I mentioned in an earlier post that I do not plan to buy yogurt from Aldi's because the only non-Greek yogurt they sell contains aspartame, so while I stopped at Target the other day, I went to check out their yogurt prices and received quite a shock.
I could not believe the price of the non-Greek yogurt, even for the store brand. Not that long ago, the store brand cost $1.99 for a quart, but earlier this week the shelf listed $2.49 as the price. The previous $2.49 price for Dannon yogurt now reads over $3.00.
I decided to wait and check out the price at Dillon's since I needed to stop by there to pick up milk. Fortunately, the store brand was on sale for $1.99.
If the price increase at Target is an indicator of prices to come, I might have to really cut back on our yogurt consumption or else try my hand at making my own.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Let's Eat
Meal Ideas
July 6 - July 12
Breakfast
- Smoothie and Muffin/Quick bread x 2
- Toast w/ peanut butter
- Bagel w/Scrambled Eggs
- Pancakes and Yogurt x 2
- Oatmeal
Lunch
- Eat Out x 2
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
- Corn Dogs
- Quesadilla
- Chicken Nuggets
Dinner
- McDonald's
- Pizza Bake
- Chicken Strips with mashed potatoes
- Taco Bread
- BBQ chicken
- Cheeseburger cups
- Meatballs
Yikes
Today is July 8 and so far I have spent over half our grocery budget. Now, this does include buying 40 lbs of hamburger at the beginning of the month, but I am still a little frustrated at how much I have spent on other items.
Where has the money gone? Some of it went into replenishing our snack supply. This is one area where I know I spend too much money, even if I am buying the snack items at Aldi's. We also went to a cookout at our friends' house for the 4th, so I spent some extra money on food items to take. Aldi's caught me unprepared on the 4th. I planned to go to Aldi's to buy the food items, forgetting they would be closed. I went to Dillon's instead and spent at least $5 more on the items than I would have spent at Aldi's.
To recap, there are 23 days left in July, and I have $150.00 to spend on groceries. I keep telling myself I can stick to our budget if I plan carefully and don't give up, so I am going to try and do my best to only buy the food we really need and to be even more deliberate in using up the food in our pantry.
Where has the money gone? Some of it went into replenishing our snack supply. This is one area where I know I spend too much money, even if I am buying the snack items at Aldi's. We also went to a cookout at our friends' house for the 4th, so I spent some extra money on food items to take. Aldi's caught me unprepared on the 4th. I planned to go to Aldi's to buy the food items, forgetting they would be closed. I went to Dillon's instead and spent at least $5 more on the items than I would have spent at Aldi's.
To recap, there are 23 days left in July, and I have $150.00 to spend on groceries. I keep telling myself I can stick to our budget if I plan carefully and don't give up, so I am going to try and do my best to only buy the food we really need and to be even more deliberate in using up the food in our pantry.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Final Weekend and Lesson Learned
This past week had an unexpected complication, so I did not take the time to better plan my shopping trips.
Friday, my in-laws came to our house so I could get out for a little while. My shopping plans did not have me very close to an Aldi's, so I decided to pick up some of the items I thought we needed at Dillon's and Target.
Well, I spent $21.36 at Dillon's and $19.27 at Target. In addition, my mom and I stopped at Sam's on Saturday to pick up a case of beef. While we were there, I did not want to waste the trip, so I picked up a few more items that cost a total of $37.02. Finally, we were out of milk, so I stopped by Dillon's again on Sunday and spent $8.53. With all of this shopping, I went over our budget total for the month by $13.36.
Dillon's sucked me in with their latest sales promotion. I had some good coupons for Town House crackers (so I could get them for 50 cents), but to get the better deal, I had to buy 6 items. I was also able to get some granola bars for 50 cents a box. I bought 14 items at Dillon's, but most of the items we did not necessarily need right away. I could have waited until after the first of the month. The same was true at Target.
I do not feel as guilty about my Sam's purchases because it saved me having to make a special trip later. (I am planning to pay my mom for the meat from the July budget).
So, I have learned that I need to make more of an effort to stop at Aldi's in addition to being more committed to only buying what we need for the week.
Fortunately, we have enough items to make it through this next week, so I should not need to spend much at the store this first week of July.
Now my goal will be to stay under budget for July to cover the extra for June.
Friday, my in-laws came to our house so I could get out for a little while. My shopping plans did not have me very close to an Aldi's, so I decided to pick up some of the items I thought we needed at Dillon's and Target.
Well, I spent $21.36 at Dillon's and $19.27 at Target. In addition, my mom and I stopped at Sam's on Saturday to pick up a case of beef. While we were there, I did not want to waste the trip, so I picked up a few more items that cost a total of $37.02. Finally, we were out of milk, so I stopped by Dillon's again on Sunday and spent $8.53. With all of this shopping, I went over our budget total for the month by $13.36.
Dillon's sucked me in with their latest sales promotion. I had some good coupons for Town House crackers (so I could get them for 50 cents), but to get the better deal, I had to buy 6 items. I was also able to get some granola bars for 50 cents a box. I bought 14 items at Dillon's, but most of the items we did not necessarily need right away. I could have waited until after the first of the month. The same was true at Target.
I do not feel as guilty about my Sam's purchases because it saved me having to make a special trip later. (I am planning to pay my mom for the meat from the July budget).
So, I have learned that I need to make more of an effort to stop at Aldi's in addition to being more committed to only buying what we need for the week.
Fortunately, we have enough items to make it through this next week, so I should not need to spend much at the store this first week of July.
Now my goal will be to stay under budget for July to cover the extra for June.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Let's Eat!
What We Plan to Eat This Week
June 22 to June 28
Breakfast
- Muffin/quick bread, yogurt
- Toast w/peanut butter, banana
- Bagel, scrambled eggs, fruit
- Smoothie, cinnamon toast
- Oatmeal, fruit
- Muffin/quick bread, yogurt
- Pancakes, fruit
Lunch
- Pizza
- Corn dogs, grapes, pretzels
- Quesadilla, salsa
- Chicken nuggets, fruit
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pretzels, fruit
- Cheese and crackers
- Mini calzones, fruit
Supper
- Eat out
- Cheesy chicken casserole, peas, bread sticks
- King's chicken, chips, salsa
- Italian crescent bake, green beans
- BBQ chicken, corn
- Pizza bake, vegetable, bread sticks
- Grilled chicken, vegetable, bread
Still on Track
Sunday I was without kids again, so I made a couple of grocery stops after church. I went to Target, Aldi's, and Dillon's, and once again, I made it a point to buy the majority of my groceries at Aldi's.
We really like the Honey Oat Bagels at Target, so I went ahead and picked some more up since Aldi's does not sell this flavor of bagel. I also picked up some Smucker's Natural peanut butter, since the natural peanut butter at Aldi's still contains sugar. All together, I spent a little over $9 at Target.
At Dillon's, I just bought milk. Thankfully, it was on sale for $2.99 per gallon, so I just spent over $6 on milk that should last us through the week.
Finally, at Aldi's, I purchased many of my typical items. My total was only $34.91 for 15 items, and that was with buying a bag of chicken at $5.99.
With only 7 days left in the month, I have spent $322.88 on groceries. I don't see any problem with staying with the $400 budget this month.
Next month will require some planning because I am nearly out of beef. My mom and I usually split a case from Sam's, so the meat will last me for quite a few months, but the initial outlay is a little painful. I guess that means I should really limit my spending for the rest of this week so I can use that extra money for meat next month.
We really like the Honey Oat Bagels at Target, so I went ahead and picked some more up since Aldi's does not sell this flavor of bagel. I also picked up some Smucker's Natural peanut butter, since the natural peanut butter at Aldi's still contains sugar. All together, I spent a little over $9 at Target.
At Dillon's, I just bought milk. Thankfully, it was on sale for $2.99 per gallon, so I just spent over $6 on milk that should last us through the week.
Finally, at Aldi's, I purchased many of my typical items. My total was only $34.91 for 15 items, and that was with buying a bag of chicken at $5.99.
With only 7 days left in the month, I have spent $322.88 on groceries. I don't see any problem with staying with the $400 budget this month.
Next month will require some planning because I am nearly out of beef. My mom and I usually split a case from Sam's, so the meat will last me for quite a few months, but the initial outlay is a little painful. I guess that means I should really limit my spending for the rest of this week so I can use that extra money for meat next month.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Hits and Misses
I have to say that Aldi's animal crackers are delicious. They taste good, and they do not contain artificial flavors (someone needs to explain to me why a vanilla cookie would have artificial flavor to begin with). I also like the cheese.
Today, we tried some of the honey graham crackers. Unfortunately, they do not taste as good as the animal crackers. My kids don't mind, so we will finish the box, but I don't think I will buy them again.
Today, we tried some of the honey graham crackers. Unfortunately, they do not taste as good as the animal crackers. My kids don't mind, so we will finish the box, but I don't think I will buy them again.
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