A strange thing happened at the Boston airport {besides the part about the HH deciding we had to be there 6 hours before our flight was due to take off}. I made a grocery list. A really, really long grocery list.
Idle hands, and sleep deprivation do not go well together.
Here are the groceries we purchased when we came home from our vacation to Boston.
Safeway – $5.38
Our flight from Boston arrived around 10pm and on the way home the HH pulled into Safeway and grabbed 2 gallons of milk for the next morning.
Winco – $88.33
Winco sent out $10 off a $50 purchase postcard coupons last week to Washington and Oregon residents with Winco stores in their area. Plus there was an additional $10 off $50 coupon available to print on the Winco website as well.
Here is a close up of all the goodness. In case you don’t know already, Winco has a great bulk foods section and their deals on produce are pretty good too. Earlier in the year we stocked up on bulk spices and oats so this time around we bough mostly fruits and vegetables and a couple of canned goods.
Orowaet Bakery Outlet – $10
Our next stop was to the Oroweat Bakery Outlet. If you’ve never been to a bakery outlet, you should totally find one in your area and stop by. We picked up 5 packages of bagels, 3 loaves of bread, 2 bags of rolls, English muffins and a box of dounuts for Monkey Boy all for $10. Not to shabby if you ask me!
Costco – $159.61
Holy crap. What is wrong with Mavis?
We went to Costco. I have no excuse. We needed stuff.
So, as you can see, clearly I’ve lost my mind. We spent $263.32 this past week and we stocked not only the refrigerator with yummyness, but the pantry and freezer as well.
Sometimes you just have to live it up. Will we make it to the end of the year on a grocery budget of $100 a month? Hmm. That would work out to $1.14 a day for a family of four for the rest of the year. So, not likely. But you know what? Life is short, and I don’t want to waste anymore of it clipping coupons for products we don’t want to eat.
I’m not sure what our grocery tally will look like at the end of the year, but I will continue to save where I can.
Peace Out Girl Scouts, wake up everyday and make it count!
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $263.32
Total Spent This Year $910.87
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $781.98 {I bought a Meyer Lemon Tree, Rhubarb crowns, 6 Fruit Trees , 15 yards of soil}, Walla Walla Onions and 90 pounds of seed potatoes. Plus, supplies to make my own potting soil.
Judy N. says
Um isn’t your blog named..How to feed a family for $100 a month?? LOL..isn’t saving money on groceries the point? What happened?? I was a sceptic and for sure I am now.. You shop like me!! hahahaha..Hey gotta eat right? Kids are always hungry!! and you did get some awesome deals.. I still cut coupons when I can find them..and I don’t send out search parties for them either, just if one happens to pass me by..Any whoo..I have found that store brands are STILL cheaper then even with the name brand coupons most of the time..Love your Blog Mavis..its enlightening and delightful!!
Sakura says
I came home a few weeks ago to a fridge that had stopped working. Needless to say I had to throw everything out, fridge and freezer. Last week fridge fixed, but I’ve held off on filling it. We’ve purchased milk, eggs and yogurt. It’s nice having it empty and clean again. I’m hoping we can hold out until May before I go crazy. I wish we had an orowheat out let here, we do have a sara lee outlet so I try and stop by there once in a while.
Leanna says
So glad you were able to stock up. I know in a couple months you will be bartering yourself silly with all that yummy garden goodness. I know you are not wondering but I have only been able to stay under my budget of $100 a week for groceries and toiletries twice so far this year. Happy Monday to you.
Melissa says
You’re still paying less for groceries than 95% of the U.S. population, I would guess, and you’re feeding your family healthy, nutritious foods. Yeah for that, any day!
Sherri says
I have totally fallen off the coupon wagon. I found like you, that I was buying stuff we didn’t normally eat. And much of it was food I felt guilty about feeding my family. We are working on a more whole foods approach, and honestly there just aren’t whole food coupons very often.
The only place I miss the coupons are for personal care items, but I still have a few on hand.
Tracie says
So hear you on the coupon thing…I coupon and still do for things like beans, tomatoes, baking stuff etc. but not crazy couponing. I found that allot of my coupon friends were only around if I had extra coupons and when I would get good deals they would tell me how much they hated that stuff and turn around and buy 20 for themselves the first chance they got. crazy drama couponers…..lol. I have a huge garden this year. I buy from bountiful baskets every few weeks and a bread outlet as well. We bought a half a beef and cheap chicken. So other than staples we are good. I don’t blame you Mavis.
Sherri says
Also, I admit I don’t miss the coupon post at all! I love everything about your blog and I feel like I know you. Your gardens are an inspiration!
Amanda says
Eh, oh well. Once your garden is producing, you won’t have those kinds of shopping trips, I’m sure. HOWEVER, I’m stuck on the whole black shirt thing. I mean, how on earth do you manage to wear a black shirt in every single OHDAM photo?! That’s dedication!
Mavis says
I have a closet full of them. 🙂 Been wearing black shirts and dark jeans for years. I’m not really into clothes.
Amanda says
I love it! I once decided I was going to clear everything out of my closet and wear only plain black T-shirts and jeans. Then I decided that my clothes were perfectly worn in. I’m still wearing T-shirts from middle school and I’m 25…I didn’t want to have to start over! Some day…
Maia says
I mostly visit your site for the garden and chicken stories. Stores around me don’t double coupons so while seeing your coupon stories is fun, I can’t relate to those. I think your blog is fun either way, and you’re right – life is too short!
Wynne says
Completely agree.
Sidonie says
I have only been following your blog for about a month, but I agree with alot of people above that I actually follow it for the inspiring garden information! I love it!
And I totally feel the same way about coupons now! I used to be an avid coupon clipper, but we have changed to a plant-based diet, and there are not alot of coupons out there for that. AND, I felt like I was spending hours trying to figure out deals for things that I didn’t really need or weren’t healthy for us. I’ve found that I would rather spend a little extra on groceries, and only splurge on eating out a few times a month to balance it all out. It’s worth it in the end for me to have healthier food in the house, and have the time to spend with my family instead of spending it looking for/clipping coupons. I appreciate your honesty and all of your hard work on the blog!
Lisa says
It seems as though many of us are going through a food change as of lately. I used to be a hardcore couponer and saved my family lots of money but in the process something clicked and I realized that I would rather feed my family “real” food than a poptart any day. And so our quest to eat better food meant that our grocery budget was going to go up, a lot. And you know what, I’d much rather find other ways to save. Food is the single most important item we spend our money on and I’d rather pay more for quality food than prescription medication and doctor office copays.
Eve says
Knowing you splurge every now and then makes me feel better. I have been avoiding Costco for months and blew my budget this weekend. Nice to know that I am not alone. Love your blog and you are an inspiration in so many ways!
Heather S. says
I’ve loved your blog for a few years now, but am even more excited now because I don’t feel so bad spending as much as I do on groceries 🙂 Save where you can, do your best, and feed your family healthy food! Even if you go back to your old $100/month ways, I will still follow you because you are hilarious, inspirational, motivational, and enjoyable to my day! I may have to hit the Oroweat outlet this week…
Heather m says
I agree! I think you are hilarious and I love your gardening blog and recipes! I read your blog daily. Kinda drivesy husband crazy cause if we are having a gardening dispute, I’m like, we’ll Mavis does it this way. Hahaha. Look at it this way, you could sell all your extra produce and put that money back into the budget, but you choose to give it to charity. 🙂
Joy says
Are you still planning to show us everything you ate for the week? I have really been looking forward to it! I love your blog for the gardening and the inspiration!
Mavis says
Yes. I will take pictures this week. 🙂
Amanda says
well it is 100$ a month not 1200$ a year 🙂 Try again next month.
MaryW says
Don’t feel bad about the spending. Guilt is pointless! I like the chicken and the garden stories too, more than the amount of money you’re spending 🙂
Susan says
If you can make it out of Costco for under $200.00, you’re actually doing great! 🙂
Miriam says
I made it out of Costco with one item and got applauded by the cashier. (I REALLY needed some powdered garlic.)
Any trip under $200 from Costco is a miracle!
Amanda says
I agree. I just went to Costco today…and I did not make it out under $200…BUT, in my own defense, we live 45 minutes away from it, so when I go, I GO. I got 2 cases of water plus a case of flavored sparkling water (trying to get my family off soda, which means having plenty of convenient healthier choices), a case of fruit juice pouches, 8 lbs of strawberries, a lb of blueberries, 5 heads of romaine lettuce, a huge container of greens, a bag of 6 avocados, a watermelon, a golden melon, a honeydew melon, 3 cantaloupes, 2 blocks of cheese, 3 bags of Babybel cheeses, olives, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, minced onion, parsley, taco seasoning, 2 dozen organic eggs, a pineapple, 6 cartons of organic chicken broth, a big box of veggie lites gluten free chocolate chip zucchini muffins, 2 big bags of fresh green beans, 6 boxes of quart-sized freezer bags, 6 boxes of gallon-sized freezer bags, a giant box of kitchen trash bags, 2 giant bottles of dishwasher soap,..well, anyhow, the point is I got a LOT of stuff, which always seems to happen at Costco.
We don’t have the luxury of all those awesome grocery stores, outlets, and produce stands around here. The best produce I find is usually at Costco (45 minutes away) or Trader Joe’s/Whole Foods (an hour away if traffic is good). We live in the country between 2 towns and have 1 grocery store in each town, each about 8 minutes’ drive away. The 1 town’s grocery store is a joke…the food is WAY overpriced and the produce/baked goods/meats are unimpressive, to say the least. I’m not actually even sure how it’s still in business. The other one is fine…it’s a big chain that moved in a few years ago and the produce is decent and prices are okay, but I try to do a “big” shopping trip once or twice a month for better, cheaper food and then supplement at the local grocery store throughout the month.
I’m curious, how far do you (Mavis and other readers) drive to get groceries? Especially those of you who visit multiple stores, is it a 2-minute trek, right next door, or closer to an hour, like myself? Can’t wait ’til going grocery shopping means stepping outside…but first, it’ll have to stop snowing so I can plant!
Mavis says
I live about 3 minutes away from the stores so it’s an easy trip for me. After being on the East Coast for a week and driving through some towns where the nearest grocery store is about an hour and a half away, I totally understand about only wanting to stock up once a month or so on groceries. 🙂
krista says
I live in a small town & have the same issues! We have a local grocery store, Walmart, and Aldi, all about 10 min away. But any Whole Foods, sam’s club or costco, we’re at least 45min- 1hr! We have one local farm that has fresh produce in the summer but not the kind of great farmers markets larger areas have!
Taryn says
This post made me so happy! You’re right, life is short, time with your children is short and sometimes you need to splurge. Love the blog!!
christie says
Were you able to use Both winco coupons at the same time ? It never even occured to me to check for a Winco website ! Sheesh.
Today is Earth Day! Starbucks will give you a free drink if you bring your own container! I’m loving my ice tea right now! Plus, I got lots of free coffee grounds for the garden.
~ Christie
Mavis says
I split up my order and had 2 transactions back to back. 🙂
Cindi Myers says
I love your blog and you have still shown me tons of ways to save — like those Winco coupons (too bad we don’t have Wincos here in Colorado) and the bread outlets. And I love the gardening and chicken stories.
Tali says
Of course to each, there own….and couponing is indeed time consuming and I rather be gardening (but it is still cold and rainy here plus, I go to work 2-3 days a week so running in the store is not as annoying as making a special trip)…..but to be honest looking at what you got at Costco I see that I get those same things, with coupons for much much less (Tilanook cheese, chobani yogurt, brown sugar, pickles, tortillas etc)
vicki rossiter says
Found an Oroweat outlet in my area and went for the first time today! Loved it..got bread..flatbread…sandwich thins. Stocked up the freezer. But, they didn’t have any Entermann’s donuts my hubby will have to do without!
Andrea says
I actually love your posts (video posts especially) of you bartering with your neighbors! Will you try and do more? And of course, I also look forward to the reclaimed food posts. 🙂
Mavis says
Yes!
Margaret Bushee says
Love this post! I agree with the coupon clipping. It is good up to a point but that is it. I have four kids that eat tons and I certainly can’t feed them under $100 dollars a month. I appreciate you telling us the real deal. It makes me feel less guilty about spending more than $100 bucks! Peace out girl scout!
Heidi says
I too have given up the couponing for the sake of saving on food we don’t/won’t eat. If I see a good deal on something that we will eat I will definitely clip a few coupons and grab the deal but I’m focusing on quality now, not quantity. Nothing beats fresh homegrown food and homemade meals.
Love your blog. It’s my daily inspiration. You’re help me slowly turn my black thumb green:)
Theresa says
I’ve been following your blog for about two months and it’s now my favorite one. I love your garden updates. I feel like I know you from your post. I find that I’m shopping less and less with coupons. I too want to eat less processed food and coupons are usually for things I no longer want to eat. I love your recipes. Oh and I just love Lucy!
Melissa says
Mavis, I just wanted to take a minute and tell you that I LOVEseeing your grocery purchases. I have only been a reader for about a year and I have seen an awesome change in just that short time. I have seen a lot of other people’s couponing grocery hauls that are full of boxed and processed items. I know it’s possible to find some deals on staples and I’m all for that, but feeding your family real whole foods costs more than $100/month during non-harvest season and making the sacrifices to keep the best food on the table, in my opinion, is worth every penny.
<3 ya!
Beth says
I love this post! I took my teenage daughter shopping with me yesterday and even though we used $25.00 in coupons (at Fred Meyers) we spent almost $200 in one trip- the horrors of it all!!! My husband will have a stroke when he sees it on our account- only because I have been spending about $60 per week lately which was great for us because $150-$200 per week used to be normal. I took my daughter with me because she told me last week that we had no food in the house…translation….no teenager food….so I took her with me and bought alot of her type of food which will last her for at least a month… every once in awhile you just have to stock up on whatever your family needs, wants whatever!
I love all your posts….gardening, chickens, bartering, and now Lucy….keep doing what you’re doing…
Irene says
Most of what I buy doesn’t get coupons . . . I also don’t coupon because driving to a lot of different stores adds up, in gas money and time that I could be using gardening or cooking from scratch. Nothing can save like cooking from scratch, I think. Plus then you don’t have to worry about ingredients that frankly shouldn’t even be called food. You are what you eat and you get what you pay for . . .
I agree with the other readers about being here for the great gardening info, thanks for sharing and inspiring!
D'Anna says
I just wanted to thank you for one of your travel recommendations of packing snacks…had I not listened to you I would have literally starved in Costa Rica last week.
I came home from the airport yesterday and went to Safeway, threw frugality out the window and spent $35 on random stuff. I figured after spending $34 for breakfast in the Liberia Hilton, $75 to reschedule my flight, a 12 hour layover in Chicago I deserved all the comfort foods I got at Safeway.
lisap says
I have a solution to keep you at $100 a month. CUT the Costco card. You spent over $400 at Costco this year. I love your blog.
vickie says
Glad your eating healthier – that’s the thing. We have started eating healthier also but I manage to still use coupons for cleaning and personal items. I use some for sugar (yep we still just buy sugar) and last week there was one for natural ice cream. For me I still come out saving money using coupons.
Janet says
Mavis,
I am curious about the big 3 lb cans of black beans, pineapple and 2 others you bought at Costco. I know they are a good price, do you divide and freeze the contents or what?
You inspire me!
Thank you for all you do!
Desi from Idaho zone 5 says
Mavis, you’re doing great! Besides you have to have the base ingredients to make all your wonderful recipes. I”m still couponing but only on the things we need. I’m trying to do more of a basics food storage with some snack items thrown it. Little kids love their snacks.
Elizabeth says
I LOVE Costco…. I wouldn’t recommend cutting that card up for all the tea in China! 😀 Well, maybe for ALL the tea….
Costco has excellent values on things like toilet paper, facial tissue, paper towels, cleaning supplies, etc. Their TP is fantastic – and super cheap! I recommend anyone who doesn’t need or can’t store bulk purchases work with a friend – splitting the items up. That way, you get the benefit of the reduced cost, without having giant packages to deal with.
Sure – the extreme couponer is probably getting those things “free,” but I would like to see a calculation of the number of hours spent researching, collecting, organizing, and planning to use coupons the extreme way. I know it is time intensive, and time = money! What else could we do with those hours? Be sure to multiply the number of hours spent preparing to extreme coupon shop by minimum wage (at least!) – and add that to the cost of the purchases. It clearly is an individual decision as to whether the “free” stuff is really free – and a good value.
For me, I can’t take do it. I work full time. I’m not willing to spend my precious time off clipping coupons and researching grocery ads. Life IS too short! But to those who do it – you rock! More power to you! I really am in awe.
Elizabeth says
oops – last paragraph should read – I can’t take it on!
Wendy says
I think you’re doing the right thing. All your food purchases were healthy, you cook from scratch every day–what more can you do? You’ve got a family of four to feed and nurture.
I almost never use coupons because most of the time they are for junk food, or I can get the home-care products I need much cheaper at BJ’s.
Cynthia Byrd says
Love your blog. I look foward to reading it daily. I am amazed at your energy! Please keep up the good work!
Evelyn says
Our bread outlet closed a couple years ago 🙁 When our kids were little it was thier favorite place to go they each got to pick 1 thing and only cost me a dollar 🙂 My hubby always called it the used bread store. I too have cut WAY back on the coupons and stick with staples of things our family eats.The youngest is 15 now one of our twins lives at home but in college ,the other twin is in the Marines and the oldest has his own family now.Sundays everyone comes together for a big meal during the week it is just hubby,me and the youngest and she loves to cook 🙂 As far as being over 100 $ looks to me like that trip had LOTS of fresh veggies in a couple months that expense will be gone subtrack the veggies from the total bill to see what you would have spent .Maybe work on some ideas you got from the Coleman ‘s farm in Maine and begin to garden year round 🙂