The Grocery Game Challenge May 21-27-What’s Your Best Score?
No hockey isn’t the topic of this post and I truthfully have no idea how the game is played. Perhaps I should ask my readers for some tips on the great Canadian Sport and maybe visit a game one day in Toronto,Ontario.
Yet Another week is upon us which means more money-saving in the grocery budget, so we hope. Let’s see how creative we can be with the rest of our budget. I think we’ve done well this month especially keeping away from any convenience foods. It can be difficult to do because we come to rely on quick meals but now we have to meal plan and think ahead. We now have chives, spring onions,rhubarb,lettuce and mint in the garden that we have been using daily.
What else are we growing?
We have tomatos, green peppers,radishes,figs,spinach,parsely,raspberries and swiss chard growing in our garden as well.
Meal Planning
I hope to blog about how we make our family meal plan shortly but for the most part we take into consideration sales,coupons, pantry items, freezer items and fresh veg. Obviously I’ll go into more detail but for now it’s a learning phase with us just like budgeting was the past few years. It can be done it you put your mind to it, and that’s what we are doing.
Weekly Grocery Budget $64 x 3 weeks a month $190
Our Weekly Budget is $64 however we had $0.55 left from the week earlier so we can potentially spend $64.55 this week with next week being a no-shop week. The no-shop week can be the hardest especially if there is a sale but simply forgetting about the flyers makes sticking to the budget that much easier. This week our best score was all the meat that we got reduced as it’s not often to find steaks 30% off.
If you haven’t played The Grocery Game Challenge yet click here for the rules but I’ll warn you.. it’s very easy! You can join at any time throughout the month… all I want to see is that people are saving and being mindful of their budget!
Don’t forget while making up your shopping list to match up the deals in the flyers with coupons you might have and design your meal plan around what’s in your pantry. You can check out the coupon match ups for the week May 18-24 here compliments of Save Big Live Better for Canadian Budget Binder.
Before you know it the end of the month will be here and another WINNER will be chosen… don’t delay play today… your budget will thank-you! I know ours does!
Mr.CBB
Food Basics
6x Sale $1.88 Schneiders Sausages = $11.28
Total Oop= $11.28
Shoppers Drug Mart
4x Neilson Cream Sale $0.99
2x Everyday Peanuts Sale $2.49
Total Oop= $9.59
Metro
10x Olymel hotdogs Sale 3/$5.00- $0.50 peelies on each pkg =$10.50
Total Oop-$10.50
Walmart
2x bath poofs $0.97 each
2x crest mouthwash $1.00-$1.00 coupons
2x Crest Floss-2x FPC wub Crest mouthwash (brandsaver coupons)
Total Oop$3.48
Total Coupons Used this week $14.96
Total Spent Oop- $34.85
$64.55-$34.85=$29.70 left to spend this week.
So tell me What your best score of the week is?
Come chat with me and the fans about The Grocery Game Challenge and more over at Facebook HERE or Tweet along with me on Twitter HERE!
Related articles
- The Grocery Game Challenge April 30-May 6-Coupon Savings! (canadianbudgetbinder.com)
- The Grocery Game Challenge-May 7-13 What’s Your Savings? (canadianbudgetbinder.com)
- The Grocery Game Challenge-May14-20 Sweeping Up Savings!! (canadianbudgetbinder.com)
I have a book to track my work shifts to make sure I get paid correctly and in there I have a tab bar that lists the total coupons used for that month. some months are better then others and never thought that we could save what we have been able to! All I the work and organizating it takes and I put into ( some people dont believe it is) my couponing pays off at every shop and it all adds up. Always trying to buy the item on sale matched with a coupon can really help you with your budget. I wish other people would see how much they could save too. But couponing doesn’t happen overnight which most people think. I have been couponing since my mom showed me as a teenager when they came in the flyers or the papers on how much you could save. had my coupons in my wallet(went through lots) for years before I ever moved up to a little folder then recently to a binder. couponing has become huge everywhere and is more easy and accessable to anyone to do it
got that bogo tea from websaver or save.ca a few months back and have been sitting on it all this time to try and find the best deal for it. got the canadian red rose and its very yum, not too strong
I feel like a try really hard to only buy when what I need is on sale and use coupons. everything is ususally on a sale cycle and is somewhat predictable.
but we have to treat oursleves too sometimes otherwise we feel like we deprive ourselves and then not stick to any budget.
we usually take the cash out of the bank for groceries with some debit use when need be.
To help us stick to our weekly budget we take the money out on thurs/fri which is our paydays and should help till the following week pay date (as my husband get paid weekly and I bi weekly)
I am trying to plan for a large discount tuesday shop next week to help stock up for a little while on a few things and trading and collecting the coupons is a lot of work but will totally pay off next week!
Oh yes it was save.ca I did get those. I was hoping that there was some new coupons out there as I drink alot of tea. If using cash is the way you stick to your grocery budget is what works for you, then keep on doing it. I think it’s important to still track everything you spend in the budget.. even coupon savings.. I like to know everything that’s why I have it in the Canadian Budget Binder Spreadsheet… Cheers Mr.CBB
finally got some time to do this 🙂
our budget is $100 a week and I did go over budget this week. But I was well under last week and I was able to stock on a few things cheap.
Superstore
.57 x12-$6C minute maid juice
.84 total oop
$6 total Coupons
H & W Produce
5.99 20lb potatoes
1.58 snap peas
1.19 romaine lettuce
.99 corn – 4
.78 tomatoes
1.28 green peppers
1.93 orange/yellow peppers
$13.75 total oop
Save on foods
4.99 sherbert
1.00 x4 -$4C alymers accents
$4.99 total oop
$4 total Coupons
Safeway
3.99 x2 – bogo C red rose tea
2.49 x2 -$1.50 cheese strings
$7.47 total oop
$5.49 total Coupons
Shoppers
$2.99 -$2C stayfree
$2.97 -$2C hair dye
.97 x10 asstd granola bars
$10.42 total oop
$4 total Coupons
Walmart
2.00 x3 yogurt
3.00 creamsicles
2.00 -$1C special k chips
3.97 -$1C pina colda mix
2.87 – .75C baguettes
2.22 x3 -$9C zantac
8.97 brick cheese
2.00 nibs
3.47 tums
4.95 milk
1.97 bread
1.57 ranch
$37.19 total oop
$11.75 total Coupons
Sobeys
1.69 x3 strawberries
1.99 raspberries
3.32 deli salami
2.87 deli bologna
1.00 pepperoni sticks
1.00 broccoli
.50 x2 aero mint
1.00 x2 mushrooms
1.00 onions
1.00 carrots
1.00 x2 – $1C campbells soup
$4.50 chicken breasts
$10.14 top sirlion steak
$1.99 chips
$3.24 -$1C snuggle
$40.43 total oop
$2 total Coupons
$115.09 total oop
$ 33.24 total coupons
We are very busy planting the garden so we have splerged on a few things extra this week.
Hopefully back on budget next week 🙂
Wow, you did well for spending $115. It’s amazing how we can stretch our dollar simply by being mindful of the sales, price matching and using coupons. If you read my post this week, we messed up as we forgot to put one receipt in the budget. How do you track your spending? DO you use a budget? Also, where are the BOGO red rose tea from? As you know I’m British and drink a load of tea and those coupons would be lovely. Thanks for posting your shop! I look forward to your next shop… great planning skills. You get Ballot #15 Good Luck! Mr.CBB
My weekly budget is $100 for myself, my hubby and our 18 month old. My budget also includes baby items like diapers, etc in the grocery budget as well as health and beauty items. I had $15.49 left over from last week. Lets see how I did!
May 22 Dollarama
Toblerone $.69
2 x York Patties $2.00
Total OOP=$3.04
May 23 RCSS
Quaker Crispy Mini’s 6 x $1.47 (on sale)
Cavendish fries $3.27
PC version of Turtles on blowout for $2.94 (reg over $8)
Diet Coke 3 x $4.77 (on sale)
Lindt choco bar (50% off pink sticker) $2.54 – $1.27
Oh Henry 4 pack (50% off pink sticker) $4.19 – $2.10
Popcorn $2.98 – $1.50 coupon (on sale)
Bread (on sale) $2.28
Bread pink sticker $2.89 – $1.45
Bread pink sticker $3.19 – $1.60
Strawberries $3.98 (2lb) on sale
Kotex 2 x $2.97 – $1.50 wub2 (on sale)
Sunscreen 2 x $7.99 (PM to Valumart reg $10.97) – 2 x $1.00 coupons
Tampax Radiant (on blowout) 6 x $2.44 – 3 x $3.00 wub2
Vaseline moisturizer on blowout $1.97
Sippy cups on blowout 2 pack for $9.49
Gerber puffs on sale $1.97
Huggies overnights diapers 2 x $9.97 – 2 x FPC’s
Multibionta vitamins (for my mom so I did get paid back for these) reg $13.99 PM to Rexall 2 x $9.99 – $10 coupon and $4.50 coupon
Total coupons=$48.44
Total CD (colleague discount)=$13.52
OOP=$83.73
May 24 RCSS
Thinsations reg $3.49 PM to Giant Tiger 2 x $1.77 – 2 x $1.50
Tampax Radiant on blowout for $2.44 the 6 I bought yesterday came with $2.00 off coupons so I bought 6 x $2.44 – 6 x $2.00
Total Coupons=$15.00
OOP=$4.14
May 27 RCSS
Goldfish crackers on sale $1.97 – $.50
Hot dog buns (50% off pink sticker) $1.98 – $.99
Ground turkey on sale $4.97
Banana’s $1.95
Oranges $3.41
Strawberries 2lb on sale $3.98
Covergirl blush on sale $4.97 – $4.00 coupon
Total coupons=$4.50
OOP=$17.76
Total coupons=$67.94
Total CD=$13.52
OOP for the week=$108.67
I was $8.67 over budget but I had $15.49 left over from last week so now I have $6.82 left for next week 🙂
Wow, I’m impressed, I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it but you did it. Good for you and look at all the money you saved by using coupons, price matching, sales, pink stickers and discounts. I’m sure it helps you now to see it all typed on the computer. It also helps us to see how fast it can all add up. Thumbs up to you Jen! Keep up the good work.. you get Ballot #14…. good luck. Mr.CBB
Okay, so heres my first time posting…I shop biweekly but do make a couple more shops if there are really great deals. My bi-weekly budget is $200 for two adults and two children.
Here is my shop at No Frills:
Allens Peach juice (8pack) 3 x0.97 = 2.91
fruit by the foot = 1.97
bd cheese 3.98 PM food basics 1.88 x2= 3.76 – 1.50 coupn =2.26
spaghetti sauce = 1.00
crushed tomato 0.88
danone yogurt 3.29
imperial margarine 4.57
spaghetti 2 x 0.88 = 1.76
mac n cheese 4x 0.99 = 3.96
cheddar cheese brick 4.99
orange juice 1.97
nn long rice 3.47
nn garden vegetables 2.00
lifestyle cookies 3.97 PM walmart 2.00 – 1.00 coupon
orange juice bottles 9 pack 1.99×2 = 3.98
tim hortons coffe= 6.99
oven roasted turkey breast 4.49
tortilla 1.99
ground beef 9.22
sausages 3.99 – 30% (1.20) = 2.79
hot dogs 3.99 PM food basics 1.88 x2 = 3.76
peppers = 2.50
mushrooms 1.97
onions 1.27
oranges 2.34
potatoes 3.97
strawberries 1.44
total with sales: 96.85 plus taxes =111
total with coupons/price matching = 93.94
Hi Carla!
Thanks for posting your shop, I’m excited to see all your follow up shops as well if you go back in the week. I do like to see everything in one post but realize life happens. If you do add more simply post again and let us know what you added to the budget for the week. You mention you spend $200 bi-weekly and shop bi-weekly so do you bank the money you don’t spend for the next shop? In this case you were under budget $106.xx for this bi-weekly shop. What do you if you have extra money at the end of the month,do you put it in a savings account?
Your shopping skills are that of a frugal shopper who is mindful of her spending and it shows. You did very well with this shop. I also see you like to Price Match we will like to do as well to save us from travelling store to store.
Thanks for posting and congrats on being under budget this shop! You get ballot #13… I can’t wait to see your next shop! Cheers Mr.CBB
This is my first attempt at the Grocery Game Challenge and I have to admit I really don’t know what to set my budget at…I’m going to say $100 for the week and see how I do.
We don’t have a freezer other than the one in the refrigerator and I know we could save if we had one but unfortunately we don’t have room for one. We’re hoping to do some renos later on that will result in some storage space and then we’ll be able to purchase a small freezer. In the meantime I have to make do with the small refrigerator freezer space.
Today I spent the following:
Sobeys:
6 Sausage – on sale for $2.49
5lb bag of potatoes $2.99
Sirloin Tip $6.05 (enough for 2 meals)
Buns $2.79
Total including tax: $14.34
Amount remaining for the balance of the week: $85.66
I typically buy groceries once per week and do not allow myself to go to the store in between, this week however that didn’t happen and probably won’t happen with our busy week this week. So I’m not sure how well I will do with staying on track.
Hi Pam!
Thanks for playing the Grocery Game Challenge.
What I would be looking for is when you are done ALL your shopping for the week, keep your receipts, then come here and post
1-What your budget is… you said $100 ( I presume you don’t have a family budget if you don’t have a set amount)… have you thought of making a family budget?
2-What stores you went to and what you bought,what coupons you used, was it on sale,
3- What it cost you to buy it all out of pocket
4-How much was your total coupon savings…
You did this for each place you shopped at
Here is a great example below by Nicola one of our players… I prefer you post once per week with all your weeks shop as it makes it easier to follow. You get 1 ballot in the contest once you post your weekly shop! Cheers…. Mr.CBB… I’ll give you ballot #12 because you are new and trying to play.. if you have more shops to add this week, hang on to your receipts and do it all at once.. for next week now you know how to do it.. easy!!! If you want to type it as you go in a word document so you don’t forget then copy paste it here you can do that as well, whatever you are comfortable with. We spend $190 a month and posting our shops has helped us stick to that budget … we are getting better every week!!!
Mr.CBB
EXAMPLE:
Okay here is this weeks shop we have gone over budget but we thought we might when we put it so low but we haven’t spent nearly as much as we used to it was nearly $1,000 each month!
RCSS
Bertoli XVOO usually $8.89 SP $6.97
Brown Sugar $2.50
Coke Zero $2.50 – FPC = 0
Yog Tubes $2.49
Dactive Yog Drinks $5.49 – 50c = $4.99
Milk x4 $18.76
K Crisp Bars 2.47- $1c = $1.47
H/H Cream 1.69
Cheese $5.97 – $1c = 4.97
McCain Harvest Spendor – 2.77 – $1.50 = 1.27
Coffee 6.99
Miniwheat $3.97 x2 SP – x2 $1.50c = $4.97
Mango NN Frz Punch 60c
M&M’s x2 @ 1.08ea – x2 FPC = 0
NN chips $1.37
NN Fruit Punch Pk 9.48
NN Orange Fzn x4 @ 50c ea = $2
NN Vanilla Cookies – 3.58
Granola Bars – 5.99
Pasta SP – x2 @ 98c = $1.90
Post GG Cereal x2 @ 4.97 – x2 FPC = 0
Taco Kit – 4.27
Tassimo Latte – $7.97
Weetabix 4.29
Salt – 2.99
Sandwich meat Chicken $3
Sandwich meat Ham $5
Ace Three Cheese Bread 4.99 – 50% = 2.49
Bread 4pk 3.89 – 50% = 1.95
Pita Bread 3.49 – 50% = 1.74
Hamburger buns 3.99 – 50% = 1.99
NN Raisin Bread 2.98 – 50% = 1.49
Wonder HotDg Buns 3.18 – 50% = 1.49
Bananas 4.03
Cucumbers x3pk 2.28
Green Onions x2 @ 58c = $1.16
Lettuce x3pk = 2.98
tomatoes – 2.40
Large Seedless Melon – 3.48
SPF 60 Lotion x2 + 1 SPF 30 @ 9.99 each – 50% = 14.97
Deoderant 2.93
Hand Soap SP deal $1
Chicken Breast 4.24 – 50% = 2.11
Chicken Breast 3.45 – 50% = 1.72 These were two cooked breasts so was cheap used them to
Chicken Breast 3.22 – 50% = 1.61 make a curry the same night so no waste and one in freezer
Wipes 3.99
Okay total came to $168.81
Coupons and SB’s came to 23.48
Thanks for the response, and helping me figure out how I should be posting for the challenge. I’ll keep track of the remaining purchases this week and post at the end of the week. 🙂
Awesome Pam… You will see the more you get into the rythmn of posting your weekly shop here the less you will spend. You will be mindful of what you put in your shoppping cart. We all have bad and good weeks and months but the point is we are tracking our spending habits so we can see them as well we are watching what we are spending our money on. Good for you for posting with us Pam.. I look forward to the rest of your shop and seeing your savings! Mr.CBB