Grocery Budget Challenge

Ok, I am not very organized at the moment so I don't have all of my receipts nearby. . . Wait!  Thank goodness for our investment in Quicken.  Now we can breakdown our receipts and better track what we're spending on groceries.  We did do the 'cash' method for a bit but with the start of 2012 we are changing methods to avoid carting a lump of cash for the purpose of feeding The Brood. 

Well, I'll just get to the point and give a synopsis of how January went. . . . We were over-budget!  You could sort of see the trend based on how we fared on the first pay in Jan.  I didn't get a chance to post the break-down for S-Money$'s second pay this month but needless to say our total spent this month was approximately $525 ==> which put us at $125 over-budget for Jan. . . Yikes!

This still begs the question of how much is enough to feed our family since not all of the $125 overage was due to strictly feeding The Brood.  We also had a couple of hospitality get-togethers at our place and elsewhere.  Really, we just happen to be a growing and HUNGRY family, lol!  Since our budget is very thin, there isn't always room to include extras, account for shortages or 'hospitality' without reassessing the overall budget and seeing where we can either make cuts or move funds around.  My hypothesis is that we will need to increase our monthly budgeted amount at some point . . . . . just don't know how much yet and the best place to pull from.  *pondering*

Today is payday again and I'll be starting the budget challenge for February, still going on the $200/pay - then reassess at the end of the month to notate any trends, shortages, overages, etc.  So keep any tips, tricks, low-cost recipes, etc. coming this way to share with me and others! 

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But in the meantime, I want to keep things in perspective.  No matter what it seems like we don't have, God reminds me that all we need is enough - which is something I need to be reminded as I make out my grocery list.  This blessing of enough has been illustrated to me on several occasions with a surprise visit by my mother-in-law coming out and treating us with dinner when we happen to be low on groceries, finding a new recipe that uses what's left in the cupboards and avoiding extra expenses, or even finding $5 in my pocket by surprise which enables me to get milk/eggs/or bread for the week.


See, God has always provided to give us enough - blessing us through His own generosity and through the generosity of others.   Proverbs 30:7-9 is a GREAT reminder of God's provision.  Here's a video of Francis Chan explaining just what this verse means to him as well.  I dare myself, and YOU, to say this prayer and help strengthen each other as we strive to live it!
 

Proverbs 30:7-9

7 O God, I beg two favors from you before I die.

8 First, help me never to tell a lie.  Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!  Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name.

Linked to: 

Grocery Budget Challenge - Part 2

*Before I go any further, let me just say that we did NOT make budget this payday* 

. . . . But that is OK!  Part of me is wondering if the amount we budget isn't enough for our growing family - as it has been the same amt. for so long - probably the same when it was only hubby, I and 2 kids!   So I'm hoping that through these posts and looking to utilize Quick Books, we can better track and revisit this amt. later in the year to see if it really IS feasible. 

Before I go into a more-detailed breakdown, I must note that the $200/pay - or $100/wk - is for groceries only (though on tight weeks it has had to include some non-food items) and we expense $25/pay separately for C-Funk to buy lunch - which breaks down to $2.50/day for two weeks worth of hot lunch (seems reasonable to me!).  Spillz refuses to buy lunch at school so her lunch items are included in the $100/wk. 

OK, so what does the $200/pay look like for our house this pay period???

• $40 - Merindorf Meats meat bundle (15lbs. meat)
• $10 - our local grocery store in town for misc. convenient food items for Nattie Bear since mom-in-law was babysitting.
• $135 - Meijers*
• $23 - Sams - for items I forgot/preferred in bulk (frozen fries/turkey lunch meat/hot dog buns/gummy bears*)

Grand Total:  $208 ===> $8 over budget. . . . . .so far 
          *includes some splurge items - the gummy bears were S-Money$ & Spillz's doings, LOL!


I say 'so far' because milk, bread, or some other staple that we run out of in the next 1-2 wks. may have to be purchased.  I try as much as possible to just do without but items like eggs, milk, etc. that are used in many basic recipes I cook often - i.e. pancakes, muffins, granola bars - are just too hard to go without.  Bread is something I can make if we run out so that's not too pressing to go out and buy before next pay. 

Also, tonight is our small group with some church members/friends.  I forgot to get ranch dressing and croutons for the salad we are supposed to be bringing - doh!  Luckily I have a recipe & the ingredients I need to make homemade ranch and I'll just make homemade croutons from a free loaf of bread we got for a service project yesterday.  There!  Just saved a few bucks!  Not much, but still makes me feel better when I can find small ways to save. . . . . even if I did go a bit over budget.  :)

What about you?  Do you have a grocery budget?  If so, do you find yourself sticking to or are you also an 'Over-budget offender', like me?  *wink*

**Linked up to: 

Grocery Budget Challenge

WooHoo it's payday this week!  **Happy Dance in progress**

Oh. . . but wait!  That also means it's time to pay bills, budget and do the grocery shopping.  UGH! 
OK, 'happy dance' has now ended.  :( 

Really it's not that agonizing.  Just takes a little extra planning and work.  Which is where I've had to try and incorporate some semblance of a menu plan/grocery strategy so I can stay on track at the grocery store.  And NO, it's not just because I'm pregnant that I can't stick to a list. . . . . well, maybe a little.  But I 've always had a bad habit of seeing something that looks good and then tossing said item in the cart.  Sounds good in theory. . . . but not so good at the check-out when I have to pay. 

It has been nothing short of a miracle some weeks that I try to feed our family of 2 adults, 3 kids and one baby on $100 a week.  No, I didn't make a typo --- that's $100/week or $400/month!  But do notice the word TRY in the first sentence of this paragraph (see, I even underlined for your convenience).  We do go over budget sometimes and that is ok.  I'm always still tweaking, toying around with different ways to stretch our grocery money.  I've tried bulk buying, local grocery store, big chain grocery store.  Still have to try local farmer's market and this summer we plan on planting our own veggie garden (tips greatly appreciated in this area!!!).  Through trial and error, and error, and error I've come up with some tips I try to stick with.  Such as:

• MAKE A LIST!  I know, a no-brainer but I still can make errors on this one - *sigh*
• I always check the weekly sale ads to see what's on sale and try to structure our meals/snacks/etc. around that.  For example, this week 1 lb. cartons of strawberries are on sale so I'll probably grab some and use for fresh fruit snacks or cut up to serve w/yogurt & ice cream.
• I sometimes use our local meat market.  This week I'm getting a meat bundle for $40 which includes 3 lbs hamburger, 1 lb. bacon, 3 lb. beef roast, 1 lb hot dogs, approx. 1 lb. ground pork sausage and 6 lbs of chicken fryers (2 whole ckns).  This should get us through most of the next two wks - maybe having to supplement a few nights with leftovers, breakfast for dinner or meatless nights.  All totally doable and budget friendly.
• Keep pre-made/boxed stuff to a minimum.  I've gotten better and more efficient at making things from scratch.  But we do get Ritz crackers, pretzels, Saltines on occasion to eat with fresh fruit & cheese, pack in lunches, to have w/soup and sometimes boxed dessert mixes - like brownies/cake.  **NOTE - I have been known to go off track on this one - I LOVE sweets!  There, I've confessed!**
• Don't go hungry! . . . and I would add 'Don't go pregnant' because I'm always hungry lately, but I really can't get around that one - blah!

So here's the CHALLENGE!  Can I meet my bi-weekly budget goal this time???  I'm running out of quite a bit in our fridge/cupboards so. . . . guess this will have To Be Continued. . . . . . .

**Any shopping, grocery, menu planning tips/tricks/advice you can offer?  Willing to share what you budget to feed your family and your family size?  Maybe quick recipes?  Would love to have you share so myself and others can benefit!   Thanks!  :)