June grocery budget

               This month I'm shopping a little different. Last month I shopped every week (or so). This month I'm trying to shop for more at a time and go to the store(s) less. So far this month I've spent 288.13. Pretty close to my budget limit but I've got a freezer full of food, a stocked pantry and about 2 weeks of food coming from Angel food. Speaking of Angel food, I don't get to pick that order up until the 25th. It'll go well into July but since I paid for it in June that the month I'm including it for. Also I'm a bit closer to budget than usual at this point because I bought *luxury* stuff for Hubby to grill on Father's day. (His idea, not mine! He just really likes to grill!)
               The remaining 11.87 will end up on milk most likely. ( We get milk for 2.19 a gallon so 2.19*5=10.95 and that about how much milk we use in half a month) So pretty close to perfect! Yeah!
I've spent:
$141.95 at Aldi's
$30.18 at the Meat Market
$116 Angel food

$61.21-44.89=$16.32 May wrap up

               Wrapping up the end of the month I managed to come in under budget. So we got some snacks and ice cream! We've got enough food stock piled to start the June budget on the 4th. So, woo-hoo, s-u-c-c-e-s-s that the way we spell success!

$119.57-58.36=61.21 Week 4/May

               Real quick check in here. This week is the last full week I'll be shopping for the month of May. The next shopping trip will be for 4 days instead of 7. We have plenty of surplus pantry staples such as pastas, canned goods, flour, sugar and spices. The remaining 60+ will be spent on items to make a big pot of chili and beef stew as well as meat for the freezer, extra fruit and veggies that we don't usually get to have and some fun convenient foods!

$185.30-$65.73=$119.57 Week 3/ May

               Half way through the month and still doing great! This week I didn't pay more than $2.68 for anything. And that was for a 5 pound bag of sugar. Another plus to making your own foods, ingredients are way cheaper than finished products! Also I bought 46 items.

$300 a month is enough!

               First off, let me say thank you Angel, for introducing the world to your budget plan. It is amazing! You have taught me so much, and helped me get back on track.
               This month has been my first month on the $300 a month grocery budget and it's going great! As I've said before I used to be a whiz at budgeting but after being a working mom for a bit it was hard finding my homemaker side again. I do think this challenge was exactly what I needed. I have quickly found myself again and learned some new tips and tricks. I would like to share some of the things I do to save with y'all now!
*One thing we grew up doing and I can't do without is my LIST! Without the list I can't go to the grocery store and feel productive. With so much to drool over temptation takes over and I end up with a cart full of over priced nothingness, and its not healthy usually!
*If over spending is a problem, leave the debit/check/credit cards at home! Once you've made out your list and priced it out (according to the store of your choice) you know about how much your going to spend. Go to the bank and get out that much then leave your cards at home. Worst case scenario you get to the register, go over and have to pass on something. Okay, no biggy, it'll be there next time and you can plan for it.
*Take your calculator, or get to know the one on your cellphone. Every time something goes into the cart, you enter it's price. This works for three things. Number one, it keeps track of where you are in your budget. Number two, it helps you remember how much things were. Number three, once you get everything on your list you could have some money left in the budget for one of those yummy treats you saw earlier but passed on!
*One big thing to remember is it doesn't have to be name brand. The mind set of "brand name is better" is, for the most part, an advertising ploy. If there are one or two things that you really must have the brand name of then by all means get it. The money disappears all to quickly when you get all brand names.
*Make it yourself! Homemade is not only better for you, but you can make so much more for the money and you can customize it as well. Little Jr doesn't like peas? That prepackaged meal has them though. So look it over and figure out what all you need to make the same thing. For example my pizza pasta was inspired by a Homestyle Bake. I can make a LOT more for the money and it's healthier and tastes better than the Homestyle Bake (that barely feeds my family with one box).
               I hope this helps some of you get your grocery budget under control too, and thank you again to Angel for being such a great inspiration!

$251.24-65.94=$185.30 Week 2/May

               In case your new to HH, let me catch you up. I'm trying to feed my family of 4 on a budget of $300, inspired by Angel at Heart, Hands, Home.
               Week 2 went well. After writing out my list and totaling it up it came to about $50. We got a few extra grab-n-go foods which brought us to $65.94, still good. So we are looking at $185 for the rest of the month, which still seems very doable.

               Last week I was asked what some examples of a meal is for us. So each week, maybe more, I'll add a meal we make. This week it's a family favorite that my sister and I grew up on and still do to this day! It is super simple, cheap, and has veggies, carbs, protein.

               Mac and Cheese, Tuna and Peas!
               You can make it with one box or double it and it's still really cheap.
               For 5 servings you make the mac and cheese like you normally would, stir in 1 cup of room temp peas (or any veggie you like) and a can of drained tuna. Stir and serve. The kids love it and it was quick and easy!

               Sorry this post is so short, Doodle Bug was home sick from school today and I'm beat! See you all on Wednesday!

$300-$48.76=$251.24 Week 1/May

               Friday was supposed to be my first post about my new challenge to spend $300 or less a month for groceries. Seeing as I didn't go shopping Friday as I normally would have that post is now today!
               So here goes! I started by going through my kitchen and finding out what all I did have in there. From there I made a list of meals for the next 7 days. Most of these meals were based on ingredients I already have. Then I put together a list of items I would need to make these meals, and how much they cost at Aldi's where I normally shop. Once I had this list together I double checked it to make sure we would have everything to make 3 meals a day plus snacks. My list showed that I should be able to buy everything for under $50, awesome!

               I was able to get everything on my list plus some extras for $48.76! So my family and I are fed for the next 7 days, until at least May 8th and we still have $251.24 for the rest of the month. My mini-goal inside of my big goal is to spend no more than $50 a week. And ya know what? I'm pretty sure I can do it! Oh, yeah, a big helper is to leave the cards at home! Only take as much cash as you want to spend. Also even when you calculate and use your calculator as things go in the cart, you can get distracted and forget to enter something or the price isn't clearly marked. So if you get through the check out and your total goes over, think back to how much things were and take out something you can do without. For example I was standing in line thinking, "Okay, so if I have to the tuna was 52 cents a can, the mac and cheese was 35 cents a box..." Luckily I was nicely under budget this time and didn't have to take anything back!