Meal Plan Monday: Week 4 of $300 Grocery Experiment

It's the final week of my experiment and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm taking the budget right up to $300, but I could have kept it under. I've factored an entire Thanksgiving feast into my budget, and there's still enough room for not only the rest of the week's food, but there's also room for some special breakfasts. If you're just joining me, click here for an explanation of my experiment.

Just a reminder: In the previous weeks of the experiment I budgeted for some items that I'll be using this week, like the yeast and spices along with the turkey. I also kept each of the previous weeks under the allotted $75, so that I could use the extra for the holiday. I'll be spending the last $86 from the $300 to buy all of my remaining ingredients.
Thanksgiving food (the links are to my old blog, because I haven't had the chance to redo the pictures):
turkey
sweet potato casserole
green beans
rolls (made from this recipe, but shaped differently)
stuffing
mashed potatoes
gravy
cranberry sauce
pumpkin pie
clementines

Breakfasts:
sausage, biscuits, and gravy
cinnamon rolls
cereal w/ bananas and milk
oatmeal w/ raisins
pumpkin pancakes

Lunches:
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches w/ pretzels and fruit
leftovers

Dinners:
loaded potato soup
pizza
spaghetti
baked chicken with roasted root vegetables
broccoli cheese quiche
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving leftovers (I'm not entirely sure what will be left and I'll be with family, so it's likely that we'll just make a meal of any leftovers)

Claire:
When Claire can't really eat what we're having, I make her frozen peas and/or carrots. I've been buying the bags throughout this experiment and including them in the price, but I forgot to previously mention what they were for.

What's on your menu?

this post is linked to orgjunkie.com

$300 grocery experiment: week 3 finances

I hit a bump in the road Monday morning after we set out to the grocery store. It had been snowing non-stop since the previous evening and school was cancelled, but I didn't think much of it and headed over to Aldi. The parking lot was deserted and a sign was on the door saying they didn't have any power. At this point, I got a little nervous thinking Kroger might be closed too. Thankfully, they were open, but this meant in order to get all my shopping done there, I had to make some changes to my meal plan to compensate for price differences.

The two biggest changes were switching loaded potato soup for a half batch of broccoli cheese soup and pumpkin pancakes for banana muffins.

Here's how things ended up working out:

Turkey (for Thanksgiving) $.98/lb (when you spend $10) =$12.37
Pork roast $10.11 (it's a little smaller than I was originally planning, but it was all they had)
4 half gallons of milk at $1.50 each
5lb bag apples $3.99
4 lbs bananas $.55/lb
2.35 lbs ripe bananas $.45/lb
pasta sauce $1.29
assorted canned beans $.69 each x4 (3 for chili and 1 backup in case I didn't have enough pulled pork leftover for the quesadillas)
28 oz jar peanut butter $2.99
16 oz oatmeal $1.59
whole wheat tortillas $1.69
taco sauce $1.50
hot chocolate packets $.99 (part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
fruit snacks $1.49 (part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
non-stick cooking spray $2.49 (part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
apple juice $1.99 (part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
Cheerios $1.99 (part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
Barbeque sauce $.99 x2 (part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
frozen broccoli $1.49 (part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
2 bags frozen stir fry vegetables $1 each
4 bags frozen peas and carrots $1 each
shredded casserole blend cheese $1.99 (for broccoli cheese soup)
shredded mexican blend cheese $1.99
dozen eggs $1.99

Total for week 3: $71.96
Total spent on experiment so far: $213.83

A few notes:

• I was not originally planning to do the buy 10 save $5 promotion, but it had part of what I was looking for and allowed me to say yes when Quinn asked for the princess fruit snacks. I did not have any pulled pork leftovers to use for the quesadillas or a BBQ pizza. I settled for black beans in the quesadillas and a cheese pizza with the some of the pasta sauce from spaghetti night on it.
• You might notice that the pasta and diced tomatoes for the chili are missing from the above list, but I purchased those last week to have a little extra since they were on such a good sale. 
• This week I budgeted a large jar of peanut butter instead of a small jar, because the price per ounce is cheaper. I also ended up with an extra bottle of barbeque sauce since I didn't need it for the pizza.
• The 10 lb bag of potatoes I bought the first week finally ran out this week as did the bags of flour I bought last week.

Join me next week for the exciting conclusion to my experiment, which will include the makings for the rest of Thanksgiving dinner in addition to the week's worth of meals.

Meal Plan Monday: week 3 of $300 grocery experiment

One trick to keeping a grocery budget low is planning ahead. As you probably know, Thanksgiving is next week. If you're buying a frozen turkey, you'll want to start thawing it no later than next Monday. I don't like to cut it that close or chance not being able to find the right size turkey, so I'm buying it this week. Now technically, I'm not in charge of the turkey for thanksgiving dinner, but many people are, so I thought it best to budget for it to show that you can even stick to a budget with the holidays. I am not actually going to buy the turkey, but I will pick one out at the grocery store and take a picture of it to report on this week's financial recap.
If you're just joining, check out my experiment explanation here.
Also check out the meal plan for week 1 here and week 2 here.

It snowed last night and school is cancelled today, so part of this week's plan reflects a winter theme. The other portion of this week's plan is based upon a request from some dinner guests we'll be having this week.


On the menu this week:

• oatmeal with raisins
• pumpkin pancakes
• cheerios w/ bananas and milk
• PB&J sandwiches w/ pretzels and fruit
• spaghetti
• BBQ pulled pork fries
• pork and pepper quesadillas 
• pizza 
• loaded potato soup
• 3-bean chili
• veggie stir fry with rice
• leftovers

This post is linked to orgjunkie.com

$300 Grocery Experiment: week 2 finances

What a week! I was completely swamped with school work and barely had time to finish it all, let alone do anything else.

This week was so much easier to budget than last week, but I did need to think ahead for Thanksgiving, so I didn't use my entire $75. Click here to see this week's menu and continue reading to see how shopping went.

• all-purpose flour (5lb) $1.38 Aldi
• whole wheat flour (5lb) $2.69 Kroger
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded (1lb) $3.69 Aldi
• Tomato Sauce $.25 Aldi
• Italian Seasoning $.99 Aldi
• garlic bulb $.49 Kroger 
• Pepperoni $1.99 Aldi
• Butter quarters (1 lb) $2.49 Kroger (as part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
• Pasta (x2) $.69 Kroger (as part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion) 
• canned tomatoes (x6) $.49 Kroger (as part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
• frozen tortellini $2.49 (as part of a buy 10 save $5 promotion)
• peanut butter (16 oz) $1.69 Aldi
• apples (3lb) (x2) $2.49 Aldi
• milk (gal) x3 $1.99 Aldi
• pancake syrup $1.69 Aldi
• eggs (doz) $1.59 Aldi
• powdered sugar $.99 aldi
• blackberries (6 oz) x2 $.99 Kroger
• bananas 3.4 lb @ $.55/lb Kroger
• Frozen peas and carrots (x2) $1 Kroger
• Soy sauce $1.39 Kroger
• fresh grape tomatoes $.69 Aldi
• Raspberry Jam $2.59 Kroger
• yeast (jar) $2.89 Kroger
• canned beans (x4) $.59 each Aldi
• frozen chopped spinach $1 Kroger
• block cheddar cheese $1.89 Aldi
• Turkey Ham $4.99 Kroger
• pretzels $1.29 Aldi
• Cheerios (store brand) $1.69
• Brussel Sprouts $1.99 (manager special)
• loaf bread $.65 (manager special)

I did end up needing to switch my planned meal of chef salad to ham, brussel sprouts, and bread since I found the brussels on sale and the lettuce didn't look great.
My total for the week came to: $66.96 and my total so far for the month is $141.87.

I was able to buy ahead a little this week. I bought an extra box of spaghetti, 1 extra lb of butter, and 2 extra cans of tomatoes. I also budgeted buy a jar of yeast instead of the little 3 packs, since they get so expensive. I had to buy a loaf of bread since by the experiment standards I ran too low on flour last week to make a loaf before grocery shopping, so I made sure to buy more this week. Whole wheat flour helps to fill you up better, so I may be able to get the rest of the month with what I bought this week, though I won't know for sure until next weekend.

Just for full disclosure, we did find ourselves at my parents for part of the weekend and they fed us, but I'm still treating the budget as if we really did eat all the meals I bought supplies for. I didn't get to make the tortellini soup or spaghetti, but those ingredients are independent of others, so I'm putting them away into my regular food storage.. I'm also pretending like we finished off the oatmeal during the breakfasts and the peanut butter and jams during the lunches. I made about the right amount of bread anyway, since I took some with us and fed a bunch to the pig.

Meal Plan Monday: week 2 of $300 monthly grocery budget

We survived week 1 of my grocery experiment. If you're just tuning in, check out the explanation post.

Last week, I had to improvise a lot to make the recipes work for the ingredients I had. Surprisingly enough, we found some meals the kids were super excited about, so I'm going to repeat some of them again.

Planned Breakfasts:

• oatmeal w/ raisins
• pancakes
• french toast
• cereal

Planned Lunches:

• Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
• Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
• leftovers

Planned Dinners:

•  bean chili
• chili cheese fries
• fried rice
• pizza
• spaghetti
• tortellini soup
• chef salad

What's your favorite inexpensive meal?

This post is linked to orgjunkie's menu plan Monday

$300 Grocery Experiment: week 1 financial

 If you're just tuning in, check out this post explaining the experiment and this post sharing my plans for this week.

This week has been challenging. When I first came up with the idea to do this series with a $75 budget, I thought it would be a piece of cake, but I forgot to consider how expensive getting a pantry started is. What I really hope to show through this series is how quickly a bit of sacrifice can turn in to a way to constantly save money.

Here's the break down of this week's budget:

Basic pantry staples: $18.35

• sugar (4 lb) $1.49 @ Aldi
• baking soda $.49 @ Aldi
• baking powder $.99 @ Aldi
• salt $.39 @ Aldi
• cinnamon $.99 @ Aldi
• nutmeg $1.69 @ Aldi
• cumin $.99 @ Aldi
• chili powder $.99 @ Aldi
• rice (3lb) $1.49 @ Aldi
• flour (5lb) $ 1.29 @ Aldi
• oatmeal (16oz) $1.59 @ Kroger
• yeast (active dry 3 pk) $.99 @ Kroger
• bouillon $1.69 @ Aldi
• oil $2.29 @ Aldi
• brown sugar $.99 @ Aldi

These are items that I don't like to be without. I have a small stash of all but the spices and continually replenish as needed. For the purposes of this experiment, I calculated the yeast and bouillon from different packages than I typically buy, due to store and price restrictions. I usually buy a higher quality bouillon from Kroger, but I've used the Aldi stuff in the past and the taste is fine. I also buy 2 or more pounds of yeast at a time from GFS and store it in my freezer. One package will last me a year or more and it costs less than $5 dollars.

Other items I usually to keep on hand: $28.01

• 16oz peanut butter $1.69 @ Aldi
• 2 9oz boxes off-brand cheerios $.99 each @ Aldi (special sale price)
• tomato sauce $.25@ Aldi
• dozen eggs $1.59 @ Aldi
• 3 lb bag onions $.99 @ Aldi
• frozen ravioli $2.99
• real bacon bits $1.49 @ Aldi
• cream cheese $.99 @ Aldi
• canned pumpkin $.89 @ Aldi
• 20 oz raisins $2.89 @ Aldi
• natural strawberry jam $2.59 @ Kroger
• butter (1lb) $3.79 @ Aldi
• canned tomatoes $.50 @ Kroger
• 3 cans beans $.50 each @ Kroger
• spaghetti noodles $.89 @ Aldi
• pasta sauce $.99 @ Aldi
• 12 oz frozen peas and carrots $1 @ Kroger
• 12 oz frozen peas $1 @ Kroger

I rarely pay this much for butter. I stock up when it's on sale and put it in my freezer. However, all of the canned goods prices are at stock-up prices.

What I would have purchased had this been a normal week: $25.86

• 2 gal milk $2.79 each @ Aldi
• 2 3lb bags apples $2.49 each @ Aldi
• 3.99lb bananas $.55/lb @ Kroger
• celery $1.25 @ Kroger
• 2 lb grapes $1.98 @ Aldi
• pineapple $1 @ Kroger
• bag mini sweet peppers $4.99 @ Kroger
• 1 lb carrots $.79 @ Kroger
• 1 bunch green onions $.49 @ Kroger
• 10 lb bag potatoes $1.99 @ Aldi
• 1 tomato on the vine $.62 @ Kroger

These are the items I either need to buy every week or don't buy unless I need them. I lucked out on the milk prices, since they've regularly been over $3 recently. The mini bag of peppers should last beyond this week unless Wyatt really gets to snacking on them, so even though $5 is a little ridiculous for peppers, they'll last longer than buying single peppers at $1.50 each.

What I couldn't get this week:
 I have to make a few adjustments to my recipes this week. My fried rice will need to be made without soy sauce, my enchilada will skip the olives and be made with a very basic homemade enchilada sauce.

How I made a few things work:
I chose the spices this week for their ability to go in multiple recipes. Each on will be used mulitple times this week and in the weeks to come.

$300 Grocery Experiment: week 1 plans

This week we are starting our $300 monthly grocery budget experiment. It took me quite awhile to come up with a suitable meal plan that I could buy every single ingredient needed for $75 or less. It took some compromising on some ingredients, but I really want to show how my process of grocery shopping and budgeting starts from the very beginning. I hope I give you some ideas and feel free to email me (address found in the "Contact Me" tab above) or leave a comment below with any questions or friendly comments.

To follow is both my meal plan and the accompanying grocery list for everything you'd need to make these meals. I'll share the actual prices for each item later this week.

Planned dinners:

• Spaghetti
• 3-bean chili
• Chili cheese potatoes
• Loaded Potato Soup
• Fried Rice
• Black Beans and Rice
• Enchilada Ravioli

Planned lunches:

• Peanut Butter and Jelly w/ apple, pineapple, grape, or ants on a log
• Leftovers 

Planned Breakfasts:

• Oatmeal with sugar and raisins
• Cheerios with bananas and milk
• Pumpkin pancakes

Planned Grocery List

milk

apples

bananas (per pound)

frozen peas and carrots

pasta

pasta sauce

canned beans

canned tomatoes

rice

bag flour

butter (1lb)

celery

oatmeal

sugar (4lb)

strawberry jam

grapes (2lb)

yeast

pineapple

raisins (20oz)

sweet peppers

chili powder

nutmeg

dozen eggs

baking powder

salt

baking soda

cinnamon

pumpkin

bouillon

brown sugar

oil

bag carrots

cream cheese

sharp cheddar

bacon bits

green onion

ravioli

tomato sauce

sliced olives

cumin

cheerios

bag potatoes

peanut butter

1 tomato

bag onions

Buying all of the basic pantry items added up to such a large portion of the budget that there isn't enough room for the typical American diet amount of meat. However, you'll notice that we are still getting plenty of protein through beans, peanut butter, and some cheese.
I wish there were a little more room in the budget for some additional fruits and veggies, but we're still getting some.

$300 Monthly Grocery Budget: Family of 6

Is your budget tight? Are you looking for real ways to cut your grocery budget. I am a full-time online student, mother to 4 children, ages 5 and under, and wife to a husband that between work and school is gone for 60+ hours each week. I, like you, don't have the time or energy to clip a bunch of coupons and drive to several different stores each week. This month I'm opening my life to share with you that it is possible to spend less, eat well, and not spend all day in the kitchen.
Join me on instagram, facebook, and twitter as I share regular updates and tips on this project. Then be sure to check back here on the blog every week for my meal and grocery plans.

Things you should know:

• This is for a school project on provident family life. I picked all the factors and wanted to find a way to incorporate things I'm already doing with something that will be a small challenge.
• I have a 9 month baby that eats some table foods, a 2 year old that is hit and miss on eating with no real rhyme or reason, a very picky 4 year old, and an always hungry 5 year old that can eat almost as much as a teenager.
• I normally pull foods from food storage, but for this project, I will factor all of the prices in as if I bought it that week/this month and I will use current grocery store prices. I won't necessarily use the same name brand prices, but I will use the lowest price of a brand I would be willing to buy and feed my family. 
• I am only shopping at (and using prices) from 2 local stores: Kroger and Aldi
• I live in central Ohio, where the cost of living is comparable to many, but lower than other areas. To see if this is realistic for your area, compare prices for the same items in your area.
• Recently, I have been spending about $100 at the grocery store each week. So $75 will be pinching. 
• We have chickens that lay eggs, so I won't be factoring in the cost of any eggs we eat unless I need to buy a carton from the store. I will be using our eggs, but calculating them by the store's lowest price.
• I will be showing you both my plans and what actually happens 
• There are some products I will buy/substitute for this project that are slightly different from my usual, because I am trying to make this as applicable to as many people as possible. I'll explain each of these as I go along.

What is your favorite way to lower your grocery bill?