Living on $40 per week (grocery budget) - Week 2

R-man helping Mommy shop

This week was a little more challenging when grocery shopping because our entire family needed a few essentials.  I was extremely close to my $40 this week so the kids will only get a few dollars to split between them. I must preface that my $40/week does not include any meat related items. Our family is very fortunate that our parents raise beef cattle so we have a supply of beef, when needed.

This week I didn't take little-C with me shopping but I had R-man. I thought my husband could use a nap while our daughter was sleeping so I took him shopping with me. The entire time we were shopping at Target, he didn't say a word. I think he thought it was 'cool' that I didn't bring him inside in his carrier - I allowed him to sit in the cart like a big kid!

The smile on his face does not do it justice with how happy he was. Sometimes I would ask him, R-man are you having fun and he would let out a little squeal and smile from ear to ear.  Okay, I had my answer even if I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me.
As I went to the grocery store, I looked at what my husband had added to the list.  Club crackers - I thought to myself, can we really afford crackers this week?  I waited to see how much the other items would cost me before I picked up the crackers. He would be happy to know that I had a few dollars to spare after purchasing the crackers even though it would cut into the extra money the kids received.

As I went down the dairy aisle to pick up a gallon of AE milk (yes, this is one thing I won't skimp on for brand names - I love AE milk), I realized it was $3.99/gallon. When did milk go up?  I guess I didn't look at the cost of milk before, I just picked it up because our family needed it.

This week R-man has some new foods to try. We are still using up his stuff from last week, which does help the $40 budget this week!  This week he is eating; pears/apples, pears/apples/blueberries, carrots, mixed vegetables (the frozen bag, just blended) and apple pie. I'll let you know how he likes the apple pie next week because it's the first time I made it for him.

I also made our family Quick Cheeseburger bake. Little-C loved this!

As the week progresses, I hope we don't run out of milk because I'm not sure I can afford another $3.99/gallon!