March Stockup

We are pretty well stocked for the month of March.  I had a few holes in my pantry that I filled and I picked up some meats on discount.  I also know that to some of you this will look like a ton of junk food.  In a way, it is.  However, it was all bought with specific things in mind.  We will be on the road each weekend this month, including an out of state trip.  The costs of eating on the road are high and we like to have things to munch on.  While I will pack some homemade items for the "going portion" of the trips, we will rely on sealed packages for the "coming back portions" of the trips.  There are also sodas for my daughter for school and some snack items (such as Goldfish) that go in her lunches.  These aren't the cheapest items, but they are far less expensive than her eating out.  She also has to leave her food in the car because of her lab rules so we have to have items that can withstand heat.

You'll notice that there are not many veggies other than canned tomatoes and not any fruit.  I have a ton of frozen, canned and home canned that we are working on....for both fruits and veggies.  I've been told that the produce stand that I pass on weekends is opening soon and I will check to see what they have.

Beef is the only meat I am low on.  I found decent mark downs.  I haven't decided if I will can the meat or freeze it.  I'm leaning toward canning it.  (The lone package of turkey will be frozen.)

We bought meats, sodas, flour, 3 packages of turkey bacon, Oreos, fruit snacks, Goldfish, 4 bags of candy, 8 yogurts, 1 package of refrigerator dough, 1 package of refrigerator cookie dough, 8 cans of tomatoes, 2 bottles of pancake syrup, 1 jar of pasta sauce, 10 sleeves of Ritz crackers, chocolate coffee (our treat), a toothbrush, 2 bottles of body wash, 1 can of pledge, a can opener, a plunger, 7 brownie mixes, 4 cake mixes, 4 lbs, of cheese, bacon bits, 2 cartons of lactose free milk, and 4 (18 count) cartons of eggs.

I also bought these boxes of cereal.  Believe it or not, they are for a party.

We were having a hard time getting together as a family for my brother's birthday. 

Due to crazy schedules, the only time we can all meet is Sunday morning.

However, he lives an hour away and has to be to work by noon.

We're doing a breakfast party.

Every person is bringing cereal and each family is bringing milk.

No having to arrive early, no major clean up, and the children will all be happy.

The children are the reason for two of these cereals...lol.

(We'll have coffee and juice, too.)

So what did I spend?

I spent $211.95 including tax.

I saved $32.07 on mark downs and coupons.

Then I did an additional $14 in coupons on Ibotta.

If anyone is interested, I can share a group number. 

(If I understand correctly, the larger the group the better the savings benefits.)

$15.00 of that comes out of my gift budget for the party.

So I am at $197 for the month.

I'm expecting to have to buy milk, a few fresh items, and possibly more sodas depending on my husband's needs.

However, I think all in all I did pretty well.