GroceryCartChallenge blog - CHECK IT OUT!!

dkcolby:

Another good one is http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com.

OMG!!! I LOOOOVE this blog!  Homemade Febreeze??!!  Homemade Pam???!!!  This lady is amazing!  Feeding her family of 5 for around $50/week.  You have to check this blog out!

I have just discovered a MAJOR error in my "budgetting"... yes, me.  The "me" who thought I was a great budgeter, wanting to be a shining example to those around me on what a frugal lifestyle was like.  After reading several of her blog posts, I am super guilty of buying things NOT on my list.  Mostly those "great deals" that you "can't" pass up... like marked down meat.  Today I bought a big 5.5lb pack marked down.  It was the "regular" ground beef.  I like to buy the leanest - I don't pour as much down the drain that way, but I bought it anyway 'cause it was a "good deal!!"  I still have 5 lbs from the previous time I bought LEAN hamburger in the freezer. 

I'm approaching the time to need to do another major shopping trip, but knew I needed to pick up a few things today.  Fresh fruit, and socks for DH & myself.  I got all of the above plus the marked down hburger, a marked down roast, and a bag of stir-fry mix because I decided it would be good to have on hand *if* I wanted to make fried rice - I don't have PLANS to make fried rice immediately.  So, even though it's all in the budget, I overspent my original list by $15.83.  Now, that's a hurtin' on my budget that I won't be able to spend when I go on my huge trip and might need some other stuff even worse.  I already HAVE a small roast in the freezer, and I HAVE hamburger in the freezer, so I just spent $15 on something I WANTED and didn't NEED.  How good of a budgeter am I?  Not as good as I thought.  Now I will strive to do better!!  Enough of preaching to myself here, but I did truely want to highlight and pass along the blog info.  I want to go spend some more time reading her posts.  See ya there!

~Miriam

You are right, there is alot of good stuff on that blog.  Might be the weekend reading.

Good ideas. I just want to know were she lives. Soy milk here in Rock Springs, Wy is not $1.99. Its about $3.50 something. I do all my grocery shopping with my little kids on the weekend. I hate shopping with my nephew though. My kids always seem to ask and want more when he goes with us. Sometimes I think he tells my 3 year old to ask me for stuff.

Rachelle

Wow.  I was up till 2am reading her blog!  I think I've read almost the whole thing.  She has another one (there are links to it on this one) that is more "daily life" talking, super funny, serious, hilarious, etc. 

Rachelle, you wonder how she gets soy milk for that price... in my late night (or early morning??) ventures, I read that she shops at a couple different stores.  I really can't remember the details, but somehow she has a store or so that are similar to Big Lots, only for groceries.  None of the names sounded familiar to me, but then we don't have ANY discount grocery stores in our area!  The closest one I know if is 2 hrs away.

I felt embarrassed when I realized that she's feeding her crew on the same amount that DH and I budget for our food!  Granted, she gets all her bread from the local bakery thrift store, and the closest one to us is like 45 min away, so that's not an option for us.  She sure knows her stuff, that's for sure!  Oh, I just remembered - they live in WA.  I loved this blog so much I want to go check this morning to see if she posted anything new!  If you go back in her archives, she has some amazing stories about getting to where she does what she does.

Miriam

Where is this blog?  I've been on vacation so missed some entries.

Maggie123:

Where is this blog?  I've been on vacation so missed some entries.

Maggie, if you go to the first entry on this post (I posted it), and click on the blog address highlighted in the "quote" box, it should take you right to her blog.  You'll have to look around her blog to find the febreeze and other recipes I was talking about.  I spent a LOT of time on her blog last night, and alot more time on it today, it really is fabulous.

I hope this helps :)

~Miriam

Miriam-We don't have any of those kind of discount grocery stores here in wonderful Wyoming. I did find a tiny container of soy milk for $1.99 at Smiths but that would not last one day in my house. I have to budget myself extra grocery money to keep up with my kids milk drinking. When super Wal-Mart opened up, it was similar to a discount grocery store but now their prices are the same as the other 2 grocery stores in town. I liked the blog too and have added some of her ideas to my already cheap household.

Rachelle

Thank you for finding and sharing this amazing site!!! I LOVE it. Our "discount" grocery doesn't have a refrigerated/frozen section. Otherwise they have great deals on laundry, soaps, shampoos, canned and boxed goods, cerials,ect... Love going there.

Yup, I'm going back to this site later when I get all my chores done here at work!