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| TUESDAY'S SHOPPING |
HEB (Tuesday):
3 pack tissues - $3.57
Sugar free Passion Fruit drink mix - $1.88
16 ounces Italian sausage - $3.86 (too expensive but needed for a recipe)
TOTAL - $9.76
FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
12 pack diet Cherry Pepsi - $3.55
Boneless chicken thighs @ 1.99lb - $3.14
Onions @ .39lb - $1.08
Jalapeños @ 1.29lb (ouch!) - $1.75
TOTAL - $9.78
KROGER (Wednesday):
7 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount) - $
16 ounce cottage cheese @ 1.50 (minus 10% discount & .40 coupon) - $.95
2 16-ounce shredded cheddar cheese @ 3.50 each (minus 10% discount) - $6.30
1 can tuna @ .78 (minus 10% discount) - $.70
1 can ground ginger @ 2.99 (minus 10% discount) - $2.69
Napkins @ .97 (minus 10% discount) - $.87
12 ounce frozen Asian veggie blend @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
12 ounce frozen cauliflower @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
TOTAL - $15.90
WALMART (Wednesday):
Vinegar - $.56
Decaf coffee - $2.78
14 ounce ham cubes - $3.74 (will get 2 recipes from the package)
TOTAL - $7.08
ALDI (Wednesday):
12 eggs - $1.19
8 ounces colby cheese - $1.99
3 8-ounce Swiss cheese @ 1.99 each - $5.97
2 8-ounce packages sliced smoked cheese @ 2.69 each - $5.38 (just for snacking - yummy)
Pork rinds - $.99
Pineapple - $.99
TOTAL - $16.51
GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WEEK - $59.03
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| WEDNESDAY'S SHOPPING |
On the spur of the moment, I decided to do my main weekly shopping today instead of tomorrow. We've been having our bathroom remodeled for the past week and we thought the job was finished as of yesterday. But alas, after the workman left, we found a few things that he'd forgotten to do. Plus, we also discovered that the sink faucet was leaking under the sink. I sent the landlord an email about it but hadn't heard back yet. So, I thought I might as well get the shopping done today in case the guy came back on Thursday to finish the job. Naturally, he turned up while I was at the store but at least I was back before he left and was able to make sure that everything had been done right.
I hadn't planned to go to Aldi this week but they had a pretty good price on eggs. So, I decided to make the trip and stock up on cheese there as well. I was just going to buy two blocks of Swiss cheese and maybe some Colby but I ended up buying quite a few extra items such as the pork rinds, the smoked cheeses and a pineapple. It's been years since I last had fresh pineapple and I couldn't pass it up for 99-cents. The crazy thing is that even with all the extras, I still came in under my $60 budget for the week. I really thought I would be over by at least $10.00. Another thing that wasn't on my list for this week was the ginger from Kroger. I knew that I needed to buy more very soon but I wanted to compare the prices at Walmart and Kroger first to see who had the best price. Well, Kroger's was much cheaper for a larger container than the one at Walmart. Plus, it was on sale so I went ahead and bought it today instead of waiting. Even with that added to what I bought, I was still under budget. I honestly don't know how I do it sometimes because I never add anything up in the store while I'm shopping. I do all the figuring and estimating at home before I go.
I normally would never dream of paying $1.29 pound for jalapeños but Jerry and I have gotten hooked on Charski's Bread & Butter Pickled Jalapeños and I wanted to make some more. If you recall, I only paid .69 pound for jalapeños at Food Town last week. The trouble with bargain shopping is that it's a bit of a gamble. You don't always know what the prices will be on some items until you get to the store. Well, after I bought the chiles from Food Town, I went to HEB for a few things and noticed that they were selling them for just .88 pound. I could have kicked myself but, oh well. We've got enough pickled peppers now to last a couple of weeks and I won't make more unless the price is well under a dollar per pound from now on.
I actually spent a lot more at Walmart today than I posted above but it was all stuff for the "new" bathroom. It had been many, many years (about 20) since we've had new towels and such for that bathroom so this was the perfect time to do it. You see, for the more than 20 years we've lived in this house, that bathroom had horrible, ugly blue and pink wallpaper that severely limited my color choices. When they did this remodel, they removed the wallpaper and the bathroom is a totally neutral off white now. I was free to choose ANY colors that I liked for a change. In case you think that our landlord is so nice that they paid to redecorate our bathroom for no reason, that's not the case. There were two major repairs that needed to be done and it made sense for them to do a few other things while everything was torn apart. The bathroom vanity was collapsing on one side as a result of water damage several years ago. And, the back wall of the shower was also collapsing due to rotting wood inside the wall. The whole tub/shower area was re-tiled and they also put new tile on the floor. We got a new vanity and mirror and the whole bathroom was painted. We still have the old tub, toilet, light fixtures and medicine cabinet as well as all the towel racks. It just looks all new and fresh with the walls freshly painted and a brand new vanity and sink.
Anyway, I spent around $80-90 on towels, wash cloths, a shower curtain and rings, waste basket, soap dish, soap and lotion dispensers, cup, rug and a hand mirror. Although I didn't add this stuff to my weekly budget posted here, I am going to deduct it from my grocery "account" in the bank. I've accumulated enough extra money in that virtual account, by staying under my budget most weeks, to more than cover it. At $60 per week, that works out to a monthly grocery budget of $260. But, I actually put $300 into that account each month which gives me about a $10 leeway per week for times when I do go over budget. I've now got just over $700 in the account which easily covers the extra I spent this week on stuff for the bathroom.
I'm glad your landlord remodeled the bathroom for you. Not only is it prettier, but I would think it's healthier too, since all the water damaged wood etc. has been removed. Walmart has some pretty nice items for the bath, and some really nice quality towels - which colors did you go with? I think you might need to post a photo!
ReplyDelete-Maria
I will post a photo or two. I took some this morning. I bought Walmart's cheapest line of towels, etc. They had all the matching accessories for them too. To give you an idea of the price, the bath towels were just under $3.00 each. Lotion bottles and that sort of thing were less than $2.00 each. The rug and shower curtain were a bit more.
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