Weekly Totals (Link Up!)

I've already showed off most of my shopping this week.

You've seen my CVS trip  ($0.44 OOP):

And my Albertson's trip ($43.73 OOP):

Today, I ran into Aldi on the way home from the dentist and picked up 3 things and spent $3.71.  Then tonight we went to Target.  I spent $12.38 and saved $7.82.

I didn't take a picture because I'm just far too tired, but the Dollar Spot was ringing up 70 % off (even though all the signs said 50% off!).  I found Pillsbury Easter cookies marked down for $0.63 each and also an adorable little pink metal watering can clearanced for $2.98 and we totally needed a watering can!

All these trips added together equal $60.25 which is far under budget for the week.  Then I remember that on Sunday we grabbed Wendy's on the way home from church to tide us over until our late Easter meal and that was roughly $11.   $71 is right about perfect for my weekly budget, even with a costly fast food trip thrown in and an extra mouth to feed.

Averaged over the 15 weeks so far this year, I've spent $66.00 per week on groceries for my family of 4, and we've been eating much more fresh foods that we used to, so I'm quite pleased with that.

How did you do this week?  Leave a link or a comment below:

Read more...

Weekly Totals

I made a quick trip out to Aldi today with my sister in law.  I did not get a picture, but I bought some bread, produce, and lunch items for the weeks, as well as some ice cream as a treat.   We get some on the weekend as a treat whenever my daughter has a well behaved week at school, and she didn't get in trouble even once this week. =)

All told I spent $27.02 at Aldi today.


That added with the $35.75 I spent at Albertsons on Tuesday brings my weekly spending to just $62.77, well under budget.


How did you do this week?

Read more...

Weekly Totals

I went out to Aldi today to graba  few things we were out of, and actually ran across a couple really good deals while I was there:

I paid $28.02 for all of this!  The tortillas were marked down to $0.89 and $0.99 per pack so I grabbed some for the freezer, and the strawberries that were in the ad as $1.29 were actually $0.99 and they were HUGE and delicious, not small and overripe like the ones I had been finding, so I grabbed 3.

I had planned to hit the sales that ended this week at Kroger and Albertsons.  I had gathered my coupons and  made lists and everything, but I ended up seeing the doctor instead. That's ok, because I might would have ended up going over budget.

This trip together with my CVS & Tom Thumb trips from Monday, plus a nearly frivolous Aldi trip last Saturday for ice cream and supplies that was $19.xx brings my weekly total up to $63.76.   That's under budget for the week, again!  I haven't gotten these into my savings tracker spreadsheet yet to know a yearly update just yet, but I was already under budget for the year so this can only help!

I've been doing a lot of eating from my freezer and using what I had on hand, and not much bargain hunting with coupons this month, so my stocks have dwindled and it's time to pick it up. 

How did your shopping go this week?  Link Up below or leave a comment!

Read more...

Aldi Trips After No Shopping Last Week

I'm trying very hard to keep tabs on my spending each week through out the year, and being away last week has thrown me off.

On Saturday, after we got back, I made a quick run to Aldi to stock back up on fresh foods.  They had some amazing produce prices, and since we were down to just a few apples, I went crazy!  Well, not too crazy, but I did end up spending $41.53, but that included toilet paper and a few snack items.

Apparently between then and today, when I had to return because I was out of milk, I also got amnesia.   I seriously had no recollection of purchasing half the things I did saturday....like raisins....so those things were on my list again today, when I returned and spent another $34.82.

I got more flour and sugar, as well as peanut butter (which, wasn't it just $1.49 last time I bought it???  Now its $2.29???) and I stocked up on some tortillas because I'm going to be making some freezer breakfast burritos with some of those eggs my aunt and uncle brought up.  And you can see that I grabbed 4 boxes of their Herb flavor stuffing.   I couldn't resist.   It is my absolute favorite stuffing, and it's a "seasonal item" which means they only stock it during Easter and Christmas.  I couldn't bear to miss out. ;)

I also came across post St. Patricks clearance, and nabbed some green sugar sprinkles for decorating marked down to just $0.19!

I spent a total of $76.35 spent at Aldi this week, which is *just* over my weekly budget, but I think my lack of spending last week more than makes up for it when I take the yearly average.

Last week, I spent $6.81 at CVS, and then there were a few random expenditures while in New Orleans, including Snow Balls and Beignets...necessities, really!  ;).

This is the 12th week of the year and I've spent $795.08 so far, and that is an average of just $66.26 per week, so I've been staying well under budget!

Plus, I still have $40 of this month's cash left and payday isn't until Tuesday, so I just may hit some of the grocery stores with some coupons and see what I can do.  I haven't really done much coupon shopping AT ALL this month, and my stockpile is dwindling quickly.   I think I may have used a total of 5!  LOL.  But hey, don't we all have months like that?

I'd love to know about any deals you scored this week.  Link them up below or leave a comment.

Read more...

Weekly Shopping Totals

I didn't do much shopping this week, as I've been scurrying around preparing to leave town.

I did go out this morning and do a small bit of shopping.  I stopped by the Dollar Tree and spent $10.66 on some allergy meds and a few plane ride activities for my girls.

Then, I went to Tom Thumb armed with cereal coupons because I was down to my last 3 boxes.  I was hoping to stock up on the $1.99 Honey Bunches of Oats with my $1 coupons, but the fruit blends were not included in the sale.  They were $3.99!  Not. A. Chance.

Since that was $4 I wasn't going to be spending that I had planned to, I opted instead to grab a 10lb. bag of chicken leg quarters that were $0.59/lb.

Here is my sad excuse for a shopping trip:

Spent $7.38 after coupons.  My receipt shows that I saved 55%


These two trips, along with the $25.99 from El Rio Grande from Monday bring my spending for the week up to $44.03.  Not bad, but again, I hardly shopped.

Last week I promised a "for the year" average update, so I've added last weeks shopping and this week's shopping into my savings tracker, and looked and my total spending, and divided it by 10 because this is the 10th week of the year.   My total spent so far has been just $670.67, or $67.07 per week.  That is quite below my budget for $75 per week, and I feel like we've been eating much healthier so I'm very pleased with that!

I'll be going back out over the weekend or on Monday morning for a few necessities for my relatives who will be staying at our house with our animals while we travel, but aside from that, next week should be a very low spending week also, aside from any meals we may need to grab while out and about.


How did your shopping go this week?  Leave a comment or link up a post below:

Read more...

Weekly Shopping Totals...A Day Late

I usually post my weekly shopping totals on Fridays, but I had a busy week, with some dental appointments and family recovering from illness, and so I just didn't get to go shopping at all.  Yesterday we took a ride to the farmer's market, but didn't buy anything.

I actually didn't realize there were so many things we were running out of, but when I used up the last of the eggs, milk, and cat food last night, I knew I'd have to head out to Aldi this morning.  I'm sure I'll be shopping some more this week, so I'll count this as last week's shopping. ;)

We were nearly out of produce, and I'm wanting to begin doing more baking and making convenience foods myself, so I also bought some baking supplies.

I was also either being very lazy, or knew I had so much other stuff to get done, so I didnt even take a nice lovely picture of everything I bought:

 I spent $70.xx on everything, which is about $5 under budget.  I got lots of produce and lunch food items.  I've not had a change to put it in my spreadsheet and find out my weekly average for the year, so I'll update that this coming friday.


How did your shopping go this week?

Read more...

Weekly Shopping Totals + Monthly Totals

I did not do a whole lot of shopping this week.

On Tuesday, I made a last minute trip over to Albertsons for a few items.  When I got there, I encountered several in store signs alerting me that there were typos and misprints in their sales ad, so some of the deals I went for, weren't such good deals after all.

Here's what I got (sale has now ended):

Total Shelf Price:  $28.00
Total Sale Price:   $19.84
Total Spent After Coupons:  $12.45   56% Savings



Today I made two quick trips.  I ran into Tom Thumb for Ken's Dressing:

Total Shelf Price:  $14.76
Total Sale Price:  $6.00  Already 59% Savings!!
Price Paid After Coupons:  $2.00   86% Savings



Then, there were a few items I needed from Aldi (not pictured are a gallon of milk, large tub or margarine, and a pack of American and a pack of Swiss cheese).  As I was grabbing two loaves of white bread (like we usually eat) for $0.89 each, I happened to glance to my right and notice that the wheat bread was marked down to just $0.50/loaf.  So, we're eating healthier bread this week because it was marked down.  I'm also thinking some french toast is in order for the weekend. ;)

Price Paid  $26.91



Total Spent On Groceries This Week:  $41.36.   My husband gets paid either tomorrow or Monday, so this is the end of "february" for me.  Altogether this month, I spent $273.93.  That is $6.07 under budget for the month (though strangely I have more cash left than that....but that must be from those few small stops my husband made).   This is the 8th week of the year, and my weekly average spending with this week is down to just $69.46/week.

I did not purchase meat at all this month because I was using up what had accumulated in my freezer (and I've still got a lot left!).  Instead of those purchase, I was able to stock up on lots of items this month:  oatmeal, deli meat, maxi pads, kids shampoo, juice, canned tomatoes and canned soups, and salad dressing.  Plus, we were able to eat plenty of fresh produce!

After shopping, I came home and put away the few cold items, and then my little one and I went cruising around the neighborhood hunting garage sales.  We stopped at 4 this morning, and the first three had absolutely nothing we needed.  I'm glad we kept searching, because at the last one we stopped at, I found a lot of items in my older daughters size (and the great thing about having a younger daughter is that they will all eventually fit her, too!).

Here's what I got for $6 at the garage sale:

One heavy winter coat, that should still fit next winter--$1
2 pairs of shoes  $1 each  (I noticed this morning that the toe rubber on her brand new shoes was detaching.  $9 on clearance at Target, and barely lasted 2 months...=(....)
A skirt, and a shirt  $0.50 each (skirt should fit well now, shirt is a size large)
brand new 2 pack of white tights   $1
8 piece bug magnifier kit with all the pieces.  $1.


How did your shopping go this week?  Link up below or leave a comment:

Read more...

Three Stores And Lots Of Cheap Produce! + Weekly Totals

After pretty much not shopping last week, we were almost completely out of fresh foods, and there were a ton of great sales I wanted to take advantage of this week.  After we got my oldest on the school bus this morning, I finished making my list, and off we went!

Our first stop was El Rio Grande  (see this week's deals).  I needed some more tomato sauce, but in order to get the 8 for $1 deal, I knew I needed to spend $10.  I thought I was going to have to add something to my transaction to get there since I decided against the pineapple (very small), but I just squeaked by.  Here's what I got (and I think those are the biggest cucumbers I've ever seen in my life!):

Total spent:   $11.88


Then we went to Aldi.  I had a few needs on my list, and I also wanted to get some of the produce they had advertised (see this weeks deals).  There were a few splurge items also, like the crab rangoons, and the soft drinks my husband asked for, so I spent a little more than I was expecting, and I also forgot to get the dog food, so I should have spent even more.  Oh well, they've got enough for a few more days.

Here's everything I came home with:

Total Spent:  $43.74


Then, while I was out I ran by the 99CentsOnly store in search of salad and trimmings.  I found plenty, plus a few awesome surprises.

Total Spent:  $17.54.

The oatmeal, lemonade, and red peppers were $0.50 each.  The romaine lettuce is a 3 pack, and it's Organic.  I found lunchmeat (that I put straight into the freezer--if I'd have known that I could have not bought the pack at Aldi....), Cascadian Farms granola bars, which was awesome because we just ate the last of our Nature Valley bars and I haven't found another sale yet, and a frozen Sarah Lee chocolate cream pie. =)  I also found some more mini packs of raisins that I love for lunch boxes and travel snacks.


Altogether today, I spent $73.16.  I don't think that's too bad after a week of virtually no shopping, and I got some great prices on healthy foods!

I don't intend to do any more shopping tomorrow, so I will go ahead and let this be my weekly total post.

If we add in the $6.03 I spent yesterday at Kroger....

...that brings the total up to $79.19 for the week.  That is slightly over my weekly budget of $75/week,  but everythinn I've spent this year averaged over the course of 7 weeks has been $73.08/week, so I'm still keeping within my budget, and I've been able to do some stockpile, and get lots of healthy fresh foods, so I'm pleased! =)


How has your shopping gone this week?  Link up or comment below:

Read more...

Weekly Totals--Spent $32.87

I almost forgot to type up my weekly shopping totals today because I haven't been back to the store since Monday!  I hit three stores on that trip, and you can see all the details here.

Here are the pictures:

$0.00 at CVS + $6.00 in ECBs.

$19.47 at Aldi.

$8.00 at 99CentsOnly Store

I did no more shopping, but my husband did stop by Pizza Patron and grab us a late night snack last night, so add $5.40 to my $27.47 and we spent just $32.87.

Not bad at all, considering we got paid early this month, so our money must stretch 5 extra days.  My menu plans and my freezer meals have helped out alot with this!

So far this month, I've spent $150.64 on items that retail for $300.10.  That's a savings rate of 51%.

This is the 6th week of the year, and this low spending week brings my weekly average for the year down to just $72.07 per week.  My weekly goal is $75 per week, so I am FINALLY under budget!  I've had some big spending weeks lately, but I've been able to stock up on lots of things that will save me money later on!

How did your shopping this week go?  Link up or leave a comment below!

Read more...

Weekly Totals--Saved 59%

I did not do any more shopping this week since Tuesday.  I did have my husband stop and pick up some chips at Aldi to go along with the $0.25 dip I had gotten at Kroger.

Here's a recap of all the shopping I did this week (click links for details):

$30.85 at Aldi

$0.21 at Tom Thumb

$16.80 At Albertsons  (70% Savings)

$32.96 at Kroger  (65% Savings)

All of that, plus my husband's $2.58 at Aldi on two bags of chips comes to $83.40 OOP for $201 worth of groceries!  That's an average savings of 59% (even factoring 0% savings at Aldi).

I was a bit over budget for the week, but since I was well under budget last week, I'm still under budget for the month (though still slightly over my weekly budget when I average for the year.)   My spending has been a bit up for the year, but I'm slowly building my stockpile back up, and that will save me money in the long run.


How did your shopping go this week?  Leave a link or a comment below:

Read more...

Fiesta Trip And Weekly Totals

I told you last week that I was going to not shop this week (waiting for what our normal payday would be to get back in the groove).  Well, I forgot some very important things that we were running out of..namely cat food, and toilet paper.  I sent my husband into Aldi on his way home from work on Tuesday  (there's one two blocks from his school), and he grabbed those essentials and a few other items-bread, milk.  He spent $22.98 on that trip.

I did not do anymore shopping this week until Thursday.  I went to have much with my daughter at school, and had to drive right past Fiesta, so I thought I would go in a grab a few of their sale items while I was out  (some were Thursday/Friday only).

Here's what I got at Fiesta:

3 bacon @  3 for $5
3 avocados @ $0.39 each
3 lettuce @ $0.69 each
bread @ $0.99
6 Big Cup Noodles @ 3 for $1   (Used 2 $1/3 from 11/6 SS made all 6 FREE)

Total OOP after coupons:  $9.23.  (And yes, you read that right...I used a total of 2 coupons all week!)

I even adjusted our menu to have a delicious taco salad with some freezer taco meat and some of that lettuce instead of the meat loaf I had planned!


Total spent for the week was $34.37 (including a Taco Bell stop).  Technically that is well under budget, but this month's money has to stretch an extra 5 days.

So far this year I've spent $316.12 on $464.46 worth (33% savings...and that's factoring in 0% savings at Aldi, El Rio Grande, and the like).  That's an average of $79.03 per week for the 4 weeks so far.  I try to keep it to about $75, so I'm still a little bit over budget.

During the month of February, I am going to challenge myself to eat out of the freezer/pantry as much as possible, and in the meantime I will be able to refocus some of my grocery budget to rebuilding a modest stockpile of items at greatly reduced prices.   (I usually try to allot about $15-$20 of my weekly budget for this purpose, so I'm hoping to still be able to come in way under budget for the month.)


If you have a shopping trip posted this week, feel free to link up below or tell us about it in a comment!

Also, stop by and enter to win a $25 Restaurant.com GC (ends tonight!) and a Rock N Learn DVD of your choice!

Read more...

Tom Thumb Trip 1/20 + Weekly Totals

This week, Tom Thumb is having a great sale, so I  made sure I went!  I've decided that I should shop more often because my 2 year old who is an absolute terror at home was an absolute angel in the store.  She sat still, and quiet, in the seat of the basket the whole time I shopped, and went through self check-out with my coupons, half of which (the ones with the new style barcodes) would not scan, so I had to wait for the very nice lady to come and punch them in for me.

I had a great trip overall.  I bought a lot of stuff, but it was a lot of stuff we were out of.  Here's everything I got  (click to enlarge):

Total Shelf Price:    $112.29
Total Sale Price:     $64.71  Already 42% Savings just by shopping sale prices!

Price Paid After Coupons:      $42.62  62% Savings








This was the second shopping trip I did this week:

Click for details

My total spent this week was $85.91, which is a bit over my budget for the week.  

For the first three weeks of the year I've spent $281.75  (a little more than I thought but I found some more receipts....)  That's an average of $93.92 per week, and already $1.75 over the monthly budget we had been using last time I tracked our purchases.

My intended goal is $75 per week, or $280 per month.  Since we've got back to using our debit cards instead of cash, you can see we've been struggling to stick to that (and I never knew it because I had slacked on tracking our spending/saving!)

So, that being said, I'm really glad I'm back to keeping track of it now!  It's good to have a wake up call! ;)  Also, today is payday for my husband, and a new budget is going to be made.  Cash is going to be taken out of the bank (just as my lovely guest poster suggested!) and next week will begin our "February"  (good thing, since all of January's money is apparently spent!)  

We did have an extra week in January to make our money stretch (but I didn't track that week EEK!), and will also have an extra week in February to do the same (Christmas throws off the teacher's monthly check schedule every year, so this is a hard time to begin tracking these things.)  Late February will get us back on our normal monthly payment cycle, and hopefully our spending will be back in check from using cash, too!

I am also going to challenge myself to go the next week without any spending so that will shave those "extra" days off of the month.  I have plenty of food on hand in the freezer and pantry now, so we should only need milk and bread at most.

How did your shopping go this week?  Link up your post, or leave a comment!

Read more...

Aldi Trip 1/12 + Weekly Totals

Yesterday, my mother wanted to hit Aldi before she left town.  Our prices are so low that she always brings some items back to Louisiana with her when she visits.  I needed to do quite a bit of shopping myself, so here is what I came home with:

As you can see, I stocked up on cheap apples and clementines!

Altogether, I spent $55.25 on all of this stuff.

I did quite a bit of shopping this week.  I knew I would because my mom is not one to sit around the house when she visits.  Wednesday, we went to both El Rio Grande, and Fiesta.  I did not post these trips, but I spent $3.05 at El Rio Grande, and $18.99 at Fiesta.

I also had the Albertsons trip on Tuesday, where I spent $15.04.

Altogether this week, I spent $92.33 on $125.85 worth.  This is a little bit over my weekly budget that I aim for.  

I've spent $174.78 since the beginning of the year for $253.03 worth, or an average of $87.39 spent each week.  (I'm tracking my spending with this.)

In my savings tracker, it says that I've saved an average of 32% so far this year on my grocery spending, but that is factoring in a 0% savings at Aldi, and El Rio Grande, which is a bit misleading, since I shop there because of their low prices.  I've only made 2 shopping this so far this year using coupons.

I'm very glad to be tracking my spending once again, because I can see that I am spending more than I intended to and know I need to be more careful about that.

When my husband gets his next paycheck (a little bit early this month once again...Christmas throws the paycheck schedule all off since they pay them early) we are going to be reworking our budget and plan to get back to using a cash only system for our grocery purchases.  I know that will definitely make sure we stay within our budget!

How did you do this week?  Link up or leave a comment!

Read more...