Chillin' with Queen Elizabeth in Nassau.
For the past couple weeks, we were gone on an extensive road trip from MI to FL, then to TX and back again, with a five-day cruise to the Bahamas and pit stop in New Orleans squished somewhere in the middle. Even though the trip was fun, I was very glad to be home on Saturday! After living in the RV for so long, our "little" apartment looked enormous. As we walked in for the first time, Hubs said, "There is a lot of space in here."
There's just nothing that compares to a comfy bed, a sink that works, toilet that flushes, and water that actually tastes good. Oh yeah, and being reunited with my animals and projects. I love being a homemaker.
1. Kroger shopping: I spent a total of $5.20 at the grocery store for this upcoming week. Seedless red grapes were on sale for $0.99 per pound. I also bought a reduced box of lettuce mix for $1.49, thinking I had a coupon for it (but I bought the wrong brand... oops). Bread was also on sale, and with two different rebates my final price was just $0.53 for the loaf. I picked up a free sample orange, and also a Kroger Free Friday can of soup. Lastly, I found a bag of three yellow bell peppers on the reduced rack for just $0.99.
There's just nothing that compares to a comfy bed, a sink that works, toilet that flushes, and water that actually tastes good. Oh yeah, and being reunited with my animals and projects. I love being a homemaker.
1. Kroger shopping: I spent a total of $5.20 at the grocery store for this upcoming week. Seedless red grapes were on sale for $0.99 per pound. I also bought a reduced box of lettuce mix for $1.49, thinking I had a coupon for it (but I bought the wrong brand... oops). Bread was also on sale, and with two different rebates my final price was just $0.53 for the loaf. I picked up a free sample orange, and also a Kroger Free Friday can of soup. Lastly, I found a bag of three yellow bell peppers on the reduced rack for just $0.99.
After I got home, I decided to price out my bargain produce by serving instead of weight. I'm working on a booklet about fruit & vegetable shopping and thought it would be a good research project. In order for my tentative produce budget to work out, I need to spend an average of $0.18 or less per serving of produce. How close did my deals come to hitting the goal?
Salad: $0.75 per serving.
Bell peppers: $0.33 per serving.
Grapes: $0.20 per serving.
So, the salad* was a terrible deal. Even if my coupon would have worked, the salad still would have cost $0.45 per serving- twice what I was aiming for. The bell peppers were a little closer, and I think they could fit in the budget if balanced with cheaper produce like beans (yes, those actually count as "produce") or cabbage. The grapes were a win, especially for fruit. I was only $0.02 per serving over budget. Yay for loss leaders.
I am planning a trip to Aldi to see how their regular produce prices compare to Kroger and Walmart.
2. Improved winter RV functionality. Hubs decided not to fill the water tanks for our trip, lest it freeze and the pipes burst. To almost eliminate washing dishes, we bought all disposable utensils, bowls and cups. We also bought more water at Walmart for drinking. As we were standing in front of the vast array of bottles and jugs, Hubs noticed that at this particular store, the bottled water was actually cheaper than the gallon jugs. We priced out each bottle at $0.12, which was totally worth it for a short-term trip. We bought a big pack for $3.00-$4.00 and put it in the camper. We will just leave the leftover bottles out there for future trips.
3. Made a pine needle basket. I have always wanted to do this, but couldn't justify spending so much time on a project like that. When we were visiting family, I noticed that the pine needles in their yard were SUPER long and would be perfect for a basket. With no internet and no "to do" list, I spent several hours making a tiny basket with thread and some pine needles. I thought it turned out so cute.
Salad: $0.75 per serving.
Bell peppers: $0.33 per serving.
Grapes: $0.20 per serving.
So, the salad* was a terrible deal. Even if my coupon would have worked, the salad still would have cost $0.45 per serving- twice what I was aiming for. The bell peppers were a little closer, and I think they could fit in the budget if balanced with cheaper produce like beans (yes, those actually count as "produce") or cabbage. The grapes were a win, especially for fruit. I was only $0.02 per serving over budget. Yay for loss leaders.
I am planning a trip to Aldi to see how their regular produce prices compare to Kroger and Walmart.
2. Improved winter RV functionality. Hubs decided not to fill the water tanks for our trip, lest it freeze and the pipes burst. To almost eliminate washing dishes, we bought all disposable utensils, bowls and cups. We also bought more water at Walmart for drinking. As we were standing in front of the vast array of bottles and jugs, Hubs noticed that at this particular store, the bottled water was actually cheaper than the gallon jugs. We priced out each bottle at $0.12, which was totally worth it for a short-term trip. We bought a big pack for $3.00-$4.00 and put it in the camper. We will just leave the leftover bottles out there for future trips.
3. Made a pine needle basket. I have always wanted to do this, but couldn't justify spending so much time on a project like that. When we were visiting family, I noticed that the pine needles in their yard were SUPER long and would be perfect for a basket. With no internet and no "to do" list, I spent several hours making a tiny basket with thread and some pine needles. I thought it turned out so cute.
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4. Went to a Goodwill clearance center and a bent 'n' dent in Florida. At the bent 'n' dent, I stocked up on $0.50 packs of tortillas and canned black beans. At the clearance center, I found a large binder, two nice book stands I can use for farmers markets, some books, and a lavender sachet. I am not sure how I feel about the Goodwill clearance centers. Items are priced by weight instead of individually, and the competitiveness of some shoppers at this particular store was a little disturbing. I plan on doing an entire post about this later.
That's all, folks! I look forward to sharing more accomplishments next week.
*For those of you who are wondering, I totally do NOT buy salad mix on a regular basis. In fact, I'm not sure I've bought any lettuce since we were married. I serve a lot of lettuce/salad during the spring and summer months when it is growing in the garden. Otherwise, we might get a few leaves of something from the garden (kale, autumn volunteer lettuce or foraged greens) to serve on sandwiches or tacos, but that is it. I had no idea that store bought greens were so expensive.
That's all, folks! I look forward to sharing more accomplishments next week.
*For those of you who are wondering, I totally do NOT buy salad mix on a regular basis. In fact, I'm not sure I've bought any lettuce since we were married. I serve a lot of lettuce/salad during the spring and summer months when it is growing in the garden. Otherwise, we might get a few leaves of something from the garden (kale, autumn volunteer lettuce or foraged greens) to serve on sandwiches or tacos, but that is it. I had no idea that store bought greens were so expensive.
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