2 Weeks Menu and Groceries

I have decided to stretch my menu planning and shopping trips to cover 2 weeks at a time - #1 to save gas, and #2 to see how it effects my budget. I also decided to switch my grocery trips from Mondays to Tuesdays, and hopefully have a better chance of getting some markdowns (which I did!!). This morning "early" I hiked my way over to Kroger to take advantage of some sales they had going on, and to compare prices on the other items on my grocery list.


Groceries: (What I got, and where I got it from)
Food Lion:
3 lb. yellow onions - $1.99 (on sale, WalMart only had a 2lb bag for more $$)
5 lb. "new" potatoes - $2.24 (on sale)
5 lb. carrots - $3.99 (should last a WHILE! cheaper per lb. than any other place)
Total: $8.43


WalMart:
1 Bright & Early "orange flavored" breakfast drink - $.68
4 OJ - $5.68
Hair Conditioner to keep me from going bald - $3.76
Total: $10.45


Kroger:
3 Dr. Pepper & 1 Pepsi - $11.00
3 lbs. butter - $5.64 ($1.88 ea!! I HAD to get some even though I didn't "need" any)
1 lb. block cheese - $4.29
2 (12 oz) lunchmeats - $2.98 (Manager's Special!)
Lettuce - $1.38
2 Utz Chips - $4.00
3 doz. eggs - $3.42
Total: $33.53


Grand Total: $52.41
over budget $2.41


The butter and sodas were actually on sale last week, and we stopped by a Kroger Saturday night to get the butter - and while we were there saw their sale on Pepsi products. Daniel was about to go into withdrawal from lack of Dr. Pepper, so we took advantage of the sale and stocked up. It should last much longer than these next 2 weeks!


I got the can of "Orange Drink" to mix in with the Orange Juice. Even though I'm getting the store-brand OJ, it is still expensive! I'm going to try the Orange Drink/Orange Juice mix and see if we can save some - at $.68 a can for the cheap stuff, it's worth a shot!



The very biggest reason I wanted to go to Kroger: Frozen turkeys on sale for $.59/lb. I got one for myself, and one for my MIL. I plan to let it thaw, cut it up, and freeze the pieces - I know I can get SEVERAL meals out of this bird! And... (drum roll, please!!) they had this huge pack of lean ground beef on Manager's Special! It was $1.53/lb. I was tickled pink. I have 1 lb. left in the freezer that I've been hanging on to, and now I have a nice supply again!

So my total "meat restock" expense: $16.65. With this added to the cheap whole chickens I bought a couple weeks ago, I shouldn't have to buy meat for a long time.