Last week, I posted about my end of the month grocery budget situation and the fact that I only had $20 in our grocery envelope and still had an entire week until payday. I was determined to see if I could make a menu and do my shopping with what cash I had left.
Below is the menu I had created, but the week didn’t play out exactly as I had planned. I had some family in town and that actually worked in our favor.
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If you forgot, here was the menu I had created based on what was in our pantry and freezer stockpile.
MENU
Thursday: chicken & rice, steamed broccoli, fruit
Friday: homemade pizza, carrots
Saturday: LEFTOVERS, skillet meal if needed *we will be at a wedding but my parents will be eating with the kids
Sunday: eggs, toast, fruit
Monday: cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, steamed carrots
Tuesday: BBQ chicken on the grill, green veggie
Wednesday: spaghetti, green veggie
Thursday: LEFTOVERS
Friday: homemade pizza, carrots
And here’s what we have actually ended up eating for the week.
Thursday: chicken & rice, steamed broccoli, fruit
Friday: OUT {dinner was at my grandmother’s house}
Saturday: OUT {we were at a wedding but the children got treated to some fried chicken by my parents}
Sunday: LEFTOVER chicken & rice, veggie, fruit
Monday: cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, steamed carrots
Tuesday: BBQ chicken, leftover sides
Wednesday: skillet meal, veggies, fruit
Thursday: pancakes, leftovers
Friday: homemade pizza, carrots
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Even though payday is tomorrow, we were out of some necessities {milk mostly}, so I went to the store today to get us through. Here’s what my trip looked like.
whole milk – $3.50
skim milk – $2.19 *was marked down
bananas – $1.23
strawberries – $2.00
peanut butter – $2.99
jam – $1.89 {forgot I had some in the pantry}
Total w/ taxes: $14.15
If you remember, I didn’t have that much left to spend, so you may be wondering how that worked out. Well, let’s just say that God provided {which he ALWAYS does}and I got a reimbursement check in the mail and my dad claimed he owed Kev a little money, so we had some extra cash come our way. Here’s the breakdown.
Grocery envelope (start): $20.00
Purchase on 5/22: $18.98
Return on 5/22: ($2.03)
Grocery envelope (as of 5/22): $3.05
Extra cash to spend: $12.00
Purchase on 5/29: $14.15
Grocery envelope (as of 5/29): $.90
Now if that’s not cuttin’ it close, then I don’t know what is!!
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Was anyone else scrapin’ by at the end of this month?
Wow – great job!!
Thanks, Kristin! We squeaked by, that's for sure! 🙂
We've had a few weeks like that. I've done a lot of creative meals. Lol. One time it was scrambled egg sandwiches and popcorn which the kids now love.
Scrambled egg sandwiches….I LOVE that idea!! We have definitely used eggs a lot when the fridge is getting bare. 🙂
You did so good! I love that you showed us what really happened with your menu plan. I always plan our meals for the week and we never follow it exactly. Even though I know that will happen I love knowing I have a plan. We are trying to keep our grocery budget as low as possible this pay period… I need to use some of that cash for other expenses if I can 😉
Thanks, Sarah! We rarely follow our menu to the "t", but it's just helpful to make it and know I have the ingredients for at least those meals – I can switch up the days if I want or we may have more leftovers (or not enough) than I anticipated! Good luck with your grocery budget this pay period – you can do it!! 🙂