For my shopping budget I include:
*All of our food items including any snack items purchased at a convenience store
*All of our paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex, etc...)--try to use cloth napkins and regular towels for most things except for greasy spills.
*All of our cleaning products (window cleaner, all purpose cleaner,soap, toilet bowl cleaner, laundry det., etc....)--I make most of my cleaning products from baking soda, vinegar and essential oils so they only cost me pennies.
*All of my wine making ingredients (yes, I drink the occasionally glass of wine as well as cook with wine)--I can make 30 bottles of wine for less than $3 each and it last me a year or more
What I don't include:
*Over the counter medications--I consider these part of our medical budget
*Dining out--because our budget is tight, we consider eating out an extra and are lucky to eat out once or twice a month, if the budget allows
*Any catering or cooking for others that I am reimbursed or paid to cook
I know that some people don't include their cleaning supplies in their grocery budget and consider it a household expense or they have a separate cleaning budget. The reason I include it in my budget is most of the ingredients are cooking items (baking soda, vinegar) and are also used for cooking.
I hope this clarifies a little bit for those of you who had questions, feel free to email me if you still want more info.
Now, onto my shopping expedition. Friday a friend and I took a road trip to the nearest Aldi (about an hour away). I only go here every couple of months because it is so far away, but there are certain things that I buy that are so much cheaper it is worth the drive occasionally. The Aldi is only about 15 min. from the nearest Ikea and I needed a couple of items from there for the house, so I was able to make the trip worthwhile!
I spent $123.49 at Aldi, and that included a couple of convenience food for the next week as we rip out a wall in our living room and replace it.
My second stop was at Sams Club today. I spent a total of $88.32 on groceries, most of which was meat. I was able to purchase a case of chicken breasts for $1.52 a pound, which is a staple in our house. A case is approx. 40lbs and will make 30+ meals for my family.
Even with buying some "easy" foods for the kids to prepare this week while we walk on the wall, I spent less than I was expecting to spend. I do have one more stop to make in the next day or two and that is to pick up my Coconut Milk Creamer for my coffee--dairy and I do NOT get along :( . I will add another update after I make that purchase.
YTD Total Spent: $211.81
YTD Budget: $300.00
Remaining Budget: $88.19
There is still time to enter to win a free Shortcut Cooking ebook--see this post.
