Meal Plan Monday - Groceries - Budget Update

By: JenM

Posted 1/14/13 • Last updated 1/14/13 • 356 views • 8 comments

It's Meal Plan Monday - you can find the printable I use here.

Weekly Menu Plan:

Monday: Shrimp Fettucine & Salad (We didn't have this last Friday)

Tuesday: Paula Deen's Old Fashioned Meat Loaf & Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday: Pork tendorloin, Veggie, & Rice

Thursday: Spaghetti, Salad, & Garlic Bread

Friday: Pizza & Movie Night

Saturday: Tater Tot Casserole & Salad

Sunday: Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast & Mashed Potatoes

Grocery Shopping:

Here's a picture of my lists for the week, I didn't follow them as good as I should have!

Discount Grocery - $18.15

Freitags - $0.00 (I used my JINGIT rewards, I am not going to refer you to use them. They have gone downhill the past couple of months. Earning opportunities are few and far.)

Bartering: I traded eggs from my chickens for the above picture. Eggplant parmesean is in the tin foil! My grandma makes the best. I like to trade eggs for different things: cash, chicken feed, food, etc.

Walmart: -$8.50 Yes I made money on this transaction! I used the Ibotta & Endorse apps on my phone to get money back. I also used a MyPoints giftcard & Swagbuck giftcards that I had earned in the past month. I paid the balance with my Jingit rewards card. (Like I stated above, I do not recommend them anymore.) There was also a 50 lb bag of dog food and a bag of rabbit food that was not pictured.)

I did not use any coupons this week for groceries either. We are trying to cut back on processed foods and that seems to be all you can get with coupons lately. I just search all the sales flyers for the week and try to get the best deal on everything. Earning rewards is also a great way to supplement your budget. Here is an article I wrote on how Swagbucks works.

Budget Updates:

Groceries - $9.65 Ytd - $37.92

Debt Principal - $478.13 YTD - $774.37

Entertainment - $130.63 YTD - $150.63 I blew it big time! I knew this is where the hardest part of this is going to be. We just have to behave the rest of the month. Trust me when I say this is nowhere near what we were spending before. It was crazy how quickly it added up. As of right now I am $100.63 over budget for the month!

Animal Food - $0.00 YTD $0.00

Savings - $1900.00 YTD $1900.00

TThDisDiDis

Comments (8)

team-edward 1/14/13 at 9:54am

How do you use your swagbucks? I though you could only get e gift cards? Thanks!

JenM 1/14/13 at 9:57am

When you get the Walmart ones it takes you to a website where you print out the giftcard and take into the store. They then scan it like a coupon. I have had no problems using them like this. I have also gotten some for restaurants too!

deemom 1/14/13 at 9:59am

I never new that about the gift cards. Thanks!

team-edward 1/14/13 at 10:00am

Really? How cool! Thanks so much for answering :)

brensmom 1/14/13 at 11:09am

Wow I did not know about the walmart ones either I usually just get amazon cards. hmm i'm going to have to rethink that. Thanks for the info. (oh and I agree about the jinget too)

Mommyof2Boys115 1/14/13 at 3:12pm

Jen, thanks so much for another great article. Love the Wal Mart receipt!! I started doing some of the swagbucks, I just have to make it a point to go in there each day and earn things. I created a wishlist in there with amazon/walmart/target gift cards.
I have to say this is a great way to keep track. I did a big grocery buy last week and we are sticking with everything. I'm also happy to say that this past weekend was our first one eating at home all three days! We got 2 $5 Target cards last week when we purchased some other food staples so I"m adding those $10 to our food budget.
Thanks again for all your advice on this. I love it!
Now our next thing is to budget (and stay with it!) for outside meals and entertainment.