I was telling my husband earlier today how much groceries cost. Actually I was telling him how the prices have soared in the last year or so. It is crazy. I am spending close to $150-200 a week depending on what we eat. This particular week, I thought I'd save us some money and empty out the pantry - using up all the canned goods, etc. that we have in there and finding recipes to utilize these ingredients. The picture to the right shows what I bought. If you'll notice - I did not buy any meats except lunch meat. I buy organic milk and some name brand items, but for the most part, I buy store brands. I also bought some Tootsie Pops to have on Friday to and from the concert for a treat (instead of stopping at convenience stores for junk!) and some card stock that is actually for co-op tomorrow. The total came to $96.72. I almost fainted.Here is a list of what I bought:
2 - 1/2 gal. organic milk $3.68 each -Clorox bleach $1.88/gal - men's deodorant $2.07 - women's deodorant $2.74 (explain to me why mine is higher than hubby's???) - Toothpaste $3.47 -gallon sized freezer storage bags $1.12 - Card stock $3.88 - Apple Jacks $2.74 (a treat) - 1 pint sour cream $1.34 - 1 can navy beans $.64 (these were advertised on the shelf for 50 cents - so I was overcharged) - Saltines - $.87 - Coffee $4.96 - Butter $2.28 - 2 pkgs lunch meat $2.98 each - Tootsie pops $4.88 - Wisk $9.48 (have to buy HE detergent for the front loading washer that is supposed to be saving me money in electricity) - Downy $4.97 - Macaroni noodles $.50 - Chicken broth $1.00 - 1 can diced tomatoes $.54 - 1 pkg pop tarts $2.42 - Lipton tea bags $2.12 - Flour $1.58 - 2 pkgs oysters at $1.17 - Pepper jack cheese $2.12 - Shampoo and conditioner (good stuff - we have bad hair) $5.84 ea - Roma tomatoes - $.56 - Grapes $2.57
These things without what is already in my pantry would NOT feed us for the week - these are just the odds and ends.
Oh and on a bit of a homeschooler rant - while we were at Wally World - there was a local elementary school class there on a "field trip"!!!! Do NOT get me started here - but why on earth do elementary school students in rural America need to go on a field trip to Walmart?? Most of them practically live there. Their families spend their whole paychecks there. It defines their culture. They are all wearing the same clothes because everybody shops at Walmart. And they were not being instructed in any way whatsoever, they were descending on the store like a plague of grasshoppers, running everywhere, knocking over merchandise and blocking aisles. Oh brother.
I am amused about the school kids - what a joke, and a waste of taxpayer dollars! You're right - those kids are already at Wal-Mart continually. I, too, am shocked by how much money we spend at the grocery store. We spend about $200 a week on groceries if you factor in the monthly trip to Sam's. And I, too, am failing miserably at figuring out how to pay for everything on my hubby's salary. I'm also focusing on the things that we have that cannot be measured in dollars.
ReplyDeleteWishing you were closer so we could go commiserate over a $4 cup of coffee,
Renae
Can I just say that I hate Wal-Mart but I need Wal-Mart and I hate that I need it. And if we didn't have Wal-Mart your grocery bill would probably be about $20 more.
ReplyDeleteYeah, grocery shopping costs way too much. I've been experimenting with what I have in the cupboards and trying to get creative. It's all about beans and rice around here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wacky idea for a field trip! They are nuts! And I'm sure they didn't make it at all educational like we do when we grocery shop each week. My guys have to read labels to pick the right item off the shelf for me, count how many carrotts I need, find the 'thick' sliced bread, and try lots of strange foods to learn about them when samples are given out. The staff at our local store love to see my boys in there on a friday! LOL! They all know them by name and know they are homeschooled (since every one of them have asked at some time if it is a school holiday! LOL!) They all come and show my kids stuff and explain things to them and seem quite pleased that they are 'helping' with our school work! :o) And yes, the groceries still cost too much over here too!
ReplyDeleteNot that I'm justifying a field trip to Spawl-Mart but up here in my neck of the woods, the local Sprawl-Mart contributes donations to the local schools. Maybe it had soething to do with that? Either that or maybe it was "career day" Ha Ha!
ReplyDeleteI loathe grocery shopping. I hear you on the expensive detergent! I was told by the washing machine repair guy, (remember my 6 year old front-loader which we had to replace) that the cheaper detergents acvtually help to disintegrate the seals!!! I think it's a conspiracy! I actually think it should be mandatory for our husbands to go on a "field trip" to the grocery store with us. Then THEY would see first-hand how much stuff is! Instead of asking us stupid questions like,
"What kind of junk stuff did you buy?"
Connie
After reading this, my first question would have been: did you shop at Walmart? But I see that you did. Did you do the comparison thing? The WM I work at price-matches the local grocery store ads. Call 'em & ask them. That includes meats, too (cuz even I think Wally's meat is high). I would dispense w/ the expensive laundry detergent and go w/ Arm&Hammer clothing detergent: it's a wonderful, inexpensive brand, and is great on stains. If I have stubborn stains, I use this wonderful stuff called Zout. You got a good deal on coffee, except I would price match whatever store is having that brand on sale. Wally's has the cheapest cereal unless, again, the local grocer is running a weekly special.
ReplyDeleteSince I work at Wally's I have noticed that the average family is spending $200 a week now, whereas it used to be about $100-125. It astounds me, too. And I get my discount, isn't that pathetic!?!
My BIGGEST question lately is: why does organic stuff cost more? I mean, it's not treated w/ chemicals, not grown w/ chemicals, not mixed w/ chemicals.....why is it more? Without all the chemicals, shouldn't it be cheaper?!!??? What's up with that?!
Anyway, good luck in the future, and have a great weekend!
We run around $200/wk if I am lucky. This week I had to go and buy household things from Costco so that was another $250. Just for your info, I use the HE detergent also and I know that the Costco brand HE detergent is $11.50 (just bought some yesterday) WAY cheaper than Wal-mart anything detergent. you should check and see if Sam's has something like that.
ReplyDeleteTav predicted the price increase on everything a long time ago and told me to be prepared. So when I come home on a rampage because I have 4 bags of things that cost me $75 he is very understanding. Although it doesn't make it any easier that I have to figure out how to feed all my people and not overdraw my account.
Hang in there. Our God promises to provide for ALL our needs. That is his lesson for me recently.
Love you.
Julie, Can you take advantage of the rebate programs at CVS, Rite-Aid or Walgreens??? I haven't paid for toothpaste, deoderant, feminine hygiene and lots of cleaning products in almost 2 years by using these programs. If you've been to my blog lately, you know that I'm trying to come up with a list of frugal meals (http://blog.athomewithkris.com/?p=870). I've also shared how the rebate programs are helping me - check out these posts:
ReplyDelete- http://blog.athomewithkris.com/?p=862
- http://blog.athomewithkris.com/?p=855
- http://blog.athomewithkris.com/?p=850
I would love to help you save more money and still be able to provide good food for your family. I only spend about $500/month for our family of 4 (2 parents, 12 and 13 year old kids) + 2 cats on ALL food and cleaning/paper/personal hygience products. Email me if you want any help!!
I am glad to read this ... we have been having a really really hard time making ends meet and we have SO few extravagences! (ie, walking to a pizza place every weekend is an extravagance!)
ReplyDeleteI just got back from Publix. It was $150. I had saved $22 by buying sale items, and who knows what I saved by buying generic. Didn't buy any meat other than sandwich meat.
Sometimes I think about doing the Powdered Milk Things, but that is so disgusting, and my husband would never ever stand for that one! Plus, it's so pathetic: we're college educated, hard working, intelligent ... dammit, we should be able to DRINK MILK, for goodness sake!