IT’S CHEAP, HEALTHY AND WISE
Why buy when you can plant an edible garden right inside your kitchen? Why toss your vegetable scraps into the trash bin when you can regrow them instead? This post is not about starting your own garden per se, but more about how to recycle and regrow your vegetable from discards.
Reaping what we sow from our edible garden
Before we started our edible garden, my family of four usually spent around $600-700 a month on groceries. Fruits, veggies (including those that are canned and frozen), rice and other perishable goods rarely come cheap so we usually spend around $70-90 for these items per every grocery trip. Now as our edible garden grows, we are saving around $20 per week on veggies based on their costs off the shelf. It might not be much now but having an accessible food supply 24/7 is so much worth it!
Aside from saving a lot of money because I could dramatically reduce my trip to the veggie aisle, this practice is also something that had improved my family’s health. Growing veggies in the kitchen (and later transferring them to pots outdoors) has been a fun family project. My kids are just fascinated with our plant’s daily growth, likewise, they are also curious on how they taste!
All organic goodness
Now before I start, let me tell you that all veggies I used are either given by my amateur gardener friends, bought at the local weekend farmer’s market or at the nearest’ supermarket organic counter. I would rather not cook and consume plants and meat that are grown at the big farms. Conventionally grown greens off the shelf are chock-full of fertilizers, irradiated to the core and bathed continuously with pesticides.
You’ll be surprised that the people who handled your greens are dressed like there is an epidemic outbreak, just to handle these pesky chemicals. That is notwithstanding your probability to pick a Frankenstein GMO fruit or veggie off the shelf, which is also likely since they look fresh for longer amounts of time.
These are the fruits and veggies that I would rather handle with a ten-foot pole. I cannot stress this enough, just imagine all that chemicals and GMO in your mouth and gut. No good but just yuck! So the best thing to do for your health and budget is to plant a garden!
Related: Planting Tips For Your Vegetable Garden To Protect Your Investment
Common veggies that you can soak and regrow
- Cabbage, bok-choy, and lettuce
All it takes to regrow these crunchy greens is to cut its thick base and then to soak them in a glass or jar of water. Replace the water daily and put the plant in a window with ample sunlight. In a week or two, new leaves and stalks will slowly emerge. Transfer them to a pot when they are at least five inches tall.
When fully grown, just cut out some leaves and stalks for your salad and it will regrow again. This technique might not work on winter’s freezing temperature and less sunlight. You can still experiment at all seasons but as per my experience, their scraps can grow easier during summer and spring, and in some cases in autumn too.
- Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other root crops
These common root crops are the most likely to accumulate a large amount of pesticide. After hearing this fact, I decided to grow them on my own. When left at room temperature (do not refrigerate these roots) they tend to form some shoots or sprouts called “eyes”.
Just cut the potato in third or half, with each sprout equally distributed on each cut. They will later form the plant’s stem and leaves. Plant each of these cut potato in a pot rich with compost. You can also do the same with your ginger and turmeric.
Related: How to grow pot potatoes at home
- Leeks, celery, and lemongrass
When I buy them organic, they usually have some of their root intact. As long as there are at least two inches of that thick fleshy base, you can regrow them easily. Soak in a glass of water the thick base and root. Replace this water every day.
In a few days, you will see additional roots and greenish stem. When this happens, you can now transfer this to a pot and place it in a well-lit window. Once these plants form their flower and later some seeds, you can use them to replant and expand your edible garden.
- Onion and garlic
These two are always in my recipes and they didn’t come cheap. These bulbs are also loaded with harmful chemicals to make them last long at the store. Those are the reasons why planting them is a wise decision. To start, separate from the bulb each clove and immerse in a glass of water. Observe daily.
In just a few days, you will see some shoots forming. When this happens, it’s about time to transfer it to a pot of soil. They can survive even with less water so just spray some sparingly. Once they start to form shoots, you can cut some of this green stem to top your stews and salads.
- Basil
This fragrant herb is the easiest to grow indoors. All it takes is to put the stem with leaves intact in a glass of water. The water line must reach just half of the stem, do not soak the leaves. Put them in a well-lit area at the window. Just replace the water daily and watch the roots grow. Once there are at least three inches of roots that have formed, you may now transfer them to some small pots or at a hanging vegetable bag.
Related: Too Much Fresh Basil? Make Basil Cubes for the freezer
- Fruits
It is also possible to grow your head of pineapple just by being selective in terms of cutting. Just leave out the thick core and crown and let it immerse in water. Even avocado can be grown by soaking half level of its seed into a bowl of water. As for tomatoes, instead of throwing the seeds to the trash, dry them instead. Plant the dried seeds on a fertile soil. Under the right conditions and some tender loving care, they will grow.
Herbs that you can grow even without soil, just water!
You can always buy a bottle of dried herbs, although they rarely come cheap; yet nothing beats the taste of fresh herbs off your plate. Now, this experiment of mine has already been going for a few months now. After learning from my apartment-dweller friend how he managed to grow some herbs even without soil, also tried it out. I called it my edible vase garden. It’s just as simple as soaking some them in a jar of water.
*Take note not to soak the leaves.
As usual, just replace the water regularly and let them capture some sunshine. The ones that had grown thick roots and had survived for months now on simply water are basil, oregano, spearmint, sage and lemon balm. I have yet to try out some tarragon, thyme and peppermint stem; yet based on these plants composition, the all-water habitat might also work for them.
Other tips on how to save money on your veggies
- Give and take with your friends
There are lots of perks with having friends who also grow their own food. If your friends, family, and neighbors are not yet into edible gardening, encourage them to try it for themselves. Giving out and exchanging our excess fresh harvest is one of the best ways to help our communities be sustainable.
- Be patient and tend to your garden
Pruning, weeding, dividing and composting for your plants takes time; yet this is the best way to expand your vegetable garden faster. If you have limited land space to plant, you can also try to make a vertical garden. Possibilities abound! All it takes is for you to research, replant and ask around.
So excuse me for now, as I’ve got to water my edible garden.
Thank you and hope I was able to help.
Sarah Morgan
Discussion Question:
What indoor edible garden vegetables, fruits or herbs have you grown?
Post Contribution : Sarah Morgan. A sister, a daughter, a wife, but most especially a mother. Being a mother makes me realize that life is a great adventure. No day is always the same, which makes every day so much more exciting.
November Grocery Game Challenge
Join in the 2016 Grocery Game Challenge (GGC) fun and post your grocery shop in the comment section of each GGC blog post. Here are the rules to get you started and where you’ll also find a link for the updated 2016 GGC schedule. Please feel free to download, save and even print the schedule so it’s handy.
New monthly prize: $10 President’s Choice Gift Card for Canadian residents only BUT If you want to play from outside of Canada and have PayPal and you win I will pay you $10 Canadian. I use a random online generator to pick the winning ballot every month.
Congratulations goes to our October GGC Winner Ballot #17 Dee!!
If you missed any grocery game posts for the month I will post the line-up each week below for you so you don’t have to go looking for past GGC posts for the month. Alternatively, just click on the “Grocery Game Challenge” tab on the blog side-bar to see past posts.
November Grocery Game Posts
Free Money Saving Tools 2016
You WILL want to check this out!
I know I blast you every which way I can on this blog about my free money saving tools and that’s because I want you to take advantage of them being FREE. So many people pay for budgets and tools on the internet to help them save money and honestly you don’t need to. Even a paper and pen will do the trick.
Click, Save and Print. It’s that easy!
This is the budget that brought us to debt freedom back in 2013 and now I’m offering to all of you for FREE. We still use this budget every month as it helps us to see our overall financial picture.
Don’t pay someone for these services, I’ve done the work for you along with some help from other amazing bloggers.
You can download the FREE Canadian Budget Binder Budget Spreadsheet in Excel…Grab it while you can… It’s FREE! We use it to budget and in large part a reason we could pay our mortgage off in 5 years, check it out!
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.
Get organized with a FREE freezer inventory, meal plan, shopping list, price comparison list and much more all for FREE.
CLICK HERE to download all the free lists and even our family budget spreadsheet. So many free resources at your fingertips.
Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide 2016
Everything you want to know about grocery shopping in Canada is packed into this amazing FREE grocery shopping guide that has taken over 4 years to create.
The Ultimate Grocery Shopping guide is ongoing with new informative money-saving posts added every month.
Even if you don’t live in Canada there are some amazing budget saving tips that will help put you on the path to more savings at the supermarket.
Share this guide with your friends and tell them about Canadian Budget Binder especially if they are struggling with their grocery budget.
The time is NOW to get started saving money on groceries so please enjoy the many money-saving posts in the The Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide.
2016 Grocery Shop Results
Yearly grocery budget for two + 1 Toddler 2016: $2820
(The above total does not include the stockpile budget of $300/year or $25/month.
Points Overview (add any other sections you need to show us your savings)
- Total Grocery Budget for this Month: $226.62
- Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs $194.07
- Total Gift Cards used to date: $65
- Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
- Total Rewards Points used to date: $0
- PC Points Plus Earned to date: 365,000
- Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0
- Shoppers Optimum: Just under 850,000 Optimum points (I will update this twice a year)
Coupon Apps (add any other apps you use to save money)
- Zweet to cash out : $18.25
- Checkout51 to cash out : $22.00
Our Grocery Shop This Week
Food Basics
- 1 x Sealtest Milk 2% $4.27
- 2 x 5pk avocado bags Sale 2/$5
- 2 x Cauliflower Sale 2/$5
- Bagged Spinach Sale $1.88
- Radishes $1.99 1lb
- 6 x Lactancia Cream Cheese Sale $1.99 each
- 4 x 500ml Whipping Cream Lactancia Sale $2.49 each
- Ranch Salad Dressing $1.99
- Schneiders Half Ham $5.97
- Romaine Lettuce $1.97
- Bananas $1.85
Total Out-of-Pocket $51.73
Metro
- Cavendish Potatoes Sale $1.50 5lbs
- 1lb Mushrooms Sale $2.99
- 2lbs tomatoes Sale $2.99
Total Out-Of-Pocket $7.48
Costco
- Salerno Mozzarella $20.00
- Calabrese Hot Salami $15.99
Total Out-Of-Pocket $36.00
- Total to spend this month : $235.00-$10.15 overage from October= $224.85
- Stockpile budget 2016 : $25.00
- Stockpile budget used this month: $0
- Total coupons used this week: $0
- Total coupons used to date: $15.36
- Total in-store discounts this week:$0
- Total in-store discounts to date: $503.74
- Total spent this week: $95.20
- Total spent so far this month: $95.20
- Total over/Under spend this shop: over
- Total over/Under spend for the month:
- Total left to spend for the month: $129.65
- Total Spent To Date 2016: (does not include stockpile budget) Jan $252.95 + Feb $249.46 + March $211.11 + April $248.11 + May $279.07 + June $231.96 + July $244.40 + Aug $201.30+ Sept $238.12+ October $236.77+ November $
Weekly Overview (your final thoughts)
We’re off to a kickin-start for the month of November because of Costco but we needed to stock up on some cheese and salami and you can’t beat their prices for it. I’m hoping for a peanut butter sale so I can buy a couple since our son seems to love it so much. The wife is using more cream cheese and mozzarella these days over the cheddar so we’re sticking to that plan for now. I’m thinking about placing an order for her online to get some gluten-free almond flour and carb-quick. We still need to look at all the products to find out everything they have in stock. Prices seem to be reasonable too so that helps.
Coupons and Coupon Apps 2016
Here are some great places you can find Canadian Coupons! These are your latest Checkout 51 offers which you can use to help save money. We’re finding less and less coupons in the stores these days. What are your thoughts? Are coupon apps taking over the paper coupons?
If you notice I’m missing a valuable link please message me and I’ll get it added to the savings list below.
- Flipp
- Snap Groupon
- Zweet
- Changio
- Groupon
- Nielsen Canada
- Caddle
Sign up for the Nielsen Canada Home Scan Program and you can earn rewards points fast to redeem for awesome products or gift cards. I did this in the UK and loved it!!
Where can I find Canadian Coupons 2016?
Plus check out these other hidden areas online to get more coupons!!
- Healthy Essentials Printable Coupons (Johnson and Johnson)
- Danone Coupons Get up to $25 in coupons
- Clorox Coupons Sign up to print coupons in the Clorox family which include Greenworks, Glad etc.
- Kraft Canada Sign up and receive recipes and coupons by email
- MySavings.com Printable Smart Source Coupons
- Walmart Canada Printable Coupons
- Proctor and Gamble PandG Sign up for printable coupons
- Hidden Coupon Portals You Should know about – I found this over at Save a Loonie and you’ll want to sign up for notifications and check out the site so you get notified every time a hidden coupon is available from Save.ca, Brandsaver, Smart Source etc.
Grocery Game Challenge 2016 FAQ’s
- Grocery Game Challenge RULES: 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. The rules have been updated for the 2016 challenge year.
- Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop?: No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops. We have fans who post their grocery shop who live all over the world.
- What is the monthly prize and who can claim it?- The monthly prize is a $10 PC Loblaws Gift Card and for our out of country friends it’s $10 CDN via Paypal if they win. As more people join I will add more money to the gift card or I will split it up and offer 2 prizes every month.
- 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 but you will still get a ballot when you post your shops even if they are late but I encourage you to stay on schedule. If you choose to post monthly or bi-weekly you will only get 1 ballot for that shop. It’s a proven fact the minute we stop doing something that is scheduled that we end up forgetting to do it altogether. Don’t let that be you! You can post your shops all month-long.
- Does your Grocery Budget include health and beauty and laundry products?: No, our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. As of 2014-2015 we no longer include such items in our grocery budget so we can see actual food numbers at the end of the year in order to plan accordingly our budget.
- Do you stockpile food? 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 longer as we found we weren’t eating it fast enough. Stockpiling is still great and just one way to help cut your budget to save money if you do find items that you can buy in bulk at a sale price.
- Canadian Coupons:Where can I find Canadian Coupons?: Here are your latest Checkout 51 offers that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge. There are many great Canadian Couponing websites online that share weekly coupon match-ups so you can plan your grocery list.
- Best Coupon Apps: Coupons are slowly fading with mobile coupon apps being the big rave these days. Just recently the popular coupon site Save.ca that mailed coupons to households has gotten involved with the addition of a new mobile Save.ca app joining forces with the many other coupon apps available. If you find an app that I don’t talk about please let me know as they are always being added and I’d like to review them.
- What is the Best Flyer App- We use Flipp on our Iphone so if you wan to have all your flyers in one spot download Flipp from the Apple Store or get it on Google Play.
- What is an FPC?: An FPC is a free product coupon which means you can get a free product as described on the coupon.
- What is GGC?– The Grocery Game Challenge of course!
- How Do I Know what stores accept coupons?: If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.
- How Do I Grocery Shop?: 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.
Nobody is perfect, heck we struggle with this part of our budget like many people do. This is why the grocery game challenge was created back in 2012 and is one of the most popular hang out spots for people who want to save money on groceries in Canada.
If you’ve just joined The Grocery Game Challenge 2016 get ready to look at your grocery budget by learning…
- Where you are spending money
- How much money you are spending
- How much money you are saving every month
If you want to learn everything I know about grocery shopping in Canada check out my Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide! It’s FREE!
If you know a topic that should be discussed send me an email. If I use your topic I will put your name in a draw for a prize at the end of the year.
You’ve made a wise decision to take control of your grocery budget now show me your shops and let’s get saving!
Welcome to The Grocery Game Challenge 2016!
Please Note: Some of the links in the body of the blog post are affiliate links which means I may get paid if you buy something from Amazon. The items I’ve chosen are products we use at home or similar to.
-Mr.CBB
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NOVEMBER – Week #1 of 4- Nov 7-13, 2016
2016 GROCERY BUDGET / STOCKPILE BUDGET AND US RESERVE:
•Total Grocery Budgeted For Year: $190.00 x 12 = $2,280.00 for 2 adults
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REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
Before we start our NOVEMBER shopping off though, I am going to make my usual monthly “reserve” transfers:
Grocery:
$ 190.00 for the month
($ 15.00) trf to re-stocking – normally $15.00
($ 0.00) trf to holiday reserve–normally 15.00
($ 0.00) trf to summer reserve–normally 15.00
($ 100.00) trf to US Reserve –normally $45.00
CANADIAN Grocery Balance $75.00
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
This month I beefed up the US Reserve again because we will be shopping in the USA both this month and next.
What with shopping on both sides of the border this week, this will set us up nicely for a NO SHOP WEEK next week. Can you tell I am still not in the grocery shopping mood? My plan for November is:
Week 1 – shop on both sides of the border
Week 2 – No Shop, but report US shop & vacation spending
Week 3 – Low Shop i.e. just milk & a bag of frozen broccoli
Week 4 – No Shop again
Thank goodness I have an incredibly well stocked pantry and in fact we could probably eat week for at least 6 months without my ever going near a store! I would miss all my fresh, crunchy fruits and veggies though.
Three days out of the seven this week will be handled by our vacation budget when we treat ourselves to an anniversary get-away. I won’t get my US shop organized in time to report it this week though…so I will include it with next week’s post. Sorry about that! 🙂
Next week I’ll also report the cost of our trip since any vacation budget spending is inversely proportional to the amount of grocery spending we do. We’ll see how much is left in the vacation budget to cover our December trips…fortunately there’s no hotels, breakfasts or dinners to pay for in December – just our lunches.
I added $300 worth of savings to the budget ($150 in Nov & $150 in Dec)… so this year we’ve got $1,300 allocated to our travels/staycations/dining out. BUT, I also re-booked the anniversary hotel to a different location to save us $40 US and that will cover the cost of one dinner while we are away. Every little bit helps! I sure hope I can keep us on track with the vacation budget…I am giving it the old college try!!
Total Vacation Costs YTD:
Week 1 $271.24
Week 2 $125.17
Week 3 $ 50.28
Thanksgiving $249.10
Anniversary
Pre-Christmas
Post-Christmas
Total $695.79 Spent So Far >> $604.21 left for the next 3 trips!
* And I have to take a moment to say that service contracts are so worth it for our house. I hate unexpected expenses! Last night we started having some sort of a heating/cooling malfunction. Our system is only 10 years old but service hiccups do happen. The last time we called for a service repair was Jan 2013. This time, the heat pump isn’t kicking in and we are heating with the furnace. 🙁 Hubby’s calling this morning to get a service technician to come out and do the necessary repairs. The service contract means we get very prompt service and the repairs are covered.
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OUR “CANADIAN” SHOPPING THIS WEEK:
MERIDIAN FARM MARKET – Maple Ridge –
2 Top Sirloin Steaks (2 for $10)
2 Tri-Colored Bag of Bell Peppers $2.98 ea << Love this deal!
2 Cauliflowers (2 for $3) << Couldn't pass this up
2 Green Onions (2 for $0.88) << starting to get expensive again in the grocery stores but not the farm markets
2 x 3LB Bag Yellow Onions $1.50 ea << Another sweet deal
1 pkg Village Farms Compari Tomatoes < FREE when you spend $10
• Grocery Budget OOP: $22.84
—————————————————————–
Walmart – Port Coquitlam –
12 Cloverleaf Skipjack Tuna $0.88 ea < we go thru a lot of tuna!
2 Celery $1.47 ea < Lovely big bunches too!
• Grocery Budget OOP: $13.50
—————————————————————–
RCSS – Pitt Meadows –
1 x 10lb bag red onions $6.98 < for Greek Salads, soups, stews, roasted &
stuffed…just love ‘em!
1 Zucchini $0.81
1 HUGE Bag Mushrooms for 3 dishes over 9 meals $10.95
1 Cream Cleanser $3.49
• Grocery Budget OOP: $22.23
** Earned 1400 PC.Plus Points on this shop **
** SAVED $0.00 in Rain Check/ Coupons **
** SAVED $0.00 Loyalty Savings on this shop **
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OUR “US RESERVE” SHOPPING THIS WEEK:
THE WEEKEND USA SHOP WILL BE REPORTED IN NEXT WEEK’S GGC POST
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2016 Y-T-D GROCERY SAVINGS:
•Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions This Year:
Jan $36.76 + Feb $160.96 + Mar $27.00+ Apr $117.96 +May $55.61+June $8.50+ July $46.99+ Aug $13.85+Sept $0.60+Oct $12.84+ Nov $0.00 = $481.07
•Total Coupons/Rain Checks Used This Year:
Jan $0.00 + Feb $20.46+ Mar $1.00 +Apr $5.23 + May $10.68 + June $0.00+ July $0.00 + Aug $0.00+ Sept $0.00 Oct $6.32+ Nov $0.00 = $43.69
•Total Price Match Savings Used This Year:
Jan $0.00 + Feb $0.00 + Mar $0.00 + Apr $0.00 + May $0.00 + June $0.00+ July $0.00 + Aug $0.00 + Sept $0.00 Oct $0.00+ Nov $0.00 = $0.00
•Total More Points Earned This Year:
Jan 10 + Feb 182 + Mar 3 +April 48 + May 96 + June 0+ July 573 + Aug 208 + Sept 11 + Oct 23 + Nov 0 = 1,154 Points
•Total Air Miles Earned This Year:
Jan 6 + Feb 43 +Mar 182 + April 32 + May 24 + June 3+ July 0 + Aug 0 + Sept 0 + Oct 0 + Nov 0 = 268 Air Miles
•Total PC PLUS Points Earned This Year:
Jan 1800 + Feb 5000 +Mar 5200= April 3,100 + May 0 + June 2,600+ July 0 + Aug 6,600 + Sept 0 + Oct 0 + Nov 1400 = 25,700 Points
•Total Optimum Points Earned This Year:
Jan 0 + Feb 0 +Mar 0 + April 0 + May 0 + June 40+ July 0 + Aug 40 + Sept 20 + Oct 31 + Nov 0 = 131 Points
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2016 Y-T-D GROCERY SPENDING:
•Total OOP Year-To-Date:
Jan $196.78 + Feb $193.74 + Mar $182.77 + April $255.43 + May $143.05 +June $182.79 +July $188.72+ Aug $171.07+ Sept $195.65 + Oct $190.00+ Nov (Trf to US $100 + Trf to R-Stocking $15+$22.23+$22.84+$13.50 = $173.57) = $2,030.27
•Total Year-To-Date Grocery Budget:
Jan $190.00+ Feb $190.00 + Mar $190.00 + April $190.00 +May $190.00 + June $190.00+July $190.00+Aug $190.00 +Sept $190.00 + Oct $190.00+ Nov $190.00= $2,090.00
•Total Over/Under on Year-To-Date Grocery Budget: $16.43 AVAILABLE << Not a huge amount left but it'll be enough 🙂
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2016 POINTS REDEEMED RESERVE:
2015 Fwd $0.00+Jan $4.69+ Feb $5.19+ Mar $0.00+ Apr $0.00 + May $4.69 + June $0.00+ July $0.00 + Aug $0.00+Sept $0.00 + Oct $0.00+Nov $0.00= $14.57
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2016 US GROCERY RESERVE:
2015 Fwd $0.00+Jan $45.00+Feb $45.00+ Mar -$59.58+ Apr $45.00+ May -$22.79 + June -$48.42 + July $45.00 + Aug $45.00+Sept $112.62 + Oct $62.37 +Nov $100.00= $286.61
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2016 RE-STOCKING RESERVE:
2015 Fwd $217.50+Jan -$49.65 + Feb -$140.69 + Mar $25.48 + Apr +
-$5.29+May -$9.70 +June $15.00+July -$41.81 + Aug $17.93+Sept $15.00 + Oct $30.00+Nov $15.00= $88.77
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2016 Y-T-D HOLIDAY SEASON RESERVE:
2015 Fwd $81.51+Jan $15.00 + Feb $11.61 +$15.00+ Apr $15.00 +May $20.00 + June $15.00+ July $15.00+ Aug $15.00+Sept $15.00 + Oct ($-15.19-$35.97 = -$51.16)= $166.96 + $130 worth of RCSS POINTS
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2016 Y-T-D SUMMER RESERVE:
2015 Fwd $100.00+ $537.50 Trf from Borscht Fund+Jan $15.00 + Feb $11.61+ Mar $0.00+Apr $15.00 + May -$51.21+ June $3.23 +July $7.62 +Aug (15.00-30.21=-$15.21)+ Sept $15.00= $638.54
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• SUMMARY OF FUNDS Y-T-D:
$ 2,090.00 Grocery Budget JAN-NOV
$ 14.57 Redeemed Points to Purchase Groceries
($ 428.59) ADDITION TO: Misc Reserves (Re-Stocking, Xmas & Summer)
$ 434.86 REDUCTION TO: Misc Reserves (Re-Stocking, Xmas & Summer)
($ 369.20) Trf to US Grocery Reserve Net of 2016 Spending
($ 14.57) Set in reserve to offset Redeemed Points
($ 1,711.80) Actual CASH SPENT
$ 16.43 AVAILABLE Y-T-D SPENDING
• VALUE POINTS REDEEMED Y-T-D:
$ 4.69 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – JAN
$ 5.19 Whole Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – FEB
$ 4.69 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – MAY
$ 14.57 Total $ Value of Points Redeemed
THE VALUE POINTS REDEEMED will be added to our Holiday Reserve next Christmas.
So far $1,900.00 has been budgeted Y-T-D for 2016 and we have recorded $888.47 of these funds as “spent” and in fact they have been “saved”:
$ 88.77 Freezer Re-Stocking Fund
$ 166.96 Holiday Season Fund + $130 PC Plus Avail.
$ 638.54 Summer Season Fund
$ 286.61 US Shopping Reserve
$ 14.37 Points Redeemed Reserve
OUR CURRENT TOTAL UNUSED RESERVES ARE $1,195.25. This means the $936.51 that we carried forward from 2015 PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $1,021.96 that we have added in 2016, LESS $763.22 that we have drawn out for use in 2016.
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The valid rain checks I hold are as follows:
None!
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This week’s BREAKFAST menu plan:
HUBBY: Earl Grey Tea with Lemon Juice + Bagels/English Muffins with fat free cream cheese spread, peanut butter or Cheez Whiz, toaster waffles, hot cross buns OR Rice Krispies cereal with skim milk
MYSELF: Tetley Tea with Skim Milk & Equal + yogurt, apples, bananas or hard boiled eggs
** Hot Breakfast is included at the hotel on Saturday and Sunday **
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This week’s LUNCH menu plan:
MON: Greek Salad & Buttered Onion Bagels for hubby / ½ Cantaloupe for me with a small Greek Salad
TUES: Philadelphia Cheese Steak Sandwiches with French Onion Soup for hubby / Hard Boiled Eggs with carrot & celery sticks
WED: Leftover Cabbage Rolls and buttered bread for hubby / Thai Chili Tuna stuffed celery sticks for me
THURS: Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwiches & French Onion Soup for hubby / Green Apple-Red Onion-Cauliflower-Walnut Salad for me
FRI: Ivar’s in Everett, WA
SAT: Olive Garden in Bellingham, WA
SUN: Bob’s Burgers & Brew in Lynden, WA
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This week’s DINNER menu plan:
MON: Sirloin Steak, Sauteed Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Yellow & Red Onion medley with dill for hubby / Chicken Boullion and 2 mini mandarins for me
TUES: Greek Salad
WED: Cheese & Mushroom Omelette with Roasted Potato-Carrot-Onion-Celery-Peppers
THURS: Greek Salad with Open Faced Tuna Melts
FRI: Red Lobster in Lynnwood, WA
SAT: Anniversary dinner at Outback Steakhouse in Burlington, WA
SUN: Vegetable Soup
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Hi Mary,
I love how you rebooked your hotel to save $40 to put towards dinner. That is something most people wouldn’t do but it really does add up doesn’t it? I look forward to reading your US shop as I’m amazed at some of the great bargains you pick up over there. How much do you normally pay for the tri-coloured peppers? The onions, cauliflower were a sweet deal for sure. Do you ever freeze your cauliflower or do you simply use it up out of the refrigerator? Ok, you really scored some awesome deals on vegetables this week, I’m impressed. I haven’t seen 0.88 tuna over here in a while. If we did I’d load up too as we love tuna salad in our house. I love your meal plan this week with all the steak, salads, tuna melts and soups. Awesome eats Mary!!! Well done. You get ballot #1 for November. 🙂 Keep on saving!!! Mr.CBB
Mr CBB…those bags or tri-color peppers (red, yellow, orange) were about 8 peppers in the bag so that’s a smoking good deal @ $2.98 per bag as they run about $2.98/lb at this time of year…hence I bought 2 bags!
Wait til you see next week’s post, I re-booked the hotel a second time to use points for one night and lowered our meal costs by 2 meals as well. We used coupons for drinks, meals, and earned more discount coupons for our next trip in about 3 weeks. 🙂
No I don’t freeze the cauliflower, I have a Split Pea & Cauliflower Soup and a Cheesy Cauliflower Soup coming up in the meal plan. It’ll be all gone after I make those. 🙂
I grow celery from the cut off base and green onions the same way. I grow herbs such as parsley and cilantro and romaine lettuce from the base. My condo windows face north so in winter I use grow lights in nearby lamps or place the growing herbs etc. in pots on side tables etc with lamps. I have trouble overwintering rosemary, I think I over water it and the living room might not be as warm as the plant needs.
I grow aloe vera also an important plant for treating burns with the gel.
Hi Penny,
Do you have any photos of your celery and green onions? I tried once and they started to grow but not to where I could eat anything substantial. Maybe I was doing something wrong. I love this article for that reason as I’d love to learn more about it. This was in the summer I tried this. I never thought to use lamps. Hmm.
I can take some photos. With celery you start with the root end soaked in about an inch of water for several days then planted in soil. The celery will start growing from the center with first leafy greens and later stocks. I cut the leafy greens and use them in salad and soups, The green onions are started from about 1 1/2 ” from the root end soaked in water several days then planted. They grow into regular green onions. I just cut the green tops off a few inches from the soil to use for cooking and salad. The green part keeps growing back. The Romaine lettuce is started the same as the celery.
That would be lovely Penny, thanks. That’s what I did with the celery. Ah, so you only get leafy greens. That’s what I did get, yes. I did that too with the green onions. It may have been where i was keeping them or I over-watered them. I’ll try again. I’d love to see your photos.
The celery will eventually grow stalks but it takes time. In the meantime I continue to cut and use the leafy green.. Will try to email photos tomorrow.
Brilliant thanks Penny.
The most common causes for seeds failing to germinate are planting them too deeply, planting in cold soil( unlike air, warms up very slowly), extremes of watering, improper soil preparation. It’s so hard to begin but it is fun to keep track of your seeds’ growth. I can not describe the feeling when I come back home and see some seeds sprout right before my eyes.
Week 45 – Nov 4 – 10, 2016
Name Your Store: St. Jacobs Apple Vendor
Total Coupons Used: $
Total Points =
Total Out Of Pocket: $8.00
Human
10 lb Golden Delicious Apples = $8.00
Name Your Store: Superstore
Total Coupons Used: $
Total Points =
Total Out Of Pocket: $36.57
Human
1 Kg Cheerios = $7.99
Cats
7.26 Kg Friskies 7-Flavour Dry Cat Food = $20.67
10 Cans Friskes Pate = $7.91
Grocery Game Challenge Results
Total Grocery Budget for the 2 Adults ($1890.00, for the pay period – $70.00)
Total Human (Adults) this Week Period: $15.99
Left for the Month: $124.01
Total Human (Adults) to Date: $1218.80
Total Grocery Budget for the 3 Cats ($364, for the pay period – $14.00)
Total Cats this Week Period: $28.58
Total Cats to Date: $269.98
Total Grocery Budget for Stockpile ($520)
Total Stockpile this Week Period: $
Total Stockpile to Date: $204.31
Total Grocery Budget for the Personal Hygiene ($182)
Total Personal Hygiene this Week Period: $
Total Personal Hygiene to Date: $230.16
Total Grocery Budget for Meat ($500.00)
Total Meat this Week Period: $
Total Meat to Date: $344.80
Total Coupons Used this Week Period: $
Total Coupons Used To Date: $27.96
Total Discounts/SCOP this Week Period: $
Total Discounts/SCOP to Date: $4.09
Total Checkout 51 rebates this Week Period: $0
Total Checkout 51 rebates to Date: $10.00
Total Snap rebates this Week Period: $0.00
Total Snap rebates to Date: $1.00
Total Price Match for this Week Period: $
Total Price Match to Date: $273.67
Total PC Points Received this Week Period:
Total PC Rewards Points Used this Week Period:
Total PC Rewards To Date: 26006
Overview: Spending another week using the food that we have in the house already without going out and purchasing ingredients that we don’t need yet. Yes, I run the risk of having to possibly purchase the ingredients at a higher price than what I could now. I’m willing to take that risk and it also shows how much we have in the house and what we can make from it. So this week, there wasn’t anything for the humans that was actually needed but rather all wanted. The cats needed to have some hard food as they were just about out and I’m not buying as much food for them as I used to.
Hi Dee,
That’s awesome that you are able to make so many meals from your pantry. That’s some smart shopping if you ask me. Great deal for the apples. Do you just eat them raw or do you bake with them? Keeping the kitties full is important. I’m sure they appreciate what you do for them. :)You get ballot #2. Happy Shopping Dee! Mr.CBB
I have lowered my food budget for November 2016 and hope that I can stick to it.
TOTAL food budget for 1 adult 190
160 for groceries
30 for bulk
November week #1 / 1-6
Calculated budget 32 for groceries
Name Your store Billa
Total OOP 3,78
2x whole grain sandwich 1,89
Name Your store Hofer
Total OOP 7,06
Cheddar 350g 2,69
French cheese 2,49
Liverwurst 1,19
Cucumber 0,69
Name Your store Spar
Total OOP 1.89
Whole Grain sandwich 1.89
Name Your store Hofer
Total OOP 17,52
3lbs organic potatoes 1,99
2 lbs apples 1,74
Celery 0,99
Organic tofu 350g 1,99
Twisted cheese sticks 0,99
Turkey ham 1,95
1 lbs brown mushrooms 1,49
2x raspberries 125g 1,29 (sale instead of 1,99)
Hard boiled eggs 1.49
1lbs seedless red Grapes 2,32
Summary
Bulk this month 30
Spent this week 0
Left to spend 30
Total in store discount 1,4
Groceries calculator this week 32
Groceries total spent this week 30,25
Total over/under this week under
Total over/under this month under
Total left to spend this month 129,75
Total spent to date July 235 August 170,34 September 148,94 October 118,74
Total spent to date bulk October 22,29
Carry over to next week 1,75 (groceries )
Meal plan
Egg salad sandwich
Cauliflower butter & breadcrumbs
Avocado toast
Overnight oats
Apple strudel
Final thoughts
Not bad. I didn’t use up everything from last week in October but was able to use it up before it got bad, same as this week I craved mushroom soup but didn’t get to cook it, so I make something next week, before I wrote everything down I sometimes forgot what was in the fridge and didn’t use it in time. COST me money which I am saving now. I am really happy that I was under the calculated budget this week, hopefully I can stick to it. I overestimated myself of how much food I need in a week, it was more that I wanted to buy that much. I have issues when my fridge is half empty or looks bare, even if I have cooked food that lasts me two more days I think about buying more. grocery shopping is addictive. …
Hi Christine,
I love when I hear that GGC fans can lower their budget. Sadly that won’t be the case for us as I think we will see an increase which is only fair as we have another mouth to feed. Food waste is a huge money gobbler so by eliminating it you save cash which is important. Sometimes we all overestimate what we need and we end up with too much and it keeps adding up, getting pushed to the back and then we have to worry about expiry dates. It’s an awful cycle. It’s best to buy what you need or think you will use up quickly with a nice stockpile of staples. I used to shop a few times a week when I lived in the UK. Moving to Canada was far different for me as we shop once a week and have a large refrigerator compared to my mini fridge back home. Funny you should say that about your refrigerator as my wife said the other day it’s nice to have a refrigerator that is not stuffed full. Funny how we all differ. Keep up the great work!!! What is the cauliflower, butter and breadcrumbs? Sounds interesting although my wife doesn’t use bread crumbs. I’m sure you’ll find you can smash this new budget. It’s a great amount for 1 person and think about the money you will be saving!! You get ballot #3. Happy Shopping Christine. Mr.CBB
The cauliflower dish is traditional food here. You just cook the cauliflower, melt the butter, add the breadcrumbs and salt and top the cauliflower with it. It’s easy and yummy and reminds me of home 🙂
I grow basil, celery, onion, and other easy to grow vegetables at home in our small garden. Aside from it helps us save some money, growing veggies has been an activity I and my kids do. It’s good that in this early stage, we teach them some responsibilities and I know this will bring fruitful results out of them.
That’s what we plan to do with our son as well. We don’t grow much now but our relatives have a massive garden so he see’s his grandparents gardening all the time in the summer.
November w#2 / 7-13
Calculated budget 37 eur
Name Your store Spar
Total OOP 1,99
Smoothie Pink 1,99 on sale (instead of 2,99)
Name Your store Hofer
Total OOP 8,30
Fish 2,79
Turkey ham 1,95
Lettuce 0,99
Red Grapes 1,67
Twisted cheese sticks 0,99
Name Your store Hofer
Total OOP 14,56
Bulk 5,53
4lbs oranges 1,79 (b)
Shredded mozzarella 1,89
1lbs ground beef/pork mix 2,99
2lbs zucchini 1,69
2 cans tomatoes 0,45 (b)
Parsley 0.89
3lbs organic onions 1,69 (b)
Bananas 1,07
Cherry preserves 1,15 (b)
Rye bread 2,39
1l organic soy milk 1,35
Eggs 2,29
Name Your store Natur & Reform
Total OOP 1,49
Bulk 6,77
Soup 1,49
2 cans chickpeas 1,69b (b)
1lbs farro semolina 3,39 (b)
Name Your store DM
Total OOP 0,9
Carrot juice 0,90
Summary
Bulk this month 30
Spent this week 12,30
Left to spend 17,70
Groceries calculated this week 37
Groceries spent this week 27,24
Total in store discount 1,00
Total over / under this week under
Total over / under this month under
(30,25 + 27,24 = 57,49)
Total left to spend 102,51
Meal plan
Meatloaf
Mushroom pate
Grilled cheese w tomato soup
Raspberry muffins
Muesli smoothie
Final thoughts
Yeah. Two weeks under with the lowered budget, it rocks. I still have food in the fridge I can eat and cook with next week, awesome. This week I relocated my surplus to cleaning supplies. Can’t have cash lying around with no purpose. I love to have money left from grocery shopping. It’s really motivating.
Hi Christine
I love your enthusiasm!! The great thing about the GGC is that you get to challenge yourself and you’re certainly playing it right. This is what it’s all about and if you want to save money keep on doing it. I’m certain that the 5 or 6 of us that have been posting here for the past 5 years can all tell you the same thing. What do you use your chickpeas for? Have you ever bought dry beans? I find they are cheaper and we hydrate them in the crockpot. Keep at it… impressed for sure! You get ballot #4. MR.CBB
Hi, I have dried chickpeas at home but sometimes I want to forego the thinking ahead stage and have the canned ones for that purpose, although I admit that they don’t taste as good. I like to use beans as a protein source in soups , sometimes I blend them in and sometimes I use them instead of croutons. I roast the chickpeas in the oven with spices until crispy and throw them in the soup just before serving. They also make a delicious snack.