Once a Month Shopping

This month I thought I would try out Once a Month Shopping.  At the beginning of the month, I planned out the meals that we will be eating this month and planned out my shopping for the month as well.  My hope was that I would be able to do the bulk of my shopping at the beginning of the month and therefore use my budget better.  I know that I will need to go back to the store for foods that perish faster, like milk.  I also knew that I would be able to supplement my menu with the produce that I would be getting from the organic buying club.

To give you a feel for what I did.  I will recap my shopping trips thus far this month.

I started at Publix.  Here I bought many of the basics I knew I would need for the month.  I bought some frozen fish, canned tomatoes and artichokes, some pasta, eggs, salsa and canola oil.  I spent $70.12 (saving $20.02).

After Publix, I went to Whole Foods.  I went while the kids were napping on a Monday afternoon.  I was shocked at how busy it was.  I tried to go shopping, but when I was about to lose my mind and hadn't passed the produce section yet, I knew that this was not the time to attempt this shop.

From there, I went to Winn Dixie to pick up a couple items that I didn't get earlier, but knew we would need before I could get to Whole Foods.  There I spent $7.88 on milk, spinach and orange juice.

The next morning, I went to Whole Foods early and felt much better when I walked into the store.  Here I bought cheese, milk, rice, beans, a lot of veggie broth (10 containers, on sale with $1 off coupons), some produce, oats and quinoa in bulk, and some cereal (that I plan to use in recipes for other things).  I spent $164.84 (saving $22.45).  If I wasn't looking for organic dairy and grains, etc., I probably could have spent less.  However, with how I choose to feed my family I was happy with this.

So my major shopping for the month was at $242.84. This left me with 40% of my grocery budget left for the month.

We'll see how the rest of the month goes...