As you may recall, our goal for this month was to only spend $75 on groceries, to only buy dairy and produce, and to eat from the pantry.
January is almost over and we made–well, almost!
We went shopping for the third time this month yesterday and spent $23.63 on groceries bringing our total for the month to just shy of $75. And we have plenty on hand to finish out the month so, unless some major catastrophe happens, we should finish out the month hitting our goal.
I did buy contact solution and trash bags this week, so I didn't completely meet the goal of only buying dairy and produce. But I'm happy with how it all went nonetheless–flopped pizza and all!
Here's what we bought:
3 pounds of organic Braeburn apples
Dannon vanilla yogurt
2 bags of frozen mixed stirfry vegetables
International Delight Creamer (used free coupon)
contact solution
1 gallon milk
Cheddar cheese
1 dozen eggs
Trash bags
1 bag mixed organic apples
2 bunches reduced organic bananas (will freeze most of these for using in banana bread)
2 Happy Baby organic brown rice cereal (used free coupons)
4 Happy Baby organic snacks (used free coupons)
Total: $23.63
Stay tuned for Monday's post with our last Eat From the Pantry Menu. We also have another Freezer Cooking Day in the works for the first week in February. More details will be coming on that shortly.
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chelsea says
Martha -I bought a ton of nanas from Aldi as they were “too ripe” for most to want them and cut them into lil slices then flash froze them in ziplock baggies. They are GREAT for protein shakes, they are unreal. I cant wait till i find more so i can buy even more than before.
chelsea says
I guess my question or assumption is that no one in the family has strange dietary needs or restrictions?
I have to follow a low glycemic plan (somewhat) and we try to buy organic as much as possible so it seems like even when I save 30% with coupons or freebies I still end up spending more than I would like to. I see that you hit the organic store as well, how often – or only if they are running specials? We buy high protein, high fiber and all that stuff is so much more expensive 🙁
I got some plain boxed past – the regular stuff on sale for a buck, the low carb stuff on sale for almost $3.00. So sad 🙁
Paige says
I’ve really tried hard on this eat from the pantry challenge. The difficult part hasn’t been eating what we have, because we have quite a large food storage amount built up, but it’s been the NOT shopping, even when it’s a good deal and I may have a coupon. I need to find a balance between buying everything just because it’s on sale and we’ll eventually eat it, and not shopping at all. I just posted about what I learned from this challenge, and I’m going to try to keep it up for another month. Thanks for inspiring and challenging me.
Martha Artyomenko says
Do the banana’s last long enough for you to be able to freeze them? If I buy bananas, they are usually gone that same day or the next day, before any freezing can happen. I have to buy a whole lot if I get to freeze any…..= )
Good job on the challenge!! We spent less on groceries this month as I got hurt and was unable to go to the grocery store and people brought us meals..
Beth says
Thanks so much for the inspiration. It has certainly been a journey for our family of three this month. We cut our grocery spending in half, spending $75.00. We had to buy toilet paper and coffee one week, but otherwise primarily purchased milk, fruit, and cheese. We were able to stay within this budget, though we definitely experienced some ups and downs. For example, one night what I thought was a bag of chicken wings and thighs turned out to be wings, the neck, and some organs. While some would have figured out what to do with that, I opted to forget it and ordered a pizza. We were planning a meal out this month, but didn’t plan for it that day.
On the brighter side, we found out we have a lot more roast beef, tuna, and canned green beans than we realized, and we’ve made a point to make a dent in those items this month. We also used up some fish that had been in there a while, but that we just needed the motivation to fix.
Overall, I think this pantry challenge has really helped our family cut back during a month when we have had a lot of other expenses (such as travel for school).
Hope everyone finishes the race strong!
Michelle says
I think it is incredible that you achieved your $75 goal! For my growing family of 6 that would not be realistic; however, I set a strict $500 budget for the month and have managed to stick to it mainly by doing a lot of things you are doing like using up what is in our freezer and pantry. I think you always have to do what works best for your family.
mandy says
I was wondering how you freeze your bananas for banana bread. Do you peel and mash them first? Or keep them in the peel?
Katie says
Where did you get the Happy Baby products? A while back I had a free coupon also, but couldn’t find it anywhere!
Vanessa says
Aldi has their stuffing on sale for 35 cents.This is not advertised.The sign above them says 85 cents but when scanned goes throgh for 35 cents.I planned on only four but needless to say when I saw this great deal I got ten more.Expiration date is not untill May 2011.I put them in my freezer to keep bugs out of them.
Julie says
I, too, was wondering where you got the snacks coupons. I didn’t see them on RecycleBank.
Good job keeping under budget, even with the egg experiment! I love kids!!!
Rachel says
I love the roses in the background!!
Susan says
I didn’t really particapte in the pantry challenage but, I did only going shopping twice this month. Usually I only shop once a month for the whole month but lately we don’t need much when shopping time comes around. So anyway, I was reading a shopping website were there were talking about what a good sale Shop-Rite was having. I have shopped there years ago but the one closest to me closed. So now the closest one was about 45 minutes away. Anyway I looked up there ad and saw that indeed they were having a good sale. So, I talked to my husband, gathered my coupons and went. I ended up buying 202 items used 37 coupons and spent $225.41. The most amazing thing was between coupons and sale items the reciept says I saved $221.83!
Lynette says
I’m curious to know where all the inexpensive organic items are bought. I live in Kansas as well, but have no idea where to go for inexpensive produce. Thanks.
jennifer t says
For a family of 3 1/2, we usually spend around $200 a month. Thats after coupons and deals. We are very unorganized when it comes to planning meals, and know what we want when we want it. Also, my husband works till around 10 pm, so its usually just frozen entrees.
Laura says
That is AMAZING! $75 for the whole MONTH? Now, that is saving some money!!!!
Julie says
Four our family of 4 (one being a 16 year old growing boy) we only spent $67 this month on groceries. We were pretty well stocked up and the kids actually said we had better dinners this month. They, as well as my husband, were a bit nervous about eating from the pantry, but they have all been pleased.
Erin says
Great job!
We only spent $153.05 for the last 2 weeks. We are a family of 6, and for us that’s doing well to only spend that much. Payday is today and I’d like to see if we could only spend $150 for 2 weeks again.
Jenny says
I think Crystal got the Happy Baby coupons from Recyclebank
https://moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2010/01/hot-300-free-recyclebank-points-per-week-free-magazine-subscriptions-and-coupons-for-free-products.html
Allison says
I also want to know where you got the Happy Baby snack coupons. I got the cereal and freezer cubes ones from recycle bank, but would love to get some coupons for snacks. And, have you tried using the recycle bank ones yet? I had a weird experience with those at Target for cereal. I had to go to customer service and they had to do everything manually. The coupons themselves scanned, charging me a dollar.
Valerie R. says
@Allison, That happened to me too! Only it was for $3.
Jan says
good job- I didn’t do the pantry challenge per se- but I did try to reduce grocery shopping alot- I only spent $40 this week which is great for us
Penny says
Love you site, congrats on your awesome month! (I was not sure how to link… please delete number 14 (Penny), it is the same as number 15!) Thanks!
Brandi says
Where did you get the Happy Baby coupons? My child is a puff addict…