Grocery Challenge

The Grocery Cart Challenge is a blog that I enjoy reading. The author challenged herself to spend an average of $60 a week to feed her family of six, and she shares her experiences as she tries to meet her challenge. I spend significantly more than that to feed my family of seven (I do not spend a whole lot on feeding Eli yet, but given his size, I bet that it won't be long!). We budget $750 a month to buy groceries, diapers, toiletries and household supplies (toilet paper, cleaning products, etc.). I use coupons and shop sales, and I still have a hard time staying within that amount (in fact, I usually go a little over).

After I read this chart, I felt much better about our spending. There are several ways to figure the amount, but according to my calculations, our family should spend about $788 if we are using the "thrifty" plan up to about $1,541 if we were on the "liberal" plan. We will probably add some money to this category in the future, but I have challenged myself to try to stay within our $750 budget for the next several months, as we "tighten up" to save a little extra during this time of job transition. I have a very well stocked pantry at the moment, so that will help. I have been stocking up over the past year, as I have matched coupons to sales. I am currently using Hot Coupon World to help me find good deals. I used The Grocery Game when I first started to help me learn how to best use coupons.

I usually go to Walmart about once a month to buy the things we need that do not typically go on sale at the other stores. I go to the bread store once a month to buy our bread and buns. Then I shop at Publix and Kroger's the rest of the month, trying to buy only what is on sale. I make fewer impulse buys at these stores because I know they are overpriced.

So, my goal from now until the end of February is to stay within my $750 budget. I have already done my Walmart trip, which should last until the first of March. I also hit a sale on Good Nights at Publix that should last until the end of February. So, that leaves around $519 left for the next five weeks. I am trying to provide healthy foods for our family, so I will try to minimize the junk food. I went to Kroger today and bought milk, produce and boneless chicken breasts (they were on sale, so I bought four packages). I spent $39.60, which leaves me with $479.38. I decided to blog about my challenge (I know that it is not the most exciting reading) to help me keep track and to hold myself accountable!