The Grocery Game Challenge Dec 30-Jan 5, 2014 #1: Join the Challenge starting Now!
JOIN THE GROCERY GAME 2014
As the 2013 year and Grocery Game Challenge comes to a close, our thoughts are turned to a new year and a new grocery budget.
All of us who have posted our grocery budget and shops throughout the year must now reflect on the final numbers.
Canada’s top grocery game
The Grocery Game Challenge is one of the original grocery shopping games in Canada but it’s not really a game it’s more of a challenge against your own grocery budget.
Look at it as a means to take back some control if you have been just throwing whatever you want into your shopping cart without giving much thought to it.
The grocery game challenge has quickly become well known all over the internet and although it’s more of a challenge to get people to join I know that I can only put out the information, it’s up to you to do the rest.
The budget
Many of us are thrilled as we have been able to stay under our yearly grocery budget and others have to make some changes in order to stick to their goals. Grocery shopping on a budget has been much easier for us rather than simply going in to buy what we think we need and having no plan at all.
It does take so much of the weight off of our shoulders not only with a grocery budget but with a family budget. Knowing how much we can spend in every category has been our saviour and will continue to be with lots of learning curves. The most important part is to never give up.
Grocery game review
I’m hoping to get some grocery game reviews come in from the fans so I can share their thoughts in an upcoming post. If you have posted your shops all year-long and want to contribute to this post send me an email with your overall thoughts of the grocery game challenge and how it’s helped you over the past couple of years.
Either way the Grocery Game has and will continue to be an important part of the Canadian Budget Binder budget because it helps us to stay on track. We had our ups and downs in 2013 but moving forward we hope that we have learned from our mistakes and work even harder in 2014 to get it right.
Grocery shopping next to the rent or mortgage is one of the biggest expenses in any family so it’s important to plan your shops wisely.
Below you will see my Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide and if you want to read back over the posts from the past 2 years I’d encourage you to do that.
I work very hard to bring you the best I can when it comes to saving money in the grocery budget, how to budget and where we can improve our grocery shops by correcting common errors that we all make.
We learned over the past year that when we go into a grocery store without a plan or don’t have that self-control we can easily spend more than needed. If you are someone who wants to set a grocery budget for the 2014 year and stick to it I encourage you to post your shops.
It may sound like a tedious job to do but trust me investing in yourself, your finances and your overall money health is worth the time and effort.
You can ask just about any CBB fan who started to use a budget or post their grocery shops in 2012 and 2013 since the beginning of the game that they have learned more about their shopping habits than they might have if they didn’t.
If 2014 is the year you want to make changes, then now is the time. No more procrastinating, no more excuses and no more giving up half-way through the year.
Get it done and get it done right so that way you can look back and say you gave it your best shot. Giving up before you start or harbouring negative thoughts will only bring you down.
What is your 2014 grocery budget?
Will you join the grocery game challenge?
January grocery game challenge posts
If you missed any grocery game posts for the month I will post the line-up for the month each week here in this section for you.
Congratulations to Christine Weadick Ballot #17 for winning the grocery game for Decemeber!!!
Grocery saving tips
Click, Save and Print. It’s that easy!
Free Money Saving Downloads are awesome lists that were created to get us on track to work towards reaching our budgeting goals and now we are sharing them with you.
I hope you take the time to get back on track and start the saving process in your grocery budget today.
Get organized with a freezer inventory, meal plan, shopping list, price comparison list and much more all for FREE.
NEW!! You can now download the Canadian Budget Binder Budget Spreadsheet in Excel…… Grab it while you can… It’s FREE! We use it to budget.. check it out!
Ultimate grocery shopping guide
Everything you want to know about grocery shopping in Canada is below with new information added monthly. If you missed a Grocery Game Challenge post some of the most popular posts are listed below. If you know a topic that should be discussed, speak up. I want to know. Happy reading.
- Let Your Coupons Expire And Save Money
- Welfare Food Challenge $26 Per Week In The Grocery Budget
- What A No-Shop Week Really Means
- Should You Buy It Now Or Buy It Later?
- Stock Up On Items When You Can
- The Cost Of Organic Food
- What Foods You Should Not Eat and Organic Gardening
- Knowing Your Prices Is The Key To Saving Money In The Grocery Budget
- Product Price Adjustments Don’t Miss The Savings
- Scanning Code of Practice In Canada (SCOP)
- How To Start Saving Money On Groceries In Canada?
- How Much Should My Grocery Budget Be?
- Top Ten Ways To Cut Your Grocery Budget
- Meal Planning For The Budget
- The Grocery Game Challenge and Our Grocery Budget
- Grocery Budget Saving Tips
- Food Shopping On A Budget
- How To Grocery Shop
- Grocery Store Self-Scanners
- Food and Vegetable Preparation
- Best Time To Grocery Shop
- Organic Food Costs
- Why Shopping Hungry Is Not A Smart Idea
- Are We Eating Too Much Food?
- Discount Days and Rewards Programs
- Getting Back On Track With Food Budgeting
- Why You Should Ignore Your Grocery Flyers
- The Low-GI Diet and Your Budget
- How To Track Grocery Expenses
- Comparing Prices With a Price Comparison List
- Why Too Much Salt Is Not Good For Us
- Shopping More Than Once Per Week
- Food Samples When Shopping
- Food Waste In Canada
- Go on vacation and save on groceries
- Grocery Store Activities For Kids
- Buying When There Is A Limit
- How do you like your bread?
- Holiday Baking On A Budget
- International Grocery Store Shopping
- Back To Basics More For Less
- How often do you shop for groceries?
- How not to miss in-store or unadvertised sales
- Who does the grocery shopping in your house?
Food food and more food
Yearly grocery budget for two: $2819.38
(The above total does not include the stockpile budget of $240 per year or $20 per month.)
- Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $235.00 or $78.33 week with potentially one no-shop week per month or $58.75 for 4 weeks per month. (During the months with 5 weeks we just make it work)
- Total Budget for January $235.00
- Total Coupons Used this Week : $0
- Total Coupons Used to date: $0
- Total Discounts this Week: $0
- Total Discounts Used to date: $0
- Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
- Total Gift Cards Used to date: $0
- Total Rewards Points Used: $0
- Total Rewards Points Used to date: $0
- Stockpile Budget ($20.00): $0
- Stockpile Budget Used to Date: $
- Total Spent This Week: $0
- Total Spent So Far January: $0
- Total Over/Under spend this shop: $0
- Total Over/Under spend for the month: $0
- Total Left to Spend for the Month: $0
- Total to Carry Over Next Month: $0 New year starting 2014
- Total Spent To Date This Year: (does not include stockpile budget
- Weekly Overview: We are at the relatives until Thursday so we are not doing any grocery shopping this week. This will be a no-shop week for us. When we get home we will need to stock up. I’ve added in a couple of new categories above only to track month to month expenses so I don’t have to waste time at the end of 2014 adding up figures to find out the final numbers like I did in 2013.
Canadian Coupons Found
No coupons found this week as we did not go grocery shopping. Check back next week to see what we find. Post your finds as well in the comment section if you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Read the rules first and if you have any questions email me or comment on this post with your question and someone will answer you as soon as possible.
- Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop?
No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have fans who post their grocery shop who live all over the world.
- When does the Grocery Game close each month?
The Grocery Game Challenge closes at midnight of the last Sunday of the last post for the month. You can post your shops all month-long.
- Does your Grocery Budget include health and beauty and laundry products?
Yes our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. We don’t mind stockpiling items that won’t be affected by expiry dates or have long expiry dates but not so much food any more. It’s just one way to help cut your budget to save money.
Here are your latest Coupon Match-ups of the week and your weekly Checkout 51 offers from 25 Newspaper Inserts around Canada compliments of Save Big Live Better that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge.
- What is an FPC?
An FPC is a free product coupon which means you can get a free product as described on the coupon.
You can find all your store coupon policies here. If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.
I can tell you about grocery shopping and what we do in terms of shopping to save money and how it works for us. There are no wrong or right answers, just smart choices. Over time you will gradually learn where you should and shouldn’t go in the grocery store or at least how to say no, I’m on a budget I need to buy this or that.
You may also substitute items in order to stick to your budget to make it work. Nobody is perfect, heck we struggle with this t of our budget like many people do and this is why the grocery game challenge was created.
If you have just joined The Grocery Game Challenge 2014 get ready to dive deep into your grocery budget and learn just where you are spending, how much you are spending and what you are saving.
You’ve made a wise decision.
Welcome to The Grocery Game Challenge Canada 2014!
-Mr.CBB
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Okay I am definetly getting back on track this year….we had a death in the family towards christmas so we havent really been out shopping since. So this week was pretty much a no shop week. Our last few weeks went a bit off budget and there was quite a few take out dinners as we didnt want to cook. But i am determined with a new year to get back on budget and back to my families healthy diets. I recently received a juicer from my work so i am hoping to cut out all of the frozen and sugary juices from our diet so it will be interesting to see if buying fresh fruit every week raises or helps the budget.
Superstore
Cat food 7.93-2.00=5.93
Gummy bears 3.28
Boneless blade roast 7.17 (1400 PC points)
blackberries 2.48
strawberries 3.98 (300 PC points)
Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year : $9,100 ($175/week) I shop for two adults, a five year, two year old, 2 dogs, 1 cat. Our budget includes food, toiletries, pet food, diapers and vitamins 🙂
•Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $700
•Total Coupons Used this Week : $2.00
•Total Coupons Used This Month : $2.00
• Total Coupons Used this Year: $2.00
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this week: 0
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this month: 0
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this year: 0
• Total SCOP this week: $0
• Total SCOP this month: $0
• Total SCOP this year: $0
•Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
•Total Spent This Week: $28.07
•Total Spent So Far for January: $28.07
•Total Left to Spend for the Month: $$671.93
•Total to Carry over Next Month: N/A
•Total Spent To Date This Year: $28.07
Hi Joanne!
Welcome back, we missed you! Sorry to hear about the death in your family. I have never used a juicer before but many people I know have and love it especially since you don’t add all that sugar which you want to eliminate. Looking forward to your shops! You get ballot #15
This being a new year will probably bring us a new food budget whenever I get onto my ei benefits, but not sure when they will start this month or next. We do have a stockpile of items and have some club sobeys points saved up for times when we literally have nothing in the bank and fridge. I know we will make it work well because we have too!! But for now we will stick to the $100 a week were doing before and go from there. This week we stocked up on a few items with sale and coupons ending at the end of the year I wanted to get both and my son did put a special request in for dinner before they had to go home (as mom I love making their favs and with not a lot of time together I wanted to make it for him).
Safeway
$4.99 cheez whiz
$5.99 10lb navel oranges
$11 total oop
Superstore
$4.48×2 3L oil
$4.88 20lbs potatoes
.44×4, .34, $1.32 xmas wrap – sweet deal clearance
$17 total oop
Sobeys
$2.99×2-bogo staff coupon goldfish crackers
$1.99 xmas cupcakes – clearance & I was starving & didn’t have time to eat lunch
$1.49 biggest bagged salad – clearance & gave us 8 servings
.46 mushrooms
.99 green bell pepper
$5.31 4L milk
$4.99×4-$2C frozen pizzas
$25.25 total oop
$10.99 total coupons
Walmart
$2.97 frozen fries
$3.37 tortillas
$2 xmas plate
$1.77×3-.50Cx3 top dogs
$1.98 cake mix
$1.12 apple juice
$5.97×2-$2Cx2 janes frozen chicken strips
$2.97 texas cheese toast – super yum!
$1.85 green pepper
$3.24 red pepper
$1.97 salsa
$1 peach juice
$4.88 4L milk
$2.47 bistro
$2.97×3-$2Cx3 healthy choice steamers
.95×5 gravy mixes
.88×4 4pk pudding cups
$2.97 parchment paper
$55.97 total oop
$11.50 total coupons
$109.22 total weekly oop
$22.49 total weekly coupons
We did go over budget but I did have the extra cash in my wallet from the week before. We also bought lots of convenient lunches and snacks since I am working a bunch of days in a row and it being my last week of work I wanted there to be quick and easy items to have on hand if we don’t have dinner leftovers and avoid spending more money at work on lunches.
I am looking forward to having some time off work before the baby comes and maybe I can get a few freezer meals and baking prepped for us for the days we need it. I do have a very very supportive hubby that will make dinner, clean and help doing anything needed and I am lucky and thankful to have him!!
Hi Juanita,
It’s so exciting for you both to have a baby on the way and it sounds like the rest before is just what you need to prepare. The freezer meals are always handy for anyone just because they are generally healthier choices rather than eating out and don’t cost as much. Taking time to do that prep work is important but will pay off in the end. Once your EI kicks in you will have a better idea where to go with your budget and how you may need to adjust. Looking forward to some good news! You get ballot #9. Mr.CBB
I should have included, total added to my emergency jar 19.42
That’s a great idea! I love that you will track that with us all year long! 🙂
Weekly Grocery Game Challenge Results
Total Grocery Budget for the Month: 300 including adding to stockpile
Total Coupons Used this Week : 0
Total Discounts this Week: 2.30
Total Checkout 51 rebates this Week: 0
Total Checkout 51 rebates this Month: 0
Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: 0
Total Rewards Points Used: 0
Total Spent This Week: 40.58
Total Spent So Far for January: 40.58
Total Left to Spend for the Month: 259.42
Total Coupons Used This Month : 0
Total added to emergency jar :
Total Spent To Date This Year: 40.58
Weekly Overview:
RCSS: Caesar dressing, crispers (6), cheese whiz, buns, blueberries (3), strawberries, iceberg lettuce (3), celery, grape tomatoes (2), green peppers, bananas: 29.63
Giant Tiger: Glazed donut holes (2), shortbread, cake mix (3), maple beans (2): 7.00
Walmart: Milk: 3.95
Hi Angela,
Welcome to the Grocery Game Challenge!
If you have a peak at how the others post your shop or even mine you will get an idea how to post your shops in the GGC so we can see where the money is going and on what products. How many people does your $300 per month feed? I like that you have an emergency jar, good for you. 🙂 We all look forward to your posts and shops for the 2014 and I’m sure it’s safe to say like all of us you will learn lots about your shopping habits and your grocery budget. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Cheers Mr.CBB You get ballot #8.
We feed 3 on $60 a week, 5 week months it’s $300 and 4 week months it’s $240. I’m looking at January being a 5 week. However ours includes everything from food to toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc. Basically consumables that will need to be replenished in some way. It’s always an expensive month when we have to buy products for our son who has a lot of contact allergies, and the emergency jar does come in handy during those weeks if we need a lot of food too. Our cat has his own budget, so fortunately we don’t include that cost in our grocery. I am looking forward to these posts and see how people are doing things differently from me. I’m hoping to get some ideas to help cut back. I’m always looking to spend less as our life constantly changes.
Hi Angela,
Well I can assure you that you will learn something and we really do help each other out. We also have a pet budget which we started last year but we factor in any cleaning and health and beauty if we have to but our stockpile is so big we don’t need much for years to be honest… we used lots of coupons in 2010-2011 when it was a hot thing to do but coupons aren’t the same as they used to be however they do still provide savings.
Here are my first posts for the new year.. I use slightly different dates as I work with the same dates as the flyers do for the sales as this does work for me. Makes it easy to remember the dates for my week. This will be the start of my new budget amounts for 2014. There was one quick trip into Canadian tire but the bulk was at Foodland.
Foodland, Dec 28
1 box Ritz crackers- 1.99
2 raisin bread @2.49- 4.98
2 cider mix @2.99- 5.98
1 pack pepperoni- 2.99
1 Kolbassa coil- 4.49
2 4l milk @4.79- 9.58
1 jug water- 5.49
1 case ginger ale- 5.78, 2.00 coupon
1 block 4yr old cheddar- 6.99
1 pack XL ground beef- 12.30
Tax- 2.24
Total- $60.81, 2.00 coupon
Foodland Dec31
2 tomato paste @.65- 1.30
bananas- .95
1 can pasta sauce- 1.79
1 can tomato sauce- 1.88
1 unsweetened apple sauce- 1.99
1 W/W bread- 2.49
1 package frozen french fries- 2.79
1 cranberry cocktail- 2.99
1 18 count eggs- 2.99
1 bread crumbs- 3.29
1 yopgurt- 4.49
1 4l milk- 4.79
2 packs sausage @ 4.99- 9.98, both 50% stickers- 5.00 discounts
Total- $44.19
Canadian Tire Jan 2
1 large jug Downie fabric softener- 9.99
Tax- 1.30
Total- $11.29
Total budget for the month- $650.00, $25.00 stock up
Total coupons this week- 2.00
Total discounts this week- $5.00
Total spent this week- $116.29
Total for the month- $116.29
Total over/under for the week- under $13.71
Total over/under for the month- N/A
Left for month-$553.71
Total coupons/discounts for the month- $7.00
Total carry over to next month- 0.00
Total YTD- $116.29
A good start to the year!!! I’m happy with it. I still need to get one of the boys to help me use the set up you have above, I’m not the most computer literate, if I didn’t have the boys to help me I’d be up the creek!!! I hated having to pay regular price for the Downie and not have a coupon but I was doing laundry and ran out. The price is better than the grocery store and just as close. Even with that and having hubby with me getting groceries the first time I came in under!!! He wanted to get goodies for New Year’s, so that will explain the pepperonis, kolbassa, the old cheese and the Ritz crackers. There was shrimp in the freezer from a while back he fussed about then didn’t eat. It’s gone now, between him and the older boy it went, there is still a part jar of seafood sauce in the fridge and he’s been told he better eat it!!! Last jar went moldy in the fridge because he only has any once or twice a year.
All told I’m happy with my start to the year of the Grocery Game Challenge! Now the trick will be to keep it up. I will be trying!! I’m also going to try to use more coupons for the savings. I have my work cut out for me this year!!!
Hi Christine,
Go ahead and use the dates you like because either way everyone will get a ballot in the contest whether it runs into the next month or not. I’m giving ballots for every post no matter what that way people can post as they shop which works out better for me and for the fans. I’m sure the boys will get you all sorted out as they seem to help you out quite a bit. Looks like you didn’t need too much food as most of us didn’t after the holidays although we did find some good meat deals. We are really watching the budget this year. We will try to use more coupons as long as we need the products which has been a struggle the past 2 years. I can’t wait to see how we all do in the third year of the GGC especially since most of us now have posted for a couple of years and have learned along the way. Keep at it… you get ballot 5
I shop for 2 adults and a 3 year old boy. Our budget is $85/week or $340 for this month and includes laundry, health/beauty, etc.
RCSS
Eggs (PM Independent) $2.00
Silk almond milk 3 x $3.50 – 2 x $1.00 coupons – 3 x $1.00 CO51
Pita (PM Fortinos) $.99
Bananas (PM Fortinos) $1.21
Mott’s applesauce 2 x $2.00
Tuna (PM FB) 5 x $.99
PC salad dressing 2 x $1.88
Kraft dressing $2.00 – $1.00 coupon
Nutella (PM FC) $2.99
Froot Loops $3.88
Silk dark chocolate almond milk 5 x $1.00
Coconut yogurt $4.59
Philadelphia cream cheese (lrg container) (PM NF) 2 x $2.97
Turkey pepperoni $3.99
Wonderbread 2 x $2.00
Mushrooms $1.67
Strawberries (PM Metro) $2.24
Broccoli (PM WM) $1.27
PC mixed veggies 2/$5.00
Romaine $3.99
Oranges (PM FC) $1.87
Green pepper (PM FB) $.49
Tomatoes $1.57
Baby carrots $.88
Coupons $4.00
CO 51 $3.00
OOP $74.43
Walmart
Beans $.88
Mini wheats 2 x $2.88 – 2 x $2.00 coupons
Coupons $4.00
OOP $2.64
Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year : $4,420 ($85/week) + Meat order $172.85/month for 9 months $1555.65=$5975.65 for the year including the meat order.
•Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $340
•Total Coupons Used this Week : $8.00
•Total Coupons Used This Month : $8.00
• Total Coupons Used this Year: $8.00
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this week: $3.00
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this month: $3.00
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this year: $3.00
• Total SCOP this week: $0
• Total SCOP this month: $0
• Total SCOP this year: $0
•Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
•Total Spent This Week: $77.07
•Total Spent So Far for January: $77.07
•Total Over/Under spent for the month of December: N/A
•Total Left to Spend for the Month: $262.93
•Total to Carry over Next Month: N/A
•Total Spent To Date This Year: $77.07
•Weekly overview: I have decided to try cutting my budget by $5.00/week to see how I do since I was under budget last year not including my meat order. I have added in my meat order separately. I have 9 months left to pay on it. We still have a freezer full of meat and we haven’t even had our second half shipped yet. I bought lots of fresh stuff this week as well as replaced some refrigerated items we lost due to our 3 day power outage (salad dressing, cream cheese, eggs). I’m hoping for a great year! 🙂
Hey, that’s great Jen! A $5.00 savings is better than nothing at all and i bet you will have no problem with that either. What did you learn about the meat order and your family? Did you get reimbursed for the food losses? Great shop this week… I’m thrilled to hear of some changes you are making. Keep at it. You get ballot 4
No reimbursement for us 🙁 I did contact Almond Fresh and they sent me 2 FPC’s and some coupons. Yes, $5 is better then an increase I guess. I’m not sure what to think about the meat order thus far. I think that what we ordered will stretch far and take us past our year that it’s supposed to last, and I really enjoy the meat…it’s not rubbery or chewy like some you buy in the grocery store and I like that it’s antibiotic free. The only real drawback is the cost. I guess when we see how long the order ends up lasting us then we’ll know if it was financially worth it or not. It’s definitely cheaper than buying organic meat in the store but probably not cheaper than what we used to buy.
Well only you know if the meat is a benefit to you and your family and of course the budget. 🙂
DECEMBER – Week #5 of 5 – December 30th, 2013 – January 5, 2014
2013 GROCERY BUDGET / STOCKPILE BUDGET AND US RESERVE:
•Total Grocery Budgeted For Year: $142.50 x 12 = $1,710.00 for 2 adults
•Total Stockpile Budgeted For Year: $47.50 x 12 = $570.00 for 2 adults
•Combined Grocery Budget for 2013: $190.00 x 12 = $2,280.00
===========================================================================================
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
This week we are all about a wonderful New Years Eve and New Years Day celebrations at our house! I was fortunately very well stocked to celebrate here at home. We had a raw vegetable platter, cheeses, garlic sausage, pickles, crackers a classic Knorr spinach dip with bread, regular for hubby and gluten free for me, for our New Years Eve cold buffet. None of the items were purchased this week …so I am only mentioning our New Years plans here in the “remarks section”.
Happy New Year everyone!!!
As you can see 2013 wasn’t a bad year for our house. With the infusion of a cash gift, recycled bottles return refunds, cash in my hiding spot and the repayments of funds owed to us, we spent a total of $2,067.38 on groceries this year PLUS here’s how much under budget we finished the year:
Groceries: ($0.11)
2014 BORSCHT Reserve: $275.00
Re-Stocking Reserve: $125.00
Our US Reserve: $120.54
Amount Under Budget $520.43
While we grocery shopped we took advantage of $481.20 in loyalty card savings and $277.71 in coupons. Without those discounts… we’d have been over budget! So it really does pay to plan your shops folks!! The Grocery Game Challenge is a great support to see how much you are saving as the year progresses.
Also, in the process of shopping, we earned the following rewards points!
Save On Foods More Rewards: 1,082 points
Air Miles: 681 miles
Thrifty Foods Points: 1,606 points
PC.Plus Points: 6,400 points
SPG Points: 3,000 points
I am looking forward to a lean & mean 2014 Grocery Game Challenge with you all! LOL 🙂
Let’s pull together, offer each other tips, tricks and suggestions on how we can each trim our budgets and grocery shops to the absolute bone. Let’s make 2014 the year that we all finish in the black!!!!
I am kicking off my year holding the following rain checks:
Safeway:
3 dozen Lucerne Large Eggs @ $1.33 (Good until Feb 7th)
4 Butcher’s Cut Side Bacon @ $8.99 (Good until Feb 20th)
4 Butcher’s Cut Boneless Honey Dinner Ham 1 Kg @ $8.49
(Good to Feb 26th)
2 Butcher’s Cut Beef Sausages 500g @ 2 for $5.00
(Good to March 6th)
2 Butcher’s Cut Beef Sausages 500g @ 2 for $5.00
(Good to March 6th) – SECOND RAIN CHECK!!!!
4 Butcher’s Cut Side Bacon @ $8.99 (Good until March 19th)
Just so there are no nasty surprises in my grocery budgeting for 2014… here’s our number of weeks each month BUT PLEASE NOTE: MR CBB has Week 1 in January as December 29 to January 5 and therefore he will have 5 weeks in January compared to my 4.
I will again budget $190 figure per month so it really helps me to know how many weeks I am covering with that dollar figure!!
JANUARY – 4 weeks
Jan 6-12
Jan 13-19
Jan 20-26
Jan 27-Feb 2
FEBRUARY – 4 weeks
Feb 3-9
Feb 9-16
Feb 17-23
Feb 24-March 2
MARCH – 5 weeks
March 3-9
March 10-16
March 17- 23
March 24-30
March 31-April 6
APRIL – 4 weeks
April 7-13
April 14-20
April 21-27
April 28-May 4
MAY – 4 weeks
May 5-11
May 12-18
May 19-25
May 26-June 1
JUNE – 5 weeks
June 2-8
June 9-15
June 16-22
June 23-29
June 30-July 6
JULY – 4 weeks
July 7-13
July 14-20
July 21-27
July 28-Aug 3
AUGUST – 4 weeks
Aug 4-10
Aug 11-17
Aug 18-24
Aug 25-31
SEPTEMBER – 5 weeks
Sept 1-7
Sept 8-14
Sept 15-21
Sept 22-28
Sept 29-Oct 5
OCTOBER – 4 weeks
Oct 6-12
Oct 13-19
Oct 20-26
Oct 27-Nov 2
NOVEMBER – 4 weeks
Nov 3-9
Nov 10-16
Nov 17-23
Nov 24-30
DECEMBER – 5 weeks
Dec 1-7
Dec 8-14
Dec 15-21
Dec 22-28
Dec 29-Jan 4/2015
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Hi Mary!
I’m so proud of you and glad that you had a lovely New Years. Your buffet sounded delicious. You did so well in 2013 with your yearly budget, rewards and your coupons. I’m not sure what to do with the GGC now that I’ve messed it up for January any suggestions? Thanks for the calendar… 🙂 Looking forward to the third year and we have a new player! 🙂 Christina…. You get ballot 3~ Mr.CBB
Mr CBB… it’s no biggie. You just have 5 weeks in January. Then you’ll be able to track the next eleven months as I listed above. It will mean you had 51 weeks in 2013 and you have 53 weeks in 2014. I would mention it to the others so they can make their own decision on how they budget their funds. It will depend a lot on how they are running their overall budget. It’s neither here nor there to me… because I am budgeting my available monies by the year and then allocating 1/12 of that figure to each month. Then I just have to stick to that figure no matter how many weeks it has. 🙂
Hi Christina! Welcome to the GGC! I have never finished my year with grocery reserve funds so… proof’s in the pudding that this posting really helps! 😀
Ok…I am joining in the game this year…here we go!
YEARLY GROCERY BUDGET FOR 2 ADULTS AND 2 CHILDREN UNDER 10: $7,800.00
NOTE: Budget includes food, toiletries, household cleaners, & pet supplies.
Week 1: December 30th to January 5th
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
Justin was sick for a few days in December so in January we are playing a bit of catch-up because fewer hours mean fewer dollar bills y’all. I knew this grocery shop was going to hurt the ol’ pocketbook, but I shouldn’t have sent Justin. Justin is good at shopping when we have very little money, but when we have a little money sitting in the account it’s a bit like a red flag telling him he can buy what he wants, unless I give him a list to stick to. There was a list jotted down on the whiteboard on the fridge, but he only glanced at it. Because he went over this week, we are going to have to budget the rest of the month carefully and really think about what we need versus what we want.
OUR SHOPPING THIS WEEK:
Aunt Jemima pancake mix – 2/$6 = $6.00
Chocolate pudding Snack Pack – $1.99
Lemon pudding packs – $1.99
NN popcorn – $2.49
NN canola oil – $7.99
NN cream of mushroom soup – 2/$0.79 = $1.58
PC White cheddar Mac’n’Cheese – 2/$0.89 = $1.78
Butter syrup – $2.29
NN Small pasta shells – $1.99
NN Peanut butter – $5.49
NN Low-sodium chicken broth – $1.99
NN Low-sodium beef broth – $1.99
Mini granola bars – $7.99
PC Ketchup – $3.49
Campbell’s cheddar soup – 2/$1.99 = $3.98
Chef Boyardee ravioli – 4@2/$3.00 = $6.00
Oatmeal Crisp – $5.39
Reese’s Puffs – $3.99
Christie Sociables – $1.49
Christie Vegetable Thins – $1.49
Kraft Dinner – 2@4/$5.00 = $2.50
Pepsi – $1.00
Pepsi Max – $1.00
Yoplait Tubes – $3.49
PC Plain Greek Yogurt – $3.99
4L milk – $7.45
Eggnog – $4.89
Marble cheese – 2/$4.99 = $9.89
Black Diamond cheese slices – $5.59
Becel margarine with olive oil – $3.99
Minute Maid frozen juice – 5@$0.79 = $3.95
NN Perogies – $3.49
Valley Selections Asian blend – 2@$3.49 = $6.98
3 lbs carrots – $2.99
4 lbs apples – $5.99
PC sweet red peppers – 2@$5.99 = $11.98
5 lbs red potatoes – $4.99
Bananas – $2.61
2 lbs strawberries – $5.00
Mild sausage – $9.33
Lean ground beef – $8.49
Breaded chicken strips – $10.00
Sliced chicken breast – $10.00
PC Cinnamon raisin bread – $2.99
Rolls – 2@$2.29 = $4.58
Wonderbread Multigrain bread – 2/$5.00 = $5.00
Deli bologna – $7.31
Deli black forest ham – $4.26
Pepperoni & Cheese tray – $12.99
Sliced donair meat – $4.99
Rectangular pepperoni pizza – 2@$6.99 = $13.98
Total out of pocket – $250.73
Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year : $7,800.00($150.00/week)
•Total Grocery Budget for January: $450 (5 shopping weeks this month)
•Total Coupons Used this Week : $0
•Total Coupons Used This Month : $0
• Total Coupons Used this Year: $0
•Total Spent This Week: $250.73
•Total Spent So Far for January: $250.73
•Total Over/Under spend this shop: $100.73
•Total Over/Under spent for the month of December: N/A
•Total Left to Spend for the Month: $199.27
•Total to Put in Slush Fund (Money leftover for the month goes away for dates, outings, special treats, etc.): N/A
•Total Spent To Date This Year: $250.73
Hi Christina!!
I’m thrilled as I’m sure the other GGC players will be to have a new face around to join in the GGC game each week. If you need any help just feel free to email me or ask here or on Facebook as we are all willing to help out.
The same thing has happened to us before with overspends which are not shy to talk about because it happens to everyone. No one is perfect. A list is what helps us out the most but there are always times of vulnerability especially when you see an amazing deal and you have to ask yourself if you have the cash to pay for it now or can you still meet the budget for the rest of the month if you overspend one week like we did this week for example.
So you have just under $200 left to spend for the next 4 weeks of shops which I think you can pull off if you plan your shops wisely. If you don’t let this be a lesson about planning your shops, lord only knows we’ve been there done that. Do you use many coupons? I like that you have that slush fund, good for you. We had one but never had any extra money except for one month because of our tight grocery budget so we nixed it but I think you might have room to grow that category nicely. You will see as you go throughout the year and post your shops how much better you get at shopping. You will amaze yourself.
Keep up the great work.. and again, welcome!
You get ballot #2….\
Mr.CBB
Wow!!! Thank you for picking me to win for Dec.!!! You have my address, it hasn’t changed. The Grocery Game Challenge has been a learning experience for sure!!! It had held me accountable but at the same time the encouragement I get even when I totally blow the budget for the month means so much!!! You don’t know just how much. It’s great to know I’m not fighting this alone……..
I think one of the mistakes I made setting a budget last year was just setting a figure for the week…it did not work well on those months that had 5 weeks!! Then the trips into town once the No Frills opened there had a habit of being a budget buster as I would stock up on stuff as I didn’t know when I’d get back to that store and those prices. Especially as I don’t get the NF flyer unless I go on line so I didn’t always have an idea of what deals were advertized. I still don’t get the flyers but I have found a good reliable source to it online. I do like the idea of a stock up amount for those lovely sales and stickered meats.
I think I am going to go with $650.00 a month plus a $25.00 stock up amount. Grand total would then be $675.00 a month. The $650.00 gives me $162.50 for a 4 week month and $130.00 for a 5 week month. Tight but I think doable…. I had a number of months last year where I came very close to budget for the month, coming in just under or being over but not by much…. These figures give me a total for the year of $7800.00 plus $300.00 stock up for a total of $8100.00 to feed four adults for the year. It’s still lower than I spent last year but I think I can do it. If I plan a trip or two to NF every month I won’t be stocking up there quite so much at a time. Plus using coupons as much as I can…….
Thank you again for all the help and support you have given me over the last year and a bit!!!!! Hope you and the family have a Happy and Healthy New Year!!!!!!!!!