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| June Week 2 Groceries |
This has been a weekend of grocery shopping!
On Saturday, I went to the dollar store after picking up my medication refills at the pharmacy, and bought 2 containers of low-fat yogurt (140 cal.) to try, since it was not a brand whose yogurts I've tried before (in fact, I didn't even know they made yogurt; I thought they only made butter, which I have bought!). They were 2/$1 and turned out to be very good.
So, on Sunday, when I had to go to the pharmacy again, for another refill that was ready (I had asked about it on Saturday, because it was overdue!), I went to the dollar store again and picked up more yogurt! Let's just say I stocked up, because I bought 12 containers! With the dollar store, you can never be sure that they'll have a given item the next time you go; so, it's best to buy it when you see it. The sell by date is at the end of July, and these yogurts will be eaten long before then! I like them for breakfast with some granola type cereal or for a desert. I also bought a box of mini multi-grain crackers to try. The box says 17 mini crackers are a serving and have 70 calories. I tried them and find them to be addictive!
I also bought a few other items at the dollar store, including a packet of sponge cloths, but that is not in my grocery budget.
Dollar store grocery purchases:
2 containers of yogurt on Saturday @ $.50 = $1.00 (receipt not shown)
12 containers of yogurt @ $.50 = $6.00
1 jar plum sauce = $1.00
1 jar garlic salt = $1.00
1 jar dried basil leaves = $1.00
1 box mini multi-grain crackers = $1.00
Total = $11.00
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| Dollar Store Receipt |
The garlic salt and basil leaves are for the baked potato wedges my daughter has said she will make for me when she comes to visit!
Then, since I needed milk, bread, and bananas (the bananas at the dollar store were too over-ripe for my taste) and wanted green beans if they were still on sale for $.99/lb. (better price than what I paid at the Armenian store, last week!), I went to the grocery store in the same mall.
I bought:
bananas @ $.59/lb = $.77
green beans @ $.99/lb = $.85
1/2 gal. milk = $1.99
1 loaf bread = $1.25
I should have stopped there, but, I also bought:
2 containers packed cold cuts (roast beef) @$2.50* = $5.00
1 package popped caramel flavored rice/corn cakes = $.99*
1 bag potato chips (sour cream and cheese flavor) = $1.99*
1 box crackers = $1.99*
Total = $14.83
* "Mix and Match" - buy 6 participating items/save $.50 per item; prices shown above are the sale prices I paid after buying 6 participating items
(My 6th mix and match item was a bag of cat food and I also bought 3 cans of tuna for Dancer, but those items are not part of the grocery budget.)
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| Grocery Store Receipt |
As soon as I came home, I hid that bag of potato chips in the cabinet, so I am not tempted to eat it! LOL! I am eating the multi-grain crackers, instead, and counting them out so I have a serving of 17 crackers. As I said earlier, they are very addictive, too! I could easily eat half the box at a sitting, just mindlessly munching on them!
Then, today (Monday), I went to the Armenian store to buy the potatoes and one or two other items:
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| More Groceries (and for those who are still playing "Spot the Dancer", he came to inspect what I bought) |
10 lb bag of potatoes = $1.49
Mediterranean cucumbers @ $.49/lb = $.21
Peaches @ $.69/lb = $.41
1 papaya @$.49/lb = $1.31
Total = $3.42
I could have just bought the potatoes and not bought the other items, but that is a good price for papaya and not a bad price for peaches, and I enjoy those little cucumbers in my salads. One is just enough for a salad and there is no waste, unlike the bigger cucumbers which are too much for just me and go soft before I can finish them.
Total spent this week = $11.00 + $14.83 + $3.42 = $29.25
My June grocery budget = $75 - $16.21 overspent in May = $58.79
Total spent to date = $31.33 + $29.25 = $60.59
Balance left in June budget = $58.79 - $31.33 - $29.25 = - $1.79
Well, I did say this was going to be an interesting month when it came to my grocery budget, last week, didn't I? Half-way into the month and I am already over budget! I don't mind going over budget, though. I have the luxury of adding to the grocery budget, if needed. But I want to keep track of how much I am spending, so, will continue to show the negative amounts as I go. This is partly so that I can see if I need to increase my grocery budget.
I did a quick check of this year's grocery spending:
Please ignore the two empty columns; this is a table format I had saved, which I copied and pasted.
I think it was the stocking up I did in May which has sent me over-budget. But I am not too worried. Being over budget by less than $2 almost midway through the year is not bad, is it?
Brunch, today, was a roast beef cold cuts sandwich and 17 mini crackers! I had a banana for a snack in the early evening, with my cup of tea. For dinner, I made fried rice with the last bit of chicken left on the chicken breast half I had in the fridge, stripped off the bone and cut up, one rasher of bacon I had cooked and frozen, earlier, cut into small pieces, and some veggies - shredded cabbage, a grated carrot, a finely sliced stalk of celery, and some finely sliced green beans. Added an egg to it as it cooked and finished it off with a handful of roasted peanuts. Grapes for dessert.
There's enough fried rice leftover for tomorrow night's dinner, with the last of the meatball curry, to share with daughter.
Tomorrow's lunch will be a cold cuts sandwich and a salad, with a banana for dessert and some of the mini crackers for a snack. Dinner, tomorrow, will be leftover fried rice and meatball curry.
Wednesday, daughter and I will go out to lunch after the retirement counseling session. We are planning to go to Chinatown for dim sum. Or, if I am too tired and wrung out after the counseling session, we might go to Little Tokyo and have some lunch there. Dinner might be the potato wedges daughter wants to make with maybe some baked chicken breasts from the freezer and salad.
Thursday's lunch might be sandwiches and dinner might be fish cooked with onions and tomatoes, served with rice or potatoes, and either vegetables or salad.
Not sure about Friday - I might get us some Thai food for lunch and there'll be leftovers for dinner.
It's not exactly meal planning, but it works for me.
Today, I had the day off from work, so, slept in, spent a relaxed morning, did the last of my grocery shopping, put water to the front garden, took the trash cans out, ran the dishwasher and washed some other dishes by hand, spoke on the phone with cousin V and aunt C.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to go over budget, if needed
- Lots of good grocery bargains
- Getting more feedback from my former supervisor
- Being able to chat with cousin and with aunt
- Video chatting with daughter
How was your Monday? How is your June grocery budget coming along? Are you managing it a bit better than I am managing mine?
Well, I did say this was going to be an interesting month when it came to my grocery budget, last week, didn't I? Half-way into the month and I am already over budget! I don't mind going over budget, though. I have the luxury of adding to the grocery budget, if needed. But I want to keep track of how much I am spending, so, will continue to show the negative amounts as I go. This is partly so that I can see if I need to increase my grocery budget.
I did a quick check of this year's grocery spending:
| Month |
Budgeted $
|
Spent $
|
Carried Over $ (+/-)
| ||
January
|
75
|
57.77
|
17.23
| ||
February
|
75+17.23=92.23
|
91.57
|
0.66
| ||
March
|
75 + 10 from gifts/misc.
|
85.69
|
-0.69
| ||
April
|
75 - .69 = 74.31
|
79.36
|
-5.05
| ||
May
|
75 - 5 = 70
|
86.21
|
-16.21
| ||
June
|
75 - 16.21 = 58.79
|
60.59
|
-1.79
|
Please ignore the two empty columns; this is a table format I had saved, which I copied and pasted.
I think it was the stocking up I did in May which has sent me over-budget. But I am not too worried. Being over budget by less than $2 almost midway through the year is not bad, is it?
Brunch, today, was a roast beef cold cuts sandwich and 17 mini crackers! I had a banana for a snack in the early evening, with my cup of tea. For dinner, I made fried rice with the last bit of chicken left on the chicken breast half I had in the fridge, stripped off the bone and cut up, one rasher of bacon I had cooked and frozen, earlier, cut into small pieces, and some veggies - shredded cabbage, a grated carrot, a finely sliced stalk of celery, and some finely sliced green beans. Added an egg to it as it cooked and finished it off with a handful of roasted peanuts. Grapes for dessert.
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| Fried Rice |
Tomorrow's lunch will be a cold cuts sandwich and a salad, with a banana for dessert and some of the mini crackers for a snack. Dinner, tomorrow, will be leftover fried rice and meatball curry.
Wednesday, daughter and I will go out to lunch after the retirement counseling session. We are planning to go to Chinatown for dim sum. Or, if I am too tired and wrung out after the counseling session, we might go to Little Tokyo and have some lunch there. Dinner might be the potato wedges daughter wants to make with maybe some baked chicken breasts from the freezer and salad.
Thursday's lunch might be sandwiches and dinner might be fish cooked with onions and tomatoes, served with rice or potatoes, and either vegetables or salad.
Not sure about Friday - I might get us some Thai food for lunch and there'll be leftovers for dinner.
It's not exactly meal planning, but it works for me.
Today, I had the day off from work, so, slept in, spent a relaxed morning, did the last of my grocery shopping, put water to the front garden, took the trash cans out, ran the dishwasher and washed some other dishes by hand, spoke on the phone with cousin V and aunt C.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to go over budget, if needed
- Lots of good grocery bargains
- Getting more feedback from my former supervisor
- Being able to chat with cousin and with aunt
- Video chatting with daughter
How was your Monday? How is your June grocery budget coming along? Are you managing it a bit better than I am managing mine?
Do you think your shopping will change after you retire?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question, Live and Learn, and the answer is: I don't know! Right now, I don't think so, although, maybe, I might shop more often, just because I can! Instead of going to 3 stores in one day, I might go to one store at a time on 3 different days. If only to start the car and drive it around a bit! There are one or two specialty stores I've been wanting to go to, but haven't had the time (they are not as close as the regular stores I go to), so I might do that type of shopping more frequently - I've been wanting to get some Chinese sausages and onion pancakes and fish balls, from one of the Chinese grocery stores, for example; and it'll soon be time to buy more tea and frozen fish from the Sri Lankan store (and I can never restrict myself to just one or two items when I go shopping there!) Then, by the time that gets done, it'll be time to plan and shop for the monthly prayer gathering as my turn to host will be in October and, after that, the almsgiving preparations. I do enjoy grocery shopping, if you can't tell! :)
DeleteI think you are doing extremely well with the grocery budget. Just being a couple of dollars over is amazing when you consider all the bargains you have been lucky to receive. Everyone knows you need to take advantage of those sales items when they present themselves, and you have acquired many.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. I will have to see how much more I'll spend during the rest of this month, but, I don't think I'll go over by much. Next month, daughter will be home for a couple of weeks, so I am planning to increase the budget to $100. I think that's reasonable, don't you?
DeleteI might even bump the grocery budget just a bit higher for any splurge items the two of you want to get. When an adult child (oxymoronic right?) visits it becomes celebratory and I buy things for them I do not normally buy.
ReplyDeleteMaybe "adult offspring" is a better term? Although, I think, to us parents, they remain children no matter how old they become!
DeleteI might take your advice and bump it up higher. I think she'll be amenable to going to the Chinese grocery store with me. ;)
I think you got a lot of food for so little money. I wish our prices were that good here. I was looking at the coming Safeway ad that starts tomorrow and it looks like there are some good deals to be had with their coupons so I will pick those up when I go into town to pick up a prescription that is waiting for me at Walmart after a mix up on their end.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debbie. My daughter occasionally goes to Safeway to get their Friday specials. She usually buys her meat from there. It's not as convenient as the dollar store across the street from her - she has to take 2 buses to go to Safeway, but she goes there, occasionally.
Delete