The Grocery Game Challenge May 28-June 3 Hot Hot Hot!
We are now in the last week of May and it sure has been abnormally HOT for most of us in Southwestern Ontario. Please let it rain mother nature! We’ve been using the barbeque quite a bit for the past couple months. Nothing like a bbq, and nice cold beer and having your mates around.
Since purchasing a new gas barbeque earlier this year we are happy with our decision of buying one with the side burner and rotisserie. We use the side burner to boil potatoes, corn and small fry ups. This saves us money rather than using the electric stove in the house with the added bonus of not heating up the house. We have yet to put our Central Air on likely around July same as last year although we hardly use it.
We have also been cooking from scratch lately and rather enjoying the recipes I’ve developed in the kitchen. Recently I made Mr.CBB’s Slammin Chili with a Spicy Cheddar Bacon Corn bread which was so good and paired well with the chili. I’ll be posting the chili recipe later this weekend.
With that being said, this week was a slow week in terms of shopping as it is a no-shop week for us. A no shop week is where we have chosen to not shop during one week out of each month to save money and stop any temptation of buying stuff we don’t need or overspending.
I Made a Mistake!
It looks like I messed up this month by accidentally not putting one receipt in our budget sheet which was the Shopper’s Drugmart shop of $42.60. We have overspent on the grocery budget this month by $36.20. That is how easy you can mess up if you don’t put your receipts in the budget spreadsheet. I posted on the grocery game but not in the spreadsheet so I assumed I had more to spend than I actually did. No worries, I found the error and we move on.
Learn from our mistakes, own up to them! The important part is to catch them. So for this month we are a bomb… thumbs down but will do better next month!
Please post your shop in the comment section of this post as this is the last week of shopping for May and then I draw a winner.
Some people were asking for an example of how to post their shop. You can post your shop exactly how I post mine.
Here is the coupon match ups from Save Big Live Better for May 25-May 31~ Save while you shop using coupons and deals from the flyers!
Example from one of our players:
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 
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yeah I have noticed a few things when shopping.
do I really need it?
am I buying it just cause I have a coupon or is it really that good of a deal? ( I really have to check myself all the time for it. not something that happens overnight – learning the hard way)
will I go over our budget that we are trying to stick too?
cause whats the point of a budget if you dont stick to it
last year we were spending $650 -$1100 a month on food – groceries and fast food!!
I always stock up on a few things before my kids come to visit to help off set the cost for when they are here. so I know that our weekly shopping budget will be a bit higher and plan for it. also with what we have planted in the garden we shouldn’t have to buy many veggies this summer/ fall (well till it gets cold or snows) will help offset the increase of other things.
looking forward to this weeks and hoping that I can keep to it.
Hi Juanita,
You know you are correct. Most people who start couponing think its super easy and can be done overnight. I don’t know about you but our sense of vision in the shops has changed. We no longer look at anything but sale tags, reduced tags, 50% off stickers etc…. UNLESS it’s an item we need to get. Sharing the couponing knowledge with friends and family are great but unless they have a desire to continue using them, they won’t see the savings you might be pulling in. I love your shops….. keep at it… WE are so happy at what we have spent this year thus far…. we’ve done well. Cheers Mr.CBB
wow really leaving it last minute over here!
we try to budget about a $100 a week for groceries, haba and cleaners, etc
got some super awesome deals this week and i did a meal plan for us for about the next two or three weeks. some people can stick to it and some cant, I really recommend that you give it a try cause it helps with the whole whats for dinner that seems to happen almost every night and with the budget of what you need and whats just extra or treats 🙂
Walmart
$4.95 milk 4L
$1 x3 pudding cups
$3 fudgiscles
$2.22 x4 -$12C zantac
$3 cream cheese
$1 x3 candy
$2.47 x2 -$6C shaving creams
$5.68 -$2C mlp chicken fillets
$17.44 total oop
$20 total coupons
safeway
$1.19 baking soda
$2.70 bagels
$7.27 x4 – bogo event & $14C sunlight laurandry pacs
$5.16 total oop
$14 total Coupons
save on foods
$2.50 x4 classico alfredo sauce 🙂 yum
.59 x12 -$6C minute maid juice
2.50 x2 pop
$17.93 total oop
$6 total Coupons
shoppers
.99 x2 crispy minis
$9.99 -$10C robaxacet
$2.57 total oop
$10 total Coupon
Sobeys
$6.32 chicken
$1 x2 kaiser buns
$1 mushrooms
$1 stir fry noodles
$1.69 x2 strawberries
$2.79 chips
$16.63 total oop
$59.73 total oop for the week
$50 total Coupons for the week
happy with our deals and we really did splurge a lot on oursevles this week
the large value coupons came from filling out the shoppers voice survey that I mailed away a few months ago, totally worth the ten minutes of my time to fill it out
did use twenty of our grocery budget for more seeds, soil and a blueberry plant for our garden
You did awesome this week blew me out of the water, good for you. We really want to meal plan.. our friend Dennis and his wife at What to Cook? does a weekly meal plan and I love it. Where do you start when meal planning?
We do the shoppers voice when it’s open and get some amazing coupons. It takes some time but it’s worth it when the coupons come in the mail.
Thanks for posting your shop.. how has posting your shops here at The Grocery Game been helping you when shopping and with your $100 budget?
You get ballot #17
Cheers
Mr.CBB
Wow am I the only one posting this week? Let me start by saying I can tell already that I’m about $30 over budget. I love the Grocery Game Challenge, it has really helped me to lower my grocery bills and be more careful with what I purchase. Since I started though, in order to get my week within budget, I have shopped a few times into the week. So this week I decided that even though it will put me over, I was going to try to shop just once. After my shop I realized this wasn’t going to work because they were out of many items I wanted and I’d have to go back for them. Anyways, I’m still hoping to get the hang of this soon. It still is making a huge difference.
I shop for myself, my hubby and our 18 month old son. My budget includes food items, beauty items, cleaning items, and baby items.
May 28 – Food Basics
4 x Lactancia Homo Milk on sale $3.88 each (great price for homo milk!)
Total OOP=$15.52
May 30 – RCSS
Canned veggies on sale 5 for $4.00
Mott’s Fruitsations (my son LOVES these and they’re healthy!) 9 x $1.87 – 4 x $.50 off (on sale)
Canned mushrooms 2 x $.89 on sale
Distilled water $1.29 (tap water ruins the coffee maker as the water where we live is very hard and the water softner doesn’t make enough of a difference, this extends the life of our appliance)
Lucky Charms cereal 2 x $3.00 (PM to Walmart) – 2 x $.75 off
Mini Wheats cereal on sale $2.97
NN Tuna 2 x $1.09
Nutrigrain bars $1.98 – $1.00 off
PC White Cheddar Mac and Cheese on sale $1.00
Goldfish crackers on sale $1.97 – $.50 off
Quaker Crispy Mini’s (PM to GT) 5 x $1.25
4L Spring water 2 x $.97
Bread (pink sticker – 50%) $2.28 – $1.14
Ground turkey 2 x $4.50
Vaseline moisturizer on blowout $2.14 – FPC=Free!
Total Coupons=$7.19
Total CD (colleague discount)=$6.12
Total OOP=$48.14
May 31 – RCSS
I had to go back for some more Mott’s Fruitsations on sale! lol 5 x $1.87 – 4 x $.50
Goldfish crackers on sale 2 x $1.97 – 2 x $.50
Classico pasta sauce (my dad needed it and was having me for dinner so I didn’t take money from him for it and it wasn’t on sale 🙁
Plastic bag $.05
Total Coupons=$2.00
Total OOP=$13.27
June 3 – RCSS
Catelli pasta (PM to FB) $1.49 – $1.00 off
Diana’s gravy on blowout – shelf said $.99 but rang in $.44 x 7
Carton egg whites $2.99 – $1.00 off
Chocolate milk (PM to NF) $1.00
PC blue menu plum sauce on sale $3.49
Peak Freans (PM to Metro) 2 x $1.88 – 2 x $1.00 off
Goldfish crackers $1.97 – $.50 off
Quaker Crispy Minis (PM to NF) 5 x $1.00
4L water 2 x $.97
Yogurt tub on sale $1.97
Deli meat $5.19
Bread (noticed it expired in 2 days so I asked the dept for a 50% off pink sticker) 2 x $2.28 – 2 x $1.14
Bone-in chicken breasts (having my parents over for dinner tonight!) PM to FB (reg. $13.78) $6.58
Hot dogs (PM to NF) $1.00
Banana’s $1.56
Cumcumber $.99
Salad (PM to NF) 2 x $1.00
Baby carrots (PM to NF) 3 x $1.00
Veggie dip $2.99
Red Potatoes (for dinner tonight too) $3.91
Strawberries 2 x $2.48
Tomatoes $.97
Colgate Total toothpaste (PM to NF) $1.00 – $1.00 off=Free
Total Coupons=$5.50
Total CD=$6.51
Total OOP=$53.93
Total for the week: $15.52 + $48.14 + $13.26 + $53.93=$130.85 (my estimate of $30 over was bang on! lol)
Total Coupons=$14.69
Total CD=$12.63
I don’t track what Price Matching saves me but it’s a lot! Even the cashier today commented on how much I was saving with PMing!
Hopefully the hubby will spend no more than $15 – $20 on a few items tomorrow that they were out of today and we’ll have about $50 left to spend next week!
Hi Jen!
Thanks for your input into the grocery game challenge. It hasn’t caught on quite yet so I hope with your support we can continue to motivate others to post their shops weekly. As a matter of fact I totally forgot about picking our monthly winner! SO, I’ll get down to it and do that now! Keep up the hard work Jen you’ve been doing so well, since you’ve joined. Cheers Mr.CBB you get ballot 16
Wish I was enjoying the heat and a cold beer with you. It is rainy and grey here in Vancouver. I put on 5 pounds just reading your recipe for bacon cornbread with cheese melted over it!
It’s been gloomy today, just got in from an awards ceremony at school, so been out all day. We’re eat a very healthy diet all week and once a week splurge. Since quitting smoking 4 months ago everything sounds good .. cheers mate… try the cornbread its delicicous! Mr.CBB
Great lesson here: if you make a legitimate error, recognize it and move on. Beating ourselves up too much over money mistakes can actually hold us back. I’ve got my eye on one of those fancy grills, too. I’m fine with my trusty Weber charcoal, but I would like one of those with the gas/charcoal option
Thanks for your comment John. I recognized the error after the fact but realize we’re human. It’s important for our readers to recognize that we make mistakes too. I’m not about to preach to everyone how amazing our budget and our life when in reality it’s a learning process for everyone. Like for example we are changing our budget again as we are not taking enough off for home maintenance, so it will be 1% of our homes value. What I’m trying to say is we all make mistakes and should own up to them. People will respect us better than pretending we are some financial gods that no one can touch, like some you read about. That’s why I like your blog so much, true, real, scenarios, input, opinions, advice! Cheers Mate, Mr.CBB
wow congrats. i always see these numbers and coupons and savings numbers and wish i kept that close of track. Gives me something to think about and work towards. Great job
We have settled quite a bit with using coupons since cooking from scratch. We used to use around 4-$500 a month in coupons but now it’s alot less but still worth it. I’d rather keep the money in my bank account. Thanks for your comment. Mr.CBB
Aww..I’m flattered!
You are doing so well, I’m proud of you! Keep up the good work Jen glad the game has helped you. Mr.CBB