Costco = $154.44
Target = $24.00
Aldi = $29.89
Farmers market: $15 (short trip because: RAIN; lettuce, eggs, blueberries… something else that I’m forgetting)
The big trip, clearly, was to Costco this week. I didn’t even figure that into the original budget. We usually spend about $200 there, so I feel pretty good about $154.44. A trip like this will get us through the next six weeks to two months. Aside from lotion and Advil, the rest was stocking up on: canola oil, guacamole, shredded cheddar, naan, cereal for the children, bread, pizza, mac and cheese, Bisquick, and so on. I don’t even remember what all. Because of bulk shopping, we came in under budget every where else!
While I still did the meal-planning, with some input from Flora, Dan did all the shopping. Dan shops strictly on-list; he doesn’t compare prices or deviate from the letter of the list. I feel a little bad; he went to Aldi — which I can get into and out of in under 30 minutes, but since he doesn’t know where everything is, it took him longer. And Costco on Sunday, was, according to his text message “INSANE”.
And he made choices differently. For example, I choose either Annie’s mac and cheese or Back to Nature, both brands sold at Costco. Dan came home with Kraft brand. Which, my children certainly won’t turn up their noses at that. Also, when he couldn’t find almond milk at Aldi, he got a half gallon at Target instead, whereas I would bought a case of soy milk at Costco.
We just do things differently. I’m pretty happy he shopped. It gave me a chance to go to the library with the children Saturday, and on Sunday to hang out with my fellow LTYM cast members (videos coming soon!).
I should either start baking bread from scratch and/or get a bread machine. We go through two loaves a week. It’s ridiculous.
Menu:
Sunday: Rice and bean salad (for potluck we were attending)
Monday: Sesame noodles with tofu or chicken stir fry
Tuesday: Pizza and salad
Wednesday: Brinner (by request; probably have pancakes and eggs)
Thursday: Quesadillas
Friday: lunch, mac and cheese, corn dogs; dinner, Indian channa masala, rice, and naan
Saturday: burgers, baked potatoes, baked beans, macaroni salad
Go see how everyone else did.
Emily Levenson
McGinnis and Bean
Seeking White Space
facepalmmama
Gardening in High Heels
Melissa Firman
Copy & Post
Rachel Olive Miller
Shea Lennon
Red Pen Mama 
The Hubster is like that too, shopping from the list only. Except there seem to be some items that magically appear in his shopping cart, like cinnamon rolls and ice cream with hot fudge sauce. 😉
Way to kick butt at Costco. That’s no small feat, for sure.
The thing that really dropped our Costco budget — well, a few things. 1. No diapers, or baby supplies in general. 2. Baking more. 3. At this point, we’re not packing school lunches, so that saves on huge packages of multipack snacks, drinks, etc. We can get a big bag of chips or whatever, and just make sure it stays sealed so it doesn’t go stale.
And, yes, the list. Dan wants it to be as complete and specific as possible. If I don’t put a brand on there, he sometimes even calls me, like, “Which one of these am I buying?” Or if I put something like “milk” or “mustard” he calls. “What kind of milk do we use? Yellow mustard or dijon.” I’ve learned to be complete if I’m not shopping. 🙂
Costco on weekends is legit INSANE. Props to Dan for making it through. With that kind of insanity, I tend to just grab.all.the.things. as I run through trying to get out as fast as possible.
If I have to go — and we do, about every two months — I go with the children after work during the week. They get a pizza dinner, and I get to shop without the insanity. I lost track of how much we needed, which is how poor Dan ended up there on a rainy Sunday.
[…] effectively shopped for this week and next. That’s why I made another Costco trip so close to the Week 5 one. I hate coming home to an empty larder, so I am aiming to prevent that this time […]