Last Day of the First Month

     Today is the day I calculate the final tally for January 2011.  I made my last shopping trip of the month this morning.  I generally try to shop directly after I drop my children off to school or right before I pick them up.  Not only do I save gas this way, but I have learned that lugging them along usually adds an additional perspective to the list.  The shopping needs suddenly skew towards the direction of the snack and ice cream aisles, for example.  Viewing a recent unexpected grocery trip my husband took after picking up two of my children from karate lessons is a case in point -- He spent, among other things, $3.49 for a box of Triscuits.  It is a commendable choice in snack foods, providing 3 grams of protein, 115 mg of Potassium, 8% DV of Iron and 10% Phosphorus.  However, I can name two places I could have purchased it for $1.99.  If only it was on my grocery list last week!
    The grand total for this month came out to $833.04.  A bit off my goal of $830, but I am still pleased at the difference from last month. The moment I calculated this, I felt the sudden urge for a victory party. I almost turned to my middle son and asked, "I kept close to the budget goal.  Do you want to go to IHOP to celebrate?"  After all, I did have a coupon in my purse for 20% off an entire order.  I even thought of treating my daughter out to Panera Bread after-school.  But I suddenly realized that both excursions would be counter productive.  In fact, had I not acted on such impulses before, I most probably would not be feeling so pressured by the monthly bills to stay on a grocery budget.  It is hard to believe how easily we used to blow money eating breakfast at Dunkin Donuts (sometimes two or three times a week) and take-out pizza for dinner every Thursday.
     Instead, we have been having cheese omelets, whole-wheat honey bagels, strawberry oatmeal, and cream-of-wheat for breakfast nowadays.  If we need it on the go (which justified all the previous Dunkin Donuts trips), we literally take a bowl or plate of the food as we hop into the car.  For snacks we splurged on Veggie Sticks ($2.99, and that was on sale!) which is made from tomato, potato, and spinach and has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.  Even my toddler enjoys snacking on those crispy sticks.  My daughter took Kashi TLC Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit and Grain bars (no high fructose corn syrup, 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein, 6% DV Iron) to school, and for a sweet treat we baked Krusteaz's Peanut Butter cookies.  They were on sale at Stop and Shop for $2.  With a 50 cents coupon which doubled, the 3 dozen of cookies came out to $1.
     Also featured on the photo below is a bottle of PediaSure Sidekicks, a 7 gram protein and 3 gram fiber  strawberry shake that includes 25 vitamins and minerals and which I received a four pack of for free.  The manufacturer offered a rebate, plus I had a coupon, so I actually earned $3 just for trying it (a little too sweet, but the baby likes it).
     So, for $833.04, I feel confident that my family ate delicious and nutritious foods this month.  This amount also included baby items and lots of organic baby food, four health-care product items, two ten-pound bags of Halite (an item purchased at the grocery store to help us walk up the wintery stairs),  a Seafood department order of fried haddock, two celebratory take-out cheese pizzas (one of my sons won 3rd place in a Spelling Bee), two small take-out orders from Taco Bell, one large take-out order of Fried Chicken, five lunches out for my husband (he loves Thai food), and lots of high school hot lunches, i.e. french fries, for someone with new braces.  Not too bad for a grocery tally.  I can't wait to see if I can do better in February.

Plan Plantains as a healthy, delicious snack

     When I was young, I used to wonder why my mother would want to fry bananas. She would present it at the table as "banana fritters."  It would boggle my mind, as it seemed unnatural to fry fruits, and I would wish that she just baked cookies like the mothers on television.  As the years have passed, of course, I have recognized the power of these potassium packed plantains.  Offering 36% DV of Vitamins A and C, 24% Vitamin B6,  13% Folate, 16% Magnesium, and a whole slew of additional vitamins and minerals (nutrition facts and analysis can be found at http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2031/2), plantains make a perfectly delicious, nutritious, and frugal alternative to potato chips.
    For only twenty-five cents, one plantain can provide a nice snack for three people.  Although, when I am alone, I have no problem gobbling up an entire plate of one plantain.
     The preparation takes no longer than 5 or 10 minutes (not including frying time).  I slice the plantain into thirds and then each third I slice into fourths, or fifths, depending on the size of the fruit. While I wait for a small pot of canola oil to heat up, I mix the batter. In a bowl,  I whip up one egg, around three-fourths cup mix of whole wheat and unbleached flour, and a heap of brown sugar.  I then mix in low-fat milk to the desired consistency (a bit under half a cup).  Dip in each plantain slice, fry until golden brown, top with a little confectioner's sugar for presentation and voila...  a quick,  hot snack - - perfect for the winter!

Delicious Dollar Deals

     

      I love going to the Dollar Tree stores.  The one at Lincoln Street in Worcester, MA sells 14 ounce name-brand Ragu sauce for only, you guessed it, one dollar.  The same exact jar at Stop and Shop costs $1.69.  Sometimes I also find artichoke heart jars for a dollar and add it to my cart of 100% Natural Hunt's Tomato Ketchup (No High Fructose Corn Syrup, artificial ingredients, or preservatives!), soy sauce, mustard, and strawberry jam.

     The Dollar Tree store in Marlborough, off Route 20 near my previous residence Embassy Suites (long story) is wonderful to visit on Sundays, where I sometimes purchase the Sunday paper with coupon inserts and jars of gorgeous sweet red peppers for only $1.  Just to balance all of these wonderfully nutritious deals, I like this particular store since many times they offer Zebra cakes (sugar treats my children love) and Utz cheese curls.

Trimming the Bills with Lean Cuisine

     Stop and Shop, along with Target, is having a nice $2 sale on Lean Cuisines this week.  However, Stop and Shop is throwing in an additional extra $7 off -- good for your next purchase coupon if you purchase $20 worth of Lean Cuisine meals (after coupons deductions).   Over the past few weeks, I have been gathering $1 coupons off the purchase of two meals from the register coupons.  Using these, I purchased 12 boxes with $4 off coupons.  After calculating the $7 coupon I received at the end of the order, each frozen dinner ended up to be $1.08...  These boxes will be great on days we need a quick lunch or afternoon snack . Bon Appetit with Salmon Mediterranean -- 18 g protein, 6% Vitamin A, 6% Calcium, 10% Iron, and 25% Vitamin C!

Incidentals

     According to Merriam-Webster, incidentals are defined as "minor items (as of expense) that are not particularized."  Every astute budget-maker and budget-keeper allots for such expenses, ironically regular and random as they are.  Mine covered new tires and wisdom teeth extraction last month.  This month it equated to a $750 down payment for my son's orthodontia.
     What I failed to consider was that within a grocery budget, incidentals should also be anticipated. It is pure cause and effect.  Because my son had new braces, I had to purchase items I normally would not purchase.  For example, part of his soft diet consisted of mashed potatoes for two days, along with ice cream. Since I was worried that my mashed potatoes would not be tasty or soft enough, we ordered the ones at Price Chopper.  Four containers at $2.69 each.  I cringe thinking about how many sacks of potatoes I could have bought instead.  The ice cream was not on sale, either.  He had a few extra hot lunches this week since my homemade pizza was a little too crunchy and peanut butter sandwiches were out of the question.  Total incidentals so far this month... $22.55, acceptable due to comfort issues, but all unanticipated. From this point, I will need to reset my monthly cap to include incidentals!

A Little Scantillating

     My daughter delights in going to the grocery store, or any store, for that matter (except Home Depot and Lowe's).  One of the jokes her friends bring up is how whenever they call her and ask her what she is doing, she most often responds that she is at the grocery store.  I, on the other hand, find shopping to be a perfunctory errand.    
     Something that has livened up this task more has been Stop and Shop's self-scanner option.  I utilize the one in the Grafton store quite often.  Not only does it allow the relaxing ease of checking prices and self-bagging the items as I please, it also provides additional savings, or "Personal Thanks" discounts.
     For example, last night I scanned in a box of Nabisco Ritz crackers, a fair deal at $2.50.  Since I was self-scanning, I had an additional discount of 60 cents, bringing down this name brand snack to $1.90, which is a little cheaper than Price Rite's $1.99.  By buying this snack at Stop and Shop, I am not only saving 9 cents, I am also gaining gas points -- 10 cents off each gallon for every $100 purchased.
     Sometimes the deals are excitingly fantastic.  For example, when the Nasoya egg roll wrappers were on sale at 2/$4.  There was a Personal Thanks discount of $1, plus I had a dollar coupon off if I purchased two. It would have been more scintillating if the store issued out their double dollar coupons, but that did not happen that week.
     So if you ever have the option to self-scan, give it a try.  Once you get a hang of it, you just might find it to be even more systematic and money-saving than standing in the long check-out lanes.

  
 

Lunch Money

     I completely forgot to calculate lunch money into this grocery bill tally.  In the past,  I was a little bit naive and would just hand my oldest son $3 every school day.  It was not until later in the school year, when the tuition bills began piling and a budget was called for, that I realized I could do so much better than giving him around  $60 in cash each month.  In addition to his expenses, I had two other school-aged children.  Though they generally opted for packed lunches (my daughter enjoyed salads and fruits with Nutella or turkey sandwiches), I generally signed them up for at least one hot lunch meal per week.  And then there were weekly Friday bake sales and occasional fundraisers requiring the purchase of a candy bar, cup of lemonade, or ice cream sandwich. The after-school lure of the soda machine was also there, too, thankfully they usually only chose Gatorade...  Lunch Money actual meant taking out at least $100 from the grocery money each month; that added up to $1000 a school year!
     From what I was hearing, high school lunch served was very, very good.  That translated into hot french fries, pizza, Twinkies (a product I never would buy at the grocery store), and soda.  This academic year, I started baking more regularly.  Soft baked bread slices slathered in peanut butter (I am still researching how to get the best prices for organic peanut butter)... Freshly made mozzarella and cheddar cheese pizza with almond flour or whole grain wheat crust... With a side of pretzels or Cheez-its, this made a pretty decent lunch.  Plus, there was now major control on the nutrition factor.
     Although I am not baking everyday, I am much more committed than before.  My oldest son is now only taking hot lunch once or twice a week.  My other son has done away with the once a week hot lunch and bake sale goodies.  My daughter enjoys an ice tea at school on some days, so I will be hunting around for ice tea bottle pack deals at the grocery store.  She also insisted on an 8 pack of apple juice boxes when we shopped at Target last week.  I succumbed only because it was on sale, but still I know it was not worth it at just under three dollars.  All in all, I still feel we are not throwing around $1000 this year.

First Shopping Trip of the Year -- Passing up B&Js

     Out of all the days, Price Rite in Worcester displayed two rows of the only flavor of ice cream I crave -- Ben and Jerry's pistachio ice cream.  After much deliberation, I took the pint out of my cart and placed it back into the freezer.  It was an incredible deal at only $1.99.  Target and Stop and Shop occasionally boast a sale price at 2 for $7, and that is usually the only time I splurge.  However, today was different, as it was the first shopping trip of the year and I have initiated the challenge of reducing my grocery bills by at least 33%.
     For that $2 saved, I purchased red potatoes instead of the regular bag of small, white potatoes at 10 pounds for $1.99.  According to www.myfitnesspal.com, one medium red potato eaten with the skin can offer 752 mg of potassium, 3 g of protein , 29% vitamin C and 5% iron.  Plus it has one gram less sugar than a white potato.  Since my twelve-year-old loves boiled and baked potatoes, I chose the bag of red ones this time, instead of the ice cream.
     Price Rite is an absolutely wonderful grocery store to shop in and save money.  Fresh cilantro bunches are 69 cents; 3 pounds of onions cost 99 cents; a head of lettuce is also 99 cents and this week a head of cauliflower cost only $1.50.  Their StarKist Chunk Light tuna in water is selling for only 52 cents a can.  I just bought three four packs at Walmart at what I thought was a discounted price -- $2.78.
    Something new I bought today was dark brown sugar -- 2 pounds for $1.29.  I am currently researching if there are any benefits to switching from white to brown sugar, but for now it is just something different.
     Total cost for a gallon of milk and 9 cloth bags filled with groceries, mainly fresh produce and canned goods... $79.94.