Cutting the Grocery Budget

So here's honesty -- for the past three years we have spent WAY too much money on our grocery/dining out budget. Oh I've always clipped coupons and meal planned. However, until recently I wasn't concerned with pairing what we already had with sale items to make meals that were even cheaper. Oh -- and shopping at HEB didn't help either. Everything was so fresh and tasty we'd just about buy the entire store once a month. Yes..we only shopped once a month, which meant that we made $10-$15 Kroger trips a few times during the week buying what we needed regardless of whether it was on sale or not.

After moving into a house -- this had to change. Our once "disposable" income is now being spent on home projects, preparing for the baby, and trying to furnish our house. So I joined the grocery game , if you haven't heard about it - check it out! Many of our friends play this game and now that I have the time (and incentive -- as whatever I save gets reallocated elsewhere for date nights, trips, saving for a new bigscreen TV, etc.) I decided to go for it.

The first week -- I saved a whopping $53 and brought home enough meat to pack the freezer, as well as, produce for the week and other various items. The second week-- I wasn't too interested in the sale items, but we did have a dinner party, so I spent approximately $50 for the week. This week was the beginning of February -- and a real shot at seeing just how much money we can save each month, it being the beginning and all. So how did I do?

I watched my Kroger bill go from $145 -- down to $78. It was awesome -- I had a cart load of things (many of which I needed -- some of it was stocking up) for well under a $100. We are on our way to cutting our grocery/dining out budget by 50%. I'll update on our final progress at the end of the month! Pray for us to keep it up!

Here's what I walked out of Kroger with for a measly $78.