Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The Best Laid Schemes....


........o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley.--Robert Burns

I had a plan for the week in terms of groceries.

A few veggies at the local market plus seasonal strawberries.

Then to Weis for 3 dozen eggs.  Eggs are on sale for $1.47 there this week, limit of 3 so a stock-up on eggs was going to happen.

While I was in the store a saw that the loose fresh mushrooms were back in stock and I picked up some 50% salad greens.   Then I spied 2 bags of fresh stir-fry veggies with 50% off stickers on them.  I then picked up some Chinese veggies(water chestnuts, bamboo shoots-not pictured) on sale.

There was a 50% sticker on a package of salmon back at the seafood counter which made the piece $4.36 a lb.  Score!

Then I went cruising back to the meat counter and found packages of 85% ground beef with $3 off stickers on them, making them UNDER $3 a lb.($2.95 to $2.98 lb.)  Double Score!!  I was good and I only bought 5 of them...plenty left for the next frugal shopper.

I also picked up a package of panko coated thin pork pieces, also with a $1 off sticker on it.  Pork tenderloin sammiches anyone?

A half gallon of 2% milk, 2 Velveeta noodle dishes for College Boy(not pictured)and 3 cans of tuna(.77¢ each, not pictured)rounded out the order.


$50.97 spent on $83.29 worth of groceries, a savings of 39%.
The only items I bought that were not on sale were the mushrooms and the milk(milk never goes on sale in PA).  I also didn't use a single coupon either, other than the Instant Discount coupons on the packages.
You can still save money on groceries by seeking out items on sale and on instant discount.  By stockpiling and buying ahead I hardly ever have to pay full retail for any food(other than milk).  Menus and dinners are adjusted according to what is on hand and what I find on special at the stores.

Since I didn't plan on spending $50 on groceries today(meat for less than $3 a lb. I could NOT turn down!) and I am already over my self-imposed $250 monthly budget for February AND most of this will be eaten in March, I am putting this grocery tab onto March's tally.

My budget, my rules...... 8-)

Of course this means I will start March off with that much less to spend on food.
Now I am off to clean upstairs.

And yes Kim, I did have room to put those canned goods away that had bee residing on the kitchen table.  It was just too cold until yesterday to spend any length of time out in the garage putting things away.  8-)

Sluggy
 

13 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It does have a nice ring to it, don't it?? ;-)

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  2. I would have done the same. If in the long run, picking up extras/awesome deals NOW for upcoming months will save you in the long run: STOCK UP! : )

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  3. Often, I, too, go in for one thing and find lots of sales...aaagh. But, those bargains help the budget in the weeks to come.

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  4. I'm so proud of you,but I would have bought all the burger and left none for anyone else. What does that say about me?

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    1. Well it's not like the thought of buying it all didn't cross my mind either!!! I just knew I wouldn't have room in the freezer for all 15 packs, otherwise..........

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  5. I love your budget rules! I would rethink my rules, too, for meat at less than $3/pound! For now, we are working on emptying the freezer. We will be purchasing only fresh fruits, vegetables and milk. The problem is that in order to get the milk, we have to go through the store! The milk is on the opposite corner of where the fresh fruit is! My wife checks out the reduced stuff on the way through and might buy something we don't really need. I wish the milk was in the front of the store!!! Any way, the money we spend on groceries in March should be way lower than any of the last 12 months, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

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    Replies
    1. Good luck on your low spend on groceries for March. My son will be home the beginning of March so I dare say my March won't start off well. lolz

      Feb. started off well for me between the snowstorms and not getting to the store. I do need to now buckle down and start eating from the freezer again.

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  6. I sometimes shop on Thursdays and include it on next weeks bills. WE live dangerously.

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  7. If it was 85% ground beef what is the other 15%? Just curious this side of the pond.

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    1. Ground beef is sold according to percentage of lean meat to fat ratio, so 85% lean=15% fat added. The highest % of lean to fat you can get is 93%/7%. 73%lean/27%fat is the lowest quality they sell. There is also a mixture with TVP(Textured Vegetable Protein)also added in. I first encountered back in the 1970's, though the stores have to label by law if TVP is in your ground beef.

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    2. Thank you for that, I was curious.

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