Thursday, March 8, 2012

March Monthly Shopping

After last week I am ready to get back to eating home cooked meals again.  It's amazing how terrible you feel after eating "convenience" foods when you have gone so long without them.  I stopped at three stores today Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, and Aldi.  Saturday I will go to the City Market and grab some fresh local produce, pita bread, italian sausage, and a few other miscellaneous items.

I am happy with my spending today and to have meals for the next month.  I did switch around my meal plan a little bit because I wasn't here the first week.  I scratched a few meals from the list, but that is alright.  I am just happy my dad is doing better and hope he eventually regains more of eyesight back.

It could have been a lot worse for him than it turned out to be and I am truly thankful for that.  Two strokes and then learning his heart had weakened was really shocking for someone so young.  But he is on the mend and feeling fine after getting his defibfrillator/pacemaker put in.  He even went for a walk today to one of the local bakeries.  But enough of that lets take a peek at what I bought today.

Lots of groceries for the month!  Couldn't fit the pepsi, cat food, or litter in the picture.


Hy-Vee
2 - Hy-Vee Unsalted Butter $1.88 each
$3.76

1 - Dozen Hy-Vee Large Eggs
$1.52

1 - 41 oz Tub Parkay
$1.99

1 - Pillsbury Easter Cookie 
$2.99

2 - Hy-Vee Light Sour Cream $1.29 each
$2.58

2 - Atheno's Feta Cheese Crumbles $3.99 each
$7.98

1 - 8 oz Parmesan Cheese Wedge
$5.99

1/2 lb Hard Salami
$4.07

1 - Banquet Chicken Nuggets
$3.99

2 - C&W Chopped Frozen Spinach $1.45 each
$2.90

3 - Hy-Vee Frozen Cut Broccoli $1.48 each
$4.44

1 - Hy-Vee Frozen Winter Mix Veggies
$1.98

1 - Baco's Bacon Chips
$1.59

1 - Barilla Bowtie Pasta
$1.38

1 - Barilla Jumbo Shells
$2.00

1 - Barilla Manicotti 
$2.00

1 - Family Size Taco Doritos 
$2.99

1 - Family Size Cool Ranch Doritos
$2.99

1 - Jar Diced Pimentos
$1.52

1 - Hy-Vee Buffalo Wing Sauce
$1.78

2 - Hy-Vee Sliced Black Olives $1.29 each
$2.58

1 - Hy-Vee Apple Cider Vinegar
$1.55

1 - Hy-Vee Berry Crunch Cereal
$3.79

4 - Hy-Vee Crushed Tomatoes $1.35 each
$5.40

1 - Hy-Vee Dried Pineapple
$1.99

1 - Hy-Vee Pitted Kalmata Olives
$3.59

2 - Hy-Vee 48 oz Chicken Broth $2.79 each
$5.58

2 - Hy-Vee Fruit Snacks $1.67 each
$3.34

1 - Hy-Vee Sweetened Coconut Flakes
$1.39

1 - Hy-Vee Onion Soup Mix
$0.89

1 - Hy-Vee Long Grain White Rice
$1.69

4 - Hy-Vee Tomato Paste $0.58 each
$2.32

12 - Kool-Aid $0.20 each
$2.40

4 - MCF Tomato Sauce $0.29 each
$1.16

2 - MCF Tomato Sauce $0.59 each
$1.18

1 - Roasted Red Peppers
$4.29

1 - Oreo Cookies
$2.00

1 - Jar Red Star Dry Yeast 
$5.49

1 - Sara Lee Honey Wheat Bread
$1.99

1 - Belafonte Sherbet
$3.49

1 - 17lb Bag Meow Mix
$11.00

1 - 25lbs Fresh Step Cat Litter
$8.88

2 - Guerrero Flour Tortillas $1.49 each
$2.98

2 - Haulty Ricotta Cheese $2.49 each
$4.98

3 - Hy-Vee Cream Cheese $1.69 each
$5.07

1 - 2 lbs Hy-Vee Shredded Mozzarella 
$7.99

1 - 2 lbs Wisconsin Premium Shredded Colby
$8.99

3 - Diet Pepsi 12 packs 3/$10
$10.00

2.98 lbs Bananas
$2.06

1 - Head of Lettuce
$1.29

1 - Grape Tomatoes
$2.00

1.86 lbs Green Grapes
$1.86

1 - Slicing Cucumber
$1.00

1 - Boyles Corned Beef
$13.65

Total Spent:  $218.90

Aldi
4 - Gallons Milk $1.99 each
$7.96

Total Spent:  $8.65




Price Chopper
6 - Belafonte Yogurt $0.50 each
$3.00

2 lbs Crystal Farms Shredded Cheese
$8.99

3.20 lbs Beef Chuck Roast
$14.37

4.02 lbs Ground Beef
$8.00

14.38 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
$18.56

1 - Best Choice Seasoned Croutons
$1.35

2 - Cheez-It Crackers $1.99 each
$3.98

2 - Eckrich Smoked Sausage $1.99
$3.98

1 - Hormel Pepperoni
$2.99

1 - Reese Sherry Cooking Wine
$2.50

Total Spent:  $75.58


Total Monthly Spending:  $303.13


I definitely deviated from the list a bit, but I took the kids with me and the requests weren't too crazy ;)  I figure if that is the only junk we eat the rest of the month then I am not too upset. Below is the list of items I still need to buy which I will get at the city market.


Remaining items for the month:
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Onion
3 Lemons
2 Cucumber
2 Roma Tomatoes
1 Romaine Lettuce
1 Lettuce
4 Tomatoes
2 French Rolls
Items to buy this weekend:
1 Mushroom
2 Green Pepper
2 Red Onion
1 lbs Pancetta
2 Italian Sausage Links
1 Pita Bread


Not too bad and I should be able to keep this all around $30.  I am over budget right now, but that is alright and realistically this time it's my fault for buying the cookies and chips.  Oh well....you only live once right?!?


10 comments:

  1. You shop like we do . Saving is always a good thing ! Have a good day !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most definitely! We find it easier to shop once a month. Then I don't get sucked in to all the "specials" and "deals" every week. It's a new approach, but I love it so far :)

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  2. Nice job especially since you have so much meat for your entire month! We used to shop only twice a month, but I have a hard time not shopping every week now lol. Too many deals down this week. We don't have a Hy-vee, but they seem to have great deals. Thanks for linking up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Last year I would have never dreamed of shopping once a month because I would miss deals, but this new approach has been so much better for my family. Now I don't pay attention to coupons, ads, or sales. It was scary for me at first, but then I started comparing my spending to last year and found I am spending less. Not to mention we are eating better. It's a different approach mainly to accommodate our new "healthier" (you wouldn't know by this trip...lol) lifestyle. We are slowly working on cutting out as many processed foods as possible. Slowly, but surely we'll get there :) Have a wonderful weekend!

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  3. I used to shop like this when I was working, but without a plan, and it was bad! I would make a trip to walmart on payday and just buy stuff. I'd have my coupons with me and just kind flip through them at the register to see if I was buying anything I had a coupon for. Not the best practice at all. Now that Aldi opened up i havent been to walmart in 2 years!

    I'd love to have a plan for a month of meals, but right now I'm going week by week and snagging the meat/produce sales from the hispanic stores because they are so much cheaper there. I'm trying to get myself more organized and be able to plan out some meals in advance like this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely need a plan! I never shop at Walmart, but I never did (I like to shop locally or in private owned stores instead of corporations). It is important to find what best suits you and your family needs. That way it will work best for you and become easy for you :) I am still changing and tweaking my way and probably will for a while. Although now that I found the City Market I am in heaven. Farmer's market with custom markets (Italian, Mediterranean, Oriental, etc) it is the coolest place ever and the best part is it is all local!

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  4. Thanks for linking up, Erika! I am always so impressed by your organization!

    If you're interested, stop by and link some of your posts in my Pinterest Blog Link Up. Any posts that were inspired by a Pinterest find would be a perfect fit!

    http://allison-durhamdeals.blogspot.com/2012/03/little-pintereality-link-up-party.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Allison. I don't always feel organized, but I can definitely tell a difference from last year. It is getting much easier to stay organized now :)

      I will definitely check out your link up! Sounds like lots of fun!

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  5. I love that you have the list of the things that you still need for the month after you are done shopping. I have a pen and paper list of what we wanted for the month but it is more like my husbands wish list of cheese its and cranberry juice. I think that I might have to start making a list like you do... of course, I am not a once a month shopper.... maybe someday!! Thanks for the idea :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I started by shopping bi-weekly, but when I started making a monthly meal plan I found it was much easier to shop monthly. I know how wish lists go though ;) This month was bad because I brought the kids and deviated from list...ooops! Normally I shop by myself or just with the youngest and I stay on track much better that way.

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What do you think? I'd love to hear from you!