How I use my $50 grocery budget: week of November 14, 2011

I was very excited as I began planning this week's grocery trips, because it seemed that everything I needed/wanted was on sale and/or I had a coupon.  Wanna take a look? Well, you should look either way, because I feel like bragging a bit it's a good example of buying things for now and later.

Since it's so close to Thanksgiving, Meijer has a promotion that if you buy an additional $20 worth of groceries or general merchandise, you get $10 off a hen turkey (10-15lbs) or $17 off a tom turkey (16+lbs). So I decided to split my purchase into 2 transactions, since I'm trying to stock up on turkey.

Meijer Transaction 1:
1 Turkey 10-11lbs or 16-17lb ($5 or less after promotion)
4 cans Dole pineapple $.99 - $.50/2 MF (doubled) x2 coupons =$.49each
2 Crisco vegetable oil $2.79 - $1/2 MF x1coupon = $2.29 each
2 Vlasic Pickle Spears (16-24oz) $2 -$.55/1 MF (doubled) x2 coupons = $.90each
1 3lb bag apples $2.50
1 4 lb bag oranges $3
3.84+ lbs bulk sweet potato $.25/lb (the minimum needed for $20)
Estimated out of pocket cost: $20 
Actual cost: $19.19 Saved: $25.27


Meijer Transaction #2:
1 Turkey 10-11lbs or 16-17lbs ($5 or less after promotion)
4 cans Dole mandarin oranges $.99 - $.50/2 MF (doubled) x2 coupons =$.49each
2 Crisco vegetable oil $2.79 - $1/2 MF x1coupon = $2.29 each
1 bundle Broccoli $1 all out, replaced with $.88 water for kids to drink in the store
Pillsbury Sweet rolls $1.50 -$.40 MF (doubled) x1 coupon =$1.10 each
2 Sara Lee Frozen cheesecakes 50% off -$1/1 MF x2 coupons ($6.46  $6.58 to make $20 -actual $6.78)
Estimated out of pocket cost: $20
Actual cost: $19.73 Saved: $27.07


Aldi trip:
1 3lb bag onions $.79
1 10 lb bag russet potatoes $1.99
1 package quartered butter $1.99
4 5lb bags all-purpose flour $.99each
1 package sour cream $1.29 (not advertised- guessed price)
Estimated cost: $10.02
Actual cost: $10.02

Total estimated grocery cost for the week: $50.02
Total actual cost: $48.94

That's over $100 worth of stuff right there!

This week is only a slightly typical week. It's very typical for this time of year, because I stock up on turkey and low priced items for the rest of the year. However, during most of the year only about 1/3 of my grocery trip is for food storage.

Now that you've seen my shopping trips, you're probably wondering what my meal plan looks like for this week.  Well you're in luck, because I'm feeling rather generous today ;) ..And yes, most of my meals are coming from my rotating food storage.

Monday

• cereal
• bow tie pasta w/ sauce + applesauce
• vegetable soup in slow cooker

Tuesday

• baked oatmeal
• enchilada ravioli
• taco pizza

Wednesday

• baked oatmeal
• ham, spinach, tomato, & cheese wraps (veggies from last week)
• creamy chicken & pasta bake (no broccoli at store)spaghetti w/ meat sauce + garlic bread

Thursday

• baked oatmeal (if still left) or cereal
• leftovers
• shepherd's pie (using leftover vegetable soup w/ mashed sweet potato topping)

Friday

• waffles (from freezer)
• leftovers
• Thai chicken (freezer meal) w/ Thai peanut noodles

Saturday

• baked Mexican eggs
• wraps
• Pork loin roast + potato + vegetable
• Reese no bake dessert

Sunday

• cereal
• black bean quesadillas
• leftovers

Snacks

• apples
• oranges
• pickles

What's your plan for the week? Did you get any excellent deals at the grocery?

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