Saturday, March 26, 2022

March Grocery Shopping - Part 3

March grocery shopping Part 3 happened in two sessions!  LOL.  On Thursday, I ordered regular groceries, taking advantage of the week's specials, and picked them up on Friday.  Then, Friday evening, I ordered some additional groceries after speaking with friend A and picked them up on Saturday!

Both orders had items that were not in stock and they couldn't substitute: shrimp and red lentils; I am glad that I had stocked up on red lentils, earlier!  The groceries I picked up on Friday also included one substitution (name brand sausages for the store brand that I ordered, which was fine with me; the name brand sausages, which were not on sale, were priced at $7.99 per package!).  I also noticed price increases in at least two items that I purchased on this trip (kale and soda).

But, guess who was back doing the morning/early afternoon shift?  Yes, Jennifer, who gave me a $5 discount off my grocery order on Friday!  Today (Saturday), I finally gave her the card I had written to her along with a small gift of a scarf that I had knitted.  

Back to the groceries...

Friday's groceries included:

Bananas @ $.65/lb. = $1.35
Grapes @ $1.98/lb. (reg. price $3.29) = $1.65
Peaches @ $.97/lb. (reg. price $2.49) = $.97
Nectarines @ $.97/lb. (reg. price $2.49) = $1.45

Chicken thighs @ $1.11/lb. (reg. price $2.19/lb.; buy 1 get 1 free sale) = $9.79
Sausages 2 pkts. @ $3.99 = $7.98
Frozen battered fish fillets, 10 count, 19.45 oz. (reg. price $6.99) = $4.99

Salted peanuts, 16 oz. jar = $2.49
Peanut butter, 2 x 16 oz. jar @ $1.67 = $3.34

Half & half, 2 x 32 fl. oz. @ $2.39 = $4.78
Milk, 1/2 gal. = $2.29

Tomato paste, 12 oz. cans, 2 x $1.29@ = $2.58
Frozen corn, 12 oz. bags, 2 x $1@  (reg. price $1.25) = $2.00

Tortillas, 10 ct., 17.5 oz. (reg. price $2.69) = $2.50
Multi-grain bread = $1.99

Semi-sweet chocolate chips, 12 oz. (reg. price $3.99) = $2.47 

Total = $52.62


Saturday's groceries included:

1 cucumber = $.99
1 lb. kale = $1.99 (price increase - used to be $1.49)

1 doz. large eggs (reg. price $3.79) = $1.90

1 Oat milk, 52 fl. oz. (reg. price $4.29) = $3.50

1 Fruit juice blend, 59 fl. oz. (reg. price $3.29) = $2.99

4 x 6 pack lemon-lime soda, 16.9 fl oz. bottles; $3.25@ (must buy 4; otherwise $5.49 = $13.00 
(price increase; used to be 4/$12)
soda bottle deposit = $1.20

Total = $25.57

(Non-grocery item - 1 bottle hair conditioner $4.99 + $1.82 sales tax; not part of the grocery total.)


My total for this week's groceries came to $52.62 +$25.57 = $78.19.

March grocery budget (food items only) = $200, plus $11.21 carried over from February = $211.21

Spent to date = $63.42 + $41.29 + $78.19 = $182.90

Balance left in the budget = $211.21 - $ 182.90 = $28.31


I doubt very much if I will go grocery shopping again this month, but, one never knows!  If I don't have to shop between now and April 1, then, I will carry the balance forward. 

I had planned to budget $100 for groceries in April, because I had expected my daughter to return to northern California by the end of this month.  However, since she will be staying with me for most of April, I will continue to budget $200 for the month for the two of us.  

As always, I am grateful for:

- Being able to order groceries online and pick up, curbside
- The availability of groceries in general
- Being able to afford to buy groceries
- Friendly grocery store workers
- The store's favorable substitution policies

How is everyone doing with their March grocery shopping and budget?  Are you noticing a lot of price increases?  Have you been able to stay within your budget or have you had to adjust your budget?  

12 comments:

  1. Oh wow, I am so happy to hear your daughter will be there a little longer. It is worth the increase in the budget to have her with you!
    I have noticed just about every thing I purchase regularly has gone up a little, but some things are skyrocketing.

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    1. Thank you, Anne. Yes, definitely worth the increase in the budget! :D

      Grocery prices are on the rise, aren't they? But, at least, things are available, still; for the most part, anyway. :)

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  2. I'm sure Jennifer was pleased to see you again and appreciated your gift to her, that was so nice of you. I did an online grocery order yesterday which will be delivered today, things seem back to normal now with more available delivery slots. Oh so many items unavailable though and just about everything has gone up in price. Coupled with the huge increase in energy prices we will have to tighten our belts.

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    1. I think she was pleased, Eileen. It was just a little something to show that I appreciated all her help. I'm glad you are finding that there are more delivery slots available. Too bad that so many items are unavailable and prices have gone up. Everything seems to be going up and we are all going to have to tighten our belts!

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  3. Oh good - I am glad your daughter gets a few more weeks at home.
    And yes, you need to add to the budget - she needs her half & half! ;)

    I am over budget this month. Since starting with the pick ups (love them) I have tried to structure my shopping to 1 weekly pick up at each of the two stores we like - to $35 each. Which is the threshold dollar level for pickups. At that amount, I would be at $280 and under budget.
    But things have not gone as planned. hahahaha
    But I keep trying because that's what you do, right?

    Your turkey dish the other day for spaghetti looked good. You bulked it up nicely equaling a double benefit of stretching your dollars and adding vegetables to the dish. (Zucchini!!)

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    1. Thank you, Debra. Yes, half & half and hot Cheetos! :D

      It is hard to keep to the budget when prices are going up and/or you want to stock up. But, it all evens out in the end, I think, and, as long as you can afford to go over the budget every now and then, it should be OK.

      Thank you! That turkey dish turned out really well and my daughter enjoyed it. The grated zucchini cooked down to practically nothing, but, it made me feel good to know that I had added plenty of veggies to the dish! :) Still have a gallon sized bag of smaller bags of frozen zucchini - chopped, sliced, and grated! :D

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  4. I'm glad to hear that Jennifer was back and able to receive your card and gift. It's always so good to encounter pleasant staff and some do go the extra mile to be kind.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. She deserved a little recognition, I thought, for her fine customer service and pleasant manner. In return, she thanked me for being a patient customer! LOL.

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  5. I think we need to get used to disruption in food and drink for the next few years and plan accordingly. With Covid, climate change and now war, who knows what will happen next. And a lot of people will have picked up lentils as a cheap filler as people's paychecks aren't stretching as far.

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    1. Yes, we need to anticipate shortages and be grateful for what we do have instead of focusing on what we don't! We will make adjustments as needed. We will have to, won't we?

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  6. That’s a good price for chicken.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it was one of those buy 1 get 1 free deals, but, averaged out, it comes to $1.11 per lb. :) I usually cook 1 tray for the week and freeze the other for later.

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