This Month's 2026 Grocery Spending – October

 

This month my goal was simply to fill in pantry and refrigerator gaps, eat well and add some things to my LTFS.  I feel like I accomplished that goal rather well.  I have a LTFS wish list and I managed to get quite a few of those items crossed off my list by taking advantage of some sales, digital coupons and loss leaders I found.  Getting boneless skinless chicken breasts for only $1.27 a pound felt like a HUGE win.

 

I have reorganized the pantry since these pictures were taken

I’ve been using my pantry list to help me restock the kitchen and it has worked out really well.  Every time I buy something I simply check it off the list and little by little I’ve managed to fully restock my kitchen with enough things that I can pretty much make anything I like.  I began with the necessities and moved onto the “nice to haves”.  I’m now in the “nice to have” stage of the process.

 

Canned goods on the left, dry & freeze dried items on the right

The BFF has got to stop buying me coffee 😂

The two cans of Don Francisco are a housewarming gift

The cupboard over the refrigerator plus one cloth bin is what I am using to store my LTFS food.  The other bin up there holds non food items like light bulbs and extra cleaning supplies.  It is proving to be exactly enough space to meet my needs and I’m glad I chose that area.  I’m also really happy that I chose to streamline my LTFS.

 

Costco haul

Bonus item 😹

Based on all of the really good deals I found at local stores plus the ability to order online and have things delivered I have scrapped my plans for a winter stock up trip to Costco and Winco in the “big city”.  At this time I don’t feel it necessary and in order for that trip to feel worth it, especially with the jump again in fuel prices, I’d feel compelled to purchase far more than I actually need.  I definitely do not want to over purchase food or nonfood items.

 

Fish & Chips

Homemade tartar sauce

Adding the toaster oven with the air fryer function has been a bonus in my kitchen.  This month I purchased items I normally haven’t purchased often in the past like the fish fillets, corn dogs, onion rings and tater tots.  With the high cost of eating out I decided to add these things so I can dine-in instead.  I make my own tartar sauce and fry sauce too.  The air fryer gives me that crispiness without deep frying so I also feel my own renditions are probably healthier.

 

They blend in well and I hardly ever notice them

This month I added another cloth bin to store non food items, particularly extra cleaning supplies and toiletries from under the kitchen and bathroom sink.  It was too jam-packed in those spaces and made it difficult to get out what I needed without making a mess.  Adding that bin has made it so much nicer.  Speaking of nonfood items the only things I bought were a box of pint sized bags and a box of gallon sized bags for the vacuum sealer.

 

Small grocery hauls of sales items really do add up quickly

I feel as we head into winter that I am well stocked in both my daily working pantry, the refrigerator/freezer as well as my LTFS pantry and the new tiny deep freezer.  Next month I plan to add one more Butcher Box order to the deep freezer and that should be all I need as far as stocking up on meat for quite a while.  Needless to say I am feeling rather blessed to be able to restock a brand new home practically from scratch without over spending or needing to go into debt to do so.  Moving forward my goal is to re-adopt my pull and replace protocol so that I can easily maintain my inventory within a set budget.

 

All of the orange items are for my LTFS - How did I do?

My total food spend this month was another impressive one, I think, given everything I was able to acquire.  My total food spend for the month of October is $191.22 and that includes a nice Costco haul.  I am feeling really good about the state of things right now.  Having a well stocked kitchen gives me so much peace of mind, as you all know.  I am so thankful.  What do you think?  Did I buy too much?  Not enough?  Is there anything you can think of that I should add?