It was bound to happen.
In case you missed it, last month, in a move no one saw coming I managed to be under budget for the month. By $14.48. That was not the part that was bound to happen. That was a shock. That was me checking my math three times. That was a lot of CAPITAL LETTERS and !!!!!!! in my grocery post. It’s been weeks and I’m still kind of shook.
No, the part that was bound to happen just goes to show the hubris of man. Or woman. Or cheese lover. If this were a Greek myth, I would be building myself some wings from that $14.48, crafting the feathers from pennies and decorating them with dollars. I would use my money wings to breach the skies, to fly among those who are always under budget on their groceries, approaching the sun of reliable produce prices and bountiful coupons.
Alas, this cheese lover was not meant to fly. Her wings, so beautiful on the ground, cannot handle being buffeted about by the winds, are powerless in the glare of the harsh light of meat shortages. Her wings begin to fall apart; the pennies melting and dollars borne away by a cruel breeze. She plummets to the ground, our cheese lover, her dreams forgotten, among the dirt once more.
Or, if you prefer the SparkNotes version: I got cocky about being under budget and then blew it all on this shopping trip.
This wasn’t a bad trip, Greek tragedy analogy aside. I actually had a few coupons and there were a couple of sales. The sales were so good on a few items, in fact, that I stocked up a little. And therein lies the tragedy.
Pre rumpus, this kind of thing happened all time. Something my family eats a lot would hit its best price. I would stock up on this thing. I might go over budget. (Ok, yes, I probably would.) But the next week I would cut a few corners to make up for it. All’s well that ends well.
But in our rumpus times, no such balance exists. I can stock up this week and then next week there will be more, different shortages so prices will shift again. There is no constant in rumpus grocery shopping. Something can be $1 one week and $7 the next. So the stock up mentality really just becomes “grab it now while you can you may never see it again.”
And they really got me from all angles this time. Cereal, which has been PRICEY, was $2 a box with the Mega Savings Event. Important to note, I kind of can’t keep track of the Mega Savings Event names anymore. There’s Buy $5, Save $5…Buy 6, Save $3… Buy 5, Save $6…Buy ^&, Save %! . You get the point. What’s tripped me up is that the number is no longer firm. So it will be like “Buy 5 or More and Save $5.” Okay, great. I will buy more than five and still save money. Hooray! But then it also makes all the sales run together. I suspect this one was ‘Buy 6 or More, Save $3’ but it could just as easily have been ‘Buy @#, Save +*.’ It’s all Greek to me.
Almond milk, bread, baby food pouches, and sausage were all included in the Buy X, Save Y. Shrimp were on sale for $4.99 a pound. I had another coupon for onions!
But the big get was peppers. Peppers, one of Mr. B’s favorite foods, have been so pricey during the rumpus. At one point, it was $3 for one pepper. FOR ONE PEPPER. I simply cannot. But this trip we were at $.99 a pepper, the cheapest they’ve been in months. So I grabbed up seven, enough to make all our favorite pepper centric meals (Cajun Pasta, Fajitas, Stuffed Peppers). I regret nothing. Sure, I got a little cocky and then went way overboard. But red pepper shrimp and sausage pasta, y’all. I can’t regret that. Even if I flew too high, at least I landed to a delicious meal.
- Avocados (4)-$3.96. In-store sale, $.99 each.
- Bananas, 2.53 lb-$1.49.
- Blueberries, pint (2)-$5. In-store sale.
- Boar’s Head Pepperoni, .75 lb-$7.02.
- Fuji Apples, 3.32 lb-$4.28.
- Gerber Organic Baby Food Pouches (6)-$5.34. Buy Triangle, Save Square brought these down to $.89 each.
- Green Beans, .77 lb-$.76. In-store sale, $.99 a pound.
- Green Leaf Lettuce, 1.38 lb-$2.06.
- Honey Bunches of Oats (2)-$3.98. Buy A Little, Save a Little made these $1.99 each.
- Johnsonville Sausage, 1lb-$3.99. Buy Something, Save Something Else made it the same price as the Kroger Sausage. I would have gotten two (my store’s pork limit) but this was the only mild!
- Kroger Cream Cheese-$1.19.
- Kroger Ground Turkey, 1 lb-$3.09. *Digital Coupon* for $.70 off.
- Kroger Milk, gal-$.99. Manger’s Special!
- Kroger Sausage, 1 lb-$3.99.
- Mozzarella Ball-$2.99. Manager’s Special!
- Nectarines, 1.74 lb-$1.72.
- Onions, 3.57 lb-$3.03. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Pecorino Cheese-$.45. Manager’s Special!
- Pepper Jack Cheese-$2.17.
- Piave Cheese-$1.89. Manager’s Special! Two weeks in a row with this kind.
- Private Selection Angus Steak, 2.53 lb-$13.11. Manager’s Special!
- Private Selection Bread (2) -$2.48. Buy Bread, Save Bread brought it to $1.49 each. Then I stacked a *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Private Selection Ice Cream, .5 gal-$3.74.
- Private Selection Wildflower Turkey, 1 lb-$8.54
- Red Bell Peppers (7)-$6.93. In-store sale.
- Roma Tomato, 2.01 lb-$1.99
- Shrimp, 4 lb-$19.96.
- Simple Truth Almond Milk, .5 gal (2)-$3.38. Buy Buy, Save Save made each milk $1.99 and I stacked with a *Digital Coupon* for $.60 off.
- Simple Truth Ancho Chile Powder-$1.99. This is baffling. The price was $4.99. I knew this when I put it in my cart. I needed that chile. But apparently, I had some Simple Truth Digital Coupon (that I have NO MEMORY of seeing or loading) that took $3 off. Baffling but great! Hooray for me!
- Strawberries, 2 lb-$1.88. In-store sale.
- Yellow Peaches, 1.83 lb-$1.81.
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, CoinOut, Ibotta ($.25 off Johnsonville Sausage, $.10 off Any Item, $.10 off Almond Milk), Shopkick (150 kicks for Blueberries)
Total Budget: $79.03
Total Spent: $125.56
Deducted from Next Week: $46.53
Don’t get too worried about my budget just yet! I still have two more Kroger trips this month (22nd and 29th) as well as a Costco trip (the 22nd) that can help me get back on track.
What’s your favorite Greek myth? What’s your favorite ingredient that you use in the most meals? What should I be making with peppers that I’m not? Tell me everything 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!