The Grocery Game Challenge June 18-24-Garden Fresh!
We are thrilled to see that our garden is taking shape and our herbs,vegetables and fruits are growing better than expected. We hope to cut our grocery bill once we start to eat more from the garden in the upcoming months.
This month has been a bit of a set back with the mail in rebate error that we made earlier in the month. We are trying to stay focused so we stick to the budget and not beat ourselves up that we messed up.
What we learned from that experience was:
- The error was caught and documented but sometimes mistakes are made. Don’t sweat the small stuff, but make sure you catch it!
- We won’t let it happen again by making sure we read everything.
Last week I asked my fans for some Rhubarb Recipes and one fan posted a recipe on the Canadian Budget Binder Facebook page for “Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie”. I shocked at the grocery shop price of $3.99lb for this vegetable (now considered a fruit) that we have in abundance in our back yard. This pie is fresh and tangy and a perfect ending to nice meal topped with vanilla bean ice cream.
Did you know this about Rhubarb?
Although the leaves are toxic, various parts of the plants have medicinal and culinary uses. The traditional Chinese pharmacopeia features rhubarb (as a laxative)
Yes this pie tastes as good as it sounds (minus the laxative) although I switched it up a bit and will be posting my version soon for all of you to try. Just to give you a little sneak-peek …. no drooling now…….look at how creamy and fruity it is… mmm.
Last week Mrs.CBB and I ended our shop like this:
Total budget to Spend this week $54.65-$34.30=$20.35 to carry over to another week if needed.
Total Spent to Date in June OOP – $71.98+$34.30=$106.28
$190.00-$106.28=$83.72 left to spend for the month of June.
Here are your coupon match-ups from Save Big Live Better for the week.
Food Basics
5x Lactancia Milk Sale $3.88- $1.00 coupons
1x bag of potatoes 10lb $3.97 (ouch)
4x Cream Sale $1.99 each
1x breakfast sausage- $2.68 – 30%
1x breakfast sausage- $2.82 -30%
1x breakfast sausage- $2.78- 30%
Total Coupons Used $8.48 (this includes the sticker coupons on the meat)
Total OOP- $31.13
No Frills
1x Red Onion $1.00 (it was a big one)
1x chinese Nappa cabbage $2.12
1x Spinach Dip *reduced price- $1.29
1x PC Ketchup- $1.99 each
2x perogies $1.67 each
8x Loney’s Pomedoro Sale 4/$1.00 Each box makes 1 pot of pasta sauce.
2x Mustard $1.00 each- .75 coupons
1x Dry Oregano $2.49 (huge bottle)
1x Sour Cream $1.00 each
4x VH sauces $2.27 each- $4.00 in coupons
4x BBQ meat $4.97 each
2 big bags of Pillers Sausages reduced $2.00- .50 coupon (we only had 1 on us)
Total Coupons Used- $6.00
Total OOP $44.19
Total Shop for the month is $71.98+34.30+75.32= $181.60 which leaves us $8.40 to spend if we need.
Post your weekly shop just like I did above in the comment section of this post for your chance to WIN a monthly prize. The goal of posting your shop is to be mindful of your budget and to track your grocery spending. You will be amazed how well you will shop just by taking 20 minutes a week to post. Keep all your receipts!
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Photo Credit:pie and basil- Canadian Budget Binder- please contact if you wish to use these pictures in your blog or website.
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My budget is $100/week for groceries and this includes baby items, health/beauty and cleaning. This is for a family of 2 adults and a 19 month old toddler. I didn’t do so well this week lol.
RCSS
Black Diamond Block Cheese (PM Longos) $4.99 – $.75 coupon
Bick’s Pickles on sale for 2/$5 -$2.50 SCOP – $1.00 wub2 coupon=$1.50 for 2 jars!
Catelli pasta 2/$3 (PM to Fresh Co) – 2x $1.00 coupons
Quaker Crispy Mini’s (PM to Longos) 2x $.99
2 cases (18 pack) Diet Coke (PM food basics) $4.77 each
Heinz trio of ketchup, mustard and relish (had to buy for a work function) on sale $4.47
Kraft Peanut Butter (PM fresh co) 2x $4.00
La Grille Pork seasoning (PM walmart) $3.00 – $2.00 coupon
Minigo yogurt (PM fresh co) 4x 2/$3 – 3x $.75 coupons and 1x $.50 coupon = 4 for $3.25!
Goldfish crackers on sale $1.97
SOS pads (PM to fresh co) 3x $1.00
Bread on sale 2 x $1.98
Hot dog buns (PM giant tiger) $1.77
Pork tenderloin (PM to Metro) 1x $3.56 and 1x $3.64
Banana’s $1.60
Salad $1.79
Oranges $3.96
Strawberries (2lbs) $3.98
Tomatoes $.91
Watermelon (PM walmart) $3.97 (bought for a work function but paid back $4.00)
Total Coupons $12.06
Total Colleague Discount $8.82
Total OOP $69.05
Food Basics
1% Lactancia milk on sale 2x $3.88
Lactancia homo milk on sale 4x $3.88
Margarine on sale $2.49
Distilled water 2 x $.99
No coupons
Total OOP $27.75
RCSS
Quaker rice cakes (1) (PM longos) $.99
Country Harvest Vitality Bread on sale 6x $1.98 – 50% pink sticker $5.94 ($.99/loaf!)
Kaiser buns (6) $3.30
Janes 1x chicken strips and 1x chicken burgers (PM Longos) $5.99 – 2x $1.00
Total coupons $2.00
Total OOP $20.20 (Great savings with price matching and pink stickers!)
Walmart
CG eyeshadow (single) 2x $3.97 – 2x $4.00 coupons=$.06 overage
CG eyeshadow (triple) $6.47 – $.400 coupon=$2.47
Magazine $2.98
BBQ sauce 4x $1.97 – 4x $2.00 coupons=$.12 overage
Baby bottle liners $6.97
La Grille Marinade $3.00 – $2.00 coupon=$1.00
Nexxus shampoo 11x $2.00 – 11x $3.00 coupons=$11.00 overage!
Total coupons $55.00
Total OOP $8.27! (My best coupon savings yet and no FPC’s!)
Tops (in the U.S.A.)
Lay’s chips on sale 2/$6 (bigger bags than in Canada)
Chocolate bar on sale $.69
Magazine $2.99
Onion dip $1.79
Total OOP $11.47 paid my dad back $12.00 CAD (as it was on his bill)
Dollar Tree
2x Make up sponges $2.00
3x Cotton rounds $3.00
Total OOP $5.18 (paid with US money from a vacation last year)
Tops
Lay’s chips bogo free $4.29 for 2
2 snack size chips 2/$1.00
CLR cleaner $4.99
Chicken drumsticks $5.80
Total OOP $16.08 (paid my dad back $17.00 CAD as it was on his bill)
Total $69.05 + $27.75 + $20.20 + $8.27 + $12.00 + $5.18 + $17.00=$159.45 Bah!!!! Good thing I won’t be going for a long time! I blew it this week! I’ve been having a lot of trouble staying on track this week! Hopefully when I go back on my eating plan July 2nd my grocery budget will improve
So I couldn’t finish for some reason but ya $60 over budget and I won’t be making that up this week as I’ve already spent over $75 this week….I need to do better!!!!!!!
Hey Jen,
Don’t beat yourself and yes you need to do better. It’s imperative to stick to that budget if you want to get rid of debt. Were there some items that you can look back on now that you really didn’t need? See how much all of that extra stuff cost you. Also, does your WM stock NExxus like crazy or are you the only one buying it in G town. I don’t have those coupons but it’s never on the shelf here. Thanks for posting your shop. I don’t know why you couldn’t finish the post, odd. You get ballot 15.. good luck Jen! Mr.CBB
I think I had trouble with my post because I copied and pasted it from Word. I wanted to edit and add a few things but it wouldn’t let me. There probably was some stuff we could do better with, I’m hoping to get back on track when I resume my eating plan on July 2nd.
The nexxus I found at the walmart in Fort Erie near my parents cottage. I also found some today at a Walmart in Brampton.
I’m going to be over again this week as well I think 🙁 I’m so disappointed in myself 🙁
You know what your problem is.. stay out of the stores and stop shopping. You keep buying and buying and buying and who’s eating all this stuff? We did the same thing, because we had coupons that would run out.. WHO CARES… you can’t keep digging a hole because of it. That’s why we stopped and made a budget and stuck to it, coupon or not. There is only 2 of you and the baby. It’s ok to stockpile but going over budget repeatedly will hurt you in the end. Better planning andd you will be right back on track.
hey mr. cbb
sorry forgot to post that the bbq sauce was a price match to save on foods with overage!!!!! save on foods won’t take my coupons because the value was higher of the item it’s self and they wouldn’t adjust the coupon value for the item and I understood their rules and was more than happy with the extra money from walmart 🙂
we did go to my besties house for a bday dinner and brought dessert, and normally we try to make something or plan head of time so we don’t break our budget but it was really last minute.
we have tonnes of stuff planted in the garden and we are patiently waiting for it all to grow so we can start eating yummy things and save some money!
for us the bread basket is a good deal, not sure if you have them out there though, worth looking into. the selection is different everytime we go and we are not super picky so we can get the ten items for 12.99 or just a few items for 1.29 or 1.49 each. depending on whats there will decide what we buy and how much. we then keep one or two things out and freeze the rest. its super handy especially during the summer when we eat lots of burgers and hot dogs and I am not going to pay more than two bucks for buns at the regular stores. and sometimes they have the good healthy stuff there that I would never pay regular price for.
Our usual weekly budget is $100 but I think getting ready for our kids to come to visit this summer and all the fresh fruit and veggies available while they are in season will keep our weekly budget at about $150. By late july and early august all of our food should be ready from our garden, so we are hoping that will bring down the budget to $100 or less a week.
McGavins bread basket
$12.99 for 10 items (bread, bagels, buns, tortilla shells & english muffins)
safeway
$25.48 4kg frozen chicken breasts
Costco
$3.59 yellow sugar
$4.49 asian salad dressing
$7.29 red pepper cheese
$6.99 ice tea powder
$22.36 totall oop
Walmart
$1.50 x12 – $24C sweet baby rays bbq sauce
$2 smartfood popcorn
$4.97 x2 frozen pizza
$4.95 x2 milk
.77 cucumber
$2 -$1C twistos
$1.57 x2 salad dressings
$22.89 total oop
$24 total coupons
Sobeys
$2.99 2lb starwberries
$5.29 – fpc liberte yogurt
$2 -.75C skippy natural peanut butter
$1 mushrooms
$1.10 x2 chocolate milk
$2.89 marinated chicken breasts
$5.99 cheese block
$16.32 total oop
$6.04 total coupons
Superstore
$4.99 nanamio bars
$10.98 cream puffs (went out for dinner and brought dessert)
$5.88 x2 2lb blueberries
.97 x6 raspberries
$1.66 peaches
$1.71 nectarines
$1.74 salad mix (clearance)
$2.96 -$1C tostitos
.96 broccoli
$2 4pk red peppers
$2.28 4pk green peppers
$1.99 x2 coffee cream
$50.19 total oop
$1 total coupons
$150.23 total oop
$31.04 total coupons
really wish there was more coupons out there for fresh fruit and veggies
Hi Juanita..
I wish there were more coupons for fresh ve and fruit as well but I think you will have better luck just growing the veg and fruit. Was the Baby Rays $1.50 at WM? That’s a great deal with overage if I read that right. So you went out for dinner and your brought dessert? Do you mean you went to a friends hose for dinner or did you whip out some cream puffs at a restaurant hahah… Great shop, hopefully you can get that budget back down. I know the summer can get busy but do your best! Great shopping. Mr.CBB You get Ballot #14… PS. the bread basket, is that a good deal?
I’m looking forward to having fresh produce from my tiny garden. I decided to try a pallet garden this year (not vertical, just flat on the ground). I’ve planted 2 zucchini, 2 pumpkin, 2 tomato, 2 red pepper, 2 green pepper, 2 orange pepper, dill and green onion. One of the peppers has already bit the dust, but hopefully the others will survive. I started them from seeds I saved and apparently this doesn’t usually work well. The green onion are going strong and the tomatoes have blossoms so I’m hopeful. We need some sun though, we’ve had so much rain lately.
Once you see those pretty orange flowers from the zucchini you can make little pancakes with them and drizzle them with syrup.. they are so good! A garden is amazing and we try and plant more each year although our space is limited. Would love to see a picture of your garden. Your green onions if you let them go to seed you will never have to buy seeds again. Just wait until you see the black seed on top and pat them out onto a dish. We used seeds for everything in our garden. I’ll try and get more pics up soon. I’ve posted a few here and there. Mr.CBB
I’ll post a photo of my tiny pallet garden soon. I also grow green onions on my kitchen window sill in a jar, with just a bit of water in the bottom, all year long. Love having fresh herbs at my finger tips; I may try growing some other herbs indoors as well.
That would be great Pam, would love to see how you are going to be saving some money this summer!
Grocery budget $100/week (hope to get that down as I get better at couponing).
Superstore:
Fruit Punch X2 @.59 = $1.18
Kraft Cheese Slices $2.99 – $1.00 coupon = $1.99
Mont. Jack Cheese $5.99 – $1.00 coupon = $4.99
Delissio Pizza $5.99
Glade Expressions Starter Kit $4.99 – FPC = Free (just the tax)
J Cloth $2.29 50% item = $1.15
Kashi Pita Crackers $2.99 – $2.00 coupon = $.99
Kelloggs Just Right Cereal $2.99 (on sale)
McCain Hash Brown $1.99
PC Green Bathroom Cleaner 2.99 50% item = $1.50
PC Meathball Sauce $1.24
Great Grains Cereal $3.99
Yoplait Asana $2.49 – $1.00 coupon = $1.49
Bread $1.50
Chicken Breasts $5.90
Chicken Breast $5.28
Lean Ground Beef $9.38
Maple Leaf Bacon $3.99
Bananas $1.34
Blueberries (1pint) $1.67
3-pack Peppers $3.77
3lb Onions $2.50
10lbs Potatoes $3.77
Total including tax = $69.56
Giant Tiger
Colgate Toothbrushes 2 X 1.00 = 2.00
Chipits Choc. Chips $3.22 (over paid on this; forgot to get them at Superstore – that’s what happens when I forget to review my list.
Quick Oats $2.47
Enviro Toilet Paper 12 double rolls 2 X 3.84 = $6.47
Alymer Beans 2 cans X $1.00 = 2.00
Don’t normally purchase canned veggies but had company and this is one of the very few veggies my niece & nephew will eat. 🙁
Mini carrots 2 X 1.27 = $2.54
Stewarts Rootbeer 2 X .84 = $1.68 plus .20 deposit = $1.88
*Stewarts Rootbeer is our weekly treat with Friday night pizza. : )
Cadbury Mini Eggs – $1.00 (my treat)
Total including tax = $30.49
Costco
2 bags of Tositodos Mini Tortilla Chips $4.99
Kettle Chips $4.69
1.85 L Sals $4.89
Total incl. Tax = $15.83
Did I mention we had company for the weekend – these are items I wouldn’t normally purchase.
Grand total for the week $115.88; yikes over by $15.88 but with company here that’s not too bad will have to be extra careful next week to make up for it. I bought an extra package of chicken that I wouldn’t normally have purchased and snack, basically the snacks resulted in my overage.
I find it harder to stay on budget in the summer since we seem to have a lot more company and parties to go to. I’ll keep trying. : )
You raise a good point when it comes to the grocery budget. There were a few items you say you wouldn’t normally buy but you had company. As soon as I see you hit Costco I thought, Oh No. I know if we go in for one thing we come out with $400 worth so we just don’t go. So, an important thing to remember when hosting people for dinner is to make sure you figure that into your budget so you don’t over. Try to plan the meal around what you already have or look for frugal recipes on line (I have some great party salads) What other kinds of snacks can you make that are not so costly? How about making my tortillas at home then cutting them and baking them in the oven? You can make a hummus dip for super cheap at home.
SO next week you will try to knock it down by $15.xx. I know you mention you want to drop your grocery budget. My advice would be to do it slowly like $90 a week, $80 a week. That way it’s a gradual change. Good shopping overall. You get Ballot #13… can’t wait to see your next shop… Mr.CBB P.S Can you add how many you shop for in your post so any fans that follow your shops have an idea how many you are feeding each week.
I can be disciplined when I go to Costco as long as I don’t have my dear hubby with me, grocery shopping with him (in any store) is like shopping with a kid! LOL
I pinned your tortilla recipe and plan to make it soon. I love hummus but DH doesn’t so I try not to make it too often otherwise I eat it all! 🙂
The guests were last minute so I didn’t have a chance to plan for them, by Saturday (the day I do my grocery shop) there’s not enough in the house to feed an extra four people. 🙂
We have family coming to stay for a week in July so I’m going to have to try and add a few things to the grocery list each week between now and then. My family are all extremely fussy eaters (brothers and their kids) so that adds to the challenge as well. 🙁
I think the drop in the grocery budget is going to have to wait until fall, I’ll do well to keep it at $100 ($85 for this week) over the summer with all of the family and friends that will be visiting.
Normally we are a household of two, but this weekend we had six.
I hear that often, if my spouse is not with me I save more money lol.
Shoppers Drug Mart
Paper towels $1.99
Batteries $17.79 x2 – coupons 2x $3.00 =$29.58
Peanut butter $3.99×4=$15.96
Milk $4.29 x2= $8.58
Stayfree $2.99- coupon $2 =0.99
Total OOP $57.10
Loblaws
Crackers $2.99- coupon $2=$0.99
Ice cream $5.99
Limeade $0.99
Ice cream cups $1.49
Broccoli $2.50
Cold cuts $9.58
Croissants $0.59
Cantaloupe $3.49
Grapes $3.56
Total OOP $32.27
Reesor Farm
Strawberries $16.50
Peas $3.75
Total OOP $20.25
Weekly budget $125
Weekly Total OOP $109.62
Total under budget for the month $15.38(this week) + $13.55 (last week) = $28.93
I don’t know how you do it Barb but you are amazing at staying under budget this month. I wish I could be as good as you. I might have to take some lessons from you. What type of batteries did you get at SDM they seem costly.Do you make jam with your strawberries? I presume you received 20x points with that shop. Thanks for checking in this week,you get Ballot #12. Cheers Mr.CBB
The batteries I got were costly, thet are the energizer 8x that I use for my camera as a back up when in vacation. I go through rechargeables fast sometimes when I’m camping 🙂 We’ve been eating the strawberries so far, but plans are to puree and freeze some or make freezer jam….but then our rhubarb is almost 3ft tall (again) so there may be pies in order..decision…decisions… 😉 Speaking of camping, I will likely go over the monthly budget this week as we prepare. We’ll see!! LOL And yes, I took advantage of the 20x points at Shoppers 🙂
The batteries are worth getting during and SDM event then. Is freezer jam difficult to make?
This is the same recipe my grandma used to use as they used to print it in the Certo box. It’s not difficult at all! 🙂 http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/certo-strawberry-freezer-jam-60268.aspx
Excellent! Thanks for sharing the link. We want to make jam again this year but wanted to try something different. Cheers Barb!!! Mr.CBB
Those pictures look excellent. Unfortunately I allowed laziness to dash my thoughts of an herb garden. Now it is very hot and the grass barely grows in my yard. Put it on the bucket list I guess…
Thanks John,
Photography is my passion, I love it. I typically scale the pictures down for the blog but realized that the bigger pictures show the detail and are more eye appealing (at least to me). We don’t have much space to garden but enough that we can get in all the herbs and veg we need. I’m going to test out rhubarb cookies this weekend! Cheers John and thanks for dropping in mate. Mr.CBB
Safeway Shop June 19, 2012
1x Goldfish Crackers 3.49 – Coupon .75 – Card Savings .49 = $2.25
2x Hershey Skor Bar 2.46 – Card Savings 1.23 = $1.23
1x Eating Right Noodles 2.46
2x Dr Oetker mug cake 4.40 – Coupon 2.20 = Free
1x Aero Multis 4.27 – Card Savings 1.28 = $2.99
1x Dairy milk coconut 2.59 – Coupon .50 – Card Savings .30 = $1.79
1x Chips Ahoy Middles 3.49 – Coupon .75 – Card Savings .17 = $2.57
1x Christie Crackers 3.29 – Coupon .75 = 2.54
1x Downy Unstoppables 8.59 – Coupon 2.00 – Card Savings .60 = $5.99
1x Oplait Yoptimal 3.99 – Coupon 1.00 – Card savings .49 = $2.99
1x Dr. Oetker Pizza 6.99 – Coupon 1.00 = $5.99
1x Oasis Smoothie 4.42 – Coupon .75 = $3.67
1x Astro Greek Yogurt 4.49 – Card Savings .50 = $3.99
1x Frebreze Car Clip 4.39 – Coupon 4.39 = Free
1x Glade Exp Oil 9.99 – Coupon 9.99 = Free
1x Glade Exp Aerosol 5.49 – Coupon 5.49 = Free
1x Nice N Easy LT Ash 14.99 – Coupon 14.99 = Free
1x Center Pork Chop 26.20 – Coupon 7.14 – Card Savings 2.38 = $16.68
Bananas $3.17
Spartan Apples $4.20
Total before card savings and coupons was $127.66
My budget for the week was $100.00
Coupons $52.55
Card Savings $11.32
After coupons and card savings my total came to 63.79
Total Savings Value 52%
Kassandra Peters
Wow Kassandra! I can see why you were so happy this afternoon and wanted to post your shop. A 52% savings is great, especially for all of that. I presume the card savings is a discount card for Safeway? We don’t have this shop in Ontario so I’m not familiar with it. Is your budget $100 every week or a specific amount per month? We budget $190 a month with one no shop week per month. Keep up the good work! I look forward to more of your grocery shops. I’m always astonished at the amount of money we can save when we are mindful of our budget and how much we can actually spend. Cheers MR.CBB You get Ballot #11 in the Monthly Contest.
hey Mr.CBB yes the savings card is a discount card for Safeway. Yep that’s every week but we usually don’t shop every week usually just once a month.
Sounds like that’s a nice perk to have with Safeway. We shop weekly so we can get fresh veg as we go throug so much and even back home I went a few times a week. For some the drive from their home is long or they get paid once a month which means they have to shop when it’s convenient. You did some great shopping Kassandra! Good for you… keep it up! Mr.CBB