I ordered groceries this morning and pick up the order in the afternoon. This is the first time I've grocery shopped this month; my last grocery shopping pick up was on April 21st, so almost 4 weeks ago (I thought it was 3 weeks ago! No wonder I was out of bread!)
In addition to being out of bread, I was out of cereal, too, and half way through the last jar of peanut butter. I was waiting for the peanut butter to go on sale at $0.99/jar, but, it hasn't been on sale at that price in a while, so, I decided to buy one jar on sale at $1.99 for now.
Once again, I mostly ordered things that were on sale, this week, along with a couple of treats (bagels & cream cheese, frozen gyoza). I bought:
3 Bananas,1.27 lb. @ $.69/lb. = $0.88
Oranges, 3lb. bag, reg. price $4.99, on sale with digital coupon = $2.99
1 Cucumber = $0.79
2 boxes cinnamon cereal, 12 oz., reg. price $5.59 (!), on sale with coupons @$1.49 = $2.98
1 box multi-grain cereal, 13 oz. reg. price $4.49, on sale with coupons = $1.99
1 Smoked sausage, 14 oz., reg. price $5.49, on sale with coupon = $3.49
2 lb. Bacon, store brand, reg. price $6.49/lb., on sale with digital coupon for $3.99/lb. = $7.98
1lb. Ground turkey, reg. price $6.99/lb. = $3.99
1 Peanut butter, 16 oz. jar, reg. price $3.69 on sale with coupon = $1.99
1 Cream cheese, 8 oz., store brand = $2.39
Bagels, 6 ct. bag, 18 oz., store brand = $2.49
1 loaf sandwich bread, 20 oz., store brand = $1.99
Frozen Gyoza (Potstickers), 20 oz. = $5.99
Total = $39.94
In addition, I bought some canned cat food for Dancer, but, that doesn't come from my grocery budget.
My monthly grocery budget is $100. Plus, I had $4.40 carried over from the April budget. So, my May grocery budget is $104.40.
Balance remaining in my May grocery budget = $104.40 - $39.94 = $64.46
In case anyone is wondering about the small quantities of fresh produce I purchased - I still have 8 apples in the fridge, plus 8 mandarins and the garden blueberries are starting to ripen (I am picking a small handful almost daily, now), I am still picking lemons when I need some and there will be fresh peaches, soon. There are carrots in the fridge, as well as a bit of fresh broccoli from the garden, and there are fresh snowpea pods to be picked almost daily, and broccoli leaves for greens, as well as the last of the lettuce. The 3 celery plants are starting to bolt even though the stalks are thin, so I might harvest those and use for cooking (I can't eat raw celery as it gives me indigestion). I also have frozen vegetables and fruit, as well as canned.
Have you gone grocery shopping this month? Are you finding good sales on the items you buy? Are you able to keep to your grocery budget or have you had to adjust it to accommodate price increases?
There have definitely been significant price increases here. Iceland, a British supermarket specialising in frozen foods, gives 10% reduction on Tuesdays to customers aged 60+. This makes a real difference to the overall bill - esp as they sell regular staples (milk, eggs, cheese) at prices to match other stores and I can stock up on these at discount. I'm watching out for coupons and offers diligently. And looking forward to harvesting home grown stuff on my return from holiday. I really feel for mums with large families to feed.
ReplyDeleteThat must be so helpful to get a 10% discount on purchases on that one day each week! Every little bit helps, doesn't it?
DeleteYou do well to have so much fresh produce available to you from your garden. Prices here are high and we have no choice but to pay the increased prices even those items that used to be on offer at £1 are now priced £2 on offer. I do what you do with peanut butter just buy one to see me through and wait for it to come on offer and then stock up.
ReplyDeleteI'm very blessed to have some vegetables and fruit growing in the garden and very thankful to have my gardener M help me with tending to them. Can you grow a few vegetables in your garden or will Tilly dig everything up? Maybe you'll be able to set up a few pots on a table outside and grow a few plants out of Tilly's reach.
DeleteYes, sale prices now are what regular prices used to be, aren't they? I am hoping that the peanut butter will go on sale at a good stock up price; we shall see.
You did well to get the peanut butter with the coupon. I'm glad we are not allergic like DGD. I like it spread on shredded wheat, with a sprinkle of raisin bran, and milk, of course. I wonder if you could grow a banana tree (bush?) in your yard?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady; peanut butter is a convenient thing to have for brunches and snacks, isn't it? I usually spread it on toast or crackers. Yes, I probably could grow banana plants in my yard although they require quite a bit of water and they can't tolerate colder winters (occasionally our night time lows in the winter go down to the low 30s and banana leaves will get frost damage at those temperatures). Also, a banana plant will die down after it has fruited, so one needs several plants to have a steady supply of bananas!
DeleteThat is pretty impressive! Yesterday we shopped for two people, in Canadian Dollars which are 74 cents to the American one. $246.69 hopefully that will last us for two weeks. chia bread $4.79, 12 grain bread $7.98
ReplyDelete1 kilo oranges $4.39. How does that all compare?
Thank you, Jozien.
DeleteI think your prices compare well to ours. What you paid for your chia bread would be the equivalent of $3.54 US. I searched for chia bread on my grocery store website and they have a chia and flax seed bread, organic, 26 oz. loaf, for US$4.49 which would be about $6 Canadian ($1 US = $1.35 Canadian, according to the online exchange rate for today). So, you paid less than what I'd have to pay for chia bread.
Our 12 grain bread is on sale this week for US$4.99 ($6.74 Canadian) for a 24 oz. loaf; regular price is $5.49 ($7.41 Canadian); your 12 grain bread would be $5.90 US, which is a little higher than our regular price for 12 grain bread. I usually buy regular white bread, unless I get a very good deal for multi-grain bread.
Oranges are selling for US$1.49/lb. for navel oranges and $1.99/lb. for something called 'heirloom navel oranges', at my store, so a kilo (2.2 lb.) of oranges would cost me US$3.28 for the cheaper kind and US$4.38 for the more expensive kind. But, I was able to buy 3 lbs. (1.36 kilo) of oranges with a coupon/special offer for $2.99 ($4.04 Canadian), which comes out to US$1/lb. Your oranges would have cost US$3.25, which works out to about $1.48/lb. for me, so very comparable to our regular navel oranges. :)
wow you did all the math :) Yes very comparable, the breads i bought were not organic though. It does make me see again that we are very spoiled here in the Yukon. I always feel it is my choice to live so far from were the food i buy is grown, i feel i should pay for that. You know what i mean, why should i have oranges that are the same price for me as they are for you. Can you imagine if i ship my rhubarb to you for free? Rhubarb my first fruit like food of the season, raspberries will be July
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, yes, I did the math! I had read that prices were much higher in Canada, than they are here, but, the prices you mentioned weren't that different. Yum! Rhubarb! I love rhubarb! I've tried growing it here in my garden, but, haven't had much luck; it's not always available in the grocery stores and the last time I bought some, it cost $4.99/lb. and that was several years ago.
DeleteI agree with how fortunate you are to have so much produce available in your yard.
ReplyDeletePrices have stabilized right now but they are still up at least 25% from what they were. Except for meats and fowl and they are sky high now.
Yes, the only problem with gardening here is watering. Which is why I'm trying to have mostly edible plants. If I am paying for water (and the gardener), then, I might as well grow something that will help feed me!
DeleteMeat and poultry are definitely sky high! I am still able to buy chicken on sale for about $1/lb. (and then, I stock up), but, I've almost stopped buying pork and beef as the prices are ridiculous. Fish, too.
You did well holding off so long for your first shop of May. You got some good prices- the oranges were a good price for the 3lb bag. I paid $3.99 a couple weeks ago for a bag of oranges. (They were delicious too :) I have 2 left so time to get more. Your meals are always varied so I never "worry" about you getting your fruits and vegetables. I know you will come up with something lol
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you get two loaves of bread and keep the extra in the freezer so when you don't go to the store you won't run out of bread?
But maybe it doesn't bother you so you don't mind.
Thank you; I was holding out for bargains that don't seem to come that often! Yes, the oranges were a good price, weren't they? I used to have a friend who would always ask me where my vegetables were, when I'd post about the groceries I bought or the meals I planned or ate and how much exercise I got! She passed away a few years ago, but, I always think of her when I do my meal plans! :)
DeleteThat's a good question about why I don't get two loaves of bread and freeze one. The answer is, I feel there is a taste difference in bread, hamburger buns, etc., that I've frozen, even after I've toasted them. I usually grocery shop every 2-3 weeks and a loaf of bread will last me about that long. I have some packaged toasted bread in the pantry if I really need some bread or, I make roti and that tides me over. :)