This week, we bought $21 of groceries for our family of 5. Here is exactly what we bought, where we shopped, and why we are sticking to a $25/week budget.

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This month, as part of our #CheapHealthyCostco Experiment, we tried Once-a-Month-Shopping.

Basically, at the beginning of September, we bought most of our pantry and freezer staples at Costco. We supplemented with a few buys from other stores with better prices.

After setting aside money for a bulk produce order and milk from a local farm, we have $25/week for fresh produce, eggs, and any deals we find throughout the month.

Here is What We Bought Last Week:

Kroger

Note the nasty, not real-food Frosted Flakes. We are normal people, and cold cereal is one of our few occasional treats and compromise-foods. Those boxes will probably hang around for a couple months in the top of the pantry next to the potato chips and popcorn.

Frosted Flakes (from the scratch-and-dent clearance section) – $2.39 for each huge box

Turnip greens (clearance) – $1.49

Canned chicken (from the scratch-and-dent clearance section) – $.99

The hamburger buns will go in the freezer, and we’ll use them for guests or the occasional treat. We don’t eat a lot of bread, and a lot of it we make ourselves, but I’ve never been happy with homemade buns. Too thick and bread-y. So we either go without or dig one of these out of the freezer.

Hamburger buns and hot dogs (clearance) – $.99 each

Organic sour cream (on sale and used a coupon from the Kroger app) – $1.99

Organic cucumbers – $.99 each

Cabbage – $1.69

Total spent at Kroger: $21

Aldi

Oregano

Parsley

Cumin

$.99 each

Aldi is my favorite place for inexpensive spices. They carry most of the staples and several organic versions.

Are they the best quality? No. But neither are most spices at grocery stores.

For better spices, I look in international grocery stores for the whole seed or pod – whole cumin seeds, whole coriander, etc. Quite often, you can buy them by the pound.

Total spent at Aldi: $3

Altogether, we spent around $21 the first week of September. 

So far, so good!

#CheapHealthyCostco

To find out if Costco is saving us money, follow the experiment here:

Costco: Can You Really Save Money on Real Food?

$87 Organic Grocery Haul

How a 10-Day Pantry Challenge Will Save You Money

The Pros & Cons of Buying Real Food at Costco

*HUGE* Costco Grocery Haul