It’s the end of the month and here is where I stand: $250.18. This weekend killed my hopes because we had two imprompu runs to the store – one because of the bug that we all got for ginger ale, gatorade, and ginger related things, and then one because of bad planning and grabbing a few things for a quick dinner – these set the monthly tab over the $250. Now at this point, I am happy with how the month went. I made many less trips to the store, almost all were planned out, and I printed coupons before going and stuck to my list. I also was able to use much of what was in the house all month and I also did meal planning every weekend. I’d like to keep this up. I think $300 is more reasonable as I do have a list going so $250-300 will be my monthly goal going forward. It forced me to plan and be smart about using things up and creative about the meal planning. It also meant I couldn’t just see a recipe and go get the ingredients immediately.
What did I include in my monthly budget?
produce:
organic spinach
organic bananas
zucchini
apples
broccoli
strawberries, raspberries blueberries (fresh and frozen)
orange juice
kale
eggs
whole wheat bread
milk
almond milk
orange juice
kashi go lean
sweet potatoes
avocado
rice krispies
yogurt
Dr Praegers veggie burgers
black beans
chick peas
canned tomatoes
every now and then (needed this month)
10x sugar
chocolate chips
ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese
pizza cheese
jelly
Peanut butter
butter
365 duplex cookies
applesauce
carrots
lentils
every now and then: (but not this month)
whole wheat pastry flour
sugar
brown sugar
maple syrup
white flour
10x sugar
fritos (during this pregnancy!)
graham crackers
annie’s bunnies – snacks
Dove chocolate
brown rice, quinoa, bulgar, brown rice syrup
random buys this month – cabbage, egg roll wrappers, conversation hearts – regret!!
Did not include non food items like:
papertowels, toilet paper, napkins, soap, shampoo
Didn’t include Costco trip (which lasts us every 3 months and would probably bring the total to $300)
or anything Bill picked up on his own (chicken, turkey, bacon, etc). My last month’s budget was only things that I purchased so I wanted to stay consistent.
some of the dinners just to get an idea of what we’re eating:
Salmon (costco) w/ quinoa
rigatoni with vodka sauce (costco)
chili
lasagna soup
lentils and rice
egg rolls
rice and beans with tofu
meatless meatballs & pierogies
falafel
black bean burgers
pasta with meatballs (costco)
lentil/rice casserole
What’s on YOUR weekly list?
Do you think $250 is reasonable?
What makes your bill stay high and how can you improve it?
What questions do you have?
Looking forward to next month:
I am thinking of being a last minute participant in the vegan challenge over at Run to the Finish but I don’t know if I could give up ice cream and cheese and saw a good recipe for a quiche with eggs in it… hmmm
and my challenge for March is going to be to create less waste with the paper products – specifically in the kitchen – napkins & paper towels.
What is your challenge for March?
My fiance and I spend about $100-$120 on groceries per month… so I’d imagine with two kids, $250 is not that bad. Some of this is just looking at ads and clipping coupons. We haven’t jumped on the whole organic thing yet (except when the price difference is negligible). We buy a lot of those bulk-bin foods and frozen items, and he doesn’t eat a lot of meat in the house.
I think $250 for groceries is incredible! And I can’t believe Julie only spends $100-120. I can do that in a weekly trip! Though, I do include things like wine, cat food, paper products & anything else I buy at the same store in my total. Add in Costco, and we’re probably spending $500 per month on groceries. That feeds 2 of us about 20 meals a week each though – breakfast, lunch & dinner most days + 1 meal out (on average). Maybe part of that is that we eat a lot of organic stuff, plus meat/fish about 5-6 nights a week. My hubby also has an organic chicken breast on his salad every day for lunch. I can’t imagine spending much less without drastically changing our diet (which I think is pretty healthy!).
Anyway – I am super impressed with your budgeting skillz!!
$250 is so impressive! I’m spending about $100/week and would love to cut that down… I think maybe a few less trips to Whole Foods and a few more to the local HEB grocery. Your list looks so much like mine, too!
Jump on the vegan challenge!! I’m doing it too, we can support each other.