Who wants to save money on their grocery bill??? I DO! I DO! I mentioned on my last post that I would be talking about my shopping experience at the fabulous grocery store called Aldi. As promised, I’m about to break it down for you!
Since I had Lexi (she just turned 1), our budget for groceries/hygiene products has been $600 per month. But keep in mind…that also included diapers and formula. Now that Lexi is on whole milk, our bill has really gone down. Side note: about once a month I purchased formula, diapers, and wipes online at Costco. It was the best value, free shipping, and I didn’t have to worry about filling my grocery cart with it – instead it got delivered right at my door! So Lexi is still in size 3 diapers and we buy those about every other month (1 box for home and 1 box for the daycare), and Joe is in a pull-up at night so those last us about 2 months as well. So now that I’ve got that under control, I’ve been really motivated to see if I could find some other savings.
My Monday’s are always the same as far as chores go – I get all the laundry done and I grocery shop. I was noticing that each week when I would make my trip to Walmart, I was easily spending at least $150. I would cringe every time the cashier would tell me my bill. What is it about Walmart? I go in with a list and come out with so much more! Then I get home, put it all away, and wonder what the heck I just bought! So about a month ago, I took a stand. A stand against Walmart!
Groceries from Aldi – $67
There is an Aldi in the next shopping strip down from Walmart. I’ve been there a time or two but never made it a regular thing because it never failed, I would end up having to make an additional trip to Walmart ANYWAY…and ain’t nobody got time to make 2 trips! Sooooo…this took some planning. I decided to get better organized. We don’t need hygiene or cleaning products every single week. And if we absolutely run out of something, I bet you we can get by for 7 days without it. I mean really, if we run out of toothpaste, we have a drawer full of free samples from the dentist! And oh, it was actually pretty sweet of my husband…on Monday mornings he sets out the item that he’s run out of (or running low on), and last week, he set out his shaving cream bottle. Well, due to my diligent planning, it wasn’t the week for me to make a trip to Walmart. So I didn’t get his shaving cream. When he got home, I was the bearer of bad news, but in return he said, “I have a travel bottle in my luggage so if I run out, I’ll just use that”. Awwwww, so sweet! 😉 To simplify things even more, I simply take a picture of the items we are about to run out of. This serves as my shopping list for Walmart. Does anyone use Jergans Cherry Almond lotion? Ah, I love it! I got hooked on it when I was in high school because my Grandmother used it and I thought she smelled so good. I’ve tried other lotions through the years, but I always go back to Jergens. Also from Walmart, I bought Chobani non-fat Greek yogurt, Stevia, and Kashi granola bars (I’ve tried the brands at Aldi but I didn’t like them). My total bill at Walmart was $38 for 8 items. I literally went in with tunnel vision and ONLY bought was on my list!
Walmart shopping list
So here’s the deal… my plan is to spend $200 on groceries alone (per month). That said, most months are made up of 4 weeks, but on the months that make up 5 weeks, I will bump it up to $250. Will this be a challenge? Maybe! But it’s a goal, and a good goal to have for my family! As far as my little lists for Walmart, I plan to make a trip every other week and simply stick to the list. If I could get it under $100 for the month (diapers included), that would be ideal. We shall see!
I went shopping at Aldi yesterday, attempted to get enough groceries to last for 2 weeks, and spent $71. Here is what I have planned for dinner:
Week 1
- Monday – Spaghetti and salad (leftovers for lunch)
- Tuesday – Salmon, brown rice, asparagus
- Wednesday – Left over salmon dinner
- Thursday – Steak, red potatoes, zucchini and broccoli (leftovers for lunch)
- Friday – Chicken Primavera (I will post the recipe soon)
- Saturday – Date night! The kids will go to the church and have pizza
- Sunday – I typically don’t cook on Sundays. I’ll make sandwiches, nachos, or we’ll have whatever is leftover in the fridge (possibly the chicken primavera)
Week 2
I will have to make a quick trip to Aldi for the ingredients for the casserole I plan to make on Wednesday. But after making this dinner plan for the week, everything else will be items I already have on hand. Yay!
- Monday – Beef Carnita Tacos, black beans (leftovers for lunch)
- Tuesday – Grilled Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans (leftovers for lunch)
- Wednesday – Tex Mex Turkey Enchilada Casserole (I will post the recipe soon)
- Thursday – Leftover casserole
- Friday thru Sunday – We are going to East TX for Easter weekend so I don’t have to worry about meals!!!
For those of you interested in my daily meals (because I do eat a lot during the day to support my workout routine), here is what I’m having:
- Meal 1: Protein shake (Advocare Muscle Gain, water, spinach, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1/2 banana, oats, ice)
- Meal 2: 2 egg whites, 1 egg, 2 slices of turkey bacon, 1 slice of whole wheat toast with almond butter
- Meal 3: Grilled chicken, salad, sweet potato
- Meal 4: Ground turkey, bell pepper/onion mix, brown rice and quinoa
- Meal 5: Dinner listed above
- Meal 5: Yogurt and almonds
My husband has the same breakfast/snack items every day. He is so easy! He has oatmeal, a granola bar, a banana, and V8 juice. He’ll take any leftovers for lunch that I give him.
Lexi doesn’t really have snacks just yet. When we get home she’s still napping, so we wake her around 6:00, she has milk, then dinner.
Joe has an afternoon snack. It varies depending on his mood 😉 We’ll give him fruit, pickles, cheese and crackers, goldfish, or cereal. He’s pretty easy to please. Most of the time he goes for the fruit which makes me happy!
With the exception of 3 dinners which were purchased last week (spaghetti, tacos, and casserole), everything else listed above was from yesterdays trip. Also included in that bill were 2 jugs of milk, eggs, cereal, almond butter, bread, fruit, chips, juice, and water bottles – all of which will last for 2 weeks. Again, it was only $71! And last week I spent $67 and had 3 dinners leftover. SCORE! Here is where I stand so far:
- March 31st – $67.55
- April 7th – $71.44
- April 14th – $10.00 or less (I should only have to purchase the items for the casserole)
- April 21st – Spend no more than $50
- April 28th – Spend no more than $50
So there you go. As a mom and meal planner for my family, it’s rewarding that I’ve found a way to save money all while providing nutritious and tasty meals.
What do you think? Does this sound reasonable?
What money saving ideas do you have?
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