Albertsons $13.49
Albertsons has a sweet deal on canned beans this week – only $0.50 a can. Yee-Haw, those will come in handy this winter in pasta salads and chili. Ricotta cheese was $2.99 and sour cream $0.50 and the carrots, well they were for the horse down the street {The Girl likes to feed him} so I’m not adding those in.
Fred Meyer $14.88
Milk was $0.99 a half gallon and cherries were on sale for $1.99 a pound so we stocked up! We made a delicious cherry cobbler, ate some fresh and froze the rest to enjoy this winter.
Fred Meyer $3.79
Wheat germ! Holy cow man, this stuff is expensive. I looked for it in the bulk section but couldn’t find it so I had to pop for a whole bags. Wait until you see what I made with it though, because it was totally worth it. {I’ll post the recipe later today}.
Mr. Produce Guy – FREE
Each week we collect a few boxes of “scraps” from our local grocery store. It’s pretty much a crap shoot as to what we get, but last week we hit the jackpot and had a nice mix of fruits and vegetable. You can read how we got started on this food scrap journey HERE.
Backyard Goodness
We have been picking about 4 containers of raspberries each night for the past week and a half. If you are knee deep in raspberries too, take a look at my collection of raspberry recipes below, I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like. 😉
That’s it for this week, and YES, it’s true, I have gone over for the year! Yikes! What do you think? Should I keep blogging about what groceries I buy for my family, or throw in the towel?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $32.16
Total Spent This Year $1,218.57 – It’s official, I’m over for the year!
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $893.99 {I bought a Meyer Lemon Tree, Rhubarb crowns, 6 Fruit Trees , 16 yards of soil}, Walla Walla Onions and 90 pounds of seed potatoes. Plus, supplies to make my own potting soil. I also picked up a boatload of heirloom tomato plants at the Seattle Tilth sale.
Read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Raspberry Sorbet
Raspberry Freezer Jam
Raspberry Buckle
Raspberry Quinoa Salad
Angela says
Don’t be too hard on yourself for being over your monthly expenditure goal.
Think of it this way. You’ve been trying to spend $100/month or less for how many years? While many say there is no inflation, there actually is. You have to give yourself a “cost of living” increase for each year.
Stephanie says
Please keep blogging about what you buy! I love seeing what other people buy for groceries, and I really love seeing what comes in your scrap boxes. 🙂
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
I agree. Keep blogging about it. Even if you are over, you still try to find good deals. I love to see these posts.
KK
Patti says
I agree with both Angela and Stephanie. Love reading your blog. Really enjoy the “garden stuff” as we just started this year with raised boxes and a greenhouse.
Carol says
Definitely, keep blogging! You still have me beat and I only buy for two of us. Your posts keep me really inspired. I just harvested my first basil leaves ever. My tomatoes are going strong, thanks to your advice on companion planting. The grocery stores only get my money for “real” food, no more store bought junk food in our home…again, thanks to you and your other readers who comment!
Lynne says
You are an inspiration to so many of us – whether it’s your shopping strategies, gardening, recipies, or all the other things you post! You’ve been clear that you are more focused on high-quality food over the dollars right now, and your blogging about your journey had educated so many of us. Please keep blogging, and keep the name of your blog too. It reminds us all of the importance of setting goals (whether it’s what you spend or what you grow)!
suzanne says
Nope, no quitting allowed! No name change either! We all love you Mavis just the way you are.
JP says
Mavis, go check out Winco for all-things-bulk. Germ is uber-cheap, as are flax seeds, spices, oatmeal, etc.
Bea says
Lynne said it all for me. Thank you for the last year and a half (since I discovered you) of daily enjoyment in reading your blog.
saralie says
Amen sister!
Mavis keep those posts coming…they are my favorite. I am so glad that you are relaxing on your budget…for your families sake. Life is too short to go without the pleasures food provide. (especially in season) 🙂
crlzmmr says
I think you should keep going ( keep track of how much you spend for the year ) and next year try to cut the cost in half.
That’s what I’m doing. Last year I was spending $100 a month and my goal this year was to cut it down to $50 a month.
So far this year I am above budget ( averaging $80 / month ) but I am optimistic.
I keep telling myself that NEXT year I will meet my goal.
My challenge is that I am addicted to Diet Coke.
If I didn’t drink coke, I would have no problem keeping the monthly food budget below $50.
Of course I eat normal food. ( Not vegetarian / vegan or organic. )
and too, you learn by your mistakes.
For example, you no longer buy the expensive milk that Monkey Boy refused to drink.
Emily says
The last time I was in the grocery store I saw the produce guy throwing away whole eggplants because they were bruised. I asked him if they ever gave away scraps and he said they can’t because they got sued once by a guy whose pig got sick.. such a waste 🙁 But yes, please keep blogging about what you buy!
Emily says
By the way, I know of a great banana raspberry bread you could make with those extra ripe bananas and the raspberries from your garden… Google “banana raspberry bread Robin Miller”
Laura says
No, don’t stop!
How do you freeze your cherries?
Mavis Butterfield says
Pit them, place them on a cookie sheet until frozen then pop them in to zip baggies. 🙂
Laura says
Thank you! That’s easier than I thought it would be.
Susan says
Keep the Mondays with Mavis posts coming! I like to see others shopping, too. Whether it’s a few things or a lot. I like the whole website- everything you post.
I am a really frugal person, but could never spend just $100 a month – and there are only 2 of us at home. Sometimes you gotta splurge!! 🙂
Jenn says
You may have gone over budget for the year, but look at the goodness that you are feeding your family! Keep on blogging your buys for the week. You still get some awesome deals that we don’t have down here in Florida.
Heather S. says
Did you check winco’s bulk stuff? I swear they have everything… I spend more in two months than you typically spend in a year – or in half a year this year 😉 so I am totally inspired by you. Keep counting. It will still be less than you used to spend before you kept track.
Susan says
I LOVE Winco’s bulk section! They have added a LOT of new things in the last few months. Be sure to take a GOOD look around there.
Maia says
I enjoy these posts and you are still WAY under what I spend at the grocery store! Thank you for sharing with us 🙂
Desi says
Definitely keep them coming.
Teckla says
Yes, please keep on keeping on! It will be interesting to see how you fare for the whole year. Also, after you have had time to think about the year and start planning for next year it will be interesting to see how you do things differently next year and why. You still have great tips that help the rest of us who are not so inspired, or are still learning some of the stuff you do in your sleep! Really enjoy reading your blog!
mary c says
Hi Mavis, I cannot tell you how enjoyable your blog is! I update my husband too and he talks about you like he knows you…..”what would Mavis think about the basil?” Ha! We have been gardening for years, even have one in our front yard this year where we had a large tree cut down, now growing corn even (and we live in a ritzy suburb-what do the neighbors think??). We were married 26 yrs. ago in Seattle, lived there for 7yrs and now live in MN. We are taking a trip out to Seattle and LaPush in a couple of weeks and we are so excited for our kids to see our old stomping grounds! Keep up the good work and the good deeds- YOU ROCK!
Heather says
Mavis-
Keep blogging! I enjoy seeing what you get and what you barter… what the Produce guys gives you and what you grow! IT is one of my favorite parts of your blog… and the tasty recipes. I haven’t met a recipe here I don’t like.. my family gobbles them up!
Tracy L. says
Mavis, Lynne said it best, we all have learned and grown on this journey. You inspire us in so many ways, even if the goals are not met, its the journey. We all can take another look at the way we do things, grow things, make things, etc. You make us think, and that is never a bad thing. Thank you for your inspiration!!
D'Anna says
If you keep your seeds from this year, to use next year, you won’t have so much out of pocket on the garden so next year you will be ahead 🙂 so it will all balance out. I was usually at the 70% savings every week on groceries last year, I’m over for this year as well but it’s all good. Maybe you could do a crazy dumpster dive for inserts one weekend, plan a trip for overage and then your total will go backwards 😉