11/3 - ALDI and Walmart

I waited forever to go to the store this time.  I was trying to save money, even though we were running out of all of our staples.  I pulled stuff out from the back of the freezer and the back of the pantry to invent meals.  I wanted to save money!  lol.  But, we were out of Cheerios, Michael was out of individual tea bags, he wanted queso, he wanted bagels for breakfast, and the list goes on.

So, first I went to ALDI, hoping to get as much there as possible.  No matter what, the prices are always better there than Walmart.

11/3 - ALDI:
$8.28 - FP Chicken Breasts (special price 4.5lbs!)
$8.33 - FP Chicken Breasts (with a deal this great, I got more!)
$4.49 - 12 Roll Toilet Paper
$4.49 - 12 Roll Toilet Paper
$2.95 - Organic Milk
$2.95 - Organic Milk
$2.95 - Organic Milk
$6.49 - Frozen Chicken Thighs - boneless, skinless
$0.95 - Frozen Corn
$0.99 - Sour cream
$2.29 - 24pk water
$2.99 - 10 lbs potatoes (another great deal!)
$0.69 - Cream of Mushroom soup
$0.69 - Cream of Mushroom soup
$0.39 - Tomato paste
$0.39 - Tomato paste
$0.39 - Tomato paste
$2.29 - 12 pk Generic Dr. Pepper (I like this even better than Dr. Pepper)
$0.55 - Diced Tomatoes
$0.55 - Diced Tomatoes
$0.55 - Diced Tomatoes
$0.59 - Generic Rotel Tomatoes for salsa
$0.59 - Generic Rotel Tomatoes for salsa
$0.59 - Generic Rotel Tomatoes for salsa
$0.89 - cream cheese
$0.89 - cream cheese
$3.39 - butter
$3.39 - butter
$3.15 - block parmigiano reggiano cheese
$1.49 - Kit kat (fun size - Halloween candy on sale!)
$1.49 - Kit kat (fun size - Halloween candy on sale!)
$4.99 - 100 pieces chocolate candy (Halloween candy on sale!)
$0.99 - Smarties (Halloween candy on sale!)

$1.69 - Generic cheerios

$1.69 - Generic cheerios

$2.65 - 12 pk name brand pop tarts

$2.65 - 12 pk name brand pop tarts

$2.39 - oats

$0.49 - Halloween paper towels (on sale!)

$0.49 - Halloween paper towels (on sale!)

$1.69 - 4 lb sugar

$1.69 - 4 lb sugar

$1.89 - giant generic mayonnaise

$1.99 - salsa con queso

$1.29 - coconut for baking

$1.49 - generic oreos for baking

$1.49 - generic oreos for baking

$1.69 - chocolate chip cookies

$0.85 - hamburger buns

$1.79 - generic peanut butter morsels

$1.79 - generic peanut butter morsels

$1.49 - chocolate morsels (aka choc chips)

$1.49 - chocolate morsels (aka choc chips)

$0.99 - wheat bread

$1.09 - brown sugar

$1.99 - bag of mini bagels

$1.29 - sugar wafers (Kara's treat for coming with me)

$1.49 - sour cream and onion chips

$1.49 - mushrooms

$9.45 tax

$127.55 - TOTAL

Then I had to run to Walmart for the stuff that ALDI doesn't have (mostly name brand stuff).  I was disappointed I couldn't stock up like I wanted - I may order some stuff on Amazon.

11/3 - Walmart:

$2.98 - decaf tea

$2.24 - decaf tea

$3.24 - breakfast almonds

$3.48 - decaf green tea (I sneak this in Michael's sweet tea and he doesn't notice.  It's SO good for you.)

$1.00 - Greek yogurt

$1.00 - Greek yogurt

$1.00 - Greek yogurt

$1.00 - Greek yogurt

$1.00 - Greek yogurt

$2.00 - generic big bag tater tots

$2.00 - generic big bag fries

$2.28 - jif (Kara's breakfast)

$2.28 - jif (Kara's breakfast)

$2.28 - Homestyle popcorn for me

$5.86 - Michael's favorite pizza

$5.86 - Michael's favorite pizza

$5.86 - Michael's favorite pizza

$3.63 tax

$48.99 - TOTAL

I feel like I did a pretty good job.  I think sticking to making meals from scratch as much as possible and shopping for those staples at ALDI is key to keeping the costs down.  Of course, I don't always want to!

Let's check where I am this month:

10/26 - ALDI - $11.43

10/28 - ALDI - $63.74

10/28 - Foodland - $32.42

11/3 - ALDI - $127.55

11/3 - Walmart - $48.99

Total so far - $284.13

If I try to stick with a $400 tighter budget, I have $115.87 left to spend before 11/19.  Not sure I can do it.  I may need to start at $500 and lower it.  We'll see.