THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS WHY WE SHOULD BE MINDFUL OF THE FOODS WE PUT INTO OUR BODY.
We hear the term ‘real food’ splashed around social media constantly and grocery stores market fresh organic produce and other products to entice shoppers to consider what they eat. My father-in-law swears by his garden and says nothing beats organic produce but consumers may find they get lost in translation towards the food industry.
What’s good? What’s not good? Costs? Health?
Grocery shopping for the most part seems like a simple chore but many consumers are left wondering what they should and shouldn’t be eating. You might be reading this right now and not give a rats a$$ about real food and eat whatever you want and that’s fine. Your choice.
Are we mindful enough of the food we put into our bodies or do we shop for quantity over quality?
In our house it’s a bit of both although it truly depends on the person behind the grocery list and the grocery budget. Cooking skills are a must as are the ability to follow recipes or even create your own. If cooking isn’t your thing you might struggle with real food unless you opt for a raw diet which is healthy but also tough to transition to without a strict mindset.
During the major couponing years for us from 2010-2013 we bought TONNES of stuff to stockpile, including food. There was so much stuff that I had to build shelves to stock everything on. Looking back we went for quantity over quality because saving money was our goal. Now we realize that we want to save money and protect our health as well which means we eat better and exercise daily.
Although many consumers still coupon and from my understanding can still extreme coupon in Canada we fell out of that loop when companies put strict rules on coupons and we changed the way we ate. There are still awesome coupons out there for household products and foods which we take advantage of when needed but stockpiling large amounts of food is a thing of the past for us.
What is Real Food?
Real food is simply products that aren’t being processed and packaged full of preservatives for human consumption. They end up being cheaper and may stretch the dollar but not necessarily the best products for healthy eating. Real food is homegrown gardening, organic gardening or simply eating homemade foods from all the food groups.
You can find real food simply by shopping the perimeter of the grocery store which we have all been told a million times but find hard to do. In reality those aisles offer products that are needed for every pantry which means a trip down the aisles is not an option, it’s a must for many shoppers.
Many people find real food outside of the traditional supermarket and opt for health food grocery stores. Each week we always have one or two grocery flyers for local shops that sell nothing but organic products to the public. There are always weekly deals but in essence you’ll pay more for real food then you will for processed foods depending on how you plan your grocery list.
Building a pantry via grocery sales is a step in the right direction towards lowering food costs especially if your goal is to cut processed foods out and incorporate more real food. Ideally, it sounds great to enjoy a diet of healthy, real food but not everyone can do this.
Science to Genetically Modified Foods
Real food has expanded from simple gardening to a scientific level. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) foods used to grow GM foods which helps prolong expiry, lessen bruising, ripen slower, resist damage due to weather and insects, grow easier, produce more, longer transportation times and may include additives and preservatives.
Making small changes lead to bigger rewards, for everyone.
Related: Understanding Genetically Modified Foods In Ontario
Foods that are Genetically modified do not need to be labelled in Canada so you won’t know what you are buying even though Health Canada says it’s healthy for you and our environment. You may find product labels that state they are GMO free to increase marketing for those interested in buying.
Real Food and Grocery Budget
I believe there has to be a balance especially for those families with a limited grocery income and need to stretch food and funds. I’d love to eat seafood and organic produce year round but we’d have to do shuffling of our shopping list to incorporate this which is fine.
We may not be able to afford organic all the time but if there is a sale and it fits we will buy it. Eliminating real food for packaged foods should never be an option. This may mean you have to eat less to build a pantry or freezer stash but most people typically eat more than their bodies require anyhow.
Garden your way to Real Food
You may even know friends who have a farm or large garden who would be more than happy to pass along organic produce that they can’t finish. Just recently we did that with the harvest from the in-laws garden. It’s a garden for 100 but for 2 people. That should give you some sign about how much real food is grown each summer.
Over the years there have been many articles written on CBB about growing a garden whether it be in a small space, gardening in pots or on a plot of land where you rent a portion for personal use. The past few years we’ve shopped in our in-laws garden since we haven’t been able to put one together with our son and my work.
Related: How to start your Fall Garden
What I find interesting is that I’m hearing about more consumers tinkering in gardening opting to grow organic produce themselves and head to local shops and farms rather than buying it at the grocery store. More shoppers opt to shop online for specialty products such as low-carb, gluten-free because it’s cheaper and ships for free most times.
We’re hoping to start-up our small garden again in 2018 along with more herbs because we know the benefits and the taste is far superior to anything you’d buy elsewhere.
Just recently a marketplace investigation found that some farmers who claim that their produce is homegrown is not in fact their own. What they do is have produce shipped to them, stickers removed and sold as their own. These alarm bells are worrisome for consumers because we don’t know what we are getting. Are we buying organic? Is it really homegrown?
Related: Marketplace Investigation Farmers Markets- People are being duped: Homegrown lies at farmers markets
Ideally, the only way to combat the ‘Is it or is it not organic’ issue is to grow real food yourself.
Sugar-Free Living
I was speaking to Mrs. CBB’s cousin last week when she was visiting about healthy eating and real food and was shocked to hear that she never gave her kids sugar until they were older.
Not only did she forget about sugar but just recently now that the kids are older they have gone gluten-free for all meals. This means she spends time in the kitchen cooking and baking but she loves the results and so does her family. Having chickens on her land has also offered her fresh eggs daily along with harvest from the garden.
I wish we could have done that for our son because now he knows what sugar is and wants it often. One thing he is not a big fan of is carbs and does not eat candy. It’s not easy saying no to a child but in reality it’s best we do especially when it comes to sugary snacks and processed foods.
One of the easiest ways to do that is to offer foods that are fresh, flavourful and fun to eat. Although our son gets the odd chocolate chip muffin from Tim Hortons and eats cookies as part of a snack we’ve moved towards more real food and cutting sugars from his diet.
Snacks consist of chopped apples, pears, bananas, homemade apple sauce, sugar-free cookies, cucumber slices, plain yogurt with berries etc. Real food introduction is possible at any age so don’t be discouraged if you think it’s not something that will work. You never know unless you try.
Recently we’ve had our son to his grandparents farm where he helped harvest tomatoes, green peppers, broccoli, Brussels, cabbage, grapes, figs, apples and green beans. He loved it and brought along his harvest truck to fill up as part of his process. This was just a way we made it fun for him and it worked.
Don’t go into Real Food Shock
What I’ve learned about the real food world is that it’s nice to have but for many it’s about balancing a budget and making sure there is enough food to last x amount of days. What I would suggest doing if your aim is to start moving towards a real food diet is to slowly eliminate products you can live without.
Changing food habits can be tough especially for kids who may be used to pizza pops, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, crackers, frozen fries etc. Drinking more water and less juice and pop is a big challenge but certainly worth it for everyone including children. Alternatively you could introduce nut juices for the family which are inexpensive when on sale.
If you make even the smallest of changes to your diet to include more real food the benefits will far outweigh not doing it at all. Encouraging family to help in the kitchen preparing meals may also uplift their food spirits when meals are introduced with more vegetables, meat/fish/chicken and so on. You may also find that eating real food will fill you up and keep you satisfied longer instead of eating carb-rich foods that go in and go out of the body causing food cravings.
Taking Real Food into your own Hands
If you typically buy 3 bags of Doritos at $2.99 a bag consider chopping that from the grocery list and making your own.
You don’t have to buy organic to eat real food even though so may beg to differ. Yes organic is best but for those that don’t have the budget or availability amp up your grocery list and get cooking.
- YES it will take time
- YES it will taste different (but better)
- YES it will be healthier for you
Instead buy a bag of potatoes or harvest your own and make homemade chips baked in the oven. It takes no time at all and the results are superior.
You can even enjoy dill pickle chips, kale chips, beet chips, zucchini chips, sweet potato chips all of which are healthier versions of traditional bagged chips. Learn to love and explore different flavours in the kitchen.
Saving money by creating homemaderecipes helps to spread money in your budget so you can spend more on something else when needed.
Tip: Always check the reduced rack in the produce section of your grocery store for deals!
Real Food Grocery Shopping Guide
Discussion Question: How do you incorporate real food into your diet?
October Grocery Game Challenge
Join in the 2017 Grocery Game Challenge (GGC) fun and post your grocery shop in the comment section of each GGC blog post. Here are The Grocery Game Challenge rules to get you started and where you’ll also find a link for the 2017 GGC schedule. Please feel free to download, save and even print the schedule.
Post your shop and you can be next.
Note: Due to a family emergency I was away from the blog which meant the last GGC post was not published. Simply post your grocery shop for the last week of September in the comments below for your ballot as long as I know it’s for September. I will post a winner after they are in.
New monthly prize: See the Grocery Game Rules
- The Ultimate Pantry Essentials For Fall Cooking
- How Thieves Scam The Self-Checkout System
- How a Grocery Store Scammer Gets Away with it
Free Money Saving Tools 2017
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 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 2017
Everything you want to know about grocery shopping in Canada is packed into this amazing FREE grocery shopping guide that has taken over 5 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.
2017 Grocery Shop Results
Yearly grocery budget for two + 1 Toddler 2017: $3180 or $265/month (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: $265
- Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs $265
- Total Gift Cards used to date: $0
- Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
- Total Rewards Points used to date: $0
- PC Points Plus Earned to date: 646,000
- Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0
- Shoppers Optimum: 983,000 O.M.G
Coupon Apps (add any other apps you use to save money)
- Zweet to cash out : $18.25… no idea where the money went but it seems we have $0.
- Checkout51 to cash out : $24.50 we cashed out so we’re back at O.
Our Grocery Shop This Week
Foodland
- Pastrami and Turkey Carl Buddig Sale $0.99 each (earned 5 Air Miles yay)
- 2 x Whole Natural Almonds $1.00 each saved $4.00 each
- Unico Olives $1.99 saved $1.00
- Salad kit Dole Sale $3.99 saved $1.50
- Caesar Salad dressing Sale $1.99 saved $1.00
Total Out-of-pocket $12.00
Shoppers Drug Mart
- 2% Milk 4LSealtest
Total Out-of-pocket $4.27
Metro
- Organic Strawberries $4.99
- Whole Wheat Bread $1.99 Dempsters
- 2 x organic cucumbers $3.00
- 7 x Selection Bacon Sale $2.99 $20.93 stockpile
- End cuts of deli meat $1.20
Total Out-of-pocket $11.18
All totals below already have tax factored into them.
- Total to spend this month : $265
- Stockpile budget 2016 : $25.00/month
- Stockpile budget used this month: $20.93
- Total coupons used this week: $0
- Total coupons used to date: $1
- Total in-store discounts this week: $0
- Total in-store discounts to date: $699.44
- Total spent this week: $27.45
- Total spent so far this month: $27.45
- Total over/Under spend this shop: under
- Total over/Under spend for the month: n/a
- Total left to spend for the month: $237.55
- Total Spent To Date 2017: (does not include stockpile budget) Jan $231.06+Feb $255.16+March ($5 budget increase) $263.60 + April $273.83+ May $257.15 + June $65.43+July $226.84+August $283.51+September $208.69+ October $
Weekly Overview (your final thoughts)
The past week and a half has seen us eating out more since we aren’t expecting anyone to cook given the circumstances with my father-in-law. Breakfast has been eggs and bacon and lunch and dinner we’ve eaten bits and bobs from the refrigerator, freezer and garden.
With my father-in-law dying in the hospital I’ve driven back and forth to see him and my family so I decided to put the blog on hold until I am in a stable environment. Right now I’m all over the place. As mentioned above simply post your grocery shop from the missed GGC post in the comments below for September and make sure it’s labelled so I know to put your ballot in the September draw and not October. Thanks.
Coupons and Coupon Apps
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
- Reebee
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 2017?
Plus check out these other hidden areas online to get more coupons!!
If any of the links below don’t open properly please report them to my email address or use comment form.
- 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 2017 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 to reflect changes for the 2017 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-$20-$50 PC Loblaws Gift Card and for our out of country friends it’s $CDN via PayPal. Please see GGC rules.
- 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 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 is one of the most popular hang out spots for people who want to save money on groceries.
If you’ve just joined The Grocery Game Challenge 2017 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 2017!
-Mr.CBB
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SEPTEMBER – Week #4 of 4- Sept 25-Oct 1, 2017
2017 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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COMMENTS FOR THE MONTH:
Since this is the last week of the month, I am transferring the $5.51 remaining in our available grocery funds over to the GGC reserve.
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
This is a LOW SHOP WEEK and since hubby & I are both having some health issues, I have abandoned using a meal plan for this week. When we had the chance to save $62.88 on soup for the winter by spending only $16.08…you bet I took it!!!
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OUR “CANADIAN” SHOPPING:
Save On Foods – East End of Maple Ridge –
12 x 796 ml can Habitant Pea Soup @ $3.29 ea –Price Matched with No
Frills @ $0.97 ea Less $0.30 ea with a More Rewards card
discount => $0.67 per can = $8.04
Total Regular Grocery OOP: $0.00
Total Re-Stocking Reserve OOP: $8.04
** Earned 8 MORE Points on this shop **
** SAVED $0.00 in Rain Check Coupons **
** SAVED $31.44 Loyalty Savings on this shop **
—————————————————————–
Save On Foods – West End of Maple Ridge –
12 x 796 ml can Habitant Pea Soup @ $3.29 ea –Price Matched with No
Frills @ $0.97 ea Less $0.30 ea with a More Rewards card
discount => $0.67 per can = $8.04
Total Regular Grocery OOP: $0.00
Total Re-Stocking Reserve OOP: $8.04
** Earned 8 MORE Points on this shop **
** SAVED $0.00 in Rain Check Coupons **
** SAVED $31.44 Loyalty Savings on this shop **
===============================================================================================
OUR “US RESERVE” SHOPPING:
OUR NEXT USA SHOP IS SCHEDULED FOR OCT 15th
===============================================================================================
2017 Y-T-D GROCERY SAVINGS:
•Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions This Year: $218.08
•Total Coupons/Rain Checks Used This Year: $0.00
•Total Price Match Savings Used This Year: $0.00
•Total More Points Earned This Year: 324 Points
•Total Air Miles Earned This Year: 53 Air Miles
•Total PC PLUS Points Earned This Year: 20,000 Points
•Total Optimum Points Earned This Year: 4,100 Points
===============================================================================================
• SUMMARY OF FUNDS Y-T-D:
$ 1,710.00 Grocery Budget JAN-SEPT
($ 211.06) NET RESERVE SAVINGS
($1,498.94) Actual CASH SPENT
$ 0.00 AVAILABLE Y-T-D GGC SPENDING NOT INCL RESERVES
• RESERVES Y-T-D:
$ 288.76 Re-Stocking Fund
$ 155.70 Holiday Season Fund + $200 RCSS POINTS + $10 Dream Air Miles.
$ 634.59 Summer Season Fund
$ 366.87 US Shopping Reserve
$ 39.98 GGC Savings Reserve
$ 0.00 Points Redeemed Reserve
OUR CURRENT TOTAL UNUSED RESERVES ARE $1,485.90. This means the $1,274.44 that we carried forward from 2016 PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $1,094.36 that we have added in 2017, LESS $882.90 that we have drawn out for use in 2017.
===============================================================================================
Hi Mary,
Was the turkey you purchased pre-cooked, stuffed or do you have to do all of that still? Seems like a great price for 5kg. At first glance I thought there was no way you paid $3.29 for 12 cans of Habitant soup until I noticed you Pm’d them. It amazes me how expensive they are and how cheap they can go when on sale. I hope you are both feeling a bit better. Great shop! You get ballot #5 September. Mr.CBB
Ya, the soup was a steal at $0.67 a can!
The turkey was frozen without stuffing but I need gluten free stuffing so I’m making it anyway. 🙂
I’d say, can’t beat that price unless you get it for Free!
OCTOBER – Week #1 of 5- Oct 2-8, 2017
2017 GROCERY BUDGET / STOCKPILE BUDGET AND US RESERVE:
•Total Grocery Budgeted For Year: $190.00 x 12 = $2,280.00 for 2 adults
===============================================================================================
REMARKS FOR THE MONTH:
Before we start our OCTOBER shopping off, I am going to make my “reserve” transfers:
Grocery:
$ 190.00 for the month
($ 75.00) trf to re-stocking – normally $15.00
($ 15.00) trf to holiday reserve–normally 15.00
($ 15.00) trf to summer reserve–normally 15.00
($ 55.00) trf to US Reserve –normally $45.00
CANADIAN Grocery Balance $30.00
===============================================================================================
COMMENTS FOR THE MONTH:
We have a couple of weekend road trips planned this month so I figure we’ll do our main shop sometime mid-month. How much food do your really need when you can’t do much cooking if you hope to avoid waste? I figure if I cook 2-3 times a week this month and we eat the leftovers for the other nights… we’re golden.
You’ll note that I decreased my Re-Stocking Reserve transfer this month to add some additional funds to the US Shopping Reserve because I plan to shop on both sides of the border again this month.
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
This is a LOW SHOP WEEK since our plan for our Thanksgiving is to treat ourselves to the Seniors 3-Course Dinner Special at Ricky’s on Thanksgiving Monday. I have priced it out and it’s actually cheaper for the two of us to eat there than do the whole production at home.
I did however pick up a frozen turkey to cook up for sandwich fixings & to make a turkey pot pie soup…I simply couldn’t turn down the price!
===============================================================================================
OUR “CANADIAN” SHOPPING:
Walmart – Maple Ridge –
1 x 5 Kg frozen turkey $10.00
• TOTAL Grocery Budget OOP: $10.00
===============================================================================================
OUR “US RESERVE” SHOPPING:
OUR NEXT USA SHOP IS SCHEDULED FOR MID-OCTOBER
===============================================================================================
2017 Y-T-D GROCERY SAVINGS:
•Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions This Year: $218.08
•Total Coupons/Rain Checks Used This Year: $0.00
•Total Price Match Savings Used This Year: $0.00
•Total More Points Earned This Year: 324 Points
•Total Air Miles Earned This Year: 53 Air Miles
•Total PC PLUS Points Earned This Year: 20,000 Points
•Total Optimum Points Earned This Year: 4,100 Points
===============================================================================================
• SUMMARY OF FUNDS Y-T-D:
$ 1,900.00 Grocery Budget JAN-OCT
($ 371.06) NET RESERVE SAVINGS
($1,508.94) Actual CASH SPENT
$ 20.00 AVAILABLE Y-T-D GGC SPENDING NOT INCL RESERVES
• RESERVES Y-T-D:
$ 363.76 Re-Stocking Fund
$ 170.70 Holiday Season Fund + $200 RCSS POINTS + $10 Dream Air Miles.
$ 649.59 Summer Season Fund
$ 421.87 US Shopping Reserve
$ 39.98 GGC Savings Reserve
$ 0.00 Points Redeemed Reserve
OUR CURRENT TOTAL UNUSED RESERVES ARE $1,645.90. This means the $1,274.44 that we carried forward from 2016 PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $1,254.36 that we have added in 2017, LESS $882.90 that we have drawn out for use in 2017.
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Hi Mary,
Ah that must be the 5kg turkey you bought for $10. I wouldn’t turn it down either. I think it’s great that you are both going out for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. No point doing all that cooking for 2 when you can sit back and enjoy the day together. Oh, I just realized that the turkey is on this shop not the other. I must have scrolled up the post too far into this one and thought it was part of the last post for Sept. Oops. Have a Happy Thanksgiving Mary and Larry. Mr. and Mrs. CBB. 🙂 You get ballot #1 October.
Week 36 – Sept 22 – 28, 2017
Name Your Store: St. Jacob Farmer’s Market
Total Coupons Used: $
Total Points =
Total Out Of Pocket: $12
Human
6 PB Cookies
6 Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 Cherry Pie
1 WW Bread
Name Your Store: Wal-mart
Total Coupons Used: $
Total Points =
Total Out Of Pocket: $8.04
Human
4L 2% Milk = $4.27
450 g Marble Cheese = $3.77
Cats
No Shop
Grocery Game Challenge Results
Total Grocery Budget for the 2 Adults ($1820.00, for the pay period – $70.00)
Total Human (Adults) this Week Period: $20.04
Total Human (Adults) to Date: $1,149.99 (minus Debt pymt & Gift Cards) = $1,003.60
Total Grocery Budget for the 3 Cats ($364, for the pay period – $14.00)
Total Cats this Week Period: $
Total Cats to Date: $248.65
Total Grocery Budget for Stockpile ($507.69)
Total Stockpile this Week Period: $
Total Stockpile to Date: $163.05
Total Grocery Budget for the Personal Hygiene ($182)
Total Personal Hygiene this Week Period: $10.09
Total Personal Hygiene to Date: $202.63
Total Grocery Budget for Meat ($499.98)
Total Meat this Week Period: $
Total Meat to Date: $391.90
Total Coupons Used this Week Period: $
Total Coupons Used To Date: $18.99
Total Grocery Savings for this Week Period: $
Total Grocery Savings to Date: $69.15
Total Price Match for this Week Period: $
Total Price Match to Date: $48.67
Total PC Points Received this Week Period:
Total PC Rewards Points Used this Week Period:
Total PC Rewards To Date: 10,046
Overview: Didn’t need much this week.
Hi Dee,
I bet the market has been busy leading up to Thanksgiving. I would have loved to make it over to the market but with everything going on in the family we haven’t had time. Our plans was to bring our son to pick some apples but that never happened either. Ah well, next year. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Joanne. You get ballot #6. Last shop of Sept. Mr.CBB.
Week 37 – Sept 29 – Oct 5, 2017
Name Your Store: Food Basics
Total Coupons Used: $
Total Points =
Total Out Of Pocket: $33.89
Cats
9.1 Kg Cat Food = $33.89
Name Your Store: Zehrs
Total Coupons Used: $3.49
Total Points =
Total Out Of Pocket: $28.58
Human
5 cans Tuna = $6.25
500 g Baking Soda = $1.19
4 L 2% Milk = $4.27
Bananas – 1.250 Kg = $1.57
Cinnamon Raisin Bread = $3.50
Cats
180 g Whiskas Temptation – $3.49 (Coupon = $3.49) = $0.45
18 Kg NN Cat Litter = $10.16
500 g Baking Soda = $1.19
Grocery Game Challenge Results
Total Grocery Budget for the 2 Adults ($1820.00, for the pay period – $70.00)
Total Human (Adults) this Week Period: $16.78
Total Human (Adults) to Date: $1,166.77 (minus Debt pymt & Gift Cards) = $1,020.38
Total Grocery Budget for the 3 Cats ($364, for the pay period – $14.00)
Total Cats this Week Period: $45.69
Total Cats to Date: $294.34
Total Grocery Budget for Stockpile ($507.69)
Total Stockpile this Week Period: $
Total Stockpile to Date: $163.05
Total Grocery Budget for the Personal Hygiene ($182)
Total Personal Hygiene this Week Period: $10.09
Total Personal Hygiene to Date: $202.63
Total Grocery Budget for Meat ($499.98)
Total Meat this Week Period: $
Total Meat to Date: $391.90
Total Coupons Used this Week Period: $3.49
Total Coupons Used To Date: $22.48
Total Grocery Savings for this Week Period: $
Total Grocery Savings to Date: $69.15
Total Price Match for this Week Period: $
Total Price Match to Date: $48.67
Total PC Points Received this Week Period:
Total PC Rewards Points Used this Week Period:
Total PC Rewards To Date: 10,514
Overview: Didn’t need much this week.
Hi Dee,
The cats cost more this week then your human grocery shopping, hehe! I wish we needed this little for our shops. You must both do very well eating the pantry before stocking up again. We’re working on doing this for the rest of the year if we can. Keep at it, almost done! You get ballot # 2 October. Mr.CBB
WOW—love that tip! Thank you for some inspiration.