Tuesday, May 19, 2009

$100 Grocery Challenge: Week 3

I did something last week and this week that you should never do when trying to stick to a budget. I sent my husband to the store and then I went to the store hungry!

On Friday, my husband went to the grocery store to get the milk, eggs and sugar. He ended up spending almost $20.
  • Regular chips at $0.99 + $0.13 tax
  • Other chips for $0.99 + $0.13 tax
  • Onion soup mix for $1.49 (to make dip with the sour cream)
  • Eggs for $1.97
  • Sugar (2 Kg) for $2.03 (Interesting side note, sugar is cheaper at the grocery store than at either of the local bulk stores. It always pays to compare prices!)
  • Frozen blackberries (600 g) for $2.99 A good deal, but not as good as the $1.49 I was paying for frozen fruit with my coupon. He saw everyone else grabbing them and fell into the trap of believing it must be a great deal.
  • Pickles for $3.89 I have no idea what he was thinking. We have lots of pickles in the cold cellar!
  • Milk (4 L) for $3.97
  • mini carrots for $0.99
  • TOTAL = $19.57
Today I went to the grocery store because we were out of milk, and my bread machine is broken, so we are out of bread. We also needed cat food. Rather than going right after breakfast, we procrastinated and went right before lunch when I was hungry. I was just as bad, spending nearly $20 myself.
  • Cat food (1 kg) for $1.59 + $0.21 tax (I bought a small container beause it is a new kind I am testing on the cats)
  • Yogurt for $2.89
  • Milk (4L) for $3.97
  • Cucumber for $0.99
  • Ham (300 g) for $3.17
  • Artichoke dip (my favourite indulgence!) for $2.99
  • Bakery bread for $1.69
  • TOTAL = $17.50
Total this week = $37.07

Total spent to date = $99.20

I am SO disappointed! There is no way we are going to make it to the end of the month without buying anything else. I am going to keep on trucking though, and do my best. I am definitely motivated to try again next month. I should be able to buy only milk and eggs next week, but I will probably buy some local asparagus too. It would be a shame to miss out on the short season.

2 comments:

  1. Hello there Meredith!

    I'm posting without a profile, but it's your cousin Elisabeth.

    I love your blog! I am definitely on board when it comes to shopping for sales and sticking to a budget...it kind of bugs David when I say I won't get something cause it's not on sale this week! I generally go to at least 2 stores on Monday (grocery day), and we try not to go back for "one other thing" later in the week, as that always means at least 30$ by the time you reach the checkout!

    Hope things are going well in KW! Kiss the boys for me.

    Lis
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had a similar experience not too long ago. I was going to limit my groceries that week to $25.00. I'm quite sure I had $25.00 worth in the cart before I got past the first isle!LOL Hang in there, you'll do better next time.

    ReplyDelete