Money Saving Mom®

I had planned to get up early and do my Freezer Cooking in an Hour session this morning before I headed to the airport to fly to Nashville.

But, um, I made it as far as the taco meat and ran out of time.

Such is life, eh? I promise — barring some unforeseen events — that I’ll make the muffins next week. Because I really, really want to try them myself. And I know some of you are anxious to hear whether I like them or not. 🙂

By the way, thank you so much for how you all have been patient and forbearing with me as I’ve navigated this new season of life where I’m traveling and speaking more. It’s been a new adventure — and there have definitely been growing pains as a result.

We’ve put a lot of prayer and thought into the direction it seems God is leading us, and we’re excited about what the future holds. But in the process, I’m still working on finding a good balance so that I’m keeping up with the blog (which is a significant priority for me), while also making sure that my family is my most important priority — and that I’m taking care of my health, too. 🙂

I’m nowhere near doing a perfect job (and I don’t ever expect to figure out what anything near “perfect” looks like!), but I feel like we’re really starting to fall into a healthy groove and I’m so thankful. Thank you, each of you, who are sharing in this journey with us and are so patient and understanding. I appreciate you all so very much!

Since so many of you have been enjoying Gretchen’s grocery shopping trips, I asked her if she’d be interested in sharing her weekly big grocery trip and menu plan from time to time.

If you find this helpful, would you leave a comment or click on “Like” button in the top righthand corner of this post. That lets us know that these are posts you’d like to see more of. 🙂

And don’t worry, I’ll still keep posting some of my shopping trips and my weekly menu plans. My sister, Gretchen, is a lot more organized than me and on a tighter budget, so I thought that this would be especially helpful to some of you who may be in a similar season of life or like to see a menu plan on a budget all laid out in a step-by-step fashion!

Local Health Food Store

My first stop was our local Health Food store. We love their oranges so I always buy them there. I was hoping they would have some great deals on produce like usual, but I only found one mark-down. 🙁

6 Oranges @ 3/$1 – $2 total

Organic Girl Greens – Marked down to $0.99 (I like to use this in our smoothies and juice.) 

Total with tax: $3.21

Aldi (and Walmart)

1 Bath Tissue – $0.99 (I really didn’t see any great coupon deals on toilet paper this week so I just got it at Aldi.) 

1 Roma Tomatoes – $1.19

1 Gallon Milk – $1.99

2 Strawberries – $0.99 each

1 Cucumber – $0.49

I was planning on getting Baking Powder at Aldi but couldn’t find it. (The cashier said they were out and it was only a seasonal item?!?) So I ran into the small neighborhood Walmart right next to Aldi and got it there instead.

Baking Powder – $1.82

Total with tax (for both stores): $9.07

Dillons

1 Kroger Cheddar Cheese – $1.67

1 Simple Truth Bar – $0.89, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon

1 Liberte Yogurt – $1, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon

1 Ella Baby Food – $1.39, used $0.55/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $0.39 after coupon (My little boy loves these and while I’d prefer to get them free, I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a special treat!)

1 Dillons Bread – $1

2 Dr. Pepper – $1.50 each, used Buy One Get One Free printable (Took off $1.99) – $0.50 each after coupon (I never buy pop but we are having company over this weekend who love pop and I want to be a good hostess.:))

1 Green Giant Veggie Chips – $1, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon

1 Chocolate Chips – $1.69

2 Vlasic Pickle Relish – $1 each, used 2 $1/1 printable – Free after coupons

1 Wishbone Salad Dressing – Marked down to $0.89

1 Dove Soap – $1, used $1/1 e-coupon – Free after coupon

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

2 Broccoli Crowns – $1.34

1 Kroger Applesauce – $2.19

6 Clear Care Contact Solution – Marked down to $2 each! (I was SUPER thrilled to find these marked down. This is the only contact solution both my husband and I can use and it normally is priced $8-$12.)

Total before coupons and sales: $41.99. Total after coupons + tax: $25.22, used $2 catalina from last week’s shopping trip

Paid $23.22 out of pocket

Total for all grocery items: $35.50

Menu Plan for this Week

Breakfasts

Toast, Oatmeal, Cereal, Apple Pie Breakfast, Smoothies/Juice

Lunches

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Leftovers, Homemade Mac & Cheese, Scrambled Eggs, Fruits & Veggies

Dinners

Homemade Cheese Pizza, Steamed Broccoli

World’s Best Pancakes (these are SO yummy!), Eggs, Hashbrowns, Oranges

Steak on the grill (gift from Crystal), Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits

Salad Bar, Strawberries

Crockpot Lasagna, Easy Homemade French Bread, Green Beans

Italian Chicken, Banana Muffins, Tossed Salad

Dinner with my parents