6/14

I know I have not been very disciplined about my postings (i.e. the last one was just pictures).  More and more people have been interested in my $50/week shopping trips though, so I decided to actually keep myself accountable, I actually needed to give my link to someone.  I figured if I knew someone might actually be reading it, I would be more apt to keep up on my postings.  Last night I gave the first person my link.  So let's see how this goes.

So each week there are going to be a few different parts to my post.  I will keep adding things throughout the day (Thursday).

The first part will be my grocery list for the week.  These are items that I write down as I go through the week and I realize we run out of  or are close to running out of.  This list just stays on the fridge and I keep adding to it.  Some weeks it is pretty long and others there are only a few things on it.
*meatballs
*olive oil (if I can find a good deal)
*chocolate (for choc milk - if I can find a good deal)
*milk
*chicken
*pasta
*cheese (shredded and chunk)
*bread
*dish soap
*diapers for Em (even though we have switched to cloth, we still use disposable at night)
*diced tomatoes
*hamburger (small)
*mashed potatoes
*cream cheese (if I can find a good deal)
*french bread

The second part will be the deal that I have found a various locations (Meijer, Kroger, Martins).  Every Thursday I look through the weekly ads to see what each store has on sale.  I write down all of deals I think I would like to purchase.  Just because I write them down does not necessarily mean that I will purchase them.  They are just the main items I want to remember just in case.  Here is my list of 'deals':
MEIJER:
Milk 2/5
Grapes 1.18/lb
shredded cheese 3/6
bolagna 5/5
pasta .89
pasta sauce 5/5
bread .89
chic breast tenders 6.99

MARTINS:
Milk 2/5
shredded cheese 3/5
bolagna 10/10
kraft mac 'n cheese 5/4
cake mix .99
sour cream/dip .99
spartan (Martin's off brand) pizza dough, crescents, cinnamon rolls 3/4

KROGER:
chips 4/5
beef patties 5.99
bananas .39/lb
hand soap .69
bread 10/10hotdogs 10/10
lunchables 10/10
cheese 1.89


The third part is going to be our weekly mean plan.  What we will be eating for the following week.  Our week will start on Friday and go until the following Thursday.  As you all know plans change, but this will be the outline for the week.  Hopefully this will help me stick to  meals and save a little by planning ahead.
Friday: Grab a bite to eat on our drive to Carmel.

Saturday:  Out of town for a friends' son's birthday.  We will be eating at their house today.

Sunday: Breakfast at our friends' house.  Lunch - grab a bite to eat on our drive home.  Dinner - mom and dad's

Monday:   Pasta

Tuesday:  Sloppy Joes, chips, dip

Wednesday: meat loaf, biscuts, corn/green beans

Thursday:  leftovers


The fourth part of my weekly blog will be the pictures of what I bought and the receipts to show how much I spent.  I try to get as close to $50 as I can.  Sometimes it is a little more, usually on the weeks I need to get formula and diapers.  Some weeks I don't spend quite as much.  On those weeks that I don't spend as much I will get a gift card to one of my most frequently shopped stores to use on future purchases.  This works out because on the weeks I spend a little more, I can use my gift cards to keep my cost down by using the gift cards.

Here is a picture of what I got this week. I went to Aldi, Martin's, Kroger, Meijer and Walmart.  I spent $63.13.  This was a little over, but As you can see, this trip included formula and diapers.

This is a similar picture, but it includes a few extra items.  I also had a gift card to Meijer and used it to purchase the few things to the left in the picture.  It added an extra $13.00ish to my bill, but I didn't have to pay for it out of my pocket.  However, if you don't have kids, what I paid in diapers and formula, you could have bought these additional products.  For about the same $13.00.

So here's a list of things that are included in my picture:

boneless skinless chicken

hamburger meat

2 bread

2 chips

tortilla chips

2 boxes of mashed potatoes

3 boxes of mac n cheese

mayo 2 milk

2 crutons

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 boxes of pasta

bananas

cream cheese

2 shredded cheese

block of cheese

 dip

2 individual pizzas 

diapers

formula (normally $18.88 -  I had a coupon for $5 off)

2 small formula (FREEBIES from the doctor's office -  I always ask for samples when I take the girls in for check ups)

bolagna

freeze pops

All of this was $63.13

bag of meatballs

2 pasta sauce

3 boxes of pasta

diced tomatoes

grapes

$14ish from Meijer

Just a Couple Pictures

More Shopping

I am a teacher and we just ended the school year last Wednesday.  I had a lot of things I needed to get done before the end of the school year so my shopping schedule has been off and my nights have been spent doing paper work and burning DVDs slideshows that include pictures I have taken throughout the year.

Here are some pictures from a couple weeks ago.

I can not go back and remember what we had for dinner this week, but here are the pictures of what I bought.
The receipt on the right says $58.98.  I did NOT spend that much at Kroger.  I got out an extra $40.00 cash because there is a gas station where I go grocery shopping that has E85 gas, which our van takes.  I can get gas cheaper there AND if you pay cash you get an additional .05 off a gallon.  So I got some cash to pay for my gas.




Here is our last trip to the store.  It was much less planned so I feel I could have done a little bit better with what I got.

Most of what we got today we knew was going to be used at Memorial Day gatherings and at our small group cookout this week.
Some our groceries included:
chips
dip
hamburger
crackers (for dips)
sour cream (used to make dips)
We also spent about an extra $15 over our $50 because we added formula to our list this week.
cresent rolls
cinnamon rolls
strawberries
chicken
western dressing
2 blocks of cheese (most used for dip and crackers and cheese)
wipes
milk
seeds for our garden (I'll post more about that later)
bacon

Like I said not a huge list, but like I said, it wasn't very planned.

Weekly Menu:
Monday:  Hamurgers, crackers/sausage(*PP)/cheese, dips from Tastefully simple
Tuesday:  loaded baked potatoes
Wednesday: cookout with small group
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: chicken and Rice
Saturday: Corn Dogs and Fries
Pasta
Sunday:  Chicken Skewers
Grilled Cheese

5/3/12

This is going to be a quick post.  I just want to post what I got on my last trip and what our dinner menu has been this week.

Here is a picture of what I got while shopping last week:

Not only did this list included our groceries for the week, but also items needed for a veggie tray I was helping put together for my sister's wedding shower and items I had said I would donate for our youth group's spaghetti dinner.

As soon as I got the chicken, I cooked it.  After it was cooked I split it into three bags.  I cubed one bag, shredded another and left the third bag whole.  This will make it very easy to do dinners.  I can use the shredded chicken to make chicken tacos.  The cubed ones can be used in a casserole or pasta and the whole chicken can be used, just for a chicken dinner.

Our meals this week included:

Tacos

Hotdogs/Hamburgers

Pizza

Lasagna

Wednesday  -  Eating out

Thursdays

These are our shopping days.  For as long as I can remember, Jason has been playing basketball on Thursday nights.

*I use to play every week too, before we started having kids.  Then it became less frequent.  

Jason would often take 1-2 of the girls with him each week.  They love playing and running around the gym.  Sometime some of the other guys bring their kids as well so they can all play together.  

We decided this would be a good night for our shopping day.  When we get to the gym Jason and I usually play 1-2 games (his grandpa watches the girls).  After those games I head to the store(s) while Jason and the girls continue to play.  Sometimes I will take one of the girls with me and we spend some 1-on-1 time together.

The area I go shopping has quite a few different stores so I have many options to choose from.  Meijer, Kroger, Martin's, Walmart, Target and Aldi.  Each week I look through the ads from all of these stores  and find the best prices on both things I do and don't need (are or aren't on my list).  I write down everything I think I would get.  While I am shopping I make sure to keep track with a calculator so I don't go over budget.

Here is a picture of what I bought this past week.

Some of the items I purchased were:
milk
shampoo and conditioner
razors
milk
brownie mix
meatballs
ranch
toilet bowl cleaner
toilet paper
pepperoni
stuffing
baby formula
tums
hair ties

This week I already had my chicken and hamburger at home so I didn't need to get any.  We also ALWAYS have pasta and sauce at the house.  I usually stock up when it is on sale.  Since I already had these staples, I could get some of these extras that I normally would not have gotten (toilet bowl cleaner, stocking up on shampoo and conditioner -we already had these at home-, the juice and Gatorade).

Here are my receipts.  I shopped at Kroger, Martin's, Dollar Tree and Walmart.  The one to the far
I usually get gas on Thursday's as well.  Our van takes E85 and there is a gas station in the area I go shopping.  This particular day, I went a little over budget because of the formula.  So I just cut back on how much gas I put in.

Some of the meals we have made this week include:

Updated Meatball.  Jason and I saw these made on Steven and Chris one day and thought we would try them out.  They are delicious!!
http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/2012/01/updated-spaghetti-meatballs.html

Sloppy Joes

Chicken Pesto with Tomatoes

Pizza

Grilled Cheese

A New Direction

I know I started this blog a couple years ago.  At the time I was hoping to keep this as more of a journal to keep myself accountable on my journey to becoming a SAHM.  I had a few posts between my first post and this one.  I deleted them though because I didn't feel they were relevant to the new direction I am hoping to go with this blog.

I am not a very good writer so anyone who reads this, please don't judge.  :-)

We are trying to get some debts paid off and develop a budget we can really stick to so that when I eventually stay at home we don't have to try to cut back then, we will already be use to living on less.

One of the main things we are trying is a $50/week shopping trip.  This is actually a crazy number considering we have a family of 6.  My husband, Jason, and I and our 4 little girls.  Mackenzie (5), Teagan (3), Skylee (2) and Emery (2 1/2 months).   We figured with careful planning and making sure to check for the best deals we might be able to do it.  We have been doing this for about 6 weeks now and it is going alright.  I have people whose jaw drops when I tell them I shop for a family of 6 on a $50/week budget.

I am hoping to share some of my shopping trips (my list, what I end up getting and what I end up cooking with what I purchase).