Yesterday (Wednesday, 9/1), daughter and I put in an order for groceries; we needed half and half for coffee, more bread, and fruits and vegetables. I also decided to stock up on a few items (coconut milk for example) and replenish items that have been used up (such as sesame oil). Today, I picked them up, curbside. My order included a couple of items for a friend (I declined reimbursement for her items). A number of the items were on sale, but, I bought a few items that weren't on sale, too (things like sesame oil hardly ever goes on sale).
I purchased:
6 cans (13.66 fl. oz.) coconut milk @ $1.50 (reg. price $3.50) = $9.00
1 bottle (5.5 fl. oz.) sesame oil = $4.79
1 lb. red lentils = $2.29
4 cans (5 oz @) tuna in water, @$.89 = $3.56
1 pkg (18 oz) hot Italian sausages (reg. price $5.49) = $2.97
1.72 lb. pork loin @ $2.99/lb (reg. price $4.99) = $5.14
1 pkg. (12 oz) cheese slices (reg. price $4.79) = $3.50
1/2 gal. half & half (reg. price $4.69) = $3.99
1 flavored coffee creamer (32 fl. oz.; reg. price $3.29) = $2.89
2 (12 oz @) ground coffee, @$5.99 (reg. price $10.49) = $11.98
1 loaf (24 oz) multi grain bread (reg. price $2.49) = $1.99
2+ lb. nectarines @ $.99/lb (4 nectarines; reg. price $1.99/lb) = $2.14
4 mangoes @ $1 = $4.00
4+ lb. bananas (10 bananas) @ $.65/lb = $2.81
18 oz. blueberries (reg. price $4.99) = $3.99
1 salad mix (8 oz) = $2.99
1 cole slaw mix (16 oz; reg. price $1.79) = $1.00
1 lb. carrots = $0.99
1 lb. green beans @ $1.99/lb = $1.95
3 corn on the cob @$.33 (reg. price $.50) = $1.00
1 broccoli crown @ $.99/lb (reg. price $1.99) = $0.79
2 pkg. frozen corn, 12 oz@; $.80@ (reg. price $1.25@) = $1.60
Total paid $75.36
Reg. price without sales/coupons = $111.30
"Saved" $35.94
I find myself switching over to pork ($2.99/lb. on sale) from beef ($3.99/lb for ground; $6.99/lb. and higher for a cut of beef). I grew up not eating beef as a child and I don't mind not having beef regularly. My daughter doesn't miss beef, either; she is perfectly happy if she has chicken every day. What she is looking forward to is salmon, but, it was $12.99/lb. this week (a different store has it on sale for $6.99/lb, but, they don't offer curbside pick up).
September's grocery budget is $250. But, I had $59.90 left in my August grocery budget as I shopped only three times in August. In a way, this fist September grocery shopping trip is the missing fourth August shopping trip! Most probably there will be five grocery shopping trips in September! I will be rounding up the amount leftover in the August grocery budget to $60 and adding that to the September budget, to be used as needed for stocking up, etc.
September grocery budget = $250 (+ $60 from August)
Spent to date = $75.36
I stopped by my friend's apartment to drop off the few items I had picked up for her, along with a container of homemade tomato soup, some of the molasses cookies, a small bag of tomatoes and chilies from the garden, and some curry leaves. Came home and put away the groceries (daughter helped), then, had the leftover uppuma for brunch.
I also ordered one of my medication refills and paid the gas bill.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to order groceries online and curbside pick up
- A safe drive to the grocery store and back (saw an accident on the way back!)
- Being able to do a favor for a friend
- Phone chats with family (cousins, aunt) and friends (R)
- The garden harvest!
Today's joyful activity was seeing a friend (socially distanced with me in the car and she outside, masked, both fully vaccinated).
How was your day? How did you do with your August grocery shopping budget? Are you making any changes in what you purchase due to increasing prices? How do you adjust your grocery purchases to accommodate the price increases?
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September Decluttering: I am continuing to declutter at least one item a day in September, too.
9/1 - 1 Crossword book, completed (recycled)
9/2 - 1 T shirt (daughter's; to be donated)
We haven't bought beef in the grocery store in a long time. I'll have to check to see what the prices are like here. We buy prepacked ground beef from a local farm a couple of times a year. But we eat chicken more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteI like finding out what prices others are paying for groceries in their areas. :) We, too, eat a lot of chicken as both my daughter and I like it. Chicken was expensive when I was a child and I loved chicken; I was thrilled when I came to the US and found out that chicken was one of the cheapest meats! :)
DeleteDo many Sri Lankans eat beef or is it a rarity there? I never eat beef either (allergic to it) but do occasionally have pork or lamb. My go to choice is chicken or fish ... salmon is expensive here too. I had a real bargain once because there was a whole fresh salmon in my supermarket delivery which I hadn't ordered and when I phoned them they said I could keep it free of charge. I cut it into meal size portion and froze it ... lasted me for ages!
ReplyDeleteAre your prices gradually creeping up? They definitely are here, partly due to Covid and partly due to Brexit. I'm using the remainder of my August budget to stock up for the winter months as I'm not sure how the colder weather will impact on the Covid numbers and the demand for supermarket deliveries. We are already experiencing shortages on some items due to a lack of delivery drivers so it's becoming more common to see empty spaces on the shelves, something I hope they resolve quickly.
I really can't say how it is now, Eileen, since I haven't been back in Sri Lanka in over 30 years (the last time I was there was in 1990), but beef was available. Who ate beef used to depend a lot on people's religion. In general, a lot of Buddhists and most Hindus didn't eat beef while most Christians and Muslims did. But, goat meat (known as mutton in Sri Lanka and India, too) was a popular alternative to beef and consumed by just about everyone, unless they didn't eat meat at all (there were a lot of people who ate only fish or were vegetarian).
DeleteYes, a lot of prices are increasing, gradually. Or, packages are shrinking while the price per package stays the same! I have a feeling that prices will continue to rise, especially with all the weather related damage to crops. I am fairly well stocked up for now. Might have to grow more vegetables, next year! :)
Hi Bless, I have been eating more chicken, too. I love pork, but it seems to make my body ache. I have it once in a while for a treat. I found some ground turkey on sale at Vons, which I can use in place of beef.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephenie, thank you for mentioning the effect pork has on your body. My body already aches due to the cancer treatment medication I take daily (the side effects of which include joint and muscle aches and pains)! I haven't eaten a lot of pork on a regular basis and I haven't noticed any increase in my aches and pains after eating pork, but, it might be something to be aware of in the future, if I eat more pork. I'm glad you found ground turkey on sale! The Vons online weekly ad for my area had ground turkey at $5.99/lb. I usually shop at Ralphs as there is a store very near my house (just over 1 mile away); the nearest Vons is over 4 miles away.
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ReplyDeleteThank you, Regine. :)
DeleteI took cucumber off my shopping list as I had 1/3 of an English cucumber, plus a whole one in the old downstairs fridge. Alas, the one downstairs got frozen. But all was not lost, I did a little research and was able to turn it into cold cucumber soup with some plain yogurt and seasoning. It was very refreshing.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the cucumber save! Thank you for mentioning yogurt - I will have to add that to the next grocery shopping list! :)
DeleteYou continue to do well with your grocery budget.
ReplyDeleteYou saved good money by taking advantage of the coconut milk sale.
Things like sesame oil always seem so expensive when I need to buy them. But the bottle does last a long time.
Thank you, Debra. I picked up more groceries today and spent quite a bit, too! But, I stocked up on rice and splurged on salmon! I am grateful that I am able to do so!
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