The March Madness Grocery Budget

Let the madness begin, but I’m not talking about basketball. Some friends and I have decided for each of us to come up with a “personal challenge” for the month of March. My challenge is to plan our meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) from the current (as of today) pantry and freezer items we have on hand. I have only allowed $20 a week to supplement with fresh dairy, veggies or bread.

That’s it! $20 bucks a week for food for the entire month of March. I have already put this weeks $20 in my grocery envelope. This challenge will not include purchases of medicines or medical supplies, gas or work related expenses, or the occasional bottle of corona with lime. Food products only. Right now my pantry, fridge and freezers are pretty well stocked, so honestly I think we’ll be just fine.

I do have a trip planned for March, and the challenge will not be in effect during that time. But I do want to keep meal expense to a minimum. I’ll let you know how that works out.

I’ll post the meals (hopefully with pics) and grocery purchases weekly for accountability.

The thing about a challenge of any kind is that it’s a reminder for you to stay focused on the end goal. I feel pretty good knowing that we’ll be ok on $20 a week for groceries but having that challenge makes sure I’m not just mindlessly stopping at the store because I feel like having whatever for dinner, or because I haven’t planned ahead.

Would you like to join in? What personal challenge or goal do you want to reach in March? It doesn’t have to be grocery budget related. It could be anything you want it to be like exercise, drinking enough water, not drinking sodas, cutting back on sugar, or writing in your gratitude journal, helping others, organizing your living space….. it can be anything. I’d love to hear about it.

Till Next Time,

Lori

I Love My Tervis Cup

Every weekday I use my Tervis cup to carry tea to work and then I continue to fill it with water through out the day. But, sadly one morning before leaving for work I sat my cup on top of the car and it slid off and broke the lid. Not Cool!

I’m a creature of habit, and I know that comfort is very important to me also. We all know that water consumption is one of the key elements to good health and I probably fill my 24 oz water cup 4 or 5 times a day. I have tried drinking from different cups and bottled water and it’s just not the same which results in me not drinking enough water.

So, off to Bed Bath and Beyond I went with coupon in hand and purchased a new lid for my Tervis cups. (I have 2 that I alternate between, one was a gift and one I purchased at a thrift store in Texas for $1) Anyway…. I was making conversation with the clerk ringing me up and told her about the cup falling off the hood of the car and that I was lucky only the lid had broken. She said “Tervis cups have a lifetime warranty, you could just bring it back here for replacement” I said, “I didn’t buy the cup here”, and she said “That’s ok, we can still replace it for you”

Now, while I’m not real keen on returning something back to a store I did not purchase it from, I do think contacting the manufacturer would be a good alternative. Oh, and the warranty does not cover the lids.

These cups retail for around $25 so for a creature of habit like myself to continue to get the proper amount of water in daily, this guarantee is good news. Very Cool!

Also noted, I could have just flipped the cup over to see that it reads “lifetime guarantee” Ahem (eyes rolling), not exactly a lightbulb moment for me 🙂

I’m often guilty of not considering manufacturers warranties before replacing something. This is a good lesson for me to start doing that. Or even better considering the company’s reputation and warranty policy prior to making purchases. I certainly would pay a higher price for something of better quality and lifetime warranty.

Drink up friends!!! By the way, the reason the water in my cup looks a little brown is because it had a little leftover tea in the cup when I filled it up. It’s not bourbon, I promise 😉

Till Next Time,

Lori

Grocery Shopping Pic

I’ve always wanted to do this. I don’t know why, but for some reason other bloggers grocery pictures have always interested me. I guess I’m just nosy like that.

We recently got a new Aldi store in town and this weekend I got a chance to shop there. It’s definitely different, but that’s not a bad thing. I had been hearing that their prices on fresh produce was good, so I wanted to check it out. I spent $27.35 for

2 bags of frozen edamame
pack of 4 zucchini
2 jars of artichoke hearts in water
2 large bags of carrots
bag of 6 small cucumbers
bag of navel oranges
bag of sweet peppers
2 bags of sunflower seeds
bag of celery stalk
3 avocado (I love that the avocado is 59¢ each)
1 container of mushrooms

I went to Kroger and spent $28.24 for

2 boxes of gluten free waffles (we do not have a gluten allergy, we just like these waffles)
1 jar of organic natural peanut butter
1 large bag of frozen pineapple (that was $11.49, but I had a $2 coupon)
2 containers of organic lettuce
1 container of cherry tomatoes
2 cans of olives (another coupon)

I always price shop Wal-Mart and Kroger, and the only store that isn’t in my line of daily travel is Aldi. I don’t know if I’ll travel across town that often to save a few dollars, but if I’m in the area I’ll definitely take advantage of it and bring my bags. Aldi doesn’t give you grocery bags by the way, which is fine because my trunk is full of reusable bags all the time.

I do like the accountability of this post in keeping the grocery budget in check. I suppose all those other smart bloggers were on to something when they started posting pics of their groceries.

Have you shopped at Aldi? What do you think of it?

Till Next Time,

Lori

Five Frugal Things

There is a blog I follow that I really enjoy and get a lot of great frugal ideas from. The Non-Consumer Advocate is based on the concept of use it up, wear it out, make do or do without. One of her frequent blog posts is five frugal things and I find I get so much motivation from reading all the comments and different frugal tips.

Keep in mind that it’s the small things we do daily that make a big difference. It’s not just about saving big bucks on a new car or a home loan because how often do you do those things. It’s the day-to-day opportunities and choices we make that make the real difference in being frugal. So, while they may seem repetitive and just a small savings, those are the most important. It also creates habit in us to keep frugality in the forefront of our minds. I like to make a game out of it. See how long I can hang on to that $20 or altering a meal plan to use up what I have on hand already.

Here are my five frugal things.

I brought leftovers to work for lunch. Actually the Z Man and I do this 99.99999999% of the time.
I made / reheated last nights dinner on the wood stove, saving on electricity by not using the kitchen stove.
Made a February challenge with some friends to reduce the number of days I spend to 4 days a week. Last week was 3 days, and so far this week there have been 0 spend days. This challenge does not include the spending of monthly bills, medical, or work related expenses. I’m feeling that 4 days isn’t really a challenge for me, so I think I’ll lower it to 2 or 3 days a week. What this challenge does is helps you plan all your purchases and prevents those quick trips to the store just because.
I did my monthly meal plan for February and purchased all needed ingredients (that wouldn’t spoil) for all meals in one large grocery shopping trip. However, even though I planned all our meals for February, I’ve decided we are going to do some major freezer and pantry meals because we have plenty on hand.
Returned my books on time to the library and checked out three more. No late fee and free reading / listening to books on cd in the car too.

Now it’s your turn. What are your five frugal things?

Till Next Time,

Lori