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.