It’s the first grocery challenge post of the new year!
With the holidays and travelling, I’ve been doing a lot of random grocery shopping lately. Random shopping means I spend way more than I mean need to on things I don’t need. So in the new year I’ll be keeping up with the grocery challenge to get myself back on track. I’m making only one change…the budget is back to $40 each week, instead of $50. Any money not spent each week will continue to go into the ‘piggy bank’.
This week…
The Budget: $40
I Spent: $31.45 (Henry’s, Trader Joe’s)
Cash for the Piggy Bank: $8.55
- Carrots (5lb) – Dog Treats
- Chobani 0% Plain Greek Yogurt – for homemade Dog Treats
- Red Bell Pepper
- Avocado
- Feta Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
- Spinach
- Sliced Chicken Deli Meat
- Pita Bite Crackers
- Frozen Mac & Cheese
- Bouquet of Flowers
I suppose you’re wondering how I’m going to live on one box of frozen Mac & Cheese, spinach, and lunch meat for the week. The truth is, I’m not. In an effort to better organize my life, I recently cleaned out my fridge, freezer, and pantry. Everything was straightened, shelves were wiped down, and anything with a past expiration date was dumped. Apparently I am a food hoarder, because this exercise showed me just how much food I have in my house, and I still go out every week and buy more. So for the next few weeks, groceries will probably be lighter than usual and I eat through my stash.
I also recently started using the Out of Milk app on my phone, and their coordinating website. This is where my inner organizational Type A nerd comes in. I used the app’s barcode scanner while I was cleaning the kitchen to scan every item I have in the pantry, freezer, and fridge. It didn’t take as long as it’s sounds, and was fun because I like scanning things. I can now tell you exactly how much flour I have in the house from a quick glance at my phone, and that I have enough chicken in my freezer to serve my entire extended family at a moments notice. Turns out that every time I went shopping over the past few months, I was buying duplicate items simply because I didn’t know that I already had more than enough at home. That’s why I have so much chicken in my freezer, and several weeks worth of soup in my pantry. The app makes it easy to create my weekly shopping list since I can drag the empty items from my pantry list over to the shopping list. With the paid upgrade to the app, I can even track coupons for my lists. My nerdy, coupon loving, shopping desires are now completely fulfilled.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some chicken and soup to eat…
*This post was not in any way sponsored by Out of Milk. They have no idea who I am and did not ask me to mention them. I simply like the product and wanted to share.
I’ve been looking at healthy alternatives for my puppies. I’ve dehydrated some green beans and sweet potatoes for them. I’m about to do a few carrots. What are you doing with the yogurt? How are you making that into treats? Please share.
Hi Melissa,
The carrots were actually recommended by my vet, so I love those as an alternative. I use the yogurt to make frozen treats, my knock off to the ‘Frosty Paws’ frozen treat you can buy in stores. It’s a simple mix of yogurt, peanut butter, and banana. I’ll put the recipe up on the blog after I make this next batch.
Thanks!
Thank you for the ‘Out of Milk’ app, i think it will save me a lot of money in the future. i am new to your blog, what do you do w/the piggy bank? Also, what about your personal items you need, i see they aren’t included w/your food budget?