2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week #44: Welcome back as we roll into week #44 of our $50 weekly grocery budget! This week is a Pantry restocking week and will give you a great idea about how we manage to only spend $50 per week on average despite rising grocery prices . . .
If you’ve been diligently following our weekly menu plans, you already know that we’ve been holding out on restocking or spending much, watching those seasonal sales trendsuntil the Holiday sale prices finally hit the stores on baking supplies. Well, I’m happy to report that in our area, they certainly have! This week is finally a Pantry Restocking week. One of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from people is, “It doesn’t add up, I mean, there are items in your menu that you didn’t buy this week, how does that work?” This week is a prime example of Exactly how that works!
If you review our last couple of weeks you’ll see that we’ve been very careful with our spending so that we could Roll over our planned weekly budget allotment into a pantry/baking supplies restocking week.
Let’s take a review of Previous Weeks to see how how much money we have left in the budget to put towards restocking the pantry:
week #44$50. (this week)
week #43 we spent $8.03 = $41.97 rolled over
week #42 we spent $43.15 = $6.85 rolled over
week #41 we spent $22.18 = $27.82 rolled over
week #40we spent $41.98 = $8.02 rolled over
week #39 we spent $32.16 = $17.84 rolled over
week #38. we spent $54.6 = -4.60 subtracted from budget
week #37 we spent $39.84 = $10.16 rolled over
Total available to spend this week without going over budget $158.06
From the Farmers Market & Store: Bananas, Artisan lettuce, celery, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, canned pumpkin, pecans, White flour, Wheat Flour, sugar (White/brown/powdered), several spices, canned beans (several Varieties), dried beans (several varieties), 25# Jasmine Rice, apples, yeast, garlic, store brand rice krispies, store brand corn flakes, store brand raisin bran, Fake Oreos (store brand), sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, powdered milk, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, 25 cans store brand “rotel”, 25 cans diced tomatoes, onions, baking potatoes (25# for $4 at Farmers Market), Acorn Squash, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cream cheese
Total Spent this week $126.74, which leaves us with $31.32 to roll over into next weeks budget if needed.
From the Garden: jalapenos
From our Backyard: Fresh Eggs
Breakfast Options for this week: Fresh Apples, Bananas, Home-Canned Peaches
- Cranberry Almond Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Bourbon Pancakes
- Toasted Cinnamon Apple Quesadillas
- Homemade English Muffins
- Mandarin Orange Refrigerator Oatmeal
- Sliced apples with Festive Pumpkin Pie Dip
- Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bagels or Onion Bagels
- Eggs- Scrambled, poached, over easy, fried, or Omelets with toast
- Leftover Southern Crockpot Grits (From Sunday)
Monday October 28th:
- Lunch: Dilled Egg Salad Wraps
- Dinner: Catfish Nuggets, Baked Potato, Salad
Tuesday October 29th:
- Lunch: PB & J Sandwiches
- Dinner: Corpse Loaf, Salad
Wednesday October 30th:
- Lunch: Chipotle Egg Salad Wraps on Tomato Basil Tortillas
- Dinner: Sausage Stuffed (pumpkin) Bell Peppers, Salad
Thursday October 31st:
- Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwiches
- Dinner: Gnarled Witches Fingers, Mashed Zombie Innards (garlic Smashed Potatoes), steamed veggies
Friday November 1st:
- Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Tomato Soup or Shrimp Pasta Salad (if we have any luck fishing!)
- Dinner: Venison Roast w/ Potatoes, Carrots, Onions & Yeast Rolls
Saturday November 2nd: Game Day! Potluck game day get together
- Midday: Get Together With Friends making Yankee Chili, Cornbread
Sunday November 3rd:
- Lunch: Leftover Venison Roast Sandwiches
- Dinner: Grilled Pork Chops, Southwestern Cheddar Steak Fries, salad
Various Snacks & Desserts:
- Fresh Fruit Choices Available– Pears, Apples, Pumpkin, Home Canned Peaches, Bananas
- Pickled Eggs
- Honey Granola Bars
- Fried Ice Cream Ramen
- Microwave Popcorn
Drinks Available:* Iced Tea (Unsweetened or Sweet Tea)
* Coffee
* Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
* Iced Coffee Drinks
* Almond Milk
* Lemonade
Less Likely to be used, but still available:
* Copycat Gatorade
* CopyCat Arizona Green Tea
FYI:This is a prime example of why it pays to watch sales cycles. Our local grocery store marked down diced tomatoes (store brand) to only .39 per can. Despite have several quarts of home canned tomatoes, I know that these will come in handy for recipes during the weeks ahead. I bought 25, honestly, if I’d had more room in the pantry, I’d have purchased 50. The huge bag of potatoes will be roasted later this week and turned into individually wrapped twice baked potatoes.
For Further reading/help we recommend the following:
- $50 Dollar Menu Frequently Asked Questions– There are certain questions that seem to pop up again and again, so rather than be redundant and repeat answers, we’ve put them all in one convenient place for you!
- Basic Questions–Why we don’t provide a shopping list, Random ingredients that aren’t in the shopping list, are groceries cheaper , etc
- More Questions– more in depth questions regarding dietary guidelines, dealing with picky eaters, junk food and more
- It Doesn’t Add up– Learn why some items in the Menu plan aren’t listed in this weeks grocery purchase list & how it all comes together
- November Sales Trends–not sure what Should be on sale right now? Here is a list of the current Sales trends throughout the month of November so you know what savings to expect and look forward to.
- The 2012 Family Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month– a guide of how and where to cut grocery expenses to get spending under control while providing an eye-opening view of the dirty manipulation tactics retailers use to keep you spending.
- $50 Weekly Menu Plan Help across the USA–Do you find yourself struggling to reduce your grocery bill each month? Check out our Menu plan help across the USA to see if your area has been featured for more 1-on-1 help, if not, feel free to add your request to have your city/state featured.
- Making Fruits & Veggies Last: At the beginning of each week we prepare the vegetables and fruits to make meal preparation easier during the week and to save money by preventing waste. You can read more about that here.
- How Spending $25 Now can save you Hundreds Later – if you gain nothing else from this site, don’t overlook this tip. It has been an EXTREME money-saver for our family.
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / zigzagmtart
I think it’s easy to cut the bill in half when you eat processed stuff, sugar and carbohydrates. As a family that only eats Paleo/low carb there’s no way we can get away with under $100 a week at very minimum. I think if the stores would reduce the good healthy food maybe there would be less obesety in the world. Wishful thinking.
I think its important to remember that stocking up will cost some money, but save in the long run. I have been following this sites suggestions for a couple of months and have just did the “big meat stock up” We went to a wholesale meat warehouse set budget of $125, bought I bulk, broke it down and stocked the freezer. Although there is much more I would have lie to get I figured that I have to start somewhere!