Of course the week when I am on a fact finding mission to gather spending data in order to determine if we should change our budget, there is not a coupon in sight. Nothing digital, nothing paper. The Weekly Ad is so bare and empty, it’s taunting me, laughing at my pain. Where have all the coupons gone? Where have all the coupons goooooone? If you read that to the tune of “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” then congratulations, we’re new best friends. Now help me find some coupons, new best friend. After all, what are friends for? Coupons. Friends are for coupons.
Off to the store I went. I had no coupons but I had determination and a four year old still in her soccer uniform. Surely the savings fairies would smile upon me.
Spoiler alert. They did not. The savings fairies were not moved by my song or my lil soccer player.
This will be the third week in a row that I have gone over budget, which, in terms of data, seems pretty significant. We’ll give it one more week, but don’t be surprised if October leaves fall and the B Family’s budget rises. And really, there’s not much we can do about it. Bs gotta eat, am I right? And, as my husband reminded me, if we raise the budget that means on the (slight) chance we are under budget, we’ll have more to potentially add to the Disney Fund. Glass half full.
You might notice some new and exciting items in my trip this week. Gone are the boring cereals, and instead we have Swordfish! There have been no coupons, but I tried to take advantage of in-store sales as much as possible.
- Bananas, 2.19 lbs-$1.20.
- Barilla Linguine (2)-$2. Down from $1.50 each.
- Hatch Pepper Cheese, .75 lb-$4.56.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 5.24 lbs-$10.43.
- Jet Puff Marshmallows-$1.25.
- Kroger Canned Tomatoes (4)-$1.96.
- Kroger Graham Crackers-$1.49. Down from $2.99 with in store promotion.
- Kroger Ground Turkey, 1 lb (2)-$5.98. Originally $3.99 each, down to $2.99 with in store sale.
- Kroger Milk-$1.19.
- Kroger String Cheese, 24 count-$4.99. Down from $7.99! All the string cheese!
- Mangoes, (2)-$1.98.
- Oui Yogurt, (2)-$2.98.
- Pork Loin, 4.2 lbs-$8.38. This was half off with an in store promotion, so originally $16.80.
- Roma Tomatoes, 1.52 lbs-$1.50.
- Romaine Lettuce, .83 lb-$1.07.
- Swordfish Steak, 2 lb-$10.29. This was on clearance and I could not have grabbed it any faster.
- Top Round London Broil, 2.06 lb- $8.22. I have no idea how this was only $3.99 a pound. But, yay!
- Vidal Onions, 1.79 lbs-$1.77.
- White Peaches, 1.62 lbs-$2.41.
- Apps I’ll Submit to (Fetch Rewards, Ibotta Any Item .25)
Total Budget: $65
Total Spent: $73.74
Total Saved: $20.95
Deducted from Next Trip: $8.74
One more week left of our data gathering and then we’ll make a decision. Have you increased your grocery budget? How was that transition? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey three years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!