Yesterday, daughter and I went grocery shopping in the evening. We went to a store that advertises itself as having "warehouse prices without membership fees". I used to shop there before I got my Costco membership and I've been shopping there after I allowed my Costco membership to lapse and decided not to renew it, as I felt I didn't buy enough items at Costco to make it worth my membership fee of $55/year.
Since my daughter put away the groceries for me, I don't have a picture of the items to share. But, I bought:
1 jar instant coffee, 16 oz (supposed to make 240 cups of coffee) = $8.99
1 bottle salad dressing = $1.50
1 box frozen sesame chicken = $4.99
1 box frozen barbecue chicken = $4.99
1 box (5 count) frozen beef tamales = $4.49
1 box walnut roll pastries = $5.19
1 chuck steak @$3.99/lb = $3.19
1 gal. milk = $2.89
1 rotisserie chicken = $6.99
Total = $43.22
In addition, I bought:
1 hair conditioner = $.89
12 ct. bar soap = $8.49
1 bag (14 lb) cat food = $8.99
Sales tax on non-food items = $2.41
Total = $20.78
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| 7/23 Receipt |
With the non-food items added, I spent a total of $64.00 at the store. But, these non-food items are not part of my grocery budget.
July Grocery Budget = $100 - $3.78 over-spent in June = $96.22
Spent to date = $27.21 + $6.49 + $3.42 + $43.22 = $80.34
Balance left in July grocery budget = $96.22 - $80.34 = $15.88
I might do a Week 4 - Part 2 shopping trip for fresh produce, either today or later in the week, with the remaining $15.88.
For last night's dinner, I made a box of macaroni and cheese and sauteed a zucchini and we had that with some of the rotisserie chicken. My daughter, who claimed she didn't like zucchini, liked the way I cooked it (just barely cooked, so it wasn't too soft and soggy), and asked if she could finish the rest of it after I had served some for myself! LOL.
We still have most of the chicken left, so we'll have that with a salad or the rest of the mac and cheese, etc., during the week, (I've more zucchini I could saute) and I might freeze some of it to send back with her.
I will slice the beef steak thinly and cook it with onions and celery and chili powder to make a "devilled beef" to be served with rice for dinner, one night.
There is also at least one serving remaining of the smoked sausage stir-fry I made and various other leftovers that daughter brought home, including a green papaya salad. Plus all those various frozen items we bought!
Well, that might not be a proper meal plan, as such, but it is good enough for me! I just need to know the options and, in any case, with daughter home this week, it's more like a week of vacation, so, there's always an option of indulging in a bit of going out to eat (or, more likely, getting some take out to eat at home!)
How is your July grocery shopping spending coming along? Are you able to keep to your budget? Did you make a meal plan for this week?
What are tamales? I make a plan for about ten days at a time but it is quite flexible.
ReplyDeleteEloise, tamales are a Mexican food - a cornmeal dough known as masa is spread on dried corn husks (or, sometimes, banana leaves) and wrapped around a filling of either savory meat or cheese (or, sometimes, sweet fruit) and then, steamed. It is a very popular dish, here.
DeleteI don't think I've ever had green papaya salad. It must be delicious. How do you make it Bless?
ReplyDeleteI have spent too much this month already. So this week I plan to eat whatever I have in the fridge and the pantry. :)
Nil, my daughter is the one who made it. She said she julienned the papaya and added lime juice, fish sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, mint, and a little bit of sugar (she looked up a recipe for Thai green papaya salad, online).
DeleteEating from the fridge and pantry is a good strategy for saving money. It's hard to be frugal when one is on vacation, isn't it? You'll be back on track with your spending, next month. :)
Thanks for the recipe, Bless. I will try this sometime soon. :)
DeleteYou are welcome. Sorry, I didn't have exact amounts, etc. It should be more or less to taste, I suppose. But, I can ask my daughter for a link to the recipe, if you want it.
DeleteIt's ok Bless, thank you. Once you mentioned that it's a Thai recipe, I googled and found several. :)
DeleteOh, good!
Delete