Food Spending Journal for Week July 14-July20

I need to become more accountable for my food shopping. I need to lower my spending there too. So, as a way to become more accountable, I have decided to use this blog. I use this blog to be accountable for my weight loss, so why not food buying too since this blog is all about what I eat. I have to feed a family of 6 and I have three small children ages 3 and 16 months. I also have an 8 year old. I am just going to journal for a few months and see about my spending and then try to make a budget and stick to it, as best as possible. Grocery shopping is kind of hard for me because we get money once a month and that has to last all month. I usually like to stock up on some things in the beginning of the month, even though I could probably wait until the end of the month to get it. I also try to look for deals and sometimes that means stocking up earlier on the month on those items too. I got this idea from a MPM poster, Gayle. You should check out her blog, it is so neat. She lives off of about $50 a week for groceries, not just food. I have found that on weeks that she is trying to eat healthier, she does seem to spend more though. So, I know I will be spending more than $50 a week and I am only going to include food. We already have a pretty set budget on household stuff and diapers/pull-ups. (I buy mostly generic but I know I need to become better at doing coupons and deals, like CVS. I wish someone could help me understand CVS because I still don't understand it.) This is kind of like a game to me and I do want to become more accountable about what I buy and since food journeying helps me with food intake, why not try it with food spending. So here goes my first week. To see my weekly menu plan, go here.
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Wal-mart
1/2 gallon buttermilk $2.98
2 lbs lean ground beef $7.76
Jimmy Dean De-light (4 pre-made sausage croissants) $5.94
Jimmy Dean sausage Croissants (DH takes these to work) $5.94
Canadian Bacon $2.97
Shredded Pizza Cheese $2.68
Nestle 24 pack Bottled Water(not pictured) $3.88
Head of lettuce(on sale) 98 cents
2 bell peppers (on sale) 50 cents
2 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Sprays (on sale) $5.00
Light Twinkies $3.00
Whales (kids snack) $1.66
1/2 gallon Orange Juice $2.34
Fat Free Hot Dogs (on sale) $2.50
Light Sour Cream $1.08
Egg Beaters $5.28
2 Refrigerated Pizza Dough $2.88
4 pound onions $3.78
Hamburger Buns $1.68
Loaf bread (on sale) $1.97
2 Apple Juice $5.00
Fiber One Bars $2.48
Non stick canola Oil spray $1.68
Bisquick Heart Smart $2.98
1 jar spaghetti sauce $1.25
Watkins Paprika $2.68
Peach Baby Food(not for baby for cupcakes) $1.09
2 packages water drop-ins (on sale) $3.00
SF/FF Strawberry Jello 50 cents
Hot Dog Buns $1.68
Italian Bread loaf $1.50
Bananas (on sale) 1.67
Reduced Sugar Yellow Cake Mix $1.00
12 pack Caffeine Free Diet Dr Pepper(for me) $3.88
2 gallons milk WIC Free
1 box Rice Krispies WIC Free
1 box Multi Grain Cheerios WIC Free
2 Grape Juicy Juice WIC Free
1 dozen eggs WIC Free
1 Peanut Butter WIC Free
Total Spent: $95.12
Note: I also got a Watermelon and the check out girl came to my cart to ring up my water and pop and said she had to manually ring in the watermelon, which I thought she did but I can't find it on my receipt. I guess she forgot to manually enter it and I thought she had. It was on sale for $3.88.
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Food City
8 boxes(only one in picture) 94% FF Butter Microwave Popcorn (on sale$1.25 usually $1.89) $10.00
Kraft Fat Free Mayo (on sale) $2.69
Kraft Fat Free Miracle Whip(on sale) $2.79
Peter Pan Whipped Peanut Butter $2.29
1 cucumber 65 cents
2.31 pounds Red Grapes(on sale 1.99 pound) $4.60
24 pack Pepsi One(Dh's drink on sale) $3.34
Total Spent: $26.56
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Total Weekly Food Buying: $121.68