First, I want to say that yup I ended up going over my grocery budget last week by 10.00. I took the last bit of money out of my budget for my daughter's birthday to help cut the overage a bit and ended up being about 6.00 over budget. Honestly, I am okay with that.
I'm going to be washing my son's clothes by themselves when I do the wash (with his bedding) and then I'll wash everyone else's laundry in the home made laundry soap to keep the costs down, for one, and because the rest of us do just fine on the home made laundry soap (for two).
With my son's severe eczema, one thing I learned to do a long time ago, though, is to make a monthly budget just for that. So, the above actually came out of the "son's needs budget" as I like to call it. I budget 50.00 per month for things he might need. The Zyrtec he has to take every day, as well as liquid Benadryl and such come out of this budget too. If I don't use the entire 50.00 I roll over the rest of the money onto another bill, like the bills we're trying to pay off right now, or I use part of it for my husband's weekly cash allowance. This month, I'm thinking, the entire 50.00 is shot once I buy my son Zyrtec toward the end of the month. I included the stain remover in his budget this month as well because he's the one who created the numerous oil stains on my tablecloths that I am trying to remove, so I got kind of snarky and included means to try and remove some of them in his budget *laugh*.
The Balmex was one of those "new" products that I ran into and I thought maybe it would help his eczema. I was one of those parents before my son came along that believed Balmex could fix pretty much everything, so I was impressed when I ran into this new product when I was walking by the isle. I was hoping it might help my son with the eczema that he has broke out on the inside of his thighs and maybe sooth his cracking feet, so I bought a tub (the 10.99 price tag made me flinch, but trust me...I've paid a lot more for new products to try on him). Overall? I'm really happy with this stuff so far. It's really thick, but once smeared into the skin it really does seem to reduce the irritation and itching, which is helping to stop my son's eczema from cycling so fast. Any improvement when it comes to eczema, is a good thing.
I'm sharing this part of the grocery shopping really as more of a "head's up" to anyone who suffers with eczema or knows someone who does that maybe the Balmex stuff might be worth a shot to get some relief. And also to prove, once again, that my son is platinum plated *laugh*.
So, anyway, onto the groceries that actually fit into my normal grocery budget!
This could be called the, "Hey look, Erika doesn't just buy processed crap" edition. I did the math and figured out that I could finally fit some fresh things into the budget this week. So, I went to the store to get some Cheetos (on sale B1G1 at Carrs ending today), some Chip's Ahoy cookies (on sale 2.50) and other things (like the flavored water for school lunches).
I did end up going 8.00 over budget because I found a bunch of beef on clearance for 50% off. I knew that I could do a lot with the ribs, the short ribs and the thin cut steaks, so I bought them knowing full well I was going to go over my weekly budget. And I was okay with that. I have enough of my son's food to last till past pay day and milk might get tight, but worse comes to worse I can raid my cash cushion to get us through for the week for milk (as I don't want to spend any MORE on groceries this week out of the checking account), so I'm feeling pretty good overall.
Honestly, there comes a point when you cut your grocery budget by 2/3 when you're going to have to go a bit over from time to time to get things that are more expensive, like meat or produce (which is more gold plated than it was the last time I bought it *sigh*). I figured on this ahead of time, so I'm not beating myself up for going over. I didn't go over by 100.00 or something (which would have equaled out to my normal weekly grocery budget...weird thinking about that), so I'm just not worrying about it too much.
Some highlights of my trip.
I got Beef ribs for 3.74 per container on the 50% off. I got three thin cut steaks for 5.45.
The biggest find this week was two packages of Valentine's (32 Valentine's per package each!) for 1.39 each on Valentine's Day clearance. These will be put into the holiday reserve things for Valentine's next year. And no, I don't care if my daughter has outgrown My Little Pony by then. She's stuck with them ;).
I also got produce, which I really did need to help my canned good stretch as well as to just introduce some more variety to our diet. I tend not to buy russet potatoes as I don't really have a good spot to store them to stop them sprouting before I use them, but I think I might have solved that problem (hopefully), but more on that odd solution on Friday. So, I got some potatoes, a rutabaga (I like to keep them around for stews, casseroles, roasted veggies or other uses), an onion, some lettuce, a couple of apples and some bananas. I knew that wasn't going to be cheap, so I figured this was a good week to invest in produce as I didn't have a lot to buy this week since I ended up getting the majority of the soda we would need and a couple of gallons of milk late last week.
I still have a bunch of oranges in the fridge as well as some apples, so when I got a couple of apples I knew I was just supplementing my stores and not actually replacing them. I found that oranges and apples will last months in the fridge, so it's nice to have a good store of them around.
Not shown is the free chocolate bar I got from Fred Meyer (yup, I only got that one thing there today). I put that in the pantry out of sight of my son as it's not safe for him to eat (I wanted to do that before I forgot).
Oh and my biggest reveal of this week? We are 100% officially potty trained! My son finally lost the nighttime diapers over a week ago and has been doing great without them. You can not believe how thrilled this makes me :). This will allow me to lower by monthly grocery budget, once it goes back up, by 50.00 (mind you with inflation driving prices up that might be a bit off). No matter what it's definitely a good thing!
So, all totaled I spent 58.61 on groceries this week.
A couple of people in the store, my cashier being one of them, couldn't believe my total and everything I got for that much money without a single coupon to help (well, except the reduced stickers). The guy behind me even asked me how I did that and I smiled at him and said, "By watching things carefully. Very carefully." And it was the absolute truth.
I have really bad eczema. I put coconut oil, olive oil, Jojoba oil, and oatmeal in a blender. Then I put a few drops of tea tree in it. Put it on several times a day. Does not burn like over the counter or prescription cream.
ReplyDeleteI used to make an eczema cream with calendula, comfrey, plantain and St. John's wort oil with some beeswax. It worked for a little bit. Coconut oil and oatmeal don't work as he has skin sensitivities to both, unfortunately. Some products he can tolerate the coconut oil derivatives in and some he can't.
DeleteBut, thank you for passing that along. Hopefully it'll help someone out there :).
You do amazingly well on your grocery budget. Especially for a family of 4. I didn't have kids that required special items when they were young but having 2 boys I found out how much they could eat when they hit the teens. Rice and beans became a weekly staple to fill the gaps. I used to laugh that I never had left overs as they went in the refrig and magically disappeared before morning. lol. Now they are 35 and 37 and the youngest is a Chef. I love going to his house 3-4 times a year (in another state) and having him feed me. :) I imagine groceries are higher where you live so keep up the good work. I teach couponing classes around here and it always amazes me how some people swear they can't go to more than one store (usually the most expensive one) or even look at an ad or clearance area. Being careful and keeping our eyes open does pay off.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
I told my husband he'd better get used to hash, stews and the like here as they are the best way to stretch the grocery budget. He grudgingly agreed *laugh*.
DeleteMy daughter is SLOWLY expanding her diet (she definitely has some sensory issues with food) and my son even more slowly, but we're getting there slowly but surely. I figure one day my family will finally eat things like beans and rice willingly if I keep working at it ;).
I've taught a few coupon classes in my time. And you're right, people are always amazed that you can save money by doing things like hitting the clearance racks or just comparison shopping. It's like opening a new universe of opportunity for them when they finally realize that using coupons and things can pay off in big ways if you keep your eyes open.
DeleteLook at all the groceries you bought this week! I'm sure you were just thrilled to find those packs of beef on sale. You were even able to get some fresh produce to go with it. That's some awesome shopping skills, Erika!!!
ReplyDeleteI found a really good deal on some cold cuts this week. I found sub packs, with three different meats for making subs, on sale for $1.99/pack as they had a short expiration date (10 days after the day we found them). These are normally over $3/pack (often closer to $4), so I was thrilled to find them at this amazing price. I bought 2 packages for my husband, who loves meat sandwiches for lunches and snacks. I put one in the fridge to use right away and one in the freezer to use later.
Wow, I envy that deal! I keep hoping I'll run into cold cuts cheap, but so far no luck in that area. My husband was just thrilled to have the liverwurst for sandwiches this week as it was different from the ham he's been eating *laugh*.
DeleteDo you think the Balmer is better than aquaphor? Does it stain his clothes? I'm about out of aquaphor so wondering if I should look for the Balmer instead. My poor little man's though and tummy are all scratched up and scabbed from at night itching. He wipes it off as fast as I can get it on, so it's almost a waste really. Grateful his cute face is spared at least!!
ReplyDeleteI tried Aquaphor and it did 100% nothing for my son. I actually found Vaseline worked better and was WAY cheaper. And it'll come out in the wash (if he gets into the container and spreads it I have to wash on hot, but it still comes out).
DeleteThe Balmex, so far, hasn't stained anything *knock on wood*. It is the consistency of a really thick diaper rash ointment, though, so it does go on thick.
I think it's awesome that you were able to replenish your meat and get some produce this week. The truth is, you aren't going to be able to eat out of your freezer forever without putting some meat back in there, which you already know, so I'll bet it feels good to get beef back in there.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing well joining in on your challenge of $50/week. I, also, had to do some tweaking this week. We have been using so many garbage bags with the packing and sorting I'm doing, and were out of all 3 sizes of Ziplocks. So, we decided we did not eat either of those, and bought Costco packages of each, and did not count it in the $50. In fact, that was $50 all by itself, pretty much. 2 weeks ago, I did not spend the $50, so this past Thursday, I got $100 worth of things. I chose to buy them at Costco because I was in a smoking hurry. Also, I could get huge bags of romaine, potatoes, and other things so now I have lots left over. I also needed to buy food for 4H cooking, and had 4H money for that, which I bought the rest of at Safeway (both stores in 1-1/2 hours while the younger 2 were in dance class--whew--a small miracle in itself!) So far this week, I've spent about $16 at Fred Meyers. I'm not sure if I need anything else this week or not. We had the cousins over and went through a lot of milk, so might need to do that. Any money left, I will roll over to next week again. That worked well for me.
Nice! Yeah, I'm dreading running out of things like cheese and garbage bags (which are coming up slowly but surely) as those are going to eat a good portion of the grocery budget for a week. But, if I plan carefully I'm pretty sure I can do it. I buy the big boxes of garbage bags at our local bulk store (that sells Costco products) too as it's just the best value for my money.
DeleteI keep hoping to have a slim week where I won't need anything, but with my son growing, again, and such I just seem to always use up the 50.00 buying him food to eat. Bright side, though, is by sending him to school with pasta and rice and such I have cut down on the amount of processed things I have to buy. It's getting better, slowly but surely and it's allowing me to tighten the budget that much more.
Erika, can your son use the generic of Zyrtec?
ReplyDeleteHe does *laugh*. I get him the generic brand at Walgreens (Wal-Zyr I believe the name is) as it's dye free and is the only flavor he'll tolerate (he still can't do pills, so we're on liquid). But, at 2 teaspoons a day on the Zyrtec combined with a teaspoon at a time of Benadryl (as needed) it goes quickly. At least by upping the Zyrtec it does seem to be helping his skin a bit...the hives aren't all over him anymore, thank goodness.
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your son's skin problems. I hope that you can get that under control. I hate when I have rashes or am uncomfortable with very dry skin and always feel so sorry for little children who have to deal with that issue. It sounds like you have tried everything, but I thought I'd share what a family did at a daycare I worked for a while ago. Their daughter had TERRIBLE eczema and they used a combination of cetaphil and vaseline. Target has an Up & Up version of cetaphil, which saves a little on the cost. Do you think his skin issues might be disrupting his sleep? I'll be sending positive thoughts your way so that hopefully you get some rest and he gets some relief!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on shopping the sales, by the way. Those are awesome prices for beef!
Oh his skin issues have definitely been disrupting his sleep. To a point where before I got the go-ahead from his allergist to up his Zyrtec I was having to give him a dose of Benadryl in the middle of the night just so the poor thing could doze off for a few hours before he'd wake up itching again.
DeleteHe's had terrible eczema from the day he was born pretty much. The poor thing used to look sun burned all the time just from the head to toe eczema he'd have going on.
I have tried Cetaphil on him and he reacts terribly to it. It acts so irritating on his skin it's like you poured acid on the poor guy. You can see the skin just get red and puffy immediately. Not sure what is up with that, but he's always reacted that way. We use CeraVe which he reacts better to, but still it kind of stings you can tell. That's the nice part about the Balmex and Vaseline combo on him right now is that it seems to sooth his skin, but not irritate it, which he definitely needs right now.
:( I figured you had probably tried the Cetaphil, but just wanted to throw it out there in case. I bet most things sting a little if he's got really raw skin, poor guy. I'm glad the Balmex and vaseline are working now -- hopefully he'll get a little relief.
DeleteI appreciate the suggestions. I never know when I might run into something I haven't tried yet :).
DeleteHis skin is flaking right now, so now it's a matter of keeping that under control so he doesn't itch through the skin till it bleeds, which creates a scab, which itches, lather rinse repeat.
Here's hoping between the Zyrtec, some Benadryl occasionally and the Balmex (and steroid cream if needed) that we can get this current flare under control quickly.
Did you try any prescription lotion for eczema ? My son had very mild eczema when he was a baby and came back few years later, and we had a prescription lotion witch helped a lot, I only used few days and the eczema was gone. The name of medication is Triamcinolone Acetonide. Its a steroid medication witch I know cannot be used all the time but it helped
ReplyDeleteWe had that years ago. They've upped his steroid creams since then. At one point his dermatologist had him on a steroid cream, a special body wash and a steroid mousse for his scalp (I was so glad his insurance paid for that one. Price without insurance? 1200.00!). I use steroid creams VERY sparingly as it just doesn't seem to help him much and I don't see the point of upping his risk of things like cancer by slathering the stuff on him since it doesn't do much anyway.
DeleteBasically, all the specialists tell us is that his main problem is probably environmental allergies. Moving won't help as he'll just develop new allergies in said new environment due to being so sensitive and all we can do is make him as comfortable as possible, use what we find works best for him to control the itching and PRAY he grows out of it. He is slowly getting better in that he goes through periods where his skin doesn't crack now from time to time and his skin has been nearly clear for a few months at a time the last three years or so, so I keep hoping we'll see some light at the end of the eczema tunnel someday.
I am sorry you have to go thru all this probes with eczema, hopefully your son will outgrow this at one point.
ReplyDeleteI do love your blog, I do feel we have the same financial struggles, we to are having our own business, and the last year we been having a hard time keeping everything together.
Erika, if the Balmex works well for your son ( I hope it will, poor little guy! Eczema is so uncomfortable :-(), there's currently a printable $2 off coupon, good until May 19, on the Coupons.com site. At least that's a bit off the cost. Hope he's feeling better soon!--
ReplyDeleteSharon
Thank you! I'll look into it!
DeleteI commented on Mavis's blog about what worked for me so I won't rehash it all here, but for your readers this is what I swear by and I did all the prescriptions and steroids in college. This is way cheaper and even if it didn't work for your son everyone else in the family could benefit from using it in Alaska's harsh weather.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Weleda-Skin-Food-2-5-Ounce/dp/B000ORV3NC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455886771&sr=8-1&keywords=weleda+skin+food
Ah man! I was all excited about this as it seemed perfect to try and then I saw lanolin (son is sensitive to it) and peanut oil (type A allergy to peanuts). I'll write the company, though, as maybe they can recommend something else that's close.
DeleteThank you for pointing that out, though. I had never seen that skin cream before!
Aw man ! I've recommended to so many people that had success with skin ailments. I pray something will click soon and you all will find some relief! I hope Weleda can pass along some recommendations too! Seems like you're getting a lot of suggestions, don't lose faith !!!!
DeleteMy daughter had regular eczema outbreaks when she was younger. My pediatrician recommended giving her flax seed oil to help prevent the outbreaks. I used the liquid version and added it to her cereal or other soft foods to hide it. Once we started using the flax seed oil regularly, her outbreaks were reduced to 3-4 per year (a definite improvement for her). It's so hard to see our kiddos suffering from the outbreaks. I don't know if this will work for your son, but it might be worth discussing with your ped.
ReplyDeleteWe tried it and chia seed. It was one of those foods we could actually get him to eat as it resembled dirt in texture (he has PICA, so he eats dirt if given a chance when his sensory issues are high). It didn't help him as much as we were hoping it would and we kept it up for about a year before we gave up on it. Thanks for the suggestion, though and I'm so glad it helped your little one!
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