$40 menu planning- part 2: the groceries

So i promised i would post a picture of the groceries for my budget this week (or the Lowe's Foods trip anyway) & here it is. Most of it honestly wasn't even on my list, but as i said in this earlier post, i had a hard time passing by things that were on sale & matched doubled coupons.

These things were on my list:

Pasta Sauce (i got Bertolli brand for .80c after sale+coupon)

Pork Chops (substituted drumsticks for this meal, $4.20)

2lbs ground beef (on sale for 2.99/lb- paid $6.20)

Flour Tortillas x2 (on sale for $1 each, so i got 2)

Eggs (full price $1.99)

Ricotta Cheese (sale $1.79)

Salad (marked down to .99c, so i got 2 & used a $1 off/2 coupon thus paying .50c each)

Milk (marked down to $2 since it was going out of date in 6 days- the boys will have it long gone!)

apples (full price $3.99)

Macaroni & cheese (i use the easy mac for a quick lunch for the boys when needed & was out- paid $2.49 on sale)

Total for items i needed: $26.97 w/tax

These were not on my list but a great bargain:

Barilla pasta (after sale +coupon .29c)

Nutrigrain granola bars ($1 each after coupons, bought 2)

Nurtigrain cereal bars (sale for 2/$5 & had the coupon on the back for the above nutrigrain granola bars for next time...)

Live Active cheese sticks (after coupon-1.88)

Motts 100% juices (on sale for 2/$4 & i had coupon for $1off/2, so $1.50 each)

Feta cheese (on sale for $1.50)

Total for items i didn't need: $11.36

Total for both : $38.33

Moral of the story- getting things you don't need is a budget buster (this doesn't even include the Walmart run!)

And just to prove that i am not feeding my family pure junk on my menu planning budget here are the dinner meals we have planned: (some have already been eaten!) And i planned 6 because we usually end up with leftovers at least once!)

yummy chicken drumsticks, salad, & boiled potatoes

stuffed bell peppers, corn, cheese toast (there was enough that i froze half of it!)

chicken & spinach manicotti, breadsticks, salad, & fruit (tomorrow night- i can't wait!)

frozen pizza (okay so this one is junk- but the ingredients are all natural!!)

hamburgers, baked beans, macaroni salad

fajitas, mexican rice, mandarin oranges

My New $40 Menu Planning....

So some of you are interested in my menu planning so i will let you know that this week is the first week of my attempt at a $40 menu. So far, this has been pretty tough- but i think this is mainly because i see things on sale & i have a coupon which makes it pretty cheap & then i feel i have to get it- which in turn- bumps my budget up! So i actually paid around $70- but i got way more than just what i needed for my weekly menu. I got some things for NEXT week too! SO maybe next week will be less than a $40 week. (But i am doubting it will be a $10 week, but who knows!). I decided this week to make my grocery shopping trip while i was already out so i planned the night before, putting my coupon binder, list, reusable bags, & cooler bag into the car so that i would have it all handy once i dropped Jackson off at preschool. Then i had promptly an hour to hit Lowe's Foods before i had to go back to the school for the Mother's Day Tea. I got two deals that i was so excited about: One was the salad- i had planned on getting a bagged salad to go with a couple of meals i had planned this week but was dreading the price (even with my coupon) but when i got over there they were marking down ones that needed to be sold quickly (their sell by date was the next day) to .99c! So i had a coupon for $1.00 of two, so i got two & decided that for .50c a bag, i would rework my menu to have the salad last night & tonight so they wouldn't go bad. (I know Randi F. is smiling right now) The other steal was my milk. It was the same thing- i had a gallon in hand & realized that there were some that were marked $2.00, so i checked the date & it was because it was a sell by date of 5.11.08, but when i compared it to the date of the milk in hand- it was 5.12.08! So i got the marked down milk because i KNEW my boys would have that milk long gone by may 11th! I am hoping that maybe tuesdays are the mark down days at Lowe's Foods & that i will be able to get deals like this weekly, but i am not sure. I did end up going over to Wally World to finish up with things i knew were way overpriced at Lowe's, (tomato sauce, mushrooms, can chicken, etc), but i am really beginning to hate Walmart more & more. I told Randy when i got home that it is almost worth it to me to pay more for the groceries to be able to have great customer service & be able to find everything. Everytime i go into Walmart, everything is moved around, everyone is grumpy, things ring up wrong, & it takes FOREVER to check out (& they act like the reusable bags are a problem- don't sell them then!) By the time i leave, I AM IN A BAD MOOD! I ended up getting extra's of what i needed there just so i wouldn't have to go back next week! (thus adding to the extra money spent this week as well!) I did take a picture of my Lowe's foods groceries for an idea of what $38 in groceries (what i spent there) looks like for me, so i will post that as soon as i get to it..... plus i have a post i want to write about my first experience with chicken drumsticks (thanks for the help, Randi!)....