Grocery/Out to Eat Challenge: Week 4

I wanted to spend $110 this week on both groceries and out to eat food, but I spent $119.23. The main reason for spending this much is Sunday night, while Jackson was staying with Grand and Gigi, we splurged on Pita Pitt and KK doughnuts…we were like college kids all over again. Believe it or not that cost us $19...ah! That is ridiculous.

This week at CVS I have already made $5 buying $10 worth of swifter refills for cleaning the floor that we really needed and were completely out of! I am going back tomorrow and buy $10 worth of candy and using this coupon found here (you can print it 2 times) http://www.couponsurfer.com/coupon_show.cfm?id=34284 and I will get another $5 back. So, I only have to spend $8 (after my coupons) and then with my $5 bucks back I will only spend $3 and get another $5 back. If you have questions about this let me know! The ads are always located at the beginning of the CVS (you need to buy exactly what they say you need to buy to get the $5 back). We have eaten all the candy we have bought, and then I have been able to give some to our 4^th grade girls Sunday School class. I am going to Kroger today and spending $35…I have already done the exact math on it. I have been planning out our meals, and doing my grocery list for a full day now. Kroger doubles your coupons and I have about 4 coupons from Sunday’s paper (if it for .50 cent they will give me another.50 cent) another reason why Kroger is awesome! Since I have been working so hard to save money, nothing we buy to eat goes to waste. I hope next week we can really just spend $110!

My wonderful dad was talking to some co-workers the other day, and they recommended the book Dining on a Dime Cookbook. He surprised me with it and had it mailed to me. I was so excited to get it in the mail! It even has good healthy meals for picky eaters! In the very beginning of the book, they break down how all your cost add up. Eating out for a family of 4 just 1 time a week @ $30.00 a week comes out to $1560.00 that is huge and very convicting. They also recommend not buy everything at one store and they say that it will not be a waste of your gas. If you save a minimum of $20-30 per trip, that is like “earning” $40-$60 an hour. If you know of any other books like this let us know! Also, any more tips for saving money on groceries or out to eat, I would love to hear them!

How my grocery/out to eat challenge has been breaking down:

1. $40 goes to Kroger for groceries. I can do this because Kroger doubles any coupon I have (including Huggies diaper coupons) I also get Kroger brand drinks here. They along with Bi-low will usually print additional coupons at the end of my purchase as well. Majority of my coupons come from Sundays paper!

2. $40 goes to CVS or Bi-Lo for needs for the week. Some weeks I buy the Extra buck deal (usually $10 worth of items but only items I need) they have going on for the week so I can make $5 and start stocking up on toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc. (trying to get a 3-6 month supply on hand). I like CVS wipes and they usually print me a coupon off at the end of the purchase that is for $2 off of your purchase for buying $10 worth of CVS brand items and then I can use $5 extra bucks here as well. I do buy my whole milk at CVS ($3.99 here) and eggs using by $5 extra bucks because milk and eggs never go on sale. I get 10 percent back in extra bucks of everything I buy here at CVS. I do go to Walmart some weeks and get Spray n Wash refiles that are at a extremely low price (but I no longer go there 2 times a week and drop $100....this makes for a happy week!)

3. $40 usually goes to out to eat food. Church supper is $10 a week and then our Chinese food is $7. I know I can cut back even more here but it is hard!

$120 is my max for the week (my week starts Thursday and ends Wednesday) and I have really learned to get creative when it is Tuesday or Wednesday and we have spent all but $10 of it. We usually eat grill cheese sandwiches at least once a week for lunch or dinner. Planning really is the key! Pray that I can get it down to $105 and keep on telling me what works for you!

Ps- Gas and groceries are going up so much even Money Saving Mom has raised her grocery budget from a whopping $35 to $40 a week...
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/2008/03/super-savings-saturday-raising-grocery.html