Grocery Spending/Menu Plan | I overspent. But it's ok.
On Saturdays, I share my menu plan for the upcoming week along with a photo of my groceries and a tally of my spending. My goal is to spend $100/week for our food, toiletries, and cleaning products. I'm currently in the midst of trying to buy more local, sustainably-produced food while sticking to my budget. Can it be done? I don't know, but I'm going to try, and I'll share what I learn as I go along.
This week, I spent $46.36 at Aldi, $22.02 at Weis, $10 at the produce stand, and $20 for a half bushel of local peaches (from a different farm).
I also spent $71.30 at Costco (for laundry detergent, crackers, pecans, honey, pistachios, and syrup).
That means my total grocery outlay for the week is $169.68. Fortunately, I have an extra $60 in my grocery budget right now due to some underspending in the last month and that means that I'm only over budget by $9.68. Sweet. As long as I manage to spend around $90 next week, I'll end the month exactly on target, despite this crazy week.
The food pictured here includes only my Weis and Aldi purchases...the local produce and my Costco purchases went unphotographed. 😉
Somehow, these items didn't make it into the other photo, so they get to star in their own picture. 😉
I had another odd week last week, where I switched meals around (which was good! I used up some things from the freezer.), so some of these poor meals are the same ones that have been on the last two menu plans.
Saturday
- Pizza. I haven't decided for sure what kind yet!
Sunday
Monday
- Chicken/ Basil Panini
- local corn and green beans
Tuesday
- Broiled Tilapia
- Pull-Apart Garlic Bread
- Spinach Salad
Wednesday
- Cilantro Chicken Pasta Salad
- homemade English Muffins
- green beans
Thursday
- Seafood Subs
- green salad
- chips
Friday
- Takeout for Mr. FG and me, and something easy for the kids (leftovers, breakfast for dinner, sandwiches, etc.)
Today's 365 post: So, usually she looks small.
I just wanted to say thank you for opening my eyes to Aldi! I am a newlywed and we are living on one income (by choice) and so I work hard to keep within the grocery budget. And Aldi is great for that! So thank you so much for sharing your life with us, b/c it is a great encourager for watching the wallet, and practical ways to do just that! By the way I have made a few of your recipes, delicious!
I'm so glad you're loving Aldi! It IS super awesome.
Hey Kristen, have you ever tried making your own detergent? I got an awesome recipe from "The Family Homestead" that costs me about $.20 for 2 1/2 gallons! I've been using it for over a year and it works great. It's definitely less difficult than making yogurt, but slightly more difficult than bread.:P
I have, and I was unhappy with it. I used the recipe from The Simple Dollar, and after a few weeks, all of my clothes smelled like stinky feet. I was very bummed out about it because I really wanted it to work!
My kids clothes in particular smelled terrible, probably because they were dirtier to start with.
Thanks for sharing when you get local food...your goal to eat more local has helped me to work harder at my very same goal. This week I was able to purchase a 50 lb. bag of local-organic hard white wheat for flour (I'm saving up my birthday money to buy a mill!!), LOTS of great produce at the farmers market, and (this is my favorite one!!) a local lady who has agreed to sell me a dozen farm-fresh organic, free range eggs each week from here on out for only $1.50/dozen!! I'm going to go check out a little store that just opened selling local meats to see what their prices are, as well as check out the meat lockers and Amish stores for other possible sources of local food! It is so empowering to know that the food I am feeding my family is not only healthier for us, but is also better for our local economy and the environment!!
Ooh. $1.50/dozen is a GREAT price! I buy them from a blog reader for $2.50/dozen, and I consider that to be a good deal.
It's lovely to think that I don't have to worry about whether or not our eggs are part of that recall because they came from a neighbor's backyard. I'm so lucky.
My thoughts exactly! I've been wanting to find local eggs for awhile now, this salmonella outbreak was just the final push for me to finally do it!
Wow~
Local eggs are $5 a dozen here. But worth it since they have flavor instead of being worthless like the grocery ones.
I absolutely adore your grocery/menuplan posts. I live on my own, so I'm awful at planning out meals. I come from a family where you never ever just cook one serving of something...you make a whole pot/pan/whatever full of it. This unfortunately has resulted in me eating the same thing for the entire week.
Also, I'm always amazed by just how far you can squeeze your budget. It's inspirational.
Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Sometimes I feel like they are super-boring posts, so it's always good to get feedback. lol
I was used to cooking for 6 people before I got married, so I had to do some adjusting when I had to cook for just Mr. FG and me! Now I'm back to cooking for 6 people now that we have 4 kids, though.
Okay...you're a goal setter and I'm going to be one, too. I want to start cooking and eating smaller meals. My son is the proper weight, but my hubby and I could both stand to lose about 15 pounds. Do you have any tips to help???? I hope. Your family is 100% the right weight. Thanks in advance.
One thought...and I know this is crazy...but could you start showing us what's on your table at dinner...and how much you put on each plate...at least once in a while. I know I'd greatly appreciate it. You've helped me reduce my grocery bill tremendously...now, it would be wonderful as I just posted if we could also reduce our waistlines. Thanks!!!!
Sure, I will if you want me to. lol Of course, the right amount of food for me might not be the right amount of food for you. But I don't mind showing you on the chance it'll help. 🙂
Thank you!
What is that extra large Blow-Pop? That's the first thing my kids saw in the photo, figures: )
Oh, that's Sonia's! She has two stuffed BlowPops (one was given to her, the other she bought at Goodwill a while back).
Kristen,
Sometimes I have to use vinegar or baking soda as a laundry booster if our clothes are particularly dirty! That recipe from The Simple Dollar isn't as good, if I'm recalling it right.
KK ... you're killing me .... is that bread you purchased?
lol! I was waiting to see how long it would take someone to notice.
Yup, I bought a loaf of whole wheat bread. I needed to send some sandwiches with Sonia and Lisey on Friday (they went to Six Flags) and I didn't have any bread here that would work.
Fear not, though...that's the first loaf of sandwich bread I've bought in eons. =P
Hey I think perhaps some of your purchases at Costco are photographed if I'm correct. I just looked at your 365 page & the pics you have there of your cutie pie with another little kiddo, & I saw some Ritz crackers & other stuff. Recognized the carts b/c Sam's Club also has the double seaters lol
Hehe...I'm chuckling at the 2 lonely shrooms in the 2nd picture but know EXACTLY why you did that (see, I faithfully read, sometimes a little late!). I'm so stinkin excited, we have an Aldi's opening up in the next few months here in South Florida! Woohoo ... Hubby and I have been known to take an empty suitcase to stock up when we visit the midwest (Aldi's on every corner, it seems!) ... and now we will have one here ... although 15 miles (which equates to about 30 minutes with traffic) away, I will be scoping it out ... 🙂