If you read my post yesterday, you know that it is goal of our family this year to pay off a large chunk of our debt. While it is not alot of debt, we believe that being a good steward of our money is very important! In doing so, I am starting a weekly $40 grocery challenge! I will get $40 in cash each week to use on groceries, toiletries, paper/household goods, etc…
I am sure at this point you are thinking to yourself that I am crazy, right? Well, I believe that with much creativity in recipes and by planning a menu each week, that this can be done! I will be sharing with you my challenge each week! If I do not spend my allotted $40 each week, I can use it in conjunction with the next week’s grocery money. I do plan on saving at least $5-$10 of the grocery money each week so that I can go to Sam’s once a month to stock up on meat.
Drew and I headed out this morning to Publix and Sam’s along with our stash of coupons, $40 grocery cash, and big smiles in anticipation of good deals! I do have to tell you that for this first week I used a $25 Sams gift card along with the grocery cash. All in all though I am pleased that I still have almost $10 left for the week and I got everthing you see pictured here. I am also planning on getting creative with my stockpile so I won’t need to purchase much at the store!
Also, I have to tell you, you need to check out your local produce and farmer’s markets for fresh produce and fruit. One thing I plan to do this year is eat more fresh fruits and veggies. Today,on the way home, I hit a produce market right near my house. Oh my word, I could not believe the awesome prices! Green and Red peppers were 8 for $1! At the grocery store, they are $2.99 a pound! I am just a little bit excited, can you tell? 🙂
Here is what we ended up with at 3 different stops–Publix, Sams Club, and the Produce Market. All in all, of my $40 in cash, I spent $31 plus I used the $25 Sams gift card. Next week, I will be using cash only, so stay tuned!
Publix
–4 assorted cartons Fiber One Yogurts BOGO @ $2.50 each minus 4 $1.35/1 coupons from a General Mills mailer= FREE plus overage! There are also $1/1 coupons on www.coupons.com right now that would get you 2 cartons for .50!
–4 jars of Lindsay Spanish Olives (used BOGO@ $1.99 each rain check from last week) $3.98 minus 2 $1/2 printable coupons found here = $1.98 for 4 jars of olives!
–1/2 gallon Lactaid milk-no coupons = $3.65
–2 pints of Organic Valley Half and Half-$1.89 each minus $2/2 Organic Valley products peelie = $1.78 for 2 pints!
–1 quart of TG Lee Fat Free milk- $1.99 minus $1/1 TG Lee product printable coupon found here= .99!
–4 boxes of Ore Ida Fast Fries- on Advantage Buy until this Friday for .89 each-minus 2 1.50/2 printable coupons found here = .56 for 4 boxes!! I like to have these on hand for Drew as a special treat sometimes!
–1 3lb. bag of Sweet Publix onions- no coupons- $1.99
–1 bag of Publix Garden salad-no coupons- $1.25
–1 bulb of fresh garlic-no coupons- .27
–1 packet of Publix Shredded Monterry Jack cheese-no coupons- $1.00
–1 carton of Breakstones Sour cream $1.35 each minus 1 .55/1 manuf. coupon from inserts = .80
–1 carton of Smart Taste Spaghetti at 1.50 each minus .75/1 manuf. coupon from inserts = .75
–4 boxes of assorted Value Pack Nature’s Valley Granola Bars BOGO @ $5.49 each minus 4 $2/1 peelie coupons = $2.48 for 4 huge boxes of Granola Bars! My hubby loves to take these for lunch!
–minus $5/20 Save A Lot printable coupon found here (you can use this at Publix if they consider Save A Lot a competitor!)
**My total at Publix was $12.60 and I saved $47.81!!**
Sam’s Club
–1 6lb. bag of Tyson boneless skinless chicken breast-$12.98
–1 32 count Ball Park hot dogs- $6.52
–1 huge 3 pack of Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon-$5.17
–1 5lb. package of Perdue Ground Turkey-$10.20
–3 pounds of bananas- $1.29
–1 gallon of TG Lee Orange Juice- $3.48
total spent at Sam’s Club = $25 from gift card and $14.64 of my grocery cash!
Produce Market
–4 assorted red and green peppers .50!!!! (they were 8 for $1-can you believe it?)
–1 bunch of cilantro- $1.19
–1 3 lb. bag of apples $2.39
–1 cucumber- .33
omatoes- .77
total spent at Produce Market = $5.18
My total grocery cash left for this week is almost $8! This will be nice to have on hand in case I end up needing something that I forgot! 🙂
–Stay tuned for my menu and yummy recipes for the week!–
