Well, the secret’s out. If you noticed that two month long absence from grocery shopping, now you know why. I’m pregnant!
Let me tell you, grocery shopping while pregnant was an adventure. You’ll remember the trip where I got sick, before I actually knew I was pregnant. The next week, still unaware of why my stomach was wobbly, I got as far as the Kroger parking lot. Literally. We pulled in. I parked. I looked at those big blue and white letters and my stomach twisted in knots that are not found in nature. Next thing you know, I was on my way home. With no groceries.
Thus began the my long odyssey of feeding my family while physically unable to enter my usual grocery store. Some weeks, I sent Mr. B with a list. Some weeks, I picked up things at Target, which didn’t have the same affect on my sensitive stomach. All weeks I dipped into the freezer for meat. When no food sounded good, and everything made me want to lay down and cry, I was so thankful for all the times I had stocked up on meat, pasta, and other shelf stables. My girls had more than their fair share of Peanut Butter & Jelly Quesadillas last month.
Here is my big confession. At least twice a week during the time we shall never speak of again, I did the unthinkable. I got a lot of takeout.
Sometimes it was things I couldn’t have made at home, so my guilt level was lower. Meals like pizza or chicken wings. But sometimes it was things I very easily could have made at home, if the sight of all uncooked meat wasn’t threatening to kill me. Like salad. More than a few times, my sweet husband had to drive across town so that someone else could make me a salad.
You’ll notice that during this time, in my Disney Fund Deposits, there were no notes about grocery surplus. All year I have been surprised at home much of my grocery budget rolled over to my Disney Fund. But during the Time of Little to No Groceries, we were not coming in under budget. At all.While the grocery trips were smaller, like $30 a trip, the meals out made up for the budget surplus.
At first I felt guilty about this, but Mr. B put things in perspective for me. He reminded me that this was only a season. I was making a human after all, and if I couldn’t make a human and a gourmet meal for four people, well, that was okay. I was doing the best with what I had. Eventually I would be able to not only look at chicken, but devise a meal wherein I cooked it. In the meantime, he assured me, he didn’t mind the salad trips or the fact that half of our weekly grocery budget was going towards pizza. It was only a season.
I thought about this tonight as I was making chicken nuggets. I’ve been back on the meal and grocery train for a few weeks now, and while I’m still getting my sea legs, things are vastly improved. I’m super grateful not only for a patient, empathetic husband but for the Saving to Disney course, which taught me to budget my grocers and take advantage of sales to stock up on essentials. Without those skills, it would have been a much rougher time and this blog post would have included a lot more crying.
If you’re in a rough season right now with groceries, let me tell you what I need to hear: it’s just a season. Maybe you’re pregnant too, or dealing with the illness of a loved one, or working like crazy and never able to get to a store, or just not on the couponing and saving game like you’d like to be and each week is a struggle to stay on budget. It’s just a season. You’re doing an amazing job with what you have.
- Bananas, 1.86 lb-$1.02.
- Blackberries, (2)-$5.
- Cherries, 1.27 lb-$2.15.
- Clementines, 3lbs-$3.88.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 5.08 lb-$10.11.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Thighs, 5.47 lb-$3.78. In store sale, .69 a lb.
- Mangoes (2)-$1.98.
- Red Gold Canned Tomatoes (2)-1.78.
- Salmon, 2.33 lb-$16.29. On sale for $6.99 a lb!
- Simply Organic Pasta (5)-$3.95. Psyched about this deal. In store sale brings each pasta down to $1.29, stack with .50 off Digital coupon, down to .79 a piece! That’s even cheaper than the store brand!
- Strawberries, 2 lb-$1.88.
- Apps I’ll Submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta (.25 off Mangoes, .25 off Any Item)
Total Budget: $77.41
Total Spent: $51.82
Total Saved: $17.28
Rolled Over to Next Trip: $25.59
What deal do you geek out over, like I did with the organic pasta? What do you do when you can’t make it to the grocery store? Give me your thoughts 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!