This Month's Grocery Spending - January 2022

 

This month I only went out twice to do my grocery shopping (January 2nd & January 23rd) and per my usual I went armed with a detailed list and shopped at several stores to get the items I wanted at the prices I was willing to pay.  With shortages affecting each store differently you pretty much need to go to various stores in order to get everything you need these days.  To save time and money I always plan out a route that is most efficient and drive in one big circle.  Fortunately, every store I typically go to lies within a five mile radius of my home so I have a lot of places to choose from without involving a ton of driving or a ton of time.

 

At the beginning of the month we didn't need much, mainly dairy & fresh produce

Freebies!  Thank you very much Albertson's!

I employed a variety of ways to shave the cost off the groceries I ended up buying this month.  I scoured the ads, checked store websites for special offers, free offers and digital coupons.  I used coupons that came in the mail from Fred Meyer and maximized my savings by waiting until the items I wanted to use those coupons with went on sale.

 

50% OFF lowest marked prices

Markdown & sales produce plus a FREE bottle of salad dressing

Meat prices have really soared so finding good sales and well priced markdowns was a bit of a challenge, but not impossible.  I was able to get a good price on some ground beef and used one of my Fred Meyer coupons to shave off an additional $1.10 from the sales price.  I used a $5 OFF Produce coupon I received in the mail to cover the cost of items I picked up on sale or markdown.  And I was able to pick up several items at Albertsons for FREE using a $25 gift card I received as part of a pharmacy promotion when I filled a new prescription last summer.

 

A few extra items added to the prepper pantry

I even managed to get a couple small prepper pantry hauls completed.  In my first grocery shop at Winco I picked up two jars of pesto on sale for $1.98 each.  Then, this past Sunday, I stumbled across a price reduction on canned tomatoes and canned vegetables for 48¢ a can so I picked up $5 worth of canned goods to add to our current supply.  Every little bit counts.  The $9 for these items is included in my regular food budget as this year I do not have a separate prepper pantry budget.

 

Albertsons provided citrus, milk, bananas & meats from the markdown bin

A few more items from Winco

The only nonfood item I purchased was a bottle of vitamins at Trader Joes for $3.49.  The final total on my food purchases came in at $66.18 leaving me with $33.82 left in my $100 budget.  I was really proud of that.  I was even happier with all of the delicious, nutritious and thrifty meals I created.  Even better is the fact that most of what I purchased on my last shopping trip is going to last well into February and some of it well beyond.  Some good investments into our culinary future.

 

Fred Meyer haul - produce, meat, cheese $1.47/pkg, eggs, tortilla chips

How did you do with your shopping this month?  Any great buys or opportunities to stock up on anything?