Costco $55
So. The HH was out of town last week on a business trip and we needed flour. Who has the best price on flour? Costco. And then I’m sure you know what happened after that.
Monkey Boy wanted chili, The Girl wanted those fancy shmancy crepes and I wanted a quick and easy dinner {rotisserie chicken}. Chalk up eggs, bread and chocolate chips to necessity items and, well, and you have a $55 trip to Costco. Good times people, good times.
Note to self: cut up Costco card.
Zaycon Chicken – Free
Thanks to my Zaycon credit I was able to get 40 pounds of Zaycon chicken for free this past week. 40 pounds of chicken goes a long way when you know the deal won’t come around for another 6 months. The kids asked if we could have Ritz Cracker Chicken tonight so I’ll be stopping by the store later to pick up some crackers.
I don’t know what it is about Ritz Crackers, but a box lasts about 2 seconds at our house so I’m going to have to find a good hiding spot for the extras. Ha!
Smith Brother’s Milk $15.95
The chocolate milk was a splurge.
Local Produce Stand $6.24
Pineapples for $2.50 each? How could I resist?
How about YOU? Did you order any Zaycon chicken? Did you process it all already?
Buy anything else you just couldn’t resist this past week?
Mavis wants to know.
Total Spent This Week $77.19
Total Spent This Year $225.28 {This is not going well}
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $4.50
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Lillian Creech says
I was wondering if you also use coupons?
Mavis Butterfield says
When I can.
Lillian Creech says
Oh Ya can you use seeds from last year and if so How old is the oldest seeds you used and how did they do and what wher ethe name of them I have some old ones and wondering if to use them this year
Mavis Butterfield says
I saved a few from last year. 🙂
Tina says
I think the Ritz boxes are shrinking!
Are those a new type of chocolate chips at Costco?
Mavis Butterfield says
New packaging I think {chocolate chips} and I agree, the Ritz Crackers are shrinking. 🙁
Katelyn says
Why don’t you crush up all the Ritz crackers today and save them for your next Ritz cracker chicken night? Nobody in my house raids the cracker crumbs like they do the whole crackers.
Mavis Butterfield says
You. Are. A. Genius.
Karin Carson says
As my Mom used to say ” It all comes out in the wash” you still have 40 plus weeks and once your fab garden comes in your budget will too, I find that in our household of four with two teenagers one girl and boy who never stop eatting that when it is blah and cold outside we crave different things and eat more as well.
Wendy says
I got my chicken this weekend, too! I even used the scraps that we cut off (that little bit of fat that is sometimes on the chicken) and made broth with it! I felt so good about not letting anything go to waste.
sharon says
I have been thinking. If most of the eggs are going to sweet Lucy. I don’t think you should count it every week in your food bill. You don’t count her other food you buy. Just a thought… 🙂 The you can subtract some off your spending!
Mavis Butterfield says
I was thinking that too but I don’t want to have to count the eggs. LOL. We should have more eggs here pretty soon once the weather warms up.
Mary Ann says
I ordered 5 cases of Zaycon chicken — 1 for my great-nephew and 4 for us! We eat mostly chicken around here and when I got the email from Zaycon that they won’t be back with it until Fall I panicked. I pick it up tomorrow morning. You know what I’ll be doing for the rest of the day!
Speaking of seeds: I have some that I bought last year that I’m not going to use, so if anyone wants them I’ll mail the whole bunch to one address to the first person who posts a reply to this message with their email so I can get your mailing address. Here’s what I have:
Botanical Interests seed packs:
1 Beet Detroit Dark Red
1 Onion Yellow Granex
1 Celery Tall Utah 52/70 Improved
1 Brussels Sprouts Long Island Improved
1 Cabbage Copenhagen Market
2 Broccoli Waltham 29
Burpee seed packs:
5 Beet Detroit Dark Red, Medium Top
Wendy says
wendy.boehm@me.com I would love them!
Lisa says
Are you really saving money because of the milk? Those 4 cartons and the small chocolate milk seem to be expensive for nearly $16.00. I buy 1% milk by the gallon, 3 when I do my big weekly shopping, and filling in 2 or 3 during the week. I know you want to cut down on shopping trips, but is it really cost affective if you pay so much for milk?
Deanna says
Wow! Your Costco must have a lot higher prices than mine because all that would add up to about $43. (central California) I am going to Costco this week when my AmEx rebate check comes in. $90 at Costco feels like a fortune! I won’t count that in my budget, (I will call it a bonus! Lol) but mine is different than yours. I run the house on $400 a month, but that includes everything except bills. So food, pets, gifts, football pools ( thank god that’s over!) my husbands Starbucks runs, diapers, farmers market, everything! it’s doable and I don’t really coupon. I just used two coupons the other day and prior to that it was at least 3 months ago since. I love your blog since I am a gardener, too. I am just starting on my seeds this week from botanical interests. I usually order from peaceful valley.
Deanna says
Mary Ann, I would LOVE those seeds! Please email me at deannastar@gmail.com. Thank you so very much!
Mary Ann says
So sorry, Deanna, but Wendy beat you to ’em.
KAte says
We go through the Garlic Ritz like nobodies business in our house. So I always stock up whenever there are two for one deals.
Mavis Butterfield says
I have not seen those yet! I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled. Thanks!
Sue Lester says
I learned a long time ago: Do not shop with your children or husband. Children beg for every colorful box, no matter what might be in it, and husbands like to try “something different” that they will sample, decide “it tastes funny” and throw in the trash.
Ruth Ward says
I buy my staples (flour, sugar, rice, popcorn) in bulk. I’ve gone to buying the 1.2 gallon Mason Jars to store them in. Once I get down to say 2 jars, I buy more in 50 lb bags. It is much cheaper that way. And the processing to the jars doesn’t really take that long.
Ruth Ward says
I buy my staples (flour, sugar, rice, popcorn) in bulk. I’ve gone to buying the 12 gallon Mason Jars to store them in. Once I get down to say 2 jars, I buy more in 50 lb bags. It is much cheaper that way. And the processing to the jars doesn’t really take that long.
Ruth Ward says
That’s 1/2 gallon mason jars.
Wendy says
Hi Ruth!
When you talk about processing to the jars, are you canning them? or are you just putting them in jars? Sorry for the question, but I am interested in doing that and wanted to know how you did it.
Thanks!
Judy says
Mavis I thought bird girl was away at college in a dorm? Is she coming home for meals? Lol
Now if my memory serves me right you were cutting up the Costco card last year. Lol
If I was close to ours there’d be no budget! Not seen the bulk flour..how much did it cost?
And I would never take my monkey boy to the store with me…he sneaks stuff in the basket! Ha!
It will certainly be interesting to see where your budget is come summer..love your blog Mavis!! It’s very informative and entertaining!! 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope, she heads off to school next year. The flour was $7 something at Costco and I agree, boys always want to eat everything! 🙂
Marcia@Frugal Healthy Simple says
Sadly, no Zaycon chicken for me. I’d love it, but the nearest distribution locations are miles away (85 or more).
Jan says
Costco Business Centers in Lynnwood sells 40 lbs of beautiful chicken breasts for $1.42 per lb. Prices for beef aren’t quite so low but meats close to pull dates are even more drastically reduce so if you plan on an immediate freezer day it’s certainly a steal.
christine says
Just wondering…are you happy with the quality of the ConAgra flour? How do you store it? Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
In the kitchen I store it in a 5 gallon glass jar so it’s close by then fold down the bag and store it in a bin in the pantry.
Jess Johnson says
Where did you find a 5 gallon glass jar?! That is huge (and would be awesome 🙂
Nikki says
What are Zaycon credits? and how do you get them?
Nikki says
canned chili?! I made a huge batch once a month and freeze it in wide mouth jars… that boy of yours….
Rhonda Willis says
We received our Zaycon chicken for the first time on Feb. 1. We have BBQ in the snow because it looked so good. Those were the biggest chicken breast I have ever seen. Thanks for writing about Zaycon, without you I probably would not have found out about it without you. Thanks.
SJ says
Saw this article on a website about “5-secrets-of-frugal-grocery-shoppers” as of Nov 11, 2013 and wanted to share a paragraph:
“According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of feeding a family of four a healthy diet runs between $146 to $289 a week. But even if you decide to spend, say, $800 a month on groceries, that number will likely become obsolete before you know it: Appetites evolve as we age, food prices fluctuate and, of course, given that families don’t always eat the same meals over and over, it’s simply a challenge to make the math work out during each shopping trip.”
So your 112$ a month is still GOOD.