Weekly Shopping Trip - 1/19/09

So God has been convicting me lately to become a better steward of what monies He provides us, so this is my first week to actually implement two new habits that will assist in that.

If you read my post yesterday, you'll know that I've been inspired by Gayle over at Grocery Cart Challenge. This is my first week to attempt applying two of her money-saving methods: weekly menu planning, and weekly shopping trips. So yesterday I sat down and did my menu plan for the week and last night I went shopping for all the ingredients I was lacking.

My goal is to get our weekly shopping budget around $75, eventually lowering it more, if possible. I'm not familiar enough with budgeting this area of our lives to know what works yet. If you read my previous post, you'll probably glean that we have never had a grocery budget. I'm a little embarrassed to confess that we're rather spoiled in that area of our finances. We also have a few challenges, personal to my diet that I'll list later, so this will be a lesson in what works for us.

After creating this week's menu, I wrote down every ingredient I would need to create all of the food from our Weekly Menu. Some of which I had in hand, some I did not. The items I did not have, I put on my grocery list.



This is what I came up with...along with a few impulse buys. (I'm being gentle on myself since it's my first week.) :-)

Target

Swiffer 360 $4.29
Hormel Bacon 3.69
2 bags Dole Lettuce 4.48
2 cans generic black olives 2.18
Generic tomato sauce 0.47
Generic diced tomatoes 0.59
Mission corn tortillas 1.99
2 cans generic diced green chiles 1.34
Bulk lemon drops 0.82
Generic Frosted Mini-Wheats 4.83
Generic decaf black tea 2.79
Decaf Constant Comment 2.19
Generic green beans 0.69
Del-Monte Peaches 1.47
Spam 2.44
2 cans Starkist tuna 2.14
Small Gala apples 3.24
CF Coke 4.00
Can minced clams 1.59

TOTAL $46.28

Sprouts

1 lb Bulk chocolate cashews 4.84
1 lb Bulk chocolate raisins 2.59
Rice Dream 3.29
Tofu 1.69
1 pint blackberries 1.50
yellow bell pepper 0.69
1 pint grape tomatoes 1.50
2.34 lb yellow onions 1.17
1.89 lb oranges 0.93
2.45 lb Russet bakers 1.69
1 quart strawberries 1.50
1 Texas grapefruit 0.34

TOTAL $21.72

GRAND TOTAL $67.00

Considering I didn't want to spend more than $75 this week, I'm happy. But...I have some challenges that I need to overcome and obviously some areas I need more discipline.

Two pounds of bulk chocolate candy? What on earth?! I'm blaming it on hormonal cravings.

CHALLENGES:

Not making a thorough enough list. I realized tonight after I got home that I will need milk for the Monkey before the week is out, so I'll need to make another trip for that. I'm praying that I don't make anymore impulse purchases while I'm there.

Dietary restrictions. Budgeting with my dietary restrictions (gluten and dairy allergies) makes a tiny grocery budget something that's just near impossible. A box of simple gluten-free water crackers cost close to $5 for me. A loaf of bread, close to $7. Dairy-free and gluten-free ice cream $6. So instead of expecting myself to be a Gayle, I'm just going to allow myself some slack for what works for me and see where I can trim later.

Limited stores. Gayle works with outlet bakeries and outlet grocery stores that sell day old breads, or dented can foods. Since there aren't any of those type of stores in my area, I have to work with what I have. From what I can see, Target, Wal-Mart and Sprouts are the best options for me to use without coupons. Because I truly just don't have time or energy to clip. (Or patience!)

I full realize that much of my expensive items (meat) I already had stashed in my freezer, so I'm anticipating next week being a bit more of a struggle, as I'll have more of those items on my list.

WHAT I LEARNED:

Tom Thumb is WAAAY expensive. I shop there all the time out of convenience and habit. Wow - have I been getting ripped! But simply going across the street to Target and Sprouts, I think I saved quite a bit of money. So my shopping trip is 10 minutes longer because of traffic lights. Not a deal breaker to me if I budget my time wisely.

Sprouts has GREAT produce and bulk bins. I was surprised and impressed with the quality of the produce at Sprouts and the cost! I think it surprised me because I always consider health food stores as pricey. But strawberries and grape tomatoes were HALF what I would have paid at Tom Thumb and even Target. It also contains the added convenience of providing a great selection of gluten-free foods, which are hard to get at regular grocery stores.

Fun stuff. I know myself well enough to know that must allow this in the diet or I'll end up making terrible impulse purchases later. Hopefully, I can get more disciplined about them as I go, so I'm not going to beat myself up over it today. But obviously this area needs a little tweaking. LOL!

So that is my experience for the week. I would like this to become a habit. I'm feeling very convicted that this is an area that would please God if I take seriously. I'm hoping that eventually, I can start sharing some of the recipes that I utilize and with that, create an environment of sharing and support with others that have the same goal of saving money.