My $250 a Month Food Budget – Groceries, Take Out and Date Nights January 2nd-8th

Hello. Hello. Hello.

I am LOVING the new budget. I don’t feel stressed at all now when I go grocery shopping and even though I have the extra money now to spend in my monthly grocery budget, it’s now a game more than ever to find the deals. And I’m having fun with it.

For breakfasts this week we pretty much had oatmeal, smoothies, those superpower muffins or toast with jam. Easy peasy and just the way I like it.

I ate a big salad practically every day last week and I packed the boys lots of hot soup because of the near freezing temperatures we had. I need to make a batch of cookies for them though because I’ve caught them wandering in the kitchen several times last week and walking around in circles because I don’t have a treat sitting out on the counter. Silly boys. When will they learn to fend for themselves? Wait. I already know the answer. Never.

I got together with Mrs. HB on friday and we prepared a bunch of meals together. One of them was lasagna, a family favorite. Mrs. HB wants my help to curb her grocery spending so stay tuned… that story is coming up next. 😉 It’s a doozy!

Here’s what I purchased at the stores this past week:

Albertsons $0.33 pasta after the $0.50 American Beauty iBotta rebate.

Winco $15.74 after iBotta rebates {produce, Kettle chips, pasta sauce and tea}

Winco has some really great prices on food and if I lived closer, I’d probably shop there all the time. I do want to try and shop there more often this year when I’m in the area though because their bulk section has some really good prices. Things like oatmeal for $0.58 a pound, Almond Flour $3.44 a pound, beans $0.84 a pound and their produce deals are usually pretty good as well.

I paid $0.78 each for english cucumbers, $0.48 for green peppers and $0.98 a pound for broccoli and $0.88 a pound for zucchini. All of those produce items would have been DOUBLE at my local grocery stores.

Fred Meyer $5.16 after iBotta rebate, friday freebie and free juice catalina someone left behind.

The 2 containers of cottage cheese I bought are not in the picture and the cashier GAVE ME the lettuce because she couldn’t scan the upc. Okay then…. works for me. $0.25 iBotta rebate on the carrots.

Fred Meyer $29.31 after iBotta rebates {Tillamook ice cream, Kettle chips and bread}

I popped into Fred Meyer on Sunday morning and stocked on enough milk for the next 2 weeks {$0.99 each}, tuna $0.50 a can, Fred Meyer Ice Cream $1.87, I also grabbed a pint of Tillamook ice cream knowing there was a $1 iBotta rebate, plus someone had left a $1.50 catalina coupon on the shelf {I love it when that happens}. 3 pints of Haagen Daz were originally on my list because Monkey Boy has dental surgery this week and I thought $3.33 a pint was a decent deal. But when I spotted FM brand for $1.87 each and was able to get Tillamook for $2.50 {after coupon and rebate} I decided to go the less expensive route.

Spinach was $0.99, Pineapple $0.99, cottage cheese $0.99, the bread was discounted to $1.11 plus there was a $0.25 iBotta rebate on any loaf of bread. Honey Bunches of Oats are on sale for $1.67 a box and I was also able to download a $1 off 2 Fred Meyer coupon for those as well. Oh, and the Kettle chips? Those are on sale this week 2 for $4 and there is an iBotta rebate for $1 off any 2, 8 ounce bags of Kettle chips. I was able to use the Kettle Chip iBotta rebate twice {once at Winco and once at Fred Meyer}. Go. Fight. Win.

Costco $5.99

I went shopping at Costco with Mrs. HB and picked up a 10 pound sack of pancake mix. My guess is it’s enough to last the rest of the year. 😉

Money Spent on Groceries this week $56.53

I know my weekly grocery expenditures are a little high, but I don’t plan on going to the grocery store next week so I figure by the 15th of the month, I’ll be right on pace for my goal of spending $150 a month on groceries this year.

Bakery Treats, Take Out and Date Days $13.30

In addition to stopping by Suzanne’s Bakery earlier in the week, we also popped by another bakery over the weekend and I’ll be posting about that on Wednesday. The Girl and I also enjoyed a lunch date with my parents at our favorite spot {their treat!}. We didn’t pick up any take out or go on any dates this past week.

• Total Spent This Week $69.83
• Total Spent in Janaury on Groceries $56.53
• Total Spent in January on Take Out, Date Nights, and Bakery Treats $13.30

~Mavis

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

For those of you who don’t know, basically Ibotta is way to earn cash every time you shop. All you do is check the Ibotta app before you shop for product offers, bonuses, new store coupons. Then, simply upload a picture of the UPC code and your receipt and get paid {via paypal or gift cards} once your balance hits $20. Join Ibotta with this link {my referral code} and get $10! Trust me,  it’s easy.