Shopping Trip

Lately, I have been working at just shopping the sales at the grocery stores. If there is not much in the sales worth getting I do not make a trip to all the stores. However, I will run into my corner grocery store, which happens to be Aldi's for milk.   Doing this kind of shopping is keeping my overall total per day for feeding my family of seven under $19/day!

Meijer: 

• 4 pks Danimal smoothies
• 4 containers Breakstone sour cream
• 20 cartons Yoplait single serve yogurt
• 2 bags Doritos
• 18 oz. Hillshire Farms deli meat

Total after sales & coupons: $22.63

Total Savings: $20.25

Family Fare: 

• 5 qt. vanilla ice cream
• 2 boxes Life Cinnamon cereal
• 2 bags Cheetos
• 2 bags Fritos
• 3-12 pks wild cherry Pepsi
• 6-2 liters Pepsi products
• 2 cans pizza sauce
• 2 heads lettuce

Total after coupons & bottle deposit: $43.02

Total Savings: $18.50

Duthler's

• 6.58 lbs ground beef from chuck
• 2.02 lbs beef cube steak
• 6 dozen eggs

Total: $28.97

Total Savings: $13.40

Aldi's

• 3 gallons milk

Total: $6.27

Total Savings with buying milk here rather than at another store : $3.60

Grand Total: $100.89

Grand Total Savings: $55.75

This post linked at: 

• Super Savings Saturday at MoneySavingMom!
• Week-End Finales at The Frugal Freeloader!
• Shopping Brags Friday at Frugal Xchange!
• Shopping Round Up at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

My Shopping Trip!

Last week, Meijer had a 10 for $10 get 11th item free sale, so I took advantage of it and bought the following items:

• 2 bottles Suave shampoo
• 2 boxes 150 ct. sandwich bags
• 6 boxes brown n serve sausage
• 2 boxes Betty crocker cake mix
• 4 tubes Grands biscuits
• 5 cups Easy Mac 
• 9 containers frozen Old Orchard juice
• 2 bottles Sunny Delight
• 1 can Meijer chocolate frosting
• 2 lbs baby carrots
• 5 Totinos frozen pizzas
• 5 Armour LunchMakers

After free items and coupons with tax for non-food items, my total for 45 items was: $36.78

Meijer also has a few other things on sale. I also picked up:

• 1 lb Argo cornstarch
• 3 bags Ore Ida frozen potatoes
• 4 boxes Gogurt
• 2 boxes Gortons frozen fish
• 4.37 lbs ground beef from round on Manager's markdown
• 2 pkgs Reese's peanut butter eggs (splurge item!)

Total for these items: $34.64

Grand Total at Meijer: $71.42

Total Savings at Meijer: $50.29

I also took the time to run into Family Fare so that I could use my coupon for a free gallon of milk along with a few other sale items.

• 2 boxes Post cereal 
• 2 boxes Banquet chicken nuggets
• 3-12pks Pepsi products
• 1 gallon of chocolate milk

Total with bottle deposit: $23.58

Total savings at Family Fare: $10.84

My trip into Aldi's was a quick one for some pantry basics that were out or low on my shelves.

• 3 gallons milk 
• 2 dozen eggs
• 6 cans beef broth
• 1 jar honey
• 4 cans cream of chicken soup

Total: $19.85

Grand Total: $114.85

Grand Total of Savings: $61.13 plus Aldi's!

Not bad considering that it was a shopping trip for 2 weeks worth of groceries since I skipped a shopping trip around the 1st of the month due to being on vacation (I shop around the 1st and 15th of the month due to hubby's pay).  I didn't need much in the way of meats this go around because of buying ahead and making menus from what I have in my stockpile before shopping.   This week's menu is totally working out of the pantry and freezer stockpile. Next week's grocery trip will be a bigger trip due to needing more meats.  Sorry no pictures this week, everything got put away so fast by my kids that I didn't have a chance to take them. 

This post is linked at: 

• Shopping Round Up at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Menu Plan Monday 4/10-4/16

This week’s meals are simple and using what items I have in the freezer and pantry.   I am planning on only getting milk and eggs this week from the store.  I need to use up some of my stockpile items before they expire.  I also need to clear shelves in the freezer so that I can do a big shopping trip at the beginning of next week.

This week I am keeping my options open for two different nights.  Lately there has been one night a week that hubby has been working late and then going to a bible study group so the kids and I either hit up the leftovers or have something quick out of the freezer(ie chicken nuggets).  For this week, I have two nights where leftovers or something quick might have to be utilized due more to my lack of inspiration and not wanting similar type dishes several times during the week. 

This week’s lunches that are listed below are for the kids and me! Unless we are having leftovers, our lunches are served with apple slices or carrot sticks along with fruit juice or water.   Hubby and oldest son usually take a dinner leftover along with various snacks for their lunches so I don’t take the time to really plan their lunches. I just take the next container of leftovers in the stack in the fridge that I have prepared ahead of time.

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus; go check the over 300 other delicious meal plans that have been linked at Laura-Organizing Junkie's site or look down in my right sidebar for my menu suggestion lists!

Sunday (4-10)

Breakfast: eggs, hash browns, sausage and chocolate donuts

Lunch: frozen pizzas and pizza rolls

Dinner:  grilled spicy chicken, egg noodles, corn and biscuits

Snack: snack basket

Monday (4-11)

Breakfast: cereal and cinnamon toast

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  thin sliced roast, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans served with homemade bread

Snack: snack basket

Tuesday (4-12)

Breakfast:  waffles and sausage

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  oven fried chicken, fries and corn

Snack: snack basket

Wednesday (4-13)

Breakfast:  bagels and cereal

Lunch: sandwich & chips

Dinner: bacon burgers, seasoned pan fries, and carrots

Snack: snack basket

Thursday (4-14)

Breakfast: Pancakes and sausage

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  ????

Snack: snack basket                                                       

Friday (4-15)

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  creamy chicken over noodles, peas

Snack: snack basket

Saturday (4-16)

Breakfast:  Your Choice

Lunch: sandwiches & chips

Dinner: ?????

Snack: popcorn or snack basket