Two Weeks of Groceries for under $100

Some of you asked how I meal plan and grocery shop to stay on budget.  

Here is my process.  My goal is $120.00 every two weeks.

I shop at Kroger because it is pretty much just a grocery store.  Some of their items are more expensive than other stores, but the reason I shop there is because I cannot walk into a Super Walmart, Target, or Meijer and just get essentials for my family.  

I start to drift to the home section, electronics, toys and before you know it I'm buying cups, wall art, candles, games, books and what ever else I love but don't need.  

I prefer to avoid temptation all together and it has been working so far.  All of my grocery posts will be based on Kroger unless I state otherwise.

The first thing I do is meal plan.  I pick my meals based on prep and cook time, ingredients, and if its a new recipe it has to look yummy!

I will check my pantry and freezer to see what I can use in some of the recipes, do we have chicken, do we have pork chops, I think I have lasagna noodles, do I have all the spices on hand, etc.  Use what you have on hand and buy what you need to complete your recipes.  

For the next two weeks I will be planning 12 Dinners for my family (we will go out 2 times or eat at family events usually.)  The ones I have chosen to cook are subject to change based on how I feel the day I'm supposed to cook it.  I try to stick to my list but sometimes I'll change it up if I have supplies to do so.  I also try and make healthier meals for my family but sometimes you just need a meatloaf!  

1.  Organic Chicken Hot Dogs, Sweet Potato Tots (Alexia Brand), and Salad

2. Cilantro Shrimp Tacos, Rice and Avocado

3. Meatloaf, Potato and Green Beans

4. Cilantro Lime Chicken Breast Salads

5. Skinny Philly Cheese & Turkey Sloppy Joes, Cauliflower, Lemon Coleslaw (skinny)

6. Korean Glazed Chicken Drumettes with Stir Fry Veggies

7. Cocoa & Chili Rubbed Pork Chops with French Green Beans with Almonds (maybe a rice)

8. Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Prego Mushroom Sauce, and Turkey Meatballs

9. Skinny Spinach Lasagna Roll Upswith Salad

10. Homemade Chili with a Pretzel Roll

11. Chicken Stir Fry

12. Bruschetta Chicken with side of noodles in tomato sauce

Next, if you don't already have a Kroger card I urge you to get one.  It will save you a lot of money at the store.  If you already have a Kroger Card go to www.Kroger.com and log in to your card account.

Then go to digital coupons and load your card with special savings.  These work as coupons when you are checking out and will save you more money.

Next print out your lists.  Print out your Kroger coupon list that you just loaded your card with.  I need a visual and it makes it easier when I'm completing my Budget List.  Next print out your grocery list item sheet and take stock of what you have on hand already and check off what you need to buy for your recipes and other items.  Then print out your Grocery Budget Sheet.  I print out three of the budget sheet (2 are for grocery items and one is for household/beauty items.)

You can get them here Printable Grocery List

I personally hate couponing.  I'm not going to go to every web coupon site and print out thousands of coupons, that is just not me and I don't have the time for that.  

What I will do is save the coupons that Kroger sends me in the mail and the ones I get printed out at the check out each time I shop.  

Another great thing about the Kroger Card...it tracks what you buy so a lot of times you will receive personalized coupons that are for items you buy frequently.  AWESOME! 

The coupon stash I will be using today is below!

Find money where you may be forgetting to look.  We had saved up so many bottles over the last year.  Lots of $$ here.  But even without these returns I was still under budget (I wanted to give you a realistic price and then my price I paid when I add in my returns.)

And Yes we do like beer, if you see the labels we have complete year of seasonal Sam Adams...Summer Ale, Winter Ale, Oktoberfest, etc.  Guess I should return bottles more often. :o)

My shopping cart full of my loot.  As you can see I have a good mix of food.  I do buy all Organic and Natural Meats, some veggies,  organic milk and natural cereal.  But I do hit up a few processed items too: the Mexican Rice, White Bread,  and even Bologna (my boys love it for lunches.)  I wanted to show you that you can buy good meats and some organic products even if you are on a budget.

All my goodies laid out on my counter at home for you to see.  Although its hard to see there is a good assortment of fresh veg and fruits (bag of apples, limes, lemons, blueberries, cilantro, green pepper, avocado, onions, cole slaw, lettuce.)

Close Ups of the food.

Another view.

And the BIG REVEAL....Total Bill before bottle returns was $108.07, 

after bottle returns it was $96.07.  So how close was I to my estimated amount??

See the next photo.

I was pretty darn close I estimated: $105.13, my actual bill (before bottle returns) was $108.07.  Not to shabby! That is only $2.94 above what I estimated I would spend.

This was a very successful grocery trip for me and I practically did a happy dance at the check out line when the cashier told me my total...I literally had a smile on my face for my whole drive home (so its only 4 minutes but it was a happy 4 minute drive.)

Itemized List:

Meat: 6 Natural Chicken Breast, 5 Natural Chicken Drumettes, 8 Chicken Hot Dogs, 1 lb of Angus ground Beef, Bologna.

Canned: Peaches, Pears, Chili Beans, Dices Chili Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Kidney Beans, 2 Rotel, Beef Broth.

Cereal: Moms Best Honey Grahams, Moms Best Cocoa Crispies (seriously the BEST cereal ever and the ingredients are readable and small compared to other brands and best part they were on sale for 2 for $4)

Dairy: 3 1/2 Gallons of Organic Milk, Sargento Shredded Mozz. and Sargento Thin Provolone, Part Skim Ricotta Cheese, Grated Parm Cheese (I always buy Sargento sale or not, its the best cheese, you could buy Kroger or Valu brand and spend less, personal preference.)

Veg and Fruit: Blueberries, Lime (3), Lemon (2), Avocado, Lettuce, Green Pepper, Cilantro, Chives, bag of Organic Apples, bag of white onions, Lettuce Bag. 

Frozen: 5 bags of various veggies

Bread/Grain: Hot Dog Buns, Hamburger Buns, Loaf of White Bread, Organic White Tortilla Chips (soooooo good and only 4 ingredients), 2 Mexican Rice, Kroger Chicken Stuffing Mix

Condiments and other: Sesame Oil, Chili Seasoning Packet, Dijon Mustard, 8 Apple and Eve Juice Boxes, Dole Fruit Squishees (kind of like the apple sauce in the squirt thing.)

Dessert: Simple Truth Brand Oreo type cookies.

Beauty: Got2Be Hair Glue, 4 Bars of Lever Soap, Frizz Ease Hair Serum (this was the most expensive group of items from the budget because I didn't buy that much as you can see but the total was $11.)

I hope that you found this blog entry helpful and encouraging.  With good planning anyone can be a smart shopper.

Some tips:

* Use items that go into multiple dishes

* If you see whole wheat pasta on sale for $1, go ahead and splurge on 10 boxes, it will save you in the future.  And use this logic for other items too like pasta sauce, canned goods, etc.  Just don't go buy 10 of all the sale items at once, then you will blow your budget  out of control.  Stock up on one item per grocery trip.  There will always be something on a great sale each time you go to the store.  Before you know it, you'll have a nice looking stocked pantry to make meal planning easy.

* Plan ahead of time.  Sounds tedious but when you are meal planning and budgeting it is a MUST.  You will spend way more money at the store if you choose not to plan.

* If you go over budget don't panic.  Its always hard to get it under control in the first few months.  You are doing something new and it will be a learning experience.

*  Now go have some grocery and meal planning fun!