It never rains but it pours.
Sometimes my Kroger has a real feast or famine situation going on. One week there are no good Digital Coupons, there are no good in-store sales, and everything I eat costs $200 a pound.
Other weeks, like this week, everything I want is on sale, but then comes the big decision to get a little bit of everything at a great price, or stock up on a few things and forgo others. For example: I had a coupon for .50 off ground turkey that could be used up to five times. That brought the turkey down to $2.79, which is the lowest it’s been in a while. My natural SavEar instinct was to get five at that price and freeze most of it. Then I could still have ground turkey when the price went back up to $45 a pound.
But! But! But! Shrimp AND salmon AND Angus Steak were also on sale. And I wanted all those things, too. What is a Kristen B to do? Because, in a another world, a world where sales and coupons came at more regular intervals and not in big volcano explosion that gets lava all over my food budget, those are foods I would stock up on when there is an in-store sale. Which there WAS. But I couldn’t because I was already knee deep in the turkey conundrum.
One of my favorite shows is “Top Chef.” If you’re not familiar, it is exactly as it sounds. A reality show where chefs compete to prove who is tops. Every week, there are various cooking challenges where the chefs plan a meal, buy the ingredients, and cook said ingredients in a way that boggles my mind.
But my absolute favorite part is the grocery shopping montage. As soon as they’ve been given the challenge, the chefs are set loose in a Whole Foods and given some kind of restriction, like only 30 minutes to shop or a limited budget. All the chefs scramble, trying to find the exact thing they need in a giant store full of actual customers just trying to buy their chicken breasts. I feel like this particular Whole Foods must rearrange their store every week, because these chefs act like they’ve never seen it before. Every. Single. Time. There’s always someone running, there’s always someone desperately asking the butcher, “DO YOU HAVE ANY WHOLE DUCK?” And there’s always one chef who is totally overwhelmed, just standing there, running their hand over their face, clearly questioning their life choices.
Not to be dramatic, but this grocery trip I felt like I was all those top chefs rolled into one hot grocery mess. I’m running back and forth between the meat and produce, I’m begging the butcher for salmon, I’m standing there shell shocked when one of my children tells me she has to use the bathroom.
Speaking of bathrooms, I interrupt this regularly schedule grocery report to lament the price of almond milk. Until we get the Frying Pan’s potty training situation under control, she can only have almond milk. Almond milk, apparently, is a great source of fiber, and we all know fiber gets things moving. Great. Except that almond milk costs a quatrillion dollars. Even with coupons! Every time I thought I had the budget handled, my eyes would fall on that almond milk and I would be like, “Ah! Foiled again!” Don’t get me wrong, totally worth it, since it’s what my child needs…but golly. You’re killing me, almond milk. Lament ended.
Where I landed, with regards to my raining and pouring situation, was to get a little bit of everything I wanted for this week, versus stocking up on one or two things for many weeks. There were two reasons for this. One, my Grocery Resolutions: I was shopping to the sale! That means buying food I could cook that was on sale…the resolution isn’t hoarding to the sale. Stockpiles are all good and well, but I have to actually feed people this week, not just in the future. The second was logistical. I had gone back and forth so many times in that Kroger, I’m surprised I hadn’t worn a groove in the floor. Sometimes you listen to your brain. Sometimes you listen to your stomach. And sometimes you listen to your feet.
- Bananas, 2.60 lb-$1.43.
- Blueberries, pint (2)-$3.76. In- store sale for $1.88 each.
- Boar’s Head Honey Maple Turkey, .75 lb-$7.29.
- Boar’s Head Sandwich Pepperoni,.5 lb-$4.50.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Thighs, 6.77 lbs-$5.22. In-store sale of $.77 a pound!
- Hershey Reese’s Bar-$0. Free Friday Download *Digital Coupon*.
- Kroger Ground Turkey 2 lbs-$5.58. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 each.
- McCormick Smoked Paprika (2)-$6.59. In-store sale, BOGO free.
- Private Selection Whole Wheat Bread-$1.99.
- Private Selection Angus Steak, 2.05 lbs-$10.23. In-store sale, $4.99 a pound.
- Private Selection Ice Cream, .5 gal-$4.99. $1 off with *Digital Coupon*.
- Red Leaf Lettuce, .58 lb-$.98. Will it ever be okay to eat Romaine again? Asking for a friend.
- Robusto Gouda-$5.55.
- Roma Tomatoes, .94 lbs-$1.21.
- Salon Filet, 2 lbs-$11.62. In-store sale, only $5.99 a pound.
- Silk Almond Milk (2)-$3.98. *Digital Coupon* for $1 off each Silk Milk.
- Sweet Onions, 1.97 lb-$1.95. I got the EXACT SAME weight of onion as last week. What are the odds?
- White Shrimp, 2 lbs-$12.16. In-store sale, $5.99 a pound.
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta ($.25 off Any Item)
Total Budget: $85.66
Total Spent: $89.03
Total Saved: $42.99
Deducted from Next Trip: $3.37
A smidge over budget, but I’m counting it as a win, since it could have been much worse. I seriously considered blowing all of this week’s budget and half of next week’s. That’s how much I love me some ground turkey.
What would you do: a little of everything or stock up on your favorites? What is your grocery budget? How do you feel about ground turkey? Hit me up 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!