I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).
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I’ve got LOTS of great deals to report to you today! Buckle your seat belt, this might be a l-o-n-g post!
Saturday Kroger Shopping Trip — $15.66
Kroger had a Saturday Only Sale where you could get Smithfield Bacon for just $2.99 per package with the digital coupon. There was a limit of 5 packages and you better believe we took advantage of the deal and got 5 packages… because, BACON! 🙂
Tuesday Big Lots Shopping Trip — $3.47
After scoring the great deal on bread at Big Lots, a few of you told me that I needed to check for the Clearance Cart at Big Lots… and you said that you’ve found some amazing deals in it! Well, I checked when I went today and I found it — and these crackers were in it for just $0.25 per package!
I also grabbed some Krusteaz pancake mix for $2.25 since we kind of last-minute invited friends to go to the pool with us tonight and then come back to our house for Breakfast for Dinner and Games.
I’m not sure if that’s a good price on pancake mix (I usually make mine, but it was less expensive and easier for me today to just buy it), but I thought it was a pretty decent deal and I’ve heard that that pancake mix is really good.
Big Lots tip: Be sure to sign up for a BuzzRewards card. You are supposed to get a $5 off $15 coupon for every three shopping trips. I’m excited to see if this actually works — because that could be a great way to stretch our budget a little bit more!
Tuesday Aldi Shopping Trip — $17.80
- 5 packages of strawberries — $1.29 each (we’re using 4 cartons of these for our Breakfast for Dinner with friends tonight)
- Cantaloupe — $1.49
- Pancake Mix — $1.49 (I grabbed a second box of pancake mix just to be sure we have plenty for Breakfast for Dinner tonight!)
- Pure Maple Syrup — $5.99
- 5 ears of Sweet Corn — $0.25 each
Total with tax: $17.80
Today is the last day of the Kroger Buy 5, Get $5 Off Sale, so I wanted to stop by and get a few more items before the sale ended. Here’s what I got:
Tuesday Kroger Shopping Trip — $20.84
- 2 bags of apples — $0.99 each
- 2 bags of avocados — $0.99 each
- Goldfish crackers — $0.99 when you buy 5 participating items
- 1 gallon Whole Milk — $2.69
- Suave Kids Bodywash — $0.99 when you buy 5 participating items, used $0.75/1 Kroger Digital coupon = $0.24 after coupon
- Suave Bodywash — $0.99 when you buy 5 participating items
- Cascadian Farms Cereal — $2.49 each when you buy 5 participating items, used 2 $1/1 Cascadian Farms cereal coupons = $1.49 each after coupons
- 5 boxes of Nature Valley Bars — $1.79 each when you buy 5 participating items, used $0.50/1 Kroger Digital coupon, used 2 $0.50/2 Nature Valley coupons + got a $3 catalina for buy 5 boxes = that’s like paying $0.89 per box after the coupons, sale, and Catalina (which I’ll use on my shopping trip on Thursday or Friday to help lower that grocery bill!)
Total with tax: $20.74 + I got a $3 catalina to use on my next shopping trip!
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Catalina Deal, but when I saw this Nature Valley deal, I knew I had to do it. These will make for great snacks to take with us to the pool! Remember, the Buy 5, Get $5 Off sale ends tonight. So if you want to get in on this deal, hurry out to your store before midnight!
(Also, the best deal is to buy the crunchy bars — there are 12 per box. But we decided to try a few different kinds, just for fun!)
This Week’s Simple Menu Plan
This menu is subject to change a little if I find some great deals or markdowns! ?
Breakfasts
Fried/Scrambled Eggs, Baked Oatmeal, Cereal, Fruit, Toast
Lunches
Mac & Cheese, Cereal, Chips/Salsa, Fruit, Veggies, Leftovers, Eggs, Yogurt, Salad
Snacks
Marked Down Yogurt, Fruit, Ice Cream Bars, Crackers, Granola Bars
Monday: Bacon & Eggs & Fruit & Southwest Roll-Ups (from the freezer) — these things don’t go together at all, really, but the girls and I went with friends to a movie and I just put this together at the last minute
Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner with Friends — Pancakes, Eggs (that I got marked down recently), Bacon, Strawberries
Wednesday: Haystacks, Chips & Homemade Guac, Fruit
Thursday: Sausage & Onions in the CrockPot, Noodles, Fruit
Friday: Dinner Out (I’m volunteering at the setup for Kaitlynn’s school’s yard sale.)
Saturday: Cookout — Sausage on the Grill, Corn on the Cob, Fruit
Sunday: Snack-y Dinner
Total Spending So Far This Week
Total spent so far this week: $57.77
Total left to spend: $12.23
Rebates: $0.25 for submitting a receipt to Ibotta, $0.98 back from Fetch Rewards for purchasing Goldfish & Suave + scanning two other receipts (If you haven’t signed up for Fetch Rewards, you can sign up here and use code WW7XJ and you’ll get a bonus 2,000 points = worth $2.)
We like the Krusteaz pancake mix in our house 🙂 I like that you just have to add water and not eggs, oil or anything else. I do like to put in a bit of vanilla extract to my batter though as I like that vanilla taste it gives.
We also love the discounted produce at Smiths (Kroger), they are such a great deal and can get so much more fruits and veggies when they are packaged at 99 cents a piece 🙂 We shop at Smith’s more than any other grocery store in our city cause we save so much in not just advertised prices or their digital coupons, but also in their discounted foods and love the fuel points they offer! We are just sure to check the best by/expiration date on the discounted foods as we’ve bought some without checking and they were already past date.
Tell us more about the Cake Mix Bars! Recipe??Thanks 🙂
I wonder if at Big Lots if there is a certain time of day that’s better than others for the marked down? Thoughts anyone??
I heard that they have better markdowns near the end of the month. But I haven’t tested that theory yet! 🙂
I echo what Kathy said! The Big Lots in my area have a 20% sale on the weekends every now and then where EVERYTHING in the store is 20% OFF their already amazing prices. I use it to stock up on things like bottled water, coffee, toiletries, etc. The 20% also applies to their furniture selection!
Great tips! Thank you so much!
How do you get the receipt scan bonus at Fetch? I do Fetch all the time and I am not sure I have seen that! Or maybe I am not paying attention! ?
I’ve been getting it every time that I scan a receipt that has a qualifying item on it. I just assumed everyone was getting that??
Is this $70 per week?
Yes Crystal has been doing $70 a week for a bit now.
Watch for Big Lots coupons in your email! They regularly post their ads, but they also give rewards members a “heads up” before a sale officially starts! There are regular sale coupons for $ off a purchase ( I can’t remember exact amounts) that really help. I watch and wait to use these coupons for big ticket items. They also have “buy 1/get 1 50% off” sales! ?❤️
Thanks so much for that tip! I definitely will!
Dollar Tree has been carrying the Krusteaz pancake mix and biscuit mix.
The same sized box?? If so, that would be a STEAL!
The pancakes are a 14 oz box. I already pitched the empty box of biscuits, so not sure of the ounces on them.
I love your pink stripe top Crystal?
Thank you! It’s a favorite from Amazon!
If you have Costco nearby, maple syrup is much cheaper there ( and I’m a big Aldi fan).
We don’t have a Costco membership, otherwise I would definitely check that out! Thank you for the tip!
I use Fetch too! I was wondering how you got the receipt scan bonus?
I just scanned the receipt and that popped up. That’s been popping up for me every time I scan a receipt that has a qualifying item on it.