monthly budget challenge: groceries

As I mentioned in my Adirondack chair post, I started a monthly budget challenge at the beginning of June in response to receiving a ginormous electric bill. This year, we had a hot spring with 9 days of over 90-degree temperatures. With the kids home and the higher temperatures, we had used almost double the electricity compared to May 2023. The bill was $512.56. Yes, take a moment to read that.

I decided to work on our budget in preparation for paying the high bill, knowing we could face 2 more high bills for the rest of the summer. Groceries were an area I could improve, particularly since we had gotten into the habit of just shopping for food without much thought.

Shop on 4X Gas Rewards Day (Friday)

I started by shopping on Fridays, primarily by myself, to take advantage of the gas rewards for Kroger customers. Generally, I spent enough to save $1 on a gallon of gas each time I filled up. I estimated I saved about $60 to $70 each month on gas by changing my shopping day. Estimating conservatively, that’s $720 saved on gas yearly.

Shop by myself

Shopping by myself prevented non-essentials from being purchased. I could also focus on checking unit prices without worrying about delaying other family members.

Shop Sales/Check Unit Prices

I started taking advantage of sales on items we used a lot. My first time doing this I stocked up on laundry detergent and peanut butter. Kroger offered savings when buying 5 items, plus I had a $10 off $200 purchase coupon.

Even if something was on sale, I checked the unit price of all the available versions of an item. Sometimes, the smaller size was a better deal than the larger size. When this happened for peanut butter, I bought more jars to ensure I could have enough on hand until the next sale.

Shop store brands over name brands

Choosing store brands over name brands worked most of the time. Generally, the unit price for store brands is lower than name brands on sale. Generally, the quality is about the same as the name brands. However, we found at least one exception. The store-brand version of corn chips was not as flavorful as the Frito brand. I bought extra for our favorite corn dip when it went on sale.

Shop clearance items

When we started shopping at Kroger in 2021, clearance racks were easy to find every week. One would be in the bakery, and the other near the pharmacy. This spring, the clearance racks were only out a few weeks each month. Nonetheless, I kept an eye out for them, and checked them each time.

Generally, I looked for items we use frequently like canned tomatoes and beans. I lucked out twice with a marked-down container of Cascade dishwasher pacs and a box of Kroger brand 13-gallon trash bags. At the beginning of the summer, I scored 5 or 6 boxes of snack bars.

Make a price book

Years ago, I read about price books in the Tightwad Gazette. I used mine for a while until the prices were in my head. I considered using a price book here in VA and even made one last year. But, it was another thing in my purse.

I love using my iPhone as a PDA. When Palm Pilots came out years ago, I loved, loved having a Palm Pilot. I understood Kate’s frustration in an NCIS show when Gibbs shot her Palm Pilot. But, how to create a price book for the iPhone?

I tried a few apps, but they were not what I wanted. I decided to use my tried-and-true Google spreadsheets to create a price book. Two weeks ago, when I had 2 boys home from wisdom teeth surgery, I grabbed my laptop, set up my spreadsheet, entered the data from 2 months of receipts, and the rest is history.

Fetch app

My sister-in-law turned me on to the Fetch app several years ago. Over time, I’ve earned a few gift certificates to Home Depot and Lowe’s. While Fetch offers a wide range of gift certificates to be earned, I stuck with the home improvement ones. Since we make a lot of our food from scratch, it’s taken me a while to build up my points. I started checking Fetch weekly to match point offers with sales at Kroger. This has accelerated my point earning a bit. Another way to earn points is to invite friends and family to join Fetch. It’s best to do this when you can receive 3,000 or 5,000 points when someone signs up.

Next on my list

• Shop multiple stores using their apps: Kroger, Food Lion, Aldi’s, Target, Dollar Tree
• Try a website that offers free printable coupons: Lozo
• Keep finding ways to make food from scratch while evaluating the associated costs (time and money)