{the camera went MIA yesterday afternoon while I was at the store. Pretend you see a photo of my groceries here.}
I think we’re going to make it, folks. I’ve got $35 left in my grocery envelope and we’re set on milk, cheese, produce, etc until Wednesday when I make my OAMC Shopping trip. I’m amazed that we did so well this month on the Eat from the Pantry Challenge.
I was even more amazed when the checker at Henry’s told me my total was $9.92! I got 4 chicken breasts, 10 pounds of potatoes, 1 1/2 pounds of broccoli crowns, cilantro, green onions, roma tomatoes, and 2 avocados. Nothing purchased with coupons, nothing processed, no junk food. Just goes to show you what you can do with loss leaders.
Over at Walmart I scored four bottles of red wine vinegar for $.76 each. They had little hang tags good or $1 off. How’s that for keeping my eyes peeled for coupons?
Going back to envelopes has been extremely eye-opening for me. We’ve cut our grocery spending in half — at least by paying in cold hard cash (as opposed to the debit card). It’s a little more work, but hopefully a little more rewarding in the bank account.
How are doing with your grocery spending these days? Are there any changes you’d like to make in this new year?
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I am glad you had so much success with going to the envelope system. I have been talking about it with my DH, but he is a bit reluctant. Showing your post to him might help convince him. Thanks!
We are not doing well with the grocery shopping at all but, we were rationing around the holidays so, we have been restocking.
Congratulation great job. I am this month so far $120 for groceries for 4. Keep going.
Lenka
http://www.savingsblogs.blogspot.com
I got the same vinegar on sale at Wal-Mart. I was so excited! I’m 180 miles from the nearest store, so it’s really fun when I find a super good deal when I make it there.
Love thoses prices….it’s a little more expensive up here in Canada but you just have to be on the lookout for good deals and be willing to take advantage of coupons when they are available…I have been doing the pantry challenge and have cut my grocery bill in half from $200 every 2 weeks to less than $100..I have 2 teenage athletes so my protein purchases may be higher than some..Love our blog, keep up the good work
I love this post and I love coupons
You are amazing and inspiring!
We’ve gone away from the cash envelopes for a while, but I think I want to start fresh with them in February. I think it will definitely help to “control” our spending and make us more aware… the debit card is just too easy to pull out!
Well I have to admit we did well the first week and last week, but the 2nd week sort of blew my budget. Our goal was to spend $30 a week on groceries, including any pantry freebies or cheaps under $1 at the grocery store. Then the store had a huge sale on cheese, something we can never keep in stock at the house, and I stocked up on it. We too are doing the cash envelope system and I really love it. I’ll be increasing our weekly grocery budget to $50 next month and think it will be completely enough for our current needs. Thanks for the encouragement!
I’m finding things are not going as well as I had hoped. We were $80 up for the month of January- I was excited to sink that $ into some meat from the butcher to stock the freezer downstairs. But, alas, this past week we’ve used some of that money for things that we mis-judged in the budget. January isn’t quite over, and February gives us another chance to try again, but the excitment has dwindled. Que sera, sera.
YAY!! I discovered the same thing about cutting our grocery budget in half after going to cash. It really is eye-opening! How exciting!!!
Thanks a LOT for your posts, which a very good friend of mine has recently brought to my attention.
I prepared my little enveloppes yesterday, and went shopping this morning. It worked perfectly and I’m absolutely positive it will allow my family to save a lot of Euros (I’m French, living in France, Europe). It is really eye-opening, even for my kids who were shopping with me.
Thank you for sharing!
Bonjour, Flo! Bienvenue! So glad to hear that this system is working for you.
I like your writing style and advice. I love the fact that you share your successes and allow us to know that we aren’t the only ones who need to improve from time to time.
That said. We are doing great on grocery buying and staying within budget. I was doing pretty well. Blogs like yours help me tweak it and not get bored with the frugalness of it all! The Pantry Challenge is so helpful because it requires me to really THINK about what I have and what I need in a more creative manner.
I love that you mention past posts like “loss leaders” so if I haven’t read it I can go back and read.
And with that… I’ll say THANK YOU!
Congrats on your success!
I’ve enjoyed reading all the updates from everyone in the challenge! Although we have basically been eating from our pantry (and freezer) for almost four months now, it’s about time to start stockpiling it back up! Guess we’ll all have to share deals with each other over the next couple months! 
Wow.. that’s some great shopping!
I’m doing pretty good! I set aside $200 for the week (family of 6) and i’ve spent about half.. will have to double check. I’m going to start with the “Jar System” (same as envies pretty much) next week and try to cut back on groceries… really have to stick to meal plannng though, that seems to be the only way for me to really stay on track!
I am joining your challenge! And a couple of my blog friends have decided to start it with me. I need to join. I spend way too much money stockpiling :\
Thanks for being such a huge inspiration!
I’m excited to still be keeping on track with my goal to spend under $40 a week! This is $10 less than our normal budget, which isn’t a big difference, I know – but every little bit that goes to paying back the new car is something!
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My budget for a family of 3 (with 3 pets) for the month was $400. That sounds like a LOT compared to y’all, but I had to start somewhere. That’s about $200 down from usual. So, $100 a week. Today I made my last trip for the month- and my total for Jan was $395. I’m pretty excited about that. Maybe for Feb. I will try $75 a month. Maybe not
@Tina, that should be $75 a week- NOT month. I wish