We started out the month of October with a pretty standard grocery haul for our family. I plan my grocery shopping a little different than many people. I don’t shop according to specific recipes I plan to cook in a month. We cook our food from scratch using standard ingredients that we keep in our fridge, freezer, and pantry. While there are some things we get every month without fail (like milk), there are other ingredients we buy every other month or every few months.
Before I go grocery shopping I do a quick inventory of what we have and what we’ll need in the next month. That’s how I make my grocery list. If there are new recipes I want to try or freezer meals I’m planning to make that call for ingredients that aren’t our normal pantry staples, we add those ingredients to the shopping list.
As usual, you can either watch or listen to me go through everything we bought in the quick video below, or you can just check out the items and complete price list below the video.
Winco Grocery Haul– $94
- Frozen Berries (32 oz) $3.78 x 2 = $7.56
- Frozen Peas (32 oz) $2.24
- Frozen Broccoli (32 oz ) $2.24 x 2 $4.48
- Potatoes (10 lb) $2.78
- Flour Tortillas $2.79 x 3 = $8.37
- Onion powder $4.88/lb x .2 lb = $.98
- Oregano $4.70/lb x .14 = $.66
- Onion powder $4.35 x .11 = $.48
- Bell Peppers $.58 x 4 = $2.32
- Cream of Wheat $1.45/lb x 5.98 lb = $8.67
- Raisins $2.60/lb x 2.3 lb = $5.98
- Roma Tomatoes $.98/lb x 4.16 = $4.08
- Navel Oranges (3 lb) $2.98
- Pan spray $1.78
- Canola Oil (128 oz) $6.68
- Whole Wheat Bread $1.78 x 15 = $26.70
- Onions (3 lb) $.98
- Pumpkin $.28/lb x 11 lb = $3.10
- Brownie mix $.98 x 6 = $5.88
- Pudding Snack Packs $.88 x 2 = $1.76
Sam’s Club Grocery Haul– $156
- String Cheese (48 ct) $10.48
- Sour Cream (3 lb) $4.42
- Cottage Cheese (3 lb) $4.98
- Milk $2.29 x 4 = $9.16
- Butter (4 lb) $10.89 x 2 = $21.78
- Granola Bars (48 ct) $10.62
- Bananas (3 lb) $1.23 x 3 = $4.92
- Apples (5 lb) $4.15 x 2 = $8.30
- Spinach (16 oz) $3.28
- Spring Mix (16 oz) $3.28
- White Flour (25 lb) $6.48 x 2 = $12.96
- White Sugar (10 lb) $4.76 x 4 = $19.04
- Elbow Macaroni (6 lb) $4.98
- Peanut Butter (2 x 40 oz) $6.98 x 3 = $20.94
- Strawberry Jam (2 x 36 oz) $5.48 x 3 = $16.44
We spent about $250, which is on the low side for a monthly grocery shopping trip. The other $150-$200 of our grocery budget will be spent later in the month for quick (random) trips to Grocery Outlet to find great deals, trips to grab milk and produce, and maybe grab pizza sometime.
You’ll probably notice there isn’t any meat in this haul. We do eat meat, just not tons of it. We have plenty of meat in the freezer right now, so I didn’t get any on this shopping trip.
If you have any questions about how we handle grocery shopping or our food budget, I am happy to answer them in the comments or even make a video on the topic. Just let me know in the comments.
I will apologize for this dumb question in advance but I am curious if you have “food envy” meaning do you look forward to a day when your budget could increase (after your awesome goal is met) or do you enjoy the challenge and expect to always keep the food budget tight?
Hi Nicole! Not a dumb question at all! I’ve been contemplating it for a couple of days now, trying to think of how our grocery shopping would differ if money wasn’t a factor at all. I don’t think it would be too different. We’ve shopped/cooked/eaten like this pretty much our whole marriage (14+ years), even in our pre-debt/debt pay-off years, so it’s just normal for us. We don’t feel deprived at all. Honestly, if our grocery budget was higher I’m afraid we would but more junk food or unhealthy stuff.
Our grocery budget HAS increased over the years as our family has grown and as our location and situation have changed. When we lived in the Midwest for law school and only had 2-3 small children we spent $200/month. When we moved to California we increased to $300/month as groceries were more expensive here (no Aldi). We kept that budget throughout our debt payoff. After paying off debt we increased to $400 per month, though some months it’s $450 (or more).
I can definitely see how it would feel like more of a sacrifice to cut your grocery budget down after spending a lot, but since we’ve never spent a lot (and in fact we’re spending more now than we ever have), we don’t feel overly restricted, but I also do enjoy a good challenge.
I should survey my whole family and see what everyone else thinks. I’m guessing they would say they would like me to buy more snacks and treats. 😉
I hope that answers your question! Thanks for not being afraid to ask what you considered a “dumb” question. 🙂 I’m sure you aren’t the only one who was wondering!
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. It’s inspiring to me how a peace you are with your spending.
Are there any months when you do go over the grocery budget? We also do a big grocery trip at the beginning of the month, but then the little trips start adding up.
We do go over some months! 😉 Especially at the beginning of this pregnancy, when we bought more convenience/frozen foods than we normally do. You’re right though, it’s those mid-month trips that can really add up!!
What about Halloween candy?
I’ve got a Halloween party coming up at the end of this month and a birthday party coming up in December so I stocked up on candy this week, since the local discount grocers have it on sale.
Good call. 🙂 We will need to grab some Halloween candy for an upcoming trunk-or-treat activity at church. We don’t get trick-or-treaters at our house at all.