I Did It!!

Woo-Hoo, we stayed just within our grocery budget this month (unless we go to the store between now and midnight, which I don't see happening).  We ended the month with just over $6 to spare. 

I needed to buy milk, but I decided to wait because we did not have to have milk and I was afraid that if I went to the store to buy milk, I would also pick up another item or two and go over budget.  Those are the shopping trips that seem to cause me the most trouble: I go to the store with just one or two items on my list, and I walk out with additional items that we will use, but we did not necessarily need at that time.

For the month of September, my goal is to once again stay just at or under $400.  Since my husband wants us to have a two-week supply of food on hand in case of an emergency, I plan to pick up a few more items to add to the stash, but I do not foresee any unusual purchases this month.  I still have plenty of meat left over from our July purchase.  I am hoping the beef will last at least until November. 

I am also planning to spend some time at the beginning of the week prepping for our meals later in the week.  I saw this idea on the Living Well Spending Less blog and I want to start implementing it on a regular basis.  I am hoping it will help me plan my shopping trips to be more focused on what we actually need for each meal so I can pick them up in one trip and not have to make an additional trip to the store for that week.

Now, to work on other categories of our budget . . .