This week was slow for deals at the grocery store, which was fine for my budget. :-) I only did two transactions and doubled ten coupons. I bought 33 items and spent $35.79. 
I also stopped at Aldi really quickly to check out their produce (which wasn't stellar that day, unfortunately). I did buy 5 items that I knew were cheaper there than at the grocery store, for a total of $6.66.
Grocery Spending: $42.45
Though it was a slow week for deals, I was able to get a few things for free with coupons. And because I shop the deals, stockpile, and cook ahead from week to week, I can make a balanced menu plan without having to buy too many things that aren't on sale, which saves us money. If you are new to couponing and want to know how to get started, you can check out my 6 Part "Coupon 101" course here (scroll down to the bottom).
On a side note, I opened up my blog to anonymous comments last week, and someone who probably doesn't know me and obviously doesn't follow my blog on a regular basis left a pretty rude comment saying that the reason I don't spend a lot on groceries is because all my family eats is processed foods. I hear this type of objection a lot from people who don't coupon, and it just isn't true. If you are used to shopping for groceries one week at a time, and then you look at only one week's grocery picture on my blog, you might wonder what in the world we are going to eat that week! However, I have started posting our menu plans (and can continue to do so, if it is helpful to people--just let me know by leaving a comment), and you can see that I do serve fruits, veggies, protein, dairy, etc. The key is just shopping smarter, buying what is on sale, and using from the pantry and freezer stockpile when it's not. That's why you won't see all the food we eat each week pictured in one weekly grocery trip because we also get fruits and veggies from the garden, pantry, and freezer. I realize not everyone shops and thinks this way, which is why I wanted to talk about it. Don't write off stockpiling, couponing or trying to save money just because you think processed foods are all you'll get. If you are willing to change your shopping habits a bit, you will save money!
And while we are talking about menu plans, here was our menu for this week:
Breakfasts: Scrambled eggs and toast, grapes, Eggo products, blueberries, cereal, Egg, ham and cheese sandwiches, pancakes; milk
Lunches: Macaroni and Cheese, baby carrots and dip, applesauce, leftovers, grapes, PB&J, blueberries, string cheese, raspberries and tomatoes from the garden; milk
Dinners: Chicken a la King over noodles, biscuits, asparagus and salad; Outback; Easy Enchiladas and salad with tomatoes from our garden; Brats or hot dogs, corn on the cob, Smiles potatoes and baby carrots; Boneless Pork Ribs, mashed potatoes, and salad; Homemade Pizza; milk
And while we are talking about menu plans, here was our menu for this week:
Breakfasts: Scrambled eggs and toast, grapes, Eggo products, blueberries, cereal, Egg, ham and cheese sandwiches, pancakes; milk
Lunches: Macaroni and Cheese, baby carrots and dip, applesauce, leftovers, grapes, PB&J, blueberries, string cheese, raspberries and tomatoes from the garden; milk
Dinners: Chicken a la King over noodles, biscuits, asparagus and salad; Outback; Easy Enchiladas and salad with tomatoes from our garden; Brats or hot dogs, corn on the cob, Smiles potatoes and baby carrots; Boneless Pork Ribs, mashed potatoes, and salad; Homemade Pizza; milk
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6 comments:
I very much agree with your post! I have recently been blogging about reducing how many processed foods I buy, but I still find coupons for many things we use - and for the occasional processed foods I prepare for quick lunches, etc. Very nice blog!
How about the milk? Do you guys drink that much or how do you keep it from going bad? It would take us a month to drink that much milk, but I'm guessing you have 2 more kids who drink milk, too!
Oh yes, we drink all that milk, especially since F is now 1 and needs whole milk! It's mostly the kids. I took H to her 6 yr checkup and the doctor told me she should be drinking 24 ounces of milk a day! I had been giving them milk at 2 meals and juice at one, but now we're doing milk all three meals. Ted and I drink usually only 1 tall glass a day, and water the other meals.
You can freeze milk, though, if you find it at a good price. I've done it with chocolate milk before, and it thaws out just fine!
We have joked that we should get a goat--it could "mow" our lawn and we could get milk from it! ;-)
I'm just browsing through my fellow couponing mommy's blogs and continue to be inspired!! Keep up the good work!
i was giving 3 glasses a day to my children too. now when i went to one of my childrens check ups, their dr told me only two. she said that they are suppose to get 24 oz a day but that with all the stuff they eat they would get the rest. she said you do not want to end up them getting to much calcium. you know how everything seems to be fortified with vitamins and stuff. so now i did the opposite, i've lessed the amount of milk they drink. and my kids would drink a gallon a day if i let them. it is funny how kids love milk. i cant stand it.
We don't drink pasteurized milk anymore; rather, we switched to almond milk. Thanks to double coupon day at Copps, I was able to stockpile a TON of the Blue Diamond milk for FREE! Love it!
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