I did a grocery pick-up order this week because there were a lot of digital coupon deals and I was short on time. I find that my money goes quite a bit further when I shop in-store since I can find markdowns and clearance items, however, I love that I can still get great deals with grocery pick-up on full weeks!
Here’s what I bought:
I am considering raising our grocery budget again to $125. I’m finding that as our younger three are eating more and our older three are so active in sports/life/working out, our $100 weekly budget just doesn’t feel like it’s cutting it. I always know that if the cupboards/fridge are feeling really bare about five days after shopping and I’m finding myself struggling to come up with ideas for things for them to eat for snacks and breakfasts/lunches, it’s time to re-evaluate.
And yes, I know I’m buying more convenience foods these days and could save more and have a lower budget if I made more from scratch, but I’ve given myself a pass that this is not the season to feel like I need to make everything from scratch. What matters is that people are fed.
Someday soon, I hope to get back to more cooking and baking like I used to do, but right now, I’m focusing on loving my people well, taking care of their needs, and keeping all the schedules straight for everyone. 🙂 (Many days, it feels like I need a spreadsheet just to make that happen! I’m sure many of you can relate!)
(Many of you know that, in addition to our six kids, we’re providing 20-40 hours of childcare for C — the three-year-old we fostered in 2020. That has definitely added quite a bit of extra responsibility to our plates, but it’s something we feel very called to do. So we’re scaling back in some areas to make that happen… and one of those is me keeping meals very simple and being okay with buying more convenience foods.)
The best deal this week is the butter deal — just $1.99/lb with the digital coupon deal and you could buy up to 5 pounds! I haven’t seen it this inexpensive in months and months!
The Hillshire Farms sausage is $2.99 each — which was also a good deal! You could buy up to 5 with the digital coupon.
Peaches, nectarines, and plums are $0.99/lb with the digital coupon and cheese is $1.49/block with the digital coupon.
The apple juice is $1.49/bottle and the Outshine bars are $1.99/box!
All totaled for all these groceries, it was $109.84. TN is waiving sales tax on food right now, so that’s helping my budget go further!
By the way, don’t have a Kroger nearby? Here are all the stores Kroger owns! Most of these (except Harris Teeter) should have similar deals, markdowns, and digital coupon deals like I get each week! Do you have any of these stores in your area?
Don’t ever feel bad for buying “quick” foods, especially so you can love on so many people. I work at a Christian-based residential treatment facility for foster kids. I see the great need and you are one of the ones helping to fill that great need.
I love that you have adjusted. I am a longtime reader for tips, but have always known your low budget wasn’t for me at my season with very large boys and a lot of sports. I took what I could from you and implemented it to help my family. I’ve always appreciated your thoughts, but I’m happy to see that even you have to adjust to hungry kids! I’ve sometimes wondered if I should try harder to lower my budget, but I’ve always concluded, for me, convenience was worth a little more money and that’s ok. We’re all unique and that’s ok!
Hi Crystal, no judgement from me. You have a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of little ones. I had to raise my budget for groceries recently also by $20/week and there are just the 2 of us. It still lets me get extra of some of the good deals, not just what we need that week. And I am glad you are giving yourself grace about the convenience foods. I remember when you used to bake a lot, but you just had K & K. I still use some of your recipes.
Thanks for being such a longtime reader here! I am hopeful I’ll be able to get back to regularly doing lots of cooking and baking with my little ones soon, but trying to keep my expectations realistic right now!