I've also been thinking a lot this week about how my grocery budget results look so much more sparse than some people's. I just really have stopped caring at all about having 80 bags of chocolate chips that I paid $.25 for and far prefer to have healthy and fresh foods that my family (especially my children) love. Yes, I paid nearly $2/tub of cottage cheese, and $1 per avocado, but they will get eaten! I feel better about that than having a pantry full of processed foods that I would prefer none of us eat.
Since I wasn't able to pick up my chicken breasts at the store, I'm a little short on meal plan ideas! I will probably make cavatini on Monday or Tuesday night. We've also been making and loving burritos out of our favorite black bean dip. We'll be snacking on Thanksgiving leftovers, homemade guacamole, cheese and crackers, bagels and cream cheese, etc. Sounds like good eatin' to me!
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I am really struggling with that myself. I feel like I have to choose between feeding my family "junk" that I can get for free or close to it or blow past our budget to get fresh stuff. I notice how much better we all feel when we eat the fresh stuff as opposed to boxed potatoes. Glad to know I am not the only one struggling with this!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely IS harder to stretch the budget on fresh food. By the end of the week, our fridge (and even our freezer lately) are looking really sad. I figure as long as I can figure out something for meals for the whole week, we're managing just fine.
ReplyDeleteA-M-E-N! I've been struggling with this for a while also. I started buying as much organic as I possibly could back in August and it nearly broke our budget. Trying to find that balance has been tough. We all need to stick together and find a solution! So glad to see I am not alone.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean... I don't have as big a "saving percentage" because I buy a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits and dairy (though there can be coupons for those items). But I know I'm spending what's right for my family's budget, and I know my family is eating well.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you stopped by Wednesday Weekly Shopping at Frugal Follies! Come back again next Wednesday and link up again!
I applaud you for staying under $50 each week. I used to feel bad because I couldn't get my budget down to $40 or $50 a week. We try to eat pretty healthy but I am not going to pretend no processed food every makes it into my cart, it just depends on the deals.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is our only real Grocery store is Kroger, Kroger can have some great deals and they do double coupons up to 50cents but I have just never managed to get my budget below $150 per 2 weeks. Sometimes I even spend $175 per two weeks.
Each family and situation is different so I am just thankful that my grocery bill is soooooo much lower now than it was before I started couponing! :)
Amber
http://simoneysavers.com
Just found your blog :) Totally can relate-a year ago I was buying at least 10 Sunday papers each week, as well as buying coupons from services-all to feed my massive stockpile. Finally I had to step back and ask myself what exactly was I going to do with those 40 bottles of shampoo and 30 boxes of toothpaste. Since then I've stopped stock piling and focus instead on feeding my family of five on a $60 a week grocery budget, that consists of nutritious food. I've also just started buying organic and want to really expand on that :)
ReplyDeletesara www.myfrugalfunlife.com