I spent $145.14 at costco last night. Here's what I bought and the prices. I'm not sure if it's because of where we live but I also did a FM grocery store. No there is not any aldi, winco, grocery outlets where we live. YMMV. I'm not sure if this is expensive for the area.
Lactose free milk 9.99
ghee 18.99
guava juice 5.79
jacks salsa 6.49
1/2 Gallon Cream 7.39
ground beef (not organic) 26.65
carrots 6 lbs 4.79
bella mushrooms 4.99
K/S butter 6.99
BTB Chicken bullion 5.99
parmigiano 15.99
smoked cheese 10.62
bok choy 6.99
cucumbers 3 pack 6.49
broccoli 6.99 = $145.14
I then spent $28.27 at FM
Canned Tomatos 1.29x 5
Pasta $1 x 2
Anchovies $1.99 x 2
Nutmeg $5.49
reese peanut butter $1.89 x 2 =$28.27
So this is for the next week but I think I'm still missing buns for the pulled pork we're making on sunday that will help us eat for the week and that should pretty much round out the month.
I froze the butter and 5 lbs of the ground beef. Menu plan for week
Tonight/thursday - Salmon (from freezer), making dumplings as well
Friday - bolognese (making it)
Saturday - (pizza) cousin providing
sunday - pulled pork (need buns for family)
Monday - leftover
Tuesday Tacos from ground beef
wednesday - salmon from freezer
Thursday - dumplings
Friday - Chicken
Sat - leftovers?
My goal is to not shop for the next week. I think we're good on fresh veggies and fruits. I have apples from last week and a couple of pears and 6 - 1/2 of milk so I should be able to avoid a costco trip until the 1st of march.
February 19th, 2021 at 03:14 pm 1613747667
I find their sale prices on certain things quite good - peanut butter, tuna fish, canned soup, dried fruit, cereal, nuts, pasta sauce, eggs..
I have both a CVS card, which is free, and am a Carepass member - that costs $60 per year but you get a $10 credit every month to use on anything but prescription drugs, plus free shipping on their brands if you shop online.
You get coupons every week based on what you buy, and often 20-30 percent off ‘everything’ coupons - those are not good on sale items.
The CVS card returns 2 percent of your sales to you quarterly as Extrabucks to spend in their store.
I use a credit card there that has a category Iset to credit 3% at drugstores, so everything is 5% off before I start.
(My credit cards are paid in full each month. I charge everything I can to get cash back. Only a good plan if you don’t have credit card debt)
I think it is worth keeping a list of the 20-40 items you buy most often with their price, and doing a reasonable stock up when they are on sale.
CVS tends to run in cycles so you don’t need to buy a year’s supply. Following the sale gives you a sense of that.
February 19th, 2021 at 08:53 pm 1613767980
CVS tends to run in cycles so you don’t need to buy a year’s supply. Following the sale gives you a sense of that."
Making a price book can really be beneficial. We used to do this years ago when we were young and broke. Now we value convenience over cost so we don't bother anymore, but it really is the way to go when your goal is cutting costs.
My mom buys her coffee at Walgreens. That's it. That's the only item she gets there when it goes on sale because their sale price blows away every other store, so she'll call and ask us to pick up a couple of packages for her.
I don't recall if it was mentioned in the other post or thread but check Amazon too. They aren't generally great on grocery prices but sometimes they are. I get my protein bars there as they have the best price I've found. I even have them on the automatic subscription plan to get a box every other month.
February 21st, 2021 at 08:08 pm 1613938083
Looks like a good menu plan.
Do you have a Dollar General? Some of their canned goods are cheaper than the grocery. Like DS said, I often get coffee at Walgreens too.
Not sure if you can, but perhaps if you can start a garden this spring would help. Lettuce is pretty easy to grow as are radishes and having fresh vegetables is pretty great.
March 31st, 2021 at 05:10 pm 1617210644