Monday, March 23, 2026

March Grocery Shopping Part 3 and Meal Plan Options

On Sunday, I put in an order for groceries to be delivered.

As usual, I wanted to stock up on a few items and to take advantage of sales and coupons.  Beef chuck roast, for example, was on sale this week for $5.99/lb.(regular price $10.99/lb.) and while that is still a rather high price, I decided to get a piece at that price because the next time it goes on sale, it might be priced even higher.

The brand of bar soap I usually use was not on sale, but, I had a coupon for $4 off the purchase of two packets.  I am now stocked up on soap. 

I wanted a cucumber, but, the store was out of both regular and English cucumbers.  And the 10 lb. bag of sugar I wanted was out of stock and I accepted the substitution of a 4 lb. bag of sugar, instead.  

The store notified me when the shopper started the shopping, when she checked out, and when she was on her way.  This time, I was on the look out and made sure I was standing on the doorstep to accept the groceries.

The items were delivered just after 5:30 p.m. and daughter put away the items for me.


Here's my receipt:

Original Item Total$143.95
Item Coupons/Sales-$48.35
Fulfillment Fee+$0.00
Other Fees+$0.80
Sales Tax+$3.21
Order Total$99.61

Item Details

21 Items

Boneless Beef Chuck Roast, 1 lb$34.50
5.76 lbs x $5.98 $10.99 each (approx.)
Item Coupon/Sale: -$28.80
CA Redem Val$0.60
1 x $0.60 each
Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch$2.19
3.17 lbs x $0.69 each (approx.)
Fresh Green Beans, 1 lb$2.81
1.13 lbs x $2.48 each (approx.)
Irish Spring Bar Soap Original Scent, 8 ct / 3.7 oz$12.98
2 x $6.49 $8.49 each
Kroger® Half and Half Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$5.79
1 x $5.79 each
Kroger® Traditional Favorites Frozen Peas Green, 12 oz$2.50
2 x $1.25 $1.50 each
Kroger® White Sandwich Bread, 20 oz$1.99
1 x $1.99 each
PLANTERS Lower Sodium Whole Dry Roasted Lightly Salted Peanuts, net wt 16 oz (453g)$3.98
2 x $1.99 $5.29 each
Royal® Family Size Flan Mix, 3.81 oz$1.79
1 x $1.79 $2.29 each
Seedless California Cuties® Mandarin Clementine Oranges in 5lb Bag, 5 lb$4.99
1 x $4.99 $8.99 each
Smart Way™ Granulated Sugar, 4 lb$3.49
1 x $3.49 each
Sparkling Ice® Summer LTO Lemonade Variety Pack (Pack of 12), 12 ct / 17 fl oz$12.99
1 x $12.99 $13.99 each
StarKist Reduced Sodium Chunk Light in Water Can, 5 oz$5.00
5 x $1.00 $1.59 each

Other Fees

$0.80

Bag Fee$0.80
8 x $0.10 each

The total paid was:  $99.61

Of which $12.98  + $1.60 tax was for soap, which doesn't come out of the grocery budget.

Total spent on groceries = $85.03

My March Grocery Budget: $250 + $73.64 carried over from February = $323.64

Spent to date: $69.63 + $57.54 + $56.93 + $85.03 = $269.13

Balance Remaining: $54.51

That amount should be ample for the last week in March.  


March Week 3 Meal Plan Options:

Brunches:  Tuna salad sandwiches; cold cuts sandwiches; bagels; scrambled eggs and turkey bacon with toast; salads; ramen noodles; leftovers

Dinners:  Rice, chicken curry, spicy sauteed potatoes, kale mallung, and moringa curry;  rice, beef curry, sauteed green beans, peach chutney; leftovers; 

Snacks/Desserts: Fruit (bananas, mandarins, grapes, apples, dates, etc.); cereal; kalu dodol; sesame and jaggery candy; cheese crackers;flan

As always, I am grateful for:
- The availability of groceries
- Being able to order online and
- Getting it delivered
- Being able to have a varied diet
- Weekly sales and coupons

How about you?  What are you paying for beef in your area?  Are you finding good bargains at stock up prices?  Are you making a meal plan or meal plan options this week?

12 comments:

  1. That was a great price on the meat. If I find some that cheap, I’ll buy some,too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, June. I thought it was still a very high price for beef, but, it's the cheapest it's been in some time. We eat a lot of chicken, but, daughter has been told, by her doctor, to eat more red meat. Pork is cheaper than beef, but, sometimes, it's nice to have a change, isn't it?

      Delete
  2. That seems to be a well organized delivery system. I haven't seen any "stock up" prices in meat for a while, but I did find a great bargain in frozen haddock worth stocking up on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The delivery of groceries is going well, I think. I'm glad you found a good bargain on the frozen haddock. I think, with it being Lent, there are some good sales on fish.

      Delete
  3. Well done on the grocery shopping. Think I've said this before but I'm cringing at the prices. I'm looking to think of budget meals or meals that can be prepared and bits frozen as husband and son aren't fans of eating the same things more than once in a row. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sharon. Yes, the prices are steadily rising, aren't they? Even what we used to think of as budget meals are getting more expensive! Cooking and freezing parts of the meal components for a later date is a good idea, too. If you are cooking ground beef to add to pasta sauce, you can freeze half of the ground beef to make a cottage pie or chili, another day. If you are having baked chicken, some of the cooked chicken can be kept for a chicken casserole another day. We will eat leftovers, but, leftovers can be made over, too. It does take more effort to do so.

      Delete
  4. I'm happy to say that I'm working through my meal plan this week. It saves me so much time, and unnecessary spending. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad to hear that, Jules. Saving time and money sounds good to me. :)

      Delete
  5. I've never really done meal planning, I just kind of seem to look at the veg I've got and find some way of cooking it plus some fish or tofu if I've got it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My meal plans are flexible; more options than actual plans. I often go off the meal plans, any way. But, having the options means I don't have to stare into the fridge to decide what to cook each night, unless I want to. :)

      Delete

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. Please comment in English. No Anonymous comments, please. And no links to other websites, especially advertising products. Thank you.