Compared to most of American society, {and like 99% of our friends and family} spending under $100 a month for groceries seems impossible. Especially with food prices on the rise and the whole extreme couponing crazy over. I think people assume you’d have to exist on beans and rice {and who wants to do that} to stay within a budget of $100 a month for groceries.
So this year I am going to try something new. I’m going to attempt to break down what we eat on a daily basis and stick it in my weekly grocery show and tell post. I am also going to show you how I am able to spend less than $100 a month out of pocket for our groceries.
If I get food for free, I’m going to tell you about it. If I am given a gift card to a grocery store {or earn one via some sort of program} I’m going to tell you about it. Free vegetable seeds for my garden to grow food? I’ll tell you about it.
Any food I bring through our door this year is going to be reported to the best of my ability. I’ll keep a running tally at the bottom of my weekly How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries post so you can keep track as well. What do you think? Would you find that helpful?
I want to do a full show and tell this year is because people are always asking me “What on earth do you eat? It seems like you hardly buy any food.”
The funny thing is, when I look inside someone’s fridge my first thought is always… “How is this person going to eat all this food before it goes bad? Are they buying it just to throw it away? LOOK AT ALL THIS FOOD!”
Most all of us get freebies throughout the year, whether it’s bartering with friends, bringing home extra food from an office party, knowing someone who has extra garden produce, a friend who hunts, and so on. Or maybe you don’t. Maybe you don’t have the first clue on how to look for this so called “free food.” Well, this year I am going to show you. And hopefully you all won’t be bored out of your minds by the end of the year because of all my suggestions on ways to trim your grocery budget.
My hope is, we can all work together and find a way to eat more, by buying less.
Here’s what I fed my peeps this week:
Note: The breakfast and lunch are what I ate. I pack the HH a lunch everyday {and usually make him oatmeal or toast for breakfast on workdays}. Monkey Boy, well he’s decided he’d rather BUY his own lunch then take something from home {I’ve given up trying to convince him he’s throwing his money away}. And the 4 months a year The Girl is home, well, she’ll eat anything. She’s no fool. You couldn’t pry a dollar from her fingers for a crappy value meal burger.
Monday
Breakfast – Steel cut oats with milk and brown sugar
Lunch – Bagel and cream cheese
Dinner – Breaded chicken from Zaycon and sweet potato fries
Tuesday
Breakfast – Dave’s Killer Bread with peanut butter and strawberry jam
Lunch – Leftover breaded chicken
Dinner – Leftover Ham, rice and some cranberry beans I threw in the crock pot
Wednesday
Breakfast – Scrambled eggs and toast
Lunch – PB&J
Dinner – Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Thursday
Breakfast – Cream of Wheat
Lunch – Leftover Macaroni and Cheese
Dinner – Lentils and Rice
Friday
Breakfast – Sweet and Salty Granola Bar
Lunch – Bacon and fried egg sandwich
Dinner – Copycat Panera Soup
Saturday
Breakfast – Bacon and Eggs
Lunch – I have no idea
Dinner – Leftover soup I found in the freezer
Sunday
Breakfast – Pancakes and bacon
Linner- Salad and leftover soup
Food I Purchased Last Week:
Costco $ Free
Remember last week when I told you we received a $20 Costco cash card from renting a car through Costco travel? Well I used it to pick up some milk and a jar of chicken base and then used the remaining balance to top off my gas tank. Since I earned/redeemed this in 2015, I am obviously not counting it towards my 2016 totals but I did want to include the photo.
Fred Meyer $1.85
I love the Friday Freebie from Fred Meyer!!! This past week the freebie item was for a FREE loaf of bread. I also picked up the free container of Mentos I loaded on to my shopper card 3 weeks ago. This year, I’m going to save all the non perishable Fred Meyer freebies I can and see if I can fill the HH’s and the kid’s stocking for free this Christmas. 🙂 Note to the HH and Monkey Boy – If you are reading this I will be collecting loose change as well so watch out!
Trader Joe’s $ Free
I don’t think their prices are necessarily crazy or anything but TJ’s isn’t a store I’d go into with a list. I feel like it’s more of grocery store that one browses in and we weren’t really sure what to buy.
Mavis Gets a Freebie – For Christmas, My parents gave me a $100 gift card to Whole Foods along with my LLBean Coat. They also gifted the HH a BOATLOAD of Starbucks coffee, a french press and a $100 gift card to Trader Joe’s. Now, if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know those are 2 stores we rarely shop at. But hey free groceries! Wahoo. Who doesn’t love free food?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $1.85
Total Spent in Janaury $1.85
Freebies we’ve been gifted or were earned in 2016: $200
- $100 gift card to Whole Foods {Christmas gift from my parents}
- $100 gift card to Trader Joe’s {Christmas gift from my parents}
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