GAH! Groceries!!

After much thought, I told Luke I wasn't ready to set a budget on groceries until I have a handle on this gluten free thing.  Between that & getting used to our new way of getting meat & groceries, it's crazy.  

Here's what sucks.

January 17th...  

$465.32

HOLEYMOLEYTHAT'SALOT

I still have 2 more Farmhouse deliveries this month too.  Eep!

I shouldn't need anything else from the "regular" store though, except milk (I got shorted a gallon this week!) & maybe cheese.  Hopefully that's it.  Which means I shouldn't go too over budget, but it still sucks.

In other news, I took back some of Graham's duplicate Christmas gifts today & got a few outfits for him.  That was cool.  I also took some stuff I didn't need back to Hobby Lobby, though I'm concerned because it doesn't show a refund in my account yet...  hmmmmm...

I think that's about it right now.  I feel like this may be a lot more boring than the first time around.

I went to Target.

It's like the beginning of a horror movie...  

I went to Target.  

*GASP*

"Don't go down the stairs!!"  

aka "Don't look at the end caps!!"

I didn't.

Whew.

I did buy some storage boxes, since the hubby cleaned & organized the oldest's playroom (yet again, will we EVER get a handle on the Legos???).  Not sure if that was really okay per the rules, but they were just the cheap ones, I didn't get fancy like I'd live to.  So, we'll say it was okay.  Okay?

Other than that, I only bought the stuff I was planning on going to the grocery store for.  Win!  Well, sort of, since they are more expensive than the grocery store.  You can't have it all I suppose.

This week I also used up one of my 2 meals out.  I took the boys to Red Robin (gluten free buns!!) for lunch on Friday.  It was fantastic.  It helps that we've gone gluten free because my eating out choices aren't the same anymore.  It really is helping me not WANT to go out.  I mean, what good is a steak without buttered bread?  What good is CFA without nuggets?  (Actually, it's not all that bad, but I'm making a point here!)  I really wanted a burger though.  So, I had one.  I have 1 more meal out I can use for the month if I want.  I wonder if I could finish the month without using it...  I might...

7 days in...

7 days in & no problem staying on budget so far!  The oldest keeps asking to go to the store to buy stuff (Christmas money is burning a hole in his pocket!), but I keep saying no.  I'm mean like that.  I really don't need any potential temptation.  Plus, the littlest is sick, so we don't need to go out & share germs.  I'm considerate.  Sometimes.  

I did go to HEB on Friday, and spent $100 (gasp!!) on gluten-free snacks & a few other things.  That brings our total to $125 so far, plus whatever the final total is for Farmhouse Delivery (so, I'm thinking right around $200 as of tomorrow).  Speaking of Farmhouse Delivery, tomorrow is our first delivery day.  I can't wait to see how awesome it is.  Plus, I'm tired of seeing a bare fridge.  Sadly though, there are still some staple-type things we need.  I swear I feel like I'll never get ahead on grocery related stuff!!  There are ALWAYS things we need from the store!!  Groceries are definitely our biggest money suck.  I wonder how typical that is...

Oh!  Funny thing, the other day I took the oldest in to open a savings account at our bank.  The next day the lady that helped us called me.  Turns out, we're eligible for a 5% cash back credit card from them.  She had some line about how rare & awesome that is, but I had a line about not wanting a credit card.  She tried to guilt me into it, but I don't really do high-pressure guilt trips.  ESPECIALLY for credit cards.  We do have a credit card that we use, but it's paid off every month (hubby uses it to pay for work expenses that he gets reimbursed for & we use it fir gas).  We originally started using it so we'd get points to pay for our Costco membership, but that doesn't work now, so we use it for other fun things.  Anyway, we sure don't need another card, we don't really even need the one we have.  

Anyway, I thought it was really ironic, here I am trying to teach my 5 year old about savings & that flags us to receive a credit card offer.  You just gotta love banks.  ;)

So, here we are...

Day 2 of this.  Again.  ;)  

We just got back from out of town & came home to a pretty sad fridge & pantry.  BUT, the good thing is, we get to start over with that stuff too!  Budget AND diet?  Oh my!  We're gonna try a gluten free trial (can you try a trial??), to see if it improves our son's ADHD/ODD.  I mean, it can't hurt!  So, we have to rid the pantry & fridge of some stuff anyway (straight into daddy's belly, of course), so a new start it is.  

This week we're gonna manage with what we have, which is meat & frozen veggies.  I'm about to get really creative I suppose.  I did send the hubby out tonight for milk, cheese, creamer, & bananas.  $25 of the grocery budget is now gone.  

((I budgeted $600 for January, which the hubby says is too much.  What do you think??  There are 3.25 (lol) of us here, and we all eat 3 meals + snacks here almost every day.  I think $600 is actually cutting it close.  That's $5.95/day/each to cover all the food for 3.25 of us.  I think he doesn't realize how expensive meat & produce can be.))

My plan is to use this awesome service I found - it's local (organic) produce, meats, dairy, etc.  I figure if I get the bulk of our food from them, I will stay out of the grocery store & avoid grabbing stuff not on a list/we don't need, and I'll be supporting local farmers.  Win, win.  To have my weekly food needs delivered to my doorstep...  can't beat it!  Of course, it means a different style of eating - more focus on 3 meals & less focus on snacks.  We'll have produce & cheese to snack on & I'm sure I'll hit Costco for a few other things, but no more free-for-all grazing all day.  Good for the wallet & the belly!  ...let's see how long this lasts!

So, here is a screenshot of my cart: 

I was fortunate enough to get the membership fee waived & $10 off the first order, score!  Still, I'm looking at about $95 for next week's dinners...  and I still don't know what I'll be feeding us for lunch.  :/  I guess tuna on gluten free crackers??  I've got a lot to figure out.  There's that pesky breakfast meal to serve too...  sheesh.  I'd love cheap, healthy, kid-friendly, gluten-free ideas for breakfast & lunch if you have any!  

As for dinner, I figure a whole chicken can stretch for 2, maybe 3 meals (I'll do breasts one night, legs/thighs one night, and then a soup or something with the rest), the ground beef should last 2 meals, we can do eggs one night, and maybe a night of just veggies.  Salad for some lunches (depending on what's in the bushel next week...), wienies & carrots for a lunch, maybe soup one day...  idk, I'm sure we'll figure it out since I'm leaving myself no choice!  Oh, the stress!

Anyway, food is really the only item on the plate (haha, ha) at the moment.  Obviously, since we're only 2 days into this thing, we're on track & doing great so far!