This isn't really a coupon post. It's a budget post. I'm not technically breaking my promise. :)
Starting today, we've reduced our grocery budget to $25/week. I've been averaging $50, and that's gotten me quite the stockpile of non-perishables and might-as-well-be-non-perishables (did you know Cheerios will last a year, even without the typical BHT preservative? It's a little disturbing, but doesn't stop me from eating them). But it hasn't included eating out money.
This $25 is intended to cover all household consumables except dog food. Soap, razors, paper towels, shampoo, toothpaste, meat, eggs, bread, produce, dairy, eating out, anything that gets purchased and used up by me or Joe comes out of this $25 per week.
So I sat down and wrote up my list for the week; we only "need" OJ and maybe some spinach.
Spinach is $2 for a bag. That leaves us $23 to do some stockpiling of rockbottom deals & get OJ. We have rice and noodles, so I'll wait to see if potatoes go on sale this Wednesday. I have a watermelon, bananas, pineapple, and mandarin oranges. I picked up a peach for 40 cents (I wanted more but couldn't find any that were ready to eat right now) and made fruit salad.
This leaves $22.60, so Joe and I hit Ralph's on the way home from church:
2 dental floss - $0
Windex - $0
Smart Balance Omega butter spread - $0
2 energy bars $0
32 oz Powerade - $0
peach lemonade - $0
raspberry lemonade $0.50
can whipped cream - $0.50
2 aloe vera liquid hand soaps - $0.40
1/2 gallon organic valley milk - $1
1/2 pound feta cheese with black peppercorn - $1.80
3.5 pounds tri-tip - $7
Total underbudget so far $13.80
Now the big decision - $3 for Minute Maid OJ or $7 for Naked Juice?!
(ETA: UPDATE - The Experiment is now The Challenge. The experiment worked. Let's see how long the challenge lasts.)
1 year ago
2 comments:
Wait... you got all those items for $0 through coupons? Where are you getting your coupons??? And tri-tip for $2/lb??? What the--? I need to grocery shop with you and Joe. Sheesh.
Yep. Coupons found in the Sunday LA Times and a coupon magazine given out quarterly at Ralph's (Mambo Sprouts). I have had a couple of weeks where I literally paid nothing for our groceries. Since Ralph's decided to eliminate coupon doubling, it's a little harder to get a zero balance but groceries for pennies is still possible.
Check out some of the grocery posts and see how it's done. :)
Post a Comment