Tuesday, May 3

Starting a $25 a week grocery budget challenge!

I used the last month and a half using my FULL ($400-$450 a month) grocery budget to stock up on everything I can. I still couponed and shopped sales like crazy so that means I literally got 4 times the amount of product for the same budget! Now I have AT LEAST a FULL 2 months worth of food (other than the perishables of course!) to make my meals from. My friend (thanks Maureen!!!) encouraged me to drastically cut my budget now and challenge myself. "Why not take vacations or save" she was saying, so I decided to do just that. I went from a $400 budget to $100, that's $3600 a year! God truly has blessed me with the knowledge to do this successfully for my family. He has opened so many opportunities up to us (a vacation we didn't have the budget for, padding savings, blessing others with knowledge and products, paying our student loans off sooner) and for that I am SO GRATEFUL!

I am very excited to share my first week was a success!!!! Even after I had to buy extra food to make meals to feed 3 families (family vacation this weekend), I STILL stayed in budget using coupons and shopping smart. Hopefully, I am as successful the next 7 weeks :)

Here are my weeks matchups, everything you see below cost me a grand total of $3.72 (I will be adding 3 -3pk Ivory soaps & at least 1 bottle of Bob's BBQ sauce to this (all FREE) sometime this week!:



CVS:
Vlasic Pickles $1 - $1 off 2 coupon (in the FREE magazine as you enter country mart, by meat warmers)
Colgate Toothpaste $2.77 - $2.77 ECBs (BONUS if you have the $1 off 1 coupon or .75 off 1 coupon, money maker!!!! Which was the case for me!)
Bic Soleil $6.99 - $3 ECB - $3 coupon, only .99!!!

Walgreens:
Fixodent $3.99 - $1RR - $3 coupon, FREE!
Gillette Pro Glide $12.89 (sale $9.89) - $5RR - $4 coupon, ONLY .89!
Comet $1.00 (sale .50!) - .25 coupon, only .25! Grandma uses this stuff and I find it AWESOME for washing outdoor lawn furniture or the kids plastic outdoor toys :)



SOON TO COME DEALS:
CVS, Walmart & Krogers all have Ivory bar soap (3pk) for .97-$1, use the $1 coupon from this sunday paper, FREE

Country Bob's BBQ sauce has a printable FREE coupon. Site is down, probably overloaded, but it's carried at Walmart.

2 comments:

The Peculiar Homemaker said...

I am so grateful to my husband for such an AWESOME mother's day gift!!! He put shelving in my laundry room to accomidate my new little hobby ;) AND did it while I was out one evening shopping with a friend. I love him so much <3

Here's the link, not sure if you will be able to view it or now...

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/221819_1950226629553_1059225390_2309278_2217802_n.jpg

The Peculiar Homemaker said...

Maybe, $25 a week doesn't work for you...however, I KNOW with the method of coupon & sales I've learned to use you can AT THE VERY LEAST cut your bill in half!!!