weekly budget.

***disclaimer***my husband, who doesn't get offended, just told me that this blog entry could be offensive. so...i re-read it for like the 4th time, and i certainly don't mean to be offensive to anyone. so sorry if i offended you. i really try to be honest with my thoughts and emotions here, and that's all i was after, not meaning to be mean or step on anyone's toes. soooooo...all that to say, didn't mean to offend anyone, or sound like i have it all together, but be more of an encouragement to those out there who are interested in saving money. if i can do it, anyone can do it mentality. from the sounds of things, i am not saving near enough money, so i have nothing to be encouraging people about. :)

can anyone tell me what i am "supposed" to spend at the grocery store a week?

let's say to feed a family of 5+?

(6 would be great, but i know ya'll don't have big families) ;)

an average weekly budget.

what does that look like?

my bill was $21.90 today at CVS.

10 items.

do you wanna know how much i paid?

$0.02.

yep. that's all. made me smile.

but back to the grocery question.

so i have been couponing for real for the past 2 months now,

and while i am noticing that my credit card bills are slowly creeping down,

my grocery averages are really not as much as i thought they might.

 i am getting WAY, WAY more food for my money,

which i need to take into account,

and saving large amounts of money, in doing this,

( anywhere from $20-$60 savings)

 but i am also trying things i wouldn't normally try if i couldn't buy them for a mere buck...

 also noting that if i keep up the average that i am "saving"

per say, that i could "save"

almost $3000.00/year on groceries.

hello. did you hear me?

that might mean paying off the farm before i am 60, or maybe even 58.

ha.ha.ha. ;)

or bring my bay house idea to fruition.

i haven't given up...yet.

but, still...curious to know how much everyone spends on groceries a week.

please tell.

maybe someone knows what all the money authors tell you...

since i want you to tell me, i guess i need to tell you. :)

my average was more like $200. before this coupon experiment.

now, it has ranged from $155 - $190.
and let me tell you, that some weeks i spend $30.
but then it's "catch up" other weeks.
and i never just go to one store.
so, some weeks at the amish store i stock up on a lot of things,
which skews my "weekly" average a lot, because then i don't buy those
things for months.
so...i save all my receipts, and then average them out,
but, it still doesn't really work out right.
like, now...i have a TON of cereal, and drinks...sodas and juice boxes
because they were a really good deal.

granted i do entertain a lot, which i think does make a difference,

and pull ups, etc.
soooo...

( i think the money people tell you to track toiletries seperately,

which i haven't done, and don't really know whey they tell ya that...

but it seems like a big headache, and quite frankly i don't wanna take the time to figure that out)

however, i also ~rarely~ buy meat

because we have our own beef, chicken, and eggs here.

(i can't wait to try to do this grocery thing without having some sort

of diapers or baby stuff on my bill.

talk about jacking it up...)

 

and milk.

milk is so expensive.

i know you dairy farmers have supposedly not been making any money

but do you know i pay sometimes over $4 a gallon for milk.

do you know how much milk we use here?

:)

okay. enough of my ranting.

i have got to get some work done.

see ya.