Me: Look! There are two different kinds of gouda on manager’s special. One is the one I always get and totally my favorite, but this other one is the fancy kind that usually doesn’t fit in our budget.
Mr.B: Well, tried and true seems like a good option.
Me: Yeeeessss…
Mr. B: But if the other one is a good deal, it might be worth trying.
Me: Great, so we agree, I should get both.
Mr. B: Wait, what?
And that, ladies and gents, is how you get two cheeses for the price of one.
I was still riding my budget surplus on this exchange, and in a very good mood because sausage AND ribs AND ground turkey were on sale. Not to mention everyone loves the new, more cost effective Private Selection Turkey, so things were really going my way on this shopping trip. And instead of telling me no, we don’t need so much cheese, or questioning my budgeting abilities, Mr. B just laughed as I gently placed both cheeses in our basket. Marry a man who doesn’t make you choose between cheeses.
Also, marry a man who goes grocery shopping with you. We started doing the family grocery trips right after I had the Teacup. I have attempted several times to take all three girls by myself, but it has ended poorly each time.So Mr. B started coming along, mostly for the sake of sanity, but we have found we actually like shopping together as a family.
Our girls are still young enough that they think we are AWESOME and any time spent all together is their bliss. Seriously. Here’s how it looked getting ready for this grocery trip in our house.
Me: Girls! Let’s get shoes on please.
Frying Pan: Because we’re going to the store?
Me: Yes.
Glass Slipper: As a FAMILY?
Mr. B: Yes.
Glass Slipper: YAY!
I have to admit, Mr. B and I are liking the family shops, too. Life with three kids is busy. Especially right now, where 1/3 of our squad has a specific set of needs and 2/3 have a separate, different set of needs. We often split up and end up playing defense: “Ok, you get the big two, I’ll get the small one.” Finding time we can all spend together is tricky, and if the time we find is in the cheese aisle at Kroger, so be it. Any time with this gang is a good time.
This trip, Mr. B was not only my shopping buddy, he was my researcher, too.
Me: They’re out of green leaf and red leaf lettuce.
Mr. B: What other kinds of leaves are there?
Me: Only Romaine.
Mr. B: Great, get Romaine.
Me: I don’t know, is Romaine still poisoning people?
Mr. B: Siri, is romaine still poisoning people?
See what I mean? This guy is indispensable. You’ll be happy to know, Siri confirmed that Romaine was not still poisoning people and there had been no reported outbreaks in our area. I bought the Romaine, but I told Mr. B he had to eat it first, to make 100% sure it wasn’t poisoned. Teamwork!
- Bananas, 2.15 lb -$1.27.
- Blueberries, pint (2)-$5.
- Boar’s Head Sandwich Pepperoni, 1lb -$7.27.
- Clementines, 3 lb-$3.99.
- Kraft String Cheese, 12 ct-$2.49. *Digital Coupon* for $1 made these cheaper than the store brand.
- Kroger Ground Turkey, 2lb-$5. In store sale, $2.50 a pound each.
- Kroger Sausage, 1 lb (5)-$9.95. In store sale, $1.99 a pound.
- Kroger Rice-$1.49.
- Kroger Milk, gallon-$1.19. Manager’s Special!
- Multi Grain Cheerios, (3)-$5.37. In store sale price of $2.79 stacked with $1 off coupon, made them $1.79 each.
- Porkback Ribs, 3.62 lb -$8.29.
- Private Selection Whole Wheat Bread-$1.99.
- Private Selection Wildflower Honey Turkey, 1 lb-$8.24.
- Parrano Gouda-$3.89. Half the price of what I paid for it last week!
- Reypener Gouda-$4.79.
- Red Gold Canned Tomatoes (2)-$1.78.
- Red Grapes, 2.09 lb-$2.05.
- Romaine Lettuce, .96 lb-$1.69.
- Simple Truth Organic Chocolate Almond Milk-$2.29. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Simple Truth Organic Raspberry Spread-$2.99. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta ($.10 off Any Item, $.25 off Chocolate Milk), CoinOut
Total Budget: $97.65
Total Spent: $80.95
Total Saved: $35.11
Rolled Over to Disney Fund: $16.70
Under budget for the month! You know what that means… All the Mickey Bars!
Who do you like to go grocery shopping with? Do your kids still think you are totally cool? Any thoughts on Romaine? Give ‘em to me 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 five 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!