Man, I picked a bad month for this experiment.
January is a terrible month for groceries, at least in my corner of the world. The Glass Slipper and the Frying Pan had doctors appointments this week. While discussing the Frying Pan’s dietary needs, I queried whether if it was bad parenting that my child seems to be existing on pepperoni and oranges. She needs to be on the low carb end of things, but she only seems to like foods in the red/yellow/orange spectrum: oranges, peppers, carrots, and pepperoni being her go-tos. And when I say go-to’s, I mean only to’s. Her doc smiled at me and said in the kindest, most reassuring voice, “Well, it will be better in the spring when there are more produce options.”
Preach it, Doc. It is cold and dark, there is no produce, and it all costs $500. This is the month I have chosen to do my budget experiment.
And the thing is, I don’t mind paying a reasonable retail price for things that are essentials. But it seems like the prices go up in the January-February of it all on everything, across all departments. I understand supply and demand, thanks to my 11th grade economics class, but there becomes a point where it’s just ridiculous. Milk was $2.69 a gallon. Why is milk $2.69 a gallon? Are the cows on strike?
Everywhere I turned, things were not only normal retail price, no sale, no coupons, they were actually priced much higher than they usually are. Turkey was $3.99 a pound. Sausage was $3.99 a pound. And even though I’ve written many a post about the winter sales drought at my grocery store, I’m walking around with my mouth hanging open like Sebastian, as if this is totally new to me.
Experiments are hard you guys. I thought this was going to be all fun and merriment, spending money and riding rainbow unicorns through the aisles but this is as challenging, if not more challenging, than normal grocery shopping.
One bright spot was this: in the baby aisle there was a display that had coupons for $3 off 10 Gerber baby food packets. The packets were on sale for 10/$10, so that gave you 10 packets for $7, or $.70 cents a packet. Finally, some good luck!
I’ve never seen coupons like this before. I took one for the day’s shopping, after I triple checked with a sales associate that I was allowed to do so. Then I took one for next time. Am I allowed to do that?? I don’t know!!! They were just there for the taking, a giant stack as thick as one of the early Harry Potter’s. Let’s say Prisoner of Azkaban. Am I allowed to take one for the future? Should I have taken two for the future? Please educate me as to the coupon etiquette for this situation.
Oh! I also forgot I got $2 off a Deli/Bakery purchase for playing the Game Day Rewards sweepstakes. Maybe not as bad as I thought.
- Bananas, 2.16 lb-$1.27.
- Blueberries, 18 oz (2)-$5.98.
- Boar’s Head Pepperoni, .5 lb-$2.84. *$2 off Deli Digital Coupon for Game Day*.
- Clementines, 3lb-$2.97.
- Gerber Baby Food Packets (10)-$7. $3 off 10 random in-store coupon.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 9.05 lb-$18.01.
- Kroger Milk, .5 gal-$1.89. I can’t even with this milk price.
- Mangoes (3)-$2.64. In-store sale for $.88 each.
- Monterey Jack-$3.91.
- Private Selection Angus Steal, 4.62 lb-$23.06.
- Private Selection Dill Weed-$3.99.
- Private Selection Wildflower Turkey, .5 lb-$4.
- Private Selection Wheat Bread-$1.99.
- Roma Tomato, .73 lb-$.94.
- Red Leaf Lettuce, .40 lb-$.68.
- Strawberries, 2 lb-$4.99.
- Sweet Onions, 1.62 lb-$2.09.
- $.75 off entire purchase Catalina from Gerber. I found this in my wallet. I have no memory of getting it. Huzzah!
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, CoinOut
Total Budget: 1 Million Dollars
Total Spent: $87.50
Total Saved: $44.49
Week 1 Total: $105.42
Week 2 total: $93.33.
Week 3 Total: $134.37
Current Average: $105.15
How many coupons do you take when there are coupons up for grabs? What’s your worst month for grocery shopping? Commiserate with 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!
LindA says
Wow you did good Wish a gallon of milk was that cheap here almost $5 a gallon