…of my grocery budget envelope.
What follows is the unedited log I wrote as I went through my local grocery store yesterday. The text in brackets is commentary on the log (which is obviously everything not in brackets). Just in case you were wondering what I meant when I said in my last post that I have to write EVERYTHING down.
Sweet potatoes- 4 [For Christmas dinner]
Apples $2
Brussels Sprouts 5
Dried apricots 6 [Also for Christmas… on sale, two packages for $6]
PECAN HALVES!! [There was no price for this itty bitty package. I was mad. I wrote it in upper caps so I wouldn’t forget to check if I saw a price checker station.]
Chocolate chips 5
Cashews 12 [Don’t judge me, raw cashews make an amazing snack. This was over a pound.]
Hazelnut 4
DH2O 2 [For pet purposes]
Coconut milk 5
So 45 [This is the first time I added up the running total.]
Cannes chiles 3
Canned olives 3
Sourdough loaf Bread 4
Grass fedButter 4 [Yeah typo, don’t judge.]
Crescent rolls 5
Cinnamon rolls 2.50
OJ 4
Cream 5.5
So 76 [Update to the running total.]
PECANS ARE 9 BUCKS FORGET IT [I finally found the price checker station. This is the point where I decided it made more sense to buy pecans at the big box store, where $9 will be several pounds, rather than a few ounces.]
single serve pizza 4 [Frozen]
Cream of tartar 3
Bacon on sale, two for 7
So 90
POT ROAST OMG 22! [Christmas dinner again]
112 sobs [Yes, I literally wrote that]
Goldfish 2.50 [Last minute request from one of the kids]
There. Raw and unedited. (Although occasionally commented.) The experience of one person trying to be more careful buying groceries. Also please forget any math fails. I did all this in my head without pissing off all the folks trying to get past me in the grocery aisles!
In Search of the Lean Six Life 
I’d have lived without the cashews…. but …nom
$12 for a pound of raw cashews is a good price… but surely would be even cheaper at the big box store, like the cashews?
As with all (most, anyway) areas of life, apps are here to help you. Search for “Running total” or “Shopping calculator” on your phone, and you may find something to make life easier.
For my part, the older I get the less I want to eat; the cheapest food is the food you don’t buy at all! That wouldn’t work for you; teenage girls probably aren’t as ravenous as boys, but still need a lot. Recently when I had to reduce my spending, I changed the kind of food I ate; lots more grain and beans, a lot less meat. Actually I felt a lot better with the new diet anyway so I’m sticking to it now. And more fresh food and farmers market food (which is quite expensive, but tastes a lot better), and a lot less packaged food.
Typo… “… like the pecans?”
Unfortunately, the big box store doesn’t carry raw cashews! Only the roasted or roasted and salted kind, blech.
I see a lot more vegetarian meals in our future, honestly, now that I have started paying more attention to what things actually cost!