A Month of Spending

Part 1

I've decided to track my spending of groceries and other household products over the month to 1) give you an idea of how my shopping strategy works and 2) Track just how much Im spending now that Jason has moved out.

This month started out a little different that most simply because I had to cover the rent myself which caused a huge restriction on my budget. $1400/month is alright when there are two people paying it but taking it over myself with only two weeks notice was tough. So as a result, we were out of a lot of things when I made my grocery list this week, causing my approx. $100/week budget to expand quite a bit. I don't foresee next week's shopping to be anywhere near as high so hopefully it will balance out.

So here's what I bought:

Store A

Cat Litter $6.99
2L Coke $1.66
Miracle Whip $2.99 (Sale) *This wasn't needed but it's an item that doesn't go on sale often
Paper Towel $2.99
Salt $1.39
10lb Potatoes $6.00 (Sale)
5lb Onions $2.99
Apples $3.21 (Sale)
Bananas $2.35
Cool Quenchers x4 $3.96 *I had a different brand on my list but the store was out. After considering that the other brand requires 3 equal parts water and this one requires 6, this turned out to be a better deal anyway.
Tomato Paste $0.89
Halloween Candy $1.98 (Clearance)
Mushrooms $2.97 (Sale)
Dried Basil $1.89
Oregano $1.79
Sliced Turkey Breast $2.99 (Sale)



Store B
500g Cheddar Cheese $3.99 (Sale)
500g Mozzarella Cheese $3.99 (Sale)
Oatmeal Packets x2 boxes $5.00 (Sale)
Canned Corn $0.89 (Sale)
Canned Peas $0.89 (Sale)
Laundry Detergent x3 $9.00 (Sale)
Baking Soda $1.49
Cereal $5.49
McCain Cake $1.15
Juice Boxes $3.49
Hot Chocolate Mix $4.49
18 Cans Cola $3.99
2L Cranberry Ginger ale x2 $2.00 (Sale)
Bread x2 $4.00 (Sale)
Chicken Drumsticks x2pkgs $9.75 (Sale)
Lunch Mates x2 $4.00 (Sale) *This was to keep the kids happy and is not something I would normally buy
Blackberries $2.99 (Sale)
Pears $2.28
Cantaloupe $2.99 (Sale)
Caramel Apple Dip $1.98
Clementines $4.77 (Sale)

Store C

Assorted chocolate chips x4 $8.00 (Sale)

Store D

2L Milk x3 $10.32 (Sale)
1L Choc. Milk x2 $3.00 (Sale)
32 Individual Yogurt $9.98 (Sale)


Total: $169.40, including taxes and deposits*
Total Sale Items: 23 ($105.70, before taxes)
Total Non-Sale Items: 18 ($51.26, before taxes)

*We have a 13% tax in my province that covers most things other than basic grocery essentials. For example, white milk is not taxed but chocolate milk is.

It was a little frustrating to have to spend so much on non sale items this week. Had I bought more of last week's sale items, this wouldn't have been the case.