What I've Learned During the Grocery Budget Challenge

The menu is made, the groceries have been purchased, and the research is underway. I walked around the store with a thick pad of paper and pen scribbling the prices down like a madman. I have to know where to get the best deal for the groceries I am purchasing. It’s not just about the deal, though, it’s also about the quality of the product. Indeed, it’s a thorough experiment that is taking too much time.

What am I going to do with all this valuable information? Hopefully, come up with a money saving shopping strategy. It can’t hurt to try! If you don’t know why I’m doing this, you can catch up here.

Here is what I spent this week on groceries, what’s on the menu, what I learned, and the mistakes I made while shopping. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger, right? Here we go.

Money Spent on Groceries this week

I spent 118 dollars this week to feed five people. This money was plopped down all over town. I went to Aldi twice, Walmart three times, and Kroger once. I chose to do all my research during peak shopping hours because I’m a genius like that.

Honestly, I wanted to start the month off lower than that because I really want to win the grocery budget competition with my friends. I’m a bit disappointed because my other friend only spent 101 dollars so far this month. That puts me behind. The good news, though, is I shaved 32 dollars off my average weekly food budget. It’s better than nothing.

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-Chicken Stir-Fry (cookbook)
-Vegetable Fried Rice (cookbook)
-Fish, Rice, and Broccoli (pantry and freezer, no recipe)
-Baked Shells with Ricotta and Marinara with Salad (cookbook)
-Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Tacos (cookbook)
-Pad Thai (Vegetable combination here) (sauce recipe here)
–Homemade Pizza (this dough is life) with Salad
-Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes, and Black Bean Bowls
-Burgers and Fries
-Costa Rican Red Beans and Rice with Salad (cookbook)

There are 10 meals listed because sometimes leftovers run thin, and I need to cook more for lunches. Plus, we cook a lot over the weekend. Hopefully this will stretch into the beginning of next week.

The meals with the fresh ingredients will be eaten first. Any meals from the freezer will be saved for last. This insures minimal waste. Most weeks when I clean out my fridge, I’m guessing I average about 5 dollars in food waste. My goal is to keep waste at next-to-nothing to maximize savings.

What I learned shopping

I learn a lot about the price of groceries when I pay extra attention to the prices! How many of you shop blindly without really knowing what a good deal is? I’ve never been one to not know prices, but there have been times that I haven’t paid attention. I’m sure I’ve lost money on those shopping trips.

As I go from store to store, I jot down the price of staples that I keep in my home. While prices vary week to week, this information will help me build a database to track averages. With this information, I will know when something is actually a good sale. Tracking this way will help me save lots of money.

If you are wondering what my money went toward last week, it can be summed up like this: a shameful amount of cheese and other dairy, lots of fruit and veggies, a bit of pasta and bread, 2 dozen eggs, and only 15 dollars of meat (when it’s organic that equals 2.3 lbs of chicken and a pound of ground beef.)

The mistakes I made shopping

I knew going into this my secret weapon would be my husband, James. He never has a craving and is not impulsive. This means he never has to have any delicious food he sees at the store, and could care less about a good deal.

In the past, if I sent him shopping, he would come back with exactly what was on the list, nothing more. Impressive. His laser focus would surely help me stay on track with the budget. I told myself, “Never shop without James.”

Despite knowing I needed James to save money, I found myself alone in Kroger…surrounded by “Buy 5 Save 5” and all the other clever sale games they play. Not only that, but it was the 6th time I’d been in a grocery store in two days, and my resolve was waning. I couldn’t say no to those sales! It’s in my blood, it’s against my religion, and it might even be anti-American! Dang it, James, where were you?

Left to my own devices, I spent about 20 dollars more than planned because I veered from my list and bought sale groceries. The downside is I spent more money in Kroger than I had planned. The upside is that burgers were added to the menu. Score!

6. Ways I will save money on groceries next week

1. Never Shop Without James
2. Buy Frozen Chicken Breasts (cheaper than fresh)
3. Start at Aldi
4. Never Shop Without James
5. Continue to base my menu off of the sale ad
6. Never Shop Without James

A Sidenote about aldi

I have a love/hate relationship with Aldi. There are several reasons, the first being I often feel the quality of their product isn’t as good. The first thing that tipped me off to that was their produce. It ripens weird and rots fast, not always, but enough times that I no longer wanted to test it out.

The second reason is that when I shopped there in the past, I would assume it was the best price and blindly pay it. Now that I have become more price aware, I see that isn’t always the case. Sometimes the price is the same as Kroger, sometimes it’s more. In the case that it is the same cost, I will always choose Kroger because I’ve rarely had an issue with their food.

My last complaint about Aldi is a common one. They don’t have everything I want! This automatically forces me to have to shop at two grocery stores. I used to shop there all the time, but once I had three kids 5 and under, I had to switch to one-stop shopping. That’s when I fell in love with Kroger, and honestly never wanted to go back to Aldi…until this budget smack down.

Not to bite the hand the feeds me. I do appreciate what Aldi offers, and maybe this budget adventure will make me love Aldi once more. We’ll see.

That’s all, folks!

This is my takeaway from week 1. It has made me smarter for week 2. I will become stronger and more powerful than my opponents. Victory is mine for the taking. Next week, I’m looking to come in at under 80 for the grocery budget. Stay posted, and to my friends I’m competing against, you better watch your back. Cheers!