March Week 4 Healthy Food Budget: $73.49
Happy Easter! March was a good month! I’m below my $400 budget, and spring is coming! Soon, I’ll be planting my veggie garden! Life is good!
March Month End Food Spending Total $388.51
Heading into April, I have prior months’ spending credit just shy of $83. I might need it in the summer when local produce test my budgeting skills. Blueberries don’t come cheap!
Spending Details
I was organizing my pantry, and decided that the unopened packages of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free xantham gum and tapioca flour might be more useful to someone else, so I donated both to the local food bank, giving myself a small credit of $13.72 back to grocery spending. But even without the adjustment, I would have made my budget anyway.
Bob’s Red Mill products were on sale at 20% off. OSJL prices are already very good for Bob’s, but their occasional 20% off sales are when I do a major stock-up!
I debated buying the Domino sugar on sale this week. $2 for a 4lb bag. Disappointing that the last time I purchased sugar, it was a 5 lb bag. Dominos reduced the bag size, while keeping the price the same! Easter is the last holiday for awhile, so it probably won’t go on sale soon.
We don’t use much white sugar. DH uses a little for his AM coffee, and I use it for preserves and occasionally for baking. But I refuse to buy sugar unless it specifically states “cane sugar” as the ingredient; I don’t trust other generic sugar that only lists “sugar” because it’s probably beet sugar which is GMO.
Dining Out: $33.10 / Total $95.65
Groceries: $40.39 / Total $292.86
(Sat, Tues) Ocean State Job Lots $34.21 Two shopping trips for Bob’s Red Mill products on sale: Rolled oats, (2) sesame seeds, (2) chia seeds, whole flaxseeds, baking soda, lentils, cornmeal and (3) 5lb bags of Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour. Yes, I’m loving the local whole wheat flour, but it’s nice to have a few bags of commercial flour for backup.
(Tues, Fri) Market Basket Total $19.90: 2 shopping trips for bananas, (2) organic fuji apples, (4) grapefruit, (4) navel oranges, (5) minneola oranges, (2) mangoes, broccoli, KA white flour (sale $2.99), (4lb) domino sugar (sale $2), and a splurge of (2) Cadbury creme eggs.
Where I Spent My Grocery Dollars This Month
Foodbank pantry credit (13.72)
Whole Foods 72.19
Trader Joe’s 70.76
MARKET BASKET 57.86
Ocean State Job Lot 34.21
Open Meadow Farm 23.11
Brookline Farmers Market 21.70
Four Star Farms 15.00
Seven Acres Farm 7.50
Penzeys Spices 4.25
About My Healthy Budget
My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.
There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. DH occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.