July Grocery Budget: Week 1

July Week 1 Groceries: Bread, Dairy, Meat, Nuts, Beverages

I went grocery shopping today.   It was the first time I went grocery shopping since picking up some milk ($1.99) on 6/22 (the milk put me $3.78 over budget in June). 

I went to two stores - the Armenian grocery store and the regular supermarket. 

The Armenian store carries these bottled drinks which have basil seeds in them.  We use basil seeds in a drink we call faluda, which is made with rose syrup and milk.  I have been wanting to try this drink because it has the basil seeds in it, so I bought two bottles (one for me, one for daughter).  A bit of an indulgence at $.99 each, but worth a try.  They had other flavors, too, including mango, peach, lychee, and pomegranate.  But I thought the passion fruit flavor would be good for a first try:

Passion Fruit Flavored Basil Seed Drink

At the Armenian Store, I bought:
2+ lb. chicken drumsticks @ $.69/lb = $1.56
1 packet raw whole cashews @ $8.99/lb = $3.69
1 lb. bag carrots = $.39
Broccoli crown @$.49/lb = $.36
1 cucumber = $.50
Zucchini @$.39/lb = $.37
Okra @$.99/lb = $.37
Peaches @ $.69/lb = $.61
Bananas @ $.49/lb = $.59
Grapes @ $1.19/lb = $1.90
2 Basil seed passion fruit flavored drinks @ $.99 + $.05 deposit = $2.08
Total = $12.42

Fresh Produce

At the regular supermarket, I bought:
1 package (6 count) bagels = $1.99
1 loaf multi-grain bread = $1.99
1 flavored coffee creamer = $2.69
1/2 gal. milk = $1.99
Cherries @ $1.47/lb = $3.51
Green beans @ $.99/lb = $.64
2 packages (@ 8 oz) ham cold cuts @ $.99 = $1.98 (discounted because sell by date is 7/11)
Total = $14.79

(I also bought 4 cans of cat food for Dancer, which is not part of my grocery budget)

After I came home, I realized that I had forgotten to write down lettuce on my grocery list and, therefore, hadn't bought any!  Oops!

Total spent on groceries = $12.42 + $14.79 = $27.21

July Week 1 Groceries: Receipts

In June, I went over budget by $3.78  (I am not including that variety cake I had bought in my grocery budget; it was covered from my Miscellaneous account!).

In July, my daughter will be here for 5 days this week and another 9 days later in July.  Therefore, I am increasing my grocery budget by $25 to make it $100.

July Grocery Budget = $100 - $3.78 over spent in June = $96.22
Spent to date = $27.21
Balance left in July grocery budget = $96.22 - $27.21 = $69.01

I plan to make a curry with the drumsticks, I bought.  Daughter doesn't like okra, so I bought just enough for myself for a couple of meals.  She won't be home for lunches when she comes down this week, but she can take bagels or cold cuts sandwiches with her, if she likes and there will be rice and curries for dinner once she comes home from the Anime Exposition in the night.  I will be taking a ham cold cuts sandwich for my lunch, tomorrow.

In addition, there is smoked sausage and fish in the freezer, as well as some cooked ground beef and another cooked chicken breast half.  I can see myself making a stir-fry with the smoked sausage, some curry puffs with the ground beef, and making the fish for dinner, one night, when daughter is here.  It's not meal planning, exactly, but just listing options works for me!

Have you gone grocery shopping for July, yet?