The Grocery Game Challenge #6 February 4-10, 2013~ What Foods Not To Eat, Organic and Gardening

1. I definitely tried to reduce my usage of canned tomatoes, hence so much of my budget being spent towards pasta sauces which come in a jar. I know you mentioned that I should make my own as well. 🙂 I also gave up the microwave popcorn and we do air popped now. As for deli meats, it is possible to find brands without nitrates, but they are definitely a bit pricier, and it is something I only use every once in awhile.

   Here’s my week’s shop:

   Mom 10

   Superstore
   Spinach 1.48
   Sugar peas 0.98
   Parsley 0.77
   Cheese (x2) 15.98
   Vitamin C 2.93
   Ritz 1.86

   Total Coupons
   Total Out of Pocket 22.52

   Walmart
   Chips 1.97
   Toilet Paper 5.02

   Total Coupons
   Total Out of Pocket 6.99

   Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $200
   Total Coupons Used this Week : $0
   Total Checkout 51 rebates this week: $0
   Total Checkout 51 rebates this month: $0
   Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
   Total Spent This Week: $39.51
   Total Spent So Far for February: $39.51
   Total Over/Under spend this shop: $10.49 under
   Total Over/Under spend for the month of February: $ 10.49 under
   Total Left to Spend for the Month: $160.49
   Total Coupons Used This Month: $0
   Total to Carry Over Next Month: n/a
   Total Spent to Date This Year: $225.76
   Weekly Overview: The chips were boy’s fault this week, as were the Ritz crackers! 🙂 He wanted to bring snacks to his Superbowl party, and he didn’t like my idea of bringing a veggie platter. 🙂

   Let me know if you end up growing potatoes this year! 🙂

   Have a great week!

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   • Hey Vicky,
     Yes I still want you to make your own and you can buy jars of tomatoes instead of in the tin hahah.. I’m still holding you to it! Your boyfriend will be over the moon trust me! I think we might look for an airpopper this summer at boot sales maybe someone will sell one for dirt cheap as I don’t mind air popped or plain popcorn. As for lunchmeat.. yes you can buy all those fluffy new brands without this and that but you know what, they can kiss it because they should be making the products the right way from the get go and charging us reasonable prices not inflated prices because they think we will think it’s posh now. Ranty pants I am! I would have went with your veggie platter any day and ya I may do potatoes depends on what I can remove from our small garden. TP was pricey how many rolls did you get? Cheese $15.98 what kind did you buy hopefully gold premium? Keep at it…I love when I see you are under budget! You get ballot numero 2! P.S Do you order coupons online? NO, you should be, ask me how and I’ll help you.

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     • TP was for 12. It worked out to be about 40 cents a roll, which is cheaper than the previous package I bought. I know, i know, i’m still learning. But I like comfy TP! The one luxury as we always had the really cheap stuff growing up.. i know, i know. I sound like a princess 😛

       Cheese. SOO expensive, hey? It was on sale, just the superstore brand, and it was 800g for 2.

       I got some coupons in from P&G.. sampler or whatever. Let me know where else I should be looking! I try googling every time, but haven’t had much luck finding coupons.

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2. I spy two pink stickers 🙂 I got several last week 🙂 I am so glad that the naturals processed meats exist now. My spouse still likes lunch meat occasionally and I am MUCH happier buying those. Plus, a relative is allergic to nitrates and sulphites, so she is super excited to be able to eat things like hot dogs and lunch meat again, on occasion.
   There is a ton of mixed study results on soy, relating to all sorts of things.

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   • There were about pink stickers in there I believe lol.. I think I know the deli meat you are talking about. So much is changing anymore with food it’s getting harder and harder. I”m sure there is a study for everything hence why I take things with a grain of salt, and ultimately it’s up to us to make the call. Who do we believe?

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     • Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $75.00
       Total Coupons Used this Week : $12.50
       Total Discounts this Week: NA
       Total Checkout 51 rebates this Week: NA
       Total Checkout 51 rebates this Month: NA
       Total Colleague Discounts (CD) this Week: NA
       Total Colleague Discounts (CD) this Month:NA
       Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: NA
       Total Rewards Points Used: NA
       Stockpile Budget: $enter amount Used: NA
       Total Over/Under spend this shop: $15.51 over
       Total Spent This Week: $85.51
       Total Spent So Far for Feburary: $85.51
       Total Left to Spend for the Month: $29.49
       Total Coupons Used This Month : $12.50
       Total to Carry Over Next Month : NA
       Total Spent To Date This Year: $259.58
       Weekly Overview: Really made use of the coupons this time. Bought some items that I normally would but have wanted to try, and used a coupon with them, which made a bigger bonus (in my books). Still went over but mostly on cat supplies.

       Food Basics

       1 Bag of Chips = $1.88
       1 Dip = $1.77
       tax = .24

       Coupon = $1.00
       OOP = $2.89

       No Frills

       2 Miracle Whip = $5.94
       1 Cereal = $3.97
       3 Kraft Dinners = $2.91
       1 Orville Redenbacher = $2.97
       1 Quaker Oatmeal = $2.47
       2 Skim Milk (4 L) = $8.46
       1 Hot Dog = $2.97
       tax = $0.00

       Coupon – $5.50
       OOP = $24.19

       Superstore

       1 Yogurt (16 pk) = $3.98
       1 Corn Flakes = $3.98
       1 Chapman’s Ice Cream $5.87
       2 Pasta = $3.74
       2 C of M Soup = $1.54
       1 Philly Crème Sauce = $3.47
       2 Bread = $3.96
       1 Xlean GB = $5.20
       1 Cat Chow (Dry Food) = $14.99
       1 Friskies Variety (12 pack) = $6.97
       1 18 kg Cat Litter = $6.97
       tax = 3.76

       Coupon = $6.00
       OOP = $58.43

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       • Hi Dee!
         Your monthly budget for food is $75.00 for 1 or 2?, wow I’m super impressed!!! Maybe that is an error as you mention you spent $85 this shop and you still have $29.xx left for the month to spend? What do you think of the cream sauce from philly? I didn’t fancy it much neither did Mrs.CBB as we had an FPC for it. I love corn flakes so simple but tasty especially with hot milk mmmm. Great deal on the yogurt! You did very well with coupons this week, good for you!! Keep up the good work DEE!!! You get ballot #5 Mr.CBB

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3. Congratulations Farm Girl!

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4. This topic really hits home with me. While I would love to be able to feed my family on $3000 a year, sadly it just doesn’t happen as I have issues with so many of the foods out there! As very recent empty nesters, the food budget for my husband and myself comes in between $800 – $1000 per month. We choose to eat very specific foods and don’t eat processed foods, or breads, pastas etc. We eat good quality proteins with lots of veggies and nuts and fruit. We purchase grass fed animals from the farmers market, eggs from quality chickens, wild fish and mostly organic vegetables. While it is our choice to eat this way, the health benefits are amazing, but the price is not cheap. I’d love to hear if anyone out there can feed their family this quality of food for less? And regarding the “all organic food is good food”, this is definately not the case – the stores are full of “organic junk food”. My rule of thumb is that if mother nature made it, it is good to eat!

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   • Hi Shavonne,
     That was my question about store bought organic food, is it really organic? I think it’s great that you can budget that into your diet and heck I wish we could do that but sadly we can’t spent that much on grocery each month. Trying to compare a food budget from one family to another is insane, it can’t be done as we are ALL DIFFERENT. We all eat different amounts of food, different diets, restrictions etc. SO when people say I wish we could spend what you spend I say, spend what YOU CAN AFFORD, don’t look at what we do. Although we stay away from processed foods as much as possible we are not to the point where our diet is where we want it to be. We are working on growing more organic veg in the summer each year which has helped us out tremendously. Life is going to kick us down slowly Shavonne, and how we got to the point where we are today is beyond me as back in the day eating was nothing near the “convenience” it is. Manufacturers prey on us with crap food, cheap prices thinking that is all we can afford when in fact we still can eat health(ier) on a limited budget. I proved that back in October when I did the welfare food challenge. It takes planning sure, but we have no excuse for buying crap food and saying that’s the best we can do, try harder. I’m not harping on anyone, I really want to motivate them to get in the kitchen and cook if they are able bodied to do so. Thanks for dropping in.. I hope to have more organic type gardening posts this summer. I look forward to hearing more about your lifestyle. Cheers

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5. I’d agree with everything you wrote. We try our best to avoid foods that are bad for you, but then you just get frustrated and wonder: WHAT’S LEFT!?

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   • Just stay away from crap in boxes and eat food that you have to actually cook. Eating fruit, veg, grains, legumes, meats, dairy etc doesn’t mean opening a box and tossing them on a baking sheet and calling it dinner which so many rely on for convenience. You are right, remove the crap and there’s not alot left which means we have to be creative and make our own recipes….and then chefs were born! Cheers and thanks for the comment.

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6. Congratulations, Farm Girl!

   We didn’t need much this week. I got really good savings on Evaporated milk and Smuckers jam and am still way below my budget for this week. I had lots of coupons for 1.00 off on those items and have been waiting for them to go on sale so I could stock up. We should be good for quite a while now. I spent more than I like to on cereal but given the 4 free movie tickets, my entertainment budget for February will be $0.00, so I am OK with that.

   Metro
   2 x navel oranges @ 2/5.00 = 5.00
   2 x limes @ 4/2.00 = 1.00
   4 x Oatmeal Crisp @ 3.99 = 15.96 (plus 4 FREE adult movie ticket coupons)
   4 x salted butter @2.97 = 11.88
   22 x Carnation Evaporated milk @ 1.28 = 28.16 – 12.00 coupons = 16.16 (0.73 ea.)
   2 x reduced avocados @ 0.99 = 1.98 (wasn’t a good choice this week – yucky!)
   2 x whole chickens @ (15.01 + 14.97) – 14.97 B1G1 free = 15.01 (8 lbs. for 15.01)
   2 x McCain sweet potato fries @2/6.00 – 2.00 coupons = 4.00
   Total OOP = 73.10
   Coupons used = 27.97

   No frills
   2 x 4L milk @4.23 = 8.46
   3 x Arctic Garden green & yellow beans @ 0.88 = 2.64
   1 x cottage cheese @2.97 – 1.00 coupon = 1.97
   12 x Smuckers jam @ 2.97 = 35.64 – 12.00 coupons = 23.64
   Bananas = 3.51
   Total OOP = 39.22
   Coupons used = 14.00

   Total Grocery Budget for the Year: $7300.00 /year
   Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $600.00 or $150.00/week
   Stockpile budget: $50.00/month / Used: $ 46.84 /Carryover: $3.16
   Total Spent This Week: $ 112.32
   Total Spent So Far for (February): $ 264.37
   Total Over/Under spent this shop: $ under 37.68
   Total Over/Under spent for the month of (February): $35.63 under
   Total Left to Spend for the Month: $ 338.79 (reg + stockpile amts)
   Total Coupons Used this Week: $ 41.97
   Total Coupons Used This Month: $ 13.00 + 41.97 = 54.97
   Total coupons used this year: $ 145.54
   Total to Carry Over Next Month: $ 0.00
   Total Spent To Date This Year: $1010.86

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   • Hi Donna,
     Those $1.00 off coupons are great aren’t they? I’m all out as I used them on a past sale for evap milk which I use in my coffee and tea. Shocked that the avacados weren’t good from Metro but we passed on some at Food Basics as well 5 for $1.99 on reduced rack as they were too soft. WOW, you really like jam don’t you, what’s your fav kind? That would go well with bananas and toast and jam mmmm… What do you use your limes for? You had an underspend this week but you also stocked up on some great items good for you. Check out the coupon use this week. I can’t wait until the end of the year to see everyone’s final totals, we are going to party!!!! Keep at it you get ballot #3 Mr.CBB

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     • Yes, I lurve me some coupons. If I keep going at this rate, I might just hit $1000.00 off groceries with coupon use by year’s end. Wouldn’t it be great to have that for renovations in my kitchen. I use the Evap milk in my coffee, esp. when the starving kiddoes drink the last of the milk and I have none for my coffee when I wake up. I am not human until my first cup of the day and can’t stand black coffee. The limes were for guacamole, but my Trinidadian husband will enjoy anything I cook with lime juice. I don’t eat much jam, but the kiddoes love it on their toast. I bought a case of raspberry and Smuckers is the best I’ve tasted homemade notwithstanding. It should last 5-6 months.

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       • Hi Donna,
         As long as you are saving the money you save then it works out that way. If for example you save $1000 in coupons all year BUT you also spend the money you never had to use in the first place instead of saving it you don’t really have anything at all. We can’t save what we don’t have. I hope that makes sense. Someone did a blog post on this the other day I should see if I can find it. So, if you see a kitchen table for $4000 and it’s on sale for $2000 and you say yay we saved $2000 now we can go on vacation with that you need to have the ACTUAL CASH IN HAND to do it. Saving money means saving not just what the numbers say. I love lime as well so your husband and I would be having a party with your cooking… I bet you cook some lovely meals. What’s his or yours fav Trinidadian meal?

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7. I don’t know about buying organic so much but I try to buy as close to natural as I can. I’ve also heard that it’s not always worth the money, if it’s something like a banana that you will peel anyway it’s not that big a deal.The less processed the better. I do buy things like margerine occasionally but usually it’s butter…. I don’t need a degree in chemical engineering to understand the ingredients list. A friend just posted a thing about aspartame on FB a week or so ago on how nasty it is.We will be hitting the farmer’s market when it opens for the season again. My younger son won himself a gift card for the market worth $20.00 to use this season. The promotion was that every time you went you got a card stamped, once you for 20 stamps it was entered into a draw, apparently they didn’t have many entrys so they decided to give everyone that did enter a gift card.
   Growing potatoes…. I have heard of people using a garbage bag to grow them. Roll the bag up and fill the bottom half with soil, plant your potato eyes and as the [plants grow keep filling the bag. End of the season dump the bag and harvest the spuds. You might want to punch a few drainage holes in the bag. The used soil can be re-cycled into the garden. Might be worth a try.
   I’ve heard too that you don’t need the special bags to mic the popcorn. Plain brown lunch bags with a little oil added to it with your own popping corn is supposed to work. The brown bag could likely be tossed in the composter when done. I have an old hot air popper that still works just fine. They still sell those, you just have to look a little harder than you used to.
   There are ways to avoid some of the bad things if you try. It’s not always possible but if we look around I’m sure we can find ways to help ourselves to better and healthier foods….

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   • Can always count on you for some great ideas Christine. We won’t be buying any microwave popcorn any longer that’s for sure but we rarely if ever did. The focus of our grocery game shops this year will be eating as healthy as we can. We really want to try and stay away from convenience as much as possible but know the odd items will pop up. I’m hoping to see that more fans stop the re-heating and start cooking from scratch creating meals that are nutritious and not from a box, that’s not cooking at all and we all know that. Thanks for the post Christine!

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   • I bought hubby a hot air popper at Walmart for 15.00 last Christmas. No name popcorn costs 1.50 per bag and has no more duds than Orville Reddenbacker. Very cheap and healthy snack.

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8. We still fall prey to margarine, I really can’t believe it’s still on the shelves. If you play around with fat and alter its form you’re asking for trouble in my eyes, yet it’s still in our fridge at times. We need more discipline.

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   • lol… ya we get it too and butter.. can’t have my toast without it.. or me mash, or … or… sad isn’t it… ah well we only live once mate.

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9. I didn’t see the article about canned tomatoes. We use those all of the time. It looks like we will need to find an alternative. Thanks Mr. CBB!

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   • I linked to the article in my blog post, it’s at the end of the post.. I didn’t want everyone rushing to read it in the first line of the post lol.. Cheers mate

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10. It’s amazing how we don’t eat food anymore. Our food is mostly chemicals. It’s really sad how wealth beats out health.

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    • Twigs and berries mate, it is truly getting sad..

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11. Enjoyed your article tonight regarding organic foods. A good way to tell if your food is truly organic is whether or not it is certified organic. The company that I work for raises and sells organic meat, which is certified by the Canadian company Eco Cert. The owners are subject to several inspections a year, to maintain that the product they raise and sell is truly organic. If you would like to find out more about their products you can check out their website at http://www.sunworksfarm.com Although we are in Alberta, there are great links and a lot of knowledge to be gained about organic foods.

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12. Enjoyed your post about organic foods tonight. I actually work for a company that raises and sells organic beef, pork, lamb, chicken and bison in Alberta. There is some great info on their website regarding how to tell if your food is organic and also links to other organic producers. Well worth a look at! http://www.sunworksfarm.com

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    • Hi Theressa,
      Thanks so much for dropping in to read the post. Organic is a topic I would like to talk more about this summer and learn more about. I’ll check our the link you posted. Cheers mate!! Mr.CBB

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13. Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year: $4200
    •Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $350+4.76 from last month
    •Total Coupons Used this Week : $2.90
    Total Value Card Savings this Week: $36.66
    Total Value Card Savings this Year:$107.15
    •Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
    •Total Spent This Week:$136.81
    •Total Spent So Far for (February): $136.81
    •Total Over/Under spend this shop: $+18.56
    •Total Over/Under spend for the month of (February): $
    •Total Left to Spend for the Month: $217.95
    •Total Coupons Used This Month : $2.90
    •Total to Carry Over Next Month : $ +/-
    •Total Spent To Date This Year: $423.80
    •Weekly Overview: Mega Event Savings at City Market this week, so there were some pretty good deals. Great that I did buy sandwich meat and canned tomatoes this week! I guess we’re doomed one way or another. There is barely a selection of organic foods here in the winter and what is available is mega expensive However, I see no problem staying under budget, pesticides and all, for February. There are only 28 days, so that’s 9 fewer meals that last month!

    City Market

    Kroger Waffles 2.19-.69
    V8 Splash 2.09
    Triscuits 2x 2.77-.39-.50-.39
    Hunts Tomato Sauce 1.49-.50
    KC Masterpiece marinade 2x 3.99-1.00-.50
    Kraft Ranch Dressing 3×2.99-.81-.50
    Campbells Mega noodle soup 2×1.38-.38
    Velveeta Shells and Cheese cups 4×1.39-.40-.50
    Amy’s Tomato Soup 2.39
    Kleenex Tissues 6x 1.99-.50-.50
    Kroger Macaroni and cheese .89-.40-.49 coupon
    Kroger Shredded Cheese 2.99-.49
    CoJack Cheese Singles 8x .25
    Kroger Hashbrowns 1.99
    Goldfish Crackers 2×2.18-.69-.50
    Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes 1.08-.09-.50
    Blueberries 4.99-2.00
    Apples 3.50
    Kroger Turkey Breast 3.09-.42
    2 Red bell peppers 3.58-1.58
    Tostitos tortilla chips3.49-1.00-1.00 coupon
    Wheat Bread .98
    Kroger Toilet Paper 4.89
    French Bread .89
    Bananas 1.27
    Honeydew melon 1.84
    Sobe life water 1.59-.20 (splurge of the week)
    Kroger Chicken Breasts 5.08
    Tax 4.65
    Total 75.85

    Safeway

    Parmesan cheese 3.99
    String Cheese 4 x .25
    Safeway yogurt 1.89
    Almond milk 3.19-.40-1.50 coupon
    Soy milk 3.19-.40
    Hot pockets 2x 2.59-.39 ( I know, don’t say it)
    Swiss Cheese 4.99-1.00
    Tax .84
    Total 20.19

    Walmart

    Frozen pineapple 2.54
    Danimals yogurt drinks 4.68
    Baked Ruffles 2.98
    V8 splash 1.98
    Vfusion juice 2.98
    Oscar Meyer Lunchables 2x 1.58 (to eat on the way to ski lessons for kiddo)
    Nutragrain bars 2.50
    Frozen cherries 2.98
    Kashi cereal 2x 3.12
    Tax 1.28
    Total 31.32

    Family Dollar

    Pizza crust mix 3 x 1.00
    45oz spaghetti sauce 3.00
    Razors 1.00
    Tax .44
    Total 9.45

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    • Hey Kim,
      I can’t stop laughing as I can almost hear your humour in that, great I bought tinned tomatoes and lunch meat hahaha..and that’s why I love ya like a blogger like that 🙂
      One commenter spends upwards of $800-$1000 per month and like she says it’s because they obviously can and because they choose to which I think is totally fine. We all have to do what’s best for us pesticides and all. Pity it’s gotten to the point where we have to eat twigs and berries because that might be all that’s left that no one has tampered with. One of the things I really do enjoy is reading about products from other parts of the world as there are some differences and I say, oh I wonder what that tastes like. I’m thrilled to see your discounts growing and you seriously have to be happy to see $107.15 was saved something in the past we wouldn’t track hence not really know the benefits (I’m talking about coupons for us as we don’t use a value card). Keep up the great work mate…. rock this Feb.. even if there are 28 days lol!

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14. I didn’t know BPA was found in canned tomatoes too – we don’t use them super often, but it’s convenient when making a chili or vegetable soup. Hmmm…!

    I’ve been trying to buy more organic potatoes. We don’t eat potatoes super often so it’s not too much of a budget hit to buy them organic.

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    • We’re all going to die from something lol… it’s too bad that eating had to be one of the reasons why. We’ve gotten so far away from the basics and more towards convenience… twigs and berries mate!

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15. Great post, Mr. CBB. We are one of those families that is forced to spend less and forego organic, for now at least. But we’ve found a couple of ways to beat the system: 1. We found a local, organic grass-fed butcher whose meat prices are comparable with the lower-tier grocery store meat prices, so we get 1/4 of a cow from him once a year, and that takes care of our beef supply. We also eat less beef, so that helps too. 2. We garden, and now that we’ve moved to a house with some land, we will have a large garden this year that should supply the majority of our veggies, and some fruits, for the entire year – all organic. We will can and freeze as much as we can, and put the rest into a root cellar in hopes that it will last at least through next spring. We’re hoping that by having the big garden, we’ll then be able to budget in for organic milk, butter, etc. OH, and have you tried Organic Blue Agave as a sweetener? If you get real stuff, it’s fabulous. Can be used as a syrup on pancakes, or in baking sweets too. Just beware: there’s some terribly poor quality brands on the market. Have a great day!

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    • Hi Laurie,
      What a great story thanks. You are living the dream, at least what we would love to do. We don’t have a big plot of land but when we sell this house that is what we will look for so we can grow a bigger garden. I have heard of Organic Blue Agave but have never used it. It sounds like a great alternative. What vegetables are staple in your garden?

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16. I can’t believe you killed popcorn for me! I’ll never look at it the same way again…

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    • Bam, shot it dead Glen, amazing the crap we eat.. geesh lol. air popper it is for us!

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17. It’s tough to make that choice sometimes between organic and really good for you, or budget and pretty good for you. For instance green leafy lettuce is 99 cents at the regular grocery store but $1.49 organic…add that up with other things and it tips the budget. I use stevia that stuff is not cheap at all! I think making slow trade-offs and easing into these small changes is worth a try.

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    • I agree with you as it can be costly and just like how you enjoy your $40 a month blueberry habit (haha) it’s worth it to you and you can afford it. Growing vegetables is not an option for everyone but a cheaper option for organic then buying it in the store. I also question, how organic is organic? Are they hiding things from us… just like the light, lite version of products that had people think they were less calories when in fact lite only meant you won’t drop it…. ha! Stevia is pricey as I noticed a small bag for $11.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart reduced to $6.99 which I still thought was pricey but certainly the better alternative to aspartame. Cheers Tonya!!

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      • I love how you call it my “blueberry habit!” Like crack or heroine. lol!!! It cracks me up! I wonder if it’s cheaper to buy off the street! I agree you never know what is really in the food you buy. It seems your dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t. But I supposes in a way these are first world problems. ya know?

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18. Hey Mr CBB here is my shop this week

    2*5 gallon water $4 didn’t refill last week.
    bread from bakery $2.66

    supermarket
    3.93 tomatoes $1.57
    7 jalapeño chilis $0.24
    2.35lb bananas $0.27
    2 avocados $1
    one bunch spinach $0.25
    1lb celery $0.49
    1.4lb potatoes $0.39
    cream cheese $1.93
    5lb flour $4.12
    2lb salt $0.36
    2*3 liter 7up $2.93
    2kg washing powder $3.4
    sliced bread 750gr $2.47

    total for the week:$26.11

    Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $100 or $25 per week. Still a full pantry from December
    Total Coupons Used this Week : zilch
    Total Spent This Week:$ 26.11 ($0.16 less than you haha)
    Total Spent So Far for (Feb): $26.11
    Total Over/Under spend this shop: $1.11 over
    Total Over/Under spend for the month of (Feb): $
    Total Left to Spend for the Month: $73.89
    Total Spent To Date This Year: $126.46
    Weekly overview: BF usually gets an ice cream cone for behaving well in the supermarket but it was 8am and the ice cream shop wasn’t open yet. Very smart to put an ice cream stand right by the exit!

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    • Hey Pauline,
      So he get a cone for behaving.. haha how is it that he is a bad boy, what does he do lol..? You only spent $26.11 this week wow,ya pretty close to me you bugger. We didn’t need much though. I’m in awe that you spend $100 on food when some say that the $190 we spent last year each month was low and how could we possibly eat a healthy diet on that ha!! Little do they know, it’s not really that hard. One fan says she makes avacado pesto paste and mixes it in pasta… mmm I’m going to try that. Keep up with this awesome budget mate, I’m thrilled to watch you spend so little and eat so large!

      Reply

      • Sometimes he just puts anything in the cart, chocolate, pringles, nachos…oh an he eats too! grabs a big bag of grapes and munches around the store… although lately he just waits around while I shop, who’s the boss now!! haha. Well $100 is because the freezer is stocked, I still have a full lamb in there and another 10lb or so of meat, lots of cheese, bacon… I think in March we will go back to the $200. Still not a lot but that is the minimum wage here so sometimes I think it is a lot. Avocado pesto sounds good!
        Basil is the only plant I am not growing from seeds, we brought a few plants over and they seem to have rooted well. Do you grow basil inside the house? It is so expensive in the shop, but super easy to have a plant at home.

        Reply

        • Sounds like he needs his hands tied in the shop like the kids hahaha.. tell it like it is Pauline..or put him in the corner.. no eating until it’s paid.. haha!
          Here is a post and you can see the basil I grew from seed indoors from the dollar store none the less. We had so much basil it was crazy. This year I’m doubling this as the frozen basil pucks we made are awesome and we have used them all winter now. http://canadianbudgetbinder.com/2012/07/15/too-much-fresh-basil-try-mr-cbbs-basil-garlic-cubes/

          Reply

19. Oh man…way to take the wind out of my sails today. lol. I’d like to think we eat healthier than most, but after reading this we obviously have a lot of work to do. I’d love to have the time to make everything from scratch but we keep approaching it in small steps. Our goal is to get on an organic CSA list this Spring and then we’ll go from there in hopes to make organic food a more common part of our diet.

    Reply

    • Going all organic sure would be nice but in reality it is costly for most families. Taking the baby steps approach with a plan is a smart idea like what you are doing. Cheers Jason

      Reply

20. Your right, it is hard to make that organic or not decision when buying groceries. I too have a garden but that is only good for a portion of the year. I tend to try and at least buy organic things that pesticides etc. Directly touch what I eat, like apples or lettuce. I will buy non organic oranges, bananas or anything I can Peel off and eat the inside. This is not based on any substantial evidence, I just read it somewhere and it made intuitive sense.

    Reply

    • That makes sense to me. This year I’m taking out some of the non-essential bushes in our garden and replacing them with more vegetables so we can try to make them last all year.

      Reply

21. I know that artificial sweetners are supposed to increase appetite, but I haven’t really found that to be the case for me. Then again, my artificial sweetner usage is limited to a cup of coffee in the morning, and a few glasses of tea about once per week. And during the growing season, I grow my own stevia and put fresh leaves in the coffee filter with the grounds. If you like your coffee with just a little bit of sweetness to cut the bitterness of the coffee, then it works.

    Reply

    • Maybe you aren’t using enough to reap the negative effects of inceased appetite but we used it like 10 times per day….. we quit and feel much better for it.

      Reply

22. Enjoyed reading this Mr CBB! So this is what and where I buy organic. Apples, bananas, potatoes from WalMart. If I’m not passing by a WalMart then it would be Independent which is a little more expensive. Apples & bananas mainly for my kid so I’m willing to spend. I’ve gotten 50% off bananas so why not?! PC Organics Quick Cooking Oats and Nature’s Path cereal at Independent. Organic soy sauce and green tea at Asian grocery store. Organic celery, spinach, carrots at Independent/No Frills if they’re on 50% pink sticker discount. Organic cane sugar at Food Basics (cheaper), Independent. And Sea Salt wherever is reasonably priced, I have done away with regular table salt. Pasta sauces in jars. I do buy the occasional canned tomatoes/soup for stockpile knowing fully well about BPA! Sheesh! Not only pop-corns but the pots and pans that we all have been cooking with, those non-stick pans have crazy chemicals in them, so I’ve been looking for some ‘green’ pans lately.
    Beef and chicken we get from our farmer friend without the antibiotics etc.And I started my garden the first time last year. So this year will be a bigger one, gee I will be busy!
    In summary, shop on Wednesdays, I seem to be able to get lots discount for organic on those days. I always say know your prices! I’ve gotten organic coffee and Nature’s Path cereals cheaper than conventional ones and genetically modified sugary Kelloggs or General Post cereals. Just do what you can and what you can afford, it’s your health anyways. For me, I’d rather eat now than spend time at the doctor’s in the future. But who’s to say, to each their own. And I stay happy with my choices…since I seem to be able to get them at reasonable prices in my eyes and pocketbooks.

    Reply

    • Yes we are always checking the discount racks for organic or any produce for that matter. You are right everything has something that is bad. Life got complicated along the way and we are all going to pay for the conveniences unless we do something about it even if it is little by little.

      Reply

23. Publix

    • Soy Milk = 2.69
    • Thin Spaghetti = 0.89
    • Publix Long Grain Rice = 1.50 (saved 0.39)
    • Gallon of milk = 3.79
    • Hawaiian Punch = 2.65

    Total Coupons Used: $0.39
    Total Out Of Pocket: $11.52

    Walmart

    • 2 x Hawaiian Punch = $4.41
    • Sprite = 1.04
    • Apple Juice = 3.58
    • Orange Juice = 2.98
    • Pringles = 1.50
    • Frosted Flakes = 3.88
    • Mac & Cheese = 2.25
    • 3 x Totinos Pizzas = 4.08
    • Turkey Bacon = 2.48
    • Baked Beans = 1.98
    • Ice Cream Sandwiches = 3.90
    • 2 x Tuna Fish = 1.88
    • 2 X Chicken Vienna Sausages = 1.00
    • 2 x Sardines = 2.50
    • Peanut Butter Crackers = 2.48
    • 3 X Ramen Noodles = 0.84
    • Curly Fries = 2.96
    • Sliced Cheese = 2.88
    • Mini Bagels = 2.72
    • Bread = 2.72
    • Dozen Eggs = 2.28
    • Toilet Tissue = 7.39

    Total Coupons Used: $0
    Total Out Of Pocket: $61.99

    Walgreens

    • Absolut Vodka = 21.19 (sale $2 off)
    • Coca-Cola = 1.05

    Total Coupons Used: $2
    Total Out Of Pocket: $22.24

    Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year: $3,500
    Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $258
    Total Coupons Used this Week: $0
    Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
    Total Spent This Week: $95.75
    Total Spent So Far for February: $95.75
    Total Overspend this shop: $ 31.24 ($64.50 per week)
    Total Overspend for the month of February: $31.24
    Total Left to Spend for the Month: $162.25
    Total Coupons Used This Month: $0.39
    Total Spent To Date This Year: $477.15

    Weekly Overview: I did well by not eating out this week, but as you can see I compensated that with alcohol. I also adjusted my February budget to include my overages from January and February to date. This leaves me with even an even stricter budget for February. My goals for week 6 are no dining out and less alcohol consumption.

    Reply

    • Hi
      I thought for sure you had it in the bag this week until I got to the alcohol bit. Essentially it’s really up to you to say no, I don’t need this and that way you don’t have to be “stricter” all month long. Let’s see if we can make it through and reach your goal. no dining out, no alcohol and if you do try to ask yourself if you really need to make the purchase. Little by little you will get there, really. Do you use recipes in your home to make homemade meals? Why don’t you challenge yourself to one new recipe a month or week or try to cut out a boxed food that you buy and make it homemade instead? Instead of buying expensive pizza you can buy a bag of pita bread and make pizza on those for less. You can make homemade stews, soups, mac and cheese and it will go further than any boxed item. I have many recipes here to check out but that’s what we try to do. We try to create one new recipe a week although sometimes it’s once every 2 weeks. Hope those ideas help you out a bit. Keep at it!!!

      Reply

24. Family of seven, 2 dogs and 2 cats

    Total Grocery Budget for the Year: $ 4080.00
    Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $340.00 or $85.00 week
    I have $340.00 plus surplus from January of $1.22 = $341.22 to spend in February

    •Total Coupons Used this Week :0
    •Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $- 0
    •Total Spent This Week: $105.88
    •Total Spent So Far for (January): $105.88
    •Total Over/Under spend this shop: $20.88
    •Total Over/Under spend for the month of (February):
    •Total Left to Spend for the Month:$235.34
    •Total Coupons Used This Month : $0
    •Total to Carry Over Next Month :0
    •Total Spent To Date This Year: $444.66
    •Weekly Overview: This month me Dearest is going gluten-free, which is a whole new way of cooking ( baking) for me. There are items this month which will be not the norm for us and costly. However i did find some really great deals on gluten-free items such as cereal at $2.00 off and pasta on sale. This is a trial month of gluten-free as we are trying to determine what is causing stomach issues.
    Also one of my teenagers is now going to a public high school for a term to achieve credits she could not get through homeschooling. So I have purchased sale items only for her usage as easy school snacks. However I don’t think the budget will allow me to carry on with this.
    In any case this is all interesting to include in a budget!

    Loblaws
    Gluten-free cereal 6.99
    Maple bar 1.69
    Gluten-free hot cereal 4.79
    Granola bars 3.99
    Pizza dough 2@ 2.49 4.98
    Chicken tights 2 @ 2.22 lb 5.57

    Almost Perfect
    California vegetable 2kg 4.49

    Shoppers
    milk 3.99

    Foodland
    Eye of Round roast 16.53-50% 8.27
    Hot chocolate 3.79

    No Frills
    Chicken bullion 1.99
    Multigrain bars 1.97
    Thai sauce 3.79
    Chicken marin 1.29
    yogurt 4.97
    banana 1.64
    carrots 3lbs .97
    Ginger root .12
    Kiwi fruit 1kg 2.77
    leeks 3.47

    Loblaws
    Dog food 12.69
    Granola bars 3.99
    Chicken thights 2.22lb 5.15
    blueberries 1pt 3.00
    apples 4lbs 5.99
    Green pepper 50% off 1.31
    raspberries 2.22

    Total 105.88

    Farmgirl

    Reply

    • Hi Farmgirl,
      Mary our other GG player has recently gone Gluten Free and we have had many conversations about the cost of the products. I know when I started to pay attention to GF prices in the shops it blew me away. It will significantly impact your overall monthly and yearly budget. How will you deal with that? Glad to hear your daughter is heading to school to pick up some credits. Is this her first time in the public school system? How does she feel about going to school as opposed to the homeschooling? Awesome deal on the roast!! Congrats on winning the January Challenge! Email me your address and I’ll send out some coupons. I’m interested to see how you will work this out with your budget now…
      Cheers! You get ballot #6

      Reply

25. My Pantry Budget for February:
    •Total Pantry Budget for the Month: $70.00-9.64 ( overage January)=$60.36
    •Total Coupons Used this Week :$9.00
    •Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $- 0
    •Total Spent This Week:$69.02
    •Total Spent So Far for (February): $69.02
    •Total Over/Under spend this shop: $8.66 over
    •Total Over/Under spend for the month of (February): over $8.66
    •Total Left to Spend for the Month: 0
    •Total Coupons Used This Month :$9.00
    •Total to Carry Over Next Month : $-8.66
    •Total Spent To Date This Year:$148.66
    •Weekly Overview: My Pantry is no where near full and I am a sucer for the Bulk Barn Coupons. I went and got extra newspapers ( free0 at the end of the row just for the coupons. With Dearest going Gluten-free starting February 2, I needed Gluten-free items to bake. the good part is none of it will be lost even if after a month trial he decides that gluten is not his issue. That said I am looking forward to the challenge of baking gluten-free.

    Loblaws
    GF pasta 2/5.00 5.00
    GF Lazgana 5.99
    GF rice crumbs 5.99
    GF rice cakes 2/4.00 4.00
    NN graham crumbs 1.97
    Kidney beans 2 @ .78 1.56
    pudding .78
    GF flour 4.99

    Bulk Barn
    Cocoa powder 2.86
    Rice flour 1.01
    Sorghum flour .90
    Organic coconut flour 1.99
    Tapioca flour .76
    coupon -3.00

    Bulk Barn
    Seasoning mixes 2x .69 1.38
    Season mix .89
    Rice paper 1.99
    yeast 2.19
    Spinach vermicelli .99
    Xanthan gum 13.69
    Brown rice flour 2.02
    Oat flour .27
    Gf pizza crust flour 1.75
    Tapioca flour .29
    Coconut flour .71
    Rice flour .42
    coupon -3.00

    Bulk Barn
    Dill weed .25
    Chocolate chips 3.54
    Brown sugar 3.74
    Walnut crumbs 3.13
    Golden raisins 2.97
    coupon -3.00

    Total 69.02

    Reply

    • Hey!!
      You were our January WINNER for the Grocery Game Challenge did you read that in the post? Email me your address and I will mail out your coupons. The bulk barn has a great deal out now spend $15 get a gift card so we’re going to head in and load up while we can. We love that store as well. Your pantry seems to have a good mix we’re the same. How do you store your spices? We use the mason jars.

      Reply

26. wow! you did really well this week, mr cbb!
    i have tins and tins of tomatoes…and more aylmer accent coupons to use up…so i guess i will continue to poison the family until the stock pile and coupons disappear. a friend of mine snubbed the microwave popcorn some time last year. after we use up the small amount of popcorn on the shelf i will consider buying the kernels as we do have a hot air popper. i usually don’t even LOOK at the organic vegetables due to the huge price difference, but i’ll try to make more of an effort to seek out those products if they are on sale.
    this is my shop for the week:

    foodtown
    1 x pk of sliced mushrooms $2.49 omg lol…well, not “lol”, more like…((bash head on table))
    2 x tomatoes $1.11 for both
    2 x green peppers $1.40 for both
    total/ oop $5

    no frills
    5 pks of 5 boneless chicken breast ($6.11/kg) $4.97, $5.36, $5.36, $5.42, $6.06
    1 pk of 11 pork loin centre & rib chops, boneless, sliced ($4.14/kg) $7.20
    1 pk of 13 pork loin centre & rib chops, boneless, sliced ($4.14/kg) $8.89
    total/ oop $43.26

    rcss
    1 x bean sprouts .88
    2 x green peppers 1.47 – 50% store sticker
    total $2.35
    less 50% sticker $.74
    less superbucks $1.60
    less penny rounding in my favour $.01
    oop $0

    walmart
    1 x colgate sensitive $3.77 – fpc incl tax
    3 x mini wheats raspberry $2.97 – $1 ea – $3 wub 3 cz
    1 x 2 pk head and shoulders shampoo – $1
    6 x zantac $2.22 – $3 ea
    4 x aylmer accents $1 – $1 wub 2 (x2)
    2 x french’s mustard $1 – $.75 ea
    tax $2.48
    total $36.48
    less coupons $32.76
    oop $3.72

    walmart
    3 x tena $.97 – $5 ea
    3 x zantac $2.22 – $3 ea
    1 x franks red hot $3.47 – $1
    1 x fresh spinach $1.47
    1 x 10 kg flour $9.27
    1 x 3lb carrots $1
    tax $.87
    total $25.65
    less coupons $25
    oop .65

    walmart
    3 x tena $.97 – $5 ea
    3 x zantac $2.22 – $3 ea
    2 x mushrooms pm foodbasics $.88 ea
    2 x snow peas pm no frills $.97 ea
    1 x garden salad $1
    2 x mini carrots $1 ea
    2 x 3lbs carrots $1 ea
    1 x green onions $.97
    1 x 3lbs onions $1
    1 x golden sugar $2.17
    1 x wholly salsa $1
    tax $.87
    total $24.28
    less coupons $24
    oop $.28

    walmart
    2 x zantac $2.22 – $3 ea
    1 x caned pinto beans clearance $.50
    1 x canned black eyed peas clearance $.50
    tax $.58
    total $6.02
    less coupons $6
    oop $.02

    nofrills
    4 packs of 5 boneless chicken breast $5.22, $4.92, $5.38, $4.89
    1 x pack pork side ribs $5.85
    total/oop $26.26

    Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year : $3600.00 for 3 people and 2 cats

    •Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $300.00 or $75 week *4 shopping weeks this month
    •Total Coupons Used this Week : $87.76 + $1.60 store rewards + $.01 gain from penny distribution ending
    •Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
    •Total Spent This Week: $79.19
    •Total Spent So Far for (February): $79.19
    •Total Over/Under spend this shop: over $4.19 this shop but it’s early days in the month! no worries
    •Total Over/Under spend for the month of (Feb): $4.19
    •Total Left to Spend for the Month: $220.81
    •Total Coupons Used This Month : $ 87.76
    •Total to Carry Over Next Month : $118.45 (from Jan) **not sure what to do with this amount?
    •Total Spent To Date This Year: $181.55 (Jan) + $79.19 (Feb to date) = $260.74
    Weekly overview:
    – i know the price was off-the-hook expensive for the sliced mushrooms, but i will say that it was almost an never ending pack!
    it was used on pizza, nachos supreme, breakfast wraps and the last little bit went into chili 🙂
    – love the price of the chops and chicken at no frills!
    – finding tena and zantac at the same time is so exciting lol. my most favourite thing to do with overage is to buy fresh veggies 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Chickypoodles,
      I have to admit the commentary in everyone’s shops this weekend is making me roll around laughing. The mushrooms were pricey wow.. I’m good at ).99 or less. as for organic well it’s really a price war on the wallet in the shops although I’m sure we will see the prices become more competitive just like I think GF will come down as well as more people get on board. When there is less of an audience to purchase they need to jack the prices up to compensate for the process. When more people get on board they can even it out, that is if they do. You got a great deal on chicken. You know I could have swore the lady in front of us had a huge packet of chicken and the price was $7.xx and I thought wow that’s bloody cheap. I never looked at it when we shopped but I never went back either. WOAH, FILL ME IN ON THE TENA.. never heard of that.. where’s the coupons from? Awesome!!Keep at it… no head banging though lol. you get ballot 7.

      Reply

27. Hi Mr CBB.

    The $75.00 is for two people. I forgot to include the $40.00 for cat supplies in that so it is actually $115. 00. I’ll correct that next week.

    Reply

    • Well I’m certainly looking forward to following your shops all month long. Thanks for clarifying. Cheers Dee!

      Reply

28. Week of Feb 4 to 10, 2013

    Here we are at a long weekend (Family Day) and I am not going to be shopping. This weekend we are nonetheless treating ourselves. 🙂 I have a business get-together in Abbotsford this afternoon so we’ll use a $5 off coupon and a gift card to treat ourselves to an early supper at ABC Country Restaurant & they even have a good selection of Gluten Free options! Tomorrow we are going to visit Larry’s mother and sister and have lunch out with them. This will be the first get-together for us since she got out of the hospital. The place we are going has really good deals…and we should each be able to both of our meals for less than $10 total. Sunday and Monday we have some projects to work on around the house, and we’ll make a nice big pot of soup for our week. We’ll make our Peasant Cabbage & Tomato soup on Sunday and I have a 16 Bean Soup on the menu plans for Tuesday night. Mmm good! I was out of funds this week and technically should not have shopped but I did. I will still need to get milk, bread and some spinach later in the month. It looks like I will finish the month over budget again (darn it all!) as we are already over by $37.64. But since we have changed our Valentine’s Day plans, I have $15 in my wallet “hidy place” that I’ll tap first before I go any further into the grocery budget.

    Save On Foods – Shop #1

    1 Warehouse pk Chicken thighs $15.83 << cooked, chopped & in the freezer for soups
    1 box Minute Brown Rice $7.96

    •Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions: $0.00
    •Total Checkout51 Savings: $0.00
    •Total Coupons Used: $0.00
    •Total More Points Earned = 24
    •Total OOP: $23.79
    $23.79 Grocery Expense

    •Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year: $190 x 12 = $2,280.00 for 2 adults
    •Total Grocery Budget for the Month of Feb: $ 190.00
    •Total Grocery Budget for the Week: $ 190.00/4 = $47.50 with FOUR “No Shop”
    Weeks Per Year

    •Total Gift Cards USED this Week: $0.00
    •Total Cash In Wallet Hiding Spot for Emergencies: $15.00
    •Total Gift Cards In Reserved for Future Use: $20.00
    •Total 2013 US GROCERY CASH: $99.79

    THIS WEEK:

    •Total OOP Spent This Week: $23.79

    THIS MONTH:

    •Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions in FEB: $44.48
    •Total Checkout51 Savings in FEB: $0.00
    •Total Coupons Used in FEB: $0.00
    •Total More Points Earned in FEB: (Feb 84+140+24) = 248 Points
    •Total Air Miles Earned in FEB: 0 Miles
    •Total OOP Spent in FEB: ($176.61 +$23.79) = $200.40 so I am $10.40 over in addition to the
    overage carried forward from January

    THIS YEAR:

    •Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions This Year:
    (Jan – $40.04) + (Feb – $1.00+43.48=$44.48) = $84.52
    •Total Checkout51 Savings This Year: (Jan – $0.00) + (Feb – $0.00) = $0.00
    •Total Coupons Used This Year: (Jan – $60.46) + (Feb – $0.00) = $60.46
    •Total More Points Earned This Year: (Jan 265) + (Feb 248) = 513 Points
    •Total Air Miles Earned This Year: (Jan 57) + (Feb 0) = 57 Miles
    •Total OOP Spent This Year: (Jan – $217.24) + (Feb – $176.61+23.79= $ 200.40)
    = $37.64 OVER

    WHERE WE STAND:

    •Total Over/Under spend this week: No funds Available

    •Total Over/Under spend on the month of FEB: $37.64 OVER

    •Total Over/Under This Year: $37.64 OVER

    •Total Left to Spend for the Month:
    ($190.00-27.24 overage from Jan-$176.61-23.79)= ($37.64) so no available funds

    •Total to Carry Over Next Month : $37.64 OVERAGE so far

    Reply

    • Oh Mary, you make me smile my dear.. I can almost hear you reading this to me. You have a hidy place do ya.. haha.. that’s ok so does Mrs.CBB…. just in case she says. The soups sound great and i like how you prep your chicken, smart and saves time I bet. I think we might make a pot this week depending on the time, WOw you got lots of air miles. I need to understand the program more as I only get 1 AM when I spend $20 and it seems so hard to collect them. So you were a little over I’m sure you’ll make up for it…. next month.. 😉 P.S Farmgirl is on the GF budget now, thought you might want to check it out. I mentioned you were as well and I talked about prices etc. Keep at it, love your humour! You get ballot #8

      Reply

29. Here goes with the grocery shops… Mostly it’s at Foodland but there was one trip into Canadian Tire for a couple of things that were on sale. I went over yet again but there were some nice sales out there. The Royale wasn’t that great but they had lots and don’t usually have it on more than once a month…. around here keeping lots of TP around is a big deal!!! God forbid we should run low!!!!!!!!

    Foodland Feb 2
    1 pot barley- 1.19
    1 onion powder- 1.49
    1 jar unsweetened applesauce-1.98
    1 frozen french fries- 1.99
    1 bread crumbs- 2.50
    1 plum sauce- 2.98
    1 Oktoberfest [email protected]– 5.98
    2 green peppers-2.13
    2 cases [email protected]– 7.98,-2.04discount, 2-$2.00 coupons
    1 box crackers- 3.99
    2 tomatoes-1.54
    1 ice cream-3.99
    1 butter-4.69
    1 4L milk-4.79
    1 jug water- 5.49
    2 Royale TP@ 6.99-13.98, 2-$1.00 coupons
    1 Royle tissues, 6 pack- 6.99, $1.00 coupon
    1 Royale paper towels, 6 pack- 6.99, .75 coupon
    1 pack smokes-9.69
    1 family pack lean ground beef-16.00
    taxes-5.67
    Total- $1.02.24, coupons-$9.79

    Canadian Tire, Feb 2
    3 Sunlight dish [email protected]– 5.70
    2 A&H laundry soap@ 3.49, 2 $1.00 coupons
    taxes- 1.64
    Total $12.29, $2.00 in coupons

    Foodland, Feb 4
    4 clearance bananas- .74
    1 frozen french fries-1.99
    1 cheese slices-2.49
    6 w/w buns-2.79, 1.40 discount, clearance
    1 jar salsa-3.49
    1 case rootbeer-3.99, -1.02 discount
    1 Oatmeal Crisp- 4.49
    1 4L milk-4.79
    1 black cheese-5.99
    1 pack smokes-9.69
    taxes-1.65
    Total- $39.68, 2.42 in coupons and discounts

    Foodland Feb 5
    1 Cheerois-4.49
    1 4L milk-4.79
    1 jug water -5.49
    Total 14.77, no coupons

    Total for the Month(4 weeks) $600.00
    Total for the year$7800.00
    Total spent this week-$170.98
    Total coupons/Discounts-$14.21
    Total for the month- $170.98
    Total over/under for week- $20.98over
    Total over/under for the month- over 20.98+ 68.08carry over from last month
    Left for the month-$429.02($360.94 with carry over)
    Total coupons for month-$14.21
    Total Year to Date-Jan-$818.08+ 170.98=$989.06

    So far this month I’m over plus the carry over by a good deal. There was more stocking up and will be this week as well. Foodland is having sugar and bread on a 3 day sale this weekend for 1.88 each. Plus they are running a promo for high grade knives that you save stickers for ( see the site.. http://www.foodland.ca for details) It’s 1 sticker for every $10.00 spent but this week is double that. When my daughter was in town today she grabbed a few groceries here and got some stickers she gave me… I now have 34 of them. I’m not sure what I’ll get with them but time will tell there. I’m working on balancing things here as soon as I can but clearly this will be a long term effort….We had a birthday this past week but the only thing I needed to get was ice cream, which was on sale. i have a Chapman’s coupon but we are saving that for a really good sale to stock up with…..

    Reply

    • Hi Christine,
      Looks like you could have used some coupons for cereal and cheese. The cheese expire Feb 28 for $0.75 and we used them up this past week to get the bricks 500g for $3.02 each. I think you will balance your budget Christine and it seems like you have a bit of work to do. The important part is to never give up. You have to put in effort to get out effort. I believe we are all our own business and the minute we stop investing in our own personal finance is when it will be time to shut up shop. Keep at it…. You get ballot #9! Mr.CBB

      Reply

30. Mr CBB, I get oodles of Air Miles by doing a few things:

    1. I always use my Platinum AMEX Air Miles card when I am at Safeway. I get Air Miles from Safeway + I get one Air Mile for every $10 on an Air Mile Vendor from AMEX as well.

    2. I am signed up with Safeway with my Air Miles account registered in their files to receive their weekly email specials. I watch for “bonus” Air Miles on products I use anyway. This week they have a 100 bonus Air Mile bonus on orders of $100 good until Feb 14th. I love these promotions as that’s basically 1 Air Mile for every single dollar on top of the 5 miles I earn from Safeway just by shopping and the further 10 I earn by using my AMEX. So, $100 ends up earning me 115 miles. 🙂

    3. If there are no bonus Air Miles on products in a given week that I actually use, I make sure to at least shop on Customer Appreciation Day when I get 5 times the number of Air Miles.

    4. I also check the Air Miles website weekly for specials on Air Miles. For example, buy a certain number of a product and get so many bonus miles. If it’s on something like soup or peanut butter… we go thru them quickly and it’s worth taking the trip to the store.

    5. Since we can only use 1 bonus coupon per shop, Larry & I both go thru the check-out so that we have 2 orders and can get 2 coupons of usage.

    6. I also watch for bonus events at Shell Canada & gas up with them when they are on.

    7. If I am going to online shop, say with Amazon, I do it thru airmiles.ca when they have a bonus points events on. Might as well get “5X” the points right?

    8. We have Gold status on Air Miles and keep it every year by shopping with 5 Air Miles Vendors & earning 1,000 miles per year. It means our redemptions on travel are not nearly as points intensive. I already have 4 of my 5 vendors… Safeway, AMEX, Air Miles Opinions Surveys, my storage locker company and we’ll do a single fill up at Shell to have 5 vendors. I also have earned 215 miles of the necessary 1,000 already. Once we get to 1,000…I switch over to the SPG AMEX and collect those points for the balance of the year.

    It works. We currently have 23,479 Air Miles and plan to use them to take flights all over the world in 2014-2017 before they expire. No cash outlay for us! 😀

    I hope this helps!

    Reply

    • Hi Mary,
      Thanks for all the tips. I also find Metro is so expensive and the only place that gives us the Air Miles for shopping around here that I am aware of. It’s like the posh store in town. We do swipe our card whenever we can but haven’t been looking out for bonus events at Metro so maybe we will keep an eye out for that. Thanks for all the tips and maybe that will also help someone else out. I’d love to do an Air Miles post one day but just don’t know enough about it. Cheers!

      Reply

31. My goodness. I didn’t catch the win situation there.Thats what I get for skimming through your posts on my cell phone, while waiting in the car for children or parents to return. I shall be reading them word for word now. You are a lengthy writer you know!! Thank-you so much. I’ll email you my address.

    We are doing pretty good with the gluten-free here so far. Many great dishes, and one flop. It is decided on we do not like corn pasta at all. Anything with chocolate in it is really good. But for the kids we are baking the same as normal.

    Daughter in high school first time in any institution.Go figure the first week she had a snow day! Anyway she is my spinach salad and carrot monster, so simple lunches for her, but she has always been able to just eat out the fridge, so this has been an adjustment. I bought granola bars for her and hid them. Otherwise the others would get into them and not eat the gluten-free (crap) stuff!I miss her not being home though as she is an excellent baker. Now its up to me and the toddler. Messy situations.

    Where ever it is you are living. You always seem to have Bulk Barn sales a week before we get them here.I am noticing that with a few who are posting. So I shall go on-line and see what our Bulk Barn is offering this week.

    Again Thanks

    Farmgirl
    http://www.thefarmgirlfiles.blogspot.ca

    Reply

    • Hey,
      Your coupons are in the mail! It should be interesting to learn about her first experience in a public highschool. Gluten Free no matter what way you look at it is costly at least from what I can see. I’ve heard a couple people say some of the food is grosse and others are good. Interesting how you say the bulk barn pricing is different where you are at, I’ll have to watch your posts for that.

      Reply

32. our weekly budget is $100 or $400-$450 for the month.
    Walmart
    $2.25 chips
    $2.88-$2Cwub2 chips
    $2 5pk crossiants
    $4.68 4L milk
    $1.12 apple juice
    $1-.75 mouseturd
    $3.47×2 taco kits
    $2×2 washer fluid
    .70 green peppers
    $1 mushrooms
    $1 salad bag
    .87 tomato sauce
    $28.84 total oop
    $2.75 total coupons
    Safeway
    $4.15-$4C special k cracker chips
    $2.30 2L chocolate milk
    $2.36 4 bagels
    $2.50-$2C salad bag
    $5.50 total oop
    $6 total coupons
    Superstore
    $1.68×2 butter chicken seasoning
    $2.48 4pk gum
    $2.22 x2-$1.50C coffee creamer
    $1.88 croutons
    $2×4 pizza pops
    $1.98×2-$2C jam
    $6.59 10kg flour
    $26.99 total oop
    $3.50 total coupons
    Sobeys -10% tuesday shop
    $2.49 5lb carrots
    $2.49 5lb onions
    $5.99×2-$2C superfries xl size
    $2.49-$1C eggo minis
    $2.49×2-$1.50C yogurt
    $5.10 swiss cheese
    $4.99-fpc lean cuisine
    $2×2-$2C lady speed stick
    $3.99 yummy after shave cream
    $8.49-$2C vanilla kcups
    $9.99×2-$1.50C 907g cheese
    $4.49 2pk pork tenderloin
    $53.29 total oop
    $14.99 total coupons
    $7.55 10% discount

    $114.62 total oop
    $34.79 total coupons/discounts

    $285.38 remaining for the month

    our freezer is getting full and in the next weeks I would like to start focusing on our freezer and stockpile and cleaning things up and using things up before they expire. needing to rego over the feelings I’m having of not needing to buy stuff cause we want it and really look at what we need.

    Reply

    • Hi Juanita,
      Good for you. We have been using up our stock as much as possible here as we just don’t want to keep adding to it. We have been eating from the freezer as we have so much in it. We want to make room for the milk that is on sale this week so I hope we can fit it all in. You still have a healthy budget left for the month but if your goal is to only use what you have and buy what you need you may see money left this month which is a good thing. Keep up the good work. Do you do a freezer and pantry inventory? If not you can print the sheets I have in my free tools and do one. We do so we always know what we have on hand. It helps. You get ballot #10

      Reply

33. My grocery budget for the week is $100 for 2 adults.
    Here’s my shop for the week:

    Shoppers Drug Mart
    Eggs 1.99
    Total $1.99

    Superstore
    Flour (White & Wh. Wheat) 2 @ 2.99 = 5.98
    Classico Pasta Sauce 2 @ 1.99 = 3.98
    Artic Gardens Froz Veggies 2 @ 2.49 coupon 5.00= -0.02
    Minute Maid Froz. Juic 2 @ .79= 1.58
    Lacatancia Butter 2 @ 2.99= 5.98
    Delissio Pizza 3.99
    Fleischmann’s yeast 2.19
    2L 2% Milk 3.25
    VH Sauce 2 /$5 coupon 2.00=3.00
    Lean Gr. Beef 3.18
    Pork Sirloin Roast 4.91 disc. 30% = 3.44
    Pork Tenderloin 5.92
    Wing Wong Egg Rolls 3.99
    Mango 1.00
    Total $47.46

    Giant Tiger
    Root Beer 2 @ 1.19 = 2.38
    Deposit 0.20
    Pineapple 2.47 discount 0.70=1.77
    Spinach 227g 1.97
    10lb White Potatoes 3.47
    Less credit for reusable bag -0.03
    Tax .31
    Total: $10.07

    Sobeys
    Kraft Cheez Whiz 500g 4.99 coupon 1.50= 3.49
    Kraft Peanut Butter 1Kg 4.99 coupon 1.00= 3.99
    Oatmeal Crisp Cereal 4.99
    Tuna 2 @ 1.59= 3.18
    500g Kraft Cheese 5.99
    White Swan Bathroom Tissue 3 @ 3.99 coupons 3 @ 1.00= 8.97
    Tax: 1.56
    Total: 32.17

    Giant Tiger:
    Green Pepper 2.00
    Cream Cheese 3.78 disc.0.78=3.00
    Total: $5.00

    Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $100/week
    Total Coupons Used this Week :  12.50
    Total Discounts this Week: 2.20
    Total Checkout 51 rebates this Week: don’t have cell phone or tablet
    Total Checkout 51 rebates this Month: don’t have cell phone or tablet
    Total Colleague Discounts (CD) this Week: N/A
    Total Colleague Discounts (CD) this Month: N/A
    Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week:  0
    Total Rewards Points Used: 0
    Stockpile Budget: $enter amount Used: 
    Total Spent This Week: 94.70
    Total Over/Under spend this week: 5.30 Under
    Carry Forward Balance from last week: 19.16 Over
    Total Spent So Far for (enter month):  94.7
    Total Over/Under spend for the month of  (): 
    Total Coupons Used This Month : 12.5

    Reply

    • Hi Pam,
      Where did you get the White Swan Coupons? I’ve never seen them. It looks like you used a few good coupons this week especially the $5 arctic gardens which we have yet to use. Looks like you are both doing well for the month and you have carry over from last week. You picked up some great deals this week. Was that $2.00 for 1 green pepper I’m reading? If so wow, that’s pricey unless it was the size of a cantalope. Keep up the good work Pam you get ballot #11.

      Reply

      • I don’t remember which site I got the White Swan coupons from, I use save.ca, websaver.ca, gocoupons.ca, and I also do some trades so it might have been a trade. It was 2 green peppers for $2.00; peppers are expensive here but not quick that bad yet. 🙂

        Reply

34. I shop for 2 adults and a 2 year old toddler. Our budget is $90/week or $360 for this month and includes baby items, laundry, health/beauty, etc.
    RCSS

    Cheesestrings (PM NF) $2.00 – $.75 coupon – $1.00 Checkout 51
    Light BD cheese slices (PM NF) $3.00 – $.75 coupon
    4 pack peppers (PM NF) $2.00 (bought for my SIL that was visiting)
    Mushrooms $1.50
    Arctic Gardens frozen veggies (PM Metro) 2/$5.00 – $5.00 coupon
    AJ syrup (PM FC) $1.44
    Cavendish Fresh from the farm fries (PM Metro) 2/$5.00 – 2 x $1.00
    Eggo’s (PM FC) 3 x $1.44 – 3 x $1.00
    Minigo (PM FC) $1.99 – $1.00 coupon
    Neison choco milk $1.25
    Neilson Trutaste milk 3 x $3.97 – $1.00 coupon
    NN mushrooms 3 x $.88
    Source yogurt tub $1.97 – $1.00 coupon
    Special K cracker chips 3 x $2.48 – 3 x FPC
    Natural Selections deli meat (PM FC) $3.99
    BB Turkey Pepperoni $3.99
    CH Vitality bread 6 x $3.19 – 6 x 50% pink stickers – $9.60
    Pita bread $.98
    Bananas $1.35
    Salad $1.99
    Oranges (PM FC) $2.18
    Strawberries 2lb $3.44
    J&J baby wash and lotion (PM SDM) 3 x $2.99 – 3 x $1.00

    Coupons $24.94
    CD $9.37
    OOP $56.05

    Bulk Barn

    Walnut pieces $3.06
    Bay leaves $.11
    OOP $3.17

    RCSS

    AJ syrup (PM FC) $1.44
    BD cheese block (PM FC) 3 x $3.77 – 3 x $.75
    BD cheesestrings (PM NF) $2.00 – $.75 coupon – $1.00 Checkout 51
    Cheez whiz (PM Metro) $2.99 – $1.50 coupon
    Neilson Trutaste milk 2% and 1% 2 x $3.97
    Coupons $4.50
    CD $2.58
    OOP $18.60

    Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year : $4,680 ($90/week)
    •Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $360
    •Total Coupons Used this Week : $29.44
    • Total Checkout 51 rebates this week: $2.00
    • Total Checkout 51 rebates this month: $5.00
    • Total Checkout 51 rebates this year:$15.00
    • Total Colleague Discount (CD) this week: $11.95
    • Total Colleague Discount (CD) this month:$9.02 + $11.95=$20.97
    • Total Colleague Discount (CD) this year: $62.82 + $11.95=$74.77
    •Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: 0
    •Total Spent This Week: $55.05 + $3.17 + $18.60=$76.82
    •Total Spent So Far for February: $34.04 + $76.82=$110.86
    •Total Over/Under spend this shop: N/A
    •Total Over/Under spend for the month of February: N/A
    •Total Left to Spend for the Month: $325.96 – $76.82=$249.14
    •Total Coupons Used This Month : $43.85 + $29.44=$73.29
    •Total to Carry Over Next Month : N/A
    •Total Spent To Date This Year: $349.07 + $34.04=$383.11 + $76.82=$459.93
    •Weekly overview: Not a bad week. Got to stock up on cheese, syrup, fries and frozen veggies. We’ll see what next week’s sales bring! Lol I get so frustrated sometimes. I grabbed more milk today because $3.97 is a good price and you never know when milk will be on sale again. I just saw some flyers for next week and Lactantia is on next week and I have coupons for it! Grrr! Now I don’t know if I should try to return it or not!

    Reply

    • Hey Jen!
      Those eggos was that the new coupon that came out? If so the tear pad was empty at our Freshco… I don’t eat them, just noticed the pad was empty but I thought it was for new minis. How do you toast mini waffles? lol Great deal with the cheese, we stocked up as well and will load up on milk this week. How are you doing with your new grocery budget? Look at those discounts add up in your tally, sweet. So you have $250 left to spend this month, meh, that should be super easy for you… you can kick this month, easy! You get ballot #12~

      Reply

35. This is late, but still wanted to post it – I’m loving the accountability, even though this week I failed in keeping with the budget – still lots to work on, but I have faith!

    Grocery Game Challenge
    Food Basics
    ⦁ Canola oil 3.98
    ⦁ Milk 4.62
    ⦁ Pepperoni 4.49
    ⦁ Hummus 3.00
    ⦁ Cucumber 1.77
    ⦁ Meat slices 4.29
    ⦁ Carrots 1.97
    Total Coupons Used: $ 0
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 24.12 (incl. tax)

    Metro
    ⦁ Soy milk x 12 @ 3/5.00 = 20.00
    ⦁ Sausages x 3 @ 4.99 = 15.00 – coupon for B2G1Free
    ⦁ Carnation evapourated milk x 3 @ 1.28 each = 3.84 – coupons for 2.50
    Total Coupons Used: $ 7.49
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 31.34 (incl. tax)

    Superstore
    ⦁ Pop x 6 @ 2.88 = 17.28 (towards Tostitos spend $20 get $20 back in coupons – we have a pop every Friday, so this stash should last a while!)
    ⦁ McCain cake x 2 @ 2.19 each = 4.38 – coupon for 2.19 (my favourite!)
    ⦁ Cranberry juice 2.97 – coupon for 0.50
    ⦁ Salsa 2.50 – coupons for 1.50
    ⦁ Nachos 1.88 – coupon for 1.00
    ⦁ Baguette 2.00 – coupon for 1.00
    ⦁ Meatballs 4.98 – coupon for 1.00
    ⦁ Valentines for boy’s classmates 2.00
    Total Coupons Used: $ 7.19
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 34.04 (incl. tax)

    Walmart
    ⦁ Mini Wheats 2.97 – coupon for 1.00
    ⦁ Deodorant 2.50 – coupon for 1.00
    ⦁ Laundry detergent 7.97 – coupon for 3.00
    ⦁ Popchips 2.00 – coupon for 1.00
    ⦁ Dusters 5.87
    ⦁ Yogurt tubes x 2 @ 2.00 each = 4.00
    ⦁ Orange juice x 2 @ 3.00 each = 6.00
    ⦁ Pizza cutter 3.97
    ⦁ Tea ball 2.97
    ⦁ Krazy glue 3.97
    ⦁ Valentines treats for boys 7.00
    Total Coupons Used: $ 6.00
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 47.21 (incl. tax)

    Walmart
    ⦁ Bread 2.78 – coupon for 1.50
    ⦁ Smartfood 2.00 (treat for sleepover)
    ⦁ Sugar 1.88
    Totoal Coupons Used: $ 1.50
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 5.92 (incl. tax)

    Superstore
    ⦁ Yogurt tubes x 2 @ 1.97 each = 3.94
    ⦁ Beans 1.37 – coupon for 0.50
    ⦁ Ketchup 3.97
    ⦁ Icing sugar 1.49
    ⦁ Chocolate syrup 2.97
    ⦁ Pizza sauce 0.59
    ⦁ Chocolate chips 6.28
    ⦁ Frozen smile potatoes 3.27 (treat for sleepover)
    Total Coupons Used: $ 0.50
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 23.29 (incl. tax) – had to buy a bag too!!

    Superstore
    ⦁ O-3 eggs x 2 @ 4.19 each = 8.38 – coupon for 1.00 (think I’ll buy reg. eggs now!)
    ⦁ Chapstick 1.99
    Total Coupons Used: $ 1.62 (had coupon from buying gas too)
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 8.01

    Food Basics
    ⦁ Chips 1.88 – coupon for 1.00
    ⦁ Bananas 1.25
    ⦁ Mandarins 2.97
    ⦁ Lime 0.40
    ⦁ Onion 1.26
    Total Coupons Used: $ 1.00
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 7.06 (incl. tax and had to buy a bag – kept forgetting these this week!)

    Shoppers Drug Mart
    ⦁ Milk 4.19
    ⦁ Trail Mix x 2 @ 2.69 = 5.38 (hubby gave these to homeless man outside store – I love him!)
    Total Coupons Used: $ 0
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 10.27 (incl. tax)

    Lowe’s
    ⦁ Compost bags 5.48 (got $5 worth of great coupons in the box!)
    Total Coupons Used: $ 0
    Total Out of Pocket: $ 6.19 (incl tax)

    Weekly Grocery Game Challenge Results
    •Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year: $ 5520
    •Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $ 460
    •Total Coupons Used this Week : $ 25.30
    •Total Spent This Week: $ 191.26 (OUCH – WAY OVER!!)
    ••Total Spent So Far for February: $ 104.96+191.26=296.22
    •Total Over/Under spend this shop: Over 76.26
    •Total Over/Under spend for the month of February: Over 66.22
    •Total Left to Spend for the Month: $ 163.78
    •Total Coupons Used This Month : $ 2.00+25.30=27.30
    •Total Spent To Date This Year: $441.38+296.22=737.60
    •Weekly Overview: I went WAY over budget – wow, I will have to wrestle certain habit down to the ground. I think I need to go to the stores alot less often, and record purchases same day so I know how much I have left for the week – not always feasible to just go once a week for us, though usually it’s OK.

    Reply

    • Hi Anna,
      You are not late with this. You have all month to post up until the last Sunday at midnight. I”ll let you know what Grocery Game is the last for the month so make sure you read them when they are posted. Ok, on to your shop! Yup, you were way over this shop. You used a good amount of coupons but you are only left with $163 for the remainder of the month. If you stay out of the shops, you won’t spend and yes record them if you have to the same day as that will DEFINITELY help you to know where you are at. THis is a classic reason why people spend more than intended because they don’t know the numbers. We shop sometimes twice a week, that’s ok, just get in, and get out.. don’t toss in items you don’t need that week as there is always the next week. Keep up the good work, you are one step ahead of the rest, you know your numbers. You get ballot #15 Anna! Cheers

      Reply

36. FoodBasics
    Case small juice bottles (9) – sale $1.99
    Pringles – sale $1.00
    Special K breakfast sandwiches – sale $2.99 – $2c
    3L Milk – $5.99 – $1c
    Canada Dry Gingerale – sale 4x$2.66

    •Total Coupons Used: $3.00
    •Total Out Of Pocket: $21.38

    Walmart
    Ricotta – $3.00
    Old Cheddar – sale $5.84
    Mozzarella – sale $5.84
    Cottage Cheese – sale $2.67
    Pringles – $2.25
    Frozen waffles – $1.50
    Cookies – $3.47
    Squash – $2.80
    Minigo yogurt – sale $2.00
    Fruite juice – 2x$2.17
    •Total Coupons Used: $0
    •Total Out Of Pocket: $35.13

    RCSS
    X-Lean ground beef – sale $10.92
    Party mix – sale $2.50

    •Total Coupons Used: $0
    •Total Out Of Pocket: $13.75

    Walmart
    Chocolate – $3.48
    Cookies – sale 2x$1.88
    Thinsations – sale $2.00 (-$.50 rebate from Checkout51)
    Fruite juice – 2x$1.97
    Bananas – $1.04
    Peaches (6) – sale $1.93
    Celery – $1.97
    Green beans – $.52
    Campbell’s soup – sale 5x$.47
    Arctic Gardens stirfry veg (large bag) – sale $6.27 – $5c
    Activia yogurt – sale $3.97 – $1c
    Pediasure – $8.97 – $2c
    Special K Cracker Chips – $2.47 – FPC
    Minigo yogurt – sale $2.00 – $.50c
    Aunt J Pancake mix – PM Freshco $1.44

    •Total Coupons Used: $10.97
    •Total Out Of Pocket: $32.22

    •Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year: $4200 ($80.77/week)
    •Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $350
    •Total Coupons Used this Week : $13.97
    •Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
    •Total Spent This Week: $102.48
    •Total Spent So Far for February: $102.48
    •Total Over/Under spend this shop: over $21.71
    •Total Over/Under spend for the month of February: N/A
    •Total Left to Spend for the Month: $247.52
    •Total Coupons Used This Month : $13.97
    •Total to Carry Over Next Month : N/A
    •Total Spent To Date This Year: $386.34
    •Weekly Overview: Had to stock back up on some cheese this shop, was making some lasagne and needed some. Posting this a week late as I have gotten behind. Spent a little more this week then I usually do but I was quite a bit under last month so it was not a surprise. Had a few splurges with the cookies for my daughter and some chocolate.

    Reply

    • Hey!
      So, I have to ask. Were the special K breakfast sandwiches worth the money even at $0.99? I think they are new, correct? What do you do with your ricotta? We keep forgetting to use the $5 Arctic Gardens coupon and you just reminded me again. Yes, I saw your splurges haha.. that’s ok. you are doing well with your shopping this month. I just read the cheese if for lasagna. If you like ricotta watch for my ricotta ball soup coming up, you will love it… also my ricotta and spinach pasta is on the blog.. to die for! Keep up the good work. you’re rockin through Feb! You get ballot #21

      Reply

      • Yes the ricotta was for using in the lasagna that I made. I’ll have to try your spinach and ricotta pasta recipe one day, I just know the picky child will not eat it though. The Special K sandwiches tasted good but I would never pay full price for them, definitely not worth it. You get 2 sandwiches in a box which I could make from scratch for much less. They are an expensive convenience food.

        Reply

        • That’s exactly what I was leaning towards with the Special K. Could you make it for cheaper? Too bad with the ricotta but if you like it you will love the pasta besides you never know your child might surprise you lol

          Reply

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