November 2016 grocery spending journal

This is the big stock-up time of the year, for me. There is a lot to buy, but fortunately, I have a lot in surplus budget from which to draw.


October 31. This came in after I'd finished up my October tally, so I'm including it in November's. At Fred Meyer, I bought 1 package of flour tortillas for $1.19.

November 1. Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. I was hopeful I'd find pecans on sale this month, and I did! $8.99/lb, I bought almost 3  1/2 pounds of pecan halves. They're in the freezer already. I also bought 5 half-gallons of whole milk, at 89 cents each, and 1 half-gallon of orange juice at 89 cents (there was a limit of 6 combined of milk and OJ at the sale price). I bought 1 half-gallon of almond milk ($2.25), 2 lbs of butter ($2.50/lb), 4 2-lb bags of powdered sugar (89 cents each), a box of decaf tea ($2.33), a large can of decaf coffee and a large can of reg. coffee ($4.49 each), a package of hot dogs for 80 cents (easy meals), and 2 18-ct large eggs (89 cents per carton, or 59 cents/dozen). I still have lots of eggs in the freezer, but at 59 cents/dozen I'll continue to buy. Total spent $60.96 (half of that was pecans!)

November 4. WinCo for cases of canned vegetables (12 cans/case). I buy 1 case each peas, corn, cut green beans and French green beans, $3.96/case. I also bought 6 bags of assorted chocolate chips, at $1.68/each, 1 container of salt, 54 cents, 3 29-oz cans pumpkin, $1.78 each, 12 bananas, 48 cents/lb, and 6 acorn squash, 78 cents each. I spent $38.97 (that includes my 3 X 6 cents bag credit).

November 8. Fred Meyer. potatoes are on sale for 88 cents/10-lb bag, limit 2. Today was the day that I discovered FM would have every Tuesday through the holidays as Senior Discount days. So, while here, I bought a few items which would qualify for 10% off, including a can of regular and a can of decaf coffee ($4.49 each), container of salt (53 cents), 4 cans of whole berry cranberry sauce (89 cents each), and a freebie of a Hershey's Kiss deluxe. I spent $14.83

November 11.  I was running errands with one daughter. Since we were near Fred Meyer, we decided to stop in and buy more potatoes, at 88 cents/10-lb bag. She picked up her limit of 2 bags, and I got my 2 bags. While there, we found pasta in a variety of shapes on sale for 50 cents/lb. I bought 19 lbs, mostly linguini and macaroni. I also picked up my freebie of Greek yogurt. Spent $13.02

November 11. Also stopped at WinCo, for another case of green beans ($3.96), some candied cherries for holiday baking ($2.43), candied fruitcake fruit ($2.48), baking cocoa ($1.66), chili powder ($1.69), 1.12 lbs of raisins ($2.00), 1 whole wheat fig bar 26 cents), 4 cans of cranberry sauce (78 cents each), 4 cans olives, 78 cents each, 3 bags chocolate chips, $1.68 each, 4 cans of yams ($1.49/29 oz), 4 cans pumpkin ($1.78/29 oz), 1 qt of whipping cream ($3.18) and a 72-ct pack of corn tortillas ($2.18). I spent $44.94

November 15. Fred Meyer, for another day of Senior discount, plus getting one turkey. I bought 3 packs of lady finger cookies for 50 cents each (for making tiramisu), 1 10-ct flour tortillas, 89 cents, 4 8-oz bags of Italian espresso coffee, for $1.49 each, a box of decaf black tea, $2.33, 3 half-gals of orange juice, 90 cents each, 7 half-gals milk, 90 cents each, 3 half-gals eggnog, marked down, $1.50 each, 8 8-oz packages of cream cheese, 90 cents each, 1 package hot dogs, 80 cents, 8 15-oz jars natural peanut butter, $1.35 each, and a 20-lb turkey at 49 cents/lb. I had a $5 off any purchase coupon to use, so in total I spent $47.75

November 18. WinCo for my 2nd turkey. I buy 3 bags marshmallows, 98 cents each. 14 29-oz cans yams, 98 cents each, 4 lbs butter, $2.48 each, 15 29-oz cans pumpkin, $1.78 each, 5 cans cream of mushroom soup, 58 cents each, 9 cans olives, 78 cents each and a 20-lb turkey, at 48 cents/lb. I spent $73.04

November 22. Cash & Carry. I buy 50-lbs of all-purpose flour for $10.99, 12 lbs of butter at $2.09/lb, 1 gal of molasses, $13.49, half-gal of real maple syrup, $28.08, 3 large bunches of celery, for $2.88, 40-lbs oranges, $16.98, 6 bananas, 42 cents pound. I spent $98.65.

I have spent a whole lot on groceries this month, a whole lot. So far, I've spent $393.35. But, including surpluses from previous months, I had $504.40 that I could spend for November. So, I'm actually doing okay, so far.

November 25. Black Friday. Out picking up some deals, and I found canned pineapple on sale for 99 cents/ 20-oz can. not a spectacular deal, but okay, so I bought 10 cans. Spent $9.90. Also got my Friday Freebie, a Christmas themed Snicker's candy bar.

November 29. Last shopping day of the month, with Senior Discount at Fred Meyer. I bought 3 packages of 10 each flour tortillas (they are often out of these), 89 cents each, 1 large can decaf and 1 large can reg coffee, $4.49 each, 3 more 2-lb bags of powdered sugar, at 89 cents each, 1 box of decaf tea, $2.33, 8 half-gallons of whole milk 89 cents each, 2 half-gallons of orange juice, 89 cents each, 2 16-oz containers of sour cream, 89 cents each, just over 10 lbs of whole almonds, $4.49/lb, 6 bottles of Martinelli's sparkling cider, $1.34 each, 2 lbs of mushrooms, $1.98/lb, and 1 head of cabbage, at 49 cents/lb. Plus I had a $2 off coupon this week. Total spent $89.31.

Total spent for the month of October -- $492.56. I had a surplus plus budget, going into November, of $504.40. So, I actually have a tiny amount of surplus going into December, of $11.84!


What I bought:

Produce (canned, fresh, frozen, dried, juice)

6 half-gallon orange juice
12 cans of peas
12 cans of corn
36 cans green beans
22  29-oz cans pumpkin
18  29-oz cans yams
18 bananas
6 acorn squash
60 lbs potatoes
8 cans cranberry sauce
1.12 lb raisins
13 cans olives
3 large bunches of celery
40 lbs oranges
10 20-oz cans of pineapple
2 lbs mushrooms
1 head of green cabbage
6 bottles of sparkling cider

Meat

2 packages hot dogs
2  20-lb turkeys

Dairy

20 half-gallons whole milk
half-gallon almond milk
3 half-gallons eggnog
18 lbs butter
3 dozen eggs
1 container Greek yogurt (freebie)
1 qt whipping cream
64 oz cream cheese
32 ounces sour cream

Pantry staples

5 lbs flour tortillas
3.5 lbs pecan halves
14 lbs powdered sugar
3 boxes decaf tea bags
3 large cans coffee
3 large cans decaf coffee
4 bags Italian espresso coffee
9 bags of chocolate chips
2 containers of salt
Hershey's Kiss Deluxe (freebie)
19 lbs pasta
1 lb candied cherries
1 lb fruitcake fruit
baking cocoa
chili powder
1 whole wheat fig bar
72 corn tortillas
3 packages lady finger cookies
8 jars natural style peanut butter
3 bags marshmallows
5 cans cream of mushroom soup
50 lbs of all-purpose flour
1 gallon molasses
half-gallon of maple syrup
Snicker's candy bar (freebie)
10 lbs of whole almonds

As the end of the month draws near, our pantry is extremely well-stocked in canned vegetables, flour, sugar, molasses, baking supplies, pasta, coffee and tea, nuts, potatoes, and squash. We have enough butter to last through early to mid-summer, and a year's supply of cream cheese. I have stacks of cases of canned goods on the pantry floor. If I had to, I could prepare meals for at least 3 months, without spending a penny. That's reassuring to know.

And now, at the end of this very spendy month, I am so tired of spending money. I have spent and spent and spent. I'm looking forward to a lean January.

How about you? Do you spend more on groceries in the months of November and December than other times of the year? Or is your spending pretty even throughout the year?

Knowing the difference between a "best regular" price, a "good" price and a "great" price

As the prices on goods fluctuates so readily, this can be a bit of a guessing game. I sometimes get it very right. But also, I'm sometimes disappointed that I've gotten it wrong. I use records from recent shopping experience, combined with studying the market with online resources (such as USDA weekly price reports) as best as I can, to estimate if a price is great, just good, or one that I know I can easily beat.

With grocery shopping, I keep three levels of pricing in my head --

• the "best regular" price (or what I am confident that I will find, often, on a regular basis, usually at my low-price leader stores -- WinCo, Fred Meyer or Cash & Carry)
• the "good" price (or a routine "sale" price, to be found once every several weeks, often found in grocery store ads, with limits)
• the "great" price (rock-bottom, once a year, clearance, or closeout prices, such as an item on sale at Cash & Carry or WinCo, or a special promotion at any of the local grocery stores)

It goes without saying that I try to get that "great" price, as much as possible. Knowing when I have it, and when to buy stock-up quantities, is the trick.

Some examples from recent shopping
When I am completely out of a staple item, I will buy just what I need at the moment, at my "best regular" price. Sometimes this is on Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. Sometimes I find that "best regular "at WinCo. And sometimes, the best regular price is at Cash & Carry.

A case in point, I was completely out of all-purpose flour, leading into the Thanksgiving weekend. My "best regular" price was at Cash & Carry, in a 50-lb bag, at 22 cents per pound. I bought just the 1 bag, as I knew that at some point in the year, all-purpose flour will go on sale for a little less than this, likely at Cash & Carry. That "some point" came this week, as the same 50-lb sack of all-purpose flour is on a one-week only sale for $9.99 (just under 20 cents per pound). This will be the lowest price for the next 9 months, is my guess. I go through 1 50-lb sack of white flour every 4 months. I will probably buy 2 50-lb sacks, even though I still have most of the 50-lb sack that I bought last week.

My stock of butter has been depleted, significantly. It's not an emergency, there were still a few pounds left. But my reserves were low enough, going into Thanksgiving week, that I've been keeping a watch for a good sale. At WinCo, last week, butter was on sale for $2.48/lb, with a limit of 4 pounds. Given the current market for butter, this is a good price, but not great. (I've been finding butter on sale at Fred Meyer for $2.50/lb, about once every 6 weeks, this fall.) And I know that $2.48 per pound is better than the current regular price at Cash & Carry, at $2.64/lb in 1-lb blocks. Knowing that WinCo's price was good, but not great, I bought my limit of 4, and didn't bother with attempts to stock-up further at that price.

Later in the week, I saw Cash & Carry had put butter on sale for $2.09/lb. For our area, and at this time, that is a great price. So I bought 12 pounds.

I've been waiting for canned pineapple to go on sale. At the very least, it should go on sale at Fred Meyer or WinCo, for about $1 to $1.25 per 20-oz can, nearer to Christmas. The lower the price, the greater the likelihood of purchase limits. When I found 20-oz cans of pineapple on sale for 99 cents, at a local drugstore, last Friday, I thought about what possible prices I might see. 99 cents a can is not great enough for us to rethink our fruit consumption, and buy several cases of pineapple. But it is a good enough price to buy enough to last until the next good pineapple sale (perhaps at Christmas or New Year, but also I can be relatively certain I will find a similar price at Easter). I bought 10 cans.

Missing my guess
Sometimes, I guess wrong, and buy stock-up quantities at a price that is higher than the rock-bottom price. This happened with whole almonds, a month ago. I still paid quite a bit less than a best regular price. But I see this week, at Fred Meyer, the price is even lower.

What do I do when this happens? If I think the price is truly spectacular, and, I believe we will use more of the item before it goes bad, and, if I have the money to buy more, that is just what I do, I buy more. I accept that I didn't get the rock-bottom price on the first purchase, but I didn't overpay, either. In the end, no one is perfect, and I do very well, most of the time, with our grocery budget. And by buying a little bit more, at this new, lower price, I feel like I am easing the pain of having spent a little too much, the first time.

How to track the "great" price and know how much to buy
A log
You are all familiar with my grocery spending journal that I post at the end of each month. This is a dated log of my purchase price plus amounts that I buy. I am able to go back through the months of this type of post and find out how much I bought (which gives me the approximation of how long any given amount will last for my use), and what that price was.

With the all-purpose flour, I was able to scan the grocery posts from March through now and see that I bought a 50-lb sack in both March and July. It amazes me, but I go through all-purpose flour at a very regular rate, 50 pounds every 4 months. I paid $11.99 and $11.68, in the months of March and July, for a 50-lb sack of all-purpose flour. So, I know that my price this week of $9.99 is a very good price for the year, for my area, on this item.

A log doesn't need to be on a computer. It can be in a notebook. This type of log needn't have prices for everything that you might buy, but items that you buy infrequently enough to not be certain of what you paid, or how much you purchased.

Marking a package
A simpler method for many folks might be to just mark your packages. You can track prices and how long they last by marking individual packages with date of opening, date of purchase, and the price paid. The date of opening would give you some idea of how long a quantity lasts in your home. The date of purchase, combined with price paid, provide insight as to when the prices for an item are at their lowest.

Studying the market
I also use tools like the USDA reports, (google online for these reports), to get an idea of prices on specific food items. I've watched egg, butter, chicken, beef, turkey, cabbage and pumpkin prices, by reading these reports. The reports give me a good idea of what to expect, price-wise and availability.


In the end, its all a guessing game for the consumer. None of us have a crystal ball which can predict what the best price will be, for any season. Even if we get the best deal one week, the very next may see something even better. The bottom line is to set a budget and keep the spending within that amount. Luckily for us, what we buy is quite flexible. If we miss a great deal, for any reason, we can often make up for it, somewhere else in the grocery budget.