following for our Christmas tree decorating party, again with planned extras for rest of the season
6 lbs clementines, half at $3, other half at $3.98
large box Ritz crackers, $1.96
2 litre cola, 67 cents
Little Smokies sausage, $2.87
16 oz cream cheese, $2.87
I bought the following for holiday baking
3 8-oz cans mixed nuts, $2 ea
2 2-lb bags powdered sugar, $1.62 ea
1 pound pecan halves, $9.48
24 ounces dried cranberries, $4.94
2 bags chocolate chips, $1.74
other special occasion foods
1 bag mini marshmallows, 88 cents, for hot cocoa
2 large packs of pepperoni, $7.47 each, for Friday pizza nights this winter
2 bottles sparkling cider, $1.96 ea, for Christmas and New Year's dinner
20-oz bag frozen sweet potato fries, $2.73, for a treat some night
The rest of the items were just for general use.
3 heads iceberg lettuce (25 cents each, so I figured why not?)
30 bananas, half at 42 cents/ lb, half at 38 cents/lb
2 Folger's decaf, $6.32 ea
1 Folger's regular, $8.12
regular mustard, $1
soy sauce, $1.62
sesame oil, $2.98
raw honey, $7.93
2 boxes toasted oat cereal, $1.23 ea
4 bags oyster crackers, 80 cents ea
2 jars applesauce, $1.98 ea
6 dozen eggs, 96 cents/dozen
12 gallons 2% milk, $2.18 ea
2 gallons whole milk for making yogurt, 1 at $1.50, 1 at $2.18
2 lbs popping corn, $1.83
2 whole butternut squash, $1.18 ea
80-ct corn tortillas, $2.44
4 avocados, 58 cents ea
1 bottle ketchup, 88 cents
large bottle BBQ sauce, $1.88
In addition to buying special foods to lift our spirits, I also think I'm spending more for many of the individual items because I'm not shopping around for the best prices or watching for sales. Also, I think for me personally, I buy more when I'm putting in an order to pick-up than I would if I were shopping in-person. It's super easy to add an item to my online order. In contrast, when I'm shopping myself in the store, I think twice about a lot of items and often skip an item or two that don't seem absolutely necessary.
I will say that I continue to compare unit prices. I may be emotional-spending, but I haven't lost my mind entirely!
So, that's my personal analysis of why I continue to spend more on groceries than I have in past years. And I'm more than okay with it. There is a time and season for everything. This is my season to spend more on food.
