This Week's Shopping Haul

 Well, I haven't done one of these posts in a while, so I thought I'd share what I bought for groceries this week.

When it comes to blogging of late, I've been busy.  The first week of August I had a solid week of appointments and then the next week started with getting the septic pumped on Monday, which I then got a report saying that our leech field is saturated, so our leech field may be starting to die.  Since it is probably the original leech field, this isn't super surprising, I guess, but it is still depressing as that's a lot of work and expense to get that replaced, which we'll probably have to do next summer (luckily it is just saturated and not super saturated as that is when you are getting warned you are going to start having major problems and an out and out failure of the field.  So, yeah, I spent a few days just trying to figure out how to cut down on water usage around here and things to try and extend the life of the leech field.  I haven't gotten very far as laundry is my main source of water consumption and I can't stop doing laundry.  We do a lot more laundry than a normal family due to having to do more bedding and clothing on a normal basis.  So, that was a source of stress for sure and probably will be for some time for me.

We were supposed to be getting some advance payments from an earned income tax credit that the government came up with every month from July to December  We are actually pretty far below the income levels they chose for a single person, let alone a family of four, so we should have been fine, but then our account with the IRS is suddenly "pending", which means we are not getting any help from them until they figure out whatever it is they need to figure out.  With how the hands of government move (i.e. slower than molasses) I might not be seeing the extra money they promised until I file for taxes next year.  I guess we'll see what happens as the rest of the year progresses as there is nothing I can do about the current state of things.  I was hoping that we would get the extra money as that would have helped to combat rising costs of everything, but so far that doesn't look good. 

So, I spent this last week redoing our budget, again, so that the extra money we were supposed to be getting from the IRS isn't in the budget any longer.  Add in homeschool starting up in a big way and I've not only been busy, but REALLY busy!

But, yeah, saving money the last three weeks and Frugal Friday posts to show for it?  I had a few things, like using a 10.00 off coupon for when we got our septic pumped and things, but the list is actually really short for the amount of time that has passed, sadly.  I'll try to maybe do a quick post at some point next week to bring up the frugal adventures to date, but for the moment, I thought I'd just share what I got for groceries this week as I haven't done that in a long time. 

Now, technically this is for the next two weeks of groceries.  I have an Amazon order on top of what I bought that will get charged next week and be in by the end of the month, but I made sure we just got a thing of rolls last week and that was it (we wanted nice hard rolls for sandwiches for a few nights, so I just had my husband pick some on his way home from work as I was busy and very tired), so I am taking the money I would have spent on groceries last week and putting it on my Amazon order at the end of the month instead.

I also had my husband pick up a 50lb bag of bread flour on his way home from work one night.  That came out to about 29.96 (there was a snack included in that price somewhere my husband told me, but since I don't have the receipt, only the amount that cleared the bank, I'm going with that).

Right, so let's break it down by the numbers:

1.  Son food (not shown as it was already eaten and/or put away):  60.58 

2.  Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips:  5.29

This is a large bag not cross contaminated with peanuts, so I'm okay buying them for household use.  

3.  5 Dozen eggs:  7.05

I plan to make ice cream, as it is really expensive for safe brands now, and also eggs are a cheap source of additional protein).  I had a personalized price of 1.41 per dozen.  They are normally like 1.89 a dozen (or more now...I forgot to check).

4.  Lucerne American Cheese slices:  9.49

For cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches and other things.  The big container was the best value and lasts us for a long while

5.  Lucerne whole milk, 2 gallons:  7.98

6.  Land O' Lakes spreadable butter:  4.99

I normally get the largest container of this as it will last us a month (normally between like 6.50 to 7.00 as I normally get a personalized price on it).  Getting the spreadable butter really saves on stick butter consumption, so I have been super happy buying it.  I went with a slightly smaller size this time as it was on sale and we still have about 1/2 of a container of spreadable butter left in the fridge.

7.  Tilamook sour cream, 2:  4.98 

I know I'm going to get questions about why I'm not buying the store brand items here.  I have found that the Lucerne brand of sour cream, although cheaper, as well as their plain yogurt, go bad on me super duper fast.  No joke.  I had yogurt go bad on me!  So I'm avoiding that brand of yogurt and sour cream and going with brands I know will last for a good long time before going bad.  What is the point of saving money on an item if it goes bad before you can use it?

8.  Mountain High Plain Yogurt, 32 oz:  3.49

9.  Rockit Apples, 2:  17.98.

At 2.99 lb normal price (about), these are a bit more expensive than buying say red delicious apples or something if I wait for a sale, but my husband really likes this brand of apple and the smaller apples actually means we get more servings from a container of apples than we would if I bought bigger apples out of the by the pound bins.  I've been washing them and then putting them in a bowl on the tables so people can just grab an apple and go and it has been working really well to get the daughter to snack healthier.

Total trip pre-tax:  121.83

Sales Tax:  3.65

Total spent at Carrs:  125.48

Then, of course, we spent 29.96 at Three Bears buying bread flour.  

Total between the two stores:  151.79

I used to have a 50.00 per week grocery budget.  I've had to raise it to 75.00 per week the last bit and I'm expecting it to get higher still, but I guess we shall see.  

Oh and here is a good tip for those on a tight budget that I've been doing.  Since Covid the majority of stores let you order online and then pick up at the store right?  Well, if you are going to go into the store, but want to get an idea of what you are going to spend, use the online app, look up your items one at a time and then write down the price it lists and then you can add it all up (complete with tax) before you go.  I was only 2.00 off this week as the online app listed Cheetos and Doritos by 1.00 cheaper than in store (I think it was probably an online only deal that they were running).

So, there you go folks.  My grocery shopping this week.  If anyone is interested I can share my Amazon haul when I get it in, so you can see what some of the deals I'm buying on Amazon.  Let me know.

How is your budget doing?  Mine is straining and I know I'm not alone.