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| Green Bananas |
I always request green bananas when I order groceries and this time I received really green bananas! It's almost like the person who picked them said, "You want green bananas? We'll give you green bananas!" LOL! I'll give them three, maybe four, days to go from green to over ripe!
Today, I picked up the groceries I had ordered online, yesterday. This was my first grocery shopping for December; the last time I grocery shopped was on November 20th, almost a month ago.
I bought:
3 bananas, 1.04 lbs. @ $.69/lb. = $0.72
3 Fuji apples, 1.04 lb. @ $1.69/lb. = $1.67
4 Granny Smith apples, 1.74 lb. @ $1.69/lb. = $2.94
3 lb. bag mandarin oranges, with $2 off digital coupon = $3.99
1 cucumber = $0.79 ($.40 cheaper than the last time I bought a cucumber, in October!)
8+ lbs. chicken thighs (2 family packs) @ $.99/lb. = $8.51
10 cans tuna @ $1/can = $10.00
1 doz. large brown eggs = $4.19 (I'm not particular about shell color, but, brown eggs were cheaper than the white eggs which were $4.49)
1 loaf sandwich bread = $1.79
4 lbs. butter @ $3.99/lb. with $1 off/lb. digital coupon = $15.96
1 chocolate bar = $2.00 (gone up from $1.67, last time it was on sale)
Total spent = $52.65
(According to the receipt, the original price of the groceries I bought was $79.92; I saved $27.27 due to sales and coupons.)
My December grocery budget is $100.
Plus I had $52.22 carried forward from November. That carried over amount paid for the majority of today's grocery shopping!
Balance left in the December grocery budget = $99.57
After I came home, I opened a can of tuna and made myself a tuna salad sandwich for brunch. Dinner will be leftovers from last night.
As always, I am thankful for being able to purchase the groceries I need. As I've said before, it is truly a blessing.
Have you done any grocery shopping in December, yet? Are you finding good sales and bargains? Are you staying within budget?
I am not finding any good sales. I was hoping to find some on butter and eggs, but no such luck. But like you, I am blessed that I can afford the groceries we need.
ReplyDeleteYes, I, too, was hoping that there would be a good sale on butter and eggs with it being Christmas baking season and so forth, but, $4 for a pound of butter and for a dozen eggs seem to be the sale price! At least the items are available and we are able to purchase them. It's a blessing, isn't it?
DeleteYou are really doing well with your grocery budget. Will you carry any overage into the new year? Or do you close everything out?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure where we are exactly (will total it in a bit as I have a few receipts to enter) on our December grocery budget because apparently I am now someone who spends like a mad woman at the grocery stores!
So I am definitely in the over budget camp. I am thankful being in that camp does not present a hardship for us. I do like to get us a few
treats during the holidays and this house is certainly full of them now :)
As far as prices, I bought 10lb of potatoes yesterday for $4.49 at Aldi's and that was .50 cents under what they were last time.
Bananas continue to be .55 a pound for me and apples (Gala this time) were $3.49 for a 3lb bag so $1.16 pound which is what they've been for a while. Broccoli is .99 lb at another store and we will get some of that later in the week for our Christmas dinner.
The price of many other things is crazy. Just ridiculous. I see a 9% food inflation on the news and I know that's the average but many items have doubled and tripled in the last year. I think about young families with kids and maybe just one income and I feel for them. Or the single mom working at Walmart and maybe a second job trying so hard to stay afloat and provide for her kids. My mom was a single mom and as kids I never thought much about how hard it must've been on her. Looking back as an adult I am very much aware of it now. I am glad I told her often what a good mother she was.
Thank you, Debra. I will probably carry any leftover funds into January or set it aside for a trip to the Sri Lankan store. In previous years, I'd be buying all the cake ingredients, etc., around this time and I can very easily spend $100 at that store!
DeleteYes, food prices and cost of living in general is going up and it is getting more and more difficult to keep to a budget. I remember during 2008 (I believe it was) when there was that recession or "economic downturn" as it was called, there was a very real possibility that I would get laid off from my job. I slashed my budget as much as I could and tried to come up with a budget if I were to get Federal minimum wage (it was lower than California minimum wage, but, the governor at the time was suggesting we all got Federal minimum wage). I still had a mortgage at the time and I realized that I'd have to take 2 full time jobs at minimum wage and still not be able to make ends meet! The sad thing was my mortgage was lower than what I'd have to pay for a 1 bedroom apartment in my area, so giving up the house and renting wasn't an option! I'm very thankful that I didn't get laid off!
I remember you talking about this in a blog post a while back. I found it fascinating that even with the 2 minimum wage jobs you wouldn't be able to make ends meet. (and your mortgage was lower than the general rent in the area!). I'm glad the layoff didn't materialize for you - things would've been difficult for sure.
DeleteI had savings to cover any shortfall, but, it was very sobering to realize that I couldn't have managed to provide for myself and my daughter on federal minimum wage (which is still $7.25/hr. right now in 2022, comes out to about 1,256 per month, before deductions). I'm very glad that I didn't get laid off!
DeleteYour bananas are even dearer than ours. I wish I could buy them with 3 different shades, turning yellow, slightly green and really green. Fruit is more expensive here also our cucumbers are CAD $1.99.
ReplyDeleteI like the bulk order of tuna. Dancer will be able to claim extra tuna treats (double time) for quality control over the weekends.
We got the tree into the stand and the remaining bits of snow have fallen off and given some humidity to the air. It is smaller than usual which is good as I don't want to stand on a chair to reach the top, but I think it will need fewer lights and ornaments. Meanwhile DH still suffers but his toothache is reduced. However he is seeking advice from the dentist. Of course he will have to get over his cold!
Prices are lower at various other stores, Bushlady, but, they don't offer curbside pick up and I am not willing to shop in person, yet.
DeleteYes, I stocked up on tuna while it is still $1/can! Dancer has been very vocal about his share of treats, but, he's now getting old so I am indulging him! Mama Cat, too, gets a treat every so often!
Sounds like you are making progress towards getting the house decorated for Christmas! Glad you have the tree up! Now comes the fun of decorating it!
I didn't know that your DH had a toothache on top of the cold! Hope he recovers from the cold soon and the toothache gets taken care of, soon. If you have any cloves, smash up one and have him put it near the achy tooth - it's supposed to be an analgesic and something my step-father, who was a dental surgeon, used to tell his patients to do while they waited for an appointment to be seen.
I always like yellow bananas otherwise mine go from green to brown lol. I hope you and daughter and doing okay. Heard there was an earthquake in California. I think I remember that's where you said you were. Maybe I'm just imagining you were there!
ReplyDeleteI prefer bananas that are just getting ripe, so I always try to get the greener bananas!
DeleteYes, there was a 6.4 earthquake in northern California. I am in southern California; my daughter is in northern California, but, this recent earthquake was north of where she is and she was not affected. :)