I aced it: $18.43

I aced the grocery challenge!!!!!!

It was hairy, because I thought I'd gone over budget several times and I thought there was no way I could get toilet paper AND everything else. But the final bill, no coupons. I rarely do coupons. $18.43. And the photo shows everything I got.

I started in the produce aisle. Typically, I can spend $20 here without going to any other aisle. But the budget necessitates better shopping that that. So I can't have the avocado. I can't have those cute, fresh baby peas. I grab a 10 oz bag of Dole Italian Mix for the tortoise. She's very picky. The bagged salad is on sale for $2.50. But then I notice the leaf lettuce is $1.99 a pound. Bag lettuce goes back. The head of red leaf lettuce ends up being less than a pound. $1.65. Chances are the tortoise will turn up her nose at it, but that would probably happen with the Dole, too. We have gorgeous dirt. I have a fabulous compost pile. I feed kid, leftovers go to tortoise, then to compost.

But back to the store... The carrots are the same price whether you get regular or organic. So I bought one pound of organic carrots. $.99

Next I did an impulse buy. Bag of tortilla chips for nachos. On sale. $1.67. The discount store would be about $1.50 but...

Cooking spray, the generic, was $1.89 and I know I can get that for about $1.29 at the discount store. So I skipped it. I can always put a drop of oil on a paper towel and lubricate my pan that way.

But the toilet paper... I'm a Cottonelle Triple Roll girl, and I just didn't have the money. And this only has to last a week (I hope). So I got the cheap-o thousand sheeter. Two. One for each bathroom. Honestly, I'm hoping the ones we have hold out until we have more money. Cost for two rolls: $1.24.

Canned goods. Need sliced pears in juice. They don't have a big can. Grab one small can. Almost get sucked into 10/$10 sale on Dole Pineapple. All varieties. I need pineapple... But then I notice the generic is always $1.09. I don't have any immediate need for pineapple, why save $0.09? One can store-brand sliced pears for Dr. Lalande's poire tartin: $1.13

Also in that aisle, I grabbed a can of black beans, good for nachos or chili, at $0.63. And a rare purchase: one can of sliced new potatoes. $0.77.

I'm walking toward the dairy aisle for the cheese. I'm thinking I need one pack of frozen chopped spinach. Pasta sauce, dip, pizza, quesadillas, omelettes... All could use spinach. I grab the store brand chopped spinach. It's on sale. 5 for $4. How much is it normally? $1.25. Is it worth the impact on the budget? I ponder. That's basically getting the fifth one free. Do I need FIVE packs of spinach? We easily could eat a pack a week. To save $1. I take the bait. Five packs spinach: $4.

I should have $5 left for cheese, I tell myself, as I've been rounding and counting in my head the whole time. People are looking at me like I'm nuts, but that's okay with me. I select NY extra sharp cheddar, sharp cheddar, and pepper jack. The pepper jack will taste fabulous in some of my crockpot spinach dip, which with my homemade bread, crackers and carrots is a favorite in my house. 3/8 oz. blocks of cheese: $5
Then I realize a flaw in my logic. Eggs. My poire tartin might require eggs. I can bake just about any cake or brownie vegan-style, but French cooking... I'm frightened. I grab the eggs. I can't risk it. When I get to the counter, I apologize to the cashier that I have to put the tortilla chips back. But then the total is $17. So I tell her I will take them. I wish I would have gotten my daughter some milk or yogurt. I could have gotten the cooking spray. Or orange juice concentrate. My mind is reeling. The grand total is $18.43!!!

My meal plan for today:

My daughter had a Quaker Oatmeal Bar for breakfast. I keep a shelf in the pantry of snacks she can eat on her own at any time. It has two areas: breakfast and snack. Breakfast is for when she wakes up ungodly early on the weekends (like today). She pitter-patters into my room and says "Mommy, I'm hungry" and I mutter "Go get something to eat." And she does. It's fabulous! The snacks include my granola, raisins, dried fruit, goldfish crackers, graham crackers, etc. Stuff that even if it fills her little belly, it has some value for the calorie content.

So for lunch, I'll peel some of my organic carrots and serve with Litehouse blue cheese dressing (one of my brand loyalties, but yeah for the warehouse club). Thank goodness most preschoolers thrive on repetition, because I'm getting sick of all these carrots. But at a buck an organic pound, I'll have to quit my b*tching. Then, since I have a three day rule on leftovers (for food safety reasons, we eat within three days or freeze immediately) I'll cut the corn muffins in half, fry in the skillet with a little butter and serve with a drizzle of maple syrup. Drink will be Nature's Nectar white grape raspberry juice, which I buy the frozen concentrate at the discount store for $1. It's 100% juice, no sugar added. 120% RDA vitamin C (though I don't use the amount of water suggested. I throw in an extra can. The kid doesn't notice.) In the middle of the day, my daughter only drinks water, BTW. Juice, milk, or chocolate soy milk at meals. (Soy because EVERY chocolate milk or chocolate syrup in the store has HFCS.)

Dinner tonight will be the last of the tuna-spinach casserole and man, am I getting sick of that, too.