Grocery Challenge Update

Since June started on a Wed., today is technically the end of the 2nd week. We had a bit of a funky weekend last weekend because we had company so even though I didn’t hit up the grocery store much, we did eat out quite a bit. Since eating out is not included in my grocery budget (maybe next month I’ll start a budget for that), it doesn’t count against me. That being said, we still tried to be cognizant of the type of places we were going to and the meals we ordered. I actually don’t think it was too much of a spendy weekend. It definitely could have been worse!

On to this week’s budget. I basically started my week yesterday since that’s when our company left. So I made a grocery run yesterday afternoon and another mini one today. Here were my stats:

Yesterday’s bill was $47.27 minus the deodorant (doesn’t count), the total was actually $44.68. So far, so good!

Here was today’s receipt:

It was mostly a few things for dinner tonight so I knew I could stay under budget and I did, yay! In total, I spent $10.94 on food.

I have to say, since becoming more aware of my food budget, I’ve noticed its’ trickled into other parts of my life. Today at Target, I legitimately needed some new t-shirts. Between the stains and holes, my shirts have seen better days. So, I picked out some t-shirts, no problem (and only $8 bucks!). Of course, I found myself distracted by all the beautiful, fun, Target clothes and threw about 20 more items into my cart. I tried them all on and disqualified some just on looks alone. But then of course, there were the cute dresses that I liked, but didn’t need. They were only $18 dollars…maybe I’ll just get one? I battled myself for a couple minutes but ultimately decided to put it back. It would add 20 more bucks to my bill, even though that’s not a lot, as we all know, things add up very quickly. I figured if I was daydreaming about it in a few days, maybe I’d go back and get it. Chances are, I’ll forget about it.

I was actually pretty proud of myself for doing this. If only you knew me in college (some of you definitely did), nothing stopped me from buying new clothes. I have to say, I was pretty damn good at it too :). As much as I LOVE going on shopping sprees, and I really do, I’m definitely learning the importance of saving money and self control. I’m such an adult these days! 🙂

Anyway, back to the grocery challenge. My top picks (by top picks I mean priciest items) this week were the following items:

Kashi GoLean Cereal– $4.29 Kind of a lot, but cereal is something I don’t want to skimp on. No matter what, I’m going to buy healthier cereals and Kashi is great because it’s low in sugar, but high in fiber and protein. It’s a keeper!

Eggo Low Fat Waffles- $3.19 These really aren’t that expensive. They definitely won’t get any cheaper because they’re a prepackaged, convenience food. I love waffles in the morning (or afternoon) so I’m keeping these in the rotation too! I used to buy more expensive wheat waffles but actually found I like the Eggos more. They’re crispier and not as “wheaty” as others.

Skinny Cow Ice Creams- $1.33 for 1 (I bought 3). These are out of the rotation! They’re just a little too pricey and now that I found an alternative (protein pudding) I think I’ll be good come dessert time!

Kellog’s Special K Bars– $3.39 This is only the second time I’ve bought these. I really only buy them because they’re slightly cheaper than other bars and the chocolate pretzel flavor is awesome. They don’t pack much of a nutrient punch so they aren’t my favorite. But when I’m craving something sweet, they do hit the spot, and they’re only 90 calories.

Atheno’s Feta Cheese–  $3.49 Cheese is another item I don’t buy too often. I always have a bag of shredded cheese around, but I don’t have a selection that could cater a wine and cheese party. It’s not that I don’t like it, I actually love cheese. For some reason I just don’t eat it very often (which is a good thing!). I certainly never have feta around but I bought it for a specific recipe. I sprinkled a little on a baked potato last night and instantly remembered how much I love feta cheese! It is so good! Today, I’ve been picking pieces out and snacking on it constantly. I may have rekindled the old flame with cheese after-all.

 

One of the reason’s I try not to buy fancy cheeses too often is I never use them quickly enough. There have been so many times when I bought gorgonzola or fresh parmesan and used them in 1 recipe, then, eventually they went bad. I was tempted to make this recipe tonight for dinner, which calls for gorgonzola:

It sounds so good! I’m just not sure I trust myself enough to buy gorgonzola and arugula and make sure neither one go bad. Not sure I can commit to that just yet. So instead, I’m going to make this tonight:

Yep, a simple sausage and egg burrito. We already have most of the ingredients on hand (wild boar sausage that never ends). I just had to buy tortillas and 1 can of beans. Pretty easy and cheap! As much as I wanted to try the pizza, I thought it would be more “economical” to use what we have. For some reason, it’s really hard to do that! I still do want to try that pizza…I think it sounds amazing. Just need a couple more recipes with gorgonzola cheese!

 

So, so far for the month of June I have spent a total of $124.83. I still have $150.17 dollars left over for the next 2 weeks. I definitely think I can stick to my goal of $275, no problem!