Week 4 *insert dramatic music here*

*deep breath* So, week 4 on my super frugal journey and still not a bad week. We did some of our shopping at Aldi yesterday and I would say that we saved quite a bit on what we purchased compared to paying full price at a super market. This was a particularly large shopping week for us, we definitely needed to replenish some of our stockpile and needed a few other things as well. We ended up going to 4 stores. Now that may sound like a lot, but when you have a perfectly mapped out plan and you KNOW what you're going to purchase based on sales and coupons, you can get in and out of stores in a matter of minutes. It took us less than 2 hours to do all of our shopping, we spent the most time at Aldi because my husband had never been in there and wanted to see what all they had and what their prices were. I actually did not have any prenatal appointments this week so we were able to focus on shopping and getting it done.

Ok, so let's check out our haul for this week:



Aldi

2 large frozen pizzas

2 cans of "SPAM"

3 bags of assorted variety potato chips

2 boxes of assorted variety granola bars

1 boxed pasta salad kit

1 insulated frozen food bag

GRAND TOTAL (including tax): $20.43 (not bad, eh?)



 Kroger

2 4 ct packs of Scotch Brite sponges

5 tubs of Smart Balance spreadable butter substitute

5 packs of Smart Balance stick butter substitute

GRAND TOTAL (including tax): $20.90

TOTAL SAVINGS: $15.73



 Publix

2 Irish Spring deodorant

2 frozen concentrate juice

1 15 oz bottle Johnson & Johnson baby wash

1 15 oz bottle Johnson & Johnson baby lotion

2 packages 1 lb smoked turkey sausage

10 boxes Barilla assorted variety pasta

5 boxes assorted variety General Mills cereal

2 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats

GRAND TOTAL (including tax and paying full price for the juice and sausage): $27.40

TOTAL SAVINGS: $31.87




Walgreens

2 50 ct packages disposable diapers

GRAND TOTAL (including tax): $9.53

TOTAL SAVINGS: $8.99

GRAND TOTAL OVERALL (retail value): $134.85
GRAND TOTAL SPENT: $78.26
GRAND TOTAL SAVED: $50.59




Not too bad, I'd say! It's hard to know how much you really save at Aldi, but I still could not believe all the food I got for 20 smackeroos! If you deduct Aldi and just want to see how much we spent vs.what we saved with shopping sales and using coupons, we only spent $57.83. So that means we saved almost as much as we spent! Still being able to buy all that food, plus deodorant, plus baby wash/lotion, plus 100 diapers for under $100?! Shut the front door! So the moment of truth has finally arrived, it's time for the Monthly Roundup! This is where I tally up the total retail value of everything purchased over the last month and compare it to what we actually spent so that we can see what we actually saved. When I started out on this crazy venture, my goal was to save $300 a month on groceries, I thought that was a major goal considering the fact that as of right now, it is just my husband and I. So let's see how close I came to reaching my goal.......


TOTAL RETAIL VALUE: $602.11
TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT: $332.66
TOTAL AMOUNT SAVED: $269.45


Wow! I can't believe how close I came to reaching my goal in the first month alone! That's amazing! Now don't assume that my husband and I were regularly spending $600 a month on groceries between the 2 of us. Heck no! We knew that we would probably spend more in the first few months while we built up our stockpile. But to have almost cut that bill it half is amazing, we saved 45% on our grocery bill this month. When was the last time that you save 45% on anything? Let alone your monthly grocery bill! I want to save so much more, but 45% in the first month is a great start in my opinion. 


So how did you do this month? Remember that any savings is a step in the right direction. Share your story!