Grocery Bounty....

Before we begin, I'd like to explain the method to my maddess.  Yes, chaos can be organized!!!
I shop once a week on Friday mornings.  There may be some expert who can prove that shopping on Tuesday from 11am-1pm is the optimal shopping window, but like I've said and will continue to say, " I don't live to shop".  I work this annoying chore into my schedule and try to make it as easy as possible.

I start on Thursday but going through the ads online.  Yes, I get them in paper form but as I discovered this week, the ads for the Delaware stores (17 miles south) are different than the Marion stores(15 miles north). Seeing as I get ads for Marion and went to Delaware, it created a bit of a snafu.  Depending on what other errands I need to run determines which direction I go.  That's another cost saving idea...I "save" up my errands and try to knock them all out in one day to avoid multiple trips.  Gas prices have gotten too high to warrant needless driving.

Anywho...I check the ads for Aldi, Kroger and Meijer.  Both Kroger and Meijer offer digital coupons that you load on your MPerks (Meijer) or Kroger card.  This week they offered $5.00 off total bill over $50.  I also scored $2.00 off toilet paper and we all know how I'm never giving up my TP!!   I take this time to plan my weekly menu based on what's on sale.  Here is our menu for this week:

Friday: Family Dinner in Columbus (I provided salad and drinks)  Mr. Awesome© wasn't able to make it and ate out :-(
Saturday: Mongolian Beef and Rice (scored a nice package of thinly sliced sirloin from the Manager's Special section at Krogers)
Sunday: Chili (over spaghetti or plain)
Monday: My "Special" Meatloaf (link to recipe) and Roasted Potatoes (last week Meijer had potatoes 10/$10)
Tuesday: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup and French Fries
Wednesday: Spaghetti and Garlic Bread
Thursday: LEFTOVERS!!!

I will be making a huge casserole of baked french toast for the kiddies to eat all week for breakfast.  The girl Oompas get to buy lunch from school one day a week and we eat leftovers or sandwiches the other days. I pack Mr. Awesome© a bagel and lunch everyday as it's too far for him to go to get lunch and his smoke break in under 30 minutes.

Here is what $119.36 got me for this week

We're battling two major problems right now.  First is Mr. Awesome's© addition to Pepsi as well as his dependence on Paul Mitchell hair products.  He keeps saying he's going to cut off his golden locks which will end the need for $11.99 shampoo and conditioner.  As far as the Pepsi addition, if he can cut back from one 2 Liter per day I'll take it!

You'll notice I purchased a family pack of chicken, yet no chicken appears on the menu.  Well, at $1.69 per pound I didn't want to pass it up. I'll trim the fat off then re-bag it 2 pieces (1 whole breasts) per bag which  works out to three meals for our family at a whopping $2.52 per meal.  This is my last week of work before glorious freedom and it's busy, busy, busy.  I needed to make the menu easy to prepare since the girl Oompas will be doing the cooking on Monday thru Thursday nights.  Aldi's also had their chicken stock on sale for $0.99, so it made sense to grab a few since colder weather means more soups and such.

That's my strategy in a nutshell.  Will I ever be as good as Mavis from over at One Hundred Dollars a Month??  Not likely. Would it make military strategist proud??  Doubtful, but it works and I can always tweak my plan as new ideas pop up!!

Happy Budgeting and Planning......Deborah