This Month's Grocery Spending - August 2022

 

Next to my no spend month in April this was my lowest month of grocery spending coming in at $46.11.  I was, and still am, on a mission to use up what is currently sitting in my kitchen freezer and the odds and ends of things in the refrigerator, mainly condiments.  I made a BIG dent in that endeavor by using up a jar of pickles, a jar of banana peppers, a jar of minced garlic, a jar of pesto, a container of mustard and ketchup, all of the leftover salad dressings with only one or two servings left in them, the veggies I had in the crisper drawer as well as any leftovers from meals I prepared throughout the month.  It made for some creative meal planning and added some interest in the process.  I do not want anything to go to waste and so far, so good.

 

My first shopping trip this month at Winco

My focus this month was to supplement only the fresh produce I would need throughout the month and to purchase only what was on sale.  I found a lot of good stuff to choose from too as this is the time of the year when produce seems most abundant, especially local produce.  Even though the prices were good I needed to make sure I didn't over buy which I tend to do at times.

 

The first week of the month I didn't shop at all as I wanted to use up what I already had.  After that I shopped weekly picking up only what I found on sale.  At Winco I was able to refill my produce bin and pick up a few pantry items I was low on.  The next two weeks I shopped at Albertson's and only purchased their loss leaders and sales items making for some really low cost shopping.

 

My second grocery haul from Albertson's & Dollar Tree

I allocate myself $25 each month for nonfood items, but since I hadn't been spending that money I used some of it to establish a $100 budget to stock up on pet food and supplies for winter.  So far I have the kitties and the bunny taken care of and a good start on my chickens.

 

I got this plus two 22# bags of dry food from Amazon

You can see from my list I did not purchase any meat and that is because I didn't need too.  In previous months I had stocked up on meat, mostly found on markdown or a great sale so I'm pretty well set for a while.  I was able to pick up some sliced cheeses on sale and that will likely last me for a couple of months or so.

 

Like this month my plan for next month is pretty much the same.  I will shop the sales to supplement what I already have on hand and fill in any gaps in my pantry.  Again my main focus will be on fresh produce and possibly some dairy.  I'll continue to prepare delicious and nutritious meals using up a lot of what I already have in the pantry and freezer too.

 

My last shopping trip at Albertson's - all loss leaders & sales items

How are you doing with your grocery budget these days?  Are you changing up what you normally do in order to combat the rise in prices?  Did you happen across any great bargains?