Another On the Spot Grocery Shopping Decision

This month in order to accommodate additional expenses into our budget (Senior Pictures, Back to School supplies), I had planned on eating out of our freezer and pantry and buying only non-perishables each week.  Last week I headed to the grocery store with my list in hand and discovered ground turkey breast for $1.00 per lb. and boneless chuck roast on sale for $2.38 lb.  I made some adjustments to my grocery budget for the month to acccommodate for these unexpected sales and moved on.

Would you believe that this week they had more meat on sale at a rock bottom price?  I'm not sure but I think our local grocery stores are having a Back to School Meat special.  There have been some specials off and on this summer, but never quite at the prices and the quantity that they were this weekend.  When you are trying to stretch your dollar as far as it can go, you have to make adjustments to your budget when you come across some great specials, especially when it is meat. 

They had boneless sirloin tip steaks on sale for $2.38 lb.  These are absolutely wonderful steaks when they are marinated over night or better yet cut into strips and used for stir fry.  I bought 3 - 1 lb. packages on Friday. 

On Saturday I decided to go and buy 5 more packages as I knew that was such a good deal.  I headed to the store at 8:30 a.m. and while I was picking up more steaks, I noticed next to them were two canisters of Kraft parmesan cheese with an expiration date of August 13th.  They were marked down from $2.99 to 99 cents.  I knew I could freeze these without a problem.  Then next to the canisters of parmesan were two packages of 6 oz. bacon wrapped sirloin fillets marked down to only $2.00 for a package of two.  The sell by date was that day.  No problem - into the freezer they go.  I was also able to get boneless chicken breast for $1.50 a lb. - I bought 5 lbs.

Then they had chicken hindquarters on sale for 39 cents a lb.  This is the sale I had been waiting for.  I take those hindquarters and cut them apart into drumsticks and thighs, which when sold separately in the grocery store cost around 89 cents a lb. on sale.  They were sold out but I was able to get a rain check which is good for two weeks.  I will probably buy 20 lbs. in the next week or so.

Skippy peanut butter was on sale for .99 cents and I had coupons for 75 cents off two containers.

This is how I shop, snagging up the specials and making my meals from what I have on hand.  I love the ease of always having ingredients on hand to prepare a meal.  It is such a convenience.  Also, I love my freezer.  I would go without a clothes dryer and a dishwasher before I would give up my freezer.  It is as important to me as my refrigerator and stove.

Now what to do with the grocery budget?  I have overspent my scaled back grocery budget for this month and it is only the 16th.  If I compare what I spent so far on groceries to what I normally would have spent on groceries, I am within my normal budget range.  I'm feeling pretty good about the good deals and know that from here on out to the end of the month, I will just pick up the perishables.  In fact I will be able to do this long after August ends.  After all, good deals or not, my freezer is definitely full and I don't need a thing.