Kristen B.’s Kroger Trip 10/7

When we were coming in over budget for groceries many weeks in a row, my husband and I agreed that we needed to re-access our situation. You know this because of the long, agonizing blog posts I wrote about increasing our grocery budget. In typical Mr.B fashion, my husband looked at practically, with facts and data. I am less a facts and data person, so he broke it down for me using everyone’s favorite 4th grade lesson: The Scientific Method.

1. Make an observation. We are overbudget and our kids eat like Tasmanian devils.
2. Form a question. What should we do to improve our budget and our children’s stomachs?
3. Form a hypothesis. If we were to increase our food budget, we would be less likely to be over budget and less likely to run out of food.
4. Conduct an experiment. Shop for groceries as normal for a month, in order to see the average dollar amount over budget we are.
5. Analyze the data and draw a conclusion. We are routinely $10-$15 dollars over budget. We need to increase our grocery budget by $10-$15.

You can’t argue with science, friends. This weeks marks our first trip with the fancy increased budget. I’ve now got $75 dollars a week. Oh, the glamour! The opulence! We are starting on the low end of the increase range. We’ll see how this budget goes for the month, and re-access accordingly. If we need a further increase, there is still an additional $5 we could add.

You may be wondering where this money comes from. After all, one does not simply decide to have a larger budget and then money falls from the sky. No matter how often I wish that were the case. The short answer is: a couple places. The long answer is: with the Saving to Disney plan, you budget within an inch of your life. Literally, there is no money that is unaccounted for. Date nights (entertainment!), post soccer games snacks (recreation/sports), and even Halloween candy (assorted holidays) all have a budget line. This may seem like overkill, but it is hugely beneficial when you need to re-allocate your funds. I can easily look at my budget and say: “We can take five dollars from this, five dollars from that” without disturbing the balance of things like paying bills. It’s an amazing system, until we can learn how to get money to fall from the skies.

• Bananas, 2.43 lbs-$1.34.
• Ben & Jerrys, 1 pint (2)-$5.98. Down to $3.99.
• Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 4.84 lbs-$9.65.
• Heritage Farm Chicken Thighs, 12 lbs -$10.59. Down to .88 a lb! Stock up time!
• Honey Bunches of Oats-$2.69. In store sale and a *Digital Coupon* brought this one way down.
• Juicy Juice Splashers, 10 ct-$2.99.
• Kroger Egg Noodles, 16oz-$1.39.
• Kroger Ground Turkey, 5 lbs-$12.50. Still on in store sale, with a *Digital Coupon* for .50 off, up to five uses.
• Kroger Saltine Crackers-.60. Originally $1, *Digital Coupon* took off .40.
• Mozzarella Ball-$2.99.
• Oui French Yogurt (2)-$2.98.
• Red Plums, 1.57 lbs-$1.55.
• Roma Tomatoes, 1.65 lbs-$1.63.
• Romaine Lettuce, .91 lb-$1.17.
• Strawberries, 2 lbs- $5.
• Swordfish Steak, 1.5 lbs-$10.78. Gotta grab that seafood when it is on sale.
• Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta (.25 off any item, $1 of Juicy Juice Splashers)

                Total Budget: $75

                Total Spent: $73.99

               Total Saved: $23.48

               Rollover to Next Trip: $1.01.

Would you look at that? I am back on track for being under budget! And all it took was increasing my budget a little bit. How did you decide to increase your budget? Are you a fan of the Scientific Method? Tell me all 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!