I just wanted to share how my weekly shopping trip went. I always head to the store with a list, and sometimes will write things down while I'm there as I remember other things we really need. The kids had to come with me, which often makes it more difficult and it definitely makes it take longer! However, they have been told "No" enough that when they ask for something that is not on my list, and I tell them we're not getting it, they rarely whine about it. So, the trip was pretty stress free.
While in the store, I realized there were several produce items we needed, so I wrote them on my list. Keep in mind, I was trying to keep it at or below $60.00 because that was what was left in our budgeted amount for July. As my list got longer, I began to think about what we may need to wait to purchase, and what we may give up to have what we really wanted and needed. Milk was at a decent price, $2.69 a gallon. We were paying 3.99 a gallon in Fl before we left! I knew we had some milk in the freezer at home, but I grabbed two gallons just to take advantage of the price. As we got down to the end of our list, I had already stricken laundry detergent and coffee creamer because we weren't actually 'out' of those items yet. We still had light bulbs and salad dressing to buy, with about $5 left in the budget. I had been tallying this in my head, but I knew it may cost a bit more because of taxes and my estimating. The salad dressing we prefer was priced at $3.89 and I knew I could make some at home that we all like pretty well, but I also knew we were getting low on mayonnaise, which is used to make the dressing! So, I took the dressing and put it in the cart, saying we would put it back if we didn't have enough to buy it at the register. We found the light bulbs, a 4-pack for $1.49. I then decided to put one gallon of milk back on the shelf, because we still had some at home. I was aware that this would probably allow us to get the dressing, but I wasn't sure.
We headed to the register, and our total before the dressing was $54 and some change. I told the cashier to add the bottle of dressing, and that brought our total to just over $58.00 for the week. I was so excited! We still have $2 if there is anything I need to get between now and Friday. I know that's not much, but I came in under budget. YEAH!
Some of you may wonder if we're really so strapped for cash that it has come to this...but truthfully I enjoy finding a bargain and challenging myself to meet the budget. It makes me feel that I'm doing something to help cut our costs, and I think it teaches the kids about making choices and budgeting. I also think I need to be a better steward of what God has blessed us with...this is my reasoning behind the seeming MADNESS. It's fun, so don't worry about us; we're doing great!
We start a new month on Friday, so I'll be trying to save even more in the next weeks. I'd like to see if we can cut our budget by $100...I don't know if we can. I plan to utilize some websites for coupons and possibly start getting the Sunday paper for its coupons, along with shopping according to the store sales...and hope to meet my goal in this way.If anyone has more tips I'd still love to hear them. And I plan to try to post a list of what I bought and pictures if I get some really good deals. Hope to hear from you all soon. Have a wonderful day!
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