Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Once a month shopping report- so fun!

I got beef! Whew hoo!

I bought about 16 roasts, leaving ten whole for roast, potatoes, and carrots.
The rest I sliced up for Frugal Roast Steaks and Roast Sandwiches.
1 1/2 was diced up for stew.
1 was cut into strips for a stir fry.
Yippee!

I also bought a box of 50 hamburger patties for $25! Sweet deal! And oh the praises that box got me when I came home with that jewel!  (Matter of fact, after dh viewed the meat freezer and saw this box of patties he said; "ok, whatever it is you're wantin' outta me, you can have it"! lol--perhaps I should have got that in writing, I'll need him in the garden soon!)
 ;)

I found some super cheap extra thin steaks that are marinating for (much begged for) beef jerky. -Kids are ecstatic!

I bought a large pork loin for $17 and had it sliced a little over a quarter inch thick- and now it will make 4 meals of pork steaks/chops. Not  bad- and dh was beside himself and so was a couple of my pork loin-lovin' kids.

I bought 8 pounds of hamburger, sectioned in 2lb bags for meatloaves.

I bought several pounds of chicken legs at .69 lb- enough for 3 meals.

4 lbs of ground turkey.

2 lbs of chicken liver- when I oven-fry any chicken, I love to toss these in- super easy.

I bought a bushel of apples and about 6 lbs of grapes! Heaven!

I bought 50lbs of self-rising flour for $20! Super sweet!

I bought 25lbs of white beans.

I bought 25 pounds of cornmeal.($8)

4 lbs of black beans.

Frozen cherries, berries, peaches, and lima beans. (Lima were buy one get one free- bought 3 bags, got 3 free!)

Several pounds of cabbage.

Several pounds of large carrots for juicing.

2 small hams ( I had coupons for $2 off each of them.)

2 pks of bologna.

A couple lbs of yellow squash. (89 lb)

Several pounds of cabbage.

Several bags of onions.

Big can of olive oil.

Salt and baking powder.

3 gallons of vinegar.(This is my main cleaner, with citrus of course!)

Lots of other odds and ends, like spices, and gum that I had coupons for.

Splurges- yes- 2!
I bought a couple of packs of Goldfish crackers for .99.
Easter candy- but I had coupons for every pack I bought, paying no more than $1 per pack. A sweet, sweet!

I still have more to finish tomorrow.

I forgot to get a brick of yeast. (1lb bags are wayyyyy cheaper than the little jars or packs.)
Need some other things- potatoes, lemons, baking soda, eggs, butter, and milk. (Yah for Aldi!)

7 comments:

Joy said...

Sounds like you did awesome!!
Now email me all the great details on where to find the awesome deals you got!! LOL :)
Hope you all are well!
Joy

Donna said...

Hi Joy!

Most all of that came from Leo's and Kroger's. The bulk fruit and flour and beans came from Cash-n-carry. The box of cheap hb-patties was Cash-n-Carry too. They're thin--- but NO ONE complained, lol ;-) too blessed I guess!!! hee hee

Roast and apples from Leo's.
The roast is still kinda high - 2.49 a pound - but its the cheapest it's been in a lonnnnnnggggg time!

Have to finish this evening!

I do need to write you-- the boys seemed to have got something mixed up last I dropped something off to you! Silly boys!

Gina said...

Your shopping trips are always inspiring! I'm not the only one in the world that likes to stock up and make their shopping trips count! Thanks for sharing!
Gina

Arden said...

I am going to be rude and ask if you share total money spent.
The reason I ask is I would have insisted I spend $150 a week on groceries. I would have had a fit if you implied I might be spending more.
In January I started keeping exact records. Now, my total was a little wacky because of my twice yearly meat purchase but I found out that I am spending double what I thought. I am blushing just admiting that and the average will go down, but still.
So, have I missed this on your blog in a past post? Or do you not include that info?

Donna said...

Thank U Gina!

Donna said...

Arlee Girl,

When I first started the blog we moved from $300 a month to about $500 a month. Yes, now we are above that, but not where you are, prolly somewhere in the middle.

Buying bulk meat twice a year is probably the most frugal and healthy way to do it! That's great!

With other shopping, I try to stick to 'real food' --as pre-packaged is so expensive and so not worth it ;-)!

Buying bulk grains, flours, sugars, fats, and gardening has really helped me.

Within my grocery budget, over the past 4 or 5 years, I have added 3 gardening areas to my yard, 17 fruit trees, 15 berry bushes, rhubarb, 5 grapevines, and 2 figs (which I'm a little concerned with). This has and will help me keep a lower budget, especially in the summer.

(I also make it known that I will can ANY freebies from other people's trees, hee hee.)

Another thing I've been doing lately is buying lots of lettuce. One bag for $2 to $3 can make a side veggie for 3 meals and after all that bulk and chewing, they get quite full, quickly- with real food!

Before, I was baking rolls/bread at almost every meal and that was my 'frugal filler'.

I also do as much coupon-ing as possible.

Like this month I had 2 B1G1F on 25 oz olive oil. For $14, I was able to get 4 bottles equaling 100+ ounces ...which is cheaper than I normally buy it for in bulk, in 100 oz cans!

I've also added a "pantry area" allowing for more storage, along with racks/shelves in my kitchen area to allow room for my buckets of flours, sugars, grains, etc.

Am I avoiding the direct question?
;-)

Email me @ laptopmail@twlakes.net and I will get you an exact number as to what I am spending now and answer any other questions!

Arden said...

Thank you Donna, I think you covered it. My totals are a little skewed by bulk purchases but you gave me tons to think about. I am going to have to figure out where the leaks are and if it's worth it to us.
I am looking forward to hearing about your fruit trees and gardening.

ArdenLynn
mama to 8