Another week of rising prices, although this week I did have a great score. At our local Save-a-lot they had pint boxes of blueberries on sale for $.99 each! I was so excited and so were the kids, so there are a lot of blueberries being eaten this week. I am going to go back at the end of the week and see if they have any more. I hope so!
Also, ham is on sale for Easter, so I will be buying one and figuring out how to use it and freeze some too. I had to spend $25 dollars to get the ham for $.79/lb, but I don't know how else to get meat that cheaply. So I ended up shopping at two stores this weekend to get everything I need for the prices I was willing to spend.
Keeping track of prices for things you regularly buy and knowing which store carries them is a really useful skill. If you keep track, you will also know when something goes on a big sale and it is time to stock up. Some people like to keep track of prices in a notebook, that way they can check to see if they are getting that item for rock bottom prices. Others, like myself, kind of just know and are able to keep track in their head. Either way is extra work, so it just depends on what kind of extra work we are willing to do. I tried keeping a notebook after a friend showed me hers, but then realized that I would always forget to take it with me and that my husband does shopping too and he wouldn't have it. Over time I just learned the prices I was willing to pay for things and that 9 times out of 10 my local Save-a-lot beats the other stores prices on things that are not on sale. Now, I do shop occasionally at our local IGA or at the Kroger in a farther away town, but only if the sale is good enough to warrant the trip. For example, if cheese is on sale at Kroger, I absolutely know that is where I will buy it, because cheese never goes on sale at Save-a-lot and I know it's regular price. But if cheese is not on sale, I will buy it at Save-a-lot because it's regular price is less expensive than Kroger's regular price. See what I mean?
Keeping track of prices is just another way to make our food budget money or food stamps and SNAP benefits work harder for us. Food prices have already gone up 7% since 2021 and the USDA put out last week that they expect them to increase another 4.5-5% over the rest of this year. That just seems crazy to me, and is making the hard job of feeding our families just that more difficult.
I would love to hear how you are making it work, what changes you have made or any tips or questions you might have. Feel free to comment below!
Here is this weeks menu plan, hope you all have a great week!
Monday-
- Breakfast- Leftover Pancakes, blueberries
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- egg salad sandwiches, carrots and celery sticks, pretzels
- Dinner- Sliced ham, mashed potatoes, peas
Tuesday-
- Breakfast- Peanut butter toast, apple sauce
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- Ramen, carrots and celery sticks, crackers
- Dinner- Fried Cabbage and Noodles with hot dog coins, corn
Wednesday-
- Breakfast- Eggs, toast, banana
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- Sandwiches or leftovers, pretzels
- Dinner- Vegetable Casserole (adding diced ham), roasted potatoes, garlic toast
Thursday-
- Breakfast- Oatmeal, blueberries
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us- Leftovers, boiled egg
- Dinner- Chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles and without the chicken, crackers
Friday-
- Breakfast- Blueberry muffins, banana
- Lunch- Kids eat at school, us-sandwiches or leftovers, pretzels
- Dinner- Black bean burgers, microwave baked potatoes, broccoli
Saturday-
- Brunch- Ham and cheese Frittata, fruit salad, biscuits
- Dinner- Chili, peanut butter sandwiches, leftover muffins
Sunday-
- Brunch- Pancakes and homemade pancake syrup, eggs, fried bologna
- Dinner- Chili mac, green beans, garlic toast
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