You know the old saying, go to the grocery store after you’ve just eaten? The prevailing wisdom is that with your stomach sated, you’ll be less tempted to buy all kinds of crazy foods because you won’t be hungry. I’d like to amend that saying to, “go to the grocery store right after a big holiday.”
Ya’ll, Christmas was weeks ago and I’m still full. I’ve eaten all the figgy pudding, roasted all the chestnuts by the open fire. My fridge was largely dominated by three giant Pyrexes full of turkey, which became recipe gold. Then we got snowed in, and the leftovers took on a new significance. Now, these leftovers were the only thing protecting me from sub zero temps. And they took care of me for as long as they could. No sooner had we reached the tropical degree of 11, Mr .B asked, “Are you going grocery shopping tomorrow?”
Am I going grocery shopping tomorrow? I may never go grocery shopping again. We will live off this turkey for the rest of our lives. #leftoversforever. But he makes a point. Eventually the turkey will run out, and then where will we be? Cold and hungry.
So I braved the store. And unlike last trip, which was complete bedlam, this trip was characterized by calm. I was feeling super zen, because I didn’t need anything. My freezer is good, I still have a ton of food from last week. The pressure was off, and the shopping was easy.
I went to the store with a list of several new ingredients, that I was specifically buying for some new meals. If you follow my meal plans, you’ll know that I been talking a big game the last few months about introducing new meals into the rotation. Well it’s the New Year now and time to stick to my promises. This week I’m making Buffalo Chicken Soup and Pernil Pork, two new meals. The Pork I had in the freezer, but I needed to grab all the ingredients for the Buffalo soup. Normally I shop first, meal plan after. This was a totally new thing for me, going in with an ingredients list. I went just a smidge over budget, but with missing a week or shopping and my new zen grocery state of mine, I wasn’t too fussed about it.
While you’re out shopping, remember what I said about keeping an eye out for seasonal food clearance. Not only your big holiday proteins (turkey, ham) but also be looking out for anything holiday colored (red and green, mostly) that can’t be integrated with the regular products. Same goes for paper goods, food storage, even cooking utensils. Anything even vaguely Christmas themed stores will be looking to get rid of before New Year’s.
- A-1 Steak Sauce-$2.50. In store sale brought it down from $3.39.
- Asiago Cheese-$2.69.
- Bananas, 1.93 lb-$1.06.
- Barilla Ready Pronto-$0. Free Friday *Digital Download*.
- Bell Pepper (3)-$2.97.
- Blueberries, pint (2)-$4.
- Boar’s Head Sandwich Pepperoni, 1lb-$6.75.
- Clementines, 3lb-$4.99.
- Lemons, 3lb-$2.99.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 11.67 lbs -$23.24.
- Ken’s Blue Cheese Dressing-$1.99. Down from $3.89 with the Buy 5, Save $5 in store sale.
- Kroger All Spice-$1. On clearance!
- Kroger Bratwurst-$1.99. Sausage prices have been killing me, so when I saw this on clearance I did a dance of joy.
- Kroger Canned Tomatoes (4)-$1.96.
- Kroger Green Chile-$1.19.
- Kroger Heavy Cream-$1.99.
- Kroger Milk, 1 gal-$1.99.
- Kroger Rice-$1.39.
- Kroger String Cheese, 24 ct-$4.99.
- Larabar-$0. Another *Free Friday* Digital Download.
- Mangoes (2)-$1.98.
- Pepperidge Farm Goldfish-$.99. Buy 5, Save $5, down from $2.19.
- Private Selection Pasta (2)-$1.48. Down to .99 each with the B5S5 sale, stacked .50 off *Digital Coupon*.
- Romaine Lettuce, 1.51 lb-$1.95.
- Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo Sauce-$1.49. Down from $3.29 with the B5S5.
- Zucchini (4)-$2.36. These were .59 cents a piece! My first time buying Zucchini, but I think that’s a good deal. That’s a good deal, right?
- Apps I’ll Submit to-Fetch Rewards (750 Points for A1 Steak Sauce), Ibotta (.25 off Any Snack Bar, .25 off Any Item)
Total Budget: $75
Total Spent: $79.43
Total Saved: $13.51
Deducted from Next Trip: $4.43
Ok, ya’ll, I can’t be the only one unmotivated to get to the stores because of the cold. Tell me your best snow stories 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!
