$100 Grocery Budget Breakdown- Week of 4/29/14

 I recently came across this blog called One Income Family Living, where this stay-at-home mom details her weekly $50 grocery budget and how she spends it. I am very impressed that she is able to spend $50 for a family of four (or is it five now?). I haven't explored the blog thoroughly yet, but I imagine that they must grow a lot of their own food too. Although I would love to be able to grow our own vegetables, it isn't really something that we have been able to do before. We recently moved into a new home, and we are still busy getting things settled inside the house and haven't even begun to think about what to do outside, so the garden will probably have to wait until next year when I am a little more organized.

For our family of four (sometimes five), my goal is to keep our weekly grocery budget below $100. Most weeks I come in under budget, but there are the occasional weeks when we need something extra that puts me over. I'd like to try to lower the budget a bit more, but for our lifestyle right now, I think that $100 is a reasonable amount. If I were to start getting into coupons and shopping the sales, then I could probably get it lower, but that just sounds like a lot of work that I don't have the time (or rather the patience) to sit down and figure out.

I do my grocery shopping on Tuesdays, so my week starts on that day. Here is my breakdown for this week. Items marked with (*) indicate items that I only buy for school lunches. Anything that is italicized is an item that wasn't originally on my list, but I picked up because they were a special buy, or on sale this week. I am choosing to include non-food items in the budget only if they are food related.





From Aldi

Canned chicken broth- $0.69 x 2= $1.38
Unsweetened almond milk= $2.49
Vanilla almond milk= $2.49
Lactose-free milk= $2.79
Marshmallow & Star cereal= $1.99
Frozen broccoli florets- $1.09 x 2= $2.18
Olive Oil= $2.59
Mexican shredded cheese= $2.99
Frozen corn= $0.95
*Natural fruit snacks= $3.69
3 pk multi-colored peppers= $3.29
100% wheat bread- $1.29 x 2= $2.58
Sandwich bags= $1.09
*Applesauce cups-$1.59 x 2= $3.18
*100% apple juice boxes- $1.99 x 2= $3.98
*Fruitables juice boxes- $2.89 x 2= $5.78
1 lb. strawberries= $1.89
Cantaloupe= $1.89
3 pk Mangoes= $1.99
3 lb. bag sweet potatoes= $2.29
Total: $52.56



From Walmart

Orange juice= $1.98
Peach yogurt= $3.98
Frozen carrots= $.98
1lb. Ground beef= $4.98
*Quaker granola bars= $4.98
Cinnamon Squares cereal= $3.12
Bananas= $2.46
Boneless chicken breast= $10.69
? item= $1.98
? item= $1.88
Total= $37.03

Grand Total:  $89.29 ($10.71 under budget).


Since I am not writing this post the day that I actually went grocery shopping, I have forgotten what two of the items were on my list, hence the "?" items. The receipt is no help as all it lists these items as are "Great Value", but I am sure that it must have been food-related. From here on out, I will be posting these the day of, so I will have my actual shopping list in front of me.

You will notice that I have purchased 4 packages of juice boxes. I don't normally buy this many at once, but the Fruitables were a special buy, so I figured that I would stock up while they were still available. Now I won't have to buy juice boxes for three weeks. The boneless chicken breasts should also get me through two weeks' worth of meals.

You will also notice three different types of milk purchased. The unsweetened almond milk is for myself, as I am watching my calorie intake, and I am also lactose intolerant, but can't stand the taste of milk. The vanilla almond milk is preferred by my youngest son, (B.) and the lactose-free milk is for my eldest son, (O.). We also purchase a gallon of skim milk once a week for the man of the house, (MotH). It seems crazy, I know, but as long as it fits into our budget, then I am sticking with it.


In future posts, I will be including my weekly meal plans, as I am trying to buy only what is needed for meals. These may eventually include recipes as the blog develops.


Do you have a weekly budget for groceries? What tips do you have for sticking to your budget?


~Boo Boo