Another week of budget grocery shopping on $60 a week! I enjoyed grocery shopping so much this week. At the end of my shopping, (according to my calculations as I go along) I had about $5 left in my budget! It was so fun spending my “extra” money. One of my goals is to thrive on our $60 a week budget, and not just survive. I feel like I met that goal this week!
I also bought some dish soap at Aldi and some hand soap at Kroger (both items we were running low on this week). We try to keep non-food purchases down to just 1-2 items per week so that it doesn’t blow our budget.
Our menu for the week:
Breakfasts: Eggs, baked oatmeal, fruit, cereal, breakfast potatoes.
Lunches: Grilled lunch meat sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, quesadillas, homemade mac and cheese, or whatever leftovers are in the fridge. If we have extra time, I might cook some fried rice, but I don’t usually bother during the week. We also have fruit and possibly some chips and salsa. Not a lot of variety for lunches, but we have leftovers often enough that I don’t usually go crazy.
Dinners
Monday and Wednesday: Easy Salsa Chicken with a side of Roasted Broccoli
(Note: We usually “double” our meals during the week. This means that I cook once and we eat it twice. Not only does this save time on our busiest evenings, it also makes grocery shopping cheaper if you are just buying double of one recipe instead of two recipes. If your family objects to having the same thing twice in a week, you might consider making mostly “freezer friendly” meals, and then you could freeze the meal and eat it again a week or two later.)
Tuesday and Thursday: Tacos with Homemade Taco Seasoning
Friday: Our weekly family date night! We have a separate budget of $20 a week for our date nights. This week we went to Chipotle and spent $19.96! I love that place.
Saturday: Leftovers (they were getting built up)
Sunday: lunch with some friends where we only provided sides (potatoes and salad)
Snacks: Fruit, cheese sticks, chips and salsa, Goldfish crackers, peanut butter banana smoothies, veggies with ranch, pickles, kale or zucchini chips
What we spent this week:
Finally, here’s how we spent $60 this week. Remember that these are recipes that my family eats quite often, so we have some stuff stocked in the pantry already. It might cost you extra the first few weeks as you stock up, but eventually you will be able to stay close to budget.
Budget Grocery Shopping on $60 at Aldi:
For Breakfasts:
1 gallon of whole milk $2.45
Bananas $1.20
Shredded wheat $1.39
2 dozen eggs $1.58
Pure maple syrup $5.89
For Lunches:
100% Whole wheat bread $1.29
Tortilla chips $.89
For Dinners:
Chicken broth $1.19
Onion powder $.95
Cumin $.95
Salt $1.28
Colby jack shredded cheese $1.65
Tortillas $1.99
For Snacks:
Strawberries $1.49
Cheese sticks $2.59
Stevia packets $2.49
Other:
Dish detergent $1.85
Aldi total with tax: $31.96
Budget Grocery Shopping on $60 at Kroger:
For Lunches:
Frozen cauliflower $1.00
For Dinners:
Whole wheat pasta $1.00
Broccoli $1.77
Shredded parmesan cheese $1.99
1 lime $.59
Lettuce $1.69
1 tomato $.57
3 avocados $1.50
Pork tenderloin $4.51
Chicken breasts $7.75
For Snacks:
1 head of kale $.99 (for kale chips!)
Apples $1.70
Frozen okra $1.00
Other:
Hand soap $.79
Kroger total with tax: $27.55
Grand total: $59.51
Why Am I Posting About Budget Grocery Shopping on $60 a week?
When I recently decided I wanted to be more diligent following our weekly grocery budget, I started posting my grocery receipts on Instagram stories. This was really just for personal accountability. I didn’t actually think very many people would be interested in how I do budget grocery shopping on $60 a week! Each time I posted the receipts, I would get a bunch of questions. “What exactly are you eating?” “Is this really for a whole week?” Because of all these questions, I decided to start posting our menu and how much we spend on groceries to prove that it can be done.
We try our best to eat mostly whole foods, but we don’t have any dietary restrictions. Although I (usually) follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan, my husband and son are a little more lenient on the things they eat.
Except for special occasions, we eat 20 meals a week at home. That means my budget grocery shopping goal is $3 per meal for two adults and a toddler.
Like what you see here? Follow me on Facebook or Instagram! Planning to try some of these recipes and lower your grocery budget? Leave a comment and let me know how it goes! Be sure to pin this menu on Pinterest. Make sure you don’t miss any new recipes by getting my email newsletter every week
