This month I embarked on a two month pantry challenge to finish up the summer with. My deep freezer was packed to the gills with some really great meat and seafood I got on markdown or with digital coupon offers for an awesome deal. After awhile you have have to eat this stuff so a pantry challenge was definitely in order.
 |
| Day 1 of my pantry challenge - lots of good stuff! |
 |
| The veggies in this drawer from last year need to be used up |
I began the month with a fairly empty crisper drawer so I wanted to add just a few items I use quite often as well as some milk for making my yogurt and smoothies and a quart of cream for my coffee. I stopped into Winco one evening on my way home and quickly picked up what I needed for just $16.07. Other than that, I was pretty well set to get started.
 |
| Kitchen freezer - veggies on the left, meats on the right |
A week and a half later I stopped back into Winco on my way home from work to pick up more salad greens, an onion, a bunch of scallions and two bags of frozen broccoli florets. I needed the onion, scallions and broccoli for some meal prepping I had planned and more greens for some delicious summer salads. My goal with this time was to spend less than $15 and this shop came in at $13.33. I was pretty happy about that.
At the end of the month I went to Cash & Carry because they had the best price on a half gallon of cream at $9.59. I also made the last and final grocery shopping trip into Winco to restock some dairy items I had run low on which included a half gallon of organic milk, a very large tub of organic yogurt, a container of bleu cheese to use in my salads and in some salad dressing I made as well as another bag of spinach for my salads and smoothies. That shop came in at $16.82, a little more than I was wanting to spend that day, but the yogurt was a good deal and I didn’t have time to make my own so, that was that.
The cream, milk and yogurt purchases at the end of the month have set me up very well to head into the next month well stocked and will keep me on track as my pantry challenge continues. The total spent on non food items came in at $0 and my total spent for food this month was $54.65 leaving me with a rollover amount totaling $54.78 to add to next month’s $100 budgeted amount. I am quite pleased with that.
As grocery prices continue to climb how are you doing with your shopping? Are you able to stay within budget and get the items you need? How about stocking up? Are you able to find good bargains to fill your shelves and freezer?
It’s getting really hard to keep my spending within the range I’ve had for several years ($300-$400). I am fortunate that I don’t have to stick to a hard and fast budget, which is good because I’m going over lol. I’ve got a pretty decent stash in my pantry and freezer, but fresh stuff makes it difficult to keep spending down.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have wiggle room in your budget right now for your groceries.
DeleteI mostly only buy the things I use withing a couple of weeks, altho I do have an emergency food storage and plenty in the freezer. I love these challenges where you use up a bunch of what you have in order to keep the rotation fresh. I find that if I shop on Thursday t HEB, that's when I find the meat and produce markdowns. Yesterday i used digital coupons and saved $15 and the cashier was impressed. (:
ReplyDeleteI love it when I impress the cashier. That's how I know I did a really good job. LOL
DeleteIt seems there maybe fewer bargains & good sale prices but I'm still finding them. It's not as abundant as 2-3 years ago though. Yesterday at Kroger I got 4 boxes of 16 oz pasta for 49c each. Not my favorite brand but hey it's 49c. Then on the way to the checkout I discovered a markdown shelf of pasta with one of my favorite pasta brands from Italy. These packages are usually around $4 for a 16 oz pack. I got 4 for $2 each because I really enjoy using quality Italian pasta for a special meal but rarely want to pay that much.
ReplyDeleteStill waiting on my garage freezer to be repaired so I'm not able to stock up too much but I did see half off on some cheeses so I got several and stuffed it in the fridge. It doesn't expire for several months.
I'm really trying to focus on using what I have before buying for weekly meals. Some weeks I do better than others.
That's a great deal on the pasta!
DeleteYou did great
ReplyDeletet! I wish we had prices like that! Our grocery bill is pretty steep, but we do feed a lot of people and they eat large portions and have multiple helpings! I try to take the last 5ish days of the month and use everything up or make a list so I can add to what we have. I get very creative around now and can usually come up with healthy, hearty meals. I will be using up cabbage, carrots, cheese, and canned chicken for dinner.
You have a great plan and strategy for curbing food waste and your grocery bill.
DeleteMeat prices are up here. Egg prices have fallen but are higher than they were. Sales are lackluster, but the items that I'm buying that aren't on sale have actually come down a bit. Of course, I have a deep pantry and freezer so I can always pull from that.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have a well stocked pantry and freezer. It helps a lot.
DeleteIn my area (northern MT), I have been tracking it, and food prices are definitely coming down. Eggs are now in the $2/dozen range, and my local grocery store does a great job on varying meat and produce (and pasta, etc.) in their loss leaders. If you are strategic on shopping loss leaders, you can definitely stock up more affordably. I will say that I do see a big difference in the two main grocery stores in my town—the regional chain definitely has better sales than the national chain.
ReplyDelete