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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Last Week’s Groceries
Last Sunday, I didn’t get a chance to share what I bought last week at Kroger because I was in New York City. However, I wanted to show you pictures since I’ll be using these groceries in some of our meals in the next month.
First up, I was super excited to get peanut butter for just $0.99! I stocked up on 5 jars! 
I was also pretty excited about getting those BAGS of avocados for $0.99 per bag. I’ve been eating a lot of avocados the past week!
Then Jesse went to Kroger when I was on my trip to stock up on the really good weekend deals — including 32-oz blocks of cheese for $3.99.
All totaled, we spent right at $70 on groceries for everything shown above.
For those who asked about how I got the coupon-filled Kroger magazine, I wrote a post on it here.
I didn’t make it to Kroger this week until Thursday and I guess it was a good day to go… because I found bagged salads marked down to $0.25 each.
Say what???? It was pretty exciting because I have never seen bagged salads even remotely close to that price!
I wrote more about how I MADE money on multiple items at Kroger that shopping trip.
I was excited about the weekend deals for this week, including Sabra Hummus for $1.49! We love hummus, so I bought the limit of 5
Thursday Kroger Shopping Trip
- 5 bags of Stacy’s Pita Chips — $1.49 each as part of the Kroger Weekend Deals
- 5 packages Johnsonville Sausage — $1.99 each as part of the Kroger Weekend Deals
- 5 packages Johnsonville Smoked Sausage — $1.99 each as part of Kroger Weekend Deals + I got a $5 off coupon for buying 5
- 1 lb. Simple Truth Ground Pork — marked down to $2.50
- 3 bags of Bagged Salad Kits — marked down to $0.25 each
- Nourish Bowl — marked down to $1
- French Bread — marked down to $0.79
- Dole Salad Kit — marked down to $0.50
- Spinach — marked down to $1
- Pickles — $1.49
- Half & Half — $1.79
- 3 Simple Truth cartons of eggs — marked down to $0.79 each
- 1 dozen medium Simple Truth eggs — marked down to $1.29
- Kroger Water — $0.79
- Whole Milk — $2.59
- 2 bottles of Kraft Barbecue Sauce — $0.49 each when you buy 5 participating items
- Gilette Shave Gel — $0.99 when you buy 5 participating items + used $0.75 Kroger Digital Coupon = $0.24
- Orville Redenbacher popcorn — $0.99 when you buy 5 participating items
- 1 bag of cuties — marked down to $0.99
- 4 bags of Mrs. Cubbison’s Croutons — $0.29 each when you buy 5 participating items, used $1/2 Mrs. Cubbison’s printable coupon + submitted my receipt to get $1 back from iBotta
- 2 bottles of Ken’s dressing — $1.49 each when you buy 5 participating items, $1/1 Ken’s dressing peelie coupons +
- submitted my receipt to get $1.50 back from iBotta
- Total with tax: $54.19
On Saturday, I was over on the side of town where Sprouts is, so I ran by in take advantage of the weekend deal to get Blackberries for $0.88.
I also looked at the Manager’s Specials for meat and found Lamb Chops marked down to $2.50. Yes, it was more expensive than what I’d usually pay per pound for meat, but I’ve been promising Silas I would buy lamb if I found a deal on it and I finally did! (He fell in love with lamb when we visited South Africa!)
Saturday Sprouts Shopping Trip
- 5 cartons of blackberries — $0.88 (Weekend Special)
- 1 package of Lamb Chop — $2.50
- Total with tax: $7.37
Psst! If you have a Sprouts nearby, be sure to check out these freebies you can get.
I also stopped by a different Kroger that was right by Sprouts. There wasn’t anything super exciting, but here’s what I picked up:
Saturday Kroger Shopping Trip
- Cantaloupe — marked down to $0.99
- 1 loaf of bread — marked down to $0.99
- 1 can of refried black beans — marked down to $0.69
- 1 bag of flour — marked down to $1.49
- Butterfinger — Free Friday offer
- Total with tax: $5.27
Total spent on groceries: $66.83
Cashback earned this week: 125 points for submitting my receipts to Fetch rewards, $2.50 back from iBotta
Actually, the AUD has fallen quite a bit in the last year, so when comparing to USD things have actually gotten cheaper.
Some food prices here are fairly similar – pantry staples and fruit I can get at similar, or sometimes even cheaper, prices than in the states. But vegetables and meat are SO much more expensive. For example, the other day broccoli was $9.90 a kilo. Converting that to USD/pound makes it about $3.25 per pound – for broccoli! Plain broccoli, not organic or anything special.
I typically pay the equivalent of about $3.50/pound for chicken breasts, $4.00 for chicken thighs, and pork and beef just go up from there. But, I guess I’ve been here long enough that grocery shopping doesn’t send me into a budget-induced-panic anymore. That just happens now when I pay the rent! 😉
Just wanted to let you know that some avacodos were recalled this week. Not sure if your state was included but wanted to mention just in case!
Our state wasn’t included, gratefully! But I feel badly for those who live in states where they were recalled. 🙁
🙂 Makes things not seem as expensive too. 🙂
What’s the exchange rate between Australian currency and US? Just wondering if food is more expensive or dollars are dissimilar.
Keep your eye out for ground lamb on Kroger clearance I have been finding it often. Made homemade gyro meat. So good and easy
Thanks so much! I keep hoping to find some! I’ll keep looking!
Awesome deals!
RE: The lamb chops. Have you ever considered how much a serving costs versus how much a pound is. I have read this tip before. It is helpful when buying something that doesn’t have many bones compared to something with a whole lot of bones, etc.
Yes, I pretty much always consider that. Which is why I typically don’t buy meat that has bones in it. 🙂 This was a special occasion since I found it marked down to such a good price, had the wiggle room in my budget, and knew it would make Silas’ day… which it TOTALLY did!
I had a great chuckle when I read your “expensive” comment about lamb chops that were 4.99 a pound. I’m currently living in Australia – where sheep don’t quite outnumber people like in New Zealand, but it’s close! – and lamb is one of the main meats sold in grocery stores. But, I would be thrilled if I could find it anywhere close to 4.99 a pound. In fact, if I find any type of meat at that price I’m thrilled.
I sometimes get frustrated seeing these posts of yours – because even when I was living in the states I couldn’t get deals even close to what you post. Living here is multiple times worse. But, I keep reminding myself that my family didn’t move here for cheap groceries – and I do the best I can with my budget while making sure my family eats healthy.
Just a bit of perspective…4.99 isn’t really expensive for lamb, at least in many parts of the world!
Oh, just to clarify: $4.99 is great price for Lamb Chops — it’s just a lot more per pound of meat than we usually spend! That’s why I scooped it up. It’s usually a lot more expensive which is why we rarely ever buy it!
Your kids may be interested in making their own hummus. It’s cheap and you can experiment with the flavors. Hmmm… might have to do that this week :).
We’ve done it in the past… I felt like it was too much work and cost (buying the tahini, etc.) to make it something we do regularly. But that may have just been me! 🙂
Thanks for posting your weekly grocery shopping! I have been following your posts for a long time. My weekly budget is much higher, but I am proud that I have been trimming it down, bit by bit. I have hit a good place, where we eat pre-planned, healthy, simple meals that I buy once a week. We still go out to eat occasionally, but not because I don’t have dinner planned. This has been a huge success. Thank you for the weekly inspiration!
YAY! I am so proud of you!!
Great find on salad mix! Will you all eat it up that fast or do you have some secrets for making it last?
I make sure to only buy ones that look fresh and then refrigerate them right away and try to eat them within 3-5 days.
I need help on budgeting for a family of 4! Please help any tips