Hello world! I'm back from blog hibernation and ready to share with you! I have been sticking to my budget of $40-$50 per week over the past two weeks, but with tons of cookouts and gatherings I didn't adhere to a strict meal plan. While things looked the same from a budget standpoint, I have to admit our dinners at home have been quickly put together and rather lackluster lately. In efforts to change that, I will be posting pictures of all our dinners at the end of this week to hold myself accountable once again.
I scored some great deals today to start off a new week of meals, beginning at Food Lion at 7:01 this morning. After I show you the loot I will explain why getting there so early paid off (gotta build the suspense...).
Stop #1: Food Lion
Pictured:
*1 loaf of French bread
*1 loaf of white bread
* 1 package of 8" tortillas
* 8 oz shredded Mexican blend cheese
*10 mini bags of Orville Redenbacher movie butter popcorn
* 1 package of frozen dumplings
* 10 packages of reduced sugar maple and brown sugar oatmeal
* 4 bananas
*1 lb of baby carrots
* 3 lbs of green apples
* 5 lbs of white potatoes
* 1 can of pasta sauce
* 1 jar of enchilada sauce
* 1 container of sour cream
*1 jar of apple sauce
* 64 oz of apple juice
* 9.69 lbs of boston pork butt
Pictured:
* 1 roll of paper towels
* 1 bottle of dish detergent (citrus scent)
* 1 lb of thin spaghetti
* 1 box of saltine crackers
* 1 box of chocolate tasteeos (like cheerios but store brand)
* 1 bottle of ketchup
* 1 bottle of honey barbecue sauce
* 1 reusable shopping bag
Total Value: $76.14
Total Spent: $35.89 (using a gift card - so no money out of pocket!)
Now...what was the point of two separate pictures? Everything in the second picture was ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! Wednesday - Saturday the first 50 shoppers at each local Food Lion get a free reusable shopping bag filled with store brand products. Food Lion opens at 7:00 am and you know I was there to take full advantage of this awesome deal (and I plan on going back for the next three days).
Because I am a complete and total dork, I proceeded to walk the aisles and price all of the free items so I could let you know that if you participate in this offer, you will be receiving $10.99 of products for free (not including the price of the bag)!!!
Food Lion has undergone some marketing changes recently, including rearranging their stores and adding over 600 items to their MVP sales schedule. That means 600 items that were previously never part of MVP deals will now be in the regular sales rotation. Of the seventeen items in the first picture, eleven were on MVP special this week. I was already fond of Food Lion because of the chance to purchase local produce and support a business based in North Carolina, but these new deals have my heart singing. I hate buying groceries at Walmart and Target even though they have great prices, because their deals come at the expense of poorly treated employees and a majority of products made overseas. Being able to drive 1.3 miles to my local Food Lion (that happens to be an exact calculation - don't judge), buy produce and meat grown nearby (hence supporting local farms), and save money at the same time sounds like a fabulous plan to me.
Stop #2: Lowes Foods
Pictured:
* 1.03 lbs of fresh green beans
* 2.30 lbs of southern yellow peaches
* 8 oz blocks of cheese (pepperjack, sharp cheddar, and colby jack)
* 1 jar of Claussen pickles
Total Value: $18.40
Total Spent: $10.60
The cheeses were BOGO, and the produce prices were spectacular as well ( I'll list them at the end under "Deals of the Week"). The pickles were full price, but the heart wants what the heart wants.
Stop #3: Aldi
Pictured:
*1 bag of barbecue potato chips
*1 bag of pork rinds
* 1 bag of tortilla chips
*1 jar of crunchy peanut butter
*1 dozen eggs
*1 bottle of French dressing
Total Value / Total Spent: $8.36
Eggs and peanut butter are pretty much essential every week in this household. Tortilla chips and salsa are a definite craving as of recent, and the barbecue chips and pork rinds fulfill Nick's snack needs for the week. I try to get him 2 or 3 snacks each week, and they usually are not on sale because he is spoiled like that :). Pregnant snacks = carrots and ranch dressing. Man snacks = yummy junk.
In the words of Veda Sultenfuss, "It's not fair, nothing ever happens to boys."
Now let's tally everything up...
Total Value: $102.90
Total Spent: $54.85
Saved: $48.05
The pork butt was my one big ticket item this week. I am going to cook half of it tomorrow and freeze the rest for next week. The total expense for what we will be consuming this week was $48.12. Also, I bought all of the groceries at Food Lion using a gift card (Nick paid for my phone when I had an upgrade and let me keep the rebate card - he's a sweetie!), so when all was said and done I only paid $18.96 for everything pictured above! Not too shabby.
What will we be eating this week?
My husband has mad cooking skills - yum!
Dinners shall include...
* Nick's Enchiladas ( pictured above, so delicious)
*Chicken and Dumplings (will last at least two days)
*Pulled pork barbecue sandwiches (new recipe - will probably last two days)
* Mac and Cheese with Ground Beef (one night of light cooking)
*Chicken Parmesan (new recipe)
I will also be attempting some new breakfast recipes this week, including French Toast and Baked Oatmeal.
Last but not least....Deals of the Week!!!
Here is the scoop on what I consider to be the best priced items from the pictures above, in case you want to get on board with saving some money!
Food Lion
* Pork butt - $1.39 / lb (usually $2.89)
* 3 lb bags of granny smith apples - $2.50 (if you buy them individually they are around $1.79 / lb)
* 5 lb bags of white potatoes - $2.50
* 64 oz apple juice - $1.00
* white bread - 50 cents
* Orville Redenbacher popcorn - BOGO
* Obviously the free bag of groceries is a GREAT deal
Lowes Foods
* Peaches - 77 cents / lb (usually $1.79 / lb)
* Green Beans - 99 cents / lb (usually $1.99 / lb)
* 8 oz blocks of cheese BOGO
There are plenty of other great deals at these stores - these are just the items I personally bought this week.
I plan on posting a pregnancy update tomorrow, and I will also be reporting back soon about our upcoming baby shower Saturday (I'm so excited!!!). Enjoy your week and come back soon!
Disclaimer: If you think I am a crazy person, you are not alone. In fact, I agree with you completely. I would just like to point out that I saved over 80% on my groceries this week - ain't no shame in my game :)
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