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Grocery Shopping and Menu Plan (plus, the Living Water total!)

On Wednesday of this week, I had my most unusual grocery shopping trip ever, because I was wearing a microphone and had a video camera following me (I felt so reality-show-ish!). I did manage to stay on budget, though, despite the unusual circumstances!

Here’s what I bought.

and here’s what I spent.

  • Aldi-$64.12
  • Weis-$35.81

Total-$99.93

If you remember, at the beginning of this month, I pledged to send all of my leftover December grocery money to Living Water. Despite some abnormal holiday-related food expenses, I managed to spend less than $400. In fact, I have $62.07 left in my envelope, and that will be going directly out to Living Water. Yay! That money will provide clean drinking water for 62 people for a whole year, which is awesome.

If you joined me in saving your extra grocery money for a charity, I’d love to hear about it, so please share in the comments.

Here’s what we’re eating for dinner this coming week.

Saturday

  • Pizza
  • root beer
  • green salad

Sunday

Monday

  • BBQ Beef Sandwiches
  • homemade buns
  • green salad

Tuesday

  • Chicken Tacos
  • fruit salad

Wednesday

Thursday

  • Shrimp Stir-Fry
  • Brown Rice
  • Fruit Salad

Friday

  • Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
  • green salad
  • garlic bread

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Penny Gray

Monday 4th of January 2010

I would be very interested in a post about frugal & healthy snack options. My 6-year old eats well at the "main" meals, but due to lots of running around and general growth spurts, also snacks 2-3 times per day. We work hard to keep his snack options healthy (cheese and apples more often than cheese and crackers, for example), but it can be hard to work variety into the picture.

robbiekay

Monday 4th of January 2010

I'd rather watch a segment on your grocery trip than some "coupon queen" who's spent hours a week clipping coupons for a bunch of processed foods. You are much more of an inspiration.

I'm with you about the cold thing, too. More than 3 or 4 layers and I just can't move. I also find it a pain to try to get work done around the house or office when you're in a big bulky coat. It's a good thing when I was born when I was, because I would have not done well when heat just came from a woodstove or fireplace! My favorite pair of long johns that I have are Cuddle Duds brand and they have good 2-way stretch in them so that they fit snug under your pants without bulking up. I got them at Target for about half price, but even if I had to pay full price it would still be worth it compared to my cheapy cotton thermals.

Kristen

Sunday 3rd of January 2010

I wrote a post way back at the beginning of my blog about meat. One of the main ways I save money is by not buying a lot of it! lol Here's the post on that topic:

Liz! You rock! That's awesome.

Rachelle, we try not to eat a lot of meat...I wrote a post about that way back when I first started my blog: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2008/07/1-we-dont-eat-a-lot-of-meat/

I also keep a careful eye on sales...I usually can get chicken breasts for $1.69-$1.99/pound, I can get chuck for $1.99/pound, and so on.

And, we just don't eat some cuts of meat. Beef is rarely cheap enough for my taste unless it's a chuck roast or a London Broil cut, so we don't eat a lot of beef. We also don't eat a lot of pork, because it's often pretty expensive around here.

I wouldn't stress about getting things down to $100/week. Your family most likely has larger appetites than mine (your kids are older than mine), so just do the best you can. $100 might not work for you, but maybe you could cut back some on the meat and reduce your grocery spending a bit. Don't be discouraged!

Rachelle Sutton

Sunday 3rd of January 2010

We are a family of 5( dad, mom, ds14,dd10 and ds5) and I am curious how much of your grocery bill is spent on meat, that is the one item that seems to break my budget. The thought of $100.00 for a week would just send me over the moon. I just can't seem to get our grocery budget that low.

Could you share as to where to start cutting back, or direct me to a post that already talks about this issue. ps I am already making your sandwich bread and we love it!

Thanks - Rachelle

ellie

Saturday 2nd of January 2010

Re long underwear - I wear it often - even if the house is warmer, our outside temp has been running below zero and it feels cold. I use cotton ones, and sometimes add knitted leg warmers. Also recommend padded slacks. Enjoy your blog.

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