Grocery Shopping and The Budget

Now let’s get back to being frugal with our money. As you all know we have been eating from our stockpile for months. The shelves and freezer are starting to show some room.

I menu plan but only from my stockpile. I shop to refill that stockpile with my $ 75.00 per week grocery budget.  Since I have a stockpile which allows me to buy at rock bottom prices, I save a whole lot of money. Not having to buy things when they are not on sale is what I aim for. But sometimes you just run out of things while you are on vacation. Hubby had a small list when I got back. 

I purchased the above at Aldi’s and Rite Aid. Here is my purchase:

Wraps  $1.69
Half and Half  $ 3.49
Tortilla Chips $ 1.49
Tomatoes $ 1.49
Mayo   $ 1.89
Garlic Powder  $ 1.19 

Total at Aldi’s was $ 11.24

I had to go to Rite Aid to pick up 3 prescriptions for Hubby. So I purchased the 2 Hershey’s bars that were $ .69 each and used a $1.00 L2C Q which made them just $ .19 each. I had a $1.00 from the old rewards program that carried over to the new one. So I used that to pay the $.38 for the candy and the other $ .62 came off the prescriptions which was a nice surprise. I hope that continues. So Rite Aid was nothing OOP for the grocery budget. I have a drawer in a spare room where I keep the candy stash. It is kept stocked for the occasional treat for the grandchildren or to build up for Halloween. Fortunately, Hubby and I are pretty good about staying out of it.

The wraps are for the occasional sandwich made with leftover roast, chicken or turkey breast. We use 1/2 and 1/2 in our coffee every day. Hubby said we were down to our last 1/4 carton. Hubby asked for tortilla chips since he loves salsa and those for lunch. I use tomatoes in my salad every day so even though they are expensive right now, they are a necessity for me.  Hubby loves Hellman’s mayo but it was not on sale anywhere this week. So I bought Burman’s which an Aldi employee told me a long time ago is Hellman’s mayo. Hubby can’t tell the difference between this and Hellman’s. Aldi’s is now stocking it right next to the Hellman’s in my store. Lastly, Hubby had used the last bit of garlic powder when he made Lemon Piccata for my welcome home dinner. It is always cheapest for me at Aldi’s. 

My last stop yesterday was at Top’s where I purchased:  

2 Smithfield Pork Loins on B1G1F – $ 10.99 for both

1 gallon of Milk -$ 1.59 with Top’s Q  – $.25 Ibotta rebate


1 Cucumber – $ .99

12 cans of Diced Tomatoes – $ 6.00 for all 12

3 Top’s Salsa – $ 1.34 each

1 Light and Fit Greek Yogurt w/Zero Art. Sweetener- $ 1.25 -Free after $ 1.25 Ibotta Rebate

1 Krusteaz Lemon Bars and 1 Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake – $2.50 each but Free after 2 Free Q’s from the company

1 bag of Spinach – $2.48

1 can of Campbells Yes Well soup – $ 1.99 – $ .75/1 Q = $.49 


1 Gia Russa Noodles -$2.00


Total OOP was $ 29.56. The $ 1.50 in Ibotta money will be rolled right back into my grocery money when I receive it. 


We love those pork loins so the price was too good to pass up. I am cooking one tonight that we will eat for a few days and I put one in the freezer.  We were totally out of milk and this was a good price. However in order to get that price you needed to spend $20. I used my 2 Free coupons to get me there. The lemon bars and coffee cake are handy for when company visits. The cucumbers were rotten at Aldi’s so I got one here for my salads. My stock of canned tomatoes needed some more. We use these alot. Hubby loves salsa and this was a great price. The Greek yogurt goes in my kale shakes to give them some sweetness. The spinach is for salads. I will add the soup to the basement stockpile. I love these soups.


I had planned on buying the Pennsylvania Dutch Noodles that were free after Top’s Click to Card Q. However, they were out and I needed this to make a dish for a neighbor who is sick. So I spent the $2.00.  

So after yesterday’s spending, I have $34.20 left in this week’s grocery budget. 


Hubby did not spend any of the grocery money last week so I decided to make a bulk purchase of Jordan’s SF Coffee Syrups that will last us about 6 months. So I spent $ 71.88 on that order yesterday. That leaves me $3.12 from that week’s budget(1/7/18) or a total of balance in my envelope wallet of $ 37.32 left to spend on groceries.


I am doing well on this $ 75. per week budget since we have a good stockpile and this helps me continue to add to it. I know that when all the money is gone, I have to wait to shop until the next week when I get $75. more in grocery money. A weekly budget is so much easier to handle.

I keep my money for groceries each week in this Dave Ramsay Envelope Wallet. I just started using this as you can tell because I already made mistakes  putting things in the wrong columns so I had to cross out and fix. My grocery money goes in the envelope and when it is gone, it is gone. 

There is an envelope at the back to keep your receipts.  


How are you doing with your grocery budget spending? Are you tracking it?