Don't Let Me in a Grocery Store Again, Ever.
Aisles upon aisles of tantalizing packaging torment me until I can't help but spend on edibles that I may or may not need.
How is it that I go into a grocery store planning on picking up eggs, milk, perhaps a few apples and a sweet potato, and leave with a $70 bill?
I'll tell you how...
$2.69: Milk, 1/2 gallon
$4.79: Flaxseed Meal (to try putting in a shake. Or to bake with. If i ever learn how to bake.)
$2.13: two red garnet yams (yum)
$5.99: String cheese (a good snack. i ran out of string cheese a while back. i needed more)
$2.99: bath salts (yea, I know, I don't need these, but... they smell so pretty, and they were only 2.99!)
$14.99: vanilla whey protein powder (i'm experimenting with protein powders. i got a small sample of this brand the other day and liked it. so i decided to buy more.)
$2.91: two pink lady apples (who can resist a pink lady?)
$3.99: figs (they were on sale. They have fiber. They called to me.)
$1.19: one sweet potato (well, my third one, counting the red garnet yams)
$19.99: a strainer. (I needed a new one since I keep burning myself trying to pour hot water when I cook pasta. This one is special. You can boil things in it.)
$2.69: yeast... in case I ever want to use the bread tin I bought the other day.
$2.99: frozen peaches (for a shake?)
$2.89: liquid egg
$2.24: four kiwis (i say a kiwi a day keeps the doctor away.)
________
$72.47
+ CA sales tax of $3.13
Grand Total: $75.60
Gah! I've spent so much money on groceries this month. I'm trying to be good and not go out to lunch and dinner always, but I think I'm actually spending more now that I'm going to the grocery store on a weekly basis. Even though I am eating healthier...
In other quasi food-related news... I bought three shares of McDonald's stock today. My gold ETF is up and my small cap risk is way down. I decided to put $3000 in my Roth IRA for 2008, so when I'm ready for retirement, at least I can say that I tried to be smart and I put in $7000 before I turned 25. I'll see if I can get the other $2000 in sometime over the year. More on that later.
9 comments:
This happens to me ALL the time! My problem is when I make my one shopping trip per week, a few days later, I remember *one* other thing that I have to get... and that turns into too many things. Luckily, I have to walk some from my car to my apartment, so this usually discourages me from buying more than I can carry in one trip!
Really, you just had a couple big ticket items--the strainer and whey powder. It isn't so bad, both should last you awhile!
haha, what kind of pf blogger am i, I'm enabling
sjean: that's the problem, though. i do that every time i go to the supermarket. it's not like i always buy frivolously... but those big ticket items add up fast.
i'm so bad at this being frugal stuff!
If you eliminate the strainer, whey powder, and bath salts your bill is only $34.50! Your problem isn't your food budget, it's the add-ons that you purchase at the grocery store.
I struggle with grocery stores too. I end up buying just a few extras, but those add up! I'm trying to make it through the rest of the month without a trip to the grocery store (or eating out - no more spending on food in Jan!). I picked up some fresh fruits and veggies at the market today, so I should be set. I hope.
I had the same problem this weekend. I went to Rite Aid only intending to pick up the FAR stuff and then went and bought a ton of sardines (2 for $1)
At Safeway I ended up buying pie crust and two packages of turkey breast since it was on sale ($2 each), that's not including my other trip to stock up on Oatmeal.
You should try the no knead bread. I made it this weekend and it's super easy and quick. And it's cheaper than buying your own ... well that sort of depends but it's way more fun.
$2.69 for yeast seems kind of expensive ... I pay $1.69 usually at Trader Joe's.
If you cut the yeast, flax, bath salts, and figs (respectively, two things you probably shouldn't buy until you're ready to actually use, one you don't need, and one that's just more money than you want to spend), you're down nearly $15. Then you vow to use that protein powder 'til it's gone, so you won't be buying another can next week (just the other smoothie ingredients, like yogurt and frozen fruits), and take care of your strainer so that it's a one-time purchase. Then it's a pretty reasonable grocery excursion in price, except that you can't make a lot of substantive meals out of the stuff you bought.
Have you tried planning a week's worth of meals? It really does cut the grocery bill. Eating only seasonal food helps, too--it's rough on the budget to be buying figs and kiwis in January.
$70 for a week right? Or so?
That's not too bad... $280 for the month is pretty reasonable considering what you bought
I live in Las Vegas, not a particularly cheap place to live, and to me it seems like you are paying way too much on produce.
Yams should not cost over $1 each. Even if they're big yams.
Apples, except maybe for honeycrisp (and they're oh so worth it), should NOT be more than $1 EACH.
And $2.24 for FOUR kiwis? Sheesh.
I really don't blame you though. We used to shop at Albertson's until we realized that a simple bag of grapes -non-organic- was over $10. Ridiculous. We checked out Food4Less and it's actually cleaner, has bigger aisles, and is much much cheaper than Albertson's. (The same grapes at Food4Less are $3.50 by comparison.)
I'm not one who spends all their spare time price-checking, but paying over $10 for a bag of grapes is too much. Go one block further down your street. You'll be surprised at the other stores you would have never thought of going to.
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